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  • How to be a Great Homeschool Grad Party Guest

    11 May 2012 / Helping Others, High School, Holidays, Social Skills, The Home / 13 Comments

    To follow up on Allison's post on how to throw a homeschool graduation party. Here's her sister, Sabrina's ideas on how to be a great grad party guest:

     

    These next few weeks are filled with graduation parties in most of our world. Here are a few tips for enjoying those you attend as a guest (for tips on how to HOST a fabu party, see Allison's post How to Throw a Homeschool Graduation Party):

    * Most graduation parties are "open house" style which means your arrival time is not specific. Read the invitation carefully to be sure this is the case, but if it is, plan to come right near the beginning if you can and offer to help the hostess set up last-minute items or carry food out from the kitchen. That last-minute rush is stressful for a lot of hostesses, and if you come with your sleeves rolled up ready to help her, it will also relax her!

    * When offering to help, be sure you really mean it. Before you volunteer, put your pocketbook down and use the bathroom if you need to. THEN offer. Chances are your hostess has a million things running through her mind, and she will more easily put you to work right away if she sees you are ready to jump in.

    * Visit with the people you know, but try to introduce yourself to a couple of groups who are new to you. Graduation parties tend to be a mix of family, friends, and church....there are always a few folks you haven't met before. It's great to spend an hour with your closest friends, but it's also great to spend 5 minutes reaching out to someone new.

    * Most graduation parties are for families....whole families are invited instead of just one or two people. So if your younger children are also partying with you, remind them of good social skills before you arrive, and keep a half-an-eye on them during the party as well. If you notice their behavior getting a little too rambunctious, take them aside and gently remind them that "This is someone's home, and you need to treat it with respect," (or "That little girl may be annoying, but pouring lemonade down her back is rude"....etc.). There's nothing more awkward than being the hostess and agonizing over a child who is behaving badly while the parent is oblivious.

    * Greet the grad, but don't monopolize his time. He has probably invited a lot of people to this party, and while he wants to thank each person for coming, he can't do that if he has to have a 1/2 hour conversation with each one about his future plans. Keep things light and brief. If he can talk to you more later, he'll find you.

    * Clean up using common sense. Sometimes there are plastic cups all over the backyard. You can safely assume that if the party is winding down, the hostess would love to see the cups picked up and thrown away. You probably don't have to find her and ask for plastic cup protocol. Near the end of the party, the hostess is often exhausted, and may finally be sitting down to enjoy some food herself, and if you come and ask her something as simple as that, she may feel that SHE should get up and do it. If you just use common sense, you will probably be offering real help, and leaving her tired brain out of it.

    Just like 7 Sisters blogs are more fun when everyone comments, graduation parties are more fun when everyone pitches in to keep them running smoothly. Unlike a formal dinner party or reception, a graduation party is a great time for casual fellowship and working shoulder to shoulder to set up and clean up.

    Congratulations to all our homeschool grads, and happy partying!

    For working on social skills with younger kids, check out our Social Skills for Children.

    Got any funny graduation party stories?

  • How to Throw a Homeschool Graduation Party

    10 May 2012 / Healthy Living, The Home / 9 Comments

    By popular demand. Join us for this classic post from Allison.

    Tis the season to go to grad parties.  As I prepare to host my third and final high school graduation party, I was asked by a friend (who is on her first) for some ideas.  There are many ways of doing a big celebratory event like a graduation party, but the task can be daunting, especially if you have never done anything like this before.  I’ve compiled some of the ideas and tips that I’ve discovered by trial and error.  I hope they help you.
    Plan ahead: Make what you can ahead of time - Cook pork for pulled pork, ham, or  turkey days or even weeks ahead and freeze.  Do the same if you are having Italian dishes like baked ziti or lasagna.

