Who Inspires You?

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

~ Matthew 5:13-16

Do you know a homeschooler who encourages, motivates, or inspires you? It could be your best friend of many years, or a blogger that you have connected with, or even your spouse. Maybe there is someone out there that you have never even met, but you read a blog entry, book, or published article written by them and it truly spoke to your heart. Is there a member of your church, or community homeschool support group who mentors you and deserves a pat on the back?

Please tell us about her or him. Leave us a comment letting everyone know how much you appreciate that special homeschooler. We may even choose them to be our next featured homeschooler!

The Benefits of Attending a Homeschool Conference

Each summer my husband and I head to Denver to attend our state's homeschool convention. The weekend is always a time of encouragement and renewed vision, as well as a fun time for the two of the two of us to get away together. Numerous speakers and workshops are available as well as a curriculum sale, which makes it easy to inspect books and lesson plans prior to purchasing them.

One of the most exciting aspects of a convention is seeing the multitude of homeschooling parents gathered in one place. The attendance at our conference numbers about 6,000, and it is great to see familiar faces and lots of new people each year. Fathers attend in large numbers, along with their wives, making this a perfect time for couples to make goals and specific plans for their families. Many fathers are surprised to find that there is an important role for them in their homeschool, and that this way of raising children is best done with dad in the lead.

The curriculum fair is like the biggest and most amazing bookstore ever. Most of the items you have read about in catalogs are generally available to look at, and this makes curriculum selection simple. It is easy to avoid the "Ooops, this isn't what I expected" syndrome that comes from catalog shopping. My husband and I have found, however, that we need to stick together when buying books because the one year that we split the list and shopped separately, we ended up spending double the budget! Big mistake!

Attending your state's homeschool convention may seem like a hassle or an unnecessary expense, but I can say from experience that it could be one of the most important parts of your school year. The encouragement you receive from the speakers and other homeschooling parents, as well as the chance to rethink your goals and plans for the year, make the weekend worth it.

To find a convention in your area, click here, or simply google the name of your state and "homeschool convention or conference". You should find what you are looking for.

Happy homeschooling!

Gardening Unit Study

"No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture comparable to that of the garden."-- Thomas Jefferson

A garden is defined as a piece of ground appropriated to the cultivation of herbs, fruits, flowers, or vegetables, or a rich, well-cultivated spot or tract of country. Gardens come in many forms and fashions. Many lessons can be learned in the garden, so roll up your sleeves and get ready to "play in the dirt...." it's time for a Garden Unit Study.

A special thank you to Donna Sweet, a 24 year (YEP, I said 24 year!) veteran homeschooler who provided me with several fabulous links for this study. They helped make this study complete.

BIBLE:

The Bible has many wonderful references to gardens and makes a wonderful place to start a Unit Study on gardens. The story begins in a garden after all.....

“The Lord planted a garden eastward in Eden.”
Genesis 2:8

“I made the gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them all kinds of fruit.” Ecclesiastes 2:5

Some time spent on Jesus’ time in the Garden of Gethsemane, John 18:1

Another way to incorporate the Bible into our Unit Study is to discuss weeds in the garden and how our sins are much like weeds. Just as we "weed" the garden to keep it beautiful, we must "weed" ourselves of sin to be more like Christ.

LANGUAGE ARTS:

The Tale of Peter Rabbit

The Secret Garden, a free Unit Study Guide

There are many books on Gardening with children, here are some wonderful ones:

Sunflower Houses, Sharon Lovejoy

Garden Fairy Alphabet, a coloring book, Darcy May

In the Garden, J.C. Greenburg

Jack's Garden, Henry Cole

Magical Garden of Claude Monet, (great also for Art), Laurence Anholt

Green Thumbs, Laurie Carlson

Jr. Garden Book, Better Homes and Gardens

In the Garden, Gallimard

Gardening Wizardry for Kids, Yvette Banek

Kid's Garden

National Association of Gardening/Kid's Gardens

MATH:

Planning out a garden requires math. It's a great way to practice the practical application of the calculations for area and perimeter.

area = base X height

perimeter = length + length+height+height

If you are planting a garden, follow the directions for the recommendations on distance apart and depth of seed planting. Have the students do the measuring.

