On my new Squidoo page titled Homeschooling? Six Things You Need To Know I talk about taking advantage of educational opportunities that we find around us. But sometimes, we as homeschool mothers must go one step further and actually help to CREATE these opportunities.

For instance, my oldest son has recently decided that he does in fact want to go to college (!). His reasons being:

1. to learn how to type
2. to learn all he can about fixing and opperating computers
3. photography

Now, you can see from this list that college is not an absolute necessity in order for him to reach his goals. However, learning opportunities are certainly required and I as his teacher have the responsibility to create those opportunities for him.

Ofcourse, it might be easier for me to ignore his goals and stick to my OWN plan for his education. And I might suceed in giving him an education which is excellent by many standards. But, in reality, I will have crippled him and left him unprepared to follow the path God is directing him to follow.

This isn't to say that education should always be left to the whims of the child. I am not advocating unschooling or child-led education, but we do need to take into consideration the goals and interests of  our children, especially as they grow older.  And we ought to do all we can to help them to reach those goals. So, with that in mind, I'm off to create some opportunities!

What opportunities have you created lately?

With the baby coming sometime in August and my mom coming for a two week visit in the middle of September, I decided it would be easier to just take those months off. So, in order to fit in the days we need to complete our schooling this year, we ended up with a crazy schedule that starts today and goes for two weeks before we break for two more months.

So, today was our first official day of the school year, and it went really well. In reality, however, my children got bored with vacation long ago and started working on some of their favorite subjects on their own. Here are some pictures of an experiment my thirteen year old did last week. It is from the Apologia Physical Science book.

And here is my four year old working with some cloths pin counting cards I made so she could practice her number recognition and counting skills.

She thought these were the best fun and got them out again today to work on. I had planned to work on alphabet sounds with her today, but she surprised me by knowing more than I thought she did. So, we ended up doing some reading instead. She did great (normally she pretends she doesn't know things, but today she actually did the work) and I was very pleased.

And here are a couple more pictures from today. First, a model of the solar system my eleven year old made. This experiment comes from the Apologia Astronomy book.  We had a little trouble getting the balloons the right size, but I still think it looks cool.

And here is my favorite picture. This is my five and a half year old practicing her reading. She is the one I wrote about on my Preschool Phonics lens. As you can see, she still can't sit still!

I spent a good deal of time last week going through my pile of disks containing the school files I have purchased or gathered from the internet. I was also finishing up the last of my planning for next year's school and getting ready to place a final curriculum order. As I looked through my files, I realized how foolish it was to order a bunch of extra books when I already had what I needed- "free" for the printing. So, this year I am going to be using as many of those resources as I can. Here is our plan, using what I had already purchased, a few things left over from last year, and a bunch of things I am printing from my files. Now I just have to finish printing before the baby arrives!(As you can see, my older children are somewhat behind in math, the younger two boys are behind in language arts, and my 5 year old is advanced to the point that I can't stay ahead of her. I hope to get everyone else caught up this year while keeping my daughter from getting bored.)

In addition to what is listed below, we will also start each morning with Bible reading, learning new hymns using a free online digital hymnal, and doing Home Ec using a curriculum by Christian Light Publications.  

JCT- 13 yob

Horizons Math Grade 6 book 1 & 2/ Math Phonics pre-algebra/ Painless Algebra

Apologia Physical Science with Live-N-Learn lapbook

Analytical Grammar

Great States! workbook

Economics and Government using:

the Uncle Eric series by Richard Maybury

Capitalism For Kids by Karl Hess

Economics: A Free Market Reader

Notgrass American Government

US Economics, American Government, The United States Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence  lapbooks from Hands of a Child

CET- 12 yob

Horizons Math Grade 6 book 1 & 2/ Math Phonics pre-algebra/ Painless Algebra

Apologia General Science with Live-N-Learn lapbook

Alpha and Omega Language Arts Life Pac grade 7

Great States! workbook

Economics and Government using:

the Uncle Eric series by Richard Maybury

Capitalism For Kids by Karl Hess

Economics: A Free Market Reader

Notgrass American Government

US Economics, American Government, The United States Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence  lapbooks from Hands of a Child

KJT- 11 yog

Horizons Math Grade 6 book 1 & 2/ Math Phonics pre-algebra/ Painless Algebra

Apologia Astronomy with journal

Alpha and Omega Language Arts Life Pac grade 7

Great States! workbook

Economics and Government using:

the Uncle Eric series by Richard Maybury

Capitalism For Kids by Karl Hess

Economics: A Free Market Reader

Notgrass American Government

US Economics, American Government, The United States Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence  lapbooks from Hands of a Child

