Living with Less so Your Family Has More (Giveaway)
March 15, 2010 by admin
Today I’d like to welcome Jill and Mark Savage. Jill and Mark’s newest book Living with Less so your Family has More just released and I’ve invited them to share a little bit about this great resource!
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family.
We have been married for 27 years…17 of them happily. After finding ourselves in a marriage counselor’s office around year 8 or so, we realized that we really didn’t know how to be married. We worked hard to turn things around and now we like to share that hope with other couples.
We have five children ranging from 13 to 25. Our oldest three are married. Anne (25) and her husband, Matt, live in Zion, IL, and are expecting our first grandchild in April. (We are very excited!) Evan (22) and his wife, Julie, have been married a year and a half and they live just a few miles from us. Erica (19) married her husband Kendall last September. They live in Augusta, GA, and wherever else the Army takes them.
We have two teenagers still at home. Kolya just turned 16. He’s learning to drive and we’ve nearly worn a hole in the carpet on the floor in the passenger seat trying to find that non-existent brake pedal. Kolya is the newest member of the Savage family. We adopted him at the age of nine from Russia.
Austin is 13 and in the 8th grade. He wants us to make sure and tell the world that this “living with less” life is a real bummer because he’s the ONLY kid in 8th grade who doesn’t have a cell phone.
Tell us about your newest book Living With Less So Your Family Has More?
The world screams the message that bigger is always better, but we have found that is not often true. When it comes to raising a family, less materially can actually result in more relationally. Children don’t need the best houses, the best lessons, the best cars, or the best clothes. What they really need is the best home life and the best family relationships we can give them.
Why did you want to write this book?
We didn’t start out with the “less is more” mindset. We started as a double income family wanting to have the “best” of everything. Then Mark decided to pursue ministry. We went from the “high life” to the “frugal life” very quickly as we moved to another state for him to go to Bible College full-time.
That experience introduced us to the concept that less is more. We definitely had less money, but we had more time. We had less stress and more peace. We had less activities and more fun.
Since that experience, we’ve continued to live primarily on one income for the past twenty years. We’ve had to battle cultural peer pressure and make different decisions for our family than many other families in our neighborhood have made. But we’ve never felt that we were materially depriving ourselves or our kids…instead we’ve focused on what we’ve actually been able to provide for them emotionally and relationally.
What do you hope your readers will gain from this book?
We hope the reader is encouraged to evaluate how they are living their life, spending their money, and thinking about family matters. Our goal is to introduce families to the “less is more” concept and then equip them with the attitudes and actions to actually make that happen.
For families that are already committed to less is more, we hope to bolster their resolve and help them stay focused on the long-term goal of providing relationally for their kids.
In today’s economy, there are many families being forced to live with less. We want to help them see the opportunity they have with this unexpected downsizing they’ve been forced to do.
And for those who have just been a little discontent with their life and saying things like, “I’m tired of the rat race of life,” or “Is there more to life than drive-thru meals for dinner?” we hope to help them see other choices they have and how they can lead their family in a different direction.
What unique elements will the reader find in Living With Less So Your Family Has More?
For couples who want to read the book together, we’ve included discussion questions at the end of every chapter. This helps move the readers to discussion and eventually actions. Even a single parent can use the discussion questions for personal evaluation.
Readers will find this book a practical guide to changing your attitude and your actions to live a successful “less is more” life. They’ll find our writing style to be a warm, casual, honest discussion where we not only share our victories but our mistakes along the way. We are an average couple living successfully on an average income who want to help others to see the possibilities before them.
This is a Hearts at Home book. What is Hearts at Home?
Hearts at Home is an organization that encourages, educates, and equips women in the profession of motherhood. Hearts at Home encourages moms through annual conferences, our extensive website (www.hearts-at-home.org), a free electronic newsletter, a radio program, and an entire line of books designed to meet the needs of moms all over the world!
Any closing thoughts?
It’s healthy for parents to occasionally pause and evaluate their vision for their family and the choices they are making. We hope this resource will help them do that together and that it will lead them to live a life of little regret.
Would you like to win a copy of Living with Less so Your Family Has More?
How can I win? Simply leave a comment on this post. If you are seeing this on Facebook, visit the post at http://heartofthematteronline.com/living-with-less-giveaway.
**Contest ends Friday, March 19th at 10pm EST, winners will be chosen and emailed by Monday morning and must respond before Friday, March 26th at midnight!
