Free Homeschool Projects for Woodworking

Make one on August 8 for free!!

Lowe's Build and Grow Clinics.

Some great things are still free. Lowes offers building workshops for children regularly. You must sign up ahead at Lowe's Build and Grow Clinics. This Saturday (July 25) your children can build a toy helicopter at Lowes Home Improvement.

Is it really free?
Yes, but you must sign up ahead of time

Can I drop my child off?
No, a parent must accompany each child

So, how much time is involved?
approximately 1 hour

Is there an age limit?
The workshops are most suited for kids from first through fifth grade, but as long as a parent is there, even younger kids can participate.

Just be sure to sign up today and please not that a parent must accompany your child.

Next week, be sure to sign up for (August 8) making a powerboat with your child.

Homeschooling- A New Beginning

I must back up to early 1987. A good friend gave me a copy of Dorothy and Raymond Moore’s, Home Grown Kids. My friend was sold on homeschooling and it didn’t take me long to join her. Lane was 4 and Nathan was just 2.

The homeschooling movement really began to flower as conservative Christians began to hear about it and realize that it was an option that promised a better protection and preparation for their children. I was caught up in that beginning fervor. Tim and I were praying for the Lord’s help and guidance and we clearly were being shown the way and we were ready to start the journey by taking the road less traveled. From the beginning I sensed God’s hand upon me and I knew that this was to be His work. That has always been a great comfort when I have faced difficult days with the children especially when I feel inadequate for the task. Then after crying out my frustrations, I just end up turning it over to Him and pray, Lord, this is your work. Help me! Work all things together for good. Take my sin and remake me for your glory. This was our foundation, our beginning.

My husband and I have homeschooled our five children for 23 years and now that it is over, I realize that I have learned as much or more than my children. Not only have I learned the subject matter that we studied together, but I have learned much about finding the right homeschool program and about fitting teaching methods to the needs of my children.

If you have made the decision to homeschool your children, then without a doubt, you will desire to give your kids a first rate education. There are so many of excellent homeschool programs, but because there are so many available, how do you choose the perfect curriculum for your child? From a family perspective, a top rate education should also take into consideration the strengths and weaknesses of your child as well as how he or she learns most easily.

This personalized approach builds a solid foundation for future academic success, but that is not all. As a homeschool parent, you will have the option to include religious values with your daily lessons, an essential addition that will provide your child with a spiritual foundation. 

For those who are interested:

I started a website in 2008 called Best Homeschool Buys. The purpose of the site is to connect homeschooling families to affordable homeschool curriculum. In most cases, the many offers for sale on eBay are from other homeschool families.  You get curriculum for a great price and they get money to invest in next year's curriculum.

Choosing Cards for Children

Take a look at all the greeting cards designed with children in mind. Most of them have a cutesy look that adults think children will like. The truth is children prefer designs that are pictures of real things that are interesting to them. We all are created with a natural curiosity and children delight is the world around them in ways that adults have forgotten. All I am saying is that children will generally prefer a photo card of a monkey or a wolf or an airplane or the Washington Monument to a whimsical cartoon type card like the ones available in abundance in the card department.



That said, consider making your own cards for the kids by searching for specific "reality" pictures at a sharing photo site such as Photo Bucket. You can open an account for free, search for monkey, wolf, plane, or monument, then move photos that you like to your album. Then you can have them made into prints mailed to your home. Paste these handpicked photos to blank cards and voila! you have educational and intriquing cards that your children will love.

One thing we have discovered from homeschooling is that learning takes place very naturally and thrives outside of classrooms. Children learn like sponges soak up water. Just surround them with worthy information and you won't have to force them to learn.

NEA Seeks to Limit Homeschooling-Please Respond

I received the following note from a homeschooling message board:

Dear Fellow Homeschoolers,
Many of you may already know that the National Education Association
(NEA) has taken a strong stand against homeschooling in their 2007-
2008 resolution. (You can read more about this at the link site I
have provided in this e-mail.) There is an opportunity for
homeschoolers to sign an online petition citing our stand against the
NEA's resolution. It will make an even greater impact if you make a
comment when signing the petition.

