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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I just love taking my camera with me and snapping shots of our children. I have a collection of photos that I feel are notalgic, as they do not show their faces, but rather the backside of them during their activities. The reason I like to take shots like this is because it makes me wonder what they are thinking. For example here is my son standing in front of a lake with his bug catcher in hand.

To a mom we would just see this tiny lake, almost small enough to be called a pond, yet in his mind it’s a vast sea of adventure. He was on the hunt for insects and what do you think he was thinking as he paused to look around?

Here is another photo that I love. This one is of Timmy and my nephew Aaron. Aaron had gotten a new Hummer and he wanted to take Timmy for a little ride. We didn’t have an extra helmet, but they were driving on a level patch of grass in my mom’s yard and we had four adults with them. But the shot just brings my mind back to that adventurous afternoon as the tow ‘guys’ got to go for a ride.

In some of these black and white photos you can’t see the border, but in my Paint Shop Pro I added a 4pt white border around these photos and it makes them look like the old time snap shots of yesteryear. I added a drop shadow to this one so you can see what I’m talking about. This shot was of my son as he was walking across a bridge. He was letting his fingers hit each bar as he slowly strolled along. None of us taught him to do this, but I recall doing the same thing when I was a little girl.

I received an Editor’s Pick award on that shot of Timmy on the bridge, at BetterPhoto.com

This next shot was of Timmy and Aaron again at the baseball field. My husband was playing ball and the boys stood at the fence watching the action. As you can see from these images, that there’s something unique about this kind of shot.

Here is the last one I wanted to share with you. This was last year at Upper Bidwell Park in Northern California. Bidwell Park is a historical and famous park. The film, ‘Robinhood‘ with Errol Flynn was filmed there, as well as many other films. It’s park is gorgeous! I know the view from where he stands. He is looking upstream and as far as you can see is water and lush green brush and trees. The birds fly through without noticing that humans are there. Many times you come to a park and the birds and animals flee, but in Bidwell Park it’s as if you’re apart of their world. Knowing this experience myself makes this picture so nostalgic to me. Again, I see the picture and it’s up to my imagination to wonder what he’s thinking and experiencing that moment,

Do you have photos that ‘take you back’ and make your imagination soar? Dawn has one on a path at her PhotoBlog. Dawn also shares how she used her program to create a vintage look to her photos.

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Can you believe it’s June 2nd?! I certainly can’t. It seems like days just flying by, especially in the spring and summer when you’re getting ready and taking vacations. You finish up the textbooks with the kids and get ready to learn with everyday moments…. vacations are an excellent way to incorporate history when traveling.

When you’re planning your vacation check and see if there are any landmarks or famous places you can visit and learn about. An excellent way to do this is by using MapQuest. You can locate the place you want to visit when traveling through and add it right into your driving directions. Finding the best route and the best time.

If you’re planning on doing the above or not, it’s always a good idea to put together a little kit for the kids. Just a little something to put their stuff in the car for the drive. A few years ago when my sister and I went with my dad to New Mexico mom had us take a little notebook to journal all we did in.

Here’s a basic Vacation Destination kit:

- a small plastic container with lid or a backpack

- a small journaling notebook (to write down their thoughts about things they saw, historical places you may visit, places to remember)

- a reading book or colouring book w/crayons or sketchpad

- a cup w/ lid or water bottle

- a small bag of crackers, animal crackers, or pretzels (maybe an apple too)

There’s no need for those little TVs you can stick on the back of the seats or sing-along tapes. Let the kids entertain themselves with their creativity, imagination, and curiosity. Let them enjoy the ride and learn through everyday moments.

Make sure to take the camera and capture all your memories of learning and the places you visit! So have any vacation destinations? What do you planning on doing on your trip to incorporate learning? I’m interested in hearing them.

Carnivals:

Hosted June 3 at Tami’s Blog.

Check it out for great articles on homeschooling in family and education.

June 2nd hosted by Abi at Lighter Side.

A place to find great articles about life on the homestead…. Recipes, gardening, barn animals, home-making, outdoors, homestead tips, and MORE! Won’t you join us?