If you are not the winner, you can purchase a copy for only $9.35!
How We Teach Reading
February 28, 2010 by admin
Read, read, read. From the moments spent nursing in my arms, our children have been read to. I believe being read to has paved the way, broad and smooth, to the land of language and literacy for our children.
Our five year old is just putting letter sounds together, eyes lighting up at remembrance turning into recognizable words. Seven year Andrew is a slow and hesitant reader, and we let him move at his own pace, knowing many friends experienced with boys picking up reading at a later age. Our nine year old went from learning her phonics chart to traditional three letter books straight to chapter books at age five. We have trouble prying books from under her nose still. With all our children we have been consistent in our teaching style, which is phonetically based.
So we continue with singing our ABC song, “A says “a”, A says “a”, every letter makes a sound and A says “a”…., letting the kids play with the Leapfrog alphabet game hanging on the fridge, the Code books, and regular reading together as a family.
~ Hannah
I taught both my girls to read at the age of 4 through The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading by Jesse Wise. It is a simple, text only, scripted book that is available through Peace Hill Publishing for a very economical cost! I purchased the kit and did every optional exercise and sometimes our lessons together were 15 min and other times they were 45 min but we mostly enjoyed them. There were days when it really was work to both of us (who said learning isn’t work!) but there were lots of days when we enjoyed the time with each other. They would get so excited about the progress that they could see in themselves and truly love the benefits of being able to read a book by themselves whenever they want to. I recommend this reading program to anyone serious about getting their young ones reading early and it gave me the confidence in my ability to teach my children at home. I had prepared myself for late readers (as I know there is a wide gap of normal in ages as to when they begin to blend) but I was hoping for early and I wanted to give it a try. I started teaching my firstborn with the idea of “If I can teach them to read (complex but yet so simple) then I can teach them anything!” and have pushed forward into the homeschooling world running without looking back!
Language Arts has seemed to be the hardest subject for my children to grasp. We struggled with the right curriculum for years. Both of my boys learn with a hands on approach. It was hard to find something that would fit that way of learning until last year when we stumbled across the All About Spelling curriculum. All About Spelling uses all the senses while learning to spell, read and write.
My oldest son had struggled to understand phonics rules for many years. Nothing seemed to work until we found this and now it’s finally clicked. Both of my boys are using this curriculum and it has been a huge blessing in our home.
Did a certain subject ever make you question whether you were cut out to homeschool your children? Did it ever make you feel like a complete failure? Reading has been a struggle in our household. My oldest, age 6, has struggled with reading since the day we began. I bought several different phonics programs in addition to the textbook curriculum that I was just sure would be the answer to our problems. For some time, a couple friends of mine, had been suggesting Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. One day, after watching her struggle through our lessons, I went to an online bookstore and purchased the book. I really could have saved myself a lot of money if I would have just purchased this book first.
For any homeschooling parent wondering how in the world they are going to teach their children to read- this is the book I recommend. It has step by step instructions, and, if you’re like our family, you may notice a huge difference in your child’s understanding within just a few lessons.
Looking back, I wish we would have read more books to our daughter as I truly think that would have helped prepare her for reading, but we’ve learned from our mistakes which have helped us in teaching our younger children. (By the way, our four year old is catching on with reading quickly!)
My first son knew all of his letters and their sounds by the time he was two and a half. Of course, he was our first, so we worked with him. We bought him foam letters for the bathtub. He had picture flashcards he’d beg me to walk him through. He watched the Leap Frog Letter Factory video. He pointed out all the letters in web addresses on the t.v. screen. And we read aloud to him daily, moving our finger under the words. One morning when he was four and I was reading to him he stopped pointing to all the letters he knew. This time he pointed to a word and said, “Mommy, what does this word say?!” I read it to him and he wanted me to back up, sound it out slowly and he copied me. That was the beginning. I wasn’t going to hold him back. If he wanted to learn I was going to teach him. I found an old phonics instruction book at my local library, bought a used copy off of ebay and we were off. Thus began our journey into reading and homeschooling. By the time he was Kindergarten age, he was reading his own birthday cards and letters. I can’t really say that I taught my oldest son to read, I just guided him as he wanted to learn.