RTT- 9 yob

Math Mammoth grade 4

Apologia Zoology 3 with Peterson Field Guide Color-in Books: Mammals

Alpha and Omega Language Arts Life Pac grade 3/ Just Write Book 3

My State Notebook (using pages I made)

Mystery of History 1 with Ancient History Notebook pages

ECT- 8 yob

Math Mammoth grade 3

Apologia Zoology 3 with Peterson Field Guide Color-in Books: Mammals

Alpha and Omega Language Arts Life Pac grade 3/ Just Write Book 3

My State Notebook (using pages I made)

Mystery of History 1 with Ancient History Notebook pages

EGT- 5 1/2 yog

Horizons Math Grade 2 book 1/ Math Mammoth grade 2

Apologia Zoology 3 with various lapbooks, coloring pages, etc.

reading practice (using readers from Reading A-Z)/ copywork

My State Notebook (using pages I made)

Mystery of History 1 with Ancient History Notebook pages

MFT- 4 yog

Hands-on math activities/ worksheets

Apologia Zoology 3 with various lapbooks, coloring pages, etc.

phonics/ reading practice

My State Notebook (using pages I made)

Mystery of History 1 with Ancient History Notebook pages

If you have studied economics you are probably familiar with the expression "There's No Such Thing As A Free Lunch." As homeschool moms who face an abundance of teaching resources, avaiable at the click of a mouse, with no cost to us personally, it is easy to forget this fact. But the truth is, none of those "free" resources are really free. Each and every one of them has cost somebody something to create them or host them and it  is by their generosity that these resources are available to us. In return, we ought to consider it our duty to show gratitude for the benefits we receive.

Here are three easy ways to demonstrate your appreciation to these "silent heroes" of the curriculum world:

1.  Don't forget to say "thank-you". This ought to be obvious, but how often do we really send out notes of thanks for the freebies we receive? Most of these individuals ask for nothing more than to know that they have made a difference in someone's life. Be dilligent to encourage those who otherwise receive no recompence for their labors and they will feel that all their time and effort was well spent. 

2. Be fair in your critiques.  Have you ever downloaded something and thought, "What a waste of my time! I could have done a better job than this!" or "This isn't what I was hoping for!"  Yet, the fact that you have no need of that item doesn't make it less valuable to others that might download it, or make its creator any less generous for offering it.

As both a reviewer and a publisher on the Currclick website, I like to keep up with the comments posted there. Over the past several months I have noticed some very bad reviews being given to products which are offered as  freebies. People download a file because it costs them nothing, then give a review based on how the product fit their needs, rather than on the quality and merits of the product. They do this without stopping to think what it cost that publisher to offer it in the first place or to consider what their review will do to the overall reputation of that publisher.  I wonder how many of these publishers, after making such a sacrifice and receiving such a poor thanks, will have the desire to make that mistake again?

 
3. Respect copyrights. It is easy to assume that because a publisher is willing to give his product away, he has given up all rights to it. Yet this is not the case. Many publishers use free promotions to draw traffic to their  websites and generate income to support themselves. Others offer freebies solely for the gratification that comes from helping others. No matter the reason, and no matter the price, these items are still under copyright. It is up to the publisher to decide where they are posted and who receives them. And it is also up to the publisher whether or not these items should remain free.

 
Too often I've seen examples of files being copied from various websites and posted on Yahoo Groups or  on file sharing sites without the permission of the original creator. I 've also witnessed conversations concerning limited time freebies. Someone who has missed out on the opportunity to download a previously posted freebie will request that the item be forwarded to her  and someone else will send it.  We may see these as harmless acts, but if intellectual property rights are not respected, more and more publishers will decide that these "free" products are not worth the cost.

I'll end with a quote from Jessica Feliciano of Notebooking2Learn. I believe she voiced the thoughts of  all our "silent heroes" when she wrote:

"For those of you who have been blessed by the free resources that you find here and elsewhere among generous homeschooling mom's, please don't take them for granted. They truly are labors of love and many times cost their creators much more than time. What some may not realize is the that the cost of clip art, printer ink and paper to make these resources and to make sure that they "work" before they are shared can really add up. If you are blessed by a free resource, consider taking the time to say thank you. It is a little gesture that goes a long way. Be considerate of the creators and make sure you link others back to their work and don't just share a resource because it was free. Be grateful for the resources that are available and don't make a habit of expecting more."

