We are so excited to tell you that Heidi St John will join us as our guest speaker at the Chicago, Austin and Baltimore retreats this year! Have you registered to join us yet? We are looking forward to meeting you and ministering to you!

Here are some more fun facts about Heidi:

Heidi married her college sweetheart, Jay, in 1989 and, shortly afterward, they went into full- time ministry together. Since then, the St. Johns have become happy parents of seven children (ages 6 mo -19). In 2004, after 17 years of pastoring, Jay and Heidi founded First Class Homeschool Ministries, a parachurch ministry that helps churches reach out to homeschooling families by hosting a homeschool cooperative. Jay and Heidi also speak and lead worship at homeschool conferences and other related events. In 2010, Heidi’s first book, titled after one of her favorite workshops, was published. The Busy Homeschool Mom’s Guide to Romance is combines light-hearted humor with a straightforward look at the importance of nurturing marriage throughout the homeschooling years. You can learn more about First Class Homeschool Ministries at www.fchm.org or contact Heidi at heidi@fchm.org.

Heidi will be speaking on homeschooling in REAL LIFE!

Celebrate the Journey of Homeschooling in Real Life

Let's face it.

Homeschooling is challenging.  Sometimes it can feel like a major accomplishment just to take a shower and get the breakfast dishes cleaned up before dinner!  Most homeschool moms feel the pressure of providing their children with a solid academic foundation ~ but there's so much more to homeschooling than academics, isn't there?  The truth is that the greatest accomplishment of your homeschooling is to nurture your children in the ways of the One who made them.

REAL LIFE Homeschooling is about getting real when it comes to the issues that are unique to homeschooling families ~ but more important than that, it's about being reminded why we are homeschooling in the first place.  It's about keeping our eyes on the goal of discipling our children.

If you have been or are on the edge of homeschool burnout, if you are wondering why God has called you on this homeschooling journey, or if you just need some honest, real encouragement, this is the one homeschool workshop you can't afford to miss out on!

 

Enjoy listening to and meeting Heidi and the other Apologia Live speakers at an Apologia Live retreat. Here's what you can expect at one of our retreats . . .

 

 

We have our winner for the copy of Educating the WholeHearted Child by Clay Clarkson with Sally Clarkson!

Kerri at Sonflower is the winner (Applause! Applause!) Congratulations, Kerri!

Thank you all for entering and sharing all of the wonderful ideas for helping our families start each day with joy! It is a blessing when we can share and encourage each other in our shared journey as parents and homeschoolers.

 

 

 

 

In honor of reaching 100 friends on Twitter today we would like to giveaway 5 Apologia Live CD sets from the 2010 retreats.  Are you excited yet?

The CD sets are a fantastic way to catch up on any of the retreats you've missed. Did you know you can listen to Rachael Carman’s session from the 2009 Walking in the Light Retreats for free? http://blog.apologia.com/live/biographies/audiovideo/

Enter to win one of the CD sets by posting an answer for each of these questions on this blog post:

1. Which Retreat is closest to you? (www.ApologiaLive.com)
2. Our desire is to encourage homeschool moms in their spiritual walk and the homeschool journey. What part of your journey do you need encouragement in these days?

Enjoy!

Liz

PS – The contest will run until 11:59 pm EST, June 16.

This contest is now closed. The winner will be announced on this blog by 5 p.m. EST on Wednesday, June 22, 2011. 

The expanded and updated 3rd edition was released last week by Apologia Press

This beautiful resource is about following God's plan for your family and presents a homeschool model that makes sense.  The book is over 300 pages packed full of information on how to educate and disciple your children.

Peek inside the book here! It's an incredible resource.

Thank you!

The joy continues!  Here is the continuation from Tuesday's post about starting your children's day with joy.  I have found that my attitude sets the tone or the day for my kids too.  Have you noticed that if you wake up on the wrong side of the bed that your kids are cranky too?  Why is that? 

