The Homeschool Handbook

TM

November / December 2011$6.50 USA/$15.50 INTL

Mentoring Your Children to Succes

Page 14

Page 26

MakingChristmasMemorablePage 28

HELP I need structure! HELP I need structure! HELP I need structure!

Brilliant Publishing LLC9034 Joyce Lane, Hummelstown, PA 17036

Telephone: 717.571.9233Fax: 717.566.5431

PUBLISHER / ADVERTISINGPublisher

Maureen [email protected]

717.608.5869

EDITORIALEditor In ChiefMaryAnne Morrill

[email protected]

Senior EditorMichelle Donofry

[email protected]

Style / Asst. Editor Charity Plata

Subscription Service / Back Issues:[email protected]

CONTRIBUTING WRITERSErica Arndt, Vicki Bentley, Anne Sperry Connors,

Robin Finley, Dr. Barton Goldsmith, Carolyn Henderson, Sarita Holzmann, Dawn Hudson, Monica Irvine,

Dr. Heather Manley, Andrew Pudewa, Jamerrill Stewart, Debbie Thompson, Elaine Trumbo-Roberts, Donna Vail,

Veggie U, Sandra Volchko, Daniel Yordy

PRODUCTION / DESIGNArt DirectorJeremy Tingle

[email protected] The Homeschool Handbook is published bi-monthly by Brilliant Publishing LLC, 9034 Joyce Lane, Hummelstown, PA 17036 Telephone: (717) 571-9233, Fax: (717) 566-5431. Postage paid at Michigan City, IN and additional offices. POSTMASTER please send address changes to The Homeschool Handbook, 9034 Joyce Lane, Hummelstown, PA 17036. Volume 2 Number 06. The Homeschool Handbook subscription rates: one-year $19.95 USD, Canadian $59.95 USD, Foreign $89.95 USD. All subscriptions are non-refundable. Copyright © 2011 Brilliant Publishing LLC. All rights reserved. the publisher reserves the right to accept or reject any advertising or editorial material. Advertisers, and/or their agents, assume the responsibility for any claims against the publisher based on the advertisement. Editorial contributors assume responsibility for their published works and assume responsibility for any claims against the publisher based on published work. No part of this publication can be reproduced in any form or by electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher. All items submitted to The Homeschool Handbook become the sole property of Brilliant Publishing LLC. Editorial content does not reflect the views of the publisher. The imprints, logos, trademarks or trade names (collectively the “Marks”) displayed on the products featured in The Homeschool Handbook are for illustrative purposes only and are not available for sale. The Marks do not represent the implied or actual endorsement by the owners of the Marks of the product on which they appear. All of the Marks are the property of the respective owners and are not the property of either the advertisers using the Marks or The Homeschool Handbook.

MEDICAL DISCLAIMERNo warranty whatsoever is made by the publisher and there is absolutely no assurance that any statement contained or cited in any article touching on medical matters is true, correct, precise, or up-to-date. Even if a statement made about medicine is accurate, it may not apply to you or your symptoms. The medical information provided is, at best, of a general nature and cannot substitute for the advice of a medical professional (for instance, a qualified doctor/physician, nurse, pharmacist/chemist, and so on). None of the individual contributors, LLC members, subcontractors, advertisers, or anyone else connected to Brilliant Publishing LLC and The Homeschool Handbook can take any responsibility for the results or consequences of any attempt to use or adopt any of the information presented in this magazine. Nothing included, as a part of this publication should not be construed as an attempt to offer or render a medical opinion or otherwise engage in the practice of medicine.

More than perhaps at other times of the year, we pause and reflect on all that we have to be thankful for and count our many

blessings. As many of you may be aware the past months have been very challenging as we rebuild our flooded home. While we are saddened by the loss of photographs and mementos of our family’s past, we treasure even more the photograph, note or special gift that wasn’t washed away. But as precious as these small keepsakes are, we will never forget the kindnesses of strangers, many have become dear friends. It is true that during the worst of times you meet the best people and realize how blessed you are.

As we look forward to time spent relaxing with family and friends over the holidays we will remember also those kindnesses and strive to ‘pay it forward’ to others that need hope and inspiration for a happy holiday. We will give and donate to help others as we are able. We also hope that the season will inspire us and others to remember that it is often very easy to make a person’s day with something as simple as a “Happy Holiday” or “ You look Brilliant today” as you take the time to notice those around you.

We are looking forward to a finished home that we will again fill with love. We are thankful for you our readers and especially all of our advertisers whose support makes this magazine possible. We look forward to many new and exciting changes coming in the year ahead and to again meeting many of you at the shows next year! Many thanks and hugs to all of you who have sent your emails, letters and notes of encouragement! I have read every one and am so thankful to be a part of this community!

Happy Homeschooling and Happy Holidays!

Remember to “friend” us on Facebook & Twitter, as you will then be in the first to know club! We post a lot of brilliant information on these sites as well as news and tips!

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Education Matters!

Maureen Williams, [email protected]

Publisher’s Letter

4 Homeschool Handbook | November/December 2011

Extensively Expanded and Revised!In this treasured resource, you’ll discover how to:

Make your home and family the heart of your children’s education

Train your children to become creative, self-directed learners

Enrich life and education with living books

Identify and work with each child’s learning style

Help your children love to learn as naturally as they love to play

Gain con�dence to teach with practical, common sense methods

Whether you are a �rst-time homeschooler or a long-term veteran, this comprehensive guide will equip and empower you for your journey of faith as a family. Discover the joy of bringing relationship-based, book-centered learning back into the daily life of your home.

Thank you, Clay and Sally, for reminding me that nurturing my children’s hearts by providing a haven of learning and love in our home is what matters much more than a “perfect” curriculum, schedule, or child-training method.Crystal PaineMoney Saving Mom®, www.MoneySavingMom.com

I’m shocked that so much detail, vision, and practical advice could be packed into a single book. This is one reference book every family needs. Dr. Scott TuranskyNational Center for Biblical Parenting

SINCE 1994, EDUCATING THE WHOLEHEARTED CHILD HAS BEEN A TRUSTED GUIDE FOR THOUSANDS OF HOMESCHOOLING FAMILIES.

ARE YOU EDUCATING ANDDISCIPLING YOUR KIDS?

AGES4-14

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Lifestyle8 Why Homeschool: The Gift of Time

10 Perfection

solutions12 Three Reasons to Pursue

Extracurricular Activities

14 Mentoring Your Children to Success

16 Use CLEP, DSST and UExcel Exams to Show What You Know and Get College Credit!

curriculum18 Keeping Preschool in Perspective

20 Dear Andrew: Q & A with Andrew Pudewa

22 Scheduling Language Art: What A Pain!!!

organization24 Help I Need Structure!

columns27 Learning By Reality – What Is Value?

Your resource, support & inspiration for a successful at home education & lifestyle.What’s inside

6 Homeschool Handbook | November/December 2011 www.TheHomeschoolHandbook.com

contents|2011volume 02, issue 05

For Breaking News, Updates and Tips Please: Like The Homeschool Handbook Magazine on Facebook at:www.facebook.com/TheHomeschoolHandbookFollow The Homeschool Handbook Magazine on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/@TheHomeschool

christian corner28 Making Christmas Memorable

30 The Happy Hut

32 Fairy Tales or “Fishhooks”?

special features34 Ways to Bring In More Positive Energy

35 Correcting with Respect

health & hearth36 Veggie 101 – The Family Table

extra activities38 Add a Touch of Homemade

to Your Holiday Table

product spotlights40 HBDs Go To School – Elementary Curriculum

41 Product Spotlights

resources42 Index/Resources List

Your resource, support & inspiration for a successful at home education & lifestyle.What’s inside

November/December 2011 | Homeschool Handbook 7www.TheHomeschoolHandbook.com

Why Homeschool: The Gift of Time.

lifestyle

By: Jamerrill Stewart

Yet you do not know [the

least thing] about what may

happen tomorrow. What

is the nature of your life?

You are [really] but a wisp

of vapor (a puff of smoke,

a mist) that is visible for

a little while and then

disappears [into thin air].

James 4:14 (AMP)

TiMe is most precious and it slips through our fingers on a daily basis. I try to slow it down, but it’s so fast. Everything in life demands more of our time—gardens, meals, organizing, cleaning, friendships, church responsibilities, lesson planning, insert here __________.

Nothing, aside from our Lord and our husband, deserves more of our time than our children. God handpicked this arrangement. As I drove 7 hours yesterday with 5 children, I was shocked with the realization that sitting in the passenger seat beside me was a man. Only 11, his feet are bigger than mine and he’s now taller than me, this baby I held in my arms. He can open all the hard jar lids. Sometimes he asks me hard questions, like “how will I know whom God picked for my wife”.


Time is flying by. Puff.What if I wasn’t homeschooling him? Even though

most days zoom, while the clock zips from 7AM to 7PM before I know it… what if my man-child was gone 9 of those 12 hours? I wouldn’t know him. Oh, I’d try as any mother would. I’d try to absorb every moment as soon as he’d get off that big yellow bus at the end of the driveway. Like my own mother I’d meet him with milk, cookies and a smile. But I know he’d be ‘zombiefied’. It’s what happens. I remember being a zombie after getting off of that bus.

Think of how many hours children who leave for public/private school are away from home everyday? All they’re missing is getting a paycheck at the end of the week. And this is childhood? A few years ago we had two foster children who daily went to public school. They had to get up by 6:30 each morning to get dressed, eat and stand with loaded backpacks at the bus stop by 7:20. The bus didn’t bring them back home until nearly 4 pm. Stepping off the bus in late afternoon sun, their eyes were glazed over. Before we knew it dinner was calling, then evening chores, showers and bed. Wake up the next morning, do it all again.

Where’s the time?I openly share that some days are messy, because life

can get that way. But even on the messy days I still have my children with me, by my side. We have time to talk. Even if we’re doing housework, we talk…big, hard, thick questions about life, the world, Jesus. We get into the deep stuff, over oatmeal. If the math makes the brain hurt, we go jump on the trampoline and eat a Popsicle – that usually fixes most dilemmas. When tempers flair as brother upsets sister {or most likely sister upsets brother}, we talk it out and pray big prayers.

A few of the gifts of time that homeschooling brings:

Siblings get to know each other; they are not just passing by morning, night and weekends. Even if a sibling conflict erupts {no perfection, we have them} we handle it as

a family. More prayer. More Word. More Time. I can say though, with all our children, they are increasingly becoming one another’s best friends. I’m seeing it happen.

I know my children, through the gift of time that homeschooling brings. They are not strangers that I’m obligated to care for. I don’t have to give them away to the world 40+ hrs. a week.

We know our children’s strengths and weaknesses. We don’t find out about these areas from a teacher’s note, SOL’s or report card. With the Holy Spirit’s help, we refine the strengths; we develop where they are weak. We learn and grow together.

Jesus, at the center of family life, is our focus. Some days I say to the kids, “boy, we need more Jesus today, let’s get our Bibles out.” We play the Word in our house while we work. We’re working on incorporating mealtime devotions. And if we find ourselves really digging in to the Word, we can linger. Everything else can wait.

There’s still more time, even though I feel days rushing past, than if we were all running in different directions everyday. At least we run, and slow down, together.

Enjoy your gift. Soak up these days.

Jamerrill Stewart is a Christian writer and speaker, wife of 13 years and mother of 5. She writes about homeschooling on-the-cheap, frugal/large family living and all things Jesus at www.HolySpiritledHomeschooling.net | Living the Life of Faith. You may find her writing and speaking at www.JamerrillStewart.com | Writing

– Speaking – Beyond.