It seems that each year our homeschooling takes a particular focus. One year may be heavily influenced by our history studies. Another year everything revolves around what we are doing in geography. The next year we might do more science.  This year, our focus has been language arts.

When my three oldest children began their formal studies, their first year was spent solely in the study of phonics and reading.  The next two started out by sitting in on their older brothers and sister's lessons.  They got a great background in science, history, and such, but there never seemed to be much time to practice their phonics skills. At ages seven and eight, they were still sounding out every word and struggling with that. Meanwhile, my four year old had also begun learning her letter sounds and was anxious to start reading. I knew this year had to be different.

At the same time I realized I needed to start focusing more on what the younger children were learning, I also began to realize that the older ones were needing a change. They had mostly outgrown the need for hands-on activities and were wanting to exercise more control over their own schedules.  The timing was perfect! 

I am pleased to report that my seven 1/2  and eight  (almost nine) year old are now reading fluently, with little sister hot on their heals. Their older siblings have enjoyed having the ability to finish an entire weeks worth of work by Tuesday, if they so desire, and not being tied to MY schedule. They also have learned what happens when they wast time and don't get their work done. Lots of great learnig taking place!

Maybe next year we can focus on something a little more exciting . . . like math.

Ever since our house sold, the children and I have been taking photographs of  our hometown in anticipation of our move to Michigan.  We plan to use these to create a special notebook for the children to look through when they are homesick. We even took pictures of the local Food Lion because it 's  my three-year-old's favorite "resturaunt."

We've also been photographing some of the fun places nearby that we don't usually take time to visit. Last month, we made a trip to a  boot shop in a neighboring town which is home to  a small, private museum. The owner has a huge collection of artifacts, newspaper clippings, and photographs. There are cases full of Indian arrowheads, Civil War bullets, pioneer items, and some more unusual items.  The kids had a great time and made even more wonderful memories to carry with them. Here are a few pictures from our visit.

My daughter really liked this Civil War doctor's kit

Just a small part of the arrowhead collection

A few of the many antique tools

and, finally, the most memorable items in the collection . . .

the stuffed calves

Jimmie recently posted a blog entry on how to deal with unwanted attention that foreign children receive in China. Her advice got me thinking about similar issues we have been dealing with here in America.

Our children are very friendly and outgoing. In the past, we taught them to respect adults and to always answer when you are spoken to, but recently we have had to rethink things. 

There are many times when complete strangers will engage my children in conversation, offer them candy (while I'm standing there and without asking me first), ask them for hugs, or even ask them if they want to go home with them!!!! And my children don't think twice about who this person is. As the saying goes, "They've never met a stranger."  Yet, while these people may be well meaning (even if they are rather thoughtless),  not everyone has good intentions. Not all adults are worthy of respect.

I've seen that my reaction to these incidents has given my children the wrong idea. By smiling  at these "friendly" strangers, I've taught my children that it is OK to take things from strangers, to let them touch you, even to go with them if they want to take you somewhere. I ought to be reacting with indignation. After all, this person just threatened to kidnap my child!!!

We need to be teaching our children to set boundaries. We need to tell them it's OK to avoid uncomfortable situations.  Although our goal should be to be polite if possible, sometime situations call for a bit of rudeness. The safety of our children is worth a few hurt feelings.

My husband had the boys help him butcher a cow on Saturday. I'll spare you the picture of the cow hanging with its throat slit.  Here are some pictures of the boys taking the skin off.

Son # 1

Son #2

Son #3

Son #4

A while back, Jimmie introduced me to Squidoo and I love it. Building lenses on Squidoo is a great way to organize information and resources so you can keep track of everything  without filling your computer memory with zillions of bookmarks. And they even pay you a little something for doing it!

Check out some of the lenses I've created, then build one of your own:

Notebooking 

"Notebooking" is a term used to describe the process of creating a written and illustrated record of learning. Unlike other methods of education which are based on cosumable workbooks and texts, notebooking produces a journal of past educational adventures, which can be added to whenever additional learning takes place. Notebooks are a great way to review information and are an excellent way to share your learning experience with others.

What To Do With Lapbook Scraps

Although lapbooking is a great educational tool, it does create an abundance of scrap paper waste. This is a major turn off for some who are considering this method of education, and a source of guilt for many avid lapbookers.

