Kathleen Desmarais

Finishing up History Odyssey MT2 guide. The course is written, maps are done, and worksheets finished. Feedback is steadily coming in from reviewing families. What is taking me so long is a huge learning curve with “style sheets” in Adobe InDesign. In a moment of insanity, I decided it would be a great idea to “pretty-up” HO. Make it not look like “something created by an amateur designer on a home computer.” (Even though it is.) What I failed to consider is the fact that I will now have to go back and change all the existing HO courses to now match this new design. (I have a bad habit of making more work for myself. Apparently, I don’t think I have enough to do.)

So I had Michelle from Michelle M White Designs create me a new layout using InDesign style sheets. She created what I think is a lovely and not too school-like design (see below). All I have to do is simply place the text into the design. Yeah right! Simple for someone who knows what they are doing, maybe. After three weeks I am only on lesson 32 of 99 and still have all the maps and worksheets to do. Michelle graciously offered to do this for me, reminding me that she could have it done in just a couple of days (rub it in, Michelle). But I need to LEARN this stuff. With every new project, I try to learn at least one new skill. This is how homeschool publishers stay in business: Doing as much as they can themselves. So as I struggle through this update, I am learning new skills that will save Pandia Press (and ultimately you, the customer) lots of money now and in the future. I hope you like the new design.   

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Thank you to all the RSO users who purchased a Chemistry slightly damaged book. We sold out much faster than I had anticipated we would. Half our total inventory of chemistry books in just 2 ½ weeks!

We are now sold out of damaged books. (A few lucky people even got undamaged books because we didn’t stop the sale before a few extra orders slipped in.) I am sorry for those who missed out on this opportunity, but I think you will understand when I say I hope there is NOT another opportunity in the future!

Print versions of our Chemistry books can no longer be ordered directly through Pandia Press, but they can be order through our vendors. Some vendors that carry the RSO series have not placed an order for the Chemistry book yet. But I am sure if you request it, they will.

eBooks of the RSO series can be ordered through Pandia Press at http://www.pandiapress.com/ebooks.html .

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Thanks to our lovely postal services* here in these United States, Pandia Press has many damaged R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey books for sale at wholesale prices. We have cases of RSO Chemistry bound edition, and a few RSO Life bound and RSO Earth & Space bound that have been damaged during delivery. You can purchase these books directly from Pandia Press. See Damaged Science Book Sale page.

* Did you know that USPS is probably the only company that does not have to do the job you pay them for? Unless you pay EXTRA in the form of insurance, doing their job is completely optional. They can destroy your package—crush it, set it afire, run it over with their fleet of jeeps, steal it, lose it, or (as in my case) drop it from a height of 15 feet—and they are not in anyway responsible! You can’t even get a refund on the shipping cost, much less the value of the items. Can you imagine running your business that way?

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RSO Chemistry (level one) eBook is now available. I know RSO users have been waiting a LONG time for this one. (It was pretty cool when someone purchased one simultaneously as it was being uploaded to the site.) I really think it is worth the wait. It is for a slightly older age group than the other two RSO books. Chemistry is intended for 2nd to 5th grade. But I think it could be useful to older kids as well (I certainly learned a whole lot about chemistry just editing the book).

Chemistry is the one science that most school systems wait until high school to teach. But Blair Lee, the writer, does an amazing job of taking abstract concepts and microscopic material and turning it into something tangible, conceptual, and fun. A great portion of the book is devoted to the periodic table. Students spend several weeks learning their way around the table, studying the most common elements, and creating their own periodic tables. Right from the beginning we knew we wanted to include this in the course. Most elementary chemistry books (the few that are even available) shy away from the table, as if it is just too confusing for kids this young to grasp. What happens then is students are often intimidated when they first encounter a periodic table in high school or college. RSO students will not fear the table! That you can count on! Actually, the way Blair explains it, they may even love the table. I do! I even bought a T-shirt with the periodic table from my daughter’s favorite store, Delia’s.

Do you realize that everything (from you to planets to mice to sky scrapers) is made of some combination of the 118 elements on this table! Isn’t that amazing? I also find it completely mind-blowing that everything is made from atoms and that all atoms are made from the same three things–protons, electrons, and neutrons. And the only difference between the make up a mountain and a cat is the number of protons, neutrons, and electrons!  Just think about that one for a minute. That’s the kind of amazing stuff your kids will learn with Chemistry (one). How could you possibly wait until high school to teach them that?!