My second son loved to write and draw by the time he was two. While visiting his grandpa the two of them sat and wrote the alphabet every evening and drew doodles all around the letters. It was a fun memory and my second son’s reading journey is dotted with neat experiences…with lots of gaps in between. This son wasn’t nearly as verbal and didn’t have the propensity to sit and look at books like my first son did. I didn’t want to fall in the trap of comparing the two of them, knowing my first had really learned at a very early age. So, I did spatial play with him instead of word play. As often as I could incorporate it into our playtime I would walk him through letter sounds, but he grew weary of that game quickly. We continued to read aloud to him daily and waited patiently for him to take an interest. His journey has been one of skill-building peaks followed by painful valleys. I have taken him through the same phonics book as his brother, but blends, diphthongs and rhymes don’t seem to make sense to him. He loves audio books and he has occasionally read a book to his baby brother, but still at nearly 8 he does not consider himself a reader. And I don’t consider myself a failure: he is young, he is male and his dad is dyslexic. It’s quite possible he’s just taking after his father, who even so has four higher degrees, so I will walk beside him for as long as it takes until reading becomes his.
My children are 3 and 5, so we are newly out of the alphabet phase, are currently drilling in the phonics phase, and ever-so-slowly starting into the putting-letters-together-to-form-words phase! Teaching the alphabet is the first step, and our children could recite the alphabet and recognize the 26 letters by sight before they were 2 years old. These are the methods and resources we used with success:
- Lots and lots of alphabet books! We have several books with one letter per page and one (or two) objects starting with that letter illustrated alongside it. We read these all day long, and frequently used them at bedtime for one last fun practice for the day.
- Meet the Letters DVD by Preschool Prep was a super-valuable resource and investment! After watching it just 3-4 times, both children knew the lowercase and uppercase letters by sight. No frills here…just pure and simple letter repetition with simple, animated graphics.
- Another terrific DVD is LeapFrog’s Letter Factory! This moves a little more into the phonics realm, but it is still a terrific program for little ones to enjoy — the characters are lovable and kind!
- Fun alphabet-learning games. One fun game was an alphabet paper plate caterpillar puzzle, super-cheap (homemade) and fun because of its large scale! (The tutorial is here….our fun with it is documented here!) Another fun idea the kids loved is an alphabet letter hunt, using nothing but the driveway and some sidewalk chalk! Learning combined with exercise is always a good thing!
- We also provided alphabet placemats for mealtimes, alphabet puzzles for easy reach, and letter stamps for paint play
- You can even build an entire preschool curriculum around the alphabet! Brightly Beaming Resources has an excellent, easy-to-follow letter-of-the-week curriculum available for free online.
Photo Credit: Heidi, Mt Hope Academy
Two of my children were busy, tactile learners. When they wearied of sitting, I turned learning into games with lots of action. We played Mother May I? –with phonics. I would say something like, “Tell me which word has the short “a” sound, rock, tree, or hat.” When they came up with the right answer, I had some crazy frog imitation or bird dance for them to imitate to move forward. My wiggly students were highly motivated.
When we worked a puzzle or sat at a park, I challenged my kids to identify an object that started with a particular letter. In the grocery store, my busy children had their own “lists” of items to identify. They located letters early in the phonics training and moved on to words as their skills grew.
When they began reading chapter books, we took turns reading pages or paragraphs. Observing someone else model reading aloud helped my children gain confidence. It also broke up the task of reading long pages, which seemed like a huge task to them in the beginning.
~ Rhodema
My two children have distinctly different learning styles. While my daughter seemed to absorb language and reading just by hearing and seeing the words we read to her from birth, that wasn’t enough for my son. But puzzles? Oh, how he has always loved puzzles! A simple, wooden ABC puzzle kept him entranced. Soon, he was able to put the letters in the correct spots – no small feat with 26 cut-outs. Learning letter names and sounds quickly followed, and I am convinced that process helped my kinesthetic learner become an early reader. For both children, sing-song books like the Jesse Bear series, Dr. Seuss and a few other treasures made reading come alive. Even though my youngest is now 11, I could still quote some of those early books in my sleep.
Random Tidbits – my oh my
This weekend over on our Facebook page, we asked our friends to share some completely weird and random tidbits about themselves.
My oh my, are y’all some weird bunch of homeschoolers!! And I mean that in the most loving way.
