I have heard a mother bird
Singing in the rain--
Telling all her little ones
Spring has come again!
I have seen a wave of green
Down a lovely lane--
Making all the hedges glad
Spring has come again!
I have found a patch of ground
Golden in the sun;
Crocuses are calling out
Spring has just begun!
~Irene Thompson
Ahhhhh, it's in the air! Spring fever! It happens every year in April. The snow begins melting and the kids begin disappearing. I dare not answer the phone because if I'm distracted for even moment, they are gone! Out they go to putter in the snow, puddles, mud, sandbox, and did I mention MUD?!?!
But something else happens when the weather turns to spring. The kids begin noticing that their school books are getting smaller. We are down to our final weeks and suddenly there's a motivational kick to get those books FINISHED! 
Spring fever is a stronger motivator than I could ever be. Suddenly it gets competitive as they race against their siblings to see who can finish their first book. They wake up early to get their studies done so they can play outside all afternoon. The days are delightfully longer and the kids sleep sounder after getting healthy doses of fresh air and exercise.
God's creation is bursting with renewal all around. The solemnness 
of winter begins turning into shades of green with brightly colored flowers all around. The woods become alive with the sounds of chirping birds as new nests are made. Wildlife is spotted with their young. It is impossible not to rejoice in all that comes from our Heavenly Father's Hand as we share with our children the delights for us that He has created. Get excited with your children as you talk about the awesome, complex, and elaborate design of all creation as it comes alive in the springtime! God saw all that He made and said, "IT IS GOOD!" And isn't that really the heart of the matter?
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Spring Fever
Mother's Day Giveaway 2008
Please spread the word!
Mother's Day is fast approaching and we wanted to take this opportunity to bless one really special mom this year. In order to do that, we've teamed up with some fabulous companies who had that same desire. The package that has been put together will give mom everything she needs for the up and coming school year PLUS MORE!
Now, we fully believe that every mom deserves this package but since we can only give it to one mom here is what needs to be done....
Nominate the mom you believe deserves it the most. Is she a single mom? a military mom? a widow? a mom of a child with special needs? has she overcome certain obstacles? Let us know her story. Why does she deserve this package? What would it do for her family? Let us know and she could be the recipient of this amazing package and the person who nominates her will also receive a gift! Your nominations must be electronically mailed to: homeschoolinghearts@gmail.com with "Nomination for Mother's Day" in the subject line.
You have from now until May 7th at midnight to submit your nomination. Our staff and writers will then collectively consider, pray, and talk it over to see who will receive it. The decisions will be posted on Mother's Day, Sunday, May 11, 2008.
We will also post a "Tribute" of sorts to all the moms who were nominated. Simply sharing encouraging bits that will honor them as well. You may nominate more than one person but they must be in separate emails.
All nominations will be considered and prizes cannot be exchanged. Please place the button on your blog to spread the word. Let's bless some Mom's this year!
Please support all of these wonderful companies that give so much back to our community!
Castle Heights Press - One unit study of choice ($12.95 value)
Math Facts NOW! - Math Facts NOW! cd ($13.95 value)
Share HIS Story - Family Story Bracelet ($65.00 value)
The Mystery of History - Volume I: Creation to the Resurrection CD Audio Set ($42.95 value)
Homeschool in the Woods - The Old Testament Hands-On History Activity Pak ($18.95 value)
Treasure Box Press - Gift certificate ($40.00 value)
Notebook Learning - One notebooking set of choice ($5.95 value)
CurrClick - Gift certificate ($50.00 value)
Darlene Schacht - The Mom Complex book ($14.95 value)
Blue Thistle Books - Gift certificate ($30.00 value)
Heart of Wisdom - The Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach ($34.94)
Steward Ship - Everything You Need to Know About Homeschool Unit Studies ($19.95 value)
Split Decisionz - Custom Blogger Blog Template ($65.00 value)
Whole Heart Ministries - Seasons of a Mother’s Heart (2nd edition) by Sally Clarkson ($13.95 value)
Vision Forum - Gift certificate ($50.00 value)
The Old Schoolhouse Magazine - One-year subscription to the print edition magazine, 3 audio books on homeschooling and a $25 certificate to the Schoolhouse Store ($104.00 value)
Heart of the Matter Online Virtual Conference - Free admission to the 2008 conference ($29.95 value) - this will be given to the mom that is chosen and the mom that nominates her.