    Prepare for bad weather: Have room inside, in the garage, or under a tent in case of rain

    Equipment: Use large electric roasters or steam pans for hot foods (meatballs for sandwiches, ziti or lasagna, pulled pork for sandwiches, turkey or ham).  Keep cold foods on ice by filling larger containers with ice and placing the bowls of food inside them.  Lids to catering trays work well for this as well as baskets with plastic liners.  Borrow large coolers to keep foods in if you cannot fit them all in your fridge, or ask a neighbor if you can stash extras in their fridge.

    Serving: If you are having an open house and people will be arriving over a long period of time and eating as they come, put smaller bowls of food out and refill periodically.

    Dessert: A cake is a beautiful and expected centerpiece for a party, but if people are not arriving and eating all at the same time, guests will either miss the chance to eat any or miss the chance to see the decorated cake uncut.  Consider cookies, brownies, or other single serve treats alone or in addition to the decorated cake.

    Beverages: If you are looking mainly for convenience, cans of soda and tea and water bottles are the way to go.  You will need to line up extra coolers or plastic bins in which to put ice and the cans.  Again, you can keep extras cooling in the fridge (if you have room) and refill your cooler/bin as it empties.  This is also something that can easily be delegated. You can ask a helpful family member or friend to purchase the beverages and bring them.  No prep is needed so it is a relatively easy way for someone to pitch in and help. The main drawback to this choice is the cost.  You will spend more buying individual servings of beverages and some may be wasted as guests pick up a can and only drink half.
    Another option is making large batches of iced tea and lemonade and serving them in large beverage servers. You can use the old standard “cooler” style servers which hold several gallons and keep the contents cold.  A prettier option is the newer 3 gallon beverage servers with pour spout.  You might not want to invest in these for one event, but if you host a lot of parties at your house they are definitely worth it.  You might also ask friends if they own one.  Most people are happy to share an item like this that they only used periodically.

    Set Up: The best plan for setting up your food tables will depend primarily on your setting.  Pick the area which works best with the size and configuration of your home and property.  Whenever possible it’s best to keep the food indoors, or at least in a screened area. Otherwise you will have to contend with bugs helping themselves to your dishes.  Also, keeping the food indoors on a hot day decreases concerns about spoilage.

    Think like a guest: Try to arrange food, plates, plastic ware, and drinks to make it easy for guests to get what they want, carry it, and find a spot to eat it.  One trick I have found very helpful goes against the standard buffet arrangement.  Place the napkins and plastic/silverware AFTER the food dishes. This way guests don’t have to juggle all of these items while serving themselves.  This also avoids wasting plastic/silverware.  Guests will only take what they need if they come to these items after they have their food.  If they must pick up their silverware first, they have to assume that they will need everything - fork, spoon, knife - even if they do not.  It’s also helpful to have the drinks located away from the food tables.  Many guests will be getting drinks throughout the party and they need to have access without getting in the way of those who are getting their food.

    Trash: Make sure you have large trash cans located in several obvious spots.  Make it easy for your guests to clean up after themselves.  If you are going the canned drink route for your beverages, also have recycle cans next to the trash cans.  Be sure to clearly label these so you don’t have to sort through the trash later.

    Have a good time: Remember, this is a celebration.  The point is for you and your guests to feel comfortable and enjoy yourselves. If any of these steps make you feel too stressed, find an easier way.  Buy deli trays; have the whole event catered; or just have beverages, chips, and dessert.   There are no rules to follow, just suggestions to help you plan your own personalized event.

  • Sara's Top Picks for Homeschool Financial Literacy Courses

    18 April 2012 / Curricula, High School, News, The Home / 4 Comments

    I asked Sara what books she uses when she teaches our homeschool financial literacy group class. Here are her 3 favorites- Vicki

    What does God's Word say about money and our attitude toward it?  This is how we start our school year, and Larry Burkett has a book on this topic: The Word on Finances.
    Crown Financial Ministries has an excellent website containing books and other resources from the basics of budgeting to more advanced financial guidance, all from a Christian perspective:   http://www.crown.org/
    One of the books my students enjoy reading is Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki .  He also has a teen edition, but my students think it is written at too low a level and prefer the regular edition.
    What are some books that have inspired your homeschool family to be good stewards of financial resources?
    BTW- This is not a sponsored post- just shared ideas.
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    There are whitepapers on starting co-ops, support groups, and drama clubs. Also check out Carry Each Other's Burdens- how to genuinely help someone who is experiencing difficult times.