Head on over to our page and find out who:
- is completely addicted to Farmville
- crosses each day off on the calendar at exactly 5 p.m. each day
- can NOT put her hands in dirty dish water
- reads magazines from back to front
- used to be a “storm chaser”
- has three sea urchin spines in her leg
- cannot for the life of her touch a peach
- loves french fries dipped in a chocolate shake
- COMPLETELY tunes out her children while she is on Facebook
So how weird are YOU? Come and share some of your quirkiness on HOTM Facebook.
Newsletter
February 4, 2010 by admin
We have an exciting NEW announcement for newsletter subscribers! Heart of the Matter has partnered with In the Hands of a Child to provide you with a FREE lapbook just for subscribing to our newsletter!
To receive your FREE copy of A Peek at Poetry, simply enter your name and email address into the form on the top of our sidebar or into the form at the bottom of this page, confirm your subscription, and then you’ll automatically receive your lapbook within a day or two. If you have already subscribed to our newsletter, you will receive your free e-book sometime between February 8-10.
Poetry is a feeling or story told in rhythmic verse and a good poet uses words to remind us of similar events or feelings in our own lives. A Peek into Poetry and Poets Project Pack from In the Hands of a Child gives students the tools to complete a lapbook about poetry and the poets who write it.
This 53-page pack includes an 11-page Research Guide and 15 hands-on activities plus 1 bonus activity to help your student complete a poetry and poets lapbook. This pack gives students a peek at poetry structure, forms of poetry, famous poets, and how to get started writing poetry.
Please spread the word to all your friends!
Heart of the Matter’s newsletter features the week in review, current news, contest winners, and links to freebies! Sign up now and have your first newsletter delivered on Monday!
Win a Rosetta Stone Product of Your Choice!
January 22, 2010 by admin
Yesterday we announced our partnership with Rosetta Stone and the new Homeschool Language Trip. Now we would like to give you the opportunity to win a Rosetta Stone language software of your choice!
To enter, you need to have a blog or website to which you can post the following promotional piece. Copy and paste the text below (please include the links as well) into a post on your blog and then return to this post and leave a comment letting us know that you would like to be entered. You must leave a link to your post in your comment. Please do not link to your blog in general, link directly to your post. You have until February 1, 2010 at 10:00pm EST to submit your entry.
Surround your family with language. By taking them there!
Travel to Paris, Madrid and Barcelona with Homeschoolers from all over the United States. Join Rosetta Stone Homeschool, Heart of the Matter and Fusefly on the inaugural Homeschool Language Learning and Networking Trip August 2-11, 2010. Become immersed in new lands, explore history, culture, art and community. And truly speak to the world. For more details visit www.RosettaStone.com/Homeschool/LanguageLearningTrip.
Hurry, registration for the trip ends February 15, 2010.
For your chance to win a Rosetta Stone language product, please visit Heart of the Matter. Entries are being accepted until February 1st.
Feel free to use the images in this post in your own post if you would like.
Guess Who is Turning TWO!
January 7, 2010 by admin
Heart of the Matter is turning TWO!
What a fun adventure we’ve been through!
From baby to toddler, we started to crawl.
We took our first steps in front of you all.
Blessed by our writers and readers, it’s true.
Let’s celebrate with some gifts from us to YOU!
To enter the giveaways, please leave a comment below, telling us something about yourself or your family. We love getting to know our readers! If you are viewing this on Facebook, or any other website other than heartofthematteronline.com, please click here to be taken directly to the post to leave your comment. The goodies are numbered so be sure to include their numbers in your comment so we’ll know which prizes you are registering for.
The giveaways will close Friday, January 15th at 10:00pm EST. The winners will be notified via email by Monday the 18th and will have until Thursday the 21st to confirm with a mailing address.