Giveaways & Contests:

Enter here to win a 100% organic baby tee or creeper from Pondur. Just leave a comment and add icon to your site to enter! The giveaway will end at midnight on Friday, June 6th 2008.

While we were on vacation this month, we spent some time working on Aunt Susan’s patio garden. Some asked me how it came out so I thought I’d share the pictures during my Foto Friday. Aunt Susan lives on a small lake and her living room sliding glass door opens to see a view of the lake. She has two areas to have flowers in, as you see below.

She had chosen this old chest of drawers from a yard sale to use just for displaying flowers in her yard. She liked the vintage look of the dresser and had it sealed to protect from water. She likes that the paint has peeled back giving it that older look. My father-in-law, who my children adoringly call Poppop, drilled holes in the bottom of plastic boxes and placed them into the drawers. These serve as the pots for these tiny gardens.

For the hot dry climate in their city, we had to purchase plants that can resist the heat and withstand not being watered every day. The most ideal choice is cacti. However, Aunt Susan likes a nice cactus, she doesn’t prefer to have ALL cacti, so we found some various flowering succulents as well.

As you can see it was a bright sunny day and no flash was needed while taking these pictures. While these photos aren’t the kind I would submit to a contest, I do enjoy the colors seen in these snapshots. The brilliant blue of the lake is quite stunning. We did have some cloudy mornings while we were there and I noticed that those mornings would not have been good for photographs of the lake. The water reflects what is in the sky. When you are taking pictures with water in the shot, you’ll get a much better photograph is the sky is blue or even during a sunset when the colorful glow of the sun setting casts hues of pinks and oranges on the waters surface.

Although this shot wasn’t taken by me, we can thank sxc.hu for this free image. You can see how the reflection of the sunrise creates a beautiful reflection in the water. Sometimes photographers will rise early in the morning to catch a shot like this. The wise photographer will take hundreds of shots during 5 to 10 minutes of the sun rising or setting.

You’d be amazed at how different and unique each shot is. Even making a water reflection photo into black & white has a special attraction, as you see here. (photo features Lady Jess and Master Timothy) Do you have any photos of reflections from a body of water that you’d like to share? Please leave a link to a post from your own blog so we may enjoy the photos with you. :O)

When people hear I am the mom of a large, military, home-schooling family they often assume our house either, 1. runs like boot camp or 2. exists in total chaos. I assume their perception depends on if they focus on the word “large” or on the word “military”.

By nature I am by nature a perfectionist. I created and followed brilliant, color-coded, MOTH-like (Managers of Their Homes) schedules and chore charts before MOTH was published. I am a RECOVERING Perfectionist.

I love my lists, schedules and charts. What caused me to curb my scheduling impulses? One day I heard myself actually say, “If you would all just sit there naked on the couch and not eat anything for a day, I could stay on schedule.” ::blush::

I was making my children neurotic with my need to organize and plan. Everything had to be in its place; everyone had to STICK TO THE SCHEDULE. I would chase around after them, pick up dishes before they were finished, and move newspapers when they got up to get a new glass of milk. When a child was slow to pick up a school concept, my gut would twist with anxiety because we were “off the schedule”. The problem was NOT the chart; the problem was my personality and my “get it all done on schedule” focus.

I desperately needed to add mercy and grace to my schedules and plans. I had to relax my standard. I no longer aim for perfection - excellence will do. In some seasons of our life, I loosely define “excellence”.

While I personally love schedules, I find that with our lifestyle and various personalities (read: busy chaplain’s family where mom is often pregnant or up all night with a little one, homeschooling with toddlers and preschoolers), it is better for us to focus on ROUTINE rather than a strict schedule. With a schedule, I find myself stressed when we are “behind”; with a routine, we are always right where we need to be. With a schedule, I often miss times of interaction, play, and truly teachable moments because I am rushing to reach point X before the timer goes off; with a routine, I am at ease to match our pace to our current needs. Routine allows me to I listen more for His still, small voice.

In our home, we each have well-defined routines. Some of us are structure-lovers, and we begin the routine at the same time every day and progress through it in a very methodical and orderly fashion. Others are more relaxed in the routine.