I can say though, with all our children, they are increasingly becoming one another’s best

friends. I’m seeing it happen.


lifestyle

PerfectionBy: Carolyn Henderson

You know, when I was younger, I used to be an opinionated person.

Which isn’t to say that I’m not now; I just shut up about it more, not such a bad technique and one that I wish more people would practice. My, er, humble opinion.

Take homeschooling – I think it’s great, I’m glad we do it, I think other people would enjoy it more than they think they would – but –

It’s not the only way.Twenty years ago, in my black and white little world,

homeschooling was the only option for everybody, and those who didn’t practice it were sucked into the vortex of the public school system and couldn’t think for themselves.

To my credit, I operated out of a certain sense of defensiveness that most homeschoolers battle as a means to deal with the opposition that comes our way. Public school proponents tend to be less tolerant of homeschoolers than the other way around; and after awhile, that kind of gets to you.

But back to me, today, and my world that is no longer black and white but flamboyant, and my ongoing process of educating myself to think before I speak, considering others’ situations before urging them to do things the way I do, listening more, judging less.

This attitude should be an easy one for homeschoolers to adopt, given the regular attacks that are made upon us, but through the years, there are certain family prototypes that I have learned to avoid, because their world is very black, and very white, indeed. In their presence, I find myself being given a score – usually not a very high one – based upon how I, and my children, dress; what kinds of books we read; whether or not we study Latin; our religious practices or lack thereof; what we say when we hit our thumbs with a hammer; pretty much everything down to whether we eat hydrogenated peanut butter or old fashioned, crunchy or creamy.


FUTURE HEADOF WORLD

OCEANOGRAPHICINSTITUTE

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DREAM BIG WITH

PerfectionIt’s enough to chase you down the halls of the local

public education establishment, registration papers in hand, screaming to be let in.

Years ago, I drooped, questioning my wisdom in the face of these paragons, comparing my outspoken progeny to their quiet and complacent ones, cowed by their fifth graders whizzing through second year algebra and intermediate Russian and post-collegiate Biblical studies, and I found myself feeling bad, bad, bad about myself and my family and my situation and my everything about me that wasn’t them.

Time, however, has a way of putting things in perspective. Their teenaged and grown-up children, while astonishingly poised on the piano, playing Mozart with one hand while signing with the other, are not my brood, and while some of them are nice kids, some of them are not, and away from the structure of their perfect families, they make mistakes that all humans make – about relationships, or jobs, or dropping out of school, or driving too fast – they’re humans, not prodigies, but the image that I had put before me, by their parents who were the quintessence of intentional excellence, whatever that is, was of perfection on earth, attained only in one particular setting by specific

parents with a very conscripted and rather unpleasant way of doing things.

Embrace your kids – they’re your tribe. They learn a particular way, they’re interested in specific things, they’re imperfect, boisterous, frustrating, challenging and definitely not models of virtue who lisp Greek poetry from the crib and save the quarters they earn from their online business of organic soap made from vegan chicken eggs to feed the feral cats of Australia.

And remind yourself what you tell those kids of yours: when someone makes you feel inadequate, incapable, incapacitated, and just totally lacking, then that person – no matter how sweet, friendly, gregarious, and just plain amazing – is not the friend for you.

Carolyn Henderson is an 18-year veteran of homeschooling and the manager of Steve Henderson Fine Art, the online and studio gallery she operates with her husband, artist Steve Henderson (www.stevehendersonfineart.com). More of her writing may be found at her Middle

Aged Plague site, www.middleagedplague.areavoices.com.

AfTer I spoke at a homeschool conference last year, a mom came up to me with a big thank you. She breathed a huge sigh of relief as she told me I had just given her great freedom.

I looked at her quizzically. What had I said that would have freed her? It was an almost off-hand comment I had made to consider whether or not an extracurricular activity or two might be a good fit for her family.

She explained that she had just come from another session where the speaker said she should never put her children in extracurricular activities. He had said that good homeschool moms keep their children with them at all times.

I know that different approaches work for different families. And many do well with no outside activities. But when I had my kids at home, a select few extracurricular activities provided a great blessing to my family and those around us. Why?

I learned a few things from my family’s experience:Extracurricular activities can help teach valuable life

skills. Different activities help kids learn important skills they can carry with them for life. For example, I think that music can teach perseverance, sports can teach teamwork, any structured outside activity can teach responsibility (e.g., how to get out the door on time and keep track of your belongings), and competitions can teach sportsmanship. Is there something you want your children to learn that an outside activity could help you teach or, perhaps more, help your children learn (by doing)?

I should probably point out that when I speak of teaching—or, rather, learning—responsibility, I mean holding children accountable for their own behaviors and not “doing it for them.”

One advantage of teaching responsibility in the context of an extracurricular activity your kids love: There will come a time when you say to your child, “You

reasons to Pursue extracurricular Activities

By: Sarita Holzmann

solutions

www.TheHomeschoolHandbook.com12 Homeschool Handbook | November/December 2011

must take care of your equipment,” or “Don’t lose ______,” and then your child promptly loses the equipment or leaves it at home. If you refuse to jump in to save him, he will never forget the lesson; the pain of the lost opportunity will etch it in his mind.

And while I’m on the subject, I should probably note: These kinds of lessons can be very painful for you as well as your son or daughter. You may be sorely tempted to step in and reduce the pain. I urge you not to. Your son or daughter will not (I hope) have Mom or Dad standing by to pick up the pieces after him when he is off at college or married. He needs to learn these lessons now . . . at age 7 or 8 or 14.

So let him pay the price when he forgets or can’t find his goggles and he is at the swimming finals. Let him pay the price if you’re on the way to the band performance and he realizes he doesn’t have his music. In the long run, he’ll be better for it.

Sports can help children get the exercise they need. I enrolled my children in a club swim team as a way to encourage them to get out and exercise. And I actually found that swimming for two hours a day was very effective in keeping them calm at home. With such a fun and productive outlet for their energy in the pool, they didn’t really want to do anything too wild in the house. Plus, I really believe the great exercise helped them stay healthy and prepared them for active lifestyles as adults.

It was actually this point that led to the idea for this post. John and I had just spent several hours in the presence of a family with a bunch of young children. Wild children. We were driving home and remarking to one another about how exhausted we were. Why? Why couldn’t we take it the way we did back when we had children of our own of that age? Was it really that we were getting so old?

And then it hit me: No. Our children never acted that way. They didn’t have the energy to be wild at home because they had used it all in the swimming pool.

Do you have some wild children who wear you out? Maybe a focused sport activity—like swimming—could be the perfect solution to multiple problems.

Extracurricular activities can help children develop socially. Dare I say it? I do think that a carefully-chosen extracurricular can help with socialization. It can give opportunities for children to develop new friendships, learn how to interact with a variety of peers and their families, work together with people different than them, and be part of a team. There are other ways to find these opportunities, but

consider whether extracurriculars might be a good fit to help with this.

With that said, it’s important to remember that all extracurricular activities are not created equal. Some activities help your kids get the exercise they need. Some involve incredible time commitments. Some are relatively inexpensive. Some tend to schedule all major competitions on Sundays. Some teach self-discipline. Some seem to attract encouraging families ... while others, unfortunately, seem to attract parents who display a shocking lack of sportsmanship at games. So my advice is to think carefully about which activities to pursue before you sign your kids up. Sometime soon I’ll share some questions and thoughts to consider when choosing which activities to pursue.

Meanwhile, I pray God blesses you and your family as your learn and grow together inside the home and out in the world.

Sarita Holzmann is the co-founder and president of Sonlight Curriculum (www.sonlight.com). She cherishes a legacy of family-centered, literature-rich home education and seeks to provide families with the rich resources they need to raise life-long learners.

www.TheHomeschoolHandbook.com

solutions

WHeTHer your homeschool is set up for self-education or classroom method its imperative that you stay well connected with your children and their academic progress. Practicing this one habit will benefit you and your student in multiple ways as you will be fully aware at all times where your child is in his studies, you will have the confidence that your child is learning and also know when change is necessary. For the student this process will give him added confidence to realize that he is learning a lot, the process will build his communication and presentation skills, keep him accountable to do the work, and build a healthy partnership between you.

As homeschoolers your interests and involvement can abound which means at times it can be hard to track everything you are doing and unfortunately this means things can fall through the cracks. Creating accountability for your homeschool is imperative so you can access all of the learning you are building and empower your student to success.

I’m often asked, “How do I know they’re doing the work?” What you need are tools to help streamline the process and assure you are taking care of it all. We use a tool called An Inspired Education’s (AIE) Parents Weekly Review for Success. It is used once a week during a casual mentor meeting where you and your child review all work that has been completed for the week. A more formal and lengthy mentor meeting where you and your child have more in-depth discussions will take place every 4-6 weeks.

Here’s what we cover during our AIE Parents Weekly Review for Success:

Four Basic Needs: Physical, Social/Emotional, Mental and Spiritual. Considering these four needs each week will ensure you are meeting and balancing their basic needs. While some of these we don’t even have to think about like shelter and food, pausing and considering these needs can mean focusing more on a

By: Donna Vail

Mentoring Your Children to Success

“Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out.”

– Stephen Covey


child’s need that would otherwise slip such as acceptance, creativity, stimulating challenges and contributing. Be sure to include ways some of these needs can be met outside of your home and by being active in the community.

Top 3-5 Values: Having your child’s top 3-5 values in front of you each week assures you are considering all of your responses and suggestions in accordance with their values. Honoring your child in their highest values will propel him to success as well as give you intelligence to better relate with each other. Everyone lives by a set of priorities, a hierarchy of values that determines how the world is perceived, how you will respond. Just by looking at what is in your living space, what you spend the most time on, what you spend the most money on and what is most fulfilling reveals individual values. When you have these in front of you for each child you can link their studies to their values making learning more meaningful and fulfilling.

Academics: A basic checklist here of all that should be completed each week will keep all your bases covered. Our list includes Weekly Inspired Intelligence Record, Math Time Sheets, Math Lessons, Math Home study Tests, Math Graph Recorded, Reading Progress and Goals, Vocabulary, Book Exams, Writing and Other Studies. Again, always keep it unique to your child’s needs. Having this list ensures you’ve checked everything and all is accounted for.

Household Services: Accountability is needed from both you and your children when it comes to household services/chores. Are you holding them accountable for their responsibilities or letting them slip? Are you doing it yourself when they don’t? This part of our review is a quick status check to identify areas of improvement with the household responsibilities each child takes care of to serve the family. It’s important that everyone contributes to the functions of everyday family life and that responsibility is mastered through these practices.

Priorities, Projects and More: This section is an area where you can list specific projects each child is working on and keep abreast of progress. If the child is doing any volunteer work in the community, it could be listed here as well.

To make the process even easier you can download the worksheet at http://www.aninspirededucation.com/parentsweeklyreview

Print a copy for each child. On the form there are four columns where you can make notes, one column for each week. Once this sheet is completed the following week will be a full mentor meeting where you go into greater detail. Using this worksheet will provide clarity and serve as an accountability tool, which is the number one key to success in all areas of life.

Keep files of these weekly reviews so you can use the notes for the full mentor meeting every 4 to 6 weeks. Holding weekly reviews will help you be on top of your homeschool responsibilities and know exactly where your children are in their learning and if there are any additional needs, but more important is that it helps each child know where they are fueling their love for learning.