$15 Starbucks giftcards (two available)
Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 16,635 stores in 49 countries! Starbucks sells drip brewed coffee, espresso-based hot drinks, other hot and cold drinks, snacks, and items such as mugs and coffee beans. Through the Starbucks Entertainment division, the company also markets books, music, and film. Your gift card may be used for an online purchase or in local store. Goodie #1
$50 Target giftcard
Win a $50 gift card to Target, everyone’s favorite retailer! Shop one of more than 1500 local Target stores or online at Target.com for Furniture, Electronics, Toys, Men’s and Women’s Clothing, Gifts, Appliances, Video Games, Bedding and Shoes. Expect More. Pay less. Goodie #2
Amazon.com Gift Card
Win a $25 Amazon gift card! Amazon.com is America’s largest online retailer. With your Amazon gift card, you can purchase movies, shows and documentaries on DVD, music CDs and MP3s, computer software, video games, electronics, apparel, furniture, food, toys, and certainly don’t forget the amazing selection of thousands upon thousands of BOOKS. You choose your own book(s) for your child or yourself. Goodie #3
Tickets to A Woman Inspired: An Efficient and Creative Life conference (5 available)
A conference you can attend in your jammies!! You don’t want to miss such speakers as Laura, of OrgJunkie; Sandy Coughlin, of Reluctant Entertainer; Meredith, of Like Merchant Ships; Rhoda, of Southern Hospitality; Jennifer Schmidt, of Beauty and Bedlam; Karin Katherine of Mommy Matters; Erin Chase of $5 Dinners.com and many more!!
You’ll learn how to:
- develop your God given talents and gifts
- push past creative blocks
- further your education in the area of your choice (at no cost)
- be more productive
- be more focused
- let your light shine! Goodie #4
Life Cycles Collection by David M. Schwartz
The Magic of Growth & Change is featured in this stunning 12-book science series for beginning readers. (Creative Teaching Press)
Titles as follows: Monarch Butterfly, Ladybug, Jumping Spider, Green Snake, Bean, Sunflower, Wood Frog, Chicken, Horse, Maple Tree, Green Snake, Fighting Fish. Goodie #5
First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind by Jessie Wise
Parents can assure their child’s success in language arts with this simple-to-use, scripted guide. First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind uses picture study and other classical techniques to develop the child’s language study in those first two all-important years of school. Each lesson leads the parent, step-by-step, through the simple oral and written projects that build reading, writing, spelling, storytelling, and comprehension skills. Use this book to supplement school learning, or as the center of a home-school language arts course. Goodie #6
Real Moms…Real Jesus: Meet the Friend Who Understands by Jill Savage
What does Jesus know about the peanut-butter-and-jelly life of a mom? Plenty! Jill Savage, founder and director of Hearts at Home, introduces the real Jesus to real moms. In chapters that examine key behaviors and decisions Jesus made during His life on earth, Jill brings those lessons right down to the laundry-filled, sticky-fingered days every mother knows.
Between the chapters are interactive vignettes that turn the concept of the book back around. If the meat of the content is looking at Jesus’ life on earth and understanding how to apply that in our everyday lives, these perspective vignettes are brief, refreshing glimpses starting with our own messy, busy lives. Jill continually reminds the reader that Jesus is not an unattainable deity, but a Friend who understands. Goodie #7
Handwriting Without Tears: Letters and Numbers for Me
Letters and Numbers for Me is for kindergarten students or older students working at that level.
Students learn to write capital letters, lowercase letters, numbers, words and simple sentences.
Letters are taught in a developmentally appropriate teaching order.
Learning capitals and numbers is reversal free using the slate. Goodie #8
Biographies that Build Character by Kathy Rogers
This book contains short biographical sketches of Jackie Robinson, Eleanor Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, Booker T. Washington, Albert Schweitzer, Abigail Adams, Robert E. Lee, Mohandas Gandhi, Albert Einstein, Sitting Bull, George Washington John Muir, Martin Luther King, Jr., Sacagawea, Abraham Lincoln, Cesar Chavez, Frederick Douglass, Dorothea Dix, and Mother Teresa. These are organized by character trait that is stressed in each story. There are four activities suggested at the beginning of the book that could be used with any story. Then, with each story is a teacher’s guide, the story itself, and a reproducible written activity. Goodie #9
Building Christian Character by Robin Wolfe
This book contains 13 units, each unit focusing on a different value. Children will learn about honoring God, obeying rules, telling the truth, and other values that help to build Christian character. Each unit contains a teacher’s resource page that supplies ideas for games, crafts, object lessons, and simple songs. Complete, simple instructions for each activity, as well as illustrations, make teaching easy. A Bible story is provided to teach each value lesson. Questions at the end of the story will provide an opportunity for the children to think about what the story means and how to apply it. Goodie #10
Economics: Concepts and Applications Student Text and Teacher Guide by Larry D. Hodge