But good stewardship and lapbooking can go hand in hand. There are many ways to recycle lapbook scraps, and some are as fun and educational as the lapbooking itself. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

You may also want to check out the Notebooks and Lapbooks Group  for more great notebooking and lapbooking lenses.

Sewing Lapbook

This lens provides ideas for completing a lapbook on the topic of "sewing." It's not anything fancy, but hopfully it will provide you with a few ideas. I will be adding to it as I think of additional topics to include.

Books For Girls

In an effort to help our daughters prepare for their futures, my husband and I began a hopechest for each of them at birth. This is a collection of high quality household tools as well as precious heirlooms.

Along the same lines, we have also begun a library for each of them by purchasing the highest quality books we can find- some newly published and some which are old favorites. We hope that by reading these books, both now and in the future, our daughters will develop the skills needed to be sucessful women- wives, mothers, and homemakers. Take a peek at our girls' bookshelf.

Table Manners

As the party guests gather around the table and begin gorging themselves, your glance shifts to the man seated across form you. His impeccable table manners add pleasure to your meal. Noticing your stare, he politely asks if you are enjoying your meal. Replying with an empathetic "Yes!", you shower him with food particles. After a scene like this, you may feel like giving up and becoming a hermit. But, there is still hope! Proper table etiquette is easy to learn and will save you from future embarassment.

Teatime Treats

Teatime is once again gaining popularity as many young mothers seek to establish this tradition with their children. Ofcouse, the sweetest part of these times together is the memories made, but here are a few recipes for some other sweet things you can serve with your tea.

Bringing The World To Your Living Room

So, you've made the decision to do a geography unit study. You've finally let go of your boring (but safe!) textbooks and made a trip to the library. But now what? Just follow these easy steps and soon you will find yourself touring the world from the comfort of your own home.

Creating Geography Treasure Boxes

Continent Boxes are sort of like treasure boxes- one for each continent- which contain maps, books, and artifacts from the countries on that continent. You can buy or create things specifically for your continent boxes, or you can do a "scavenger hunt" around the house to see what objects you can come up with.

Country Unit Studies

I've also mead some unit study lenses for different countries. These have ideas for crafts and for notebooking or lapbooking.

 China Unit Study

Mexico Unit Study

Japan Unit Study

Native American Crafts and Ideas

This is a list of projects and ideas that I will be using with my children as we study the Native Indian tribes of North America.

How To Teach Your Three or Four Year Old To Read

Teaching your child to read can be one of the most enjoyable things you will ever do. Preschool aged children are eager to learn and have an amazing capacity to absorb information. The key is to keep it simple and keep it fun. Do a little each day and maintain a relaxed environment.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

This simple book has been a favorite with generations of children. The simple, repeating text and bright, colorful illustrations are perfect for engaging young minds with short attention spans. However, this is more than just a storybook. The Very Hungry Caterpillar contains a wide variety of themes. So many, in fact, that this one simple book could be used as the basis of an entire preschool curriculum!

Making A Yearbook For Your Homeschool

At the end of third grade, my parents removed my sister and me from the private Christian school we had been attending and began home schooling. While I eventually grew to like being at home, I still to this day enjoy looking at my old school year books from the private school. I'm sure I would enjoy looking at my home school year books as well, but there aren't any. Nor are there any pictures. Not one single photo to prove that I ever attended school after the third grade. So, when I was paging through an old Teaching Home Magazine and read about the yearbooks someone else had done, I knew this was a tradition I was going to start.

Slime Science

Let's face it, most kids love to make a mess! And, yes, slime can be messy. But it is truely amazing how many different things you can learn about just by playing with this oohey gooey goop. Come on, admit it. The kids aren't the only ones having fun!

Holiday Freebies

There are tons of freebies available online. All it takes is a printer and some common art supplies to add some fun and educational activities to your holiday routine.  

Some friends of ours gave us a coconut from Florida, so my husband opened it up for the kids. He had never seen a coconut in the husk before, so I think he learned as much as they did. Unfortunately, this coconut was fermented. We will be purchasing another one (minus the husk) from Wal-Mart so the kids can try the fresh coconut. Yummy stuff!

Mothers too often use their busy schedules to excuse themselves from any mental excersize. But just as muscles atrophy without use, so a mind that is not excersized soon turns to mush. Continuing to learn new things will not only benefit your family by making you better equipped to fulfil your duties, but it will also send a message to your children that learning is not just something one is forced to do until they are old enough to do more important things. Here are three ways you can use "mother culture" to nuture your child's love of learning.

