The Old Schoolhouse Magazine November/December issue is out now. You won’t find it on the news stands, but you can access it on your pc or tablet for free. You can also purchase a yearly print subscription by visiting The Old Schoolhouse website. I’ve been pleased to have had to make the time to once again sit down and relax with this magazine. Each issue is filled with homeschooling wisdom from both experienced and novice homeschooling families. 
Each bi-monthly magazine has a theme it focuses on. The November-December 2013 issue theme is reading strategies. From letter recognition to phonics to ways to keep your child interested and going “from learning to read to reading to learn”. In addition to the theme of the issue, there are lots of other articles in this 176 page magazine.
This month you can learn about the history of your Thanksgiving and Christmas meal by Cathy Diez-Luckie. Pat Knepley teaches us about perspective in art. There’s even an article that made Phil sit up straight, “3D Modelling with Blender, Part 1” by Andy Harris. Ever since our recreation of a scene from Pie-Rits and an email from Julia Dweck, Phil and Tristan have been working on stop-motion videos and trying to make them 3D, so this article was timely.
In this issue there is also the offer of a free e-book, “Homespun Holidays, Fall and Winter” which is over 80 pages. I’ll be sending off an email to request my copy once I finish this blog post. It’ll be my little reward to browse through one evening when the children are asleep.
I like that The Old Schoolhouse Magazine has the same look and feel of a print magazine so I feel like I’m enjoying the guilty pleasure of a little ‘me’ time. Consume this magazine along with a cup of tea and a cookie, and you have a real break.
If you install The Old Schoolhouse Magazine app it’s so easy to access and it updates automatically with new issues. I’ve had the app for at least a year and have enjoyed the email reminders that a new issue has just been published.
Just like a print magazine, there are lots of advertisements but I have two views on this. First, the magazine is free, so I’m expecting there to be advertisements to help cover the costs of production. Secondly, the ads are focussed on homeschooling and especially when you are starting out you don’t know where to begin to look for curriculum and ideas. What better place to start than with the companies supporting a homeschooling magazine.
The table of contents are nicely presented with “From The Cover” first. Here you can find the page numbers of the featured articles mentioned on the magazine cover. Next is the Table of Contents where you can find all of the articles within the magazine listed by page. The Homeschool Faculty is where you will find photos of the people who bring this magazine to you every two months as well as columnists. It’s nice to have a face to put with the articles and have a little more background information about them and where else you can find them. Reader’s comments are found in the Teacher’s Lounge. I love this title!
Reviews by The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew are conveniently found in the TOS Lab. This is where you can read about homeschooling curriculum The Crew have tried and tested for you.
The Old Schoolhouse Magazine is a Christian-backed magazine, but if this angle doesn’t appeal to you it’s easy to skip over the articles that aren’t of interest to you.
This magazine is heavily USA-based in both the articles and the advertisements (though there are contributors from around the world). However, it can be interesting to read the articles and keep up on the homeschooling roads there and in other countries. Although I don’t live in the USA, what happens there may be an indicator of what may happen elsewhere in the future.
One aspect of homeschooling that I love is that we’re a part of a world-wide school system and we should know what’s happening around the world. Homeschooling is not common where we live now so it can sometimes feel a bit isolating. it’s nice to hear about what other families are doing, trying, and finding out about what works (and what doesn’t) and knowing we aren’t alone.
Everyone will find something interesting to read whether you’re considering homeschooling, are homeschooling, or have been on the homeschooling journey for years. From the early years to college prep, every age is covered within The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. 