The Foil Hat - The Gee Gift Box. Contains: a GIANT scrub, a generous 4 oz. tub of whipped shea butter, 3 soaps, 8 oz body or linen spray, a poufy scrubby, cushy spa socks, a soap deck AND a pumice stone. ($50.00 value)
Homemaking 911 - Chaos to Order, 25 Tools Bringing Organization to Your Home, as well as the accompanying audio CD of the workshop with the same title. ($15.00 value)
How You Got Started Homeschooling Meme
Please link directly to your "How You Got Started Homeschooling" post. Failure to leave a direct link will result in the removal of your name from Mr. Linky.
The schedule for the theme of the homeschool meme is located in the right column under "Blog With Us". Please check it out to view upcoming themes.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Announcement for Baby Einstein Giveaway!
GLENDALE, Calif. – The newest addition to the Baby Einstein DVD collection, Baby's First Sounds: Discoveries for Little Ears delightfully introduces little ones to some of the first sounds babies hear. From the "ba" sound in baby and the "ah" sound in arm, to the "pa" sound in papa and the "ma" sound in mama, Baby's First Sounds: Discoveries for Little Ears exposes babies to various first sounds familiar to babies around the world. Hosted by a buzzing Baby Bee puppet and featuring baby-friendly, real world images that are complemented by the classical sounds of Mozart and Schubert, Baby's First Sounds: Discoveries for Little Ears encourages interaction between parents and little ones by inviting them to engage and participate out loud, while discovering the magic of sounds together. "Regardless of the language a baby develops, infants have the capacity to make several sounds that are common to many languages around the world," explains Dr. Karen Hill Scott, a nationally renowned child development expert consulting with The Baby Einstein Company on various projects. "Baby's First Sounds provides parents with a new and playful tool they can use to expose their little one to the first sounds of language they will encounter in their daily lives."
Bonus features further emphasize parent-child interaction, which is an important component of Baby's First Sounds: Discoveries for Little Ears. Designed to provide caregivers with tips on how to engage and interact with baby around the theme of "first sounds," the bonus features include "Fun With Phonemes" where Baby Einstein puppets introduce little ones to the sounds of the world and feature real-world images that correspond to the sound heard on screen. Baby's First Sounds: Discoveries for Little Ears is the 26th DVD title from The Baby Einstein Company, the award-winning creator of the infant developmental media category and best- selling brand of videos for infants and toddlers, from birth. As with every Baby Einstein DVD, Baby's First Sounds: Discoveries for Little Ears features multi-language viewing options including English, Spanish and French. Available at major retailers and online, the suggested retail price is $19.99 for DVD. Baby's First Sounds: Discoveries for Little Ears is recommended for little ones age six months and up.
About The Baby Einstein Company The Baby Einstein Company, LLC, is the award-winning creator of the infant developmental media category. The company is famous for its best-selling Baby Einstein brand of videos, books, music CDs and toys specifically designed for babies and toddlers, from birth. Little Einsteins™, which debuted in 2005, is the company's newest venture, specifically created for the preschool market. Headquartered in Glendale, CA, The Baby Einstein Company is a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. For more information, visit Baby Einstein, or Little Einsteins.
And A Little Child Shall Lead....
written October of 2007
We were so excited when we received our Konos Obedience Curriculum last summer. I mapped out our year in advance and charged in full speed ahead. According to my lesson plans we should be done with the text by now and moving on to Attentiveness. Hmmphh. We are still on week one.