“To love rightly is to love what is orderly and beautiful in an educated and disciplined way.” -Plato

Parents Inspired to Action: Determine a day that is good for you and your children to have a weekly review together. Schedule each child to have individualized private meetings.

Establish a file for your weekly reviews so you can access them for the full mentor meeting every 4 to 6 weeks.

If you are not quite sure how to be a mentor consider being mentored. Every highly successful person has a mentor, no one does it alone and your children’s education is worth it.

Children Inspired to Action: Include your children in the weekly review. Have them pull the completed work from their Self- Educator’s Study book and file them in the designated record keeping system for short-term and long-term portfolio.

As you implement this new way of doing things give your children time to adjust to the new plan. Support them in using it and adjust where needed to respect everyone’s unique work and living habits.

Meet privately with your child giving them undivided attention. This is important individualized work that deserves individualized counsel.

Donna Vail is the Founder of An Inspired Education, a company devoted to empowering families around the world to a lifestyle of true freedom through homeschooling, inspiration and entrepreneurship. Donna and her husband have homeschooled their six children for the past 16 years

and now help today’s homeschoolers find their way. For more about her company, visit http://www.aninspirededucation.com.


solutions

An awesome opportunity for homeschool students is to take CLEP, DSST and/or UExcel tests to “show what they know” and get college credit. Credits can be earned for subjects they already have competency in based on a previous class, studying a college level text, on-the-job training, internships, and more. These credit-by-exam programs help to save a lot of time and money. They also allow a parent to choose what the student studies and from what “world-view”. A student can study for these exams in their own home and save the trouble of going to a college campus to take the course. Is this the best-kept secret in higher education? You bet it is - so please read on!

How CLEPs, DSSTs, and UExcel Exams Help You Get Credits. CLEP, DSST and UExcel exams can earn

you from 3 to 12 college credits depending on your college’s policy. Many college policies can be found on www.collegeboard.com.

Reduce College Expenses. The cost of most of these exams is around $100-$120, a fraction of the tuition and fees for the corresponding course. You can study at home and not spend money driving to a college campus.

Most of These Credits Do Not Expire. CLEP, DSST and UExcel Credits Can Free up Your Schedule to take more advanced classes, or pursue other academic areas.

Graduate On Time – Or Early. Credit-by Exam programs can help you get the required credits so that you can graduate.

Satisfy An Entrance Exam or Proficiency Requirement. Demonstrate your ability in college math or a foreign language, for example, and boost your college application by showing college proficiency level work.

CLEP, DSST and UExcel Lets You Control The Material. You decide what you want to learn or who teaches it and the time required to master it. You can study at home and not have to spend time in a classroom.

There are 33 CLEPs, 39 DSSTs and 8 UExcel exams to choose from!

How to Get Started

Find out if your college accepts CLEP, DSST or UExcel exams. Do a college search on www.collegeboard.com or your college’s website and talk to your admissions office, test center, or academic advisor.

Visit the credit-by-exam websites and read descriptions of all exams and decide which to take. Many of the websites contain free study materials, exam content information and podcasts on some of the exams.

Start studying. Get a college textbook from a library or local college bookstore and review sample questions. The credit-by-exam websites and study guides offer lots of resources and often will tell you how to study and general information about the exams. We have found that high school courses that are considered “AP” often equip a student to pass these exams.

Decide if you need to purchase study guides or practice tests. Sometimes it is better to take a practice test to help identify the areas to study.

Our favorite study guides for CLEPs are the RAE Study Guides and Comex study guides. Many of the REA study guides offer test prep with TESTware. These guides have 2 full-length practice tests in the book and on CD-ROM in timed format with instant scoring. Their review is comprehensive and they cover all topics found on the official exams. They also include test-taking tips and study strategies for confidence on test day.

www.instantcert.com is a web company that hosts exam study material in an online “flashcard” system and you can pay for each month you would like to use their service.

www.iStudySmart.com offers DSST materialsRegister to take your exam(s) by contacting a testing

center. Search the CLEP, DSST and UExcel websites for a testing center in your area.

Take your test! Most of the exams take about 90 minutes to complete and you get immediate scoring!

By: Debbie Thompson

use CLeP, DSST and uexcel exams to Show What You Know and Get College Credit!


Listing of CLEP (http://clep.collegeboard.org/) exams:Composition and Literature American LiteratureAnalyzing and Interpreting Literature College Composition and College Composition Modular English Literature Humanities World Languages French Language (Levels 1 and 2) German Language (Levels 1 and 2) Spanish Language (Levels 1 and 2) History and Social Sciences American Government Human Growth and Development Introduction to Educational Psychology Introductory Psychology Introductory Sociology Principles of Macroeconomics Principles of Microeconomics Social Sciences and History History of the United States I: Early Colonization to 1877 History of the United States II: 1865 to the Present Western Civilization I: Ancient Near East to 1648 Western Civilization II: 1648 to the Present Science and Mathematics Biology Calculus Chemistry College Algebra College Mathematics Natural Sciences PreCalculus Business Financial Accounting Introductory Business Law Information Systems and Computer Applications Principles of Management Principles of Marketing

Listing of DSST (www.getcollegecredit.com) exams:

Math Fundamentals of College Algebra; 3B Principles of Statistics; 3B

Social Sciences Substance Abuse (formerly Drug and Alcohol Abuse); 3BU Criminal Justice; 3BU Art of the Western World; 3B Western Europe since 1945; 3B An Introduction to the Modern Middle East; 3B Human/Cultural Geography; 3B Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union; 3BU A History of the Vietnam War; 3B The Civil War and Reconstruction; 3BU Foundations of Education; 3B Lifespan Developmental Psychology; 3B General Anthropology; 3B Introduction to Law Enforcement; 3B

Fundamentals of Counseling; 3B Humanities Ethics in America; 3BU Introduction to World Religions; 3BU Principles of Public Speaking; 3B Business Business Ethics and Society; 3BU Business Law II; 3BU Business Mathematics; 3B Human Resource Management; 3B Introduction to Business; 3B Introduction to Computing; 3B Management Information Systems; 3BU Money and Banking; 3BU Organizational Behavior; 3B Personal Finance; 3B Principles of Finance; 3BU Principles of Supervision; 3B Principles of Financial Accounting; 3B Physical Science Here’s to Your Health; 3BU Astronomy; 3B Environment and Humanity: The Race to Save the Planet; 3B Principles of Physical Science I; Physical Geology; 3B Technology Technical Writing; 3B B = Baccalaureate, BU = Upper BaccalaureateUExcel® (http://www.uexceltest.com/about/ ) exams are given through an alliance between Pearson VUE testing centers and Excelsior College. They offer the following exams and like CLEP and DSST, the exams are computer-based:CalculusCollege WritingIntroduction to PsychologyIntroduction to SociologyPhysicsPolitical Science Spanish LanguageStatistics

Visit http://www.uexceltest.com/ for more information.

Please note: Not all colleges accept all of these exams. You must contact your college to see which credit-by-exams are accepted. Each college sets its own rules on the scores on these exams that would earn college credit.

Visit our website for more information or to schedule CLEP or DSST exams at our testing center in the Raleigh, NC area: www.TriangleEd.com.

You can enjoy teaching your child to write. Guaranteed.

To receive a free download of the talk The Four Deadly Errors of Teaching Writing go to excellenceinwriting.com/HHM

Debbie Thompson, (www.TriangleEd.com) is Director of Triangle Education Assessments, LLC, which helps thousands of homeschoolers each year with their achievement,

ability, career and practice test needs.


i DiDn’T Go to kindergarten, nor did I have the benefit of a preschool program, yet I might be perceived by some to be a well-adjusted, academically adequate, productive person. As recently as twenty years ago, kindergarten was a half-day program in most areas, with an emphasis on school readiness. If there was an afternoon component (usually to save bus mileage in rural areas), it consisted of naptime, snack time, and play-based learning. Preschool was optional, primarily for those “of means,” and met usually a few half-days a week.

Fast-forward to today: Lowered compulsory attendance ages in some states and the common use of standardized testing for even the youngest children are among the catalysts for increased academic expectations for the pre-kindergarten child. Renee and Mike Mosiman, authors of The Smarter Preschooler: Unlocking Your Child’s Intellectual Potential (2009, Brighter Insights Press), <LINK TO http://www.amazon.com/Smarter-Preschooler-Unlocking-Intellectual-Potential/dp/0981642659 > found that “in some cities, the competition to get into the best preschool is so fierce that admission requirements include testing, interviews, and stellar recommendations.” (Reminds me of the selective college admission process!)

The Mosimans continue, “Some parents even pay thousands of dollars for preschool consultants to help their child get a coveted spot. For some preschools, long waiting lists are not uncommon.” (Mosiman, pp. 2-3) These waiting lists include a considerable number of children who are yet to be born, with parents anxious to get their children on the fast track to the best schools!

Lest you think the Mosimans eschew early learning, let me assure you that they “believe it is your responsibility as a parent to unlock your preschooler’s intellectual potential,” but they “urge you to create an intellectually stimulating environment, not an intellectually demanding one.” (Mosiman, p. 3)

In this sort of environment, described in detail in their book, parents aren’t as concerned with racing to the next milestone as they are cultivating their child’s talents, strengthening his or her weaknesses, and providing experiences—“hooks” on which to “hang” their future learning.

Five foundational abilities fostered in the preschool years release the child’s learning ability: independence, order, self-control, concentration, and service. In Mommy, Teach Me!, <LINK to http://store.nexternal.com/hslda/mommy-teach-me-p49.aspx> Montessori-teacher-turned-homeschool-mom (of twelve) Barbara Curtis shares activities, tips, and techniques to help your preschooler develop these abilities and to thrive at home.

By: Vicki Bentley

curriculum

Keeping Preschool in Perspective


Mary Kay Smith, editor of The Virginia Home Educator, shared a comforting and freeing perspective on preschool in her editorial <LINK TO http://www.heav.org/resources/home-educator/preschool.html>:

In our house it is clear that all men are not created equal. In fact, the self-evident truths suggest very strongly otherwise. This was driven home to my youngest daughter and me as we watched her physics professor lecture on computer memory. We like the professor a great deal and have learned a lot in this course, but it is quite obvious that his mind and our minds are nowhere near equal.

Recently we listened in awe as he discussed flip-flop semiconductor memory and explained his logical NOR gate circuit chart. But we just couldn’t help it, as he went over the chart—and rapidly over our heads—the two of us looked at the diagram and discussed how we’d color it in.

We won’t be applying for a science scholarship.Your children aren’t equal either. That realization might make you panic a bit

at first, but in the end it should be liberating. There are two things about your preschool children I’d like to say clearly: The first is that it is important to give your children the freedom to be the people God made them to be. Yes, you need to expose them to every subject, but, just as you can’t—and shouldn’t want or expect to—turn willow trees into oaks, you can’t force your artistic children to become mathematical geniuses (or the other way around).

The second thing is that we’re dealing with preschool here. You don’t have to start with all the information your children will ever need to know in life. It is important to remember that “pre” means “before.” Preschool children are not in school yet. This is the time to play with your kids, read to them, take them on field trips, and teach them skills at home. You don’t need a curriculum in order to teach colors—go for walks in your garden and point them out. You don’t need a curriculum in order to teach counting—take your kids grocery shopping and count the items in your cart. You don’t need a curriculum in order to teach measuring—bake cookies together. You don’t need a curriculum in order to teach matching—sort socks from the clean laundry. You don’t need a curriculum in order to teach shapes—hunt for shapes through the rooms in your house.