There are still times when color-coded charts enticingly attempt to seduce me. About two years ago, I actually ordered Managers of Their Homes and breathed in the charts, color-coded…be still my racing heart. I took the matter to prayer and was called to adjust my ROUTINE, rather than implement a new schedule. I lovingly blessed another with MOTH. A great tool, by the way….just not for us.

It’s my strong conviction that each Mom needs to go to God with her responsibilities and frustrations to see what creative solutions He drops into her heart. God has gently showed me that in the past my trust and dependence shifted from Him to MY SCHEDULE. My personality feels secure, purposeful, and productive with lists, charts, and schedules. Instead, God invites me to seek His heart daily and to walk by the revelation and in the strength of His spirit for that day. These really have been the key to our style of schooling. For these reasons, I hesitate to share our exact routine.

I realize that God can use others’ concrete ideas to speak to us, and so, I’ll share a few tips I’ve gleaned on my journey. Please, do not try to imitate ME – seek His heart, and implement His plan for your family. Pray about each item in your routine or on your schedule. I ruthlessly trim outside opportunities and ministries in order to give us TIME and flexibility to change plans as He directs. If you add something to your schedule for next year, force yourself to subtract something of equal time from your current schedule. This can be painful. We look for opportunities with firm begin and end dates. For example, eight weeks of drama or nine weeks of Co-op sports. In this way, if we find something is not right for us, we aren’t committed to a full year.

I was invited to share our family schedule for a handout that was given to new homeschoolers. I share that here if you like nuts and bolts.

If you can implement schedules without being consumed by them, they are probably for you. If, like me, you are a recovering perfectionist, you may be surprised what God will teach you if you live life without a strict schedule. It’s been exhilarating for me. My children rejoice that they are no longer hungry and starving on the couch, in a picture perfect home, with an efficiency expert standing over them with charts and stopwatches. I had a moment of great glee when I heard someone describe me recently as the “queen of hands on homeschooling” and a “spontaneous type”. YES! That’s grace!

In closing, these words of Nichole Nordeman’s song, Legacy, sweetly remind me of the legacy I’m striving to build in this season of my life.

…I want to leave a legacy
How will they remember me?
Did I choose to love?
Did I point to You enough?
To make a mark on things
I want to leave an offering
A child of mercy and grace
Who blessed Your name unapologetically
And leave that kind of legacy…

My dearest sister, Jocelyn, HAPPY 17TH BIRTHDAY, DEARY! I hope you have the most terrific day ever. I hope your *real* birthday party is over and beyond what you expect! You are THE best and most wonderful in my life. Every time I am starting down a road I shouldn’t be going, you are there to point me back to the right road. You are my guardian angel and I THANK GOD for you everyday.
I know that you really didn’t want a blog party and I know you probably know about this, but here is my party for my AWESOMELY amazing, Wonderful English-speaking 17yo sister!

On this May 9 in the year 2008, I hope you have the SUPER-est, Awesome-est, Lovely-est, and Spectacular-est party EVER!

Your party is in an elegant English hall especially open for your party, so have a seat at the head of the table, the honored guest’s place, here:

There are so many parties to visit, so I won’t keep you here long.
Here is your cake. I hope you enjoy it. It looks a whole lot better than the cake that I am going to make for you. I thought this cake was purdy awesome!

There is so much I wanted to get you for your birthday: stationary, clothing, Medieval dresses, friends coming out to visit. Anything you need or want, I wish I could get you. I hope that what I do get you love. There is so many surprises for your birthday that I can’t wait for you to see!

I love you, Jocelyn, and I hope you never forget this birthday! Now you thought a lot of people weren’t coming to your party, didn’t you? Well look at all the below parties that are being hosted for you!

Love, Amanda

The Daily Planet

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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Our interview today is with Phil Corless.  I think you will enjoy reading his answers.  It is not everyday we meet a homeschooling DAD!

1.) Tell us a little about yourself.  I see from your blog that you are a homeschooling dad!   How long have you been homeschooling?  What led your family to this path?

I’ve been a stay-at-home dad for ten years now, since the birth of my son.  I also have a 6-year-old daughter.  From the very beginning, I knew that I wanted something better for my kids, in terms of education.