As plants begin to grow, measure weekly. Chart the growth on a line graph. Have students calculate how long it took from planting until maturation.

GEOGRAPHY:

Look at the planting zones for your area and find out which plants thrive! Explore other regions and parts of the world to see what plants do well there. The U.S. National Arboretum offers a chart on the hardiness zones.

This is a great time to look at famous Gardens of the World. Here is a very complete list( from all around the world)

Have students choose one or several to research the type of garden and locate them on a map.

ART:

Garden Stones are a great way to decorate your garden and they make a wonderful gift for a favorite gardener. Ideas are here

Create a Felt Garden (templates here)

An idea for a kid's garden mural is here

SCIENCE:

George Washington Carver is a wonderful scientist to focus on in this unit. His Godly life and devotion to botany and gardening make him not only a wonderful scientist, but an excellent example of a man who used biblical principles to do God's will in his life. (see printables for some George Washington Carver crossword and coloring sheets)

Garden of Praise offers a wonderful biography on Mr. Carver with many links as well.

A printable George Washington Carver book, offered by teacher vision is a nice way for younger students (k-3) to learn about Mr. Carver's life.

Children often find Venus Fly traps interesting and amazing, here is a wonderful site on how they work.

Here's a good site on making Sprouts:

This is a great time to talk about photosynthesis, Brain Pop offers a great place to start

Another great photosynthesis spot is here

It's also a great time to talk about the life cycle and decomposers in the garden.

EARTH DAY is April 22, 2008, click here for Earth Day ideas

Here is a step by step guide to starting a garden

Another site from the UK is Science and Plants for Schools. It contains some great information for primary and secondary grades.

Garden Organic, another site from across the Ocean is FABULOUS. They offer in the Teaching Zone, a variety of "How to" leaflets with information and coloring sheet on everything from composting, mulching to gardening with vegetables. Definitely one to check out, if only for the coloring sheets.

MISC.

If you are looking for supplementary lesson plans, the California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom offers an extensive site. It includes lesson plans for k-12, downloadable books in PDF form, and a children's site with word games and coloring. Downloadable books such as Edible Numbers, From Farm to Fork, and Fruits and Vegetables for Health are offered for free. This is a site to "bookmark" for use with other science topics.

A site out of the UK offering many articles and activities for children is called, The kids garden is a wonderful resource to anyone gardening with children.

Curr Click is offering a gardening unit study, (this is a purchase study, but it is reasonable!)It is from the Homeschool Learning Network.

Get Quacked is offering a free unit study on plants

Gardening with Kids store is here

Amanda Bennett offers a Garden Unit Study for purchase here.

In case you missed Lisa's post at Heart of the Matter on March 24, 2008, it's got some great ideas!

The following sites were suggested by Christina. They are all about the "creatures" you'll find in your garden!

The Butterfly Site

The Butterfly Farm

The Oklahoma Bees

FIELD TRIPS:

Most large cities offer Botanical Gardens, as do many Universities. These make wonderful day trips while studying gardens. Making a scrapbook or mini~book with digital pictures taken at a garden can be a great way to add a fun project to the study.

If you live in the Massachusetts, check out the Dirty Dozen Club, their web site provides a schedule of upcoming garden events in the area.

If you are near North Carolina,

The Biltmore Estate's Festival of Flowers runs from April 5 - May 18, 2008

COMPUTER LINKS:

(As always with web sites, explore them first to insure that they are right for your family.)

A neat site for kids to explore is Kids Valley Garden

There is a host of things for kids to explore on plants, herbs, vegetables and flowers.

Thinkquest offers a nice site on plants for children

Kids Garden, FABULOUS garden site submitted by Bunny

Family Fun Magazine offers a great article on gardening with children

Smith College Botanic Garden has a great site on gardening

Aggie Horticulture offers a great kids site on gardening

The wonderful world of insects, no garden is complete without these little creatures

I can garden, kids page, here you will find lots of child friendly articles on gardens

Kinder Garden, a fun link for younger children with a kids fun page.