What you need instead is a guide—ideas <LINK TO http://www.heav.org/resources/home-educator/preschool.html> for activities, resources, and skills that will help prepare your children for kindergarten. After all, one of the wonderful benefits of homeschooling is flexibility and the chance to tailor your program to your own children. So relax and just enjoy your kids. You can be assured that they are going to pick up the skills they need. Remember that these skills are like potty training: by the time your children get to college, no one will care how old they were when they mastered them!

Editor’s Note: This article is adapted from the February 2011 Early Years newsletter at www.hslda.org/earlyyears. Mary Kay Smith has homeschooled her three children from preschool to college. She is the editor of The Virginia Home Educator, and she writes and directs educational and biblical children’s programs locally and internationally. This excerpt appeared as the Letter from the Editor in the Fall 2010 issue of The Virginia Home Educator, www.heav.org. Used with permission.

By: Vicki Bentley

Triangle Education Assessments, LLC2521 Schieffelin Rd., Ste 102Apex, NC 27502 • Ph. 919.387.7004 [email protected] free or fax order: 1.877.8.GET TEST (1.877.843.8837)

Group discounts available • Some restrictions apply

Specializing in

Achievement, Cognitive, Career, College Credit

and Practice Tests www.TriangleEd.com

National standardized achievement tests

Your Child is Uniquely & Wonderfully Made

The Iowa Tests® for grades K-12 Woodcock-Johnson® III for ages 4-99BASITM for grades 3-12Brigance® - up to 7 yrs. developmentallyCogAT® for grades K-12Interest ExplorerTM for grades 9-12Career Direct® for grades 8-adult

•CLEP® Exams•DSSTTM Exams• The Iowa Practice Test, CogAT/OLSAT Practice Test, Scoring High Test Prep Books

Vicki Bentley is the mother of eight daughters, foster mom of over fifty, and grandma to fifteen wonderful grandbabies (and another on the way!). She is the author of many homeschool and homemaking helps (see www.everydayhomemaking.com), support group leader, and coordinator of HSLDA’s Early Years and Group Services programs. Vicki has a heart for parents, with strong practical wisdom

and encouraging words. This article is adapted from the February 2011 Early Years newsletter at www.hslda.org/earlyyears.

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” III John 4 (KJV)

“You Can Homeschool thru the Early Years!” (Article and brochure)www.hslda.org/earlyyears/YouCanIntro.asp

The Virginia Home Educator, Preschool Edition, Vol. 16, Issue 4www.heav.org/resources/home-educator/preschool.html

The Smarter Preschooler: Unlocking Your Child’s Intellectual Potential by Renee and Mike Mosimanwww.amazon.com/Smarter-Preschooler-Unlocking-Intellectual-Potential/dp/0981642659/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1297435797&sr=8-1

Preschool Resourceswww.hslda.org/earlyyears/PreschoolResources.asp

“Typical Course of Study for Preschool” – World Bookhttp://worldbook.com/typical-course-of-study-preschool-curriculum-guide.html

“What to Do with Your Preschooler” By Vicki Bentleywww.hslda.org/earlyyears/Preschooler.asp

Mommy, Teach Me! By Barbara Curtishttp://store.nexternal.com/hslda/mommy-teach-me-p49.aspx

Slow and Steady, Get Me Ready By June Oberlanderhttp://store.nexternal.com/hslda/slow-and-steady-get-me-ready-p25c1.aspx?Thread=True

“What Your Preschooler Really Needs” By Susan Lemonswww.crosswalk.com/homeschool/11541408


curriculum

Q: What is the best way to prepare students for writing in college?

I actually asked this question of a small group of college freshmen and sophomores once, and their answer was surprising: “Don’t be lazy about punctuation, capitalization, and spelling when you write emails.” They said it, not me! But I agree. These relatively smart and mature students had realized that bad habits are hard to break, and since most teenagers spend way more time writing emails, chatting online, and texting than any other type of writing, the carelessness typical of online writing will infect, even poison students’ ability to be careful when typing a paper. And the grammar and spell checker won’t catch all they’re miss takes (mistakes).

On a slightly more serious note, it’s important for students to move beyond simply reporting facts, by learning to ask questions that can drive research and opinion papers. Rather than have them research “the causes of World War I”, start with a more specific question such as: “Was the US involvement in WWI right according to “just war theory” as historically taught by the Christian church?” This type of inquiry-driven research will always come across as more thoughtful and developed, especially to a university professor.

As far as “learning” APA or MLA formatting…nobody actually “learns” it, so don’t worry about that. It’s probably good for students of sixteen or seventeen to practice doing a couple MLA-formatted papers before their first year of college classes, but it’s not a make-or-break thing; anyone can do it if they just get a style guide (usually recommended by the professor or the university department) and follow it slavishly, realizing that they will have to learn two or more ways of doing it for different classes in different disciplines before they’re finished.

Lastly, knowing how to “spy on your professor by reading something they’ve written and analyze his or her writing style so you can imitate it and get a better grade on

Dear Andrew…Q&A with Andrew Pudewa


Don’t get frustrated! Check out a different approach!

Videos, sample pages,

teaching timelines,

and more available at

www.analyticalgrammar.com

Make a difference today!

All I want is a grammar program that will...• Be logical and sequential.

• Not take years and years to complete.

• Leave me PRECIOUS TIME for teaching writing and literature.

• Not start every year at the beginning.

• Get to the end of the subject (there is an END, right?)

• Actually TEACH my child so that he MASTERS it!

Andrew Pudewa is the Director of the Institute for Excellence in Writing and a homeschooling father of seven. Presenting throughout North America, he addresses issues relating to teaching, writing, thinking, spelling, and music with clarity and insight, practical experience and humor. His seminars for parents, students, and teachers have helped transform many a reluctant writer and have equipped educators with powerful tools to dramatically

improve students’ skills. He and his beautiful, heroic wife, Robin, currently teach their three youngest children at home in Locust Grove, Oklahoma. For more information please visit www.excellenceinwriting.com.

every paper” is very handy. I always tell college-bound kids: “When you get in a college class, don’t try to write well. Try to figure out what the teacher thinks is good writing, and do that. Realize that teachers may have different styles and preferences, so don’t let it freak you out that one guy will say ‘do it this way’ and another will say ‘don’t do that.’ Learn to play the game. And when you finish school, then you can do what you think is best.” Always write for your audience.

Q: My 12-year old son wants to type everything. Getting him to write on paper is a real battle. His handwriting, of course, is dreadful. How important is it?

Well, if a child has a profound disability such as severe dysgraphia or cerebral palsy or something that makes writing on paper physically impossible, you wouldn’t expect that such a person would ever learn to do it, much like a paralyzed child cannot be expected to walk. However, if that’s not the case, but just resistance because it’s “harder”, there are a couple of reasons I think it’s worth fighting this battle.

First, the need to be able to write on paper is not extinct. Currently, the SAT, ACT, GED, GRE, TOEFL tests all include a handwritten, timed, essay component. If a student types everything except math from eleven to seventeen years old, he or she will be at a significant disadvantage in writing these test essays. Additionally, many college teachers are using bluebook (in-class written essay) exams, which were out of vogue for a couple decades

but have been resurrected because of the desperate need for schools to prove that students really can write well enough to do a job in the real world. Additionally, I know some professors who don’t allow laptops during lectures (it being profoundly depressing to teach a class of people playing solitaire or instant messaging on Facebook), necessitating that students actually take notes on paper (oh, shock and horror and the unfairness of such a demand)!

Secondly, writing on paper requires more thought and greater meticulousness. Reliance on spell- and grammar checkers will atrophy the skill they are replacing, just as calculators in school have eliminated mental math, much to the detriment of students. When using paper and pen, a writer tends to think a bit more about the sentence he is composing, saying it to himself, changing a word or phrase, rehearsing and polishing it a bit before committing it to paper, whereas on a computer, it’s very easy to just start typing a sentence without really knowing what word will come next. This, I believe, promotes a degree of intellectual “sloppiness” which will not benefit the student long term.

However, what your son probably needs to do is copy work, from anything he chooses, for around 20 minutes every day. Explain to him that it’s like running laps, as it will build strength and stamina and after six months, writing on paper will be easier because the ability developed by doing copy work now will, like strong muscles, serve him throughout his life and help him do everything more easily. If he buys that idea, great; if he doesn’t, make him do it anyway…you’ve only got a year or two left.


i TAuGHT MiDDLe school language arts for 34 years, and most of the good teachers in that field were a bit crazed. Why? Because in language arts you don’t start at point A and go to point Z, as you do in math or history.

The term language arts encompasses writing, reading, grammar, spelling, vocabulary, handwriting, keyboarding, and literature. So one of the most difficult things to do for the home teacher (or any teacher, for that matter) is to figure out what to teach when. If you try to teach everything all the time, especially after your child reaches 6th grade, the language arts part of your day will be three hours long!

We are just beginning our home school journey with my grandchildren. We feel we’re doing a pretty good job with reading and handwriting… but what about literature? How do we know we’re teaching her the information, the stuff, she needs to know?

We’ve long been fans of the Core Knowledge Foundation, and we’re using the book What Every Kindergartner Needs to Know by E. D. Hirsch, Jr. This book contains wonderful information about the actual things an American kindergartner should know about, in science, history, math, and language arts. It has a section containing poems and stories, which can be read aloud to them. We strongly recommend this series of books, which goes all the way up to 6th grade, as a resource.

Once a child reaches 6th grade, things change. The curriculum becomes more specialized and, in our opinion, an “umbrella curriculum” in language arts is not so useful. At this point, you need to go to the experts in the various fields and seek out their information and techniques. You also need to begin to schedule your teaching year into what we call “seasons.” A season is a period of time during which you concentrate on one aspect of language arts rather than trying to mix it all together.

Grammar, about which I can claim to be an expert, is something which absolutely needs to be taught in isolation from other language arts subjects. That’s because grammar is a very linear, logical, sequential body of knowledge that requires the student to fit new information into what he already knows and then practice it. If you keep interrupting that flow of grammar information because you’re reading a novel or doing a writing assignment at the same time, the student loses his train of thought and you simply have to go back and re-teach before you can go on in grammar.

My program is taught in “seasons” starting in 6th grade (you can start later if you must, but 6th or 7th grade is optimum), and it allows you to teach grammar non-stop for a period of weeks and then stop. After you stop, you have time to do the writing, reading, vocabulary, and so on. All you have to do during the grammar “off-season” is reinforce once every two weeks. For more information, go to www.analyticalgrammar.com.

Choosing a good writing curriculum requires a fair amount of research because not every one fits every child. Many, many of our customers use Institute for Excellence in Writing very successfully and swear by it. We’ve looked it over carefully and we think it’s superb. But there are others out there, such as Write Shop and Writing Strands that seem to work better with certain kinds of kids.

For vocabulary we don’t think you can beat Word Build. If for whatever reason you can’t use Word Build, then we urge you to choose a vocabulary curriculum, which teaches

Scheduling Language Art: By: Robin Finley

curriculum

What a Pain!!!


By: Robin Finley

from the standpoint of Greek and Latin roots and focuses on prefixes, suffixes, and root words.

There are several good spelling curricula out there, but we believe that the best way to choose one is to do a lot of research and talk to other home teachers, especially on message boards. This is because there are spellers and then there are spellers! Some children have huge problems with spelling and some do not. You need to match the curriculum to your child. We have been very impressed, however, with Sequential Spelling.