1. Set educational goals for yourself.

Think of something you want to learn and then make time to learn it. Your goals could include learning new skills or increasing your head knowledge. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

•  Learn a foreign language
• Build a web page using trial and error
• Do a research project on that topic from the kids lessons that you wanted to know more
• Make a lapbook (use a kit from  Currclick or design you own)
• Learn how to sew, knit, etc.
• Take a photography class

2. Read something besides fiction (or the kids school books).

Consider these your "textbooks which can be read and reread for insight and encouragement. Here are a few of my favorites:

• The Hidden Art of Homemaking by Edith Shaffer
• Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentis (This is actually fiction, but instructional none the less.)
• Love & Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs
• Christian Living in the Home by Jay Edward Adams
• Instruments In the Redeemer's Hands by Paul David Tripp

Or, read something that will help you to reach the educational goals you have set for yourself.

3. Nuture your own curiosity.

 No trivia is trivial when it provided the opportunity for a great educational experience.  Children will naturally ask questions, but they will not always know how to get the answers unless you show them. A great way to do this, is by keeping track of those times when you say "I wonder . . ." and making the effort to actually find the answer.

Remember, learning is a lifetime experience. Enjoy the adventure!

We just made playdough using the recipe we put in our pumpkin lapbooks. Normally playdough is unwelcome in this house, but today I relented. Why, you ask, would a woman who promotes various messy methods of hands-on learning have a problem with playdough? It all started nine years ago.

When my oldest son was two I tried to make him some playdough. I had made it once before when my brothers were little, but I couldn't find the recipe. So I tried a new one, and the playdough turned out too greasy. Being a frugal Dutch girl, I couldn't stand the thought of wasting all that flour. It would almost be a sin to just throw it away.  Instead, I feed it to my chickens. I had twenty-four hens at the beginning of that day. The playdough killed twelve of them. I watched them suffer all that day, their heads flopped to the side, dying of thirst but unable to  drink.  When my husband came home, I begged him to end their suffering. If you ever raise chickens, my advice is to never feed them playdough.

So, we moved on to store bought playdough. The first time he played with it, my son thought it would be a good idea to stick it to the bottom of his tennis shoe and walk all over the house. Eight years later, the ban on playdough was temporarily lifted when the children received some as a prize at a Reformation Day party held by a local church. The first thing my youngest son did was to stick it to the bottom of his shoe and walk all over the house. You know, sometimes it's good to throw things away.

Now, less than a year later, my three youngest  are sitting in the living playing with spicy-smelling brown (we put in too much cinnamon) playdough. They are all barefoot.

Hmm . . . I've just been informed that the little one has some stuck in her nose. Anyone need some playdough?

If you are interested in learning more about Charlotte Mason's methods you ought to read this. Or if you're interested in learning more about nature study and nature journaling, read this. Or if you just want to read a fun little story about a visit from Charlotte Mason, then go here. Yes, all three of those links go to the same place: The very first Chalotte Mason Blog Carnival. What a fun read! (For a rainy day, ofcourse.) And if you need some pages for your nature notebooks here's a great set from Betsy of Notebooking Nook: Nature Study Combo Set.  Or try this set from Debra of Notebooking Pages.com: Nature Study pages and North American Birds.

Now GO OUTSIDE!!!!

I was sorting through some papers this morning and came across a few quotes I had collected on the topic of "love."

My absolute favorite is an excerpt from a cotton commercial. The woman quoted is telling a short story of her childhood. Every night her mother came in, closed her window, and covered her. When she asked her mother why she did this, her mother replied, "Love is seeing a need and filling it."  I think that is a really good definition. 

A few years ago my own daughter was struggling with a particular punishment I had given her and was doubting my love. I told her this story. Then I asked her if she knew that I waited for her to fall asleep every night so I could cover her before I went to bed. That night, she faked sleep just so she could see if it was true. When I pulled the covers up and bent down to kiss her forehead she opened her eyes and reached up to hug me. "You DO love me!" she exclaimed.

A second quote comes from Francis Bacon. "A crowd is not company, and faces are but a gallery of pictures, and talk is but a tinkling of cymbols, where there is no love."

And finally, a quote with no source~ "The first duty of love is to listen."

All of these remind me that love is an action. I can tell my children I love them, but it doesn't mean anything if I don't demonstrate it. My children don't just need a teacher, they need someone who will listen to them, and sympathis with them, and sacrifice for them. They need a mother.

Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. Ephesions 5:2

I really wanted my children to have a taste of their "Dutch-American" heritage and as a homeschooler I am always looking for educational opportunities, so I was pleased that we were able to visit the Dutch Village theme park on a recent trip to Holland, Michigan. It was a great learning experience. The kids had a lot of fun filling out scavenger hunt papers with information about the culture and history of the Netherlands and turned them in at the end of the day for three pieces of stick candy. (I wish I had thought to ask if they could keep them for their notebooks.) Here are a few pictures from our visit.

The entrance . . .

 . . . the front desk . . .

 . . . an old organ known as "The Golden Angel" . . .

 . . . Dutch klompen dancers . . .

 . . . the Friesian farmhouse . . .

 . . . The Holland House candle shop:

dipping . . .

. . . carving . . .

. . . and the final product . . .

Have you noticed lately how it seems as if everyone is training their daughters for careers? Even the daughters who desire to be wives and mothers spend most of their time preparing for something else, just in case. The idea of a woman being on her own has become the norm, both for Christians and non-Christians, when really it should be seen as something which rarely occurs, and that under less than ideal circumstances. When asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up?", even little girls know better than to say, "I want to be a mommy." After all, a grown daughter is given but three choices: stay at home, twiddling her thumbs and leeching off her father (if he will let her); catch a man and let him support her (if she can find one); or become a productive and respected member of society (if she can make it).

Ideally, there is no better place for a woman to be than in a family and there is nothing a woman can do that is more important or useful than serving God within her family. If a daughter has been well trained she will be productive and should be allowed to practice that productivity within the sphere of family life. A grown daughter should have an important place in the home, helping to make her mother's job easier and carrying out those tasks which would otherwise go undone. She can practice submission within the family where God has placed her and gain skills in homemaking and in serving others with humility. The addition of her energies and talents will allow the influence of her family to extend far beyond the sphere it would influence without her, giving everyone additional opportunities to minister and grow.

But parents underestimate the value of the role a grown daughter can play in her father's household, and because of this our daughters are not being well trained and have no desire to contribute to the well being of the family. Or, if they have the desire, they lack the knowledge to accomplish it. Their parents, following the example of the world around them, spend their daughters' early years preparing them for the day when they will inevitably leave the protection of male headship and encourage them to pursue a single lifestyle as early as possible in an attempt to make it on their own. And these daughters, left vulnerable and unprotected in a world which not only expects its young women to care for themselves, but also its widows, are pressured into believing that they must prepare for that day as well. The things which were once seen as preparations for the possibility of an unavoidable hardship begin to be seen instead as preparations for a life of their choosing. College and careers, once seen as instruments used to accomplish the important things in life, begin to be seen as the important things. And things like home and family begin to be seen as obstacles rather than as a calling.

These young women are restless and discontented, worrying about the future when their real problem is the present. Because they are not happy where God has placed them, they fill their heads with dreams and goals which have little to do with the purpose for which God created them. They allow prideful, selfish and independent tendencies to grow as they look forward to the time when they will be on their own. Instead of carrying out God's plan for a life where all their talents can be used, their dreams and goals become centered on just one of their talents. And not being allowed to fill the role God has given them, they waste their todays on hopes of tomorrow. Wishing that God would place them where they could do some good, they neglect to do the good they could do in the family where He has already placed them. This tendency may be seen as the "normal" carelessness of youth, but these habits will become more and more engrained and will prove a serious handicap should God ever give them stewardship over families of their own.

If we want our daughters to be home centered, it is not enough simply to keep them at home. They must also have a purpose while they are in our homes. We must help our daughters to understand that they are not here to "kill time" until they can begin fulfilling their role in life. They are here because right now this is their role in life. We must be careful not to allow them to pursue self-centered activities which might lead them to believe it is possible for them to live without responsibility. Activities and educational opportunities should be complimentary to their role, not a replacement for it. We must encourage them in the development of their skills and abilities, and provide ways for them to put them to use. It's time for us to begin preparing our daughters for the lives we expect them to live, instead of for the ones we hope they will never have to face. And in the end, they will be better equipped to deal with all those "what ifs" as well.

I took Jimmie's advice and entered my last post in the Carnival of Homeschooling for this week. I'm so glad I did because I probably wouldn't have read it otherwise. And boy is it packed with information. You probably don't need any more reasons for homeschooling, but you'll still find a lot of great information. Check it out!

The Carnival of Homeschooling