The Great Plant Escape, a site by the University of Illinois

A host of online Garden Games can be found here, offered by surfnetkids.com

PRINTABLES:

This site offers a really nice coloring book about George Washington Carver, an addition to the science suggestions, they are printable.
(coloring pages and crossword puzzles)

Printable garden book for young students

Printable tags for your garden vegetables

Printable chart for plant watering

Gardening Coloring Pages

As mentioned above in the Science section, check out Garden Organics, Teaching Zone for some great printable sheets.

I hope you all have FUN, playing in the "dirt!"

Download the PDF version here.

TV Time Management

It's been a renewing battle for us lately. Last year, our principal had discontinued the satellite TV service in order for our children to dedicate more time to studies and reading. Each week, we had WW III in my home as my gang and I would battle with this issue along with video game time. Our rule is no TV on weekdays. TV is a treat and privilege so our family's TV time is usually on the weekends especially on Fun Family Fridays. On Fridays, we usually rent movies or find a good show on television to view together or we play board games, bake goodies, take little outings, have wonderful discussions etc. We do just about anything but the rule is that we do it as a family.

Well, things were going great. We were reading more. I unfortunately began to blog more. Ha! We actually had meaningful conversations at the dinner table. I had even found a Table Time Topic sheet which had great conversation starters for our gang during dinners. We have had discussions about anything from "Name the nicest thing that someone has ever done for you" to "If you had a choice, where would you visit and why?" Now all of this had been really great until the principal came up with the idea of renewing our TV service after a year without it. I had mixed feelings. I missed a few shows although the only shows I would watch were the local news, anything on HGTV, TBN, The Word Network, Discovery and Nick At Night. Why would he renew it? He had been missing his favorite guy shows. You know the sports, action stations, etc. The guys at the fire department where he works would watch these shows constantly so the principal simply caved. Ha!

Now, I'm back to square one and have been fighting the TV battle once again. The gang has been excitingly rushing through their school work in order to watch TV. And I just can't stand the shows on TV now. They are so silly. The cartoons are not really for children either. What ever happened to shows with meaning and depth like Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck? Where in world is Foghorn Leghorn and did the Coyote ever catch the Road Runner? And we don't even want to get on the topic of statistics as far as viewing the tube. We know that viewing more than four hours of TV a day leads to obesity, hinders brain development, and can be traumatizing to a child if he or she is viewing the violence that's shown today.

We live in an ever increasing world of technology and more children are indoors rather than outdoors. It's so important for us to get outside playtime and read a book, isn't it? Did you also know that at least 50% of children under six have been exposed to a computer. And there is a great number of children under age 2 who are falling into the bad television habits. I guess that explains the growth of the booming multi-billion dollar infant and toddler video industry. Also, more teens have access to computers and many have televisions in their bedrooms. Did you know that children with televisions in their bedrooms watch at least two more hours of TV a day than children who don't have televisions in their bedrooms? No surprise right? Now, don't get me wrong, there are plenty of well informing programs out there. I just love the History and Science channels. Television can actually be a good thing. We simply need moderation and we need to remember that these little minds need stimulation aside from Sponge Bob and Dora whether it's by reading great literature or observing God's wonderful creation. We need to take a TV time-out. Mommy may need to lead the way in setting an example by taking a computer time-out as well.

Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
Proverbs 4:23 NIV

Well, the whining saga continues. Will Super Mom defeat her arch enemy, "The Tube Tots"? Will Super Dad soon come to her rescue once again? Tune in later to see how this drama unfolds. In the meantime, I would love to know how you monitor TV viewing time in your home?

Happy Birthday Lisa!

We would like to wish our wonderful
Lisa a very blessed birthday. Please stop by her blog at Koinonia Academy and leave her a birthday comment.

