Tag: Summer Blogging contest
Aug
31
MORE Winners? Actually, just MORE finalists.
So, here we go again, just when I thought I was done trying to decide who the finalists are, I’m creating a new category. When I asked another blogger friend if it was ‘kosher’ to change things at the last minute, they answered with a question: “It’s your contest, isn’t it?”. Well, actually, I’d like to think that it’s really our reader’s contest. So, figuring that no one would complain about another chance to win a prize, I went forward on what I really wanted to do at the beginning of the contest and honor the newest blogs.
Initially, I encouraged anyone that didn’t have a blog to create one as a summer project, yet found that the newest blogs had the toughest time competing. It takes time to develop a blog . . . AND people you can call to comment, or vote, on your blog. So, I chose the best blogs under 6 months old. We’ll call it the Baby Blog Award, and the winner will receive the coveted prize from Problogger’s Darren Rouse, 31 Days to Build a Better Blog.
Here are the finalists for the Baby Blog Award:
And…don’t forget, the Reader’s Choice Award. Those can be voted on from all blog entries, and you can even win something for voting! Truly a ‘win-win’ situation . . . 
How To Vote:
Vote for your favorite by entering a comment at http://homeschoolent.com/2009/08/win-a-prize-by-helping-us-find-the-best-homeschool-blog/ When you comment, your name is put into a drawing for your choice of a book (under $10) from Benjamin’s Book Shoppe.
Aaaah… done for now.
Aug
29
How Blog Comments Can Be Your Best Friend
I realized after I had decided on the title for this post, that it could mean two things. Originally, I was implying that comments on your blog are always good. Especially when they manage to get your blog nominated as one of the finalists in our blog contest. It was then that I saw the other meaning that could be attributed to the title, how comments could be coming from your best friends.
Whether it’s your best friends that are commenting on your blog, or the comments in general on your blog are helping your blog along, if you are managing to get comments you know you’ve got fans.
When I posted the finalists, I mentioned that one of my criteria for choosing a finalist was our reader’s comments. Blogs are meant to be interactive, in fact, I believe it was blogging that truly started the social networking revolution. (sorry, MySpace). I also wanted help deciding on who to pick….
Since the essence of a good blog is truly having a fan base of some sort, what happened soon after that particular post went public is something I think you’ll find interesting. In the next 8 hours (the comments were closed as of midnight Friday and I posted it late Friday afternoon) I received a pile of new comments on, you guessed it, who we should include in the finalists! Good job. Aren’t friends wonderful?
As a result, I decided to add one more entry to the the finalists. . . Katie’s Homeschool Cottage. Well, Katie, a famous singer from the 70′s said it best; You’ve Got a Friend. Actually, you’ve got quite a few. (Any baby boomers out there guess the singer?
Aug
28
Summer Blog Contest Finalists! Finally…
Let me warn you ahead of time if you’re thinking of running a contest like this . . .
the toughest part is trying to choose who wins! I mean it’s really, really hard! I’m so grateful that Darren Rowse has agreed to choose the final winner, because I would NOT be able to. It was hard enough to decide on the finalists. There were so many good entries, that many more deserve a winning badge than we can award.
So how did we decide? First, I took into consideration the comments of those that so graciously took the time to make a comment. So, for those of you that didn’t find a friend or relative to comment on your blog . . . “your bad”! We also looked at the quality of content, and depth of blog. Those that blog seriously know the time a good post takes to create, and we all know those ‘just need to throw something up for now’ posts, too. Understanding that all posts can’t have literary award written on them, quality still trumps quantity.
However, consistency in posting is important, too, as well as visual appeal. So with all that taken into consideration . . . everyone wins! Oh, can’t do that, can I? Well, our selection process really had no rhyme or reason, so please don’t be discouraged if you didn’t make the final round. You are probably one of those that was so close, it was only the extra comment that pushed another blog in front of yours.