  • Why Should Homeschoolers Study Financial Literacy?

    17 April 2012 / Mathematics, News, The Home / 6 Comments

    Sara's son and lovely bride

    Have you ever watched “Say ‘Yes’ to the Dress”?  In this  ‘reality’ television show,  brides visit Manhattan's famous Kleinfeld Bridal boutique to find their perfect wedding dress.  Frequently, a bride’s dream dress is priced sky-high above her budget, and she will choose to blow her budget completely rather than settle for something less than that one dress that has captured her heart.  Sadly, this lack of firm resolve and long-term financial planning doesn’t bode well for the days ahead.

    As much as we’d all like our every dream to come true, real life tells us we simply cannot always afford the top-of-the-line, newest, latest electronics/cars/fashions.  In fact, the opposite may be true; at times we may have only enough money to supply our basic needs – forget the ‘wants’ entirely!

    As your children graduate high school and move on to college and ‘real life’, you (and they) will be thankful if they have learned the difference between needs and wants, and how to master their money, rather than being mastered by it.

    This is the purpose of a financial literacy course.  Our homeschool day school provides such a course to our high school juniors and

    The Sisters at the wedding of Sabrina's daughter and Marilyn's son

    seniors, those whose college/ employment years lie just around the corner.  These students are introduced to the basic concepts of budgeting and are taught to carefully plan the use of their money based on their values and long-range plans.  The normal day-to-day financial realities they’ll be faced with as adults are presented (insurance, taxes, saving and investing options), with special emphasis on the wise use of credit opportunities (credit cards, loans, mortgages) while avoiding credit pitfalls (overspending, burdensome debt).

    Our financial literacy course begins with searching out God’s standard regarding our attitudes toward money, and we apply Biblical principles throughout each unit.  For example, what is our responsibility to God as stewards of His money? What does the Bible teach in the areas of tithing and giving to the poor?  What spiritual pitfalls should we carefully avoid as we seek to wisely invest our money?

    Parents play an important role in our financial literacy course as they discuss numerous financial topics with their students in homework assignments throughout the school year: their convictions on tithing, their choice of financial institutions and insurance companies, their budgeting tips, the employee benefits they receive, and many other topics related to financial decisions and situations their children will eventually face.  These topics may not come up in normal conversation at home, yet parents who have years of experience handling financial responsibilities can give wise guidance to their children.

    Vicki's oldest and precious bride

    Watching a young bride on television grossly overspend on her wedding dress is bad enough; how much greater our dismay would be to watch our own children handle money without wisdom and self-discipline.  As parents, we can model responsibility and discipline in our own financial decisions, talk with our children about money matters as they come up in daily life, and provide a financial literacy course to equip our children to be responsible adults who manage their money wisely.

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    Speaking of being wise: It is not wise to push children educationally ahead of their readiness. Why not slow your early home education down a bit and help your little ones to learn to LOVE learning?

    Download our Developmental Approach to Kindergarten for just $3.99 for a quick look at readiness theory and fun in homeschooling the early years!

  • Homeschooling as Greenhouse

    08 April 2012 / Healthy Living, Homeschool Information, News, The Home / 0 Comment

    Photo by my daughter, Joanna

    How is your homeschool like a greenhouse? Why is this important?

    The world is like a hostile jungle to kids. In many educational settings they are entangled by vines of a test-addicted, data-driven system that is steadfastly uninterested in eternal values. All the while, media puts on their backs monkeys of consumerism and premature sexuality.

