Jenny Penton is a homeschooling mother of seven children and loves the closeness that being home with them provides. Un-schooling is how they live and learn and she blogs about their learning experiences at plannerperfect.com Jenny also has a passion for inspiring women to become master life planners and that includes menu planning. Check out her sites for life planning and her inspiring recipes on her food blog at plannerperfect.com and plannerperfectmeals.com

Homeschooling a large family has its own challenges and rewards. On the plus side, there is a lot of fun involved. I love having a large group of people to do big projects or for playing games. I love having all levels of learning materials available, because it’s funny how often an older child can be engaged with something that is designed for a younger child. I love that I finally feel as though I have found math curriculum that seems to work for our not-in-love-with-math family.

One of the things I struggle with, though, in homeschooling a large number of children is avoiding the ‘formula trap.’ We all are familiar with this. It’s the idea that if we can just hit on the right curriculum or the right schedule or the right whatever, we can be assured of homeschooling success. While I’ve come to terms with the fact that there is no perfect curriculum that will guarantee well educated, well adjusted, admirable children (sorry if this is news!), there is another area of the formula trap that I find myself falling into.

I have successfully raised my oldest and she has turned into a lovely young woman who is succeeding incredibly well in college and my second oldest is nearing the end of his high school career and is equally as admirable. They are just two years apart and pretty much what one did the other did as well. All this well-adjusted, high achieving-ness can cause me some anxiety. I worry that if I don’t give my other children the exact same experiences as my first, these later children won’t turn out quite as well.

When I write this, I realize this is ridiculous. There are so many different ways to homeschool and there are so many different homeschoolers who are now successful that the rational part of my brain knows there is not one ‘right’ way. But knowing something is true does not necessarily mean that our emotions follow along.

I have to constantly remind myself that it is the experience of learning and discovering, interacting with other people, and being excited about the world that makes for an engaged and interesting person. It is the experience of negative and positive consequences that makes for a person with good judgment. It is the love and protection a child experiences that makes for a secure person. These are the things I can replicate for my younger children.

There are some other experiences that I think were beneficial to my older children and I want my younger children to be able to have. Our history co-op comes to mind. We started in this co-op when my oldest was in first grade and it has been continuing ever since, taking a year for each era of history. (That means every six years we start again with ancient Egypt.) Many of the families have changed, though there are three of us families who are still around from the beginning, and over the years we have tweaked and refined our methods as the group of children participating has changed, but the idea of learning history in a hands-on way in a group has remained the same.

But here again I find myself falling into the formula trap, but of a different variety. I have two year old twins and every so often I find myself looking forward into the future and realize that I have more homeschooling years ahead of me than I do behind me. Sometimes it makes me tired to think how many times I will have to go back to Egypt. And then I have to pull myself up short. Just because this is what we have done, does not mean it is what I have to do. I am not locked into a certain educational plan just because that is what we’ve always done… even if it has been a good thing. It may be that we find something else to do that will be as good, just different. And different might even be better if it means that the mother is enthusiastic.

So to remind myself and encourage you… homeschooling is not a formula to discover. There are as many different ways to successfully homeschool as there are children, even if these children are in the same family. Aiming for joy, love, the excitement of discovery, and security is our best bet at raising healthy, intelligent children.

Elizabeth Curry is on year 14 of homeschooling her 9 children (with #10 arriving via China at some point next year).  Devoted bookworms all, it’s not surprising that much of the learning that happens centers around whatever chapter book is being read.  When she isn’t taking care of children or reading, she enjoys sewing, cooking, and writing.  Her life of following Jesus with many children in the Big, Ugly House is chronicled at www.ordinary-time.blogspot.com .

During this Mother’s Day Weekend, grab a cup of coffee or tea and take some time to catch up on these amazing articles from this week at Heart of the Matter!

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!

Housekeeping Tips for Disordered Moms

Are We There Yet?

Embracing Spring

Blessing Your Children

Striving to Rest

The Homeschool Experiment by Charity Hawkins – Review and Giveaway

Teachable Moments in Spanish

Homeschooling While Facing Chronic Illness

There’s a great housekeeping tip cycling around on the web recently. And it’s so simple: host a monthly support group in your home for people with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and at least one of them will be agitated enough to clean your house. LOVE this idea. But until you get that arranged, here are some simpler easy-to-execute ideas. They won’t clean your whole house, but will do a good job of keeping little things from becoming big things.

