Encouraging Moms Who Homeschool

Today's post is dedicated to something most every homeschooling mother loves - BOOKS!!! Come on, you know you love books - so why not admit it and embrace your inner book-a-holic :) Well, maybe not every homeschooling mom loves books the way I love books. I love tattered books that have been read over and over again, brand new Apologia science books with their "new book smell", paperback or hardcover, taped up binding, written in and highlighted, pages folded to mark a page or bookmarks hidden deep within the pages, even e-books...I love them all! One of my favorite pastimes is reading (who knew?!). And during the summer months I have some books that have become staple in my homeschool preparations for the upcoming academic year. I'll list the titles and authors of those books and hopefully some of you will share some of your favorites with me! Number 1 ~ "Lies Homeschooling Moms Believe" by Todd Wilson Number 2 ~ "For the Children's Sake" by ...

Today I am playing catch-up. This post is dedicated solely to answering comments and questions left in response to previous posts. Lucky reader, today you get a nice break from my non-stop commentary on all-things homeschool! First off - "What Should I Do With All These Books??" replies: Vickie said: I do keep a bookshelf that is the current year's books. I have a basket that I keep by my chair with the current books in use. I rotate them out as needed from the year's bookshelf. I like this much better. I do have my other bookshelves that I put the books when they are not in use for the year. I took half our entry coat closet and made it a supply closet. Shelves floor to ceiling and when I hit the back to school sales in August....they get plenty stocked. Everything in its place (or should be) and I can tell a kid to go get whatever that is on shelf #??. IF they put the item back in its original spot, it can be found again. Now, I need to purge my regular bookshelves ...

In the Eighth chapter of Ezekiel we read an ever-lengthening list of Israel's sins and God's response to said sins. The sins listed are really just different versions of one primary sin - idol worship. It's pretty easy to read a book like Ezekiel and feel as if we're living light-years ahead of the Israelites. After all, we could reason, we don't have Asherah poles in our front yards and pagan altars on our back porches. There are no "high places" in our garages or basements - are there?? What the Old Testament often refers to as "high places" may not still exist in exactly the same form, but we do have plenty of false idols in our midst. Oh and don't think we're exempt just because we're homeschooling moms. If God's chosen people didn't get a free pass for being the children of Abraham, we don't get one either. (Let me clarify - I am in no way disputing the fact that as Christians we are subject to the New Covenant and li...

Today's post doesn't exactly have much, if anything, to do with homeschooling ... however , the tips I'll share could easily be incorporated in your homeschool's health lesson plans :) Just to update any of my blog followers who may not know about my struggle with diabetes - about 18 months ago I had some blood work done to confirm my suspicion that my blood sugar was out-of-whack. Sure enough, I was diagnosed as a pre-diabetic. One more fasting glucose number over 126 and I would have been confirmed as a Type 2 diabetic. Having an older sister who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as a toddler, and knowing how much she has been through over the years convicted me that I could not, in good conscience, allow myself to succumb to a preventable form of diabetes when my sister has had to live with a non-preventable version of the same disease most of her life. So what did I do, exactly? In a nutshell, I did whatever my physician told me to do! My eating habits changed over...

The idea behind this post comes from a good friend of mine who has been encouraging me recently as I've struggled with something that normally comes easy to me. You'll never guess what that "something" is I've been struggling with... Since my first child was born 18 1/2 years ago, I've been a "teaching mom". My son entered the world with a collection of books and classical music that surpassed those of many full-grown adults. Truth be told, I was reading to him before he was even born! Preschool? I was his teacher (and the teacher of my 4 daughters). Elementary? Me again. Middle school? Yup, that was me. High school? Uh-huh, me once more. College? Well, I didn't teach him during his time at Friends University and I certainly won't compare myself to the professors he'll have at Wheaton College this fall, but I'll just be a text message away should he have, say, a grammar related question. I've taught Vacation Bible School for 16 or...