I know you are wondering how Elizabeth Smith and Debra Bell start the day with joy for their children.  Here are their responses.

Debra: I think humor has to actually be a big part of our homeschooling journey and I’ve found kids do respond to that. If you can bring light heartedness to the process and not over react. I didn’t figure that out, but if you could figure that out, I think it might go better for you. I’ll give you one quick parenting tip. This is the one parenting trick that my kids remember that they loved.  If they were not joyful, if they had bad attitudes I made them go flush them down the toilet.  When they went up there I would make them flush the toilet.  It never failed that they would be laughing by the time the water got to going down.

Elizabeth: One of the things that I try to do is not make everyday the same.  Sometimes I would get up and make some kind of a cool breakfast like bullseye toast or something.  Then I would go tell them that it was ready. That would get them up and going really fast. If you find some creative recipes, some fun things to do they will really enjoy that. Just doing something different once in a while.

So, Deb uses the toilet and Elizabeth uses creative food motivations.  What will you do over the summer and next year to start your day with joy? Any new ideas from these tips?

As promised we have another question with answers from our Apologia Live speakers!

Today's question is, "How do you start your children’s day with joy?"  I love this question.  I can’t wait to hear all the ways YOU start the day with joy!

Here are a few answers from our Live speakers:

Rachael: I’m the wacky mom.  In the morning I will go in and sing “Silly Songs in the Morning by Mom.” You probably sound better than me.  I will go in and sing hymns, things that I’ve made up like, “It’s time to get up, it’s time to get up, it’s time to get up.God has made a beautiful day.” [singing] I’ll throw back the blinds and the curtains and say, “Look at the beautiful day God has made for us. Let’s get up and celebrate who God is.” Oh my goodness let’s run downstairs. Sometimes we’ll run out on the front porch and wave at the school bus as it passes by. You’ve gotta love that. We do. Sometimes we’ll be on a family walk when it passes and we’ll just wave.  Or if we’re out in the morning when the school bus passes I’ll tell the kids, you missed the school bus again today. I’m all about getting up in the morning with joy in our heart and singing to them.. When they’re teenagers I will implore you, you need to make sure they’re vertical before you leave the room.  There’s no promise of vertical that actually occurs if you leave the room. I’ve also found it very helpful if you remove pillows form the bed after they’re vertical so they don’t fall back on the bed.  You can call it cruel all you want but it is effective parenting.

Anne also spoke to getting teenagers vertical.

Anne: I was going to say the same thing about teenagers.  I decide if I want my kids up by 8, I go ahead and start at 7:30. I go in and I’m saying, this is your 20 minute warning. I come back, 15 minutes and you gotta be really calm and sweet about it because then they’re like I hate that voice mom! … Then I’ll say this is your 5 minute thing honey, because they’ve gotta be eased into it.

So, this is how Rachael and Anne start the day with joy.  What about you?  How do you start the day with joy?

To be continued…. 

This past weekend I was able to get out of the office and work the Apologia booth at the North Carolinians for Home Education Annual Convention. Working in the booth at conventions is one of my favorite parts of my job.  I wish that I got to do it more often. It helps me remember why I do what I do.  You.  Wait, what?  Was that entirely too cheesy?  Maybe so, but it’s true.  We are here to serve you, the homeschool family.  Our motto is “Live, Learn and Defend the Faith.” Our goal is to help homeschool families live, learn and defend the faith. Each Apologia division starts here. I could go on and on about the divisions, but we’re here to talk about the booth.

The booth.  Right!  The booth!  Back to the booth. Being in the booth is an opportunity to meet you.  I get to answer questions about all of the Apologia divisions, hear what you think about our products and services, and just hang out with you.

