2009 September | Heart of the Matter

September 30, 2009 By Cassie 2 Comments

I Spy With My Little Eye…

… why homeschooling is a lot like making pancakes.

… a new blog meme for families using the Workbox System.

… a very simple guide to succeeding in homeschooling.

… 50 unschooling blogs you don’t want to miss!

… great tips and encouragement for weary moms.

… why we need to be careful about giving ourselves titles.

Cassandra Simpson is a homeschooling wife and mother of four children, ages 1, 8, 9, and 12. She is starting her 6th year of home educating in Indiana and uses a “Classically Eclectic” teaching approach. Cassandra is the Assistant Lead Moderator for HOTM’s forum and loves talking homeschool with anyone who will listen! Her hobbies are reading, blogging, sewing, and cooking. You can check out her family’s blog at In His Image.

Share and Enjoy:

September 29, 2009 By The Amies 16 Comments

A morbid reason to homeschool
Henry found a new reason today, a morbid reason, to homeschool. Posted at Why Homeschool

Every student should have a unique reading list that can reflect their unique abilities and interests.
Lee presents What’s Up With Homeschool Reading Lists? posted at The HomeScholar Helper.

A fun unit study for grade schoolers
Lisa Smith presents 6 Ways To Study Greece And The Olympics Without Nodding Off posted at Stretch Mark Mama.

Supporting my sister and her hassles with her son’s school bring back memories of why I made the choice to homeschool
Cristina presents Giving Birth to an Educational Philosophy posted at Home Spun Juggling.

ChristineMM of The Thinking Mother shares thoughts about reading, literacy and education after hearing a speech given by author David Balacci on BookTV this weekend.
ChristineMM presents Thoughts on Educated Kids and Literate Adults posted at The Thinking Mother.

This is a fun fall art project that is appropriate for preschoolers and up.
Amy @ Hope Is the Word presents Messy Monday: Watercolor Leaf Garland posted at Hope Is the Word.

This article examines the timeless genius of Leonardo DaVinci and poses the question of where our students might be if we allowed them to follow their passions freely without the structure that many of us impose in defining what is “school.”
Belinda Bullard presents Chronicles of a Blessed Heritage – Our First Week of Summer posted at Chronicles of a Blessed Heritage – Homeschool Blogger.

Personal testimony of our journey to homeschool with the Word as our basis for education.
Lisa presents God’s Curriculum posted at The HomeSpun Life .

This is a unit study for the secret garden I wrote for my kids who are elementary age, with added activities for preschool aged children.
Jennifer presents The Secret Garden posted at schooling memoirs.

I hope this story of my son’s homeschool journey through high school graduation will be an encouragement for mothers who are homeschooling for the long haul.
Dawn @ My Home Sweet Home presents (In)Courage: A Mother’s Hope posted at (In)Courage.

Public schools force kids to praise the Prez!
Hall Monitor presents School Students Sing Praises of President Obama posted at DetentionSlip.org.

This post is about persevering in your homeschool, even in the midst of discouragement. We will reap a harvest if we don’t give up!
Molly Evert presents Don’t despise the small things posted at Counter-cultural School.

Article on the pluses and minuses of purchasing the eFormat version of hsing products.
Sheri H presents To eBook or Not to eBook: That is the Question Part I posted at Homeschooling on a Wing and a Prayer.

It is always a blessing to have God give us His Words of encouragement as we begin a new school year!
Tammy presents “and so we begin” posted at Garden Glimpses .

My six-year-old is learning to knit, and it’s so exciting to watch her at work.
Jennifer Bogart presents Learning to Knit posted at Quiverfull Family.

Idea for organizing books!
Angela Mills presents Too Many Books? Here’s One Solution! posted at Angela Mills.

A comprehensive site for learning about the Holocaust.
Susan Gaissert presents Exploring the Holocaust « The Expanding Life posted at The Expanding Life.

A very talented photographic artist from Etsy has volunteered to custom create the winner’s choice of 3 designs. Perfect Halloween greeting for your friends and family! Not many have entered yet, so there’s a great chance of winning!
Susan Gaissert presents Custom Halloween Photo Cards Giveaway posted at The Frugal Homeschooling Mom.