This book covers the basic concepts of all parts of the economy ranging from personal, individual microeconomic issues to large-scale, global macroeconomic issues. It is divided into 7 units (18 chapters in total) and covers the following topics: introduction to economics; capitalism, communism, and socialism; America and free enterprise; money, banking, and investment; government and the economy, measuring economic performance, and trade. Although comprehension, vocabulary, and critical thinking activities are provided in the worktext, the answers are only available in the teacher’s guide. The teacher’s guide also includes additional skill builder lessons covering skills like reading a stock market report and comparing costs using the consumer price index. Unit reviews and a test are included in the teacher’s guide. Goodie #11
Mommy Grace: Erasing Your Mommy Guilt by Dr. Sheila Shuller Coleman
Remember when you were younger and did not have children yet? Do you remember when you had it ‘all figured out’…marriage, finances, motherhood? Then reality set in and all that was believed to be figured out became question marks. Every step you took as a mother was tested and challenged and then it dawned on you: no one has the answers and the child in all of the child-rearing help books did not actually exist. Mommy Grace is about that process and how as mothers we carry the guilt that comes from daily parenting and we make mistakes. We can be ‘redeemed, forgiven and loved‘ daily through Jesus Christ. Goodie #12
Transforming the Difficult Child: The Nurtured Heart Approach by Howard Glasser, MA & Jennifer Easley, MA. Included: Transforming the Difficult Child: An Interactive Guide to the Nurtured Heart Approach by Howard Glasser, Joann Bowdidge, & Lisa Bravo
Tried all the other ‘proven’ methods of discipline only to find that they did not work on your child? These books help you re-evaluate those methods and help you develop a customized for-your-child approach.They provide solid tools for dealing with your child’s behavior and even gives predictable responses from your child and how to approach them from those situations. The workbook offers positive activities, not only for you and your child, but also for YOU! If you’ve tried all of the ‘best’ and gotten nowhere, don’t give up, give this book set a try! Goodie #13
Montessori Today: A Comprehensive Approach to Education from Birth to Adulthood by Paula Polk Lilliard
Have you been thinking about trying the Montessori Method with your little one and don’t know where to start? This book will get the ideas flowing with practical tips and applying the Montessori Method to your child’s life. The author brings over a decade of experience as a Montessori teacher and administrator to this overview of Maria Montessori’s teaching methods which “balance freedom with responsibility in the classroom and also set high standards of intellectual and social development for children.” Goodie #14
Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons by Siegfried Engelmann, Phyllis Haddox & Elaine Bruner
A homeschooling favorite! This book guides you through the painstaking task of teaching your child how to be an independent reader. By applying the tried-and-true method of using phonics you can have your child reading in as little as 20 minutes a day. This is an added bonus for those who have children that are reluctant readers or have short attention spans. Goodie #15
I Spy Two Eyes by Lucy Micklethwait
Employing the same clever contrivance she used in I Spy: An Alphabet in Art , Micklethwait combines a favorite children’s game with a pleasurable exercise in art appreciation. On each left-hand page of this handsome book, a number appears, written both as a word and in extra large numerals. Along with it is the name of an object–1 fly, 2 eyes, 17 birds, and so on–to be spotted, then counted, in a reproduction of a fine painting found on the opposite page. Micklethwait has taken great care not only to find pictures that will challenge children (it’s no snap to find 12 squirrels in Abu’l Hasan’s “Squirrels in a Plane Tree” or 15 hands and feet in Fernand Leger’s “Divers on a Yellow Background”), but also to represent a wide range of art styles and subjects. Goodie #16
Focus on Reading: Submissions Desired
Although our Focus on Special Needs magazine edition just hit the (online word for newsstands?), we are already gearing up for our next issue — Focus on Reading.
Do you have an article that you’d like to submit?
If you do, please email your article to the.amies@heartofthemattermagazine.com by Monday, December 28th. Below are some suggestions and ideas to help you brainstorm…
- tips and tricks
- bribery and home reward programs
- teaching the alphabet
- what works for me
- teaching sounds/phonics
- best books (by age/level)
- reluctant readers
- books for boys
- books for girls
- dyslexia and other special needs
- reward programs like PizzaHut
- online book sites
- using the library
- choosing to read on their own
- reading games
- how to know if your child is ready to learn
- online tests for reading ability
- kid friendly websites like starfall.com
- audio books
- books for high schoolers
- reading comprehension
- curriculum reviews
- homeschooling through literature
- keeping up with the accelerated reader
- finding used books
Submission guidelines can be found here. Please include a short byline and vertical headshot with your submission. If your article is accepted, you will be notified no later than January 11th.