This is the third post in my series on the topic of what to do with all your homeschool books and supplies once the academic year has ended. Here's a recap of the first two posts: ~ Sort Books As You Finish Them ~ Update Your Older Student's Transcripts Right Away ~ Make a List of Books You Have and Books You Want/Need ~ Shop the Spring & Summer Sales and Conventions ~ Choose to Honestly Evaluate Your Math And Science Programs NOW! ~ Get Rid of the "Junk" The Fourth of July has come and gone, 100 degree temps are the norm, central air is my very best friend - yes indeed, summer is in full swing! It's the time of year when I get to enjoy relaxing days with my family and don't spend too much time working on homeschool "stuff". While it's nice to enjoy the downtime with my family, it can also be a little bit risky. I am perfectly able to enjoy my summer so thoroughly that I neglect planning for the upcoming school year. Since this fall marks the...

It's hard for me to believe I haven't posted in such a long while. I guess I must have been busy the last, well...the last couple of...the last two decades. Yes, I've been busy for quite some time, and exceptionally busy the last several weeks. Since the purpose of this blog is to encourage mom's who homeschool, I don't want to be a cause for discouragement by moaning and groaning about how busy I've been as a result of my "mom duties". I'd much rather boast in the Lord's amazing grace to me as I enjoy the blessings He has given me in my 5 children, wonderful husband, and fantastic friends. So, I've been busy, but my busy-busy-busy life has all been because of God's rich blessings. May was a whirlwind - finishing the homeschool year, prepping for the youth group's mission trip to Mexico, planning for our family vacation with two of our very best friends (see the new photo at the header of my blog!), and my oldest child's graduat...

Many of you have heard of Whole Heart Ministries, the homeschool ministry founded by Clay and Sally Clarkson. Whole Heart Ministries has joined with Apologia Ministries, and the book "Read For the Heart" by Sarah Clarkson (the daughter of Clay and Sally Clarkson) is a product of the combination of these two wonderful ministries. For a book lover like me, it doesn't get much better than reading a book all about books. It's even better than a list-maker's dream (which would be a book of lists)! It is a delight to review Sally's wonderful compilation of recommended reading - and this is an exceptional first book from this young author. I look forward to her future work (Sarah is working on a children's novel and a collection of essays). "Read For the Heart" contains 12 chapters and a whopping 6 appendices! Chapter 1 is filled with examples of "memories" and character traits established by reading large volumes of quality literature. Cha...

What a pleasant surprise when I was chosen to review this science product from a company that is very dear to my heart - Eagle's Wings ! My fondness of Eagle's Wings products stems back nearly 14 years to a time when I was a young mom seeking the "perfect" phonics curriculum to use with my 5 year old son. Now that son is 18 years old and graduated from high school a few weeks ago. In the fall he will attend Wheaton College (a fantastic Christian school - you can learn more about it at Wikipedia). Eagle's Wings phonics curriculum ( Alphabet Island ) laid a solid foundation for my son's education. Needless to say, I'm pretty excited about this company's product line! Eagle's Wings natural science curriculum, Considering God's Creation , is the subject of this product review. Included in this set are the student workbook, teacher's manual, and audio CD of 23 songs. The teacher's manual lays out each lesson with clear instruction, so mom is...

Talking Fingers has a program that combines phonics with typing skills called "Wordy Qwerty". Before I tell you about Word Qwerty , let me say that I am a firm believer in phonics and the ability to type with speed and accuracy is only going to grow in importance in the coming years. Wordy Qwerty provides what I believe to be 2 key components in a complete and thorough education. Wordy Qwerty is targeted for children in 2nd through 4th grade - keep in mind that my children are older than the targeted audience, so my review is written from a perspective of "looking back" through the years. It might be possible to use Word Qwerty with a child in 1st grade if they were ready for it, and it could be used for 5th grade students (the primary user in my family was my 5th grade daughter). Wordy Qwerty builds on early reading and basic phonics skills, and teaches 20 important spelling rules. Each rule has an accompanying song that aids with memory retention. Not everythi...