Ten Minute Tidy
We call this the TMT in our house. And we put it on the lesson plan. For just ten minutes, we gather together and quickly complete a task. We each are assigned a part of the task, we mentally prepare ourselves to work like a well-oiled machine, we set a timer and the BOOM! We’re off.

• Perhaps it’s pulling everything out of the fridge, wiping it down and putting it back.
• Maybe it’s ten minutes of decluttering, dusting and vacuuming the family room.
• Maybe it’s seeing how much of the mess can be cleared out of the garage.
• Maybe it’s wiping all the fingerprints off of each of the 20 (count them. . .TWENTY!) individual little windows in the French Doors that sounded like such a marvelous idea when we were first saw it in House Beautiful Magazine.

Here’s the key—you never ever ever go over the ten minutes. Your kids need to know that this is not a trick to rope them into something more. Wherever you are in the process, when that timer goes off, hands fly UP in the air and you say “Done!” It’s also just fun because everyone is working together. It becomes a game, even a family bonding time. And we always laugh at the frenzy. But when it’s done, something is significantly cleaner. Can’t beat that.

27-Fling Boogie
This is a concept from www.FlyLady.net Again, a timer is set–FlyLady recommends 15 minutes, during which time you carry a garbage bag through the house in search of 27 things you can be rid of. I like to take 2 garbage bags; one for items to be thrown away, another for items that can go to Goodwill. She recommends putting on a song like “Please Release Me, Let Me Go!” while boogie-ing through the house.

Getting Rid of It While Keeping It
This idea came from Pat, a friend of mine. She knew her daughter was struggling to keep her room clean mostly because there was simply too much stuff. It overwhelmed her and was impossible for her to maintain. The solution: Give her just enough stuff to be able to keep ordered. How? She gathered up almost everything from her room and put it all into CLEAR plastic bags. She left her with ten or so favorite toys that were easy to keep ordered. The bags went up to the attic. When the child missed a toy and wanted it back, she had to swap something from her room for the item from the attic. This bags-to-the-attic action was not traumatic because the child knew that none of the toys were actually gone. They could be accessed whenever she wanted.

Holding Pen
There are times when I walk through a room and see signs of various family members. A stack of papers here. A used cup there. An open cupboard. A pair of socks. Several pairs of shoes. I could call in the owner of aforementioned items each and every time I came upon them and have them deal with their mess. Some moms are really good about this. And it probably does do a good job of training kids not to leave things about because they soon learn, there is a certain interruption to follow when they are called to retrieve it.

But. . .when you call some kids away from their task, there’s a good chance that they will now be OFF that task for a very long time. Getting back “on task” may take more of an effort and if that task happens to be a math lesson or reading “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves” the last thing I want to do is break their focus. So, I have a holding pen for each child.

Now, when I go flying through a room doing a major pick-up, there is a box for each family member somewhere where I throw items that have been scattered about. The box is always hidden away, under a chair, in a closet, somewhere out of my sight. Once the box is full, THAT is when I will call them out to deal with it—far fewer interruptions to their focus.

True Forgetfulness Tools-Wrist Reminders
Sometimes kids “forget” to do their chores because it’s convenient. But sometimes, more often than we think, I believe they truly become distracted and just forget. If this is the actual cause, then these little wrist-bands of wonder may do the trick. I developed a reminder that attaches to the body. It is a long strip of heavy paper (like that used in folders) covered with clear plastic tape so that I can use a wet or dry erase marker to write his assigned task on it, and a loose band slip-knotted through a hole at the top so that it can slide easily onto the wrist. (we use soft hair bands. Whatever you use, just make sure it is loose enough NOT to cause any restriction on his wrist.)

Here’s the key: the strip of paper must be long enough to be annoying. That way, the annoyance factor keeps him reminded (and not incidentally, annoyed–and thus anxious to be done with the task so that he may have it removed.) The other key is that ONLY MOM may remove the reminder. That is how he checks back in with you. That’s also how you don’t instantly lose all the wrist reminders you have made.

Rewarding the Right
Some behavior modification methods focus on punishing the wrong. But the flip side of this is to reward the right. What I’m about to share may seem too simple, too obvious, too candy-oriented. (Don’t send me letters. Just choose something other than candy.) But let me tell you where the idea came from.