There are dozens of ways to introduce your child to the world of crafts. Here are some easy and inexpensive starter projects.
Annette Berlin presents Mother-Daughter Craft Projects posted at Craft Stew.

A book review of the two volume set Mathematicians are People, Too — living math biographies.
Jimmie presents Mathematicians are People, Too posted at The Curriculum Choice.

How to handle a sick child — should you take the day off or keep doing school?
Jimmie presents Homeschool with a Sick Student posted at Jimmie’s Collage.

Review of “My Big Drawing & Tote Board” by Barker Creek and its many uses in our home school.
Jacque presents Great Home School Buy: Draw Write Now Tote Board posted at Walking Therein.

A review of a phonics/reading program called Rocket Phonics. I have been very impressed with the program.
Lacey presents Rocket Phonics – A Review posted at We Love To Homeschool.

This is an article the Lord placed on my heart last month, to help our local homeschool family.
Jennifer Southern presents To School at Home or Not School at Home, That is the Question! posted at Creative Learners.

This article is a little bit of education and family. I share what we’re doing this year with our homeschool, in the midst of doctor’s appointments and dealing with special needs.
Lisa Coburn presents Making Homeschool Work for Your Family’s Version of “Normal” posted at Back to Nature at the Wyldhouse Homestead.

Nature Study for the Very Young ~ Indoor and outdoor activities to explore nature with the Nature Explorers Club
Michelle @ Delightful Learning presents Nature Explorers Club: Horse Chestnut Tree posted at Delightful Learning.

This is a post I wrote to encourage homeschool moms. I have also listed my favorite homeschooling books along with why I enjoyed them in this entry!
Candace presents His Mercy is New: Encouragement for the Homeschooler posted at His Mercy is New.

This is a blog entry about surviving as a homeschool mom with depression.
Candace presents Surviving hard days… posted at His Mercy is New.

Stephanie presents Point Pleasant posted at Adventures in the 100 Acre Wood.

Karen presents Free-Range Justification posted at The Stone Age Techie.

Mrs. White presents Just a Regular Mom posted at The Legacy of Home.

Debbie presents The Architect and The Artist: Workbox Ideas posted at The Architect and The Artist.

Wendy Hilton presents Our Crew’s Ship – Benefits of Homeschooling Your Special Needs Child posted at Our Crew’s Ship.

Lori Boling presents Combing Art with Nature walks posted at Loving Learning at Home.

Debbie Phillips presents Charlotte Mason Homeschooling posted at Debbies Digest.

Heather presents Finding the Home in Homeschooling posted at Marine Corps Nomads.

Lara DeHaven presents Review of Rosetta Stone Software posted at Texas Homesteader.

Aimee presents homeschool talk: lapbooks posted at Aimee’s Land.

Dana presents The power of a story posted at Principled Discovery.

Lynn presents Mummies, Flowers and Blue Dolphins posted at Eclectic Education – Homeschool Blogger.

Kimberly presents Multi-level Homeschooling: Little Ones posted at Raising Olives.

Kerry presents 8 Habits of a Happy Homeschool Mama posted at A Ten O’Clock Scholar.

Share and Enjoy:

September 28, 2009 By Marybeth 3 Comments

Welcome to Write At Home, a monthly feature here at HOTM. Marybeth Whalen will be introducing you to homeschool moms who write: curriculum authors, novelists, nonfiction writers, and popular bloggers and more. Many of us are deeply inspired by these moms who seem to “do it all.” This feature will provide you with a glimpse into their everyday lives.

Leanna Ellis is a writer, homeschool mom and keeper of many pets. Today we get to hear about how she writes at home!

Hi Le, thanks so much for joining us today! Can you tell us a bit about your work and your family?

Hi, Marybeth! Thanks so much for having me here! I write quirky women’s fiction, plus I homeschool our two children, a boy in 6th grade and a girl in 5th. Besides that, my husband and I have a menagerie of three dogs (one being a hyper puppy) and a surly cat.