Print editions of RSO Chemistry (one) are on their way. They will be available from our vendors on March 30th.
  

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I finally received an email back from someone at Kingfisher. It’s from an editorial assistant. I don’t beleive she is a decision-maker, but it was great to hear from someone. And she does seem to actually care:

Dear Kathleen,
    Thank you very much for your email regarding the status of Kingfisher History Encyclopedia. Unfortunately, I am unable to give you a definite answer regarding whether the book is going out of print of not. This is because the matter has not been decided, but will be by the end of February.
     I’m sorry to keep you waiting for an answer, but please be assured that as soon as a decision is made, then I shall email you to let you know. The book is currently available on Amazon if you did want to purchase some more.
     Many thanks, and apologies once more the delay.
Lizzie Yeates

Lizzie Yeates
Editorial Assistant
Kingfisher
The Macmillan Building
4 Crinan Street
London N1 9XW

She is correct about Amazon having Kingfisher. Last week Amazon reported they only had 2 Kingfishers left in stock (which I purchased) and then the very next day they were fully stocked again–hmmmmm. And this is a book that even the publisher doesn’t have in stock (naughty, naughty Amazon).

So I guess we will have to wait until maybe March to hear the news. Meanwhile, on I write….

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Thanks to all who have emailed me giving support to continue writing Modern Times (level two). Yes, I will continue! But I won’t be publishing a print edition (only the eBook) until I am sure Kingfisher History Encyclopedia is back. And there is good news on that front—the Kingfisher line has been bought by MacMillan. This just happened. Last week the Kingfisher page was on the Houghton Mifflin site, now it’s moved to MacMillan. AND they have KFH history listed as “on backorder” not “out of print.” While this doesn’t mean they are going to print more, it certainly provides a ray of hope. I have emailed MacMillan and even this guy. His name is Angus (I love that name) Killick and he is the new associate publisher of Kingfisher effective 5 days ago. He will be in charge of all U.S. publishing of Kingfisher titles. I emailed his facebook (only email address I could find) but if I get a better email address for him, I will post it. I encourage others to email MacMillan and request they consider republishing KFH. Let them know how much it means to you. When I get a good email for Angus Killick, you can email him too. Maybe we can pressure them into it!

But for now I will get on with the eBook edition of MT2. I can even feel the wind coming back into my sails. I am working on one of the last lesson that deals with the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. This has been an interesting and challenging lesson to write. It is not only history (going back to ancient times and the Diaspora, and more recently back to WW II when Britain turned the issue of Palestine control over to the U.N. and they partitioned Palestine into two states: one Jewish, one Arab), but it is also a current event that makes the news every week. We don’t have the advantage of time to effectively analyze this event. I am considering having students debate the issue from one side. Creating a great opportunity to introduce debating techniques. Or analyzing the event as a current event. Or maybe just make a point-counterpoint argument where I’ll provide the points and the student provides the counterpoints.

The family is doing just fine. We have had GREAT 70° weather. (That is a stab to all my friends and family who have been freezing up north, including my brother who works at his desk with a heating pad on his back!) So we have been outside a lot, practicing unschooling and “living in the moment” as I call it when we don’t get our school work done. I am taking Charlie (7) to The Magic Kingdom on his birthday this weekend because you can now get in free on your birthday and we have to take advantage of all these opportunities. Sarah got her photo shoot pictures back. They are beautiful but it is a little shocking to see bikini pictures of your 15 year old! She is also busy entering drassage horse riding shows. Chris got a new computer for Christmas has been attached to it since. Charlie recently rehabbed a bunny back to health. Gracie is, well, Gracie. All I can say is that it’s a good thing for her that she is so cute.

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Kingfisher History is out of print! I’ve known this for awhile, but I’ve been in denial, or a state of wishful thinking. One of my vendors called me many weeks ago and told me she could not get any more copies. Well, I thought, that happens sometimes. Quite often when a publisher is going to reprint a book or make other changes, the book will be temporarily unavailable. Even when I checked online and saw OOP mentioned on several sites, I still thought little of it. Surely that just meant this edition is OOP, but soon there will be news of the new edition. Kingfisher does get updated about every 4 years. So I tucked it away and continued working on Modern Times 2. I even commissioned the cover from the fabulous Jana Rade at Impact Studios. 

