2008 March | Heart of the Matter

March 30, 2008 By The Amies Leave a Comment

Wow! We have received emails from almost 40 moms wanting to participate in the devotional study of Lies Homeschooling Moms Believe by Todd Wilson.

We are very excited about this new ministry and are delighted that so many of you want to join in.

We will be placing a bulk order for the books on Monday, April 7th. Please send us your money ($4.99 for the book + $3.00 for shipping) by Sunday April 6th. Please be advised that shipping outisde of the United States will be more than $3.00. Email us with your address so that we may calculate shipping for you. Click the button below to pay via PayPal. Please be sure to include your shipping address.

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March 30, 2008 By The Amies 1 Comment

We would like to wish our wonderful
Cheryl a very blessed birthday. Please stop by her blog at Homeschool Journey and leave her a birthday comment.

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March 28, 2008 By The Amies 8 Comments

Today, our meme will be based on what your thoughts are on the following quote:

“Clearly there is an appropriate kind of sheltering. When those who are opposed to homeschooling accuse me of sheltering my children, my reply is always, ‘What are you going to accuse me of next, feeding and clothing them?” ~R.C. Sproul Jr

Post your thoughts on your blog and then please come back here and link directly to your Heart of the Matter Online meme post.

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March 28, 2008 By The Amies Leave a Comment

We have 2 more incredible speakers to add to our line-up. Please welcome:

Linda Lacour Hobar, the author of the immensely popular Mystery of History. With 13 years of homeschooling three children, 17 years of ministry with Campus Crusade for Christ, and a sense of God’s calling on her life, Linda brings enthusiasm, experience, inspiration, and some fun to the pages of history.

Heather Paulsen, author of Emotional Purity: An Affair of the Heart, is committed to encouraging Christian singles to pursue emotional purity, and she enjoys mentoring and counseling young women. In 2003 she married her husband, John, and looks forward to homeschooling their two young children. Heather can also be found at her blog, also titled Emotional Purity.

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To pre-register, please click on this link (payment not required now). You will be directed to a simple form (see below) hosted by Google. It is important that you pre-register so that we can plan accordingly.

If you are a business and would like to have a virtual vendor’s booth then please email us at: homeschoolinghearts@gmail.com for further information.

Spread the word!!

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March 27, 2008 By Dana 2 Comments

Next Week, March 30 – April 5, I will be hosting Home Education Week on my blog Principled Discovery.

My desire is to bring the deserved appreciation to homeschooling, and would like to give all of you the opportunity to participate in Home Education Week.

Modeled after both that most popular of holidays honoring America’s favorite sandwich and Randi’s Back to Homeschool Week at the beginning of the school year, I have put together a few writing prompts so that each day of Home Education Week, we can share different aspects of this adventure we have all embarked upon. I will also share a real world activity each day to celebrate home education with your family should you feel so inclined.

And the topics:

Please consider the following as writing prompts, not assignments. The ideas I list aren’t meant to restrict the topic in any way, but only to offer a starting point. Feel free to participate in as many or as few of the prompts as you like! I’ll have a Mr. Linky thing set up with each of the posts to make it easier for everyone who chooses to participate to share their posts. Also, since I can easily write most of these posts ahead of time, I will likely set them to publish the night before around 9PM central time.

Looking Back Sunday, March 30

Share your personal history…before you were a home educator. What was life like? Think about things you miss and things you and your family have gained.

Profiling Home Educators Monday, March 31

Describe yourself, your family or one of your children. What is it like to be home educated in your family? What is “normal” for you?

April Fool’s! Tuesday, April 1

And we have likely all felt the fool in one way or another. Share your greatest challenge. Or one of those terrible, horrible no good, very bad days where the only thing there is to do seems to involve moving to Australia.