With all that said, here are the 3 finalists in each category we’ll be submitting to ProBlogger Darren Rowse for final evaluation:
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YOUTH BLOGS:
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HOMESCHOOL BLOGS:
Confessions of an Organized Homeschool Mom
Katie’s Homeschool Cottage (by popular demand)
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MOM BLOGS:
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MOMPRENEUR BLOGS:
Network From Home, Homeschoolers Creating Success
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. . . and our newest category:
BABY BLOGS (blogs under 6 months old)
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Don’t forget our READER’S CHOICE AWARD – all entered blogs listed at are eligible, and all votes are put into a hat (really!) for a drawing for a free book from Benjamin’s Book Shop. Benjamin (pictured) will do the drawing. Vote by clicking here and commenting.
Please keep in mind that this was really hard, because there were so many excellent blogs to choose from, so keep at it! Blogs are a labor of love, and never really finished. We would like to put all these into some sort of directory for homeschoolers to refer to…keep posted!
Thanks for entering!
So… does anyone have any thoughts on how I could have done this contest any differently? I would love to hear suggestions, opinions, etc!
Aug
22
Win a Prize By Helping Us Find The Best Homeschool Blog!
Vote for the Reader’s Choice Award by commenting and telling us your favorite blog from those listed. One comment per person, please. All comments on our Summer Blogging Contest entries will be entered in a drawing for a free book of your choosing from Benjamin’s Books*!
We’d like to invite everyone to take a look at all the *verified* blogs in our contest and comment on which one you like the best and why. Your comment will be entered into a drawing for a free book, and there are lots of great homeschool books to choose from!
You’ll also be supporting other homeschooling entrepreneurs by visiting their blogs and hopefully leaving a comment or two.
It’s always good to be encouraging, but we are all learning, so sometimes a constructive suggestion (in love. . .) is very helpful too. Most of you out there have a blog or website, so you know how valuable comments can be, so do unto others as you would do for yourself and go blog-browsing!
If you entered and don’t see your blog here, it’s because the url given didn’t work for one reason or another.
Always be sure your contact information is easily found on your blog or website. I did try to contact all entries with broken links.
Here’s a brief summary of each blog: (We tried to include your button if you had one)
Blogs by Youth (under 18)
Gardening For My Family – a fairly new blog by a godly young lady that shows great talent in the blogging world! Focused on her subject, she’s very personable on her blog, includes lots of pictures, and has a well organized, clean format. You will be envious of this garden she has created!
Got Freckles? – a bright and friendly personal blog, Laney has a way of communicating her cheerful disposition in her blog. Organized with plenty of great pictures, she’s been posting regularly since January 2009.
Sweet Tea (Jesus) and Me – a budding graphic artist, she communicates her love for God and her family through her artistic abilities. Another very talented teen, she has her own graphics business, and by looking at the examples on her blog, should do quite well!
Booklover5, My Life Stories – are both done by an ambitious young lady that maintains two blogs! As the titles of the blogs suggest, she’s shared her life stories and love of books through blogging. Bright and colorful, she is off to a great start. As the fifth of eleven siblings, she has a lot to talk about.
Dreamers Hollow – a personal blog with lots of pictures. (I need your contact info! Maybe I missed it, but I have no way of contacting you if you win!)
PLEASE READ! We had several other entries that either had given incorrect domain info or had server problems. If you entered your blog and don’t see it here, please email us no later than Monday, August 24 with updated info. We don’t want anyone to miss out.
Homeschool Blogs
A Day in the Life – is done by a homeschool mom of four and contains; “views of our life, reviews of homeschool curriculum, book reviews, and helpful hints for homeschooling“. She even has a monthly menu planning section!
Apples and Jammies – A source for educational theme unit ideas and activities designed for homeschooling. Full of homeschool ideas, with lots of pictures! She’s been posting regularly since Jan 2009, and you’ll find ideas for lapbooks, arts and crafts, and unit studies.