My good friend and author, Melinda Boring, shared a solution that she used when one daughter consistently failed to put away the hair dryer after using, much to the profound annoyance of the other sister, who liked things orderly in their shared bathroom. Melinda’s solution? A little bowl of Tootsie Rolls sitting in the bathroom. Every time the hairdryer was put away, the daughter was allowed to reward herself with a single Tootsie Roll. Such a simple thing. And yet it spelled the end of the hair dryer wars. I decided to try this in our house. One of my pet peeves is that the pantry door is always left open (everyone has something. . .this one’s mine.) So I placed a bowl of skittles by the pantry doors in a little bunny bowl with the instructions that if they closed the doors, they could have a skittle. And what’s more, if they noticed that someone else had left the door open and they closed it for them. . .they got TWO skittles. Such a small thing. And yet it spelled the end of open pantry doors.

Daily Computer Key
One thing that my youngest Sizzler is greatly attached to is her daily computer time. It’s not a lot of time, but it’s something she really enjoys– make that really really REALLY enjoys! So we created a “key” that “unlocks” her computer for her. It’s simply a slip of paper with a key on it and some blank lines onto which I’ve put down the items she must complete before she has access to her computer. Sometimes it’s cleaning out that box I mentioned above. It might be getting everything up off of the floor of her room. Emptying the dishwasher. Sweeping down the back stairs. Whatever needs to be addressed that day goes on the list. Usually there are just 2-3 items. But because she starts the process with computer on the brain, it usually takes her just a few minutes to complete the tasks. It’s really just a fun way of saying, “Do your chores before you can go play.” A new twist on a very old concept.

These ideas are brought to you from the mind of a very non-linear, easily-taken-off-task thinker. Big miraculous housecleaning systems of wonder will never be a part of my world. But with a few simpler ideas to use, I can hopefully keep chaos at bay.

Carol Barnier is a fresh, fun and popular conference speaker unlike any you’ve heard before. Her objective is to have the wit of Erma Bombeck crossed with the depth of C.S. Lewis, but admits that most days, she only achieves a solid Lucy Ricardo with a bit of Bob the Tomato. She is a frequent guest commentator on Focus on the Family’s Weekend Magazine broadcast, has been a guest on many radio programs and is a speaker to conferences nationwide. She’s the author of three books about dealing with (or possessing) a non-linear mind in a linear world: How to Get Your Child Off the Refrigerator and On To Learning, If I’m Diapering a Watermelon, Then Where’d I Leave the Baby?, and The Big WHAT NOW Book of Learning Styles. Her main websites are CarolBarnier.com and SizzleBop.com. You can also find Carol at her blog for moms with distractible kids at SizzleBop. And for fun, see her church humor blog at CarolBarnier.

Most of us have at least been tempted to begin planning and pondering for the 2012-2013 school year.  Usually this planning and pondering begins with at least a small journey of “self-analysis”.  I don’t mean we are all headed into the psychiatrist’s office at this time of year, although we might actually like we need one.  What’ I’m referring to are all the introspective questions we are prone to ask ourselves about our lifestyles, our relationships, our mothering and of course, our home school choices.  This is our annual time to ask, “Am I being successful in our homeschooling?”  We even work ourselves into “analysis paralysis” living our daily lives in fear of doing something incorrectly.

While it is a good thing to ask ourselves hard questions, I have noticed that mothers are a bit prone to over-analyzing everything.  I know this because I am a mom and I have the same tendency.  I can be emotionally driven, and while that is not always a bad thing, it can be totally exhausting.  So, over the years I’ve developed a process that being and ends with a dependence on God’s leading and direction for each individual child within our home. When making decisions about activities, curriculum, direction and more, these are the steps that have continually helped me not completely lose my mind.

1.  First, I have to remind myself that “my children” do not belong to me.  They are God’s children given to us for a season in which we have been entrusted to raise them to be all that God has planned for them to be.  Becuase of this fact, the entire decision-making process has to begin, continue and end with John and I on our faces before God.  We must bring the needs and concerns that we have for each of our children to God’s throne and ask for his clear guidance and for the peace that comes with knowing you are following His leading.

2.  I then take some time to evaluate the extra-curricular activities that my child has been involved in during this current school year.  I list each activity along with the weekly time requirement for each one.

3.  I write down all the classes that my child has been taking during the current school year and write each one down along with the weekly time requirement for each one.

