It’s here!

The Labor Day holiday is over, so for most of you, the new school year has begun!  Reflecting upon my last thirteen beginning-of-the-school-years, I offer you some food for thought about being a Rock Star homeschool mom. 

1. Academics are important – but relationships are more important.

Always remember that the child is more important than the work.  I know you agree, in theory… but sometimes when one is dealing with a wiggly, uncooperative kid – for the fourth time in an hour – it is hard to remember.  Put away the math book.  Stop and talk for a while and try to determine what is going on in his head instead of just lowering the boom.  In the same vein, relationships with siblings are more important than the work.  In our house it is not permissible for siblings to fight and tear each other down physically or verbally.  Stop and referee, require apologies and make things right before trying to get back to work.  One more relationship  to talk about – the one between you and your husband.  Don’t put that on the back burner for 13 years while you teach school.  It is SO easy for us to put the kids before our marriage, and when we do so we are not doing ourselves or our children any favors.

2. Don’t stress over things you can’t control.

Allow a little margin in your life.  I say this from experience!  I am the Queen of Overcommitment.  As soon as you squeeze too many responsibilities on your plate, the most inconsequential thing can put you into a tailspin – and everyone in your path suffers.  Uh huh.  You can relate.  When you homeschool there are things to which you need to say “no.”  Beneficial things.  Fun things.  Learn to say no.  If you have trouble with this, learn not to commit without talking with your husband about it first. (Then you can blame it on him when you say no.)  Just kidding.

3.  Worry about the big things and let the little things take care of themselves.

You are not going to teach them everything they need to know and they certainly are not going to remember everything you teach them. In my view the important things are:

• Where are they spiritually?  This is of utmost importance in our home. If it is in yours, too, is it reflected in your daily conversation and how you spend your time?
• Teach them how to discipline their minds to listen, to learn and to find information on their own.
• Train them to own their own work, their own belongings (including school supplies) and their own spaces.
• Give your children opportunities to serve others and rub shoulders with people of all ages.
• Teach them to communicate with others politely, tactfully and kindly.

Let me ask you — what do you remember about what you learned in school (the academic part, I mean)?  If you are like most of us, you don’t remember all that much.  What you do remember is what engaged your interest.  The projects you worked on, research you did, some of the papers you wrote. Which leads me to number 4:

4.  Study your children; identify their passions and how they learn best.

What do they enjoy the most? What do they do in their play time?  What grabs their attention?  What do they talk about?  What do they like to read or learn about in their free time?  What do they learn quickly and easily? Do they automatically grab a book or search the Internet to learn something?  Do they like to listen to music?  Do they like to talk about what they are learning?  Do they frequently move around a lot while they are learning something?  Do they like drama?  Art?  Music?  Playing with Lego blocks?  Educate yourself about learning styles and try to identify yours and theirs.

5.  Cultivate a love for learning.

The best way to do this is to be an enthusiastic learner yourself.  Generate some excitement about learning new things.  READ.  Let them see you read.  Provide lots of stimulating reading material – at or below your children’s reading level.  Let them choose whatever they want to read for a daily fun-reading time.  (Shh- this will also improve their reading comprehension and fluency, but don’t tell them.)  This is not a school thing, it is a fun thing. (It is all in the marketing.)  Go to the library frequently.  Choose to buy magazine subscriptions in the areas of your child’s interests for Christmas and birthdays. Talk about what you are learning.  Regularly go around the table at dinner telling each other about the most interesting or surprising thing you learned that day.

6.  Take the time to be prepared.

You don’t always have to be perfectly organized and prepared to homeschool.  BUT, it make school much easier if you do these things to the best of your ability.  If you are prepared, you are more confident.  If you have confidence in yourself, your children will have more confidence in you as their teacher. This is especially important if you have recently taken your child out of public or private school.  Strategies that help:

• Put your things away and teach your kids to do the same. (See #3)
• Avoid clutter like the plague.
• Take time to prepare lessons in advance.  Ask yourself — do I understand this?  Do I need to look anything up first?  Do I have the supplies I need?  Have I allowed enough time for this lesson?  What are the younger ones going to do while I teach this?
• Take an occasional “teacher work day” and spend some concentrated time during holiday/summer breaks to get ready for school
• Ask your husband or a friend to take the kids for a few hours a week so you can plan and prepare for the next week.

7.  Don’t try to be a friend to your kids.  They need you to be a parent first.

I’m not suggesting that you be an authoritarian or dictator, or that you shouldn’t worry about ‘getting along’ with your children.  I’m just recommending that you  be a parent first – set clear expectations of what is acceptable behavior in your home and how children are going to behave when school is in session. When you assign school work, make sure your children understand exactly what you expect of them.  Be consistent with your discipline. Expect children to always be respectful to you and other adults.  You are laying a foundation for them to be secure, for school to be successful and for friendship as they become older.