Confessions of an Organized Homeschool Mom – in her own words: “Homeschool, homeschool, and more homeschool. I’ve got organizational tips and curricula/product reviews to help make your homeschooling cruise more manageable. I’m also a freelance editor and writer.” You will find lots of great ideas, tips and encouragement here! Very well done, and might I say, organized?
From Tiny To Teen – by a has a wide variety of experience in the homeschool arena, from tiny tots to teens to special needs. Recipes, fun stuff and contests, has been posting since July 2008.
Joyful and Successful Homeschooling – sooo much great information on this homeschooling blog, there is no doubt that she lives what she writes!
Homeschool Hangout Zone – is a good example of what I call an ‘edu-blog’. Don’t be deceived by the homepage, it’s really just the table of contents. Each category you click brings you to an entirely separate blog on that subject. A mighty undertaking, indeed! Look forward to seeing how this grows.
Katie’s Homeschool Cottage – a homeschool blog with reviews of new products, and sharing creative ideas to homeschool the Charlotte Mason way.
Mom Blogs (moms, if you would rather be in a different category, let me know by Monday, 8-24)
All You Have To Give – a feast for the eyes, this talented graphic designer will inspire you with her love of the Lord in ALL of her work. Her blog is more of a devotional, a sharing of her heart, so I hope I put it in the right place.
For Such a Time as This – In her own words: “We are a homeschooling family who searches for ways to make money from home, save money, and share with others about our love for Jesus. I hope that in my blog posts, you find some source of encouragement and information that is useful for you to use as it was for us!”
Generation Cedar – with only 8 children, a website, a blog and a business, she makes herbal products and writes e-books. . . I say she has some wisdom to share!
His Way Homemaking - is a fairly new blog with good beginnings. With a gentle and feminine approach, she’s included a bookstore and a store of carefully selected items she thinks you will enjoy.
Home Fires – The posts on this blog are good for the soul, with some interesting ideas and thought-provoking quotes.
Well Read Kids – This is a new blog, and is off to a beautiful start. She seems to have caught the social aspect of blogging already! She’s already won ‘A Lovely Blog’ Award!
Just added: From The Mango Tree – an inspirational blog from a mom willing to share her heart in a blog. It’s fairly new, but off to a great start! One more inspirational blog entry and we’ll need to start a new category! Thanks!
Mompreneur Blogs
Best of Both Worlds at Home - is a newer blog by a work at home virtual assistant (take note, moms, help is here!) . She was told that is would be too hard to homeschool and work at home, and while it’s not easy, she’s blogging to help other moms achieve it too.
Network From Home – is the blog by Pat Fenner that she recently moved from TypePad, and she’s still unpacking it! It has lots of great info!
For Such a Time as This – In her own words: “We are a homeschooling family who searches for ways to make money from home, save money, and share with others about our love for Jesus. I hope that in my blog posts, you find some source of encouragement and information that is useful for you to use as it was for us!”
Working in My Jammies and Loving It! – is written by a mompreneur that is serious about her work and has been blogging at this one since 2007. She has several different ways to make money on her site, and it’s cheerful, active and definitely not boring!
Homeschooling WAHM – a homeschool mom that took a Virtual Assistant course and is going to share the business tools and tips along with how she incorporates homeschooling with it all! Look forward to those tools and tips!
The Homeschoolers Income Makeover – resources and how-tos for homeschool families to create an income at home.
Brand New (Baby) Blog Award:
And…don’t forget, voting for the Reader’s Choice Award puts your name into a drawing for a free book…so comment now! Comments accepted until midnight, 9-11-2009.
Winners will be announced in the newsletter set to be sent September 12th (at noon).
More From HomeschoolEntrepreneur
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Our mission is to help homeschool families create a home business for several reasons; Running a business in the home creates a natural learning environment for all ages, one that will benefit your child in so many ways* . . and the extra money comes in handy, too!
Look at this Homeschool Entrepreneur’s Business:
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