The goal is for 10,000 homeschoolers to sign the petition, and
currently a little over 5,000 have signed; please let all your
homeschooling friends, neighbors, and support group members know
about this petition and encourage them to sign it The link is below:

I signed the petition and added the following note:

Homeschooled students have proven by their accomplishments that homeschooling works well and generally produces educated, well-rounded adults. For the common good homeschooling families save the state tax money and produce adults who can think, not having been educated with assembly line tactics. NEA's proposed restrictions on homeschooling would limit the freedom of choice that has been granted by favorable legislation in most states. How in the world does the NEA know what is best for my child? I have 2 sons that were homeschooled from K-12th grade who are both successful engineers. I have a daughter who is receiving her AA degree at 17 who was only homeschooled before she started college. In addition to superior academics, our children have avoided the negative influences which are often overwhelming in the state schools.
America stands for freedom. Let us teach our children and provide opportunities for them to learn in any variety of ways. Real, vibrant learning more often occurs outside the traditional classroom than in it.

PLEASE CONSIDER SIGNING THE PETITION, TOO.

Common Stereotypes about Homeschoolers

This is a portion of an interview from May 2007. I was interviewed by a college student for her paper comparing homeschooling benefits to traditional schooling benefits.

What are some of the common stereotypes about homeschooling?

My Answer:

There are negative and positive stereotypes:

Negative:

That they are out of touch with the world.

That they are poorly educated.

They have no social life.

“What do you do all day?”

OR positive

That they are all super smart

Or that their Mom teachers are super smart and capable

I hear both.

Why? Our Reasons for Home Schooling

This is a portion of an interview from May 2007. I was interviewed by a college student for her paper comparing homeschooling benefits to traditional schooling benefits.

Interview Question #2:

What made you decide to homeschool?

My Answer:

Our primary motivation to homeschool was love for our children. As Christian parents, we take our God given responsibilities seriously. The Bible teaches in Deuteronomy 6 that parents are responsible for the teaching of their children:

We cannot obey God’s command when our children are away most of the time. They need to be with their parents most of the time, gradually going away more and more as they grow older.

Also, the Bible and prayer are basically prohibited in state schools and have been replaced with relativistic morality, evolution, and lack of discipline & excellence.

We felt compelled to teach our children God’s truth revealed in His word, the Bible. First and foremost, we desired to teach our children godly character and the way of salvation. Secondly, that all the academic subjects start in the scripture, which gives us the correct way of interpreting the world and the natural law. Additionally, we desired to strengthen our family by learning and playing together and having time to do it.

Social Life Favored by Homeschooling

This is a portion of an interview from May 2007. I was interviewed by a college student for her paper comparing homeschooling benefits to traditional schooling benefits.

Interview Question #1:

How has homeschooling affected your children’s social life? Would you say that they don’t have as many friends as they would have in a school situation?

My Answer:

They might not have as many acquaintances, but I am confident that the quality of their friendships is superior. They have never had any trouble making friends and have never expressed a desire for more associations than they have. We have moved quite a bit, and they diligently keep in contact with their friends in various places as well as making friends at church and home school activities everywhere we live. School is not the only way to meet people. Actually, school separates young people into age groups and is not natural. Our children actually have a wider range in their social life. They have many opportunities to relate to all age groups: babies, toddlers, young children, young adults, parents & adults, as well as older people. They are not separated out from the mix of people, but enjoy sharing activities and being with all kinds and ages of people. In school, young people almost exclusively have their friends from their own age group & grade. This just doesn’t promote good social skills. It rather promotes peer pressure (which usually has negative effects) and a lack of understanding of people from other age groups. A definite advantage of their “social life” is that they began relating to the adult world at an early age, desiring to be mature. They generally did not relate to the adolescent angst, but rather related to their parents, family, and church.