So what are your seven ways to be a rock star homeschool mom? Leave me a comment and tell me what you think!

I should have done this a long time ago!

A  from-the-bottom-of-my-heart thank you to those who took the time to take my survey!  After about a hundred responses, it is time to let you know a little about what you said you needed and wanted to read about on this blog.

But before I tell you that, it is obvious from many of your comments that a  number of you are in desperate need of a bit of  motivation and encouragement.

Let me give you some.

You are doing a very. hard. but. valuable. thing. in home schooling your children.

Home schooling is NOT easy, or painless, or without major self-sacrifice.

Please stop comparing yourself with other people who make it look easy.

You know who I’m talking about.

• The denim-jumpered ladies who grind their own wheat to make whole grain bread and make all their kids’ clothes.
• The ones you run into at Wal-Mart, wearing make-up, who have nine nicely dressed, perfectly quiet children walking in a line when yours don’t have clean underwear on because you haven’t been able to do laundry* and you have bribed them to behave with the promise of a treat later backed up by several nasty looks.
• The ones who not only have a neat colored-coded schedule for every day but who actually follow it for more than a day and a half.

*true story

And realize that the advice and coaching you get from this blog comes from what we have learned from doing things wrong as well as from doing things right.

I can tell you, though, that homeschooling has been a wonderful thing for my own spiritual growth as well as that of our children.  There is nothing like seeing yourself in your kids’ less than perfect behavior to give you a picture of what our Heavenly Father so often sees in us!  Ouch!

It has been an even more wonderful thing enjoying the fruit of God’s grace and our home schooling labors in seeing children who love the Lord and are working hard to walk in His footsteps.  Home schooling  is oh, so worth it.

I am also thankful for those of you who took the time to answer the last survey question about what you are struggling with the most. Some of you really poured your heart out, and I appreciated your candidness and your trust in me. I plan to address many of those issues in the weeks and months to follow.

Survey Results

Before I give you a peek at the results, let’s look at the basics of who replied (and I’m rounding):

• 12% of you have home schooled under a year

• 24% from one to three years

• 22%  from three to five years

• 42%  for over six years

I don’t know about you, but I am encouraged that so many of you have home schooled for that long, and I hope this blog will support your efforts and give you some practical tools to keep going!

First Things First

1.  Now the interesting and inspiring part of the survey. The single, most important thing to over half of you (51%) was to read about Christian parenting – how to disciple and mentor your children.  That is SUCH an encouragement to me, as this is what we are called to do, even before academics!  And if you have read this blog for a while you know that this is a topic close to my heart!  If you are new around here, you might be encouraged to read a few of these older posts that relate to Christian parenting:

• Six Tips to Start Second Semester begins with a personal inventory – the most important place to start before we ’start on’ our kids!
• Want to be Wise? is another post written from the perspective of getting yourself in the correct frame of mind first, beginning with prayer and listing specific scripture on my prayer list as I approached the second semester of this school year.
• Using Habits in Personal Training is listed under our Charlotte Mason posts, but it describes how children need to be taught, from the beginning (!), that they are not ‘their own,’ but live under a greater Authority – what a contrast from our current child-centered culture!
• Teaching Character through Poetry Part I and Part II are two of Beth’s posts with great ideas for  incorporating character training into poetry studies.
• Cultural Creeping warns that  we need to be constantly aware of how we and our children are bombarded by our culture’s non-Christian worldview and the need to combat it.

The Rest of the Very Important Stuff

2.  How to Teach Different Subjects (44%)

3.  Teaching High Schoolers (39%)

4.  Ideas for Lesson Plans (39%)

5. Charlotte Mason Methods (38%)

6. Teaching Middle Schoolers (33%)

What You Considered Important

1. Home Schooling Support and Encouragement (47%)

2. Description of Epi Kardia Curricula (46%)

3. Planning and organization (45%)

4. Hands on Learning (44%)

5. Ideas for Lesson Plans (39%)

Lesson Plan Ideas

Because so many of you considered lesson plan ideas important, before this post gets any longer I want to list some of our pertinent posts in one place for those of you who are newer readers:

• Writing a Book Review – Writing a book review for the purpose of encouraging someone else to read a well-loved book is a lot more interesting to write than the traditional report.
• Make a Middle Ages Dictionary! will give you detailed instructions and resources to make a book, taken from our middle school lesson plans, that can be adapted for younger or older students studying this or another time period/subject.
• Make a Lapbook! Identifies the benefits of using graphic organizers and includes photos and MANY ideas and resources for making mini-books and lapbooks.
• Picture Study – Ever wondered how to incorporate the study of great art into your homeschooling? Read about this painless way to do so!
• Picture Study for Older Students -A continuation of the post above, this article contains additional ideas appropriate for your older children.
• The Question Box – This creative, hands on idea can be used to review or to incite interest in studying all kinds of topics.  The lesson example given in on the Middle Ages and can be used with students of all ages.