When it comes to literature in the middle grades, again the Core Knowledge website has a host of good resources. E. D. Hirsch, Jr. has written Books to Build On, which is an excellent way to choose meaningful literature for your child. You will also find on that website the “Core Knowledge Sequence,” which will give you more guidance in choosing literature which will make your child “well read” for his or her grade level and prepare him for the more serious study of literature in high school.

The middle school years are those during which kids should be learning about literature, not just reading it. What is a plot? What are the five elements of a plot and the five conflicts in literature? What’s a rhyme scheme? What’s scansion? They also need to learn about ways to respond to what they read in ways different than just, “Go write a book report.” We’re in the process of developing curriculum

to meet this specific need that we’re calling “Beyond the Book Report,” which we hope to have ready for sale this coming spring.

From a very practical standpoint we recommend that, beginning in 6th grade and onwards through high school, you get a yearlong planner and map out your curricular year. Mark the weeks during which you’ll be teaching grammar (preferably in those middle grades). Then mark down what books you’ll be reading, when you’ll be teaching your child how to write an essay and a research paper (and we have the teaching units to help you do that), and so on.

This will give you a lot of peace of mind and you’ll feel in control of a situation which produces all those “crazed” language arts teachers!

Robin Finley is a veteran middle and high school language arts teacher. She began writing her course in grammar, punctuation, and usage in 1981 when her Language Arts department refused to purchase any grammar book for her classes, grammar having been deemed “useless”

in the improvement of their writing! She lives in Raleigh, NC, with her daughter Erin Karl, the other half of the AG team, Erin’s amazing husband Rob, and Maddie and Tripp, her two beautiful grandchildren (and her pride and joy!). Robin enjoys nothing more than sharing her materials and her teaching techniques and skills with home teachers in her workshops.

What a Pain!!!


HoW many of you feel like you’ve been hit by a bus the end of the day? (It’s okay you can raise your hands it’s all anonymous *wink*)

How many of you can barely find the time to read this article? (But you’re desperate so you continue on?)

Well, today we’re going to take the edge off of your chronic fatigue syndrome, which will in turn benefit your homeschooling by teaching your children responsibility. At the same time it helps relieve the stress you’ve been feeling trying to “manage everything on your own”. Now instead of thinking about those toilets you that need to be cleaned you’ll be alert and focused during your school day!

God’s Word tells us that “Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.”(1 Cor. 4:2) “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” Matthew 25:21

My beloved, you have been put in charge of God’s precious children, and they have to be our priority when it comes to schedules and structure. We are not called to be “Super-Mom” or “Super-Dad”, but instead Abiding Mom’s and Dads.

Now, let’s talk about how to create a working schedule, and give some structure to your day! My hope is to give you some tangible things you can do to help facilitate a smoother less frustrating schooling day!

Before we start in on the meat of our daily schedule planning, I want to take a short moment to talk about our time as parents. Our children are typically in our homes for approximately 18 years. After that they leave our nest and venture off into their own lives. For most of us that leaves a good 20+ years of no kids in our homes. When we think about it this way, suddenly our time with our children becomes much more precious to us.

Before you start trying to work out a schedule, I want you to take a minute to pray for an open heart. Next, I want you to sit down and make a list of all of your commitments and hobbies that you have as a homeschooling parent. List things like homeschooling, serving at church, leading a bible study, volunteering at girl/boy scouts, scrapbooking, and the like. Also make sure to list any commitments you have made that take your time away from your family.

Next, note if the commitment is outside or inside the home, and then a brief explanation stating if this commitment benefits, or takes away from your family.

By: Erica ArndtHelp i need Structure!

organization


Finally, give the commitment a priority (1 for less priority, 5 for highest priority).

Hopefully all of you have homeschooling as a number 5!When your list is complete, sit down with your spouse (if

possible), and go over your commitments. See if there are any items on there that can be removed. Pray over the list together, and let God lead you. He’ will make it clear where you are to be spending your time. One thing I constantly struggle with is balance. I am a “yes” person, and I tend to volunteer for everything! But I’m going to share some wisdom imparted to me from a mentor of mine:

“There are a million worthy causes, but you can’t do them all!”

God has laid plans for you; we need to be in constant prayer, making sure that we’ve been really seeking His direction in our commitments. We have to be open to the fact that even though it may be something we WANT to do, God may not have that thing for us at this time. And by us saying “no” to something, He can open up the door for someone else to say “yes”.

“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.” Proverbs 19:21

Please don’t misunderstand, I still do things with friends and serve at our church. But after learning my lesson the hard way, and I did learn it the HARD way…God made it very clear to me that my first ministry was at home. I am now much

Super Mom Abiding MomDoes Is (Psalm 46:10)Tries to impress others Pleases the Lord (Eph. 5:10, Proverbs 29:25)Is controlled by an agenda (curriculum, schedule, etc) Is controlled by the Holy Spirit: (Gal. 5:22-26) (Uses curriculum &

schedules as tools for orderliness so she’s more free to follow the spirit)Her self worth is found in her accomplishments (clean house, perfect kids, the perfect bulletin boards, etc.)

Her self worth is found in an accurate view of who she is in Christ Jesus (Eph 2:10)

Her peace is found in the “perfect” environment Her peace is found in Jesus in the midst of any storm (Is 26:3)She is discouraged by failure Failure reminds her that God’s strength is made perfect in weakness (2

Cor. 12:9-10)She expects perfection from herself and others She practices grace with herself and others (Eph 4:32)She teaches her kids to be good She teaches her kids to be Godly (Proverbs 22:6)She is frustrated with her lack of spiritual fruit She abides in Christ and bears much fruit (John 15:5)She does things with her children She builds a relationship with her children (Deut 6:6-7)Her perspective is based on what is seen Her perspective is based on what is unseen (Col 3:2)She chooses quantity of activities She chooses the most excellent Way (I Cor 13)Her kids may recall how busy she always is. Her children rise and call her blessed. (Prov. 31:28)

Structure!

more careful to what I say, “yes” to. If it’s something that will take me away from our home then my husband and I discuss it, and decide if it is worth it to our family before I agree.

Schedules & StructureNow that our time demands are hopefully a bit more

manageable, let’s talk about a daily schedule.My kids thrive on schedule and structure, and if you can’t

tell by now, I do as well. This type of personality is a blessing, but also has its pitfalls. The main thing I want to share with everyone is to be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit in your day. We can trust God to lead us in everything and that includes our homeschooling day as well.

Will I get my laundry done?Will my house get cleaned?Are we going to get through school today?Ack, it’s 5pm what are we having for dinner?Have you asked yourself any of the above questions?

I’ve found that having a schedule, even if I don’t stick to it, provides our family with a much-needed sense of structure. Having our days planned out for us helps to alleviate some of the anxiety surrounding a homeschooling home. I’ve asked myself all of the questions listed above and only through planning can they be answered. Is it critical to get the laundry done? Maybe, maybe not, but at least if you have a plan you know that the never-ending loads will actually get done at some point.

Another thing that always stresses me out is mealtime. I actually like to cook, but I’m just not that creative in this area, so having some sort of plan that guides me is a huge blessing. I don’t always follow them exactly, and that’s totally cool because I have a plan if I deviate it’s on purpose. (My kids like the meal plan too and often complain when I don’t follow it!)

I also shop off my menu. On the weekend I go to the grocery store and get only what’s on our schedule for meals for the week. This has helped reduce my grocery bill as well as ensure I have needed items to make the meals. No more standing in front of the refrigerator at 5PM wishing I had a little genie to pop out and make us dinner!

That’s great you say, but what about everything else, vacuuming, laundry, toilets, mopping…you know, all the daily chores that need to get done? Most of those get done during chore time. Below are instructions to create a Chore Chart for your family:

Supplies needed: -Cardstock-Hanging card holder similar to the one in the photo (available on -Amazon from Creative Learner – Creative Learner Behavioral -Paocket Chart)-Reward Stickers-Small Prize box (you can make this anything you like)

Instructions for Slots:1. Card with child’s name 2.-6. Mon-Fri Chore cards

to be completed 7. Reward tickets,

Sticker Sheet, Best Bee-havior Rewards

8. I keep extra cards, tickets, in the bottom row slots.

Directions:Put the assigned task cards in the

2nd—6th slots. When a task is completed, your child can turn their card backwards and place it behind the other task cards to be completed for the day.

At the end of the day, look to see which tasks are completed and switch them out with reward tickets and stickers. At the end of the week, allow your child to spend his tickets on items in a small prize box (gum, candy, erasers, pencils, etc) .

If your child completes all the assigned tasks in a day, they receive a sticker on the reward card in the 7th slot. Once that reward card is full, they can exchange it for something more special like larger prize box, I use things like mini-Lego sets, Pet-Shop’s, Polly Pockets, computer time, TV time, Wii Time etc.

“Best Bee-havior” cards are also included that you can reward when your child has displayed a good attitude for the entire day, helping others, being kind to siblings, or anything else you deem as outstanding behavior. These are very special for our family and are handed out only for very good behavior. They can be redeemed for something fancier like a trip to ice cream, a sleep over, etc.

If a task is not completed, the child does not earn tickets or stickers.

You can be as rigid or flexible as you need to be here, but at least you’ll have a general plan to shoot for. Part of that means no phone calls (except from your spouse), and definitely NO email checking during school hours.

The other part includes learning to be flexible. If there’s an amazing display on Egypt at your local museum, take the day off and go! Chores and meals and everything else will get done later. One major advantage to homeschooling, is that we have the flexibility to venture away from our “plan” and actually enjoy life with our children. And hey, we can always make up school on Saturday ;o) the kids will love that!

Erica Arndt is a Christian mom, with a wonderful husband of 9 years, and 4 precious kiddos! I currently have a 2nd grader, kindergartner, preschooler, and teeny tiny tot. This year marks our 4th year of homeschooling. I started with my oldest in preschool and I can’t believe we’ve made it through 4 years

already! I love that we have the option to have our kids around all day, and can be the primary influence in their lives!


By: Daniel Yordy

i HAve PoinTeD out that the labor that children engage in all the years of their schooling is thrown in the trash because it is not valued by anyone. Now certainly, there is value in the things they learn for “someday.” But there is actually no present value for the child even in that learning. It is seldom something he or she is using right now to further some personal goal.

What is value?Value is simply the property of anything by which it is useful

or desirable to someone. And the person who wants it for themselves determines the value of anything. The question is how valuable is it to that person?

Value in society is usually represented by money. In today’s world the involvement

of money is often defined as something “bad” or “tainted.” But money is only a device we use to measure the value of some real thing or some amount or quality of labor. Money in and of itself

is nothing, anymore than the numbers on a yardstick. Money is a measurement of value.

Look at what people put in their trash. That smelly mess has no value to the people who put it there. And it has no value to almost anyone else.

How is it that all of a child’s work in school is destined for that filthy garbage pile?

Certainly there is temporary paper work in even the most real form of learning. But in real learning, temporary paper work supports the creating of value.

How can creating value work in real schooling?

In project-led learning, let’s say a child grows flowers for cutting and flower arrangements as a project. For several months the child arranges and places on the dining table, twice a week, a new bouquet of flowers. Everyone welcomes the cheerfulness and beauty. No one would think of immediately shredding the child’s work and trashing it. In fact, let’s say the child sustains this for 15 weeks or 30 bouquets. At $15 a bouquet, the child has added $450 of value to her family’s life. The memory of those weeks of endless bouquets is a lifetime treasure.

Meanwhile, the student is reading about flower growing, flower cutting, flower arrangements. She is creating a scrapbook of photographs of her work with descriptions. Will that piece of “school work” be thrown away immediately? I hardly think so. She is publishing it online. She is learning botany and soil science. She is learning logic through the progression of seed and growth and harvesting and arranging and displaying. The list of learning goes on.

