Once upon a time in the not too distant past, there was a home schooling family.
Pa worked, and Ma stayed at home, teaching their five children. They had begun their home school adventure much like many other families, merely bringing school home...
The WISDOM Family Magazine is a bi-monthly publication, free to WISDOM home schoolers and available for a small subscription fee to non-WISDOM families.
This great resource is full of information, inspiration and ideas. You will find encouraging and uplifting articles, curriculum reviews, success stories, and "how-to's" from homeschooling professionals and veterans.
“It’s not fair! I’m so lonely, and I’m stuck at home instead of in school!”
“I’m just curious to see if I could make it—if I could do the work, and fit in with the school kids.”
“High school is an important time to see how I fit in with the world!”
“How can I be a witness to others if I’m home schooled? You should let me go to school where I can help others.”
“You don’t know how I feel about this. It’s really important to me, and I know it’s what I should be doing—it’s what I want!”
Sound familiar?
A serious golfer, when his game starts going out of control, immediately reflects on the basics of the game and then focuses on himself and disciplines his mind, body and will in order to correct any bad habits that may be causing the downfall of his game. He may even ask help from a friend and make himself accountable to this person help him carry out a set plan for improving.
We live in hectic times, and Christians are not immune. When we realize our life is starting to get out of control, we should do no less than a serious golfer. We also should immediately go back to the basics of Christian living. Then we must take charge of our thinking, and exercise our will to change or break any bad habits, form good habits and limit our wants.
When a nun complained to Mother Teresa about not having enough time to care for all her patients, Mother Teresa responded by saying that means you must spend more time praying....
Homeschool Freedom (AND Fun) in the Summer
I must admit I love the freedom of home schooling at any time of the year, but home school freedom in the summer time is especially sweet.
After a long home school year of planning, home schooling and meeting our goals, I (and the girls) appreciated a break from academics during the summer months.
Many years, I had a Summer Binder and I would make a plan for each week. I made a list of activities I thought the kids would enjoy and spaced them out through the summer months.
Having activities listed on a calendar in my Summer Binder always made it easier for me to get things done. Sometimes we would do one activity a day – other times, there would be an activity for the morning and another one for the afternoon. I had family readalouds, nature walks, fun baking ideas, crafts, games, and more listed down. We never got all of them accomplished, but if I needed an idea, it was there. (And I reused it from year to year!)
A few years, we even had a Summer Fun Afternoon where we invited extra kids to join us for fun water games, a pinata, snacks and prizes one day. The kids LOVED that. (AND I almost always did childcare through the Summer!)
We also went swimming every summer weekday afternoon for two or three years AND hosted Japanese Exchange Students for four or five summers, too. (I loved hosting Japanese Students. We got a closer look into their culture and life, while they got a close look into Canadian culture and life. Some girls were easier to host than others, but it was always a great family extra to do in the summer times. *ALTHOUGH perhaps don’t go to Heritage Days before you know how to pronounce your Exchange Student’s last name…. We did find her! She got tired and sat down by the Playground.)
Life was very full for me, and I loved it, but perhaps that isn’t the kind of summer you (or your family) want or need. The great thing about Home School Freedom (AND freedom itself) is that each of us gets to choose what kind of summer we will have. Here are some ideas that you are free to use or not, as you wish!
Ken Noster Classical Education (click here to download - 53mb)
Ken Noster High School - A Basis for Advanced Education (click here to download - 65mb)
Ken Noster High School and Beyond - Chart your Course (click here to download - 37mb)
Session 1 (click here to download - 91mb)
Session 2 (click here to download - 52mb)
Session 3 (click here to download - 52mb)
Many students are thinking about the spring-times of their future careers, or summer jobs, or 'after school' jobs.
But with that thought comes anxiety: as a home school grad, what do I put on my resume and what do I say in a job interview? What will I say when they ask “do you have your high school diploma?” I have some ideas…
(Note: this article isn’t a comprehensive list of everything you should put in a resume or say at an interview, but simply a few ideas for you to consider and get you thinking).
Observations of a Large Adoptive Family
In May 2005, having an approved international home assessment in hand and seeking God about international adoption, we connected with a relief organization (WACSN: West African Children Support Network) working in Liberia, West Africa. Their work involves, among other things, finding homes and processing adoptions for abandoned/orphaned children living at the WACSN orphanage in Monrovia.
I would venture to say that most people have enough interest in robots that they would give a few moments of their time to allow themselves the amusement of watching robots in action. Beyond this, I have observed that fewer people actually have enough interest in robots to wrestle with how they work and to learn what their abilities and their limitations are. I think that there also exists a middle-ground camp of those who imagine that they might have an interest in robots but they are just not sure of ‘where to start’.