by Todd Durell Most homeschool families I know have a keen interest in early American history.  Here are some on-line resources about Thomas Jefferson from the Library of Congress that you can use to enhance your history curriculum. Thomas Jefferson’s Library is an online exhibition that focuses on Jefferson’s book collection, which eventually became the [...]

Silva Rhetoricae, a website produced by Dr. Gideon Burton of Brigham Young University, is dedicated to providing information about classical and renaissance rhetoric. The website’s structure is logical and intuitive, with a central content frame flanked to the left by an outline of the major categories in the subject of rhetoric, and to the right [...]

In our homeschool we’re currently teaching our five year old how to print his letters.  Having studied Greek in college, I’ve had some notion of where the Latin and Cyrillic alphabets originated.  However, I haven’t given it a whole lot of thought until today, when I came across this webpage, Evolution of Alphabets, from Prof. [...]

Maps-of-War is a fun website that allows you to download 90-second animated videos of maps with timelines showing the historical progression of various political and social movements.  Here’s an example of the kind of maps on the Maps-of-War website, this one showing the growth of the world’s major religions: Other maps available at Maps-of-War cover [...]

Here are a few websites you can go to for information about the important documents in the history of the West, and especially the United States.  Some include texts of the documents and lesson plans. The University of Oklahoma College of Law sponsors a website, Chronology of US Historical Documents, containing a chronology and complete [...]

Syria’s Solidarity With Islamists Ends at Home (NY Times) Indonesians Protest Fla. Church’s Quran-Burning Day (NPR) Why Islamic Moderates Are So Scarce (NRO) Muslim Americans Find Their Voice Amid The Shouts (NPR) Afghans Protest US Church’s Plans To Burn Quran (NPR) For US Muslims, A 9/11 Anniversary Like No Other (NPR) French Bid To Ban [...]

High school seniors are invited to apply for college scholarships through the Coca-Cola Scholars Program, sponsored by the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation. The deadline for applying is October 31. Fifty winners will be awarded scholarships valued at $20,000 and 200 students will receive awards of $10,000. The program is open to both traditionally-schooled as well as [...]

National Black Home Educators is a non-profit organization dedicated to “encourage, support and offer fellowship to families who are exploring benefits of home education.” The Christian organization was founded in 2000 by Eric and Joyce Burges of Baker, Louisiana, who have homeschooled their five children. NBHE hosts an annual conference, which will be held in [...]

The American Foreign Service Association sponsors an annual national essay contest for high school students with a $2,500 prize to the winner.  This year’s topic is requires the contestant to put themselves in the role of a US Ambassador to one of several foreign nations and summarize how they would use the resources available to [...]

The Ann Rand Institute offers several contests for middle and high school students.  Each contest requires participants to submit an essay based on topics found on the institute’s website.  The awards in these contests are hefty, as you can see below.  Get more information at these links: For 8th, 9th, and 10th graders:   Anthem essay [...]