OK, this is WAY longer than I intended!  But I do want to assure you that I will respond to your preferences  as I plan and write this blog.  And for those of you who asked me to answer particular questions, I will address those very soon.

Many Blessings, Sisters!

P.S.  THANK YOU for some of your very encouraging comments!

January always brings a bit of a struggle for me.  The spiritual side of me wants to spend copious quantities of time in prayer and the scriptures, searching for God’s direction, asking Him to guide me and help me focus on His priorities for my life as we tackle our last school semester of the year.

But the spiritual side has to wrestle with the “practical” side that wants to DO SOMETHING. NOW.

I want to  PLAN everything myself,  make school bigger and better, add this over here and that over there, as well as insert another activity or two in an already busy schedule.

In other words, instead of seeking what God wants to do in and through my life, our family, our homeschool – I tend to want to make MY plans and just ask God to bless them.  How wise is that to act as if I know best?

I constantly have to remind myself that it isn’t about me, and rather than making ten New Year’s Resolutions, finding the perfect planner for 2010, or setting my personal and professional goals on my own, it would be a more profitable use of my time to seek more of HIS input first.  After all, He has the big picture!  He is already working in my life and that of our family’s, and it is my place to join Him in what He is doing rather than setting off in another direction.

Listen to advice and accept instruction,
and in the end you will be wise.

Many are the plans in a man’s heart,
but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.

Proverbs 19:20-21

How puny my plans must be compared with the Maker of the Universe’s!

Here are some other verses I am praying over as I seek to know His plans for our family for the coming year:

I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills {his purpose} for me. Psalm 57:2

The plans of the diligent surely lead to advantage, but everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty.  Proverbs 21:5

But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. Exodus 9:16

But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations. Psalm 33:11

Commit your works to the LORD and your plans will be established.  Proverbs 16:3

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.  Ephesians 3:19-21

Am I the only one who struggles with this?  What do you do to keep yourself on the wise path?

God’s blessings on your New Year!

One of the most positive ways we can celebrate Thanksgiving involves expressing our own thankfulness for all the ways that God blesses us!

1. Turkeys of Encouragement – this idea works best if you start at least a week before Thanksgiving to give everyone time to think. Make a turkey, minus the feathers, for each member of your family. Put the person’s name on the turkey body along with a favorite Bible verse. Hang the turkeys on a wall or door that is easily accessible for every family member. Cut out enough colorful feathers out of colored or construction paper to attach to each turkey. Place the feathers near the wall or door in an envelope (6×9 envelopes work well) along with a pencil or pen. Everyone, even visitors, can write reasons they’re thankful for that particular person on the feathers and then attach the feathers on the turkeys. Examples could be: I am thankful you read with me, I am thankful that you work so hard for our family, or Thank you for being obedient for mommy and daddy. You can overlap feathers, if necessary. On Thanksgiving, each person can take down their turkey and read the comments.

Many thanks to Jamie Sue Austin at freeprintablefun.org for the following turkey and feathers pattern. Right click on the image and copy into a document to print. You can use one of the feathers for a pattern to cut out colored feathers or print several sheets on different colors of paper.

2. Make it a Year of Giving – giving back to others when we have so much shouldn’t be limited to Thanksgiving and other holidays. Thanksgiving offers a wonderful time to brainstorm various ways your family can give to others in need throughout the year. Begin by brainstorming, with your children, ideas for serving other people. Be sure to allow your children to submit their ideas so they buy into the plan. You can help them focus by thinking of those who serve us or are in need. For example, sending care packages to soldiers, visiting nursing homes, supporting specific charities, inviting someone who doesn’t have a family to dinner, volunteering at an animal shelter or a hospital, collect donations to take to Goodwill, have a garage sale and donate the money to your church or a favorite charity, etc. Try to come up with enough ideas to do something once a month or so. Then take out a calendar and work with your children to schedule a way of giving each month. It’s best to schedule high exposure opportunities, such as visiting a nursing home or sending a care package to a soldier, for non-holiday months because so many people contribute during holidays and other times of the year are neglected. By your next Thanksgiving, you can delight in remembering the ways your family gave to others, being as Christ to them!

3. Cornucopia to share – sometimes children feel small or less than useful because they don’t realize all of the ways they can be helpful! Use a basket or a cornucopia and fill it with tried corn, small gourds, etc. Help your child brainstorm ways that he or she can helpful to others: praying for someone, specific cleaning ideas, sending a card, reading to a sibling, helping out a neighbor, etc. Write each of these ideas on a small pumpkin shaped (or other fall shape) piece of paper, then hole punch and tie each, using colorful fall ribbon, to one of the items in the cornucopia. Have your child select one each day to do throughout the holiday season. You can also reverse the activity by having your child select one to do and then tying it to an item in the cornucopia once it’s completed. For some children, this works better as an incentive to attach an idea to every item!