A child working in a flower garden and making lovely flower arrangements to brighten the family home is engaged in an education far superior to a child chained to a desk all day and limited to pictures in a botany text book.

This is learning by reality.

Daniel Yordy is a teacher and the director of YGuide Academy. Their focus is on helping families with Project-led and Business-based learning. They create Project Guides to help students fit learning around real projects. For more information please visit www.YGuide.org, www.YGuideAcademy.com

or contact Daniel through www.dyordy.com or at [email protected].

Learning by reality – What is value?

curriculum


i Love CHriSTMAS. I love everything about it: the decorations, the baking, the eating, the Christmas choirs, the family meals, the parties, the crafts, wrapping the presents - everything. It is my favorite time of the year. I love to spend time doing all of those things but what I treasure most is delving into the spirit and meaning of Christmas with my family. We love to do service projects, reach out to neighbors, and study Advent. I really hope my kids will carry our family traditions and memories of our Christmas celebrations into adulthood.

The Christmas season, however, is one of the busiest of all seasons. Add homeschooling and you have a recipe for becoming certifiably crazy! Several years ago, after talking it through with my husband, we decided to take the entire month of December off. We start school early enough in August to allow us the time to do that while still finishing

in mid to late May. I wanted our days to be somewhat scheduled and I wanted the freedom to really enjoy the season of giving. To make that happen, we decided to do a yearly Christmas unit study.

The majority of the year we use an open-and-go curriculum that includes Bible, history, science, art, and music. Using this style of curriculum allows me the time and energy to plan a great Christmas unit study. I usually include three main elements to our Christmas unit study: Bible, read-alouds, and crafts and goodies.

What should our Christmas unit study teach?

I like to plan our Christmas unit so that it ties into our history timeline. For instance, while studying ancient times we do a unit study of Hanukkah to go with our focus on

By: Dawn Hudson

christian corner

Memorable

Making

Christmas


LogicRhetoricLiteratureHistory

PhonicsPenmanship

Jewish feasts and festivals. When studying Rome, we look deeply into the events and times surrounding the birth of Christ. During the Renaissance, we delve into the 12 days of Christmas and their meanings. We once did an analysis of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” while learning about the 1800 and 1900s. For years that we explore geography we learn how other cultures celebrate Christmas. I find it to be a great addition to our regular curriculum and the kids look forward to and enjoy our Christmas venture each year.

As you can see, there are many potential topics for a Christmas unit study. Take a look at your current school subjects to find inspiration! You could discover a great idea from a read-aloud, such as a “Little House on the Prairie” Christmas study; or explore your family’s heritage and discover why you have the traditions that you do.

Bible and Read-AloudsAfter I have an idea for the subject

matter I go in search of the meat of our study. What are we going to learn? I love to look at daily Advent studies for kids for our Bible studies. There are many on the market—everything from Bible-based ornaments that you hang on the tree to a daily Advent storybook. I also have several Christmas story compilations that I choose to read from based on our topic. You can add a musical element by learning traditional Christmas carols and their history.

Living What You LearnWhile I am researching our Bible

study, I also try to plan an outreach of some kind—going to serve at a soup kitchen, working at a distribution center for Operation Christmas Child, singing or playing music at retirement homes, or looking for someone who has been forgotten and needs to know that Jesus loves them. I find that our outreach project is what my kids have remembered most and truly expresses the reason for the season.

Crafts and GoodiesThis is clearly the easiest to plan.

A quick search on the Internet reveals

many books on Christmas crafts and goodies. I narrow the books down based on the topic that we are studying and try to plan two crafts and/or baking activities a week. While studying Christmas around the world, we made several nativities in the style of different countries. My favorite was the origami nativity, which was extremely colorful and very different from the nativities that we are accustomed to.

Invite OthersI like to involve others in our

craziness. We invite family, friends, and even the neighbors! Last year we celebrated a traditional Las Posada and my neighbors agreed to be the “unkind” innkeepers. Having others involved is, of course, more fun and also has the side benefit of a shared workload! If you are studying Dickens’ time, have everyone bring a traditional food for the time period and have a potluck. We have had quite the variety of meals—from cookies from around the world, to foods that Jesus might have eaten, to traditional Christmas meals from the Renaissance times. This is also a great way to witness to neighbors and friends in a very nonthreatening manner. We want to teach our kids to reach out to the whole world and share their faith.

Often times in our busy homeschooling days we forget to take time to enjoy our children and focus on the true significance of the season. If your house is anything like mine, by Christmas we are ready for a break from our normal routine. A Christmas unit study is a perfect way to learn something in a fun and engaging way.

Your kids might not even know they are still homeschooling!

MemorableChristmas

First the student, and now the teacher, Dawn Hudson is a second generation homeschooler. She enjoys homeschooling

her children in their home state of Colorado. Dawn also serves as a consultant for My Father’s World. www.mfwbooks.com.

www.TheHomeschoolHandbook.com

christian corner

By: Anne Sperry Connors

THere is a place called New Hope in Uganda, Africa. In this place, the love of God brings hope to the fatherless. This is a story about the family villages that nurture and grow up a child in the ways of the Lord.

From a bird’s eye view, New Hope is a circle. Seven family villages radiate from the elementary school at the center. Each family village is designed with a dining hut, a cooking hut and separate sleeping huts for boys and girls and the representative mother and father. Surrounding this small village are gardens and animals that support and feed each family. At New Hope, a family consists of orphans that have come off the streets or who have come as babies to the nursery. There is a father and mother, who unite and lead each group of children ranging in ages from 2 to 20. There are seven families. Their names are David, Samuel, Jonathan, Ebenezer, Worchester, Calvary and Pacific families. For each orphan, it is a family they can come home to for the rest of their lives.

My hovering question when meeting these orphans was: Who would trust God, after such abandonment and pain?

So many circumstances have left each child homeless. Some were orphaned by AIDS, others inherit poverty and are left to fend for themselves. How could these children learn to trust again? What I witnessed was life changing.

In gathering every night for evening devotions I saw the power of the beaconing drums to gather community. Once gathered, the echo of healing stories and songs of praise bonded heart to heart and united the families as one. The word of God filled the children with hope and ignited a light within. I was blessed to hear stories of growth, surrender and redemption from the children themselves. Deep inside, I knew my family could use these traditions. Deep inside, I knew my family needed a change.

In America and industrialized parts of the world many of us have become too busy. As a consequence, our huts are not always happy. There is often no spiritual leader to guide and nurture confused or heavy hearts. My hope is that you will bring out the drums and gather your children together each night with the promises and hope that come in a relationship with each other and with God.

The Happy Hut


?language?

in theirGod’s Wordhear

The Happy HutThere once was a hut, a gathering hut,surrounded by dozing huts, a smoking hut and a garden hut.As chickens and roosters chatterand rakes and hoes clattera family makes their noises known.

In the circle of a setting sun, drums sing Boom bada-bada, Boom bada boom!With the heart beat of the Great CreatorJoy comes running from the field She sets aside all things picked and peeledJoining hands of every size and color.

In the shade of elephant grass, family drawsBrothers, sisters, a mom and dadand friends from around the world.The hut; like a basket cradlesFragile hearts and broken dreamsAnd protects the children God holds dear.

Daily, troubles gather, and laughter liftsTogether, together, voices call out in praise.Songs that bless the heart and talk of love.Songs that take away the pain of the past.Hope shines and joins the night stars that flashAnd pop like light bulbs in the African sky.

Then comes the father, the loving fatherStories in hand, life lessons to teachHe reads from the word of God.The children listen, they can’t wait to hearThat their lives have purpose and that God is a forever father who is always near.

Out of respect, the father bows his headTo thank God for fulfilling His promise.The lives before him, the ones he callsPrecious, and Loved One and My Child.He anoints them with encouragementThen sends them on their way.

Filled with community and blessings, It’s time to share the work of the fields.Bowls of posho and beans come steaming.Everyone has their bowl, their spoon;Small token promises to be thankful for.Bellies dance and grumble FEED ME SOON!

Loved and well fed, Jeremiah dozes, Lucy strums and Fiona mothers the youngRuth weaves a sitting mat for Jjajja Congo.Yellow birds swoop as mosquitoes dartJonathan and Luke laugh at the work thatBeans do in their bellies. Tootie! Poot-fart!

As the moon rises and roosters find a bedThe happy hut stretches and yawnsas kerosene lamps begin to fade.Babies and young ones whisper goodnightAs they tug skirts and take big handsBare feet find shoes and run out of sight.

Thank you God for Kasana blessingsFor food, for family, for cloths, for school, for friends, for safety and gardens that grow

…and for a happy hut where God’s family gathersTo learn the word of God, sing His praises, and each child learns that they are loved.

Anne Sperry Connors is a mother of 4, a Montessori Directress in the 3 to 6 classroom and tours with her award

winning Montessori Carpets. She and her family currently live in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. For more information please contact Anne at [email protected].


“onCe uPon A TiMe”.... that’s how a typical fairy tale begins... “Once upon a time there were three bears who lived together in a house of their own in a wood.” Or...”Once upon a time, there was a little girl who lived in a village near the forest.”

Nearly every parent has related at least one fairy tale to his or her children at some time during their growing-up years. Most of stories are harmless little tales of the imagination, and a few, perhaps, even make a moral point–although a little girl bargaining with bears or another little girl in a red cape who discerns the differences between a wolf’s teeth and her grandmother’s are probably not in that category!

At any rate, in many households, fairy tales and childhood often go hand-in-hand, but at Your Story Hour (YSH) we suspect that you want something with more substance and value for your children. That’s why we dispense “fishhooks” instead of fairy tales.

Jesus said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matt. 4:19) Or as the God’s Word® translation puts it: Jesus said to them, “Come, follow me! I will teach you how to catch people instead of fish.”

As any schoolboy will tell you, in order to catch fish you need some kind of “tool”–a fishhook, a spear, a net. And all of these tools are designed so that the fish can’t get away. While a fishhook has a barb that holds the fish so it can’t escape, the methods Jesus taught didn’t confine, coerce or trap. They simply were designed so that listeners didn’t want to get away! The men, women and children who listened to Jesus were held by His messages of love and by the stories He told...stories that carried nuggets of truth...stories that mirrored their lives...stories that they would always remember.

And thereby we find the second benefit of using stories

Fairy Tales or "Fishhooks"?

By: Elaine Trumbo-Roberts

christian corner


MAKING BOYS AND GIRLS OF TODAY, BETTER MEN AND WOMEN TOMORROW

JUST RELEASED! Two New Great Stories Albums

Great Stories Volume 9 and 10

For more information visit www.yourstoryhour.org • 1-800-987-7879

Your Story Hour audio dramas are a great and fun way to learn History.

Great Stories 9 features Ernest Shackleton’s Antarctic expedition.

Great Stories 10 features Theodore Roosevelt.

We believe that children are an invaluable and precious component of families, communities and nations. Children can be inspired to make sound choices by exposure to dramatized stories evidencing the positive results of developing character traits such as honesty, integrity, courage and faith. Your Story Hour exists to provide children with this exposure.

as “fishhooks”–or should we say, “people-hooks”...or “child-hooks”! Not only were listeners willingly held in rapt attention, the stories Jesus told would never be forgotten. The Pearl of Great Price, The Lost Coin, The Sower and the Seed, The Good Samaritan, The Prodigal Son–all of these stories would become the tools which would continue to mold the lives of His listeners, even after He no longer walked among them.