Recipe for Success Wednesday, April 2

It is also National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day! So share a recipe…figuratively, as in two parts love, one part creativity, or literally, as in a super quick, nutritious meal your kids scarf up. Think about what you do in the day, what helps keep it organized and you sane (or how you got past that need for organization and saneness!), and curriculum materials you find effective.

Show and Tell Thursday, April 3

Show off those talents. Share a story, a special moment, a piece of artwork. Any accomplishment, great or small, is fair game.

In Their Own Words Friday, April 4

Share your children’s home education experience in their own words. What have they said about their education? What are their likes and dislikes? Share some stories, some quotes, or turn your blog over to your children for the day.

Looking Forward Saturday, April 5

What are your goals for home education? What do you hope to instill in your children? Are you planning any changes to how you educate your children?

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March 27, 2008 By Tammy 6 Comments

We have a seasonal neighbor who recently stopped over after checking his place a few houses down from us. He had made the long trip on a sunny sky day to see how his house had wintered so far. As he was leaving, he remembered that he had something in the back of his truck for our family as a thank you for keeping an eye on his place. We’ve often been blessed by vegetables in the summer through early fall by this neighbor as he lives and works in a farming community. This day was no exception. Two fifty pound bags of potatoes needed to find a place in our pantry!As I was pulling potatoes out of the bag on Easter Sunday to make a big batch of mashed potatoes, I laughed out loud! What an extreme variety of sizes and shapes in the bag. Huge potatoes, tiny potatoes, misshapen potatoes, green tinged potatoes, bumpy potatoes. And even some normal potatoes, however I found that was an illusion because after peeling and cutting them, there were bad spots in the middle. Blech! All the potatoes had come from the same farm, but each one was very individualistic.

Hey, those potatoes resembled my family! Nine children all from the same family but what a variety coming from the same parents. As I’ve applied each child’s unique characteristics to homeschooling, it’s been an engaging challenge to come up with methods to encourage their learning. Four lefties, five right handed. Most love reading, but one hates reading. Some get math at every level; some give me a blank look when figuring out simple algebraic equations. A couple LOVE workbook style learning, some prefer hands-on, some shout “read to me!”. Some are in the upper grades while others are just learning the alphabet. A few look like normal schoolers on the outside, but have some rotten character traits on the inside that need work. As an ancient homeschooling mom, one book that helped me at the beginning of our homeschool journey was “In Their Own Way” by Thomas Armstrong. I’m certain that now there are many books available that would cover the different learning styles of children.

So, now you’re thinking that this wonderfully tuned-in mom created an individual curriculum for each of her children, right? Wrong! When we began homeschooling we had three children and now have nine. Can you say interruptions of baby magnitude? And in more recent years our parents developed health issues that required our time. Throw in my husband’s growing business and soon the time limitations to effectively individualize each child’s schooling plagued me. Instead, through the years, I used a structured and well organized curriculum which worked well for me to oversee and which I could easily tweak a bit for each student according to their learning styles supplementing when needed.

Although our schooling curriculum changed a bit as needed for each student, the constant through all the years for my children has been our daily devotional time as we begin schooling each morning. The reading of one chapter of the Old Testament and one chapter of the New Testament has been a steady part of our devotional time as well as the other materials we’ve used in addition to Scripture. The other day when one of the children was reading from the Bible, I realized that those big long strange names of people or places don’t cause them to hesitate a bit. They just say the names as normal as can be and their reading continues smoothly. A wonderful reminder of what an incredible piece of literature the Bible is for everyone and packed with God’s truth!

“Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.”
~ Psalm 34:11

Within the same family with the same parents, each child of mine – whether the first or the ninth or one in between – has received the firm foundation of God’s Word on a daily basis. I am trusting God to tweak their hearts according to His Truth while He supplements where is needed to bring forth a distinctly gifted individual who will love and serve the Lord all of their days. And isn’t that really the heart of the matter?

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March 26, 2008 By Amy Bayliss 26 Comments

It’s funny but as a homeschooling mom I ofter hear the question,

“Aren’t you concerned that your kids won’t grow to be sociable?”