Having Dessert First

I don't know about you, but I am a Type-A kind of girl. And no, it doesn't mean that I am an A+ excellent home educator and on the mommy-honor-roll with my kids proudly proclaiming it with a bumper sticker on their bikes!

Reality would more likely show me to be an overbearing, over-scheduled, checklist loving, rule following drill sergeant! At least that's how I'm naturally bent. Or was today anyway. When the troops... er, my children don't keep to my schedule, follow all my rules to a T, and allow me to merrily mark off all the items on my checklist, let's just say it gets pretty ugly around here.

Can you see the theme here? It's all about ME!!! Ugh.

Both Rachel's and Cheryl's recent posts really got me thinking-- it's NOT about me! Come to think of it, "not being about me" was also the topic of our Sunday School lesson as well as the morning sermon. Eeek. When God uses so many different avenues to tell me the same thing and within a span of only two short days, I better listen up!

In the realm of homeschooling, if it's not all about me, then whom should it be about? How about the three little guys that spice up my life and totally outnumber me? Yup, those very same ones.

Hi boys. :-) Mommy loves y'all.
Even when I'm a mean old fusspot that yells, whines and gripes when things don't go my way.

We can now go many directions with it being about our kids and not us. While I would rather wax philosophical and tell you something that will pull at your heartstrings and change your life forever, I won't. Because it's not about me. It's about them. (Hi kids!) Besides, I'm not very good at the whole life changing kind of talk anyway.

The them's in my life would like for all of you mom's (and dad's) out there to think in more practical terms of how to stir the pot and change things up. And because they do like to make mommy happy occasionally, we'll do this in a handy-dandy LIST format!

• I am inclined to do the more serious work first, saving the super fun activities as a reward for proper (and speedy!)completion of the three R's. Instead of ending the day with the fun stuff-- like painting a picture or playing a game-- how about starting the day with it?


• Since we're switching things up, how about having dessert before dinner? Or *gasp* having it for breakfast!


• My boys really dislike erasing. I don't blame them. It can be quite aggravating when you accidentally erase a hole into your paper. Sometimes I let them just mark through the misspelled word-- even when there is no room to put the correction next to it-- and write sideways in the margin all the way up the paper.

I do understand that my children don't always know best-- if they did, they certainly wouldn't need me! And if they always ate dessert first, they wouldn't have room for the nutritious food necessary to keep them healthy. As parents, it is our responsibility to do what is right for our children. But can we do right without being such sticklers and sticks-in-the-mud about it all? Can we take little steps here and there to train ourselves to not always have the it's my way or the highway mentality?

As you can see with my pathetically short list up there, it is not easy for me to think outside my perfectly square box! I would love it if you would share your ideas with me. What are some ways that you mix it up at your house? Is there something in your daily life or in your homeschool that you do for your kids (or let them do) that goes against your norm or preference? And did your kids look at you in total disbelief about it?

Ebb & Flow

There are roughly 65 days left of our current school year. For some of us who homeschool year round, that number means very little. For the rest of us who live in houses with NO air conditioning in the summer, it means we put the books away for the months of July and August and take to outdoor living.

I am turning 40 this month, and lately this leaves me feeling rather contemplative. Nothing too deep - but a desire to be unusually creative. I have become interested in creative writing, poetry and even photography and I'm keenly aware of just how unhappy I can become if I'm not able to create something at least sometime during the week. This allows me to look at my children and appreciate their own desires to create - artistically or otherwise. Put this together with the 65 days left in our school year and one can begin to panic and feel compelled to shelve all this creative stuff and bury our noses in workbooks.

So here's what I've discovered. When I'm creating, my children are watching and they end up imitating my interests and discovering their own. They've taken initiatives to start creative writing projects on their own, to write impromptu poetry, or start an art project. This often frees up more time for additional school work, because they are often ahead in the writing process. They also seem to be happier and more content to buckle down when they need too. I was concerned about taking time off for spring break, but family commitments and obligations got in the way and prevented any school work from happening that week anyway. The following week the kids seemed rested and content. They had all their school work done before noon - on their own initiative.