Educational

Incorporating Thanksgiving into school can add fun to the usual routine.

1. Vocabulary cup – using the pattern on page 56 in The Big Book of Books and Activities: An Illustrated Guide for Teacher, Parents, and Anyone Who Works With Kids!,  have your child fold the cup.  Have your child brainstorm Thanksgiving words that come to mind (thankful, Pilgrims, turkey, etc) and have your child write each word on a corn, leaf, turkey or other seasonal cut out. If you don’t want your child to cut out the shapes, you can find them pre-cut in school supply stores. Older children can draw the words out of the cups to write sentences and/or paragraphs.
2. Startwrite worksheets – if you recall my review of the Startwrite software, holidays are an excellent time to use them to your advantage. In the example below, the student wrote words and phrases of things for which he is thankful using the acrostic for THANKS. You can add clipart from the software or have your child illustrate the white space at the bottom of the page. This can be a writing assignment to assess the written work or you can use it as a handwriting assignment or copy work by supplying a Bible verse or a Thanksgiving poem for older children, such as the one below, Ballad of the Mayflower. Another idea to consider is using this time to have your children write “thankful for you” notes to people explaining why they’re thankful for them. You can use this time to teach the friendly letter format and use this software to create a template for your children to follow. It’s a great opportunity to teach your children to write a note even when they haven’t received a gift!

By Linda G. Paulsen

There was a ship, Mayflower by name; Hey, Ho~
Took a trip, she crossed the main; Hey, Ho~
Full of people seeking peace,
Praying for freedom to increase;
Hey, Ho, Dee-o, Dee-o! The Pilgrims came to Plymouth Rock; Hey, Ho~
Simple people, strudy stock; Hey, Ho~
To be free they crossed the sea,
Thanked the Lord on bended knee; Hey, Ho, Dee-o, Dee-o!
How when the crops were gathered in; Hey, Ho~
A dinner party did begin; Hey, Ho~
Pilgrims, Indians, pumpkin pie, Turkey, venison, corn, oh my!
Hey, Ho, Dee-o, Dee-o! Bet you thought my song was done; Hey, Ho~
But I’ve really just begun; Hey, Ho~
Ever since that autumn day,
Thanksgiving has been here to stay, Hey, Ho, Dee-o, Dee-o!

Hope you have a blessed time with these activites and ideas! May God’s blessings pour out over your entire family this Thanksgiving! Please share your favorite Thanksgiving ideas with our readers by commenting on this blog.

In Christ,

Beth

I have recently noticed how often God speaks to me in my car. Or rather, should I say, how much I hear God in my car? I am sure God speaks to me more often that I hear, but car conversations seem to work because they are one of the few opportunities when I am actually alone! Recently, God shared a beautiful message with me in the car. It is a message of blessings and hope. I hope it encourages you as much as it does me!

God brought to mind many of the trials and tribulations that I have been through in this life. He did not bring them to mind for me to lament over or even to examine in detail, but moreso, He put them on my mind because they all had something in common. Actually two things: through all of them I never lost faith in God and through all of them I was home schooling! Now, the faith aspect is a subject for another day. Probably one that you cover in church regularly. But the home schooling idea surprised me. God revealed me to that day what a blessing home schooling has been in my life. It has been a constant when so many other things were failing around me. If you’ll bear with me, I’d like to share just a few examples:

1. While my beloved mother battled cancer – I was able to travel with my children from my home in Texas to her home in Florida. We used her tiny hometown library and spent most days schooling as I also tended to her. At the time, Ally was only 11 and John Paul was 5. The days were not always easy, but continuing to home school at my mom’s brought not only a measure of routine for the children and myself through a trying time, it also brought joy to my mom to watch her grandchildren grow in wisdom. I hold onto those times as some of my worst because my mother was one of the world’s true saints and as some of my best because if I had not home schooled, imagine what we would’ve missed out on during those days?

2. While living in hotels – My children’s father was a hotel manager for many years and we followed him from state to state often living in hotels for months at a time. Home schooling again brought the continuity that we needed to feel normal in abnormal surroundings.

3. While writing Epi Kardia – now please don’t think that I consider writing Epi Kardia a trial (okay…maybe occasionally. LOL). However, I know that many home school families begin a business while home schooling. Needless to say, there have been days when I felt that I had to choose between the two, but being reminded of the whole reason I started Epi Kardia (I wanted a certain curriculum for my own children!) grounds me when I get too sidetracked.