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Well now it’s time to take the blinders off and wake up! KINGFISHER IS OUT OF PRINT! Holy cow! Holy, holy cow! This is huge for our History Odyssey line. I read SWB’s post about having to rewrite a few entries in the new edition of The Well-Trained Mind because of the KFH mess. If only it were that simple for Pandia Press! A few entries—I’d take that and be thankful! For me it means the possibility of rewriting (completely rewriting) 4 courses! That’s four full years of curriculum affected. I always knew when I started HO, that the format made the course dependent upon other publishers and the availability of other books. I took on this risk willingly, thinking I could always make adjustments in rewrites. And in fact we have experienced some disappointments with books going out of print. Most recently was The Usborne Internet-Linked Viking World. I had to offer web links as research alternatives since there is not a good middle-school level replacement for this book. And it appears that Ancient Egyptians and Their Neighbors may be out of print or just on hold, not sure yet. But all of these we have taken in stride and although they caused a few extra days of work, it’s nothing I couldn’t handle. Until now.

HO level 2 is dependent on KFH. And to continue publishing it is akin to manufacturing canoes when no one is selling paddles. I’m not saying uncle yet, but I am seriously considering the options, and there aren’t too many—continue publishing the book and pull from the customer base of those who either already own the book or can get a hold of a copy from used-book sellers, rewrite the courses, or let it go.

I am about three lessons and half a dozen maps away from completing Modern Times 2. I am torn whether I should finish it or not. And I was looking forward to writing teacher guides for level 2. I am considering finishing MT 2 (since I am almost done anyway) and making it available as an eBook only. I would like to wait a few months and see what happens with KFH before making any decision on the series. I am hearing conflicting reports that perhaps Houghton Mifflin sold the Kingfisher line, which would be fabulous since HM appears to have totally screwed-up their financials.  

I just can’t fully believe at this time that KFH won’t come back in some form or another. It is too popular a book. Honestly, I don’t know a homeschooler that doesn’t have a copy. I am anxious to hear customer opinions on this. Perhaps I’ll run a poll soon. In the meantime, print copies of level 2 are still available (I have LOTS of copies still) from our vendors and of course the eBooks are still around.

Ah, time to think of something else, this is very depressing. I’m off to make carrot cake for Pete’s birthday. Cake—the cure for just about everything! 

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Sorry I haven’t posted lately. 5 months since my last post! That’s really bad.

Pandia Press Update - Chemistry (1) is finished! Well, almost, it’s finished as far as the writer and myself are concerned. It is in the hands of the editor. And then the printer. It is scheduled to be ready in March (the eBook hopefully in Feb). It is an extraordinary book! It turned out so much better than I envisioned. I know you will LOVE it! You can view a sample online now at www.pandiapress.com . (Part of the Try It Before You Buy It offer.)

Speaking of which, you can now try out all Pandia Press courses before you buy. The first several lessons of each course are available as eBooks at Pandia Press. Hopefully this will answer a lot of questions. It seems the sample lessons that we had online were just not enough. So now you can go ahead and start a course. If it works, great! Just purchase the rest.

Modern Times (2) is almost done. I have several families reviewing the course. I plan to have it available in March as well. (The eBook may be sooner.) After that, I will focus on writing the very much requested Teacher Guides for level 2. The teacher guides will contain tests, suggested answers, and much more. I think they will be a nice addition (although not completely necessary) to the level 2 books.

Let’s see, what else… Oh! R.E.A.L. Science is now called R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey (RSO) to further delineate from similar-sounding courses. (That’s all I will say about that, although I wish I could say more.) And I have a writer for a high school American history course.

Physics (1) and Biology (2) are well under way. So is an art history course. And I am currently reviewing several submissions for a literature-based language arts program. Hopefully I will secure a writer for that soon.

