In the last year I have heard some interesting questions when I share with others that we homeschool. The one that is the highest on the list is, ‘What about socialization?’ This question is most often asked when they find out I have teens in my homeschool. If you were to talk to anyone in person about my children, you’ll know that my teens don’t have any issues with socializing. They talk to people everywhere we go. Often times they choose to be amidst the adults when we are fellowshipping with other families.

‘But what about socializing with other teens?’ In this world today there aren’t too many choices on safe teen circles. We need to be careful who our teens socialize with. I had a long conversation with my husband about this and here is what I said, ‘How do we expect our teens to become responsible, mature young people if they spend so much time with irresponsible, immature teens?’ Have you ever been just around the corner of a room where teens congregated alone without adult supervision and listen to what they talk about?

It’s rare to find a group of teens that speak in a mature manner and keep on a proper topic, but add a wise adult to the room who knows how to guide conversations and you’ll find teens who open up and talk about mature topics. We do all we can to surround our teens with adults who are like minded with us and who we can trust to be a good influence on our teens.

I have come to the point where I dislike the term, ’socialize’ and have come to embrace the terms ‘fellowship’ and ‘people skills’. Learning how to handle relationships is a practice that must be taught by the parent and having trusted friends can help enhance these skills in our teens lives.

Here are some ways you can get these people skills.

1. Volunteer- Find organizations in your community that you can participate in with your teen. In our community we have an animal shelter, soup kitchen, community clean ups, local drama theater, church, etc.

2. Create a community calendar for young people and their parents to participate in. You can use a yahoo group or Meet Up to create your group and make flyers. Places like the library will allow you to leave a stack there and the chamber of commerce may be able to assist you as well.

3. Community Sports- See if your community has a sports league or activity center that your family can get involved with. Volunteer to be the leader so you can be sure the group stays on track with the guidelines you require for participation.

4. Backyard Bible Club- Create a Backyard Bible Club and invite the neighborhood children to come over. Teach them Sunday School songs, teach them a mini-lesson, have crafts, and snacks. Some call it a 5-day club as well. You can find lots of information by just doing a search in your search engine. Train your teens to be the leaders and be there to assist them as needed.

5. Spend time with them yourself- You are their primary influence. If they grow up to be just like you what kind of adult will they be? Get involved in your community as well and be their example. We volunteered to be the community coordinator for Toys for Tots. This is a three month commitment for our family from October-December 24th. We work in the community together and meet a lot of very caring people. Toys for Tots and various organizations like them are always looking for volunteers to help. Find something you can do together as family and enjoy the time you’ll have before they grow up and become parents themselves.

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The NBA is preparing to hold their Draft Pick on June 26th in New York City. Many teen guys and their dads, even some girls and their mothers, place the Draft date on their calendars in the excitement of seeing who their favorite team will be choosing. The Coaches need to select players that can help meet the needs of the entire team. In Basketball they may need to draft a ’shooter’ like Sasha Vujacic for their offensive team so they can score points. On the other hand, the coaches may decide to strategically select a defensive player like Ronny Turiaf, who can prevent the other team from scoring points.

As parents, we have the responsibility of drafting in key players in our teens lives in order to help train them to be a balanced individual with skill, character, and academic excellence. These players are designed to support the morals and high standards that God would want our children to have. Each person in the lives of our children help to form them into the adult they will some day be. Our teens thoughts, opinions, and philosophies are formed in their minds and souls by the people they are around, the books and blogs that they read, and even the music they listen to.

If Sasha Vujacic choses to fill his body with unhealthy foods, never exercise, and spend time in the bars, he isn’t going to be much good to his team members. However, if he eats right, works out each day, and spends his time wisely studying the play book, he will be more equipped when it comes to game day. We can view the moves our opponent makes, but spending too much time studying their moves and not enough time studying our own plan, we can easily become distracted from the main objective. We can learn how not to play the game, but if we invested more time in the fundamentals of the game and work hard at improving our skills and memorizing that play book, then we’ll all end up being the best player we can be.