It’s the old idea of: “Give a man a fish and feed him for a day–give him a fishhook and feed him for a lifetime.” The stories Jesus told continued to “feed” His listeners for many years ahead, and following His model, Your Story Hour has produced hundreds of exciting, fully-dramatized, educational stories. The question is: Do Your Story Hour’s stories feed listeners for a lifetime? Does YSH produce an entertaining tool that makes children want to stay for more? Does YSH supply them with their own “fishhooks” to help them make good decisions in the future? Thousands of letters over the years say “yes”:

“I love Your Story Hour. I have listened to it my whole life, and I plan to keep it that way. Thank you so much for all the stories and life lessons you gave. You became my teachers on the differences between right and wrong, and I’m grateful for that.” (Angel, Comment from YSH website)

“I have enjoyed the stories on the life of Jesus Christ. Your ministry is so wonderful, and I can’t tell you how many things

I have learned from listening to Your Story Hour.” (Comment from YSH website)

“I love YSH. The stories teach me more about God, and I really love listening. They keep on inspiring me in my faith in

God. YSH has the best stories I have ever heard. Thank you so much.” (S.P., from Australia)

So when you supply Your Story Hour stories to your children, you are fulfilling the words

of Jesus by becoming a fisher of men...by catching your boys and girls and teens for Jesus with the unforgettable stories of God’s love. And you are supplying them with the tools that will help them make positive decisions, build character and be

receptive to God’s leading–all goals that you as a homeschooling parent hope to achieve. For a complete list of available, character-

building stories which are taken from Scripture, history and everyday-life experiences, go to the Your Story

Hour website (www.yourstoryhour.org) and click on “Products.” Or you can call 800-987-7879 for a free catalog.

Elaine Trumbo-Roberts has been a scriptwriter

for Your Story Hour for 35 years and is also editor of Clubhouse magazine, which is now available free online at www.yourstoryhour.org..

BEFORE

THere is an old saying that the definition of insanity is repeating the same action over and over but expecting a different result. The only way to get a new result is to find a different way of doing things. Here are a few suggestions.

• Simplify your life by reducing the emotional challenges you create and face in your relationships. If you really want to change things between the two of you, work at finding a way to reduce your resentments. Bottom line is you want your partner to have your back.

• Whether your day will be a good one or not is a choice we make before getting out of bed. So, first thing in the morning, make the decision to have a good day. If things start to go south, remember that tomorrow is another opportunity.

• If you feel that your family is dysfunctional, first understand that all families have their own personal set of dysfunctions. Yours are just different. All the studies show that sitting down to a family dinner is a great way to make everyone in the household more cooperative. Sharing a meal regularly will increase the likelihood of your kids doing well in school and greatly reduce the likelihood of their using drugs or falling in with the wrong crowd.

• Find a self-improvement path. This can be taking a class, doing individual work with someone you respect, reading books, or even joining a self-help group. Various programs abound. If you Google support groups in your area, I am sure you will find many. Truth is that it’s hard to make significant changes all by yourself, and if you can get some

emotional support from those on a similar path, you will be able to redirect your life and feel some happiness.

• Make the internal decision that you want things to be different, hold the picture of what that difference is in your mind’s eye, and see it in your head a few times a day. The practice of visualization has been around for decades, and it is used to help professional athletes enhance their performance and to help cancer patients survive their disease. If it can benefit them, it can do the same for you.

• If you find yourself dwelling on all your problems, try offering your assistance to someone else who needs it. I know it seems counter-intuitive, but by doing something for somebody else, your mind will relax, open up, and allow you to gain clarity about your own issues. It will also make you feel better about yourself.

If you are unhappy with the way things are going, take it as a sign that you need to follow another path or fix the one you are on. I am not suggesting that you leave your relationship or quit your job, but clearly you can alter the way you do things. It all starts with you making the decision to try.

special features

Ways To Bring in More Positive energy

By: Dr. Barton Goldsmith

For more than two decades Fortune 500 companies, educational institutions, and government organizations worldwide have relied on Dr. Barton Goldsmith to help them develop creative and balanced leadership. His columns appear in over 500 publications. He may be

contacted through his web site www.BartonGoldsmith.com .


columns

THiS issue, I would like to discuss the etiquette skill of correcting our children. What? You didn’t know there was an etiquette skill involved in this? Well, there is. Let’s review our definition of proper etiquette for those new readers who may be joining us. Proper etiquette is defined as, “helping those around us to feel more valued and more comfortable.” With this definition in mind, it is important that we not only apply it to those outside of our families, but that we apply it with our most treasured relationships, our families. As we do so, it will help us establish more loving relationships, including the relationships we have with our children. Now before I go on, I do not wish to address the controversial topic of discipline. That is a subject I leave to the judgment, wisdom and love of parents. However, I do wish to discuss how we approach and carryout whatever discipline we choose to use.

It is not polite to correct others in front of others. This means that we never “call out” someone in public, or in front of others, because this might embarrass or belittle them. If a correction is in need, we simply wait for the opportunity when we can pull the person aside and in private, politely give the correction. This same principle applies to our children. WE NEVER WANT TO EMBARRASS OUR CHILDREN. Now hold on. Breathe…Let’s discuss the solution to this dilemma. Do our children sometimes need correcting when we are in public? Do chickens lay eggs? Of course they do. Sometimes those little angels of ours are worse than a tic on a hound, however, we must do our best to show complete respect and honor to our children. Please, please don’t ever yell, spank, criticize, etc. your children in the presence of others, even their siblings. This means that you have to separate yourself and your child and administer the correction in private. Sometimes, due to the safety of your other children, you cannot separate yourself at the time. In

that case, you will simply have to pull your child to the side and quietly acknowledge that the correction will happen at a later time.

I know I’m suggesting something that will be difficult at times. I had all boys in my home, so trust me when I say that this takes great self-control and patience. I can promise you however, that as we make an effort to show respect to our children by striving to protect their dignity, our children’s love and respect for us will increase as well. As our children realize that correcting them comes from love and devotion, instead of anger and frustration, they will learn to honor our words and our actions. No, of course it doesn’t mean they will always love or enjoy being corrected, but they will know that we correct because we love them.

As we consider ways that we can show our children love and respect, I think it will help to simply consider how we would want someone to correct us. Just because they’re children, doesn’t mean that we have a license to embarrass or humiliate them, regardless of their behavior. It’s the principle of two wrongs don’t make a right. I think this is a topic worth spending some time pondering and considering. Some day, our children will ponder our parenting when they are making decisions for their own children. I hope we leave them a legacy of trust, honor, love and encouragement as we help shape their precious lives.

By: Monica Irvine

Monica Irvine, a certified Etiquette Instructor, owns and operates The Etiquette Factory. A master motivator and dedicated instructor, she is the author of several books on etiquette and also operates Etiquette Summer Camps. As a home school mom herself, Monica is passionate about giving parents the tools they need to successfully

teach proper etiquette in the home. For more information please visit www.theetiquettefactory.com.

Correcting with respect


health & hearth

DiD you ever stop to look at a bowl of vegetable soup? A good hearty soup might contain green beans, corn, potatoes, onions, carrots, celery and tomatoes. Let’s find out where those veggies originally came from and what nutritional value they have.

We’ll also tell you how some of these veggies got to your soup bowl - read on!

Green Beans - The green bean was first discovered in the hot regions of the Americas, India and China. It was introduced to France by the Conquistadors around 1597. For a long time, green beans were considered rare and were very expensive. This vegetable became widespread only in the 19th century. The first to put green beans on their menus were the French. Green beans are low in calories and filled with nutrients including carbohydrates, protein, vitamin C, iron and potassium.

Carrots - The history of the carrot can be traced back 5000 years. Evidence has been found that this root plant originated in Afghanistan. Over the centuries traders traveling through the region picked up carrot seeds and carried them along the trade routes of Arabia, Africa, and Asia, selling them in regions where people were anxious to cultivate new and productive plants. Even in the early days there were many varieties of carrots, coming in an assortment of colors - purple, white, black, and red but, not orange. Carrots are high in fiber, vitamins A, C, K, B6, potassium, thiamin, niacin, manganese and foliate.

Potatoes - The word potato refers to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber, or the round part we eat. Potatoes were first introduced outside the Andes region four centuries ago, and have become an integral part of much of the world’s food supply. Potatoes are the world’s fourth-largest food crop. There are over a thousand different types of potatoes. Potatoes are high in protein, carbohydrates, fiber and have a low sugar content.

Celery - It is not known who discovered celery but is has been around for almost 3,000 years. The oldest record of the word celery is in a 9th-century poem written in France or Italy, speaking of its medicinal uses. In the 16th century people in Italy and northern Europe began growing celery in gardens but it was still only used for medicinal purposes. The use of celery for food was first recorded in France in 1623. Yet, for about 100 years it was only used to flavor foods. In France and Italy, by the 17th century, the stalks and leaves were occasionally eaten with an oil dressing. It is a source of riboflavin, vitamin B6, pantothenic acid, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, dietary fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, foliate, potassium and manganese.

Onions - It is presumed that people discovered and started eating wild onions very early - long before farming or even writing was invented. Very likely, this humble vegetable was a staple in the prehistoric diet. Onions (Allium) belong to the lily family, the same family as garlic, leeks, chives, scallions and shallots. There are over 600 species of Allium, distributed all over Europe, North America, Northern

veggie 101 ~ The family Table By: Veggie U


health & hearth

Africa and Asia. The plants can be used as ornamentals, vegetables, spices, or as medicine. Onion is effective against many bacteria. Early American settlers used wild onions to treat colds, coughs, and asthma, and to repel insects. Onions are a rich source of flavonoids, substances known to provide protection against cardiovascular disease. Onions are also natural anticlotting agents.

Corn - Scientists believe that corn was first grown on the Mexican plateau or the highlands of Guatemala. Kernels dating back to 6600 BC have been found in caves in Mexico. Fossil grains were discovered in lake sediment in Mexico City. Early corn was believed to be similar to oats and barley with each individual kernel covered in a husk. By the time Columbus reached the new world cornfields were evident in both North and South America. Today corn is the second most plentiful grain in the world behind rice and ahead of wheat. Yellow sweet corn is a good source of lutein, which is good for healthy vision and a healthy cardiovascular system. Corn also adds folate to our diets.

Tomatoes - The tomato is a native of Mesoamerica: it was cultivated by the Aztecs and Incas. In 1519, Cortez found it growing in Montezuma’s gardens, and it became part of the culinary bounty brought back to Spain by the 16th-century conquistadors (along with chocolate and turkeys). After five centuries of breeding, there are thousands of varieties of tomatoes in a vast array of shapes, colors and sizes. The most common shapes in the U.S. are round (beefsteak and globe), pear-shaped (roma and plum) and the miniature (cherry and grape). The tomato is a good source of Vitamins A & C. The skin contains a chemical called lycopene, which is shown to reduce certain types of cancers.

Ok we have taken a look at the background of our veggies. But, how did they get to your supper table? Early in the spring, Farmer Jones purchases tiny seeds from the best seed growers he can find. Those seeds are placed in a seeding

machine and dropped into potting soil in tiny compartments in seed trays. They are carefully watered to make sure they do not get too much or too little water. When the plants are big enough and the weather has warmed the ground so the plants will live, the tiny plants that have grown in the seed flats can be transplanted to the farmer’s field. Corn is faster growing and is generally not planted in seed flats.