You were once a writer of secular romances but switched to Christian fiction– explain what prompted that change.

That’s true. When my two children were born, fifteen months apart, I was busy writing romances. I think I suffered some burnout as I wrote 4 books from when my son was born to when he turned a year, plus I was pregnant with my second for 6 months of that time. But it wasn’t truly burnout in that I had other story ideas floating around in my head. Part of me wanted to spend more time with my characters and not have to rush so in telling their stories. So I made a tough decision and walked away from publishing for a while. When I was pregnant with my first child, a very difficult pregnancy with a lot of fears and questions about the health of my son, God really began to do a major work in my heart. My son was born with a hole in his heart which thankfully closed on its own, but God really changed mine. So for the first time, I gave my writing to the Lord and prayed about what He wanted me to write. For a few years, while I continued praying, I was also growing my writing and discovering my voice and what I wanted to write. I truly thought He wanted me to continue writing for the secular market but with a foundation of spiritual issues presented in the stories. After I’d been trying to sell Elvis Takes a Back Seat for a while, and feeling like I was hitting my head against a stone wall, I came across a CBA (Christian Bookseller’s Association) editor’s blog. This editor was discussing how the inspirational market was beginning to reach out to the secular market. I had an incredible visceral response to the blog which surprised me. So I began praying about it, asking God if He wanted me to suddenly move toward the inspirational market. I began to rework my manuscript, tugging those spiritual threads more toward the surface. Within three months, I had an agent … and a few months after that a publisher. God really began to open doors. One of those doors was with my publisher and that my book became their launch title. So it was all timing. HIS timing.

Your kids go to a university model school. Can you tell us a bit about that and how it fits with homeschooling? Also, what made you decide to go with that choice for your family?

About three years ago, I had already been homeschooling for a few years, and I felt like I’d exceeded my teaching abilities. My background is teaching elementary education with an emphasis on reading and the early grades. My husband and I really believed in providing a classical education for our children. Plus, we wanted to provide foreign language instruction, and I’m handicapped in that I only speak English. We had our eye on a university model school for several years and knew several people who went. Basically, the children attend two days a week. The other days are spent at home doing their lessons. The parent is also considered a teacher but does not have to do direct instruction. The teachers at the school do that. Mostly I grade papers, do remedial work and keep the kids on task. Friday classes are provided for extra subjects. We have really enjoyed our two years there. We still have many of the benefits of homeschooling but also benefits of a private school. Our thinking when we began homeschooling was to provide the best education we could for our children in whatever form that might be. We try to be flexible in that we want to follow God’s path for our children. We’ve learned one particular way does not always fit all children or families. What a great time we live in that we have so many options as parents to benefit our children.

You have a book that was released recently. Can you tell us a little about it?

Ruby’s Slippers came out in April. It’s sort of a Wizard of Oz meets Cinderella story. When Dottie Meyers loses her ‘no place like home’ during a Kansas tornado, she wakes up to find a pair of ruby slippers left by her father who abandoned his family thirty years ago. With her sister hot on her trail to find the treasured ruby slippers, Dottie travels a yellow brick road with three friends to find her father. No wizard can solve her problems. Only the love of a heavenly father can heal her wounds and give her the desires of her heart. There’s no place like … the heart for God’s healing touch.

Can you share a great time-management tip or two that you have discovered as you have worked to balance your writing and homeschooling?

I’ve learned over the years to give myself plenty of grace. God certainly does! There are days when I don’t get up early enough. Or I need an afternoon nap. Or a child gets sick and I don’t get any work done. For three weeks this past February, my father was in the hospital. During that time, I was driving the kids to and from school and to and from the hospital which was almost an hour from us. At the hospital, I couldn’t concentrate with nurses, doctors and visitors walking into the room at all hours. But I no longer beat myself up over bumps in the road. Things happen. Amazingly, I was still able to meet my deadline. Definitely a dose of help from God. Tomorrow, as Scarlett, so aptly said, is another day. I’ve also (and am still learning) to do things in little chunks. This includes cleaning the house. If I do a little bit every day, progress is made. 5 minutes every day adds up throughout the week. And this is true for my writing. Whereas I might not be able to write as long or as much per day as I once did before kids and homeschooling, I can write little bits here and there.