If I tried to be a Sprittibee or a Jacque Dixon, I’ll never be any better than second best. But I can be the best Sisterlisa I can be as I spend time in my own play book. Each homeschool family has a different set of needs, goals, and desires, so some of the strategies won’t be the same. Yet, as we use the same play book, we can learn the basic fundamentals needed to insure that each of our team members gets the best guidance in making decisions for their game day.

Here are the top 5 plays our family makes in our game.

1. Pray. In order to have an open relationship with the Lord, we need to talk to Him everyday. Schedule time to pray as individuals and as a family.

2. We read the Bible. Even children as young as 3 can read the Bible. Even if they can’t pronounce words yet, they can identify letters. Each child should have a Bible reading

schedule suited to their abilities.

3. Meet with other believers. It’s important to meet regularly with other believers who will support your values and your relationship with the Lord. Some people have good solid churches they can be a member of, while others may have a small country home church. Wherever you meet with fellow believers, be faithful and help to meet the needs of the entire team.

4. Share your faith. If you don’t have a church, you can still reach souls for Christ. Many Christian book stores have Gospel tracts that you can invest in and are very affordable. Hand them out to people you come in contact with each day. The cashier at the store, the bank teller, even mailing them in when you pay bills helps to reach a lost soul.

5. Apply what we know. It’s one thing to just become knowledgeable in a subject, but it’s a whole other ball of wax to be able to apply it. We know that we should read our Bible, so be sure to read it. We know that we should go to church, so be sure to go. We need to reach the lost, so reach out. Be sure that you spend time in communication with God, and He will give you His power to live each day as a vessel that will bring Glory the Most High God.

These are the basic fundamentals that each game player should not only know how to do, but is in practice using these fundamentals each and every day. Be wise when you seek players that help you to meet these needs in the lives of your team. Be sure you’re selecting the best in the draft!

One of the best things I have done for my children’s home education has been to incorporate their blogging into their curriculum. When I created Growing in Grace Magazine, I did not intentionally plan to use it as an opportunity for my daughters to get their education, but it has turned into a wonderful opportunity for them, as well as a fantastic experience. Through the magazine my daughters have learned grammar, how to research a topic, write a ‘paper’, maneuver through the internet, basic HTML, and so much more! Using the computer is such a valuable tool in a child’s education in today’s fast paced world of technology.

There are millions of websites that are helpful for educating children in such a fun way, that they don’t feel as though they’re doing ’school work’. For our family, I select a few topics that are educational and that would interest my children.

They get to choose one or more to work on and I set a deadline for them. They can use the internet, the library, and people they know and trust to help them in their research. (Such as interviewing people with experience in the specific area of the topic they chose.) My daughter, Moni, has

chosen to join the States Exploration project that is an ongoing site where homeschooled bloggers can participate in the study of their state.

She also enjoys learning about domestic animals as she has written her articles about Pet Care. Not only that, but she is learning how to write devotions for young people ages tween and up. Moni enjoys writing with the other devotion authors we have there at GGM. Jessica, also known as Lady Jess, has learned how to create the print version of our magazine, editing, grammar, articles on beauty, health, devotions, and history. Jess also works on the computer for her dad’s ministry by creating charts

and various other forms.

It’s also interesting that some of their devotions are related to science, health, and history. We have made a few blogs required reading for my girls. I chose other homeschool girl blogs that are my girls ages. Jess and Moni read Miss Amanda’s and Miss Jocelyn’s blogs as well as some others. Gina is required to read Miss Hannah and Lady Rachel’s. In addition to the girls blogs they read, they are required to read all the articles each month and all the dailies at Growing in Grace Magazine.

There are also some great free homeschool newsletters on the net that are valuable resources as well. I also found a Drawing Blog that will guide you through learning to draw. The site is run by a teen homeschool blogger named BreezyTulip.She guides you through what you will need, hoe to organize your tools and she is so talented herself. I’m always amazed when I find young ladies who are able to be so productive with their time, and turn around to teach others also.

I will continue to keep a list of different teaching blogs that I find that are geared for teens. If you are a homeschool teen and you have a teaching blog, let me know by replying below. You could be featured in an upcoming article here at the HSBA!

