Christian Home School Hub all News Posts

Hands of a Child Has Partnered with H.O.P.E Home School Consulting

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 21:07:35 GMT

Hands of a Child Has Partnered with H.O.P.E Home School Consulting

Great News!Â Â Hands of a ChildÂ has partnered with H.O.P.E Home School Consulting.Â Hands of a Child is theÂ firstÂ company to offer lapbooking.Â In addition, the company is the worldwide leader in offering unit studies in a lapbooking and notebooking format.Â Katie Kubesh, Niki McNeil, and Kimm Bellotto are the owners of Hands of a Child.Â These women recently celebrated their companyâ€™s tenth anniversary. Â Read moreÂ here.

Blessings,

H.O.P.E Home School Consulting

SEE THE LIGHT Has Partnered with H.O.P.E. Home School Consulting

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 22:17:59 GMT

By Angie McFarren, Homeschool Consultant

SEE THE LIGHT Has Partnered with

H.O.P.E. Home School Consulting

Have you heard the good news?Â I am so excited to announce SEE THE LIGHT has partnered with H.O.P.E. Home School Consulting.Â SEE THE LIGHT is the foremost company bringing wholesome art instruction into the homeschool.Â It is an honor to work alongside this company because SEE THE LIGHT provides more than quality art courses.Â The artists share the Good News while teaching children art. Â Read moreÂ here.

Blessings,

H.O.P.E. Home School Consulting

Contains an affiliate link.

BJU Press Online Distance Learning Sale

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 14:52:18 GMT

BJU Press Distance Learning Sale

$99 per individual Online class

video content only

Sale ends January 25, 2013

access within 2 weeks of purchase and will end December 31, 2013

TE are on pdf file

Student books sold separately

Monitored blogging privileges for students...optional feature

enrollment form needed

Contact me for more information and ask about FREE SHIPPING!

Mandy Breeden - HomeWorks Consultant

BJU Press, Rosetta Stone, Logos Science, Bridgeway Academy & Learning Labs

207-655-3418 FREE SHIPPING grbreeden@pivot.net

Sign up for personal sale alerts

Beginning of another year....

Wed, 5 Sep 2012 07:19:35 GMT

Welcome to our official and exclusive snapshots from today: Kicking off 2012-2013.

Today we opened supplies, that somehow managed to escape the 'going through everything' day.

I didn't get to many photos due to theÂ ~~chaos~~Â excitement. Â Notice my area of the table. Â All my notes, thoughts and plans. Â Sometimes things just look better and go smoother in my head. Â Then there's the reality check.Â PlanÂ again, ExplainÂ again, Re-AdjustÂ again...Â weÂ I made it through the day. Â Tomorrow we start r.o.u.t.i.n.e.Â again. Â For that I am thankful. Â I wouldn't change a thing.

It's Not About Your Union – It's About Our Kids!

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 08:08:29 GMT

It's Not About Your Union - It's About Our Kids!

Parents at Desert Trails Elementary School in Adelanto mutiny against what they see as gross negligence. Evoking the "Trigger Law," they attempt to take over a school where "Just 31 percent of third-graders are proficient in reading and 14 percent score in the lowest level, "far below basic," in the state testing." Unfortunately, these determined parents are discovering why many consider the teachers' union to be the most powerful organization in this country. What should have been a slam dunk victory for the parents and students is now an all out battle that will likely end up in the courts.

I find this story interesting for three reasons.

Reason 1:

These parents are inspiring. They have stepped up to the plate and are fighting to take the reins of their children's education back into their own hands. Not having the time to home school, nor the money for private school, or the luck for a charter school, these courageous parents were forced to face down the behemoth NEA and to demand the unthinkable - that the schools actually teach children something!

Reason 2:

Low income minority parents are the favored whipping-boy of the NEA. When schools fail to meet even the most basic standards they quickly blame the low-income-minority status of their students. It is simply assumed that low-income-minority parents just don't care and so their children are impossible to teach. "These children have bad role models, they come from poor families, and their parents do drugs...therefore we teachers can't really be held accountable for their academic failures," the union complains. It is almost as if these students are destined to fail and so it is excusable when they do. Well, the unions can't have their cake and eat it too. Either the poor minority students can't be educated and therefore school is a waste of funding, or poor minority students can be educated and therefore the school is wasting our funding because they are failing to teach them. Either way, schools that can't educate for whatever reason should be permanently closed - whether the teachers have tenure or not.

That said, while poor income families may be harder to educate for a variety of reasons, clearly these parents do care. They care so much that they have been fighting the school system for nearly two years. In this case, it is the "Union" that doesn't care about the children, not the poor-minority parents.

Reason 3:

Click hereÂ to read more...

