Read Lisa’s post about Facebook Addiction and share your Facebook Profile Link below.
Read Lisa’s post about Blog Addiction and share your Blog Link below.
Heart of the Matter is in need of help in a couple of areas. If you can help in any of the following ways or if you have a talent and would like to help in a way not mentioned, simply email us and let us know you’d like to help!

- newsletter writer: A sample monthly newsletter can be seen here. The newsletter will revolve around one theme, such as a major holiday. No software or html knowledge is needed, you will just be responsible for locating the content, such as activities, printables, crafts, unit studies, etc.
- e-product reviewers: Heart of the Matter is given dozens of opportunities per month to review homeschooling e-books. If you are a technical writer who enjoys trying out new curriculum, and can be detailed and honest, join us as a reviewer. With your reply, please include links to 2 reviews that you have written in the past.
- photo submissions: Heart of the Matter uses quality stock photographs for all of our articles, however we are interested in using YOUR photos. If you have a love of photography and are often complimented on your pictures, please let us know if we may have permission to use your photos. Email us a link to your Flickr, Picasa, Photobucket or other photo hosting account. Full credit and a link back to your site will be given.
Please note that all positions are on a volunteer basis. If you are interested, please email us at: inquiry@heartofthematteronline.com

Congratulations to the following conference attendees who were chosen as winners of the more than $2000 in door prizes…
How winners are chosen:
- The entry form is converted into a spreadsheet and sorted one-at-a-time by prize. The total number of entries for a particular prize is submitted into the random number generator at www.random.org.
- The number(s) generated are matched up to the alphabetical order list of attendees.
- Heart of the Matter writers, conference speakers and conference sponsors were all eligible to win. Only those who were directly involved in the conference planning aspect were not eligible to win prizes.
How to claim your prize:
Please email us at conference@heartofthematteronline.com before 10:00pm eastern standard time on Tuesday, August 24th confirming your contact information. Please include:
- full name
- mailing address
- email address
- the prize you were selected for
Those winners who do not reply within 7 days shall forfeit their prize and a new name will be selected.
A Journey Through Learning lapbook
- Debra Anderson
- Audrey Bjur
- Lora Lease
- Karen Gebbie
- Shawntele Berting
A Woman Inspired – A Woman Inspired Conference ticket
- Claudine Arce
- Stacey Marsengill
- Marti Wolek
Albert Whitman Publishers – The Way I Feel series
- Amber Leman
Amazon $50 gift card
- Jenn Norris
Apples of Gold Online Academy – $15 gift card
- Katherine Rhodes
- Pamela Holloway
Baker Book House – Little Boys Bible Storybook for Fathers and Sons
- Lori Oetjen
Bright Ideas Press – The Mystery of History, Volume 1
- Jessica Stemmerding
Bright Ring Publishing – Discovering Great Artists
- Anessa Costlow
Candle Books – Bible Animal Board Books
- Amy Mills
Codex Publishing – The Tutor, Volume 1
- Laurin Cooke
Confessions of a Homeschooler – Letter of the Week Curriculum
- Kim Wright
Cumberland House – Why a Daughter Needs a Dad
- Melissa Juvinall
CurrClick – $50 gift card and t-shirt
- Barbara Nation
- Lisa Kerner
Dayspring – folder sets
- Stephanie Taraszewski
Egghead Academics – Creepy Crawly Fun
- Crista Murphy
Egghead Academics – Liberty: The Founding of a Country
- Renae Deckard
Egghead Academics – Magnificent Marine Life
- Loretta Rhodes
Epi Kardia – Unit Study Curriculum
- Sarah Morgan
Fun with Felt – felt pattern
- Amy Kim
Guideposts Books | Max Elliot Anderson – Lost Island Smugglers
- Julie Fogg
Hearts at Home – Growing Grateful Kids
- Renee Terry
Hearts at Home – Living with Less so your Family has More
- Chloe Hebert
Hearts at Home – Real Moms, Real Jesus
- Melissa Ransom
Home School Enrichment – magazine subscription
- Ronda Glasgow
- Rebecca Edgeworth Cox
- Lisa Bertolini
- Cori Adams
- Karen DeBeus
Homeschool Boutique – family t-shirt package