Special Discount for WriteShop.com
December 13, 2009 by admin
WriteShop.com is offering Heart of the Matter readers a generous 50% off all StoryBuilders by using coupon code HOTM50 during checkout. This offer expires on January 15, 2010.
WriteShop StoryBuilders – Winner of three awards from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine’s Review Crew!
- 2009 Top Ten Curricula
- Best of the Best – 2009 Honorable Mention
- Best of the Year Awards Children’s Favorite
World of Sports StoryBuilders (e-book)
World of People StoryBuilders (e-book)
World of Animals StoryBuilders (e-book)
StoryBuilders Christmas Mini-Builder (e-book)
THE WINNERS of the 5 Christmas Giveaways!
Please contact the.amies@heartofthemattermagazine.com to claim your prize by Sunday, December 13th at Midnight!
Homeschooling with TLC:
Sharon Moyer “I will be starting my homeschooling journey next fall, but as a former teacher, my biggest tip is to realize that all kids learn differently and at different rates.”
The Chronicles of Narnia Full CD Set:
Edna Tollison “I am old so my games as a child or teen is so different, when I was a child we played “ring around the rosy” “drop the hankie” and when I was a teen I love the new rock and roll music, Oh yes those were the days.”
Hands of a Child – 12 Days of Christmas Fun:
Kimberly “The project pack that we are most interested in at this time and planning to purchase from Hands of a Child is the American Government. This is an upcoming study for us in our homeschool and it seems to be just what we are looking for!”
Liz Curtis Higgs Children’s Books:
Rondah “I like sunflower parable zachsgran1 at yahoo dot com”
Please contact the.amies@heartofthemattermagazine.com to claim your prize by Sunday, December 13th at Midnight!
Focus on Special Needs: December 2009 Magazine
November 30, 2009 by admin
Focus on Special Needs
It is definitely that time of year again, isn’t it? The leaves cease to thrive, begin withering, and then finally fall to the ground. It would almost be mournful if the outcome wasn’t so amazing. In just a few short months the same plants and trees that seemed unable to produce any life suddenly begin thriving and springing forth with unimaginable beauty. Without some sort of death then there can be no life. Our Father even says that we must die to self in order to live in Him.
I remember a time when I had to mourn a death. It was when I found out about my son’s condition. I had to mourn the death of the child I had envisioned. All my hopes, dreams, and desires had to vanish before I could embrace who he was designed by God to be. That death brought life: abundant life.
I looked at my son with a new set of eyes and a whole new set of dreams and hopes were born. Dare I say they were better than the ones I had previously? They absolutely were. God has a way of giving us more than we could ever hope for and a child with special needs is simply another way of delivering it. Move past the disappointment and move toward the abundant life that you and your child can have. Let the writers of this issue help you to discover ways to help your child and yourself! Join us! ~Amy Bayliss
We are also thrilled to introduce the creator of this stunning Special Needs edition, Janet, our new digital magazine designer.
Janet is a first year homeschooling mother to four children, age six and under. She and her husband Jason are in their tenth year of marriage and seventh year living in Asia. They currently live in Indonesia where her husband teaches at an Christian International school. Janet is also owner of THE DAILY DIGI (a website for digital scrapbookers and photographers) and blogs about her life as a wife, mother, and homeschooling mom at The Well Rounded Mama.
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.
In This Issue:
The Autism Spectrum by Angela DeRossett
Blessed Disabilities by Rhodema
Building a Foundation for Bilingual Learners by Jimmie
Tourette Syndrome: Homeschooling With Tics by Brenda Ellis
The Frustrating Part of Homeschooling by Heather Laurie
College for Struggling Learners by Lee Binz
Vision Therapy: From Skeptic to Cheerleader by Darnelle
Becoming Like Ruth by Angela DeRossett
Utilizing the ABILITY in Disability by Amy Bayliss
Gifted Education: Stress with Joy by Lee Binz
Hands-On Learning by Patty
History of a Visual Processing Disorder by Karen
Tailored to Fit by Christine
That Doesn’t Even LOOK Like Writing by Angela DeRossett
How to tell WHY Your Child is Struggling by Darnelle
Check back during the month of December for a special series on supplemental materials and special needs product reviews, sponsored by our friends at CurrClick.com.