There are so many more times I could mention, but I think you have the idea. I know many moms who homeschool when it’s amazing that they just get up in the morning. I specifically know those who have lost children, lost spouses, lost all income and I praise God that in all of those cases, they never lost faith! I am not trying to romanticize home schooling or even promote it as any sort of saving grace. But God has used it my life and in my children’s life to allow us to grow closer to one another and to Him, even in life’s worst times.

I’d love to hear from you about a time that you have home schooled through a challenge. If you live in the South, you’ve probably homeschooled through hurricanes! If you live in the North, maybe the snowstorms are your adventure. May you always see your homeschool experience overall as a blessing and not a burden.

God bless each of you as you homeschool through all times, as you have committed yourself to the Godly training of your children and as you continue to seek His face in the process.

In Him,

As many of us are beginning the new school year in the days and weeks to come, let us commit to being aware of our thoughts and to reframe them as necessary to help us be calm, patient and positive teacher-mentors to our kids.

Is the glass half empty or is it half full? It seems that everyone has a natural bent to view circumstances in life one way or the other. Although we don’t often take the time to think about it, we know that our thoughts influence our attitudes and our attitudes, our behavior. Those of us who have had difficult or even tragic circumstances during childhood have more baggage to deal with and often have more of a set predisposition toward the negative. Many times in these situations, psychological and spiritual intervention may be necessary to deal with the pain and move on to a more balanced outlook.

For the rest of us, though, keeping a handle on our thoughts is, or should be, a daily discipline. The first step is often the awareness of what we are thinking and how it influences us. If you aren’t sure how this works, remember the last time a loved one came home after having a difficult day at work or elsewhere and chewed on you a little bit?

–What did you think?

• “He/she doesn’t have the right to treat me that way!”
• “If I was a better wife/mother, she wouldn’t talk to me like that!”
• “He/she doesn’t love me!”

–What did you do? Get depressed? Chew back? Cry? Kick the dog? Swallow your words but then find yourself being overly critical with your kids or others?

Frequently we don’t even need an antagonist to hijack our attitudes – we do it all by ourselves! For example, perhaps you can remember a time, especially when you were beginning homeschooling, when you thought something like; “I don’t know what I am doing.” If you dwelt on that thought, it was probably followed by,

• “I am not going to be a very good teacher.”
• “My relatives/in-laws/neighbors/friends are right, I have no business trying to home school.”
• “My kids are not going to learn anything.”

You know what I mean. If left to our own devices, those thoughts tend to spiral downward, and so do our attitudes and behavior! 

Maybe this year you are starting to feel a little overwhelmed at school beginning. It would be a great time to get out of the house, perhaps with your spouse, and talk through what worked last year and what didn’t work. For the things that didn’t work so well, brainstorm ways to approach things differently. Try to take areas one at a time. Maybe more than one session of this nature is necessary. Don’t rush back into school until you are ready.

When negative thoughts occur, stop and think through to what the root is of the thought is instead of allowing the ‘downward spiral.’ Alternatively, try to reframe the thought into a positive action.

For example:

Instead of thinking: I have so much to do planning six subjects!

Reframe that thought into: How can I break this planning up into smaller pieces? I think I will spend a few hours a day on one class/subject at a time.

Instead of dwelling on: Once school starts I’m going to be so overwhelmed!

Reframe that thought into: How can I be better this year with taking regular time for myself? I could get up 15 minutes earlier to have a quiet time. I could trade off child watching with a neighbor and take an afternoon walk a few times a week. I could plan in a quarterly teacher work-day and get someone to watch the kids elsewhere so I can stay home and get organized. I can meet a friend for breakfast Saturday mornings when my husband can watch the kids.

Instead of dwelling on: I get so mad at my student when s/he doesn’t finish his work! I dread battling over writing again this year!

Reframe that thought into: It is normal to loose my temper sometimes, but what can I do to keep in control? I could walk away until I calmed down. I can sit down when I am not angry and calmly but firmly talk over the situation with my child. Instead of fighting over writing, I’m going to ask my friend Sally to teach my son writing and maybe I can teach hers math.

You get the idea.

A familiar Biblical example of reframing our thinking is found in the book of James. In verse two of chapter one, James exhorts us to ²Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. ⁴Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James is saying that even though our natural reaction to trials is to be upset, worried, fearful, etc., he wants us to choose to be joyful. If we can focus on the thought that trials will be of benefit to us, it is easier to walk through them with a better attitude.

One verse that I find very helpful with stopping negative thinking is I Corinthians 10:5: “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

Start out this school year with a positive frame of mind; take time to recognize and identify negative thoughts, disappointments, and discouragements from last year. Ask yourself:  What can be done differently or how can I approach this situation from a different mental viewpoint? Am I practicing applying a biblical perspective to this situation or circumstance? Do not settle for mentally wrestling about the same anxieties of last year. If you need help, call upon your husband or a trusted friend.

May God bless you as He continues to conform you to His image!