Finally, what advice would you give to a mom who has a dream of being a writer?

We can all say we don’t have time for the things we want to pursue. We’re all busy. But at some point you just have to quit talking or thinking about it and do it. Just write. Give yourself thirty minutes a day to write. If you can’t squeeze it in during nap times (which I so miss!), then get up thirty minutes early. Moms have told me, “But I’m not a morning person.” Neither am I. I trained myself to get up early and work. You can too. When my babies were young, I’d write when they napped. My son, unfortunately, only took 30 minute naps. So I wrote during those 30 minutes. I produced 4 books that year. It can be done. John Grisham wrote his first book during lunch. A page a day adds up to a 356 page book by the end of the year. So, no excuses, just write.

Thanks so much for taking time to share with us. We all could stand to learn a lot from you!

Thank you, Marybeth! I hope my answers will help someone else.

Marybeth Whalen is homeschooling mom to six children ranging in age from teen to toddler, as well as a speaker for Proverbs 31 Ministries. In her writings, she addresses things like burnout, dealing with interruptions, and handling homeschooling from a very practical perspective. Be sure to visit her blog, Cheaper by the Half Dozen.

Share and Enjoy:

September 27, 2009 By Luke 15 Comments

The Bible on Stewardship

“I don’t care if ‘the cattle on a thousand hills’ are the Lord’s (Psalm 50:10), because He isn’t giving them to me.”

“I need to be good steward of what I have or else it will fly away (Proverbs 6:10-11). That’s stewardship.”

“I wish I could buy this or that, but I can’t. I have to serve God with my money, what little of it I have.”

“I can’t just buy whatever I want. Certainly not with the way my finances are right now!”

Right?

Actually, no.

While we need to be good stewards of our money, God has a slightly different perspective on what stewardship means.

See, I used to rather despise God’s provision for me. “Sure, God,” I’d say. “You give me enough to live on, but that’s it. My life is miserable because I’m just barely making ends meet.” And all the while I knew that I was just being ungrateful, because He really was blessing me more than just to get by… though not by much. So I was just ungrateful, wasn’t I?

I was poor and ungrateful. And did I mention miserable?

*****

In January of 2007 I had had enough. It was right after another really horrible Christmas: you know, the time when it is better to give than to receive? I couldn’t bear to give because I didn’t have any money in the budget for presents. I couldn’t believe how much we had spent, and was convinced that Brittany and I were going to lose our house or something for our irresponsible spending during the holiday season. I was at a breaking point.

I finally decided to try a thing I’d heard about many times before that my dad called “The Party Tithe.” This concept comes from Deuteronomy 14:22-26. I’ll quote you the KJV because that is often considered the strictest translation, but feel free to look this up in your favorite version. Here’s verse 25:

And thou shalt bestow that [tithe] for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household.

We are told by God to take a tenth of our income–on top of the tenth we’ve already tithed for His Kingdom purposes–and spend it on whatever we want as a way of rejoicing before Him.

Brittany and I agreed to put a tenth of what I make into a Party bank account. This account, then, would pay for gifts, eating out, games, movies, splurge items, vacations, and anything else I feel like slipping in there.

Parties and Stewardship

I cannot express how incredibly freeing this has been.

My guess is that it feels as good, if not better, than being debt free. Why? Because I am no longer indebted to my “stewardship” to scrimp and save every penny. I can rest in the joy and peace found in trusting God to take care of the rest. And He has. Because, just like regular tithing, this is about resting in God rather than trying to make ends meet on our own. He provides, and He also gives us rest. That’s the point of taking a Sabbath, of tithing, and the Party Tithe. When you start doing it, life gets better.

Imagine that: The Bible suggesting a way of life that leads to greater freedom, more joy, and even more partying.

That’s exactly how God works. But when I was trusting in the god of money, I wasn’t free, I didn’t experience joy, and I never really partied. I felt poor, beaten down, and constantly enslaved to a budget. Now, I have an entire “spend without guilt” fund that is God ordained. God has commanded that we spend a tenth of our money on rejoicing before Him.