4.  I also take the time to really evaluate, study and write down the areas of giftedness and interest that my child is currently displaying.

5.  Then, I compare the list of my child’s interest and giftedness areas with what extra-curricular activities and classes they have taken this year and I ask myself if the current list of my child’s activites and classes integrate with their natural interests and giftings?  If not, what changes do I need to pray about making?

6.  Has the time requirements of my child’s classes and activities left them any time to just “be”?  Do I have them schedules so tightly that they cannot enjoy or excel at anything?

7.  I then make a list of the activities that I have been mentally assuming would be a part of my child’s home school next year and I write down the weekly time commitment for each.

8.  Repeat steps 5 and 6 with my plans for the upcoming school year.

9.  One of the most important things for me to do is to assess my own commitments outside of the home and compare them with what my child is involved in.  Can I consolidate and be involved in some of the same things and thus, decrease the amount of time I spend on the road?  Do I need to say no to any of those commitments in order to say yes to what is needed for my family?

10.  Do I feel a need for assistance with any areas of homeschooling?  Would my child benefit from any outside assistance with homeschooling?  Could I lessen my stress load without compromising our homeschooling and family priorities by being involved with outside hom school classes or groups?

11.  Seek God’s leading as to which direction and emphasis he would have for our family in the upcoming year and choose curriculum and outside instruction based on that leading, our entire family’s welfare and each individual child’s needs.

12.  Double check yourself.  Are you making changes based on God’s leading?  Are you being motivated by fear?  Are you giving up on anything before you child has even had a chance to acclimate to it?  Are you considering each of your children as an individual?

13.  Remember….”Do not become weary in well-doing for in due season we shall reap if we faint not.”

14.  Remember, “He which hath begun a good work in you, will complete it.”

15.  Remember, “God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

I’m sure that many of you have your own process that you go through as you plan for each year.  However, sometimes we just need to be reminded of that process before we get stuck in the quagmire of too many options and opportunities.  I would highly encourage you to talk to an “older” woman before making decisions. Seek counsel.  Talk to your husband.  But, most of all relax and rely on God.  He is the alpha and omega.  He is the beginning and the end.  He is the all-knowing, never-changing God and He will lead us, if we only stop to listen and then obey.

Faith and Courage,

Lori

Lori and John Lane have been married 28 years and live on a ranch in the beautiful Colorado Rockies where John coaches the local high school baseball team, runs the ranch, and works with Artios Academies. They have four sons ranging in age from twenty-six down to fourteen, two beautiful daughter-in-loves, and a precious granddaughter. Lori is the author of the book, Beginning With The End In Mind, and the executive director of Artios Academies. You can follow Lori at www.theendinmind.net where she blogs about a variety of topics including life on the ranch, arts education, a Biblical worldview of education, home education and more. Her blog also offers many free resources to encourage you on your journey.

Sounded practical. And it is.

Benefits:

• A handy ‘scratch’ surface for math problems, doodling spot for the easily distracted.
• A fun play area for the younger crowd.
• Painting the desk became a family project.
• A simple way to add everyday fun to your homeschool.

So, with the end of the school year approaching for most of us, I’m sharing the how to of a chalkboard desk. Maybe you’d like one too? Painting with chalkboard paint is the perfect summer project!

Chalkboard paint comes in these smallish cans. You’d be surprised at how much surface area you can cover with this amount. Follow this link to the Rust-oleum site with more details on finding the paint near you plus proper paint surfaces for chalkboard paint.

Our homeschool desk my brother custom built for us. The surface was ready to receive chalkboard paint. Even so, be sure you research what is best for the surface you intend to make into a chalkboard. It may be that you need to prime your desk before painting with chalkboard paint.

Two coats of paint is all it took for our desk.

I share more ideas here on Heart of the Matter in School Books on the Mantel and Maps as Window Treatments. Plus more homeschool makeovers in the continuing series on Hodgepodge.

Don’t have a desk to paint with chalkboard paint? Maybe you’ll get inspired to paint something else by visiting my All Things Chalkboard pinterest board.

So, what will you paint first?

Tricia has homeschooled for over a decade now, facing a daily dose of chaos with five children. She shares a mixture of free art lessons, recipes and the practical at Hodgepodge. She and her husband are also authors and owners at The Curriculum Choice. 

Why is it so hard for me to trust God with the little things?