P.S.  If you are from South Carolina, don’t forget that this is Sales Tax Exempt weekend and we are offering SC residents an extra 15% off all purchases over $25!  For this special pricing contact us directly at dana@epikardia.com!

In the busy lives of home school families, taking time to share intimate or romantic moments can be challenging. It seems like such a sweet thought to write a poem for your spouse or even your child, but the actual act of writing poetry is daunting for many people. Yet, poetry is a very personal gift that can be enjoyed repeatedly over many years and best of all, it costs almost nothing! You can follow these basic steps to make your poetry writing more successful and less frustrating!

· Read Poetry – look online or at your local library (or bookshelf!) to read through poetry that might inspire you. Don’t neglect Scripture in your research. Books such as Song of Solomon and Psalm offer beautiful, lyrical poetry. As you read, be sure to note any phrases or words that strike your fancy. Some online resources you might want to check out include:

o www.poemhunter.com/classics/

o http://classicpoetryaloud.podomatic.com/ (if you’d rather listen than read)

o http://www.poetry-online.org/christian-poetry-index.htm

· Brainstorm – Fill up a sheet of paper with thoughts and feelings about your poem’s subject. List your favorite qualities about the subject of your poem, be it your spouse or child, and recall the memories that you share. Think of how you felt when you first fell in love or first held your child. Include a list of descriptive words that remind you of these qualities and memories. Some examples might include: heartfelt, passionate, never ending, infinite and precious. Also list strong verbs related to these feelings like: enjoy, promise, remember and compel. Look through a photo album or reread old cards and letters from your spouse to help you get started.

· Create Comparisons – Robert Burns once compared his love with a red, red rose. Shakespeare contrasted his love with a summer’s day. What comparisons could you use with your love? Is your love as certain as the rising of the sun or as deep as the oceans? One solid comparison may offer the full theme of your poem or you may decide to include a couple of comparisons to express yourself completely.

· -To Rhyme or Not to Rhyme – Don’t be intimidated by writing poetry that rhymes. Beautiful poetry flows.

Think of your poetry like song lyrics with a specific rhythm. You decide whether you like free verse or rhymed verses. If you need help rhyming, Rhymer.com offers a free online rhyming dictionary.

· Be Succinct – Use your poetry to create word pictures and express your feelings. Using strong verbs and fewer words strengthens your poem’s meaning. For example, consider these two ways of expressing the same feelings:

Version A: When I think of you, I feel warm and comfortable, like when I look at all of the beautiful colors in a sunset.

Version B: You warm my heart like a brilliant sunset painted across the sky.

Once you have your poetry written, consider your presentation. Options include memorizing and reciting it or simply writing it down on decorative parchment or stationery. At the turn of the century, cross stitched poetry was all the rage, either framed as wall hangings or pillow tops. Accordion books or other types of mini books can be designed to hold poetry as well as a journal that would allow you to continue adding poetry. You can embellish your poem with ribbon, spritz it with perfume or tuck it in a colored bottle. Creating a shadow box with photos, momentos and your poem make a memorable gift. It’s even fun to mail a poem to your spouse or child. Everyone loves to get mail! Simply tucking the poem into a briefcase, notebook or wallet to be discovered at a later date offers a sweet surprise. No matter how you present your poem, the time and effort you put into the verses are sure to delight the recipient.

Poetry offers a beautiful way of sharing your feelings but requires little expense. Rather than just seeing poetry as another teaching obligation, consider it as a way to demonstrate your love for your family.

If you have a creative way of sharing your poetry, questions about poetry or suggestions for writing poems, be sure to respond to this blog!

God bless and happy writing!

Beth

Most of us wonder how homeschooling through high school will affect our children, especially if our children think they might like to join the rank and file in public high school instead of continuing to be schooled at home.  We often wish we could look ahead and see how it will turn out before we take that leap of faith. As a follow up to my recent post about what I loved about homeschooling, I would like to share a comment from a current college student who was homeschooled through high school (who just happens to be my daughter). LOL I hope it will prove to be as encouraging to you as it was to me! And thank you, Sweetie, for taking the time and effort to make the comment and for allowing us to post it!

So are you encouraged?!

May God bless your week!

 I have had this fascinating youtube video someone sent me rumbling around in my mind all week. It claims to demonstrate the effects of subliminal advertising, which seems to have mixed reviews in terms of research support (although it has been banned in the US since the mid 70s). If you have six minutes to view it, I think you will find it fascinating as well. (Bear with me, this is leading somewhere.)

The idea behind subliminal advertising and this video is that we are exposed to stimuli that effect our behavior without our conscience mind even being aware that we are affected. If this principle is true, and I suspect it is, then think of the implications! Whether we choose to be or not, we are exposed to all sorts of things, not of our choosing:   immodest dress, rampant materialism, and subtle and not-so-subtle pornography everywhere we go – from the magazine covers within view while standing in line at the grocery check out to television commercials we are bombarded with while sitting in our living rooms. 