I also get to meet students who use our curriculum, or those who will in the future. I rounded the corner at the NCHE Convention to find these two adorable kiddos on the floor reading Davis Carman’s book, Good Morning God. Have you seen it yet? You can check out a great review over here at Delightful Learning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As Rachael would say, “Oh my cow!”  Have you ever seen anything so cute? I went on to discover that this is Madeline and her younger brother Nate. Madeline is five years old and will be starting Exploring Creation with Botany this next school year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nate, I discovered a few minutes later, loves silly bands. He showed me his shark band. He then proceeded to make my day by telling me about his Toy Story back pack and his favorite Cars characters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He answered all my questions and we discussed which Thomas trains I have at my house (with two boys I have lots of Thomas!). When I asked him how old he is I found out that Nate is 2, but shares my birthday and will be 3 in just a few short weeks!  How exciting!

We would love to meet you too!  If you are at a convention with us, please stop by and say hello!

 

As you continue to work out the kinks in the plan you had for this homeschool year, would you like to hear a story of God’s faithfulness? Would you like to know how this homeschool mother is finally resting after years of waiting while you figure out what you need to do to amuse your toddler? I’d love to tell you about it as you are in the middle of potty-training your three-year old, getting your laundry done, preparing your grocery shopping list, or cleaning up after a rough start to the day.

Would you like a word of encouragement from someone who vividly remembers homeschool life back when I had kids in diapers and young ones who didn’t sleep through the night? Would you like to know that what you are doing is not in vain, not insignificant, not unnoticed? Would you like a little reassurance that God knows your concerns, that He hears your prayers, that He cares, and — get this one — He is working on your behalf. Even now, even today, even though your voice seems to be bouncing back in an echo chamber, even though progress seems minuscule — God is working!

Do you feel like the only evidence you have to show for your daily progress on this path is weary footprints in the dust? If this is you, or someone you know, read on. Let me tell you a true story of how God has encouraged me.

This last March, Davis and I traveled to New York City to visit The King’s College with our oldest son Charles. Boy, I never could have predicted this one. New York City? Really?

The college was hosting a special weekend for interested students and their parents. Davis and I arrived separately from Charles as he was flying in from Atlanta where he had classes at Impact 360 (his gap-year program). Davis and I landed at the airport, took a taxi and settled into an extraordinarily small hotel room.

When Charles joined us, we were all excited about our weekend together. We headed on foot from our hotel to the Empire State Building where King’s has its offices, student center, and classrooms. The students and faculty greeted us warmly and offered coffee and muffins. The air held an anxious anticipation for the would-be students. After all, this is New York City.

We proceeded to enjoy a “campus” tour (The King’s College considers New York City its campus since the students dorms, some classes, and the internships are spread across the city) which included different locations in the Empire State Building and across the street where the professors have their offices. After a New York style pizza for lunch, we had the opportunity to listen to faculty members and professors. Charles was completely focused, intrigued, and introspective. The goals and objectives of the college (as stated by an executive staff member) took my breath away as I had always hoped and dreamed that these options would one day be available for Charles.

After going through their agenda, the panel took some audience questions. One person asked about the history of the college. The answer included an explanation that it had started in 1938, but had run into problems in the mid 1990’s and closed the doors for four years. In 1999, the college re-birthed itself when a group of dedicated men (including Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ) gave leadership, focus, and renewed purpose to the school.

My mind started racing. Did he say all this happened just over ten years ago? Really? Is that what he said? Oh dear heavenly Father, You did hear my cries.

My eyes filled with tears. I wasn’t listening to the speaker. His voice now muffled, and distant. I sat really still trying to control my emotions. The tears ran down my cheeks; Davis took my hand, not understanding, yet showing support. Why wasn’t there a tissue in my purse?

Ten years ago. The memories came easily and vividly, but not gently. That time was not just a blip on the screen or a bump in the road. No, that was a really tough time when my homeschool journey was filed with loads of self-doubt. Many of the old insecurities resurfaced. That was the year defeat and discouragement lurked about stalking me every day.

Charles was in pre-adolescence, a time when his body was being charged with hormones. This displayed itself with feelings ranging from anger and frustration swinging all the way over to elation and joy — often within moments of each other. His reading skills had only recently taken off and so did his questions, his intensity, and his abstract thinking. All this change caught me off guard. I expected this down the road and with my daughters, but I thought I had a few more years until these battles set in. Unfortunately, there was no denying – we were well into it.