It has been over a year and a half since we started the Party Tithe, and life is so much better. I’m still learning to let go of money and spend it with joy because of God’s goodness to us, but we go out to eat once a week, we can purchase gifts (even for ourselves), and we flew out to California last Christmas to spend time with Brittany’s folks.

And the Party Fund has never been larger.

Luke Holzmann is the son of John and Sarita Holzmann, founders of Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd., in Littleton, CO, where he is the Media Relations Specialist. He attended Biola University, in La Mirada, CA, and earned the BA in Motion Picture Production. You can find his work at http://www.sonlightblog.com/, production-now.com, and lukeholzmann.blogspot.com.

Share and Enjoy:

September 26, 2009 By Lori 5 Comments

The object of this study is to take some time out of our busy, often chaotic days and spend some time with women who have gone before us. Not just any women, but 26 women of the Bible. We’ll “Walk Among Them” and see how their stories relate to our lives. It’s my hope that we will discover God’s presence and grace in our own lives as the lives and lessons of these women unfold before us this year.

Joanna

It’s a name that we don’t often think of when we think of Biblical Women. It’s certainly not a name that comes up in the top five women of the Bible. Our brief walk with Joanna begins in Luke 8:1,

“After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary from whom the seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod’s household’ Susanna and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.”

The ONLY other mention of her is again in Luke. In Luke 24:10 we meet Joanna again, in extraordinary circumstances.
“On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them,

“Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he is risen!

Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again’”

When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed like nonsense.”

Just being mentioned in Scripture is amazing! Joanna is mentioned among the women who were the first to hear of the Resurrection! WOW! We can glean a bit about her from what we read in Scripture. We can assume that she was cured in some way, from something that traditional medicine couldn’t cure and that she was helping to support Jesus and His ministry from her own money. We also know that she was married to the man who managed Herod’s estates. Herod Antipas was the ruler who had John the Baptist murdered, and Antipas was very aware of Jesus, since Jesus was ministering in the same area. In Luke’s Gospel, we are told that Jesus was brought before Pontius Pilate for trial, and then Pilate handed Him back over to Antipas. Joanna was VERY aware of the risk that she was taking by being a committed follower of Jesus.

Joanna understood power. She lived among the powerful and yet she witnessed something in Jesus that was different. His ministry was not about the powerful and she became committed to it. She risked her comfortable life to serve and minister with Jesus.

Joanna was part of Jesus’ close circle of friends. She made the choice to “hang out” with those that Jesus associated with, the poor and the weak, often the lowest members of society. She could have watched it from the comforts of her home, but she chose not to. Joanna was right in the mix, using her own money to support Jesus and his disciples.

Imagine for a moment that you’ve just witnessed the death of a dear friend. Worse yet, contemplate that it was an intentional crucifixion. That is exactly what Joanna witnesses and the morning after the Sabbath, she and a few other women head out to where the body was taken to prepare the body in the proper way. She is simply doing what needs to be done. Imagine in those darkest moments, full of grief and confusion, angels of the Lord appear and remind you of what Jesus promised while He was still alive. Then to hear them proclaim for the first time, “He is NOT here! He is risen from the dead!”

Joanna is among those first few women to hear this amazing news! Joanna certainly experienced the lowest of lows and the highest of highs in her time on earth. Her commitment to Christ is why we remember her and the lessons of Jesus’ healing power and an example of faithfulness to Him are lessons she so clearly shares with us.

Again, it’s amazing to me that a woman mentioned so briefly in the Bible can offer us such an example. While we know so little about the woman named Joanna, we take away so very much.

With each woman that we study, I’ll have some thoughts and ideas for reflection, meditation and journaling that will be called “Reflections from the Walk.” It’s in Walking Among Them that we can learn lessons that we can take with us on our daily walks.