As believers and homeschooling parents, we know we have much higher standards than the world has. We know that we have to be careful of what we read, what we watch on television, what we view on the Internet.  But as I have considered this I’ve realized that we still are affected by choices others have made–and we had better recognize that we are! If we are not actively combatting these influences, they will take their toll on us and on our families.

My pastor (Rev. Conrad ‘Buster’ Brown) made three application statements recently that seemed tailor made for this conversation I have had in my head. (I love when God does that!) First he said that we needed to actively "plead for the empowerment and leadership of the Holy Spirit." We know our quest for holiness should not be static, it should be dynamic.  We are to "work out our salvation with fear and trembling." Phil. 2:12.  Going beyond ‘not’ doing something, we are to earnestly seek godliness and holiness through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Secondly, Pastor Brown urged us to "understand [our] culture," giving us two quotes that hit home:

"Keep in mind while few Americans possess a biblical worldview, most are immersed in daily exercises of covert, worldview training via the mass media, public law, public school education, the internet and conversations with peers. Only an intentional process designed to develop, integrate, and apply a biblical life lense can protect us from the savage mental and spiritual assault that occurs around us every day. The failure to grasp and live out a biblical worldview can only result in a lifestyle that contradicts God’s perfect and eternal moral and spiritual code that was desgined to foster our relationship with him, each other, and the world he entrusted to us."            

George Barna, Think Like Jesus

"I believe that the challenge of living with popular culture well may be as serious for modern Christians as persecution and plagues were for the saints of earlier centuries…enemies that come loudly and visibly are much easier to fight than those that are undetetectable."                                                                                                                                                               

Ken Myers, All God’s Children in Blue Suede Shoes

Those we and our children spend the most time with and consider our closest friends should be those with whom we have shared values. At home, dinner table conversations should include discussion of the ideas and events we come in contact with and observe in our daily lives and how those things align (or not) with what the Bible describes about how Christians are to live.  Moreover, dialogue often about what it means to be ‘in the world’ but not ‘of the world.’

Thirdly, we are to meditate upon scripture.  We should encourage –in ourselves and our children–regular scripture memorization.  How can we incorporate this into our lives and homeschooling?  One of the easiest ways we have found is to institute a scripture verse or passage to discuss, meditate upon, recite and memorize each week.  Especially when children are younger, fill their minds and hearts with scripture and you will see it bear fruit when they are older! 

Some significant verses to consider:

• For the ear tests words as the tongue tastes food.  Let us discern for ourselves what is right; let us learn together what is good.    Job 34: 3-4

• A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his steps. A wise man fears the LORD and shuns evil, but a fool is hotheaded and reckless.   Prov. 14: 15-16

• Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.    Phil. 4:8                                                                        

• Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.   Jer. 1:5

• My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.    James 1:19-21

• God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.      Heb. 6: 10-12

•  The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways,  but the folly of fools is deception.   Prov. 14: 8

   

  So let us remember to be aware of our surroundings and our culture, and to turn to the Holy Spirit and to the Word for help living the lives we are called to live as well as in training our children. From Phil 1: 9-11:  And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

   

  Amen! 

   Dana

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

Happy New Year to all of you and thank you so much for being with us through this journey of curriculum design, blog writing and all around Christian home school living! I had originally planned to share a blog with you about some of my favorite "school" authors, but God decided otherwise. Knowing that His path is always best, I will veer from my book blogs and share with you some things that He has placed on my heart.

I must begin where I do so often…with a book. In this particular case, it is Waking the Dead by John Eldredge. I have a select number of books that I read periodically because I believe that a single or even second reading is not enough to penetrate my overloaded mind. This book is one of those particular reads. It has been almost two years since I last read this book and God drew me back to it with the New Year. To be honest, I really should give the book back to my dear friend, Denise, who loaned it to me a long time ago (Thank you, friend!). I was actually putting together some things to return to her when I came across the book again. I will certainly have to find my own copy soon because it’s very difficult not to highlight in her book!

This is not really a book review but as I was reading Eldredge’s many profound thoughts, I discovered one that may be obvious to many of you, but touched my heart with renewed freshness. It all began with this partial paragraph:

I turned to the New Testament to have another look, read for myself what it said he [Jesus] offers. "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." (John 10:10) Wow. That’s different from saying, "I have come to forgive you. Period." Forgiveness is awesome, but Jesus says here he came to give us life.

Then Eldredge goes on to point out verse after verse representing this same theme including: Proverbs 4:23, Psalm 16:11; John 1:4, 5:40, 7:38 and Acts 5:20. He notes that we so often speak of eternal life as something that comes later. He writes:

I began to get the feeling of a man who’s been robbed. I’m well aware that it’s life I need, and it’s life I’m looking for. But the offer has gotten "interpreted" by well-meaning people to say, "Oh, well. Yes, of course…God intends life for you. But that is eternal life, meaning, because of the death of Jesus Christ you can go to heaven when you die."

