This Friday, May 20, Apologia Live author & speaker, Zan Tyler will host a session at The Old Schoolhouse Magazine's Schoolhouse Expo from 6:30-7:30 pm ET. If you are unable to attend, you can catch the recorded version via the Expo To Go option offered by TOS.  Check out  Zan's article below.  She shares some advice for getting through the month of May as many of us wind down another homeschool year.   

Celebrating Motherhood, Big Events, and Summer Vacation
By Zan Tyler
How was your Mother’s Day this year? For me, Mother’s Days are like birthdays: some come and go with little fanfare, there are a few I would like to forget, and others become a memory I will cherish forever.

My first Mother’s Day in 1978 fell in the cherish-forever category. Author Sarah Ban Breathnach said, "The new mother holding her first miracle enjoys the best Mother’s Day." I celebrated my first Mother’s Day in the hospital, holding that first miracle, just two days old. I have been celebrating motherhood and family life ever since.

Fast forward to Mother’s Day 1993, which I remember for an entirely different reason. We had just moved to the country, and our new home included access to a nearby pond. My sons were 14 and 12 and my daughter was 5 (too young to know better). That year my husband and children gave me portable fishing chairs for my Mother’s Day present. I remember them vividly because I hate fishing! The thought of Joe, Ty, and John seriously trying to convince me why I would really love not one, but three, fishing chairs still makes me laugh out loud. (Hmmm … three of them, three chairs. What an odd coincidence.) They knew they could get away with it, though, because they also gave me what I reallywanted — handwritten letters assuring me of their undying love and constant affection.

Fourteen years later, I celebrated my last Mother’s Day with my own precious mother, who is now with the Lord. What a bittersweet memory that is. This year, Mother’s Day weekend witnessed my daughter graduating from college in Kentucky and my son graduating from law school in Virginia — on the same day!

Speaking of memorable days and big events…

How many big events can one month host? In addition to Mother’s Day, May is famous for graduations, baseball tournaments, swim meets, music recitals, soccer playoffs, dance recitals, state homeschool conventions — the list goes on ad infinitum. Homeschooling parents have the added pressure of trying to finish the school year in the midst of all this craziness.

How can you make it through May and keep your sanity?

1. Remember to celebrate and give thanks. In 1914 President Woodrow Wilson declared Mother’s Day to be a time of "public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country." It is a good reminder to stop, and in the midst of our bustling lives, take time to reflect upon and celebrate the important and often intangible aspects of life. We don’t have to relegate this to one day a year: as Christians we should set aside time daily (even in the midst of May’s busyness) to spend with God — reading His Word, celebrating His goodness to us in Christ, casting our cares upon Him, and giving Him thanks in all things. Celebration and thankfulness have a way of transforming our attitudes and helping us focus on the important rather than the urgent.
2. Remember to remember. Journaling helps you recall things (like Mother’s Day celebrations) that you think you will always remember, but promptly forget. Journaling also helps put life in perspective. It allows you to chronicle and reflect on the significant and mundane, noting God’s faithfulness in the midst of both. And you don’t have to journal every day or even every week to benefit from it.
3. Remember that summer is just around the corner. At some point during most of my 21 years homeschooling, I counted the days to summer vacation. Some of my homeschooling friends kept right on with their normal schedules through June — how I admired them! But I needed a break and my kids did, too.

I used the summer months to plan, rejuvenate, and see just how creatively we could document school days. We enjoyed reading days and zoo days. The kids participated in sports camps, art and music camps, nature camps, Christian camps and mission trips (obviously not all in the same summer). Family vacations to the beach and the mountains provided powerful learning opportunities with a host of field trips and field studies at your finger tips. (Take your Apologia elementary science books with you! They’re fun and can help you make the most of your nature studies.)

As the kids got older they pursued serious interests through summer camps and courses offered by colleges like Patrick Henry and organizations like Summit Ministries and Deerfoot Lodge—just to name a few. Summer is also a great time for you and your children to work on service projects together.

In all these pursuits, remember to document your time spent in learning experiences. Summer is made for hands-on learning, traveling and exploring, and innovative educational experiences of all types.

