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Please Pray for Homeschool Curriculum Publishers

Harriet — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:20:59 +0000

Please Pray

For the third time this week, I have been in contact with a homeschool publisher who is having a major crisis.

There is something wrong with this picture. Car accidents and major health problems are not normal in this amount.

These families are small publishers who write and publish homeschool friendly curriculum that makes it possible for more families to teach their children at home. Most of them have made incredible time sacrifices to make better curriculum available for you and your family.

I ask you to lift them up in your prayers. It is all about spiritual warfare.

Enough said.

Blessings,

Harriet Yoder

Starting Half-Way Through the School Year

Harriet — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 02:24:03 +0000

Do I have to purchase a whole year of curriculum when we plan to start in the middle of the academic year?

If your student successfully completed the first semester of the year in a school, then you need materials to complete the second semester.

There are several ways to accomplish this.

1. Purchase the parts of a kit, such as a LifePac, that are needed to complete the year.
2. Find courses designed for completion in one semester. Health, astronomy, and sociology are good examples.
3. Choose multilevel curriculum. Your student can complete half this school year and finish it the next year. It may be easier to find those one semester subjects for later years.

Hope this helps.

Blessings,

Harriet Yoder

It's a Makeover!

Harriet — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 16:17:15 +0000

Yes, we are doing a website makeover!

You may have noticed that pages are changing as we transition to the new design.

We hope you like it.

Many thanks to the folks at Solas Web Design for their work on the new logo and the new page designs. They are very knowledgeable and helpful.

If you have comments or suggestions, we would love to hear from you.

Blessings,

Harriet

Lamp Post Homeschool Store

Making Memories–Will They Remember?

Harriet — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 20:34:13 +0000

This Made a Memory?

Do you wonder if all those memories you make with your children will ever be remembered?

Today my teenage son gave me a lovely surprise. He recalled a fond memory from his younger years that I had forgotten. It was one of those spontaneously made memories–not the preplanned sort.

Our washing machine bit the dust when he was little. He remembered we ran out of clean clothes. The memory that stands out for him was wearing his papa’s t-shirt and listening to his mama’s stories while the new machine washed their clothes. It was a warm fuzzy moment for him and a completely accidental memory maker for me.

Recalling that memory was the best part because it made a new one for both of us. We laughed at a five-year-old boy’s perception of the demise of his mother’s washing machine–the visions of dirty laundry everywhere and the delights of storytelling and gigantic t-shirts. My disaster created his adventure.

Remember some memories with your children today! May you be pleasantly surprised.

Oh, in case they are memories of the unpleasant sort, take this opportunity to see the character building aspects, to walk in forgiveness, and to create new memories of the healthy sort.

Blessings,

Harriet

Where in the World?

Harriet — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 17:45:41 +0000

Here’s a quick link to some free outline maps and map tests.

www.worldatlas.com

They are free for use for any educational application.

If you make it a game, teaching geography map facts can be fun. I have fond memories of doing geography flash cards with my grandmother. Today, my sons are in the other room with a family friend who is a missionary and loves geography. She is teaching them all sorts of wonderful things about the world.

It is wonderful when God sends reinforcements to our home school. I pray that He opens your eyes to see those opportunities and that He sends reinforcements when you need help and encouragement.

Hope this helps!

Blessings,

Harriet

Lamp Post Homeschool Store

Take Time to Remember!

Harriet — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 02:28:20 +0000

Take Time to Remember

The following was saved from my old blog “Mother of Many Homeschools” at a now defunct blogsite. It is way before the end of the school year, but I hope this will encourage you now.

It is almost the end of another school year–unless you are like some homeschoolers who “school” year round! Usually at this time of year, we get weary and start feeling like the whole year was a complete failure. All those thoughts start coming in like a flood. If they take hold, we’ll be hard pressed to continue teaching our children at home next year.

Fortunately for me, we live in Pennsylvania which has one of the most restrictive homeschool laws in the US. We have daily logs, portfolios, achievement tests, evaluations, objectives, and affidavits to prepare. Try multiplying that by 5 or 6. Talk about overwhelming.

What’s good about that? For me, putting together the year-end portfolio for each child helps me to remember where we were when we started the year and to see how far each child has come.

Despite the unfairness of the law (folks in other states have much less restrictive laws, and public school teachers don’t have to do what we do); the one good thing about it is that we have to remember. Doesn’t God want us to remember what He has done for us?

“I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.” Psalm 77:11 KJV

If you are feeling down at the end of this school year, wondering if it was worth it, remember all that the Lord has done in your home teaching! I always feel better when I think about our year from that perspective.

Hope this helps!

Blessings,

Harriet

Lamp Post Homeschool Store

Joys of Homeschooling

Harriet — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 00:00:10 +0000

Mailbox in the snow

1. Each child has an assigned day to greet our mail carrier and collect the mail. (We had to implement this feature because our “Mail Lady” was overwhelmed with the mob at the mailbox.)

