For those of you who have followed this blog for a year or more you will be aware of 'Black Friday Sales' in the past. For those of you who are newer to the blog - I will explain briefly!

   'Black Friday' is an American term for the day after Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is always the forth Thursday in November. On the next day most people have the day off work and the Christmas sales start in earnest that day! It is about the same as the Boxing day sales here in England.

   Alot of our favourite Homeschooling companies also have great Black Friday sales on that day or the week around Thanksgiving. So we tend to post up the details of those sales as we find notification of them to give you all a heads up.

   It is a day when alot of websites crash from the volume of traffic, so I would suggest if there is a sale you want to take advantage of to do so early in the morning here before the States begin to awake! Once you get to lunchtime here it can be very difficult to manage any downloads.

   So, here are the details of the first sale we have been notified of - the Hands of a Child sale. Remember that alot of these companies have ebook products which we can enjoy without any shipping costs. Enjoy your shopping and watch this space over the next two weeks for notification of all the other great bargains available. - Deedee

Once upon a time — in what we might think of as the “Happy Days” era — courtship was governed by a set of guardrails. Potential partners generally met within the context of larger social institutions: neighborhoods, schools, workplaces and families. There were certain accepted social scripts. The purpose of these scripts — dating, going steady, delaying sex — was to guide young people on the path from short-term desire to long-term commitment.

Over the past few decades, these social scripts became obsolete. They didn’t fit the post-feminist era. So the search was on for more enlightened courtship rules. You would expect a dynamic society to come up with appropriate scripts. But technology has made this extremely difficult. Etiquette is all about obstacles and restraint. But technology, especially cellphone and texting technology, dissolves obstacles. Suitors now contact each other in an instantaneous, frictionless sphere separated from larger social institutions and commitments.

Home of the brave BECAUSE of the free! Thank you, Veterans!

Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><

Prov. 27:17 – “As iron sharpens iron, so one man [family] sharpens another.”

When you began your homeschool adventure, where was it that you went to ask questions, get answers, find the camaraderie of many shoulders to cry on and find out that your child wasn’t a freak because he was having trouble with his nine times-tables?  Where was it that you could count on someone with experience to be there for you?

Does “support group” ring a bell to anyone?

I hate to say it, but in many areas support groups are going the way of snow in summer-time…they seem to be melting away and fading into the atmosphere.  And I say, “what a shame!”

It’s come to my attention that many of our precious experienced homeschoolers are starting to drift away from attending their area support group meetings.  Do they feel that they have out-grown them?

Look at it this way:  if I take two pieces of rusty, dull iron – I have two pieces of rust, dull iron!  J  But if I rub them together, something great happens; they start to change.  They become a little sharper, they become a little brighter and shinier.  They become something usable.  Iron can’t sharpen iron unless there is friction between the two…they have to meet together.

As I asked you in the beginning, think about when you were a new homeschooler and your child just wasn’t catching on to a concept and, at your wit’s end, you went to your homeschool support group and started asking around for help.  Lo and behold!  There was a wonderful, experienced mom there who had actually “been there, done that”!  You went home, tried her advice and it worked!

Now…think of this:  A new homeschool mom, full of hopes and dreams and fears comes to your homeschool support group.  Her child just isn’t catching on to a concept and she’s at her wit’s end; and after coming to your support group she starts asking around for help.  Lo and behold!  Does she find it from you…OR is this one of those nights when you decided you just didn’t want to go tonight?  After all, what more do YOU need to learn about homeschooling since you’ve done it for so long?

Well, what if the reason you are to STILL attend your group has changed?  What if it’s now a ministry?  What if the reason that new homeschool mom leaves the meeting a little sadder and a little more fearful and discouraged is because YOU weren’t there to answer her questions the way someone was there for you?

Isn’t it time for us to be there for a new generation of homeschoolers?  Isn’t it time for us to share our experiences, our triumphs, our joys and even our failures with the new crowd?  Isn’t that part of our Titus 2 duty?  Did the Lord really make you a part of your group JUST so you could get a newsletter, go to gym or co-op or field trips, find out about curriculum sales and legislative updates?  I don’t think so.

This is a new season in our lives and an opportunity to shine as examples of experienced homeschool moms!

Let’s not be a part of the “me, me, me” crowd…we’re past that.  Let’s be the Lord’s hands and feet and minister to our sisters and their families and ease some of those fears and build some dreams!  After all, a long time ago someone cared enough to be there for you.  Now it’s your turn.

Blessings from Ohio,

Kim Wolf<><

A Quiet Sun, a Cold Winter

The Old Farmer’s Almanac is calling for a colder-than-normal winter. One contributing factor is sunspots—or the lack of them!

This year and next, sunspot activity will be very, very light. Whenever this phenomenon has occurred in the past, the result has been a cooling influence on Earth. Solar experts believe that the Sun will remain calm for another year.
See sunspot activity for 2009.

Robert B. Thomas, who founded this Almanac in 1792, believed that weather on Earth was influenced by sunspots and solar radiation. Sunspots are magnetic storms on the surface of the Sun. Click here to read “What Are Sunspots?”


To this day, the Almanac uses three disciplines to predict the weather: meteorology, climatology, and solar activity. (See How We Predict the Weather.)

If you’re interested in learning more about the Sun’s effect on our climate, read “The Influence of Solar Activity on the Weather.”

Or, join this forum: “Are Sunspots Disappearing?”

Seasons of the Sun

Learn about the discovery of the 11-year solar cycle and its importance in predicting the frequency of sun spots and the strength of solar storms.

   Have you seen the Christmas decorations up in town? Have you been stocking up on special holiday foods and gift wrap yet? Well, here is one more holiday sale - but this time for your homeschool!

   Currclick do instantly downloadable ebooks of Home ed curriculum and resources. If you do pop over to take a look please consider clicking on the Currclick box in the sidebar as that is our affiliate link and we get a small commision on your order if you do. Thanks - Deedee