The Desmarais Family - Still “victims” of the current economy and our new house is on perpetual hold. Small amounts of tinkering going on but nothing substantial.  http://desmaraishouse.blogspot.com/

My oldest daughter has the fashion bug. This is something that both thrills me and saddens me. Sarah is a smart girl. She is an extraordinary writer and can read classic literature like it’s Dr. Seuss. But she wants nothing to do with academics. (Confession time here. Yes, the daughter of a classical education Mom is not academic, (sigh) you can only lead a horse to water.) She wants to be a fashion designer, and a runway model! This has been her dream since she was 5. So, finally I conceded. And it turns out she just might be successful at it. The model agencies were very smitten with her and she had her first photo shoot last weekend. Here is my picture of her, I will post some professional ones when we get them.

I am really happy about one aspect of this though. Sarah has a level of confidence that I could only dream of having at 15. Like her, I was tall at a young age (started at 5′8″ and was 5′10″ before high school was over). I was HORRIFIED by my height in school. It was not a good thing to be taller than most all my classmates, especially the boys. It is the reason I still struggle with poor posture, the product of 4 years trying to look shorter than I was. But because Sarah is homeschooled, she has never had to feel that negativity. And since she is wanting to be model, she was THRILLED when she finally reached 5′8″ and her shoe size jumped to 9!

Another unexpected benefit of homeschooling!

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We start school tomorrow in my house. This is my favorite time of the school year! the beginning. I get all excited gathering materials (especially art materials–I love new paints, markers, pencils, crisp white paper). The anticipation of the school year really gets me gitty. I have all the school books neatly stacked with the spines still stiff and new schedules posted on the fridge. I think about all we are going to learn, all the neat field trips we will take, my darlings sitting around the table filling their minds with great things. (Hey, a Mom can dream.) Ahhh! I take a moment to enjoy it…….

Because I know in about 4 days it will be all out the window–pencils broken, marker set down to three, can’t find the scissors, can’t find my math book, I really hate this writing course, this schedule is not working for me, do I really have to read this? And we will settle down into something more realistic. But it’s all good. It rarely goes the way I plan it but my kids always end up learning and have a great time.

This year we will be taking a trip up the east coast to visit Williamsburg, Washington DC, Gettysburg, Philadelphia, Lancaster CO., and NYC. I have been planning this trip for two years to coincide with our study of early American history. I remember taking this trip myself when I was a kid and really enjoying it. What a great opportunity we homeschoolers have to experience history this way. It’s not just about text books, but really seeing where it all happened. I am especially looking forward to the reenactments at Williamsburg.

We just finished our last science co-op class today! That has been great fun. Our group dwindled a bit from about 12 families down to 6 core families. The smaller group has been much better. (I highly recommend it.) Today we ended with making the Plant Parts Salad and had a pizza and pool party to celebrate.

With Pandia Press, I am still hard at work formatting Chemistry (1) and writing Modern Times (2). With MT2 I have recently spent weeks trying to write a series of lessons about socialism, communism, fascism, and Animal Farm. OMG - try doing an internet search for socialism or communism. It’s really difficult to find straightforward, unbiased, history information. You end up getting sites like Marxist teens, communists unite, score with the socialists.(OK, I made all of those up, but it was something like that.) Wow! I didn’t realize how many groups out there actually think Karl Marx and Lenin had a good idea that could work here in America. I guess they have never heard of Stalin or China. So now you know how I feel about it, I’m a Capitalist girl. But I try very hard not to let that show in the course. I actually think communism is a good idea on very small scale. I mean, I would love to live with a group of families, sharing resources, community garden, watching my kids for me, sharing chores, everybody equal, sharing property rights, nobody getting ahead . . . wait, how would that work? Maybe it’s not a good idea AT ALL.

I’ll let you all know how our first few weeks of school, our trip, and the communists turn out.

Kathleen

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I’ve been putting off this post. You see, I don’t like being late. Okay, that’s an understatement. In fact it is my biggest pet peeve–running late and waiting on others who are late. When I was in college, I would rather have skipped a class than show up late. I once broke up with a great guy simply because he couldn’t ever seem to get anywhere on time and I knew that was something I couldn’t live with. I don’t go to drive-throughs when there are a lot of people in the car because I get anxious knowing the person on the other end is waiting for us to get our order together. So now with great anguish I have to say– I am running late. Middle Ages (3) and Modern Times (2) will not be published this year–there I said it, uuggg! They say you are suppose to feel better when you can admit the truth, but I don’t feel better at all. I know there are many who are waiting on these courses, many who have planned their next school year to include these courses. I am really sorry to disappoint those people.