Bill Maher Mocks Christian Homeschoolers

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 08:34:24 GMT

(Warning: Bill Maher has a foul mouth. This video follows with exact commentary, including some vulgarity. If we could bleep it we would.)
Â

Click here to watch theÂ video

"BILL MAHER: But I bring up the old tale of the poisoned apple -- no, not "Snow White," that's a fairy tale - because the Adam and Eve story is taken literally by half the country and it's no coincidence that the type of tree which god forbade Adam and Eve eating from was the Tree of Knowledge. Rick Santorum homeschools his children because he does not want them eating that f--king apple. He wants them locked up in the Christian madrassa that is the family living room not out in public where they could be infected by the virus of reason. If you're a kid and the only adults you've ever met are mom and dad, and then they're also the smartest adults you've met, why not keep it that way? Why mess up paradise with a lot knowledge? After all, a mind is a terrible thing to open."

Bill Maher is a comedian, a jester, a dancing monkey. I wish he would do a trick, make us all laugh, and stop pretending that his opinions actually matter. Perhaps Bill should have been homeschooled - he might have amounted to more than an annoying entertainer.

It is very hard to take anything Bill says seriously. That is why I debated responding to his ranting at all. However, I do feel that there is a growing hostility in this country toward homeschoolers, especially those that dare to self-educate for religious reasons, and that is why I am responding to Bill - the rude entertainer.

Bill and other homeschooling critics love to paint a picture of poor abused children locked away from outside influences. These poor children are the victims of their ignorant parents' selfish desire to shelter them from "knowledge and reason," Bill says. Well Bill, if that is the desire of homeschooling parents, why do homeschoolers score nearly 40 percentile points higher on standardized tests used to measure "knowledge and reasoning skills" than their secularly-educated counterparts? Of course, no one in Bill's audience thought to question his dogma because they are good at laughing - not thinking.

According to Bill, the most despicable trait among homeschooling families is their illegitimate desire to include Biblical teachings in their lessons. Brilliant comedians, like Bill Maher, have long since disproven the existence of God - to teach otherwise is pure ignorance. Thanks Bill, for unraveling the mysteries of the universe and enlightening the rest of us.

On a more serious note, we should be forewarned. This is not an isolated assault on homeschoolers, but the symptom of an increasing intolerance for Christians. To some people, like Comedian Bill Maher, our faith alone is enough to discredit us as parents and educators. Whether we choose homeschooling, private schooling, or public schooling, we as loving parents must stand with the homeschoolers. We all have a fundamental right to raise our children according to our deeply held beliefs.

If you enjoyed this post click here to learn more

First Homeschool Grad. Ethan Johnson May 2011

Sat, 21 May 2011 04:54:59 GMT

Ethan is The first Johnson Homeschool to graduate. May ,14, 2011. We use Charity Christian Academy, and for the last yearÂ weÂ used Â online courses through Charity Christian Academy. We are so proud of you, Ethan!!

thatmom ~ real encouragement for real homeschooling moms

Wed, 13 Apr 2011 17:42:00 GMT

Hello!Â I am a Christian homeschooling mom of six chidren, 1 daughter and 5 sons, Â and 12 grandchildren who desires to encourage moms in their homeschooling journey.Â I also love public speaking and have combined these two interests into offering free podcasts for homeschooling moms!Â So far there are 163 available to listen to from my website at

www.thatmom.com

or as free downloads on i-Tunes: (http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/thatmom/id270641018)

Currently I have just completed a series called The Blessing of Raising Sons and this week's podcast is about the joy of having adult sons and the privilege of reaping the benefits of all the years of relationship building.Â Please come and listen:

http://www.thatmom.com/2011/04/13/april-12-podcast-2/

I love to encourage what I call Relationship Homeschooling, which has 5 basic tenets:

1. A relationship homeschooler embraces two great commandments: Loving the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and loving your neighbor as yourself. She believes that upon these two commands hang all the law and the prophets.

2. A relationship homeschooler knows that these commands are fulfilled as the â€œone anothersâ€ of Scripture are put into practice in their homes, churches, and communities. She values her husband and her children as precious brothers and sisters in Christ, understanding that those are the relationships that will be carried with her into eternity.

3. A relationship homeschooler seeks to be obedient to the Word of God, thus becoming a living example to her children. She believes that Jesus Christ alone is her Savior and desires to live in the truth of that fact, trusting only in His mercy and grace for her salvation.

4. A relationship homeschooler trusts that a sovereign God is working not only in her own life but in the lives of her children, calling each of them into a relationship with Jesus Christ and is giving each of them an individual calling in which to use their own gifts. To that end, a relationship homeschooler seeks to help her children identify and use those gifts for Godâ€™s glory alone.