- Rochelle Keogh
Homeschooling Downunder – Our Sunburnt Country
- Sarah Bradshaw
HSLDA – @home e-vents
- Rebecca Verkerk
JumpStart – Escape from Adventure Island
- Lindsey Carter
Klutz – How to Build Castles building cards
- Brooke Rhodes
Learning Resources – Learning Clock
- Paula Winget
Lisa Whelchel – Friendship for Grown-Ups
- Leslie Thompson
- Kela Nellums
Macmillan Publishing – Win the The Great Art Scandal
- Roxanna Eaton
Math Mammoth – Blue Series on CD
- Emma Tullier
Pix-O-Sphere – Advanced Membership
- Stefanie Mayer
- Barbara Nation
- Karen Gebes
Planner Perfect
- Shelly Humble
Rainbow Resource – $25 gift certificate
- Christi Harris
Rosetta Stone
- Kim Garcia
Scholastic – 2 Scholastic Civil War-era history books
- Celeste Brown
Scholastic – 3 Scholastic math books
- Jennifer Smeltser
Scholastic – Awesome Art Activities Around the Year
- Carrie DeKalb
Scripture Adventures – Journey Through God’s Word
- Honey Brown
- Nancy Sherlock
- Tracy Berta
- Lora Farrell
- Susanna Haynes
Seeds Family Worship – five cd set
- Missie Deshane
Sheila Walsh – Beautiful Things Happen When a Woman Trusts God
- Christi Evangelo
- Christina Hess
The Classical Scholar – Trivium Mastery
- Helen Waters
- Angie Parrett
- Rachel Addison
- Cassandra Simpson
- Angela Parsley
The Greenwich Workshop Press – Son of Man: King of Kings
- Jessica Potter
The HomeScholar – Setting the Records Straight
- Lorraine Yuriar
The Old Schoolhouse – One-year Subscription
- Pamela Swearingen
- Tommie Rodgers
The Young Scientists Club – The Young Scientist Series Set 1
- Sarah Talley
TRISMS – Discovering the Ancient World
- Nancy Deater
We want to share a brand new resource with y’all…Curriculum Share is a community of homeschoolers who give and get homeschool curriculum for FREE! Brought to you by our friends at Hearts at Home Discount Homeschool Curriculum Store, Curriculum Share is about cutting costs, not corners. You will pay only the cost of shipping agreed upon by you and the person you are getting your homeschool curriculum from.
For homeschooling families our children’s education is a top priority, but a good education is costly. Especially one taught at home. Many homeschoolers are one income or low income families, and we struggle with the cost of living, let alone curriculum. With this in mind, we have created a place for homeschoolers where quality educational materials are free of cost. Members of Curriculum Share become part of a community that works together to make sure all of our children receive the best education we can give them.
Register to join now, the website goes live on Friday!

Hearts at Home Curriculum Store is offering one lucky Heart of the Matter a $15 Hearts at Home Gift Certificate.
To enter:
- Create an account at the online store and opt in for the newsletter.
- Leave a comment here letting us know that you created your account and would like to be entered.
- For an extra entry you can post a review on the store’s website for a product you already have and love.
If you are seeing this on Facebook or Twitter, visit the post at http://heartofthematteronline.com/giveaway-hearts-at-home.
**Contest ends Friday, July 23rd at 10pm EST, winners will be chosen and emailed by Monday morning and must respond before Friday, July 30th at 10pm EST!
Hmmm…”What’s in the box?” you wonder.
…
Could it be something from them?
Or maybe this?
Wouldn’t it be exciting if the box held a $50 gift card from them?
Or a $25 gift card from these wonderful people?
…

…
It could be a goodie from The HomeScholar herself:
Books, toys, games, clothing, music CD’s – we have it ALL and we are giving it all away!!
Registration is open for the 2010 Heart of the Matter Online Homeschooling Conference and tickets are only $19.99. Sign up and you will be entered to win over $1600 in the most amazing door prizes. You do not even have to be present at any of the live sessions to win!
With the purchase of a ticket to our event you’ll not only get the chance at all those prizes, you’ll automatically no questions asked get an enormous $290 freebie package. Everyone who registers get these goodies! And the conference is still over 3 weeks away so the freebies will just keep growing.
We hope to “see” you there!!