I narrowed my eyes and furrowed my brow. I wondered what sparked this self aspired initiative they seemed to have, and began to think how I could encourage more of these happenings. As I reflected on this I was hit with the realization that homeschool is an ebb and flow of academics, family life and personal interests. My homeschool functions best when I let go of the reigns a little more often and trust my instincts.

As for me, I fed my creative interests for most of the week. I had a chance to rest and give myself a much needed mental break. I am looking forward to celebrating my birthday with my closest friends, and when Monday hits (that will be the day you will be reading this), I'll be ready for the last semester. I'll be willing to pull out the schedule again and get back to academic routines. I'll have what it takes to face the next 65 days. We are all able to work more effectively and often more efficiently when we are well rested - even when we think we don't need to take a break.

Conference Update!

We now have another domain to house all the Virtual Conference information. Please visit us at:

Heart of the Matter Conference

In our quest to bring you the absolute best home school resource online, we have listened to your requests and are providing you with a fun filled online adventure! On July 31st through August 3rd, we will be hosting Heart of the Matter Online's first annual Virtual Home school Conference!

WHY should you sign up to attend our first annual conference?

1. We have an amazing group of speakers who will inspire, motivate and knock your socks off!
2. You'll get to chat with and ask questions of some of your favorite speakers, bloggers, and members of our team!
3. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and get a neck ache from continuously nodding your head in agreement while listening to some of our "been there done that" speakers!
4. If you can't listen live, you can download the sessions to listen to during your free time!
5. You'll make new friends with women from all over the world who share your passion for homeschooling!
6. We are establishing virtual vendor booths chock full of discounts!
7. You'll recieve FREEBIES!
8. You'll get to do all of this in your pajamas! For ONLY $29.95!
   

If are unable to use Paypal, please contact us! 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.

<a href="http://www.hotmconference.com"><img src="http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj249/homeschoolinghearts/Misc/htomvc.png" /></a>
Spread the word!!

When Can God Use Us?

Eric Novak is a Home school graduate who works for his family's business, Remembrance Press, publishers of The Gift of Family Writing and The Girlhood Home Companion. Eric is also an employee of Homeschoolblogger.com in the position of tech support and The Old School House Magazine as a graphic designer. He has won numerous design awards including a design competition for the most innovative ad for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine and World Magazine. In his spare time Eric enjoys blogging at http://www.ericnovak.com where he loves writing about his faith and sharing the gospel message. In 2007, he was awarded Best Teen Guy Blogger for the annual Home School Blog Awards.

Tai Polczynski is a 19 year-old homeschool graduate who lives in the PA countryside. She has been writing since before she could even spell, and also enjoys reading, art, and violins. She wants to use the gifts that God has given her to serve others and give back to Him. Her blog is http://beggarlybouquet.com




God’s Choice
When I was a little kid, I wanted to know the answer to one question: “When can God use me?” In the Bible, there were some great examples of people God used to accomplish great things. Joseph, David, and Solomon were key characters in building the nation of Israel, but until I read their stories, I never realized it was God’s choice of when and how to use me.

Youth in Action
It is amazing to see how God used young people, many of them authors of the greatest books of the Bible.

Tai: In this day and age, it can be so easy to get caught up in wanting to “be someone” and make our mark on the world. But we must begin by being faithful in the things that God gives us. As we look at men and women of the Bible who were used by God, you’ll see that none of them were out to make something of themselves. In fact, they were out to serve God humbly, through whatever circumstances came their way. Many of those circumstances were unpleasant, but as these subjects followed God’s leading, He used their lives in amazing ways.

How did God use young people?

To save Israel in the time of famine.

It was through Joseph that God provided Israel a means to survive a famine.He was seventeen years old when sold as a slave to Potiphar (Genesis 37:2).

To deliver Israel from the Philistines.

God used David to defeat Goliath, even though he was “but a youth” according to King Saul (1 Samuel 17:33).

To lead Israel to its greatest heights

David appointed Solomon to succeed him, who when he became king, thought of himself as but “a little child” (1Kings