Reflections from the walk:

Clearly Joanna had resources. Her husband was in charge of Herod Antipas’ estate. She could have chosen a much different path for her life. Her commitment to Jesus included using her money to support the ministry. Spend some time this week thinking about how YOU spend your money in regards to ministry. Often we tithe our weekly or monthly offering and forget about it. Go a bit deeper this week. Is there a way for you to take a bit of your spending money, forgo a “want” and use it in a way that serves a ministry at your church? If that isn’t possible (for some it will not be), think of how you can use your talents or offer a service to a ministry at your church that you have not ever offered before. You’ll be amazed at how possible it is to go a step further in faith.

Joanna was healed by Jesus of some medical issue. (Luke 8:1) It may have been this healing that led to her passionate following of Christ. Spend some time reading and learning about the healings of Jesus. Reference Mark 2:3 -12, Mark: 25-29, Mark 1:30-31, Luke 13:11 – 13 to name a few. Healing at the hands of Jesus is an amazing thing. Do you believe Jesus continues to heal today? Pray this week for those who heal, doctors and medical personnel who have been given knowledge to save lives and heal. Pray also for miracles, like those listed above. Pray specifically for someone in your life in need of Christ’s healing power.

Let’s doodle again! This week’s Scripture is one of promise! One that Joanna certainly felt at the time of the Resurrection!

“You who dwell in the dust, wake up and shout for JOY!”

Isaiah 26:19

Finally, as a woman, consider seriously your role in ministry. Are you active in ministry? Are you using your gifts and resources appropriately? Has God placed on your heart an area that He would like you to serve? Journaling these thoughts and praying sincerely about them could open up ministry opportunities that you have never before considered. Joanna likely did not always imagine herself a disciple of Jesus, but it was God’s plan for her life…what is His plan for yours?

A downloadable PDF version is available HERE.

Lori is a 6th year homeschool mom to 3. Currently she homeschools an 9th grader, a 7th grader and a 5th grader. Lori hopes to impart peace and inspiration amidst the daily chaos. It’s in the daily details of life that she is continually inspired! Be sure to visit her blog at All You Have to Give and at Internet Cafe Devotions.

Share and Enjoy:

September 25, 2009 By Angela 1 Comment

Your baby is born, you are instantly in love and your mind is exploding as you count the fingers and toes and imagine what kind of future this child will have.You have the books, the dreams and imagine a world of perfection for this baby.

Your thoughts…

Perhaps this child will be self-centered. Would that not be lovely?

Maybe they will be glued to their hand-held gaming device from dusk to dawn nary to give you a sideways glance. He/she would be out of your hair, would they not?

Better still… why not give them everything their heart desires allowing them the freedom to make all of their own choices, experiencing everything life has to give freely. After all, there are things ‘we all did’ when we were younger and since ‘they are going to do it anyway’, what’s the point of saying anything?

Ah, the dreams we have.

Out of all the books that one reads as their child grows, I encourage you to seek this ‘guidebook’, How to MESS UP Your Child’s Life: Proven Strategies and Practical Tips by Olivia and Kurt Bruner. (Authors of Playstation Nation)

Olivia and Kurt Bruner present very ‘tongue in cheek’ (downright hilarious) views on ways that you can hinder your child’s journey into becoming a successful, Christian adult by illustrating things we do as parents not having the foresight to see how the future will play out. They use a parallel between parental choices and the ‘Seven Deadlies’. You may be thinking that it’s going well enough in your home and the examples above are merely the extremes. I will give you that–they are the extremes. What you need to know more are the issues that happen daily in your parenting–the unnoticeables.

You will not be disappointed by this book. And those dreams–the real ones, can only stand to benefit from adding this to your collection of Christian parenting books.

Angela DeRossett is military wife, homeschooling mother, and an advocate for autism research. Angela can be found blogging at Homeschooling the Chaotic Family and Memoirs of a Chaotic Mommy.

Share and Enjoy:

September 25, 2009 By AmyF Leave a Comment

The weekend is here and it’s time to unwind from this week’s events. Why not spend some “me” time at a great forum?