Build in time this summer for planning and evaluation.

Make sure to set aside some planning days for the new school year. (Mark them on your calendar now so they don’t get lost in the shuffle.) Summer gives you a chance to evaluate what was good and not-so-good about this past school year. Celebrate and thank the Lord for the things that went well — Sarah’s math skills improved significantly; Johnny transitioned well into seventh-grade science; Liz began (voluntarily) having her own quiet times every morning; and Peter made great headway in controlling his temper.

Don’t be afraid to admit some areas didn’t go as well as you would have liked. Make a list of those things, commit them to the Lord and to prayer, and seek ways to shore them up for next year. Remember there is no perfect classroom anywhere. Every teacher has strengths and weaknesses. You don’t have to stop homeschooling because you are less than perfect, your son’s math scores need help, or your six-year-old (who should have known better) threw a temper tantrum in the grocery store. Search for solutions to enhance your next school year and make your load more manageable.

Apologia is here to help!

At Apologia, we are always looking for ways to support, encourage, and equip you for your homeschooling journey — and lighten your load where possible. Our K-12 science curriculum is engaging, challenging, God-honoring, and needs no teacher’s manuals (yay!). But if you feel you need help with teaching science at the middle- and high school level, consider signing up for one of our online ApologiaAcademy courses. Many parents and students listen to these lectures together.

Later this summer (and on into the fall) ApologiaPress is releasing a number of books that will encourage you in homeschooling and help you with your planning and teaching. Debra Bell’s Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling will help you choose curriculum while addressing many of your other needs and questions. Sarah Clarkson’s book Read for the Heart will help you foster a love for reading in your children and give you guidelines for choosing engaging books. Dr. Jay Wile’s Reasonable Faith (available now) makes great summer reading for your teenager.

Stay tuned to our website for official release dates of the new ApologiaPress resources and to discover great authors and resources that are currently available.

Have a wonderful May and a delightful summer!

Zan Tyler

Author of 7 Tools for Cultivating Your Child’s Potential

A few of our speakers will be out on the town, possibly your town, next weekend!

Davis and Rachael Carman will be speaking at NCHE in NC, and Sherri Seligson will be speaking at FPEA in Florida.

Come by and say hi!  In Florida Sherri will have some of her family with her at the Apologia booth.  North Carolina is close to home for many of the Apologia family so when you swing by you might meet Larry Blythe, our Academy Director, or Becky Edmondson, one of our Academy teachers, in addition to the Carman family and many others!

Davis and Rachael – NCHE Schedule:

Friday, May 27

2:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Room B-D – Give Me One Good Reason to Homeschool

Are parents really qualified to teach their children? What about socialization? These are just a couple of questions that may make homeschooling seem impossible. But homeschooling has continued to grow. What are the top reasons? Davis discusses the moral, academic and practical reasons to homeschool and helps dispel the myths we all tend to believe.

4:50 pm – 5:50 pm – Gaines Ballroom – Don’t Settle for Just Admiring the Strong Women of the Bible!

I have long admired the strong women of the Bible. Women like Eve, Sarah, Ruth, Esther, Abigail, Rahab, Mary, Elizabeth, Lydia are worthy of our study. For too long, I was content with only studying them; content to know that they were strong. I have since learned that God’s will is for me to actually strive to grow and become like them in many ways. Are you willing to come and consider the challenge?

Saturday, May 28

11:00 am – 12 Noon – Room South Main 3 – Stand by Your Man

All too often, the lessons are finished, the books read, and the frogs dissected. But what priority does the principal have in your homeschool? When does he have time with his favorite teacher? When is the last time there was a principal-teacher meeting (aka: date night)? Standing by our husbands through this challenging lifestyle choice is often neglected. Come learn practical ways to love, respect, and stand by your man.