Blogging is a great way for the kids to use their blogs as a tool for their education. If you’d like to get your child started on a blog of their own, you can read through our Better Blogging articles here at the HSBA. If you have any questions at all, feel free to reply below and let us know. The HSBA writers are here to answer your questions. Always use wisdom when your children are on the internet.

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Photography is such a fun hobby and in our home we consider this digital visual art. We use a digital camera and spend a few days a week walking through our neighborhood and local parks taking advantage of the beautiful world God gave us. I used to make photo invitations and announcements for friends and family, but I kept running into the copyright law with some of my clients photographers. That’s when I decided it was time for me to learn on my own.

I found BetterPhoto.com and started reading through their message board to learn more about how to get my shots to look more professional. Then I became a bit more brave and decided it was time to attempt their free contest. I began uploading and entering one photo a day into their contest, which has several categories to choose from.

It was so encouraging to see people commenting on my photos! The support and encouragement from the other photographers was awesome. Some are professionals, others simply hobbyists having fun like I was. My daughter, Moni, became interested as well and we opened her an account so she could enter her work as well. We were both so excited when we both received several Editor’s Picks and even placed in the next round as Finalists.

When we began to homeschool, we incorporated photography into our ‘art studies’ and I saw Moni soar in her talent! We decided to open our own Homeschool Photography Club at BetterPhoto.com so that parents and children together can explore photography in a safe environment. We’d love to have you join us at Home School Photo, so come on by and open your free account at BetterPhoto.com and request to join us.

Now on to my Foto for this Friday, I took this shot last summer as we were enjoying a drive through the orchard neighborhoods just outside of town.

I used the standard setting on my digital camera with a flash at a distance and I was even sitting in the driver’s seat when I took this shot out the passenger window.

Tips:

-Read your camera’s owners manual. If you lost it you can try your camera brand’s website to see if it’s available online or call their 1-800 number to get one.

-Take shots of the same subjects in morning light and sunset light. For ex: a flower in your yard. You’ll get different effects from the different times of day.

Vocabulary:

Aperature: an opening, usually circular, that limits the quantity of light that can enter an optical instrument.

Focus: the position of a viewed object or the adjustment of an optical device necessary to produce a clear image.

Macro: excessively developed.

Fun Assignment:

Some cameras have a macro setting which is usually indicated by a small tulip or flower icon. When you use this setting you can focus in on an object and while the object becomes crisp, the background will be out of focus. Practice using this setting and use your zoom to come in and out on the object until you get your desired effect. Then try the same shot on your standard setting, without using macro or zoom. Compare your photos and you’ll see the difference.

We’d love to see what your findings so be sure and come back to let us know. You can post your assignment on your blog and bring us the link.

You can view some of our fun photos here:

Dawn

Sprittibee

Sisterlisa

Miss Amanda

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Growing in Grace Magazine is having a special contest for daughters age 18 and under to submit a small essay to say what makes their mother so special. This is a great opportunity for daughters to have a gift to give their mother for that special day. The prize package includes:

Some prizes are coming in and here is a sneek peek at what
C.S. Flowers is offering the winner! (U.S. Resident only)

Also we have an e-Book on menu planning that was donated by Graham Family Ministries.

We also have a lovely little goody basket full of stationary (note pad, scrapbooking stickers, shopping list pad, pink note cards, Mary Engelbreit Journal, and garden note cards), a $5 Starbuck’s gift card, a Semi-Precious Stone heart charm necklace with additional charms, AND that’s not all!

You’ll also get a KJV New Testament pocket Bible, and a fun book for mom, ‘Death of a Six Foot Teddy Bear’. A fun little book on Girlfriends ‘Moments of connection’

A Season’s Best Recipe cookbook from Pampered Chef.

Also you’ll get a Strawberry and a Cherry Lip Balm from Burt Bee’s, as well as their Mini Lotion kit.

Prize Package valued at approx. $100

This is a wonderful way to show your mom and the whole world how much your mother means to you. Please pass this news onto your friends and invite others to join us. Here are two graphics you may use:

BUT WAIT! There’s more! If you blog about this on your sites and send us the link to your entries, we’ll enter your name FOR EACH BLOG you post this on, into the drawing. So help spread the word for a greater chance to win!