Photo Credit: Dawn Camp, My Home Sweet Home
You can view our magazine in 3 ways:
- Click here to be taken to the flipbook version, where you can click and turn the pages as you would a print magazine. Be sure to turn your sound on.
- Click here to download the magazine in pdf format.
- Click here and scroll down to view the articles in blog format.
A Few Words From Lee Binz
Homeschoolers are a forgetful bunch. Each new phase of homeschooling is often met with anxiety and uncertainty. “Can I really do this?” is a common question, especially when approaching the high school years. Yet, the Bible has a lot to say about remembering. In fact, the theme of Deuteronomy is “remember.” Don’t forget what the Lord has done.
Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. ~Deuteronomy 8:2
Don’t forget what He has done is YOUR life as well. Remember when you had babies, and they had trouble sleeping through the night. Remember when you had toddlers that physically stuck to you like glue. Remember first grade, when you were terrified that your child may not learn to read. Remember 3rd grade, when you began suggesting multiplication and cursive with fear and trepidation.
Remember when you taught your child to ride a bike without training wheels. They could have gotten seriously hurt – even WITH a helmet on! And yet you managed to teach them. They learned and they survived the learning. Remember all those things when you are thinking about starting to homeschool high school. High school isn’t any MORE difficult than homeschooling any other age. Toddler troubles aren’t harder than baby troubles – they are just DIFFERENT. Each stage in life is different, and high school is just another new and different stage. You’ll learn to cope with this stage as well as you have learned to cope with the other stages.
Remember. You survived. You can do this too!
In This Issue:
- Homeschooling’s Dirty Little Secret by Carol Barnier
- Following the Career Path Road, Oh My! by Leah Nieman
- God Was Homeschooling ME by Dr. Ruth Beechick and Debbie Strayer
- Why Homeschool Through High School? by Maggie Hogan
- What They DON’T Learn in School, But Can’t Live Without by Tyler Hogan
- Grading Without Tests by Lee Binz
- 10 Benefits of Homeschool Co-ops For High School Students by Carol Topp, CPA
- From Transcript to Transformation by Diane Lockman
- Why in the World Would You Homeschool High Schoolers? by Sarita Holzmann
- Words that Represent You and Yet Influence Others by Belinda Bullard
- Staying the Course: Homeschooling Through High School by Dawn Camp
- High School Step-by-Step by Lee Binz
- Expanding the Options for Home Schooled High School Students by Tim N. Scoggins
- What Teens Wish Their Parents Knew by Bethany LeBedz
- Homeschoolers. High School. by Cara Putnam
- Pursuing Their Dreams: Career Exploration for High School Students by Carol Topp, CPA
- Course Description Emergency! by Lee Binz
- The Tale of a Son by Tammy Dallmann
- To GED or Not to GED? by Belinda Bullard
- Through the Eyes of a High Schooler by Taylor Nieman

The next edition of Heart of the Matter’s digital magazine will focus on Fine Arts. We are looking for submissions on the following:
- art
- crafts
- drawing
- music
- photography
- singing
- value of music lessons
- painting
- sculpture
- dance
- theater
- architecture
- woodworking
- composer or artist studies
- creative writing
- sewing
- cartooning
Do you have an article that you would like to submit? If you do, please email your article to submissions@heartofthematteronline.com by Thursday, July 1st. Submission guidelines can be found here. Please include a short byline and vertical headshot with your submission.




















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