The past few weeks have been killer. I has felt that the schedule and the responsibilities we are carrying are totally out of control. The margin that I try so hard to create and preserve within our family seems to have virtually disappeared. If I survive this week, I will take some time and look back at what ate up all that margin so that I can avoid it happening again in the future. In the meantime, I’m hunkering down and trying to move through it displaying grace under pressure. Some days more successfully than others.

Somehow, multiple deadlines, end of the year activities and more, have all seemed to jump on eachother’s back and stand directly in my path. As I look around my normally somewhat clean and organized home, I see floors that need swept or vacuumed, dishes that need washed, a giant pile of laundry waiting for me, bathrooms that desperately need attention and schoolwork that we must refocus on as soon as possible, a mountain of paperwork on my desk and an email inbox that I am dreading. During times like this, I begin beating myself up mentally and emotionally.

Sure, I could tell you that I find it easy to move through times like this because I know it is only temporary. And, perhaps it is a bit easier now than when I was younger. However, I still find myself frustrated that I can’t do more and can’t do it faster. I’m frustrated that I’m behind and that I can’t be wonder woman and mother of the year 365/24/7.

Sigh! Deep breath! Look around! What’s the worst thing that can happen?

Hmmmmm! In most cases, all of these things that are not completed will wait for me until I can get to them. My poor husband and son, who have been finding sustenance in tacos, hamburgers and chicken sandwiches, will not starve to death. In fact, they seem to not even be bothered by the situation as long as mom is happy. The laundry will wait a few more days. No one is going to die because of some dust and dirty dishes. We will survive. The worst that can happen is that I will be a bit behind….but I will catch up.

In the meantime, if I can keep my attitude in check and my focus right, I can illustrate grace under pressure to my own child and to the children I am working with during this very busy week. Honestly, the worst thing that can happen is for me to not be a shining example. Guess what? Even if I mess up in that area, if I acknowledge it and apologize, God can use that as well.

Sometimes I let the little things be the things that cause me to worry, to be anxious, and to get frustrated. I think I have trouble “laying them down” because I think they are things that I can and should control. The things that I have no hope of controlling, the BIG things, are much easier to leave at the foot of the cross. However, those pesky little things, those are the ones I pick back up and carry around all by myself.

HE notices when a sparrow falls from the sky. HE knows the number of the hairs on my head. Surely, I can trust Him with the little things in my life. Surely, I can rest in the fact that there is NOTHING too small that is beyond His notice, His control and His care.

______________________

Lori and John Lane have been married 28 years and live on a ranch in the beautiful Colorado Rockies where John coaches the local high school baseball team, runs the ranch, and works with Artios Academies. They have four sons ranging in age from twenty-six down to fourteen, two beautiful daughter-in-loves, and a precious granddaughter. Lori is the author of the book, Beginning With The End In Mind, and the executive director of Artios Academies. You can follow Lori at www.theendinmind.net where she blogs about a variety of topics including life on the ranch, arts education, a Biblical worldview of education, home education and more. Her blog also offers many free resources to encourage you on your journey.

If you are anything like me, which I’m sure you are, there are times when you just haven’t got a foggy clue what you are doing, and you are pretty sure that no one has ever felt as lost as you, and that no one could ever possibly get the disaster that is your brain. Can I get an “amen”? Anyone? Thank you.

I remember one such time. It was way back in the days of “the Townhouse” which is code for “the days when, yes, we were living in a townhouse; more than that, it was in the time of life when we had 4 kids aged 3 and under, and I was embroiled in my biggest life battle to date”.

Someone had directed me to a blog and forum for moms where I went to find someone who understood me. Someone who’d been there. I tried to submit two questions about my state of confusion and exhaustion on the forum. The first question they refused to post as it “encouraged a behaviour or attitude that the moderators didn’t endorse”. So the second question, I made sure to be broad and unoffensive and something that would stir some helpful conversation.

What I said was something like this: “I’m a very young mom. I stay at home with my kids all the time. I love it and wouldn’t have it any other way, but I’m really tired. And sometimes really sad. Sometimes “scary sad”. Can anyone relate?” What I received back was a bunch of platitudes and “right answers”.

“No, I love it! I’m so blessed to be at home and I never feel tired or grumpy at all!”
“No, the joy of the Lord is *my* strength. I sure never feel sad at home at all!”
“Who could ever feel lonely when Jesus is your present help and comfort?”