    Homeschools are like greenhouses. Imagine your children as plants (a Psalm 144 kind of metaphor). You can grow plants in a hostile environment if you have a greenhouse. There you can protect, tend, water and feed seedlings until they are strong enough to prosper in the outside world. In your healthy, safe, nurturing homeschool environment you can model and teach your children in the way they should go until they are ready to thrive in the jungle-like world.

    Homeschooling provides:

    -a safe and nurturing environment where the family religious and social values are caught and taught

    -individually-tailored and developmentally-appropriate education

    -time to explore individual and family interests and causes

    -the choice of environments in which to place your children (co-ops, homeschool support group activities, church groups)

    20-something years ago, when I was initiating our homeschooling Gregg Harris started the metaphor of greenhousing kids. Of course, back in those early days, there were homeschoolers who took the greenhousing idea to the extreme (no group activities- not even church programs for kids) but that faded when it was remembered that Christ intends for all his people to take their places in the body of Christ- in community. Soon homeschoolers were happily participating

    My grown kids- all in college or college graduated, employed, good folks :)

    in church programs, sports leagues, and forming homeschool organizations and co-ops (download our free whitepapers on how to start a co-op and support group).

    Having greenhoused my 5 kids by homeschooling them, I firmly believe in the concept. (My kids were always protected but never isolated; always busy with support group, co-op, church, sports, etc.) Those that are grown are thriving in the world- creative thinkers, doers, and God-lovers. I am proud of them. I am thankful to God for the opportunity to homeschool and greenhouse them.

    What are some "greenhouse-type" investments you make in your kids?

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    One of our family values is devotions. I teach my kids to pray,  to wisely study Scripture. I have captured prayer-teaching activities in Prayer Journal  and Prayer Journal 2 (download for $2.49 each). And teach Genesis in an accessible but in-depth manner with Sabrina's FREE Genesis 1 Bible Study Guide

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    Here's Sabrina's Romans 8 for Homeschoolers for your edification and comfort :)

     

     

  • I Corinthians 13 for Homeschool Moms

    19 February 2012 / Bible Verses Revisited, News, The Home / 0 Comment

    Back by request: Here is our classic post:

    If I speak in the tongues of French or Spanish, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

    If I have the gift of spelling and can fathom all mysteries of histories and all knowledge of arithmetic,

    If I have a faith that can move mountains of laundry and dishes each day, but do not have love, I am nothing.

    If I give all I possess to the purchase of good curriculum and give over my body to hardship of long nights of lesson preparation and research that I may boast of how well my kids are educated,but do not have love, I gain nothing.

    Love is patient with slow learners.

    Love is kind when they forget how to multiply again.

    It does not envy my friends whose kids were born knowing long division.

    It does not boast when my kids can sing well but my friend's kid does not.                                           

    It is not too proud to admit to my friends when I’m tired and discouraged.

    It does not dishonor others’ homeschooling methods.

    It is not self-seeking and unwilling to invest in the homeschool culture around me.

    It is not easily angered when my kid declares he doesn’t like science.

    It keeps no record of wrongs- in me or in others.

    Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth and teaches my kids the same.

    It always protects my family and friends.

    It always trusts that God has a plan and cares what is happening.

    It always hopes that I will be able to hear God and obey His will for my family.

    It always perseveres- even on LONG days.

    Love never fails.

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    BTW- It helps to pray. For some guided prayer activities for moms or teens, try our 2 e-prayer journals just $2.49 for quick, guided prayer activities. ALSO FREE downloads of Genesis 1- Study Guide (easy, inspirational, educational) AND Carry Each Other's Burdens (how to truly help a friend during tough times).

    Get Teach Them Diligently on your calendar. Sabrina will be there to talk about Drama along with several of the Sisters. We want to meet you- March 15-17 in Spartanburg, SC!

  • 6 Tips on How to Helpfully Hear Your Teen

    18 December 2011 / Healthy Living, High School, News, Relationships, The Home / 3 Comments

    "What is the meaning of life?"

    Ever had this moment?

    Your homeschool teen comes to you in great earnestness and tells you about something concerning him deeply...