5. A relationship homeschooler sees her own household as the beginning point in fulfilling the great commandments but certainly not the end in itself. She joyfully recognizes that loving her neighbor means loving all of those in need and seeks to imprint that vital truth in the lives of her children as they work together to apply all the relationship principles to the ends of the earth.

too religious to homeschool

Thu, 27 Jan 2011 22:08:40 GMT

Read this on Fox News and googled it and find it completely ridiculous to order a child to public school because she "has taken on her mom's religious beliefs" . Even if this began from a custody battle I find the reasoning to order her to public school ridiculous and freightening !

http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=108084

The Place of Educational Video in Homeschooling

Tue, 12 Oct 2010 14:18:11 GMT

Educational Video - A Thorn in the Side ...or The Jewel in the Crown

I was asked a couple of days ago to comment on the following statement “…..you know, in the US, there is quite a bit of controversy over K-12 among homeschoolers …..many see it as taking away the parents teaching of the children and relegating it to videos”.

In this article I want to address the issue of using online educational video in homeschooling.

I find it a little hard to believe that if we sit down and think about it for a moment that anyone could reasonably suggest that “using video is taking away the parents teaching of their children” any more using a textbook might.

Using video to teach your child as a homeschooler is certainly no different to using a textbook in that it is simply a format in which to deliver the core information, or the facts!

However video is a format that has distinctive silver lining.

Firstly the textbook only offers the child one solitary option. It must be read. And if you then have a child that does not like reading, and on top of that they do not find the topic particularly interesting, then it can be a recipe for disaster.

Video however provides the child with 2 choices. And if you use subtitled video, as we do, then it provides the child with 3 choices. They can watch, listen or read. Every child absorbs and processes information in the manner that best suits them, and their abilities. So it is important to provide the child with the choices so that when we hope or expect them to absorb and process certain information, we give them the benefit of a flying start.

At the same time though video offers a much more dynamic means to deliver information, and as a result it rapidly captures the child’s attention and maintains their interest for a longer period of time. And guess what? It also introduces an element of fun at the same time. You make learning fun and watch the child’s motivation increase. That’s precisely why the most effective form of learning comes about when the child enjoys and is interested in the topic. I suspect this is exactly why few of us adults retire to bed early in the evening with a dictionary to relax! Hard work or what?

Another important aspect to video is that unlike a textbook it provides stop, start and rewind buttons. In other words, we are providing a form of information delivery that enables children to learn at their own speed. And by providing a child with the means to learn at their own speed it enables each child to achieve their greatest potential.

The next important piece of the puzzle again involves choice. Without exception each child has different talents, skills, AND interests. At Zane Education we provide a library of more than 250 topics across 12 different subjects and in doing so we hope that parents will use what is on offer, to allow the if child to explore what is on offer. Allow them the chance to explore and discover, and don’t be surprised if they start showing a particular interest in a Biology topic to do with animals, or a part of world history dealing with the French Revolution, or a how a symphony orchestra is constituted and manages to play together.

Most of us homeschool because we are concerned about other people wanting to fit our children into ‘their boxes’. At the same time we need to be wary that we as concerned parents are not trying to fit our children into ‘our own boxes’. We are talking about and dealing with young fertile minds all of which have the ability, in one form or another, to make their own dreams come true. So should we feed, or should we provide?

The most effective learning comes about when a person, child or adult, has a subject that interests them, and that subject is delivered in a manner that attracts and maintains their attention!

And so by using online video as part of your homeschool program are you allowing the teaching of your children to be taken away? No of course no! No more than if you take your hands of the wheel of your car on the highway and then expect it to drive itself.

The video is simply a far more dynamic and effective tool than a textbook, but is still requires the same individual interaction with a “teacher” for it to be used to procure the best result. It is one greatly improved ingredient to be used in the baking of the cake.

At the end of the day, the best comparison I can use as a homeschool parent of two children myself, is that it is somewhat like being asked to dig a hole in your back yard. What would you choose …a shovel or a spoon? And if the cost of the shovel is significantly cheaper than 10 spoons ….well you can decide the rest.

FOOTNOTE: For those of you parents that have reached the end of this article and want to discuss the importance of reading. I cannot argue! And that is precisely why we provide subtitled video …. it is used by a growing number of our parents in place of specialized more expensive reading programs to actual improve their child’s reading skills. If you want to know more about that then please contact me or alternatively research the Availll Institute whose 5-year research revealed the link between the use of subtitled video and improved reading skills. Otherwise it is the subject of one of my next blog articles.

Reading Glasses

Thu, 30 Sep 2010 16:54:55 GMT

I haven't stopped in here for awhile.

We just moved from WA state to OK.

The past two months have been crazy busy settling in....finding books, notebook paper ect..ect....