My son attended public school from kindergarten through second grade.  He had one okay teacher, one great teacher, and one bad teacher.  It was during his second grade year that I started to see how bored he was.  Also, when I volunteered in the classroom I saw with my own eyes how oblivious the teacher was to the needs of most of her students.  I thought, “I can do better than this at home.”

We had some friends who were homeschooling, so we decided to try it out.  The first year was tough, and a real adjustment, but overall it was a huge success.  My son fell in love with learning.

My daughter went to public school for kindergarten and first grade, but we will bring her home starting next school year.  She wanted to go to school like her brother did, but now she’s getting excited about being at home and all the freedom and flexibility that goes along with that.

2.) I personally see a lot more homeschooling moms blogging than dads so I am excited to learn more from you. As a homeschooling dad, what role do you take?  Is it very active or more supportive of your wife?

I am the primary teacher, since I’m the one at home.  On my wife’s days off, she’ll do the occasional music or art lesson but, for the sake of continuity, she lets me teach the lessons.  Also, on her days off I just want her to relax and focus on her interests and hobbies.  Besides teaching my son, I basically do everything else around the house:  cleaning, decluttering, grocery shopping, laundry, cat litter box, yard work, bills, cooking.  Yes, I’m overwhelmed.  Who isn’t?

3.) What initially drew you to blogging?  Can you tell us how you chose the title “A Family Runs Through”?

I don’t remember exactly what caused me to start my own blog.  Perhaps my need for a creative outlet.  It was four years ago when I first started my blog, which I intended to be a source of news and information about family events in the Pacific Northwest.  After a few months, I made it more personal and focused instead on my thoughts about dads, parenting, and family togetherness.  Later, I added kids music and homeschooling to the mix of topics I write about.

The title came from the book “A River Runs Through It” by Norman Maclean.  I thought it a clever play on words, since I created the blog to be about family activities throughout the Northwest (the book takes place in Montana).

4.) I enjoy all of your photos on your blog.  Who takes most of them?

99% of the time, I’m behind the camera, which is why there are so few pictures of me in our collection.  Many times I’ve thought about upgrading to a real DSLR, but I love carrying around my point-and-shoot camera in my pocket and being able to get quick shots that I might otherwise miss.

5.) Tell us a little about your children and wife please!

My kids are a boy, 9, and a girl, 6.  My wife is 30-something.  In keeping with my policy of semi-anonymity for them, I’m going to avoid names and careers.  First thing my wife said to me after I started blogging:  “Don’t write about me, please.”

6.) Do you see yourself as being a homeschool success story?  Why or why not?

Actually, I kind of do.  Only because I see my son thriving at home.  He loves learning new things.  He’s happier than I’ve ever seen him before.  He’s having the kind of idyllic childhood that most kids dream about.  I expect to see the same reaction from my daughter.

7.) What can other homeschool dads do to make this journey work better for their family?  (i.e. what have you learned?)

You have to be flexible.  We follow a structured curriculum, but I have to constantly be watching my son’s learning.  If he struggles with something, we slow down and take the time.  We push back other lessons, or leave them for another day.  If he’s not in a math mood, we wait until he is.  I don’t care when he learns it, just that he does learn it.  Some days we’ll do science all day.  Or history, which he loves.  Other days we’ll just skip everything and head to the library.

I’ve also learned that kids like an involved parent.  You don’t just give them a worksheet or a book to read.  You read it along with them at first.  In history, I do all the voices and sound effects.  I stop to give him my own perspective on a subject, or we look it up on Google to get more information.

8.) How can homeschooling moms be more of an encouragment to homeschooling dads?

Fold the laundry for them.

9.) Do you have a favorite resource that you would reccommend?

My son’s a geography nut, and he likes this site, the Traveler IQ Challenge:
http://www.travelpod.com/traveler-iq

I look to the blog Why Homeschool for excellent resources, ideas, and advice:
http://whyhomeschool.blogspot.com/

10.) Can you remind our readers what category you won a 2006 HSBA award in?  What did you think upon discovering you had won?

I won the Best Homeschooling Dad Blog.  My first thought was, “You like me, you really like me!”

Phil Corless
www.pkmeco.com

Thanks so much for your answers.  I really enjoyed reading your perspective.