Typing has been one subject that I believe children need in these days of computerisation. Our children started typing about four years ago, and now they can both type competently – my fifteen year old son at 61.8 wpm with 100% accuracy, and my twelve year old daughter 61.6 wpm, also with 100% accuracy.

When we first started, we were using Typing Instructor Deluxe, and this was so much fun to use. There are games such as Cliffhanger, Gone Fishin’ and Diamond Glider. There are lessons, plans tests, voice typing and there is a place for saved results so that you can keep track of where your children are in respect to their typing skills. Typing Instructor also have a 30 minute FREE trial.

Next we used Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing Deluxe, and this was just as good, and there were also games with this product, such as Gumball Gambit, Chameleon Picnic and Undersea Karaoke among many others. There is a lesson area and a practice area, as well as a custom lesson designer. Improving accuracy is so important in typing and there is also an area looking at this. Mavis Beacon also has a FREE to try download (3-use trial).

When we started studying with Australian Christian College, the product that they recommend is Typequick Professional, and while it is excellent, there are no games with the product, and my daughter says, “It is boring, dull and there are better products on the market.” Regardless of what our children think, their skills quickly improved using this product, especially their accuracy – perhaps because they were concentrating on their typing rather than the games.

Our children have passed their typing for year 10 with Australian Christian College, but it is so important that they keep up their skills and daily practice is essential in order to achieve this. How important do you think typing is to your children’s education, and what product do you use?

This morning, my son and husband built a chook sitting cage, and sorted out all of the hens with the chickens. They cut a hole out of a 2.4 litre fruit juice bottle so that the water doesn’t get dirty so often, too. This bantam hen is sitting on large chook eggs, so that we can replenish our large hens – the bantam hens make such excellent Mums and are ever so protective.

My daughter and I have been reading Beautiful Girlhood by Mabel Hale. This book is a timeless guide to Christian adolescence, and we bought it from Koorong, although the link above will take you to the Timeless Truths Free Online Library, where it is available FREE through public domain.

Today is our first day back at school for the last term of the year, and although it was a slow start, (like Therese from Aussie Coffee Shop), our children are working well, now.

Our main ambition for this year has been helping our children to achieve their year 10 certificate through Australian Christian College, and this is finally looking like becoming a reality. Our long term goals are helping our children to achieve their year 12 certificate and enabling them to reach their full potential in the Lord.

What are you hoping to accomplish in the final term for 2009? What have your main aims and ambitions been for this year, and how many have you managed to achieve?

We have been so blessed by homeschooling that we would like to pass the blessing on to another needy homeschooling family, by giving away the ACE PACE Score Keys that we have finished with – all that you would need to pay would be the postage.

If you would like to take up this offer, please click here.

Other people that are hosting FREE giveaways at the moment are Jeanne from A Peaceful Day, so feel free to pop on over and see what she is giving away. Jeanne has a FREE book to give away each week for some lucky person.