    You offer a helpful suggestion.

    He looks frustrated and tells you why that won't work.

    You offer another wise suggestion.

    He looks more frustrated, acts irritated, and tells you why it won't work.

    You get frustrated at his ornery-ness. He's the one who started it, after all! You look at him with your frustrated-mom face- and TELL what he SHOULD do.

    He gets mad. Says something stupid- bordering on rude.

    More questions...

    You remind him of his biblical obligation to honor his mother.

    He stomps off in a huff.

    You look around in bewilderment. What just happened? HE'S the one who came to YOU. You were just trying to help!!!

    The problem was expectations. He was expecting to process. You were expecting to problem-solve.

    Next time, maybe you could join him in his process. How about trying this?

    1) When your teen comes to you with his concern, stop what you're doing and look right at him.

    2) Wait until he's got everything off his chest.

    and MORE questions...

    3) Calmly, politely recap what he said. "So, you are wondering about the problem of evil..." OR "So, your friends have been rude lately".

    4) Wait for him to respond to your recap. Do NOT offer ANY advice or suggestions.

    5) Repeat this process several times. See if:

    -he just wanted to talk- didn't want answers

    AND/OR

    -he can figure things out himself (great way to nurture adult-level thinking)

    6) Only after he comes to a dead-end and asks you, "What should I do?", should you offer any suggestions/advice.

    What tips do YOU have on listening helpfully to your teen?

    ============================================================

    When teens are maturing, they do a lot of thinking. Their brains are maturing and able to process many different things. It takes a lot of prayer to walk with them wisely through these years. Our prayer journals can help you and your teen to grow in prayer skills.  This week at $4.99 (1/2 price), our Prayer Journal and Prayer Journal 2 will help you or your teen gain expertise in petitioning, interceding, thanksgiving, and listening through short, thoughtful exercises.

    It is also helpful to your teen to understand herself. Human Development from a Christian Worldview is the curriculum I developed for my kids and fellow homeschoolers based on my training and work as a therapistist. It is a great way for him to earn valuable high school health credit while gaining understanding of the ways he is growing and changing.

    AND FREE: Scheduling Backwards- start getting organized for the new year!

     

  • How to Celebrate Christmas Using the Advent Wreath

    02 December 2011 / Holidays, News, The Home / 1 Comment

    The Advent Wreath has always been central to our family’s celebration of Christmas. It helps keep us constantly focused on Christ and the Christmas story.

    There are as many ways to do the Advent Wreath as there are families.

    We make our Advent Wreath with 5 candles- 4 red and 1 white. We place the red candles in a circle with the white candle centered in their midst. (When I was a child, my parents had a Styrofoam circle with holes carved out for the candles. When I got married, my husband made a permanent wreath with carved-out holes in a circle of pine.)

    On the first Sunday after Thanksgiving, we light the first red candle, read the scripture passage that goes with the candle, ask some questions about the passage, and sing Christmas Hymns.

    Each Sunday after that, we light a new red candle (plus the previously lit ones), repeating the appropriate activities. On Christmas Eve, the white candle is lit, along with all the red ones.

    The lovely thing about this tradition is that our children learned the real meaning of Christmas in their earliest childhood- but the actual ritual is never outgrown. Even though 4 of my kids are adults, if they are in the area, they will join us to do the Advent Wreath.

    One way to make an Advent Wreath

    There are many different ways to do the wreath- and the cool thing about homeschooling is that we are comfortable adapting things to our families’ needs. There have been busy years when most of the candles were lit on successive nights the week before Christmas. One way or the other, it gets done. Good memories are created and we have respect for our Savior’s birthday.

    Here are some Scripture passages for each candle along with some questions:

    Week 1: The Prophesy Candle

    Messianic Prophesies: Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 9:6, Micah 5:2

    For young children (you will probably have to coach them through some answers):

    1) What is a prophet? (He is a man chosen by God to deliver messages for him.)

    2) What is the basic idea of the prophesies? (God would send a baby who would grow up and do His work. That there would be an important star.