So what happened? Well, several things. But mostly I just took on too much (maybe you can relate?) I am trying to get out all the eBooks by the end of summer. Each eBook is taking about 50 hours to format. So that’s 11 courses x 50 = 550 hours staring at a computer screen. At one point, somewhere between Ancients (2) and Ancients (3), my left hand became stiff and numb and I couldn’t type for a week. Also I have been very busy formatting Chemistry (1). The great writer of Chem 1 has finished in record speed and now it’s up to me to get it published. There has been such a huge demand for chem 1 that I have put it on a fast track. Then there is the fam. My eldest is starting high school this coming year and it would not be an exaggeration to say that I am terrified. And when I get worried, I plan. So we have her courses carefully laid out, a notebook compiled that would impress any college board, and every hour scheduled. (Luckily for me, my daughter enjoys this level of structure and is actually looking forward to being graded for the first time). At the other end of the spectrum, is my 1 1/2 y.o. If you have read my posts before, you know what she is like. Never before have I met a child who can scale kitchen cabinets and will push around furniture, stack it up, and reach whatever I was sure was out of reach. Then there are the two boys in the middle who I feel never get enough attention, what with their sisters hogging it all. Then there’s our house on the market, not selling but still needing to be “show clean” all the time, husband taking jobs out of state, –you get the point. I’m too busy, just like many home schooling moms.

So I am moving the release date for MT (2) to 2009, hopefully early 2009. I don’t have a date for EM (3). But the good news is, Chem (1) and Physics (1) and maybe even Life (2) are also scheduled for 2009. So just because there hasn’t been anything brand new coming out of Pandia Press for awhile, please know that I am working, probably harder than I ever have.

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After hearing so much positive feedback from the many groups around the country (and in Canada and New Zealand) who are using R.E.A.L. Science with a co-op group, I decided to give it a shot myself. My son, Charlie (7), wanted to learn with some friends, so I put out an email to one of the homeschool groups we belong to, thinking I would get a few kids to come over once a week for science. Wow! Nearly everyone was interested! Our group now consists of 15 kids who meet every Monday. Our first class day was a rainy one, so all the kids, their Moms, and their siblings piled into my very small living room. It turned out to be great fun and I was so impressed by how well the kids listened and absorbed the information. At first I was “teaching” all of the classes at my house, but recently we started rotating houses and some of the Moms have taught a class. What a great experience this has been. We will be finishing up Life (1) in August and plan to start Earth and Space next.

I found that the class took some planning at first but now runs quite smoothly. I collected a supply fee for each child. I pull from the supply envelope to purchase for each class. Parents also purchased an Extra Student Pages pack for each child at cost (well, there is some advantage to co-oping with the publisher) and some purchased the whole book or already had the book. We mostly meet outside and will continue to as long as the weather is nice (in Florida that means below 90 degrees and the air isn’t as thick as peanut butter).

The pictures below are of some of the kids doing a plot study. We broke into groups with each group having four stakes, string, a mallet, and a parent supervisor. These two groups went right down to the waters-edge (no fear of alligators here) and found things like water plants and little fish for their plot studies.

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I know it’s been awhile since I last posted. But while it’s been quiet here, it’s been crazy everywhere else for Pandia Press. So much to tell…

As you know, I have been on a quest to get more science books written. Well in my zeal, I secured not one, but two science writers! I can’t say enough about these two great ladies. They not only have the background, time, and strong desire to write the courses, they have firsthand experience with homeschooling and the talent to capture your children’s attention and make science fun. The courses that are being produced are exceeding all of my high expectations. These will be far from fluff courses. Serious, core science topics are taught and presented in a way that even the most science-phobic Mom will look like she knows it all! In the works are chemistry, physics, and biology. (Go ahead, dance around the room, I’ll wait.) Awesome isn’t it? That’s all the info I can give right now. No release dates yet but I promise that as soon as I know, you will know. It’s always been a feast or famine situation with REAL Science, and now it appears dinner is served!