Sherri – FPEA Schedule:

Friday, May 27

2:50 pm – 3:40 pm – Room Osceola C – Evolution Doesn’t Work for Sea Creatures

Nearly everyone enjoys learning about creatures that live in the ocean. After all, it is a truly alien environment to us, full of unique and interesting organisms. Amazingly, the more we learn about the ocean and the organisms living in it, the more we begin to see that there are intricacies that do not fit with the theory of evolution. As we dive into this discussion, we will look at the physical features of echolocation in fun-loving dolphins, as well as “living fossils” that should be extinct yet are found unchanged in shape and form, living all over the world.  We’ll look scientifically at the ocean’s salinity and learn what the actual data have to say about an earth that is supposedly millions of years old. And we cannot forget sharks, with their amazing physical abilities to detect electrical impulses from miles away! So grab a notepad and come to this informative discussion…no snorkels necessary!

Time not listed – Room Sun B – Standing Strong When I am Weak

When we feel that God is calling us to do a difficult work, we can be sure that he will use it to bless and encourage us as well as teach us a few things.  Arguably, homeschooling is one of the most difficult tasks one can undertake, but the blessings are boundless!  A wonderful “side-effect” of teaching and training our children is that we learn how unable we as mothers are.  By learning that we are weak in ourselves, we have the opportunity to see how God is our strength; giving us special provision to complete the tasks he gives us.  In this talk, we will walk through the books of 1 and 2 Corinthians to discover how when we are weak, God gives us unexpected blessings and ultimately gets the glory!

Saturday, May 28

10:05 am – 10:55 am – Room Osceola C – The Apprentice: Getting High School Credit for Internships

An internship is one of the best ways for a student to explore a career.  And with the flexibility that homeschooling offers, most high school students have the time to intern in a field of their interest.  Why not document their experience and award them with high school credit?  This presentation will highlight choosing the right internship arrangement, preparing a list of educational and experiential goals, and recording this beneficial learning opportunity.  High school credit, work experience, and possibly even pay… it’s a win-win situation!

2:50 pm – 3:40 pm – Room Osceola A – Bringing your Homeschool Before the Throne

A path without a purpose is difficult to build because there is no enthusiasm and no direction for it. Not only do we need direction but we need devotion to do a task…and this is especially true of homeschooling.  Many of us homeschool because we feel that we are obeying a call of the Lord. But did you know that by following this call, we are worshiping the Lord? Doing the “ordinary” work that is given to us ultimately brings the Lord glory and is a form of worship. So in the midst of spelling lists and multiplication tables, you don’t have to get lost in the mundane. When we are teaching and training our children, we are helping them to become all that God desires them to be, and our efforts to homeschool are a sweet smelling aroma to the Lord. Come look at the commonplace construction of a wall to see how the ordinary things we do, if we are called to do them, are the most exciting things we can do!

During our Q & A Panel at the 2011 Baltimore Live Retreat our speakers were asked, “Is homeschooling for everyone?” As I sorted through all of the questions that had been submitted this was a question that was asked by more than one mom. It is an important question that we each wrestle with. At the core of the question I believe most of us are asking, “Is homeschooling for me?” and “Am I called to homeschool?” I hope you enjoy this series as we hear from each of our panel members with their answer to this question.

Sherri Seligson had the microphone first.

I believe that if God is calling you to homeschool that you should be homeschooling.  If someone is absolutely against homeschooling then they have first got to reckon that with the Lord and themselves.  They should not be jumping into a homeschooling program if they haven’t figured that part out yet.  So, that said I think that homeschooling can be for everyone, but they have to get on board and have the vision first. If someone is struggling with homeschooling and wondering if homeschooling is for them, that struggle means that maybe it is, that maybe God is calling them to homeschool and they should be looking into this.  They should be praying about this.  They should be asking the Lord, is this indeed what you want me to do. If you’re feeling like you’re struggling about it, I think God is doing something and you should be thinking about this and praying about this.

What about you?  Is God making you uncomfortable as you think about homeschooling?

Veterans, will you share some of your stories on how the Lord led you to homeschool?

* Sherri Seligson will be speaking next weekend at the FPEA-FL convention.   She will also be speaking at the Live Retreats in Chicago and Baltimore this next year.

Thank you to everyone who attended the Facebook Party. Your encouragement and sharing was a blessing!

We look forward to gathering again to support and inspire one another in our homeschooling journeys. In fact, you can join our Apologia Live team this October in Austin and Chicago. We'll also be in Atlanta and Baltimore in March 2012. The details are here.

