My name is Nolwenn Madden, and I am the Executive Director of The International History Bee and Bowl. IHBB is an organization that runs history quiz tournaments for primary and secondary school students throughout the world in over 20 countries; see www.ihbbglobal.com for our international homepage. Homeschoolers are welcome to compete in our tournaments. They can compete in teams from their homeschool association or on their own.

Our questions draw on both historical knowledge and critical thinking skills, and students use a buzzer system to answer them, so it’s almost a bit like being on a TV quiz show. The Bee is for individual students, while the Bowl is for teams of up to six students.

This month, IHBB will be holding tournaments in New Zealand for the first time. Our Christchurch and Hamilton tournaments will take place on 13 September, while our Auckland and Wellington tournaments will be held on 14 September. The top 50% of teams and individual students will then get the chance to represent New Zealand at the inaugural International History Olympiad, which will take place in the USA in July 2015 (see historyolympiad.com for more).

You can find more information, including sample quiz questions, game rules, a study guide and more about the International History Bee and Bowl on our New Zealand homepage at www.ihbbnewzealand.com. I can also put you in touch with some of the attending homeschoolers from our past tournaments in other countries if you would be interested to hear their thoughts. If you are ready to register officially, please just visit: http://ihbbnewzealand.com/register/regionals-registration/

Please let me know if your kids are interested or if you have any questions. Thanks for your time, and I hope that you will be interested in this new opportunity for your homeschoolers.

Sincerely yours,

Nolwenn Madden

International History Bee and Bowl

Executive Director
+1 201 951 1956

nolwenn@historybowl.com

www.ihbbglobal.com

Kick off your school year with HSLDA’s 13th annual essay contest! Offering cash prizes upwards of $200, this contest is open to all homeschooled students ages 7–19 and runs through November 1, 2014. Our themes for this year’s contest focus on inventions.

View Contest Info & Guidelines

Our world has been shaped by the inventions of the past, with inventors improving and building on the ideas of previous generations. Every item we use—from the toothbrush to the smartphone—was invented by someone using his or her God-given creativity and intellect to do something!

Category 1 (ages 7–10): God has given humanity great creativity, and so many amazing things have already been invented. But there is still so much room for ingenuity! If you were to invent something that has not yet been invented, what would it be, what would it do, and why would you choose to invent it?

Category 2 (ages 11–14): Let’s say you are stranded on a desert island, alone, where there is no electricity, no cell tower signal, nor any other sign of civilization. You have a stockpile of food and help is on its way—in a couple months—but in the meantime you must survive. What three existing inventions would you want to find washed up on the shore of the island with you and why?

Category 3 (ages 15–19): Though created with good intentions, to do something good, some inventions have had unintended negative consequences. They’ve solved one problem but created other problems—sometimes worse than the first. Choose one such invention and discuss its positive and negative impacts. Be sure to address whether or not the benefits from the invention outweigh its negative impact.

Each student is invited to enter up to two essays relating to the theme for his or her age category.

To get a sense of what to look for or avoid when writing an essay, you can view the judges’ comments from previous contests or read the winning essays from previous years!

Guidelines and entry forms can be found on our website, as well as information about our other annual contests: art, poetry, and photo.

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From the Smiths:

Needing help for your home schooling journey:

https://hef.org.nz/2011/needing-help-for-your-home-schooling-journey-2/

And

Here are a couple of links to get you started home schooling:

Information on getting started: https://hef.org.nz/getting-started-2/

and

Information on getting an exemption: https://hef.org.nz/exemptions/

This link is motivational: https://hef.org.nz/2012/home-schooling-what-is-it-all-about/

Exemption Form online: https://hef.org.nz/2012/home-schooling-exemption-form-now-online/

Coming Events: https://hef.org.nz/2013/some-coming-events-for-home-education-during-2013-2/

Beneficiaries: https://hef.org.nz/2013/where-to-for-beneficiary-families-now-that-the-social-security-benefit-categories-and-work-focus-amendment-bill-has-passed-its-third-reading/