Gee Whiz. I guess they will miss out on developing many social skills since they aren’t enrolled in public school. After all, a couple years ago when they were enrolled in public school they often came home to tell me all about the socializing that occurred during the day.

Like the time my second grader came home and asked me why people were calling him gay because he had on a GAP jacket. Apparently they forgot to inform me at the checkout that GAP stood for Gay And Proud. Now first of all, to tease a child is downright wrong. Second, to tease in a way that also degrades a characteristic of another human being is wrong. I teach my children to love people no matter what. No one is perfect and no one fits into any mold. We are all different. I may not approve of homosexuality but it is not for me to judge them but to love them. Besides, I can assure you that others can find something about me that they do not like.

Then there was the time my then kindergartner was subjected to a showing of private parts in the little boys room. He says “(insert child’s name here) wanted me and my friends to show ours too.” It took weeks to bring him back to the frame of mind that those private parts are well, just that – PRIVATE!

Or let’s consider the social skills my oldest son was subjected to. He has a form of dwarfism called Cartilage-Hair Hypoplasia so his new nickname became Mini Me the midget. I was beyond furious that this was allowed to go on. I went to the school and asked if I could speak to the classes and share with them about my son’s condition. I wanted to tell them that just because he has no hair and is smaller and maybe looks like this guy on a movie doesn’t mean that is who he is. He is ten years old even though he is smaller than others his age. I also wanted to let them know that the term “midget” is inappropriate and degrading and that if they must refer to his condition to just call him a little person. I was told by the school that this wasn’t a good idea since it might bring more attention to the situation. Are you kidding me? Since when is educating and encouraging positive behavior wrong? And isn’t this is the same schools that teach about pre-marital sex and hand out condoms? Won’t that draw more attention to sex?

I could go on…. learning about smokin‘ vipe, hookin‘ up, springin’ bling, wanting tattoos at 7, fist fights, singing very inappropriate songs that they heard from the bus driver…. STOP! I can’t take it! I’m thrilled that my children no longer have to be subjected to this type of socialization. Do I think everyone should take their child out of public school? Of course not. We all have our own opinion and our own way. Some people can’t homeschool because they work, others simply choose not to homeschool and that is fine. It is up to us as parents to choose what is best for our children. (keyword: our) I choose to have my children socialize in an environment that I have some control over. Such as; baseball, football, youth group, summer camp, home school PE, sleepovers, basketball, art class, yada yada yada. They socialize well. No concerns here.

Now, if someone could help me off of my soapbox I’d be much obliged…..

So, how do you respond to this question?

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March 25, 2008 By Suzanne 8 Comments

Even though I have no specific lesson plans or set of curriculum that I live by, I did, at one time have at least an idea of what school time would look like in our house. I love a list. I love a plan. I love being prepared. If the truth be told, I love things my way. And that’s just how I thought raising kids and homeschooling would and definitely should be. And, by all means, shame on you, if your children dictate your lifestyle or your teaching plan.

Yeah, and then life happened.

And try as I might to make it work just the way I had pictured in my head it kept blowin’ up in my face. When I planned my school day to the tiniest detail and had all of my lessons laid out in advance, lo and behold there were one too many fits to stick to the list. They would ask too many questions during our read-aloud time to keep to my time schedule. They hate coloring, is that even possible? They detest worksheets and “class time.” They like looking inside of a turkey and watching a pumpkin rot.

This is all okay as long as you believe up front in delight-driven learning. But I didn’t. I believed in them obeying. “You know the letter sounds, just put them together.” “You will write this memory verse.” “You will go through this reading program if it kills us both.” I got angry. And more determined. One night, after I recounted another horrific school day with a “how dare he?” tone to my voice, I remember my husband gently asking, “Do you think he can do the work or do you really think he’s being that stubborn?” “Well, of course, he can do it,” I quipped, “I’ve seen him do it before.” But it stung a little bit. And it stayed with me. This was just one sign in a long list that I chose to ignore.