A few sentences later, Eldredge asks the following question:

What did Jesus mean when he promised us life?

He refers us to a couple of verses, Psalm 27:13 and Luke 18:19-20. The latter struck my heart as if I had never read it before, although it was quite familiar to me at the same time.

"I will tell you the truth," Jesus said to them, "no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come, eternal life."

And if you would allow me just one more verse, Paul tells us, as Eldredge points out,

Godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and life to come. (1Timothy 4:8)

Eldredge points out that eternal means "unending," not "later." Really? My initial response was surprise and then outright excitement. My eternal life has already begun?! I am not just biding my time on this earth waiting around for it, but it is here and it is now! Beth Moore, the renowned woman’s Bible Study author and teacher, makes the same point in her series on John, My Beloved Disciple.

I have always thought that this life, while I want to enjoy it and make the most of it, was little more than a brief interlude before getting to the good stuff in heaven. I really bought into the whole idea of being a sojourner and not a citizen of this world. While that may be true, God does not expect me to just wade through this world of sin and hurt avoiding hardship. He expects me to leave the mark of Christ wherever I go and with whomever I share this journey. He also expects me to remember that I am living eternally and everything I say and do is for that eternity. It is my life as a whole, not an earthly life and a heavenly life. Granted, heavenly life will be much sweeter, but there is great joy to be gained by living for Christ right here, right now.

More than my own life, I began to reflect on what I have taught my children. Have I taught them to just get through this age waiting for an eternal life? Am I modeling a life lived in constant awareness of eternity and my role in that eternity? Do I treat today as a part of my entire life or am I always looking toward the future without realizing the potential of this day? Tough questions!

One of the glories of home schooling stems from our ability to influence our children more fully. It’s also one of the great responsibilities. I honestly believe that their observance of our daily actions has a much greater affect on them than anything we tell them. I have a friend who said that she couldn’t home school because she couldn’t imagine her children seeing her all of the time, in every situation.

Are there things I can do each day, as I live my life, to reflect my faith in an eternal salvation? I believe so. Some ideas that come to mind include:

• Celebrating the blessings and the trials in Christ - although a common refrain amongst believers, I still struggle with celebrating trials. Logically, I understand that I will grow during such times, but man, it’s a challenge! Celebrating the blessings can be a little bit of a difficulty, as well. Okay, it’s not the celebrating that’s tough, but sometimes I do forget to give the credit to my Lord and Savior!
• Loving everyone – Now, that’s a tall order! And yet, after loving God, it is Christ’s second command. Some people are just so easy to love and yet others…but God has truly been changing my heart in this area. He reminds me that some of these "difficult" personalities will be spending eternity with me. He has challenged me to draw nearer to those whom I would normally run from hard and fast! My heart is actively changing to not only notice others I might have previously ignored, but also to treat them as any child of God should be treated. I have to tell you that in the process, I am noticing the difference in my own outlook and coming to realize more and more how unworthy I am and how gracious God is to me!
• Responding rather than Reacting – it is so easy to be offended in this world. A simple billboard, Internet pop up or television ad can set me off if I let it. I even find myself being offended for total strangers when they’re mistreated by sales clerks and such. God is teaching me to prayerfully consider such things and to let His Word be my guide, rather than my emotions. At times, I even mess it up when I do refer to His Word because I allow my emotions to do the interpreting. But it’s a lesson I am working on and I always feel like progress is inevitable if you keep trying!
• Praying continually – I am one busy woman and prayer takes time! But it is time well spent and stopping to speak with the Lord is never a moment wasted. I have found that the more I pray, the more inclined I am to pray. It becomes a spiritual habit to turn to God and His voice seems so much clearer these days. My own health is so improved by prayer. Not only my spiritual health, but also my emotional and physical health is positively affected by calming my soul and speaking with my Father. 

I don’t expect that any of the above is new to you. However, if you’re like me, there can’t be too many reminders. I encourage each of you to put on your eternal glasses and view life as a neverending process, with each day you growing in your walk with the Lord and modeling so others may do so as well. Thank you for encouraging me with your words and for taking the time to read the ramblings of a woman who has discovered her life is not ending, and that it’s only just in its early stages!

Lord, I pray that you will keep me eternally minded. I ask that you help me to influence others in seeing their own impact on eternity. Thank you for beginning my new eternal life at my salvation and allowing me the opportunity to truly live on this earth while I exist here. Help me, Father, to do your Will and let my daily living reflect my eternal heart and love for You. I know it is only through Your grace and Your Son’s death that I am saved to live eternally. In Your blessed and holy name, Amen.

God’s blessings on you and your family,

Beth