We currently have 702 posts, 234 topics and 145 members. Thank you for all the members that have helped make these statistics a reality. If you have not registered, we would love for you to join us. And while you are at it, check these posts out:

Military Families can now connect with each others. Come introduce yourself to other Military Homeschool Families.
Homeschooling Special Needs Children can be a rewarding but stressful job at times. There are others going through the same thing as you do daily. Special Needs Learning Styles.
Do you Tweet? As a member, you can have access to other member’s twitter account names along with other blogging and social media.
We love resources. One of the great resources for any homeschooler is a list of local homeschool groups in your area. We need your help to fill out this area. Come add your group today.
Parenting when you have a special need or chronic illness can be difficult. Do you have a phrase or favorite bible verse you would like to share with others to help them get through their daily life?
How can you keep your marriage passionate? With everything going on in your life, how do you focus on the intimacy part of your marriage?
Not all of us use the same method of homeschooling. Come share your learning method with us to help us understand your style better.
This weekend, if you happen to go on a date with your husband and would like to share, post here.

Amy Fleeker is a part of a great family that includes a husband of 12 years, 3 children, a dog and a cat. Her homeschooling style is eclectic with a emphasis on classical teaching. When with her family, you can find her watching movies, playing board games, and living life with a great sense of humor and knowing that God is all around. In her spare time she enjoys scrapbooking, tatting, crocheting and doing a little family history. You can visit Amy at her blog, Counting Change Again, or at the HOTM forum, where she is the Lead Moderator.

Share and Enjoy:

September 25, 2009 By Barbara 4 Comments

Let me tell you, if the Lord handed out extra jewels for our eternal crowns based on number of and sheer irrationality of one’s, well, irrational fears, my crown would be so sparkly and bejeweled that you would need to wear sunglasses to look upon me, and so heavy that I would need a brace to support my neck in order for me to lift my head.

Allow me to list a few of my irrational fears to prove that, in this area of life at the least, I excel.

I am afraid:

that if a fly buzzes around me in particular for a lengthy amount of time at an outdoor function that you’ll think I have poor personal hygiene and will think less of me.
that if I say to a vendor at a farmer’s market that I might come back to buy his bag of apples and then instead buy someone else’s bag of apples, that he will go home and tell his wife about this lying, cheating, rude lady who isn’t supporting his farm business.
that my dentist can tell that I haven’t been flossing and thinks I’m a lesser human because of it.
that I’ll accidentally mix bleach with whatever it is you aren’t supposed to mix it with and I’ll fill my house with some deadly chemical and poison my whole family.
that if I eat junk food, in secret, while driving in the car that this will be the time that I get rear-ended and choke to death on my Nachos Bell Grande.
that if my children can’t tie their own shoes by the time they start grade one that they will have emotional issues from my negligence well into their adult years.
that someone will pull my children aside in a public place and spontaneously quiz them on the capitals of the Canadian Provinces, they won’t do well, and they’ll be forcibly removed from my care.
that every police officer I see behind me on the road is about to pull me over on account of my poor driving, or on account of a crime of which I’m being falsely accused.
that my not knowing how to ride a bike really does make me a loser.
that the people I knew in High School will find me on Facebook and air all my past failures to the people who know and love me today.
that I will be forced to learn how to ride a bike and I’ll either a) never get it and thus be a loser forever or b) finally get it and have to admit that I really like it.
that my sister will die not knowing Jesus personally and it was my fault for not telling her more clearly.
that maybe, just maybe God’s promises in His Word don’t really apply to me.
that if I need to ask for help it means that I’ve taken on more than the Lord meant for me to do and that I’ve failed.

What about you? What things keep you up at night? I bet I’m not the only one with a list as long as her arm of ridiculous things to be stressed out about. And how many of them do you think are legitimate? About how many of these fears is the Lord saying, “Oh yes, my daughter. Please worry about that one. It is of eternal significance and truly something that you need to work out for me”?

Don’t get me wrong, some of these things feel really, really legitimate. And some things in our life DO need a lot of thought and prayer, and some planning to avoid disaster, so far as it depends on us.

But what about this?

“Do not be anxious about anything.” (Phil. 4:6)

How do we do that? How do I just not be anxious? Is there a magic pill to take? Is there a self-controlled, white-knuckling I can do to overcome this? Do I just shove down all my anxieties deeper and deeper into the heart of me, burying them with food, with computer time, with shopping, with bitterness, with ministry addiction,…?