In between writer contract negotiations, I have managed to release the first three Pandia Press eBooks. History Odyssey Ancients 1, Ancients 2, and REAL Science Life are now available as eBooks directly from Pandia Press. The history eBooks have been very popular, the science a little slower but it was just added. I am curious to hear customer feedback about how they use their eBooks and which courses are conducive to this format. Next to be released will be Ancients 3 and Earth and Space.

And in between writers and eBooks, I have stolen a minute or two to work on Modern Times 2. I love this time period! The amount of information for good writing assignments is overwhelming. My challenge has been to limit the course to being only a year long and it not taking the rest of your child’s life to complete! I have decided to add a year-long assignment to the course–writing a research paper. This will be a big assignment but there are plenty of instructions, reminders, and help along the way. I want 8th graders to be able to have these writing skills under their belts in preparation for thesis papers in high school and college. I think this course will provide that in a way that is nonthreatening and hopefully enjoyable. I am working my way through Around the World in Eighty Days. This classic by Jules Verne will provide a great overview of Modern Times and world geography. Students will follow along with Phileas Fogg and Passeportout as they circumnavigate the globe by train, boat, and even elephant! What a fun way to learn about different cultures and geography.

I’ll spare you all the personal drama and home-life updates. But they have been happening too. I love my crazy life! It is an honor to be able to provide home school materials to the most fabulous families on the planet and to be able to stay at home with my own fabulous family. “I would stand in line for this!” –Kathleen

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Thanks to all of you who participated in my eBook poll. There was enough interest that it looks like I will be going ahead with eBooks. In fact Ancients 1 is almost ready. It has been tedious work getting the guide ready for an eBook. A lot more work than I had anticipated — hyperlinking each and every book title to Amazon and adding check boxes and fillable forms. But I think it will be really worth it. I wish I had the eBook version when I taught A1 to my kids!

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Lately, it has been getting harder and harder to juggle my time between family and business. Some days I am so scattered I don’t think I accomplish a thing. My time is so stretched between kids, business, and housekeeping that it seems like none of it gets done. And now our house is on the market so it has to be kept clean ALL THE TIME! Ugh! I think my kids are out to get me sometimes (paranoia is setting in). Every time I try to get on the computer the baby crawls onto my lab. She has even learned sabotage! She reaches up under my desk and hits the keys on my keyboard. (So if you ever see “#i&m?987nu” in one of my posts, you know how it happened.) The older kids sneak out of the house when they know my attention is on the computer and I find myself yelling a lot lately. “If I have to say ‘no’ to you more than once, it wastes my time. I only have time to say ‘no’ once!” I actually said that to my son the other day. I am not even sure what I meant by that.

It’s just that it’s hard for me to focus on more than one thing at a time. I can’t think and talk (or yell as the case may be) at the same time. When I sit down at the computer, I need to be able to stay there for at least an hour. Shoot, it takes me 15 minutes just to open programs and figure out where I left off. But it seems like these days my computer time comes in short spurts–5 mins. here, 15 mins. there. The start-stop of my day is the most frustrating part. I envy my husband. He works very hard all day long but he gets to experience the joy of task completion!

But when I take a deep breath and focus on priorities, I realize that the kids are my most important job. I really need to be there, at the table, when they doing there school work. I need to sit down with my baby on the floor and PLAY with her. It’s not enough to just be in the house with my kids and keep them safe. So lately I have been staying up to the wee hours of the morning to get work done and spending my days focused on the kids. At least that has been my goal each day. But the long hours wear on you and you walk around like a zombie from the sleep deprivation and do things like put dinner in the oven but forget to turn it on.

This is the challenge of home schooling when you have a home business. There is no time when you get to solely focus on one thing for any decent amount of time. You have to be willing and able to multi-task and deal with multiple interruptions. I am going to be examining this problem of juggling HS and HB more in depth. Many of the old strategies that use to work for me no longer seem to be helping. As working / home schooling moms we must be able to adapt to every new situation. For me it has been the addition of another child who has a particularity strong curiosity and little awareness of danger (and climbs like a monkey) and changes in our home situation (building a new house and selling the current one). Any seemingly small change can create havic and send you back to drawing board trying to figure it all out again.

I will be posting my journey through this temporary chaotic situation (and I am sure it is temporary), sharing any new strategies I employ. I welcome others to post how they handle (or struggle to handle) juggling HS and HB. Maybe we can learn from each other.

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