    3) Whose birthday is Christmas?

    At different ages, they need different questions

    For middle and high schoolers:

    1) Why do you think God gave the Isrealites prophesies about the coming Messiah? (various answers- it is a rhetorical question)

    2) Why did (do) people need a Savior? (Read Romans 3:21-28, John 3:16)

    3) The manner in which prophets spoke is different than the manner in which the writers of the gospels of Matthew and Luke spoke. Tell some differences in their style. (various answers- Prophets spoke with metaphor, poetry, and apocalyptically

    Week 2: The Angel Candle

    The Annunciation: Luke 1:26-38

    For young children:

    1) What did the angel tell Mary? (That she would have a baby.)

    2) Why was that baby important? (He would be God’s Son.)

    3) What was Mary’s answer?

    Another version of Advent Wreath

    For middle and high schoolers:

    1) How did Mary feel she saw the angel?

    2) How did the angel explain that the baby would be God’s son?

    3) Discuss verse 37.

    4) How did Mary reply to the angel’s announcement?

    Week 3: The Shepherd Candle

    The Celebration: Luke 2: 1-21

    (Follow the rhythm of questions above. Young children need concrete, information-based questions. Older kids can begin to do some inferring.)

    Week 4: The Wise Men Candle

    The Gift-Giving: Matthew 2:1-12

    Christmas Eve: The Christmas Story                                                                                         

    Reading the Bible stories of Christmas helps children develop a love of Scripture and of the story


    Christ’s Birth: All of Luke 2

    Some favorite hymns (don’t rigidly keep the hymn to its suggested week):

    Week 1:

    Good Christian Men, Rejoice

    Hail, Thou Long-Expected Jesus

    Joy to the World

    Oh Come, All Ye Faithful

    Oh Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel

    Week 2:

    Many churces don't sing hymns anymore- so learning Christmas hymns at home is a special tradition-building exercise

    Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne

    Week 3:

    Angels From the Realms of Glory

    Angels We Have Heard on High

    Hark, the Herald Angels Sing

    It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

    The First Noel the Angel Did Say

    While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night

    Week 4:

    Away in a Manger

    Go Tell It on the Mountain

    Merry Christmas!

    O Holy Night

    O Little Town of Bethlehem

    On a Bleak Mid-Winter

    Once in Royal David’s City

    Silent Night

    There’s a Song in the Air

    What Child is This?

    Christmas Eve

    All the Christmas hymns

    Do you do the Advent Wreath? If so, how many candles? What does each candle symbolize?

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    Don't forget to download all the FREEBIES: Today is the last day for Study Guide for A Christmas Carol!

     

  • Keeping the Focus on Christ at Christmas

    29 November 2011 / Healthy Living, Holidays, News, The Home / 6 Comments

    Allison's husband, Wayne, share with us on keeping our focus where it belongs:

    Wayne having a fruitful Christmas morning

    With the celebration of Christmas almost completely given over to commercialism, it’s hard for anyone to keep their focus on Christ. This is especially true of families with little children. A determined effort must be made in the home to counter the blatant consumerism that waits outside the door. Here’s what my wife and I did to help our three children (all now young adults) not only understand the ‘reason for the season,’ but also stay focused on Christ always.

    Start with the Nativity Whenever we started hauling out the Christmas decorations, the first thing we did was to set out the Nativity set. Doing this shows children that we’re always thinking of Christ first. Setting up the crèche in a prominent place also lets guests know where He stands in your family.

    Nativity with a twist When we do (yes, we still do this) set up the Nativity set, we do so only partially. The building is set up and just a shepherd, sheep and other animals are placed there. Mary and Joseph are set out someplace in the house. Each evening, after the kids are in bed, they are moved to a new location. Each morning, the kids have to find them. This makes the Nativity story active and real to the young ones. They get a better understanding of the idea that it was a journeyfrom Nazareth to Bethlehem. The couple move from room to room, including bedrooms, gradually getting closer to the manger scene; until they arrive there Christmas morning. [More on the arrival later.] Children get a little excited too at finding the couple: who’s gonna find them first, who’s found them and who hasn’t. And it’s not just for little kids either. Our youngest is a college freshman and when she found them for the first time this year, she sent us a picture text to inform us!