2. Everyone has assigned chores. I really like this part!
3. You meet a lot of people who ask you interesting questions such as, “How come your kids aren’t in school?” “Is it legal?” “What about socialization?”, and “Are you crazy?”

4. You need a massive wall calendar to track each family member; you add the call waiting feature to your telephone so your friends can reach you; and you pay the car insurance and gasoline bill for teenagers who run errands and do volunteer work in the community. Then you get a good laugh when you come to the realization that socialization is not a problem when you homeschool.

5. After carefully explaining to your five-year-old daughter about Santa Claus and the legend of St. Nicholas (who lived a long time ago) and telling her that God is the one who really gives you gifts, who is everywhere all the time, and who knows whether you are good or bad, you are totally shocked when a well meaning elderly couple at the department store asks her if Santa is coming to see her at Christmas and she replies, “Nope, he’s dead.”

6. You go shopping and your children walk around asking total strangers if they know Jesus.

7. Elderly people come to your home and comment on how happy your children are and that they like them because your children enjoy their company.

8. They never miss the school bus.

9. They don’t have church/state schizophrenia. In their world God is supreme and merged with every aspect of their life.

10. They get to pray when they have hurties. And God makes it feel better.

From my old blog “Mother of Many Homeschools” originally posted on 05/31/05 at a blogsite that is now closed.

Blessings,

Harriet

Lamp Post Homeschool Store

What Are My Choices for Teaching Homeschool Health?

Harriet — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:43:16 +0000

Each of these homeschool health programs is written with a Christian perspective.

Are you looking for a more traditional, textbook based health curriculum? Total Health offers programs for middle school and high school. Choices for a Winning Lifestyle is for high school. The curriculum for the middle school group is Talking About Life’s Changes. Each level has a teacher’s edition, a student textbook (in hardback or paperback) and test and quiz masters. Total Health is an abstinence based program.

Horizons Health

New from Horizons is the Horizons Health curriculum for each grade from kindergarten to grade 6. Grades 7 and 8 are combined. Each level has a teacher’s guide and a student workbook. There is also a student book for each grade from 3 to 6. More teacher interaction is needed for this program.

LIFEPAC Health Quest

If you want a more independent program, then Alpha Omega also offers Health Quest for grades 4 to 7. It has 5 units in the typical LIFEPAC format. For grades 9 to 12, LIFEPAC High School Health is available.

Students learn the basic needs of the human body and physical, emotional, spiritual, and social self-care with BJUP Health for junior and senior high school. There is a teacher’s edition and student text for grades 7 to 12. In addition, two levels of tests are available.

Blessings,

Harriet

Lamp Post Homeschool Store

The Best of Home Education

Harriet — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 16:39:39 +0000

The Path

I moved this from my old blog site that closed. Written several years ago, it still applies, but I updated it a bit.

1. Not only do you teach your children to walk and talk, you teach them to love the Lord, read the Bible, and care what happens to their fellow human beings.

2. You are there when they need you, you see their triumphs, and you hear the praises of others when they excel (or behave in church!)

3. Teenage rebellion usually doesn’t happen. You were there making the little corrections and giving them the encouragement they need on a daily basis. Don’t get me wrong. They can still make mistakes and poor choices, but they are better prepared to deal with them–and so are you.

4. It is interesting to watch them grow spiritually.

5. I learn things I never knew (or forgot lol) because I teach them.

6. I never have insomnia.

7. I am never lonely.

8. My oldest daughter is about to go to college and I have peace that she is prepared to cope with the challenges of life because she has the greatest gift a parent could hope for: Jesus in her heart.

9. My other children love Jesus also. They will be prepared when their time comes to leave the nest.

1o. I realize more each day the incredible love that God has for His children, because He allows me to imitate His parenting role with these children and applies grace and mercy when we mess up.

Blessings,

Harriet

Lamp Post Homeschool Store

Why Do We Teach Our Children at Home?

Harriet — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 20:48:25 +0000

The Family That Stays Together...

1. We love our children. Children are a blessing from the Lord. The fruit of the womb is His reward.

2. It is our job to train our children.

3. Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child. The Bible says to avoid being a companion of fools. Why do we want to send our children to a room full of fools?

4. The government school teacher mayor may not be a fool. Why risk the welfare of our children on that chance?

5. Why should the government be in charge of our children? God never gave kings the job of training the children of the land. Kings trained their children or prisoners of war such as Daniel.

6. The captain of a ship can delegate authority to anyone on board but if the ship wrecks, who is ultimately held responsible?

7. Children need to be around their father and mother more than psychiatrists, psychologists, or educators would like to admit because it would put most of them out of a job.

8. Government schools are not very safe places. The news media reports only a fraction of what goes on there. Ask any local high school student about it. Then ask if they told their parents….

9. Except for teachers, most adult human beings would not think of working in a place where people are regularly threatened, assaulted, and harassed. Why is it OK to send our children there?

10. God is not welcome in most public schools—unless some major catastrophe happens. Then people pray and ask God why He allowed it to happen.

11. Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it. Isn’t that enough to make you want to teach your own children?

Blessings,

Harriet

Lamp Post Homeschool Store