The Facebook Party contest winners are listed below. If your name is listed, please check your email. If you do not have an email from us (and you are listed below), please contact Michelle (at) Apologia (dot) com. We have NOT yet announced the winner of the March 2011 Apologia Live conference audio.

7 Tools for Cultivating Your Child’s Potential by Zan Tyler

Winner: Youthful One

Jump In by Sharon Watson

Winner: Jolyn

Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling Teens by Debra Bell

Winner: Misty

Read from the Heart by Sarah Clarkson

Winner: Betty E
 

How to Have A H. E.A.R.T. For Your Kids by Rachael Carman

2 Winners: Kim W

                 Melanie  at One Cup of Chaos at a Time

Apologia Lab Coat

Linda Richardson

Again, thank you for joining us last Thursday. We hope it the hour of fun and fellowship was a blessing to you. 

The Apologia Live team!

Thank you to all who entered to win the ticket to the Schoolhouse Expo!

Patricia Varga is our winner! Patricia, please email me at Michelle (at) Apologia (dot) com.

Don't forget, you can catch all of the recorded sessions by purchasing the Expo To Go for Spring 2011 from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. When you purchase the Expo To Go, you'll also get the recorded version of Zan Tyler's session. You can hear Zan in person at the Apologia Live events this October in Chicago and Austin!

Special thanks to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine for the ticket! Thank you, again, to all who entered!

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. Thank you to all who shared with us and/or who are now following our blog and joining Apologia on Twitter.

The Schoolhouse Expo–the online homeschool conference sponsored by The Old Schoolhouse Magazine–starts this coming Monday, May 16.

The Schoolhouse Expo is SOLD OUT, but we have a ticket to give away!

It will be a full 5 days of homeschool encouragement, enrichment, information . . . and fun! You can enjoy it all from the comfort of your home!

Apologia author and speaker, Zan Tyler, will be speaking at the Schoolhouse Expo on Friday, May 20. The winner of this ticket will have the opportunity to hear Zan's session and all of the Schoolhouse Expo sessions.

You must enter by 5:00 p.m. EST on Saturday, May 14, 2011. We will select one winner at random and announce it right here on the blog.

How to enter to win:

To enter, post your answer to the question below in the comment section of this blog post.

You can gain an extra entry into the contest by doing one or both of the following:

• Subscribe to this blog by using the Subscribe link on our sidebar
• Follow us on Twitter @apologiaworld

When you post your answer below, please let us know that you have done one or both of these for an additional entry.

Contest question-

Do you have a smartphone and do you use it to help you make online and in-store purchases? (i.e. do you shop online with your smartphone, use online coupons with your phone, use a bar code app?)

Have fun and thank you for visiting!

Looking to subscribe to our Live blog? Shoot us an email at entry (at) apologia (dot) com and we will hook you up!

Thanks,
Liz

Prize: 1 wiinner will receive an Apologia lab coat

Isn't this cool?! Science never looked so good than in the fun, new Apologia lab coats. They are made to stand up to whatever experiments your scientists cook up!

How to enter:  Please post your response in the comment section of THIS blog entry. One entry per person. You must enter before 9:15 p.m. EST on May 12, 2011, and you must be 18 years or older to enter.

Question: Do you  currently or have you ever participated in a homeschool co-op?  (whether it's 2 families or several hundred)

Don't forget, as an extra bonus contest, subscribe to this blog (the Apologia Live blog), and you'll be entered to win a full audio CD set of the Apologia Live retreat for homeschool moms held March 2011. This set is not yet available in our store!

Thank you!

Prizes:

1 winner will receive a copy of Zan Tyler’s book 7 Tools for CultivatingYour Child’s Potential.

1 (separate) winner will receive a copy of Jump In: A Workbook for Reluctant and Eager Wriiters by Sharon Watson. This is a 2-book set.

Question:  How would you categorize your homeschooling style?

Don't forget, as an extra bonus contest, subscribe to this blog (the Apologia Live blog), and you'll be entered to win a full audio CD set of the Apologia Live retreat for homeschool moms held March 2011. This set is not yet available in our store!

Thank you!

The Apologia Live team