We couldn't help it! As we began to delight in the activities and lessons outlined in week one of the Konos text I began to see a glimmer in the eyes of my curious sons. They wanted to see the authority of light. We did most of the activities and projects listed but they were hungry for more. They skipped sideways around the table asking questions about how light bulbs work and who invented them and how does light make rainbows and .... you get the picture. They were like starving lions pacing back and forth. I answered their questions as best as I could but I know them and telling them was not enough. They wanted to experience it.
I looked all over online for unit studies and kits on light. I found many but some were pricey and let's face it, by the time we would have received them the boys would have moved on to devour something else, you know?
So, I did what any good mother would do. I went to Toys R'Us. I remembered that they had some great science kits there because we had purchased some for a lesson we did last year. I am so glad that I went too because there, sitting on the shelf, was a beautiful box containing everything that I would need to allow them to hands on effectively "play" with light! It was from Edu Science. The Lights, Colors & Optics Kit was even more appealing due to its small price tag. Only $12.49! Any homeschool mom knows that by the time you purchase all of the necessary objects to complete projects and experiments and then pay shipping, well, you could have purchased a small town, so this was a great price.
I was even more excited when I got home and found the awesome unit study inside! There were great facts and tips and so much more. But it didn't stop there. During the short lesson about sundials the boys were intrigued as to who would use such devices. In comes Mystery of History. We did a whole three days of learning about the ancient Egyptians and other civilizations that used sundials. By week two of this kit we had crossed over into Exploring Creation with Botany and Astronomy, Mystery of History I and II and several Scholastic mini books ($1 each) that have proven to be very resourceful. Throw in some geography and board games like Go To Press and Spill and Spell and we had a wonderful learning experience with information that they actually absorbed and we did it by... hold on to your socks, having fun!
Now after nearly 8 weeks we are almost done and I am sad. We have built our own telescopes and microscopes and had fun with color slides. We refracted light, studied light waves, perused the house in search of transparent, opaque & translucent objects and we discovered many optical illusions (which led to a whole illusion "magic" show but that is another post!) We made a couple of lapbooks, boy style of course, and many fond memories. My lesson plans got trashed (well, except for math, reading and spelling) and I couldn't be happier. I really like this approach. It really works for us. We may even get to start on Week 2 of Konos during our 10th week of schooling! Disclaimer:
The kid in the photo is not mine. I have boys. I chose not to take their pictures since they refuse to wear shirts and their hair was sticking up straight because of the cow that comes to lick them at night. My photos would not have been appealing, entertaining maybe but not hardly postable (is that a word?)
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
The Remedy For Big Tears & Little Attention Spans?
As I've mentioned before, I have a 6 year old boy and an almost 5 year old boy (plus an almost 3 year old girl that must "do school just like the boys"). I have been trying (for almost 2 years now) to "do school" very similar to "school". I looked for the coolest newest workbooks and curriculum. And to no avail. Everything I tried brought about much weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. To the point that I just figured that's how schooling was gonna go in our house.
I've always liked the idea of unit studies, especially literature-based unit studies. But when we tried them before I couldn't keep my kids' attention for that long. Though I love Five In A Row and would recommend it any day of the week, my attention-challenged children would not sit still for 5 days worth of reading the same thing.
But thanks to y'all and the Homeschool Lounge I stumbled upon Homeschool Share. Add to this great find, lapbooking. Oh, lapbooking, how I love thee! To find out more about lapbooking go here. She explains it much better than I could! The more I looked around the more I thought that just maybe I could adapt the lessons to my kiddos' oh-so-short attention spans, give them something to remember it by, and then move on to something new. It worked! What a breakthrough!
I started out reading one story and doing one day's worth of projects. I then put it in a folder (that I almost completely put together for them while they're still so young) and they had immediate gratification and a tangible reminder of the fun we had. We did several of these quick units and then, sneaky me started expanding the lessons to closer to a week. I still can't read the same story everyday for a week, but we do read it in full the first day then read the excerpt that applies to the project we're working on and I complete the week with presenting their finished lapbook and one last full reading of the story. Tailoring these lessons has completely changed our lives. I'm not exaggerating. My sons will read the information I present without fussing. They will label their mini-books (using that ever-dreaded handwriting!) without a frown. Just the other day they asked me several times throughout the day if we could do "just a little more school work".