After the vegetables come out of the ground, they must be weeded to make sure the nutrients from the soil can go to the plant instead of feeding the weeds! After several weeks of sunshine and rain, the crops are ready to harvest. Farmer Jones chooses not to use chemical fertilizers but instead grows plants like rye, vetch, sorghum, and clover, which are cut and composted into a compost tea to fertilize crops.

At Farmer Bob Jones’ farm, agricultural college students who come to America to learn about farming could harvest the vegetables in your soup. Perhaps Serge from Russia spent the morning bent over in the hot sun to harvest those delicious red shiny tomatoes, while Judit from Hungry dug down in the dark loamy earth to uncover those shining white onion bulbs that gave so many flavors to your soup. Meanwhile Jose, who is from Brownsville, Texas, just across the border from Mexico, spent the early part of the day picking a wagonload of sweet corn before the sun became too hot. A few ears of that corn could have been part of your vegetable soup. The tall pale green stalks of celery glistening in the sun are on the work schedule of Andre this morning. Andre is from Brazil. Just across the way, Migal, another Russian student can be seen with a potato harvester digging the round brown balls that we know as potatoes. When he finishes with the potatoes he will harvest carrots, which are also grown under ground. At Farmer Bob’s farm, the carrots come in a variety of colors, yellow, white, red, purple and of course orange. Finally we see a group of men bent over the green bean patch gathering baskets of the hardy vegetable that will round out the vegetable soup recipe!

Bon Appetite - Enjoy your soup!


extra activitiesBy Sandra Volchko

MAKinG your own holiday placemats is a great way to add some homemade to your table and a fun activity for the whole family! Even toddlers and preschoolers can make their own placemat. This is a wonderful opportunity to recycle old cards, wrapping paper and ribbon! And, you can even wipe them clean! The finished placemat that looks like a holiday quilt and measures about 18½” X 13½”.

To complete this project children will need to use their measuring skills as well as their cutting, pasting, and writing skills if age appropriate. The most important skill necessary to make your own holiday placemat is creativity and imagination!

The best way for younger children to make their placemat is to decorate each card by themselves and have an adult tape the Baggies together.

Supplies:

• Construction paper or cardstock • Scissors • Glue • Pencil • Flat objects to glue into your placemat, like

pictures cut out from old cards or wrapping paper, you can use ribbon, sequins, confetti, or just markers and crayons.

• 6 Sandwich-size Zip-lock Baggies • Duct tape in any color you choose (2”masking tape will also work)

Add a Touch of Homemade

to your Holiday Table

Directions:1. Cut off the extra plastic that is above the zipper, but don’t

cut off the zipper!2. Trace around the baggie onto paper. Cut it out, but a little

smaller than what you traced; you are going to slide the paper rectangle in to the baggie. Once you know your rectangle is the right size, make it 5 more times by tracing

around your first rectangle template. You should have 6 rectangles.

3. Decorate each rectangle with flat pictures, ribbon or anything else you have around. You can trace around cookie cutters on Christmas paper, use old cards, or write messages on your rectangles. Make sure the long side of


the rectangles is running vertically, otherwise your pictures will be sideways when you put them in the Baggies.

4. Slide all 6 of your rectangles into the Baggies. On a table line them up, 3 on the top and 3 on the bottom. Make sure they are all touching.

5. Cut a piece of duct tape in half and stick it over top of the Baggies in the middle of the placemat so that all the Baggies are stuck together.

6. Cut a piece of duct tape in half again and stick it vertically on the other seams.

7. Fold the tape over onto the back of the placemat, you can add more to the back lines to finish it off if you want.

8. To make the trim around the edges of your Christmas Placemat don’t cut your tape in half, just stick half of the tape on the front of the placemat and fold it over and stick the other half on the back. Trim off any excess tape at the corners.Make a set of family placemats for Thanksgiving and

Christmas and bring them out again next year. While making Thanksgiving placemats have the family write what they are thankful for on each card and draw a picture. Christmas placemats are easily created with wishes and Christmas embellishments.

For more holiday creations check out www.busybeekidscrafts.com/Thanksgiving-Activities-for-Kids.html and www.busybeekidscrafts.com/Christmas-Crafts-for-Kids.html

Sandra is a Registered Nurse, a Mother of two, and the founder of www.busybeekidscrafts.com, a free resource for children’s crafts and activities. Sandra created this online resource to share with the world creative and inexpensive ways to spend quality time with children while at the same time teaching them valuable skills.

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What is HBD?HBD (Human Body Detectives)

educates kids to understand how their bodies work and what best foods fuel their bodies.

Why is HBD important? •

Kids do not understand •how their bodies work

Kids do not eat enough •whole real foods

Kids are over weight •

Kids are not exercising •enough

Many kids are chronically sick with •asthma, diabetes, arthritis, eczema and much more

How HBD benefits kids?

Gets kids optimally healthy •

Allows kids to be proactive and confident in their own health •

Encourages even picky eaters to try new whole foods •

Less time in a doctor’s office •

Originally, the HBD series was in an audio format with a workbook full of activities and stickers to reinforce what the kids had learned while listening. Many parents kept asking for a picture storybook and this past summer, I released the series in this format as well.

Then HBD turned a very positive full circle (it began in a classroom) - as Human Body Detectives agreed with the CDC (Center of Disease Control) that obesity, malnutrition and lack of physical activity are winnable battles. We worked with a woman with a Masters in Education from Stanford University and created a brilliant and comprehensive turnkey elementary curriculum for 3rd to 5th graders. based on the Human Body Detectives series.

Kids LOVE the stories, Parents LOVE the message!Be well,dr. heatherTo learn more about the curriculum and see samples

please visit www.humanbodydetectives.com/curriculum.

product review

Dr. Heather Manley, who in 2001 received her medical degree from the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, Oregon, is a practicing physician whose primary interest is preventative healthcare for families. She is the author of Human Body Detectives, her children’s educational

series of story-telling books, ebooks, and iphone/ipad apps. She also promotes wellness and naturopathic healthcare on her website drheathernd.com. She lives on the Big Island of Hawaii with her husband and two daughters, and is currently at work on the next Human Body Detectives adventure and is very excited for her upcoming launch of HBDs Go to School elementary curriculum.

HBDs Go To School – elementary Curriculum

By: Dr. Heather Manley


product spotlights

ADvenTureS in MY fATHer’S WorLDTravel back in time and explore U.S. history from a Christian perspective with Adventures in

My Father’s World Deluxe Package. Using fascinating stories, hands-on activities, a timeline, and a student-created history notebook, this one-year program is designed for second or third graders who are the oldest in the family. U.S. geography, Bible, science, art, music, and more are also included.

Children will love sailing aluminum foil replicas of the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria; making a George Washington style tri-corn hat; and eating hasty pudding. Moms will enjoy My Father’s World’s easy-to-use lesson plans, cohesive unit study, and rich Bible lessons. Complete your curriculum by adding language arts and math. To see My Father’s World’s recommendations or to order, visit www.mfwbooks.com or call (573) 426-4600.

WeBSTer’S 1828 AMeriCAn DiCTionArY of THe enGLiSH LAnGuAGe

Today the Biblical basis of education is under systematic attack. We must capitalize upon the availability of our first American Dictionary—the only dictionary to utilize God’s written word as a key to the meaning of words. Historically, it documents the degree to which the Bible was America’s basic textbook in all fields. Webster’s 1828 Dictionary becomes not only a tool for defining words Biblically, but also a way of thinking that forms worldview. It will equip you for Christian leadership, strengthen your vocabulary and give you an edge in communication. This tool can be the turning point for more effectively communicating Christian principles and for clearly understanding how the Bible has influenced every area of life. For more information please visit the Foundation for American Christian Education at www.face.net.

THe BiG BooK of HiSTorYThe Big Book of History is the perfect way to engage your child in an adventurous trip through

time – from the first Day of Creation to present day! Families, schools, and churches can unfold 15 feet of the most interesting history of the world. This easy to follow, color-coded, multi-stream timeline teaches six thousand years of world history to children ages seven to thirteen. This chart is a visual presentation of history that kids can follow. Young people can see a comprehensive picture of history from the Creation week to modern computers. World history events mark one stream, historical Biblical events mark another stream, and various inventions by man mark the final stream. All come together to make the BIG PICTURE.

For more information please contact Katie Gumm at [email protected] or 870-438-5288 or visit www.nlpg.com/bigbookofhistory.

MAKe A CASTLe MoDeLKnights. Castles. Dungeons. Fair maidens. The study of medieval times brings these images

and more to mind. With My Father’s World’s exclusive Make a Castle model, your child can experience the world of knights, damsels, and motes for himself by building a medieval castle, cutting out turrets and pennants, lords and ladies. Easy-to-follow instructions are included in this high-quality, cardstock model.

A wonderful gift for birthdays and Christmas, the Make a Castle model is also a wonderful weekend or evening project with Dad. Make a Castle is sold with My Father’s World’s Rome to the Reformation deluxe curriculum package and is also available separately. To order visit www.mfwbooks.com or call (573) 426-4600.


index/resources listADVERTISERS:Page # Company/Title Author Web Address

IFC ALEKS www.aleks.com 3 HSLDA www.freetohomeschool.org 5,11 Apologia www.apologia.com13 ACE – Accelerated Christian Education www.aceministries.com 17 Excellence in Writing www.excellenceinwriting.com/HHM19 Triangle Education Assessments, LLC www.TriangleEd.com21 Analytical Grammar www.analyticalgrammar.com 23 Dynamic Literacy www.dynamichomeschool.com25 Math-U-See www.mathusee.com29 Memoria Press www.MemoriaPress.com 31 God’s Word For The Nations www.gwftn.org 32 Your Story Hour www.yourstoryhour.org IBC The Homeschool Handbook Magazine ™ www.thehomeschoolhandbook.comBC My Fathers World® www.mfwbooks.com

Contributors:

8 Why Homeschool: The Gift of Time Jamerrill Stewart www.JamerrillStewart.com10 Perfection Carolyn Henderson www.middleagedplague.areavoices.com 12 Three Reasons to Pursue… Sarita Holzmann www.sonlight.com14 Mentoring Your Children to Success Donna Vail www.aninspirededucation.com16 Use CLEP, DSST, UExcel Exams… Debbie Thompson www.TriangleEd.com 18 Keeping Preschool in Perspective Vicki Bentley www.hslda.org/earlyyears 20 Dear Andrew Q & A Andrew Pudewa www.excellenceinwriting.com 22 Scheduling Language Art: What A Pain!! Robin Finley www.analyticalgrammar.com 24 Help I Need Structure! Erica Arndt www.confessionsofahomeschooler.blogspot.com 27 Learning By Reality – What is Value? Daniel Yordy www.yguideacademy.com 28 Making Christmas Memorable Dawn Hudson www.mfwbooks.com 30 The Happy Hut Anne Sperry Connors [email protected] 32 Fairy Tales or “Fishhooks”? Elaine Trumbo-Roberts www.yourstoryhour.org 34 Ways to Bring in More Positive Energy Dr. Barton Goldsmith www.BartonGoldsmith.com 35 Correcting with Respect Monica Irvine www.theetiquettefactory.com 36 Veggie 101 – The Family Table Veggie U www.veggieu.org 38 Add a Touch of Homemade to… Sandra Volchko www.busybeekidscrafts.com

Product Spotlights:

40 HBDs Go To School – Elementary Curriculum Dr. Heather Manley www.drheathernd.com 41 Make A Castle Model www.mfwbooks.com The Big Book of History www.nlpg.com/bigbookofhistory Adventures in My Father’s World www.mfwbooks.com Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language www.face.net

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