Also, keep in mind that GGM accepts submissions from Christian girls. It’s a wonderful opportunity for a young homeschool girl to write for the Lord and learn about journalism as well. So come on by and enter for your chance to win!

Hi everyone! I hope you are doing well today and that you had a GREAT weekend! Our son, Timmy, had a T-ball game on Saturday and we had such a great time! When we signed Timmy up for T-ball, Scott was just thinking about being an assistant coach. However, what happened was that the league asked my husband to be the team’s manager and head coach! Well you can just imagine after having three girls and FINALLY getting a boy, how exciting this is for us to be involved in a sport with our son.

We have such a GREAT team of parents and their boys are just so much fun to watch play ball. In T-ball it doesn’t matter who hits best, runs fastest, or who had the best season last year. In fact, these boys have very little idea of what to do in baseball and it’s so comical to see half the team run after the ball as it’s hit into the outfield. The greatest thing is when the little batter smacks that ball then runs to third base instead of first! These little guys have so much zeal and team spirit and have such fantastic sportsmanship!

In the professional sports arena the league has a Draft at the beginning of the year in which they select their ‘picks’ to join their team for the new season. These draft picks come from colleges across the nation. The coaches want the hardest working, most dedicated, and most talented player for their team. The coaches are also now beginning to see the benefit of a high moral character in the players they are drafting. They don’t want players that all run after the ball hit to the outfield or a player who runs to third base instead of first base. They also don’t want players who, off the field, make poor life decisions that affect not only their future, but the future of the team. They want the best of the best! Coaches want players who know the game, strive to achieve their goal, who have the dedication to better his performance on the field, and remain loyal to the values that were taught to them as a child. That’s what I think about when I come to the HSBA! I’m a homeschooling mom and I’m looking for the best of the best in homeschool blogs! I want to learn how to be a better teacher and find encouragement along the way.

I’ve been to many homeschool blogs and various other homeschool sites and one thing lacking is the content on homeschool sports. Last night I was up late searching for keywords such as, “blogs, homeschool, sports”. Although I didn’t find a lot of blogs with sports featured, I did find many sports sites for various teams such as football, baseball, and cheerleading!

“Scott, I can sense that God is revealing to me the importance of sports in homeschooling today and what God’s Word says about team spirit. Can you please share with us what you think about sports, homeschooling, and how the Bible applies to all this?”

“Yes, Lisa, I’d be honored to.”

In my prayer time, leading up to the writing of this article, I have come to several conclusions and I would like to share those with you now.

1. In my reading of the Bible I don’t recall any stories or teachings where it talks about the children being sent away to school. This tells me that the parents taught their children at home. (Deuteronomy 6:6-7and Luke 2:52) This is not limited to facts and figures. I believe this encompassed many facets of training and education which include:

• Academic - (Daniel 1:4) Bible, reading, writing, arithmetic, history, science, physical education, etc…
• Vocational training - (Psalm 104:23, and Proverbs 14:23) Such as carpentry, farming, blacksmith, metal fabrication, soldiering, marketing, etc…
• Vocational training - (Proverbs 31:10-31) Cooking, sewing, home keeping, budgeting, child care, shopping, etc…
• Life Skills - (Psalm 1:1-6) Decision making, finances, community involvement, public relations, etc…
• Spirituality - (Mark 12:30-31) Salvation, baptism, prayer, Bible reading, church attendance and fellowship, reaching the lost.

(*Note - This does not include areas of secondary education where an individual may choose to further advance or build upon that which they have already been taught. Such as supplemental educational or vocational opportunities.)

2. The traditional home had the men working outside of the home and the women as the keepers of the home. This promoted home education and the true definition of Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”

3. The spirit of competition in a godly application leads to dedicated individuals performing together as an efficient team, thus the Body of Christ. (1 Corinthians 12:13-14) This modern day example is that of a sports team working together, each individual counting on the other to perform their responsibility at a level that would help the team accomplish it’s goal.

In the future we will be featuring a variety of biblical examples to help further convict, inspire, and educate us regarding homeschooling. Also, we will be sharing some examples of inspirational homeschoolers, and homeschooling parents that will bring encouragement to you as you learn how they have made educating their children a priority and incorporated the fun of extra curricular activities into their lives.

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