A few examples of the mini-lessons we've done:
Our coconut tree on the fridge.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
By Eric Carle
The outside of our caterpillar book.
The outside of our St. Patrick's Day lapbook.
The inside of our St. Patrick's Day lapbook.
We had an After-Easter Party (we couldn't get it together on time!)
Our bean sprouts sprouting like crazy!
Bedtime For Frances
By Russell Hoban
Pictures by Garth Williams
This is one of our "expanded lessons." We made an abc flip book like Frances' song. We talked about badgers and learned about omnivores. We played a listening and story sequence game. We made a wind vane and a Venn Diagram about butterflies and moths. Again, Homeschool Share was the source for all our fun on this unit.
Back of our lapbook.
We studied time and practiced writing our numbers.
We read a poem about what a bedtime should look like (not that it ever does here!) and talked about the importance of obedience. And the most important thing, at least for our "But I'm scared, Mama!" bed timers around here we memorized some Bible verses that we can say in our beds.
Outside of our Bedtime For Francis lapbook.
By jumping on their interests, starting with a one day unit to grab their attention, making them a lapbook or folder for them to hold and remember their fun (and show it off!), and slowly increasing the amount of time we spend on a project has led to excitement, much more learning than we were getting with workbooks, and a lot less tears!
Special thanks to Five In A Row, Homeschool Share, Danielle's Place and Enchanted Learning.
Stay tuned for a "show-off" of our longer units and a "how to" on organizing your plans!
Click on cover for PDF version (links not available in PDF)
From the Amies....
We have already begun preparation for next school year. We have purchased some curriculum, begun lesson plans for some great literature (which will be available for download next month), and we’ve started re-organizing our school area. The kids are preparing to have a fun break at the end of May and mom is looking forward to a bit of leisure time as well!
We also have many great things to look forward to here at Heart of the Matter Online....
For starters, we will be having a generous contest for Mother’s Day that is going to bless the socks off of one mom who gives her all to her family. The prizes for this contest are valued at well over $500 but we will wait to reveal those details! ;o)
For the week surrounding Father’s Day we will be letting the DADS take over the Heart of the Matter Online. Yes, you read that right. The dads will be writing some articles for the site and you just won’t believe the topics they will be discussing! It will be educational as well as entertaining. We have great dads and we look forward to sharing their thoughts with you.
We also have the First Annual Heart of the Matter Online Virtual Homeschool Conference coming up. We have many amazing speakers lined up as well as vendors to meet all your homeschooling needs... and wants!
The speaker lineup includes: Amy Pak , Jennifer Steward, Crystal Paine , Heather, otherwise known as Sprittibee, Dawn from Barefoot Blogs, DeeDee, from the widely popular blog, It Coulda’ Been Worse, Jeannie Fulbright, Luke McDonald, Amy Grant Bayliss, Marybeth Whalen, Kelli Crowe, Gina Conroy, Kelly, from A Spacious Place, Angela DeRossett, Ami Brainerd, the creator of Homeschool Share, Robin Sampson, Sheila Wray Gregoire, Todd Wilson, Angela Parsley, Linda Lacour Hobar, Heather Paulsen, and Lee Binz.
You can check out the conference site for more information and to sign up for the event.
And what would a great website be without contests?
We have many BIG contests coming up in the next month so be sure to check back every day to see what is currently up for grabs. We’ll start it off with this Roots, Shoots, Buckets, and Boots giveaway. To enter, simply leave a comment on at least two articles in this month’s edition. See "Through the Microscope" for more details.
As always, we take submissions for cover photos, articles, projects, and more. Please see our submissions page for more details: Submissions Link.
In this month's issue:
Good Citizenship
Bumps in the Road
Raising Boys vs. Raising Men
Don’t Be Afraid To . . . STOP!
Keepin’ It Real
We Were There With Lewis and Clark REVIEW
Learning Love Languages At Home
20 Ways To Becoming An Eco-Friendly Family
Homeschooling As a Matter Of Public Discussion
Can You Afford That Second Income?