No, no, no. Praise the Lord, no. Read the verses before and after Phillipians 4:6 to get the whole, beautiful, freeing, wonderful picture.

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice!”

Step one: Look for the joyful things in your life, no matter how small and seemingly trivial. Rejoice in them to yourself in prayer time, and to your friends and family around you. Say it out loud so you don’t forget the happy, non-anxious things in your life.

“Let your reasonableness be known to everyone.”

Step two: Okay, seriously? What is the worst that could happen if someone takes a really unflattering picture of me at a church function? Is my anxious reaction reasonable? Look at the irrational fears in the grand scheme of things. Watch them shrink to nothing.

“The Lord is at hand.”

Step three: Those things that aren’t trivial that are worrying you like health concerns, finances, your own sin and guilt, your children’s education and safety…all these things we can be “not anxious” over because the Lord is at hand. He is beside you, guiding you, instructing you, calming you, working out every detail for your good and His glory.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

Step four: Don’t pretend you don’t need help both in getting through the fearful situation in a practical, temporal way, and in getting over the emotions attached to the anxiety in our lives. Please, really and truly take it to the Lord in prayer, and then leave it there. He knows we need Him. Why can’t we admit we need Him too?

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Step five: Breathe. Isn’t that what we want: Peace?

This week I want to surrender my anxious thoughts and my restless heart to the Lord of Peace. I want to be reasonable about the things that are irrational fears so that I’m thinking clearly enough to rightly consider the issues that ought to be brought before the Lord in prayer and thanksgiving and supplication. I want to trust that the Lord is at hand, ready to cover me in His peace. I want to be free of irrational fears, don’t you?

And if that means I need to take a smaller crown in glory, so be it.

Barbara and her husband, as they homeschool their 7 children, are finding out that no two children are alike! Between lessons and lunches, Barbara blogs at Fuel by Barbara.

Share and Enjoy:

September 24, 2009 By Chris 3 Comments

Mnemonic devices are super glue for the mind

The lines and spaces were stretched out before me like an endless trek. Dots on or between those lines were supposed to translate to music? Impossible.

But then I discovered that Every Good Boy Does Fine (and Every Good Bird Does Fly) and All Cows Eat Grass (and unfortunately, All Cars Eat Gas) and we all have a FACE. Suddenly, music – at least the reading of it – was easy.

Mnemonic devices, handy ways to remember a list, have all new appeal to me as a homeschool teacher. Once learned, I know they will stick with my son forever, long after he has left our little classroom. I can guarantee he will be the dad helping his child with the classification of living things by announcing that King Phillip Came Over For Good Spaghetti ¹.

Mentioning this rediscovered technique recently I found that it is used from beginning piano students to college kids taught by a friend. At my mention of King Phillip, he countered with “Help Five Police To Find Ten Missing Prisoners²” and “Happy Henry Lithely Began Baking Cakes, Not Omitting Four Necessities³.”

Though I want my son to have a deep understanding of what we study, along with the ability to apply it in real life, sometimes you just have to memorize a list. Mnemonic devices make it painless. Search online for mnemonics for just about everything you could possibly have to memorize in school – or work with your child to make your own.

In the meantime, while I gaze upon Roy G. Biv ⁴, Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally ⁵.

————————————————-

1. Taxonomic order: Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species
2. The bones of the lower limb: Hip, Femur, Patella, Tibia, Fibula, Tarsals, Metatarsals, Phalanges
3. Elements 1 – 10 of the Periodic Table: Hydrogen, Helium, Lithium, Beryllium, Boron, Carbon, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Flourine, Neon
4. The colors of the rainbow: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet
5. Order of Operations: Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction

Chris Worthy is mom to Caroline (15) and Nolan (10) and will soon celebrate 20 years of marriage to her favorite person, John. Chris practiced law before becoming a writer and stay-at-home mother more than 10 years ago. She enjoys cooking, crafting, spoiling dogs, green living and rummaging though old books. Follow along at www.chrisworthy.com