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~ May 2010 ~
Dear Readers,
Happy May! Wishing many Mother’s Day blessings to all of you moms out there! Please click here to read a poem that I wrote, called “Ode to a Homeschool Mom.” Enjoy!
Featured Article
(I originally wrote the following article for the May 2000 issue of "Homeschool Headlines," a newsletter for Desert Hills Christian Homeschoolers.)
Springtime is a season of new beginnings, and of looking ahead to the future. Spring is the season of daydreams. It is when many graduates are making plans and deciding what they want to do in life. While contemplating this the other day, I recalled what I had thought about doing in my future.
In fourth grade I made a list of what I wanted to be when I grew up. I noted at the top of the page, "There is more than one thing here because I can't make up my mind."
My teacher wisely wrote at the bottom of the page, "Perhaps you could do more than one of these things." Now that I think about it, I've been fortunate to have had the opportunity to do every one of these things!
As a homeschool parent, I get to wear all kinds of hats. I am of course a wife and mother. I am the teacher of my children. I am a scientist when conducting experiments in the kitchen or taking the kids on a nature walk.
I feel like a storekeeper whenever I'm stocking up food in the pantry for my growing boys. Keeping track of our family's finances makes me think like a banker.
I am the librarian of our homeschool library. I am currently the secretary of our homeschool group, and as editor of this newsletter I get to be both writer and reporter.
In this age of increasing specialization, it is good to be a home educator. I am not bound to a monotonous career. I have a chance to be a kind of "Renaissance woman," instructing my children in all of the arts and sciences.
Hopefully my enthusiasm about a wide variety of subjects will inspire in my children a well-rounded love of learning so they will grow up to be versatile adults, able to explore many different paths and accomplish everything they always wanted to do.
Book of the Month
This Spring why not create a wildlife habitat for birds, butterflies, and other creatures in your yard! My “Gardening for Wildlife” e-book will walk you through the process of creating a wildlife-friendly yard and garden. This illustrated step by step guide includes: how to get started, planning checklist, required habitat elements, plant recommendations, maintenance methods, helpful habitat hints, scripture references, educational benefits, how to certify your habitat, additional resources. Makes a great family activity, homeschool project, and year-round unit study! 28 pages ~ only $4.95! Click here.
Famous Homeschoolers
In honor of Mother’s Day, I'm re-running an article about Christian homeschool mom Lisa Whelchel. Read about this “mentor mom” at http://www.famoushomeschoolers.net/bio_whelchel.html, who also tells how she was partly homeschooled as a child. (Each month I will highlight another famous homeschooler.)
Reading Between the Lines
If you are a wife, mother, and home educator struggling to balance home, school, and family, Homeschooling at the Speed of Life is the perfect book for you! Click here to read my complete review.
Learning Links
Mother's Day (It's YOUR day - you deserve it!)
Etiquette and Ethics (The second week in May is National Etiquette Week. This article features a free download!)
Make Your Own Museum (May 18 is International Museum Day.)
Physical Education (May is Physical Fitness and Sports Month.)
Bikes and Bicycling (May is also National Bike Month!)
A Salute to Soldiers (May is Military Appreciation Month.)
Memorial Day (A special day to honor our fallen veterans.)
Freebie of the Month
A Mother's Day gift just for you! It's from my web page at http://www.knowledgehouse.info/hspoem_copy.html Due to popular request I started selling printable copies of this poem for a nominal cost of $1.00 each on my website, but I'm offering it to my newsletter readers free of charge this month. (Of course, if you like the poem and want to bless me with a dollar, I would certainly appreciate it!)
Ode to a Homeschool Mom
Ode to a Homeschool Mom
(Plain white background.)
(Decorative sepia-tone background image.)
(Requires Adobe Reader: click here for free download.)
Quote of the Month
“Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.” ~Proverbs 31:30
A Note From Teri...
Are you as busy as I've been this month, trying to finish up a bunch of things before the end of the "school" year? Our family homeschools all year round, but we still feel the need to have certain things done by now. Especially since our oldest son is in college, we get to feel more of that end-of-semester rush. He had two 5-page papers to write, a multi- media presentation to create, two websites to finish, as well as two honors projects that he had to turn in - and they were all due the same week! So even though he may not be homeschooling any more, he's still been actively working at home just as much on his college stuff! I'm personally looking forward to e-mailing this newsletter and then taking Mother's Day off; otherwise I can't relax knowing that I left something undone. Hope you enjoy YOUR day! :)
Happy Homeschooling!