Organized Expectations
The Computer Savvy PreSchooler
God and History of Art I & II REVIEW
How Should We Respond To Criticism & Questions
An Empty Backpack
A Mom’s Decision to Homeschool Her Child with Autism
Through the Microscope: Gardening with Kids
Give God YOUR Details
How To Attend A Homeschool Conference
Faith Through the Bad Days
From Our Readers
This month's printables:
Core Knowledge Sayings and Phrases (grades K through 3)
Art Appreciation with Lucy Micklethwait books
HWT cursive alphabet wall strips (cut out and tape together)
All of these printables are courtesy of Angi from Peakmore Academy
Cover photo courtesy of Keri from Sunny Blog
Important Dates In April
Friday, April 11 - Meme - How I Got Started Homeschooling
Sunday, April 13 - Featured Homeschooler
Tuesday, April 15 - Field Trip Tuesday
Friday, April 18 - Meme - The Things My Child Taught Me During Homeschool Lessons & Unit Study announcement for Outer Space
Saturday, April 19 - Jessica’s Birthday
Sunday, April 20 - Around the Web in a Dozen Links & Amy Bayliss’ Birthday
Tuesday, April 22 - Lisa B’s Birthday
Friday, April 25 - Meme - Quote "Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand." ~Chinese Proverb
Sunday, April 27 - Featured Homeschooler, & Marsha’s Birthday
Friday, May 2 - Outer Space Unit Study Day, & Lori AND Rachel’s Birthday
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Listening to God When the Decision is Scary: A Mom’s Decision to Homeschool Her Child with Autism
I started college in August of 2005. I remember being terrified because I had been out of school for over ten years. What could I possibly remember that would help me through college courses? As I signed onto my courses online a verse caught my eye:For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.." Jeremiah 29:11-14
It was the first time I’d ever seen this verse and while it was meant for comfort, I had no idea what the future held. I was scared. My children had just started the year in a new public school. We had moved yet again, courtesy of the military, to Central Georgia. As the school year went on we started noticing significant failures in the particular school that my two older attended. The first issue came about when my five year old son was denied the right to use the bathroom. This did not end well for anyone, as I was called to the school to bring some extra clothing, only to find out that it would take a full bath to clean up this accident. My son was mortified and my heart broke for him. Soon after this incident my oldest son reported that his second grade teacher (albeit, very pregnant at the time) was assigning class work in the morning and then napping at her desk, sometimes the entire afternoon! (Can you imagine 25 unattended second graders)?
The final straw came when I arrived at the school to pick them up and a bus driver was relaying a story to another teacher, while very loudly swearing in front of a busload of kids. I was horrified. I immediately walked into the building and found the assistant principal who responded, “Well, it’s really no big deal, those children do not speak English.” I would like to say that I turned on my heel, right in that moment and took my children home for good. Unfortunately, it did not happen that way. It would take something far more profound for me to hear the beginning rumblings of God trying to change our lives.
During this time we joined a local church and to my surprise it was loaded with homeschooled children! I didn’t at the time understand how all of these parents had the courage to take on the challenges that came with being their children’s sole teachers. My husband and I were both public schooled and there were very few people in our hometown that homeschooled. It was considered very, very odd and in many cases, considered irresponsible. I felt the Lord working in my heart, but I was not ready to listen to His call.
It was not until Xander was diagnosed with Autism that my husband and I started taking this ‘feeling’ more seriously.
Imagine this:
Xander had his four year old well-check appointment a couple of months past his birthday. The doctor checked the normal things, eyes, nose, throat, and weight, and then started asking me a slew of questions regarding his mannerisms. He wanted to know how he slept, what his aversions were, if he had any obsessions that seemed abnormal. Was he always hyper? (Yes, he was.) Did he have unusual anxieties? (Yes, as a matter of fact he did.) Did he always have the need to lick everything in his surroundings? (blush… Yes, he did.)