The boys just got reading glasses and thought this was the perfect post to kick off a hello to the new school

year to you all. We are loving being in OK and have settled in to a wonderful homeschool group.

We have much to share with you and look forward to seeing you all again on the boards.

~Melanie

The boys are in 5th and 6th grade this year.

Both have reading glasses now! Don't they look so old!

Gosh how the time just goes by.......

I Can Do It, Too!

Fri, 17 Sep 2010 18:31:49 GMT

I Can Do It, Too!

Posted on September 17, 2010 by quaintscribbles

Eragon; The Seer; Little Women; Ironheart; Nim’s Island; The Railway Children; The Lost Da Vincis; Surviving the Applewhites; Gunrunner Moon; Heartsongs; All Mixed Up!; The Lion, The Witch and, The Wardrobe; Peter Rabbit tales; Jess (An American Girl Today); Baby Kong…What do these books all have in common? They are all written by homeschoolers or pertain to homeschooling specifically. Surprised? Homeschooling is not new, nor a surprise, however, the idea of homeschool literature is a new thought for many. How many times have you heard your child say, “Why do I have to learn this?” Showing your student books written by other home educated children or books that explore the life of homeschooled kids may encourage them to see the endless possibilities given them. It might open their eyes to the potential hidden inside of them. It might create excitement to begin a novel of their own! How great would that be?

My daughter loves Eragon! When I told her a homeschool student wrote the book, she became very excited and decided she too could write a novel. I couldn’t have instilled that burning desire in her if I wanted. She came to that decision all because another home educated kid was able to do it, so by golly, she would be able to do it, too! She set off to write her first story right away. I must say I am impressed by her diligence, and the quality of her story. She hasn’t finished the novel yet, but she does work on it off and on. I am thrilled she wants to explore something that I didn’t have to push or prod to get started.

Try incorporating books by homeschoolers or books about homeschoolers in your lessons. It can’t hurt. Leave me a note about how your child is impacted by these type books. I look forward to hearing from you and perhaps your future novelist.

http://quaintscribbles.wordpress.com/

Calling all Christian unschoolers!

Thu, 1 Jul 2010 06:24:25 GMT

I've just created a LINKY page for those Christian unschoolers who blog to hook up. Please visit http://www.sparklingadventures.com/index.php?id=985 and add your URL then grab the button.

Homeschool Family chosen to test Microsoft Office 2010

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 13:52:22 GMT

Meet the McKinneys!

Recently, the McKinney family was chosen to take part in the beta testing for Microsoft Office 2010. Being a homeschooler myself, I ask Angelene a few questions about the experience. Here is our exchange:

How was your family chosen to participate? How did Microsoft even know about your family?
My husband, Matt, works in the IT field and had a friend who mentioned that Microsoft was looking for beta testers for Office 2010. We thought it sounded interesting so we applied. There was a phone interview with Matt and then we waited to see if we would be chosen. I think they were intrigued by the homeschool angle-a different demographic for them. They sent us a laptop last July and we attended interactive monthly webcasts that demonstrated how to use features.

Did you use MO2010 in your homeschooling before the trial?
I had not used MO2010 much at all in my homeschooling prior to the beta testing. I would use my computer to check email, print out forms, search for info, etc. I occasionally would use word for a flyer for church and I had attempted one powerpoint presentation.

What did you like most about using MO2010 in homeschooling? How did you actually use the product 'in the trenches' of homeschooling? Why should a homeschooling family not familiar with using MO 'in the trenches' now, consider it? (Continue Reading....)

HOMESCHOOL FOOTBALL & CHEERLEADING

Sun, 13 Jun 2010 16:17:19 GMT

The Northside Christian Lions is a competitive football team for boys that are home school students,attend a private school that does not have a football program . This team is for young men ages 13 to 18 FOR MORE INFO CALL 770-374-7912 OR GO TO nca4hope.com

Spellquizzer Giveaway!

Wed, 9 Jun 2010 22:46:55 GMT

I recently reviewed Spellquizzer. As a thank-you, SpellQuizzer donated a lifetime license to one lucky winner. To enter the contest, click here!

Homeschool Supply Giveaway

Mon, 24 May 2010 16:59:16 GMT

I have the privilege of giving you the opportunity to win a prize package worth $40 from Really Good Stuff.

Here is a list of what is being offered in this giveaway:

Compound Words Matchup

Bananagrams Word Game

Venn Diagram Poster

Tug of War: Multiplication

1 set- Building Blocks of Character Pencils

2- Capture the Adventure Journals

2- Really Good Reading Strategy Bookmarks

To enter simply leave a comment on this post at Life Nurturing Education sharing your favorite school supplies. Contest is open until Friday, May 28th at 11:00p.m. (MST). Shipping to the continental U.S. only.