Slowly, it began to dawn on me that maybe there was a better way to teach my child. Maybe I could see what he likes and go with it. Maybe I could quit forcing handwriting and accept that it will come in time. In his time. Maybe I could stop the obsession with the reading chart and just let him be. Maybe I could stop every.single.time they have a question during our read-aloud and see where it takes us. Maybe I could accept that this child is not created just like me. Maybe I could let go of my own stubbornness long enough to evaluate just why it is that I’m homeschooling. Maybe the key word was acceptance.

Isn’t that what I ultimately want? Acceptance? From my Creator? From my friends? From my own parents? Isn’t that what I’ve always longed for? To just be loved and accepted for the quirky stubborn person that I am? Isn’t that what intrigued me about and ultimately drew me to Jesus? Is there a chance that He wants me to learn this lesson? Maybe it’s my turn to draw my child to me and just love him. For who he is. For exactly how God made him.

Maybe it’s time to let go of all my well-laid plans. Maybe it’s time to not be the hard-nosed teacher. Maybe it’s time to be the encourager, the cheerleader, the mama.

Maybe it’s time to become the student. To learn from the Teacher. To love. And accept.

What about you? Tell me about a time your children taught YOU a lesson…

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March 23, 2008 By admin 5 Comments

Do you have a green thumb? Do you love to garden? I love to garden, but lack the green thumb!

This season, the girls and I are going to get some gardening done around our home. We have lived in this home for almost 2 years this July. The only thing we really have planted outside is our lawn.

You might be wondering what has sparked this interest for our family. It was Barb’s green hour challenges that started it! It was Barb’s Week 4 challenge that encouraged us to pick an area of focus. The focus for our family is garden flowers and vegetables.

So, last week, RyLee and I began some starts for our flower and vegetable garden. RyLee was motivated and enjoyed setting everything up. We bought 2 Jiffy greenhouse containers. They hold up to 72 starts each. One was for vegetables and one was for Flowers.

After the little discs puffed up RyLee then planted our seeds. They are now on my bedroom floor, behind a curtain and in front of our sliding glass door for light.

We are using a great book called Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. I am reading some of this aloud to RyLee as we learn about gardening, and we have been making plans on where to put our boxes to garden in. We have 2 4×4 boxes now, and my husband is making us 2 more.

We have carrots, 2 kinds of lettuce, bib and romaine, tomatoes, peppers (mixed red, green and yellow) and an assortment of flowers. We bought strawberry bulbs and Dahlia bulbs too!

We look forward to sharing more of our gardening adventure with you as the season moves along. Don’t forget…next month Lori will have a garden unit study up! Look for it in April!

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March 22, 2008 By Guest 12 Comments

Many years ago I attended a homeschool conference where a woman was speaking about “lapbooks”. “How creative”, I thought, “I need to try this with the kids”.

Once we started school, however, I found myself too busy to add anything else to the schedule, and the lapbook idea was set aside–for a long time!

Recently, while we were learning about Australia, the kids seemed bored with me reading while they took notes, and I decided to pull out the lapbook idea again.

We browsed through this book and found a simple fold that created a lapbook with tabs and lots of space for the information the kids would be collecting.

The kids enjoyed the lapbooks and so did I.

They provide a perfect place to write notes, draw pictures, and collect images from the computer. Lapbooks help to organize information while encouraging creativity.

For the next time I have colored paper on hand, and we will attempt a more complex fold. In general, the only materials needed are paper, a stapler, and/or glue.

If you are looking for a fun addition to your homeschooling days, lapbooking might be for you!

Here are some lapbooking resources:

Let’s Try Lapbooking!
How to Begin Lapbooking
Our Lapbooks
Lapbooking on a Shoestring

Happy homeschooling!