He looked me straight in the eye at the end of the appointment and stated, “I firmly believe your son has something called Autism. Are you familiar with that term?”
I was only familiar with this term. I must admit, I was very skeptical at this point. The doctor could have said ‘allergies’ or an ‘ear infection’ or ‘blue hair’ at this point and I think I still would have had the same flippant attitude about the assumptive diagnosis. He suggested that I take him to see a local psychologist and then surprised me by pulling out his prescription pad.
“I think you would be happier if we went ahead and put him on medication for his hyperactivity.”
My first thought was ‘are you kidding me’? If you look at the statement he made you might notice the same things I noticed: “I think you would be happier if we went ahead and put him on medication for his hyperactivity.”
Where was the medical reasoning for my son actually needing this medication? It was then and there I realized that he did not have anything close to allergies, an ear infection, or even blue hair. This was a real problem. It was real enough that my very conservative doctor thought he should be medicated. Against doctor’s advice I declined the medication, but was tactful enough to add that should he really and truly need it we would reconsider at a later date. With a referral in hand we were off to make an appointment with the Psychologist to find out more about this Autism.
That night I felt the tugging on my heart louder than I’d felt it in the past. I knew that we needed to consider that maybe God was calling us out of our comfort zone to homeschool our children. I started asking questions around church. How did they like being home with their children? Were the children making adequate scores? Would they go to college? What about socialization? Would they hate us as parents? (I know at this point many of you are probably rolling your eyes because you have been faced with these exact questions!)
My answer came two weeks later when I brought Xander to see the Psychologist. I must first mention that I did not believe in these types of Psychologists and was still in the ‘AD/HD, ADD, ASD, SIDS are made up labels to promote pharmacology sales’ camp. (Don’t be offended, it’s how I was raised.) I was not ready for my child to become one of those kids.
Xander’s Psychologist was not a kid person, per se, but it worked out well because Xander never really was a kid person either. They got along splendidly and after a battery of tests and questions she confirmed the doctor’s diagnosis. Again, I was surprised when she ended the session with a rather bold statement that sent chills down my spine.“I am going to refer you back to (the pediatrician) where you can go ahead and get the proper medications for your son.”
Followed by:
“Then you can get him enrolled in the special education program at the school and get him the help he needs.”
What I heard was:
“Medicate him and let the school handle it.”
I quietly responded that we had decided to homeschool. My husband and I had previously reached the understanding that we supported each other in the decision should we get verifiable proof that God truly wanted that for our children. I knew he would agree that it was almost as if a bullhorn had sounded down from Heaven shouting, “DO YOU HEAR ME NOW?”
There was a pause of silence while the Psychologist took in what I had said and then she rolled her eyes and said, “You can try, but it will be a great injustice to your child. He will never be able to learn at home, that’s why there are specialists. They are trained to teach your child. How do expect to teach him to read? He has poor motor skills. How do you expect to teach him to write? What about social skills? This is a very poor choice indeed.”
I considered what she said long after I left her office. What if I couldn’t teach him? It then occurred to me, I had been teaching him all along. He had never been to school before. I had even taught both of his brothers how to read and write. I could see the verse on my school site vividly in my mind. I taped it to my bathroom mirror so that I would not forget that this was God’s plan. I could teach my child even if I did not know I could teach him. I immediately began researching all things pertaining to Autism. We learned how to interact with him at home, how to best address discipline issues, and how to not accept ‘never’ for our child. The two baby steps I took through denying unnecessary medications for my child and denying the standard methods of treatment made me feel slightly more courageous than I had been just in the months prior to those visits.
This courage was with me when I pulled my older two children out of public school. It was with me when the principal shook her head and sighed. It was with me the days that I had to argue Xander’s case to Sunday school workers and family. It is still with me now.
Oh and by the way, if you are simply considering homeschooling your child is on the Autism Spectrum let me encourage by letting you in on our one-year follow up with the Psychologist. Same thing—lots of questions, battery of tests, and a huge praise from a very stunned woman.
“He is doing exceptionally! It is obvious that you and your husband have excellent problem-solving