In the middle of all this, Charles was struggling with some focus issues, which were affecting his schoolwork. I fought against the “testing” option. I thought I could teach and pray and love him through it. But that year, nothing seemed to be working. He seemed to need major intervention. Maybe private school was the answer; maybe this was the end of the homeschool road.

I prayed that year for Charles to hear from God. I prayed that Charles would grow in confidence, that God would become real to him, and finally that God would prepare a place especially for Charles. As his mother, I had come to realize that it was going to need to be a very special place, where our goals, values, and vision for our son, our precious Charles, would be supported, where he could soar, where he could grow, where he could lead, where he would be prepared for God’s will and plan for his life.

We are now in our 15^th year of homeschooling. I still stand by my characterization of this homeschooling lifestyle as the adventure of a lifetime. God knew that I enjoy the breath-taking rides offered by roller coasters, and my life’s journey has been nothing short of exhilarating.

Sitting there in a meeting room of the Empire State Building, I felt God’s peace. He had answered my prayers. Jesus told his disciples that He goes to prepare a place for us. He does the same thing for His children here.

As a homeschool mom, I have missed many opportunities. Many things have gone untaught. We haven’t even gone to the library as regularly as most families do. We have missed some good field trips, and for what it’s worth, our annual test scores are pretty average. But this I know, God has given everyone of us opportunity after opportunity to see His hand, to experience answered prayer, to enjoy His provision, to rest in His plan, to trust Him beyond our understanding, and to rest in His providence.

When I speak, I regularly advocate for God’s providence and His sovereignty. I believe, but I must confess, I didn’t know what it meant to rest in His plans until that moment. During Charles’ senior year I wasted many a night worrying about where he would go and what he would do. But in that moment as I felt God’s peace wash over me it was as if He was saying, “I’ve got Charles. I heard your prayers all those years ago. I already know it is New York City, but do you trust me? I do have amazing plans for Charles. You persevered and obeyed.  Though imperfectly, you trusted Me though tears and even doubt. And you recognized that Charles is really mine. I’d like you to do something now that you haven’t done in a while: take a deep breath and let him go. Let him come here to New York City, to The King’s College. I have some people that can continue what you and Davis started. I know it is a risky proposition, but that is why it is called faith. You can breath now. I have proven Myself faithful. I have answered your prayers. Now rest in my peace.”

So, as crazy as it might seem, Charles is at The King’s College in New York City. He lives 1.5 miles from campus and rides the subway regularly, which he has already mastered. And he is thriving. God has met my son in New York City for a kind of divine appointment. God even threw in some scholarships to boot. His grace truly amazes me.

Charles turned 20 years old this last month. Through this journey our hearts have been knitted together by the Master. I miss him, his energy, his enthusiasm, and even his intensity. I miss the debates over breakfast and the 11:00 pm knocks on our bedroom door, “Mom? Dad? You got a minute?” Yes, I miss that. Every morning I go into his room, turn on his bedside lamp and say a prayer. At night I reverse the ritual. I haven’t stopped praying or missing — I’ve just started resting!

Rachael Carman is a wife and mother and she is passionate about both. She and Davis have been married almost 25 years and they have been blessed with seven children ranging in age from 7 to 20. She has enjoyed speaking and encouraging women's groups for over 10 years. It is her heart's deepest desire to become all God has planned for her to be for His kingdom's glory. She loves challenging other women to dare to desire the same thing – to live in reckless, obedient faith. Her journey into home schooling was a bumpy one, but she is so grateful for the God-adventure and the daily experience of His faithfulness and grace. Rachael is quick to admit her many imperfections and share stories that highlight her shortcomings and the redemptive hand of Jesus Christ. Her humor will put you at ease, her honesty will surprise you, and her heart will inspire you to go deeper, stand firm, and be strong!