And you know what? I knew all that. I knew that was supposed to be my reality, but the reality was that I was still tired: physically, emotionally, spiritually tired. My spiritual life was not stagnant. I was not being disobedient, or ungrateful, or rebellious. I had a wonderful husband with a fabulous marriage, and a supportive church. My little children were good sleepers and obedient, all things considered. Life wasn’t bad. I wasn’t complaining. I was just a busy, tired woman. And no one understood. Or so I thought. They weren’t hearing me. They weren’t getting me. They couldn’t help me.

One day in my quiet time I sat down hoping to hear a word of encouragement in my daily reading. I felt a strange prompting to read 1 Chronicles 3:8. Really? Really. Who turns to 1 Chronicles for encouragement?

I kind of ignored it, but it wouldn’t go away, so I finally turned to that spot thinking I was probably imagining things. Sure enough, the verse says this: “Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet”. Nope. Not a word from the Lord. Just a list of names.

I tried to move on, back to my scheduled reading for the day, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was to read that passage again. So I did: I read the whole chapter looking for something in the context. Nothing. It is just a list of the descendants of David. I was hoping that those 3 names were not the ordained names for my next 3 children!

Still, I felt like I was supposed to “get” something out of that verse. Finally, I thought to look up in a Bible dictionary what those names meant.

Here’s what those names mean, and what the Lord wanted me to know that day: “The Lord hears, The Lord knows, and The Lord will deliver.”

He understood me. He heard my prayers. He knew my heart. And, as my present help in times of trouble, he would deliver me in his time and in his way.

How grateful I was that day for 3 funny sounding names. And how grateful I am still that we have a Lord who sympathizes with our weakness, and who understands our frailty, and who can speak to any specific circumstance in our day through the Word.

What does the Lord mean to speak to you today? What burden do you need Him to carry for you? He is more than able. And more than willing. And that is a very, very good thing.

Barbara Postma 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.

When I started telling people that I’d decided to homeschool my boys, I got a lot of skeptical comments. I think my favorite has been, “You know you’re going to have to cut the cord eventually right?” If you heard the tone that the question is delivered you’d think that I had my teenage boys locked away in the house. My boys are only five and three! I actually like this question because it gets to the heart of one of my main reasons for homeschooling: freedom!
I do realize that the time will come when my boys have to leave the nest. But that time is not right now. Homeschooling gives me and my boys the time to prepare for the transition into adulthood. To learn and practice what it means to be an adult and be independent. But for now at their ages, my focus is on them just being free to be kids. Free to run and scream without being told to sit down and behave. Free to climb trees and have adventures instead of sitting at a desk in a classroom for hours each day.

I often get criticized for trying to “keep my boys from experiencing the world outside of our house.” I, of course disagree! I think that my boys are getting more experience by being home then they would be able to get elsewhere. They learn about nature and local vegetation when we go hiking and exploring at the nature preserves. They get to see, hear, and touch {sometimes} the things that most kids are learning about in books. At the zoo, they get to use the information that we gathered while making a lapbook or doing a unit study. Mommy learns a lot too!

Most importantly, we are able to relax and have fun as a family. My boys have hours where they are free to use their imagination. I can’t count the number of adventures Peter Pan has been on in our backyard. Or how many scurvy mates have walked the planks of the playground. They have been Wilbur and Templeton at the fair. And they have made up songs with Pooh at bedtime.

Yes, I know that the time will soon be here when I have to let go and my boys will venture out into the world as men. But for now, we are enjoying our time together!

LaToya Edwards is a homeschooling, single mom of two beautifully busy boys, one that has been diagnosed with SPD. She has a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Development, will soon have her law degree and aspires to run her own adoption agency in the future. She is a very busy woman, but wouldn’t have it any other way. She’s loves music, poetry and reading fiction stories. But mostly she just loves spending time with her boys. LaToya get real over at Christian Momma, where she blogs about the struggle and journey of being a single christian woman and mom.

Jenny Penton is a homeschooling mother of seven children and loves the closeness that being home with them provides. Un-schooling is how they live and learn and she blogs about their learning experiences at Homeschoolingbelle.com. Jenny also has a passion for inspiring women to become master life planners and that includes menu planning. Check out her sites for life planning and her inspiring recipes on her food blog at plannerperfect.com and plannerperfectmeals.com