    Allison's morning was fruitful, too

    Advent Growing up, my mother always had an advent wreath on the dining room table. She used red and green candles and read scriptures pertaining to the people involved in the advent adventure: Mary, accepting God’ will for her life; Joseph, following God’s command; Shepherds, rejoicing in the news; Wise Men, bringing gifts to the newborn king. We have been using the more traditional purple and pink candles and focusing on the God-qualities displayed at the First Advent: Love, Hope, Peace and Joy. A simple look on the internet will get one going in the right direction, you can choose your own. One thing we do that Mom always did: put a taller white candle in the middle to represent Christ. This candle is lit Christmas morning.

    Christmas morning Before rushing into the living room to dive into gifts, our children come into our room first thing Christmas morning. There, all gathered on the bed as a family, I read the biblical account of Christ’s birth. Although I can almost quote Luke chapter 2, I purposely read from the Bible to show my children that THIS is where we get what we know about God. We then proceed to the Nativity set and the children place Mary and Joseph, who got close on Christmas Eve, into the building along with the manger piece with Baby Jesus. After this we light ALL the candles on the Advent wreath and sing to the Christ child. We sang “Happy Birthday” when the kids were young, we sing a carol now that they’re older. Then we hit the gifts!

    Christmas Winston, the dog

    Ignore Santa We don’t believe in lying to our children. We never let them think that Santa Claus was a real person. All our gifts to them (unless they were too big) were wrapped and placed under the tree well before Christmas. Each gift was tagged as being “From: Mommy and Daddy” so there was no question as to who left them. We don’t have Santa decorations in or in front of the house and they never had their picture taken while sitting on some strange man’s lap. This is important because at some point in time the child will realize the truth behind the hoax. At that moment two questions will form in the child’s mind: “What else have my parents been lying about?” and “If Santa is false, what about Jesus?” Our children never felt deprived at not believing in Santa – you can ask them yourself!

    Keeping your children’s eyes on Christ during the busy holiday season is well worth the effort. It will help them see past the glitz and stay grounded in eternal truth of God’s love for us. There’s also an added benefit: it will help you to stay focused too!

    How do you keep the focus on Christ at Christmas?                                                                      

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    Don't forget FREE DOWNLOAD of A Christmas Carol Study Guide- this week only!

  • 5 Things You're Doing Right, Homeschool Mom

    20 November 2011 / Healthy Living, News, Teaching, The Home / 0 Comment

    Ever feel like something's missing??

    Sometimes we homeschool moms get very down on ourselves. Here are some of the things we think we're doing wrong:

    -not doing enough education

    -not keeping the house perfect

    -getting irritable sometimes

    -not raising perfect kids

    -ESPECIALLY all the above, all at once

    Now, I'm going to tell you the truth:

    1) God made you insufficient, so that you would turn to Him and allow His strength to be made perfect

    They graduate and go on to useful, happy lives

    in your weakness (so quit trying to be perfect and let Him help you= pray)

    2) You need to be a GOOD ENOUGH parent, not a perfect one (a perfect parent= neurotic kids)

    3) You will never cover as much educational material as you want- concentrate on loving what you teach (most of the time)

    4) You need to be a CLEAN ENOUGH homemaker (an immaculate home= not much lively activity)

    5) If you and your kids laugh together daily, love each other, and pray often, you are doing what is most important

    May I challenge all my homeschool buddies to praise God and keep looking to Him?

    To help you feel more empowered, download a FREE copy of Scheduling Backwards by Sabrina. It is a terrific article that will help you get time management more manageable.

    Your turn: How about telling me something YOU are doing right (by the grace of God, of course). Can you name 2 things??

     

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