We started our oldest on Abeka cursive early on, and continued using Abeka handwriting books up through the beginning of his sixth grade school year.  The Abeka practice sheets remind me of the old Palmer method writing exercises that our parents and grandparents learned in school.  If you’re familiar with the Palmer method, you can instantly spot a Palmer writer.  Recently, I watched a Commerce Bank CSR as she filled out paper work for my new checking account.  Even reading her writing upside-down I could spot her Palmer training.  That woman could have forged my mother’s handwriting without even trying.  They were a spot-on match.  I asked her which Catholic school she attended.  She laughed, and told me about her childhood in inner-city Philadelphia and the nuns that trained the school in proper cursive writing.  That explained it!  Their other faults aside, no one can drill-and-kill a subject like a nun in a habit with a sturdy oak ruler!  That also identifies the key to developing good handwriting – PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!

Developing good handwriting is no different than learning to throw a ball, shoot a free throw, swing a golf club, or shoot a bow and arrow.  It takes repetitive practice and care.   Handwriting is a mechanical movement that must be practiced until “muscle memory” makes it habit.  Unfortunately, learning good handwriting skills isn't quite as exciting to a child as learning to throw a ball or shoot a free throw.  Therein lays a home schooling parent’s big challenge.   Since we do not have a nun to step in with strong oak ruler or threat of eternal punishment to coerce our young charges’ minds into mastering the lost art of penmanship, homeschool moms and dads must ask themselves if this is a battle in which they wish to engage?  There can be a lot of whining, crying, fighting, sulking, and foot dragging over daily penmanship exercises.  There is no magic curriculum that, once engaged, will create beautiful writers out of children who seem to have had their hands replaced with chicken feet when it comes to the physical act of writing.  While some penmanship curriculum is a better fit for our children than others, good penmanship still boils down to care and lots of practice.   And so, mom and dad, how hard are you going to battle with your reluctant writers over the quality of their calligraphy?

Our oldest printed his work from preschool through second grade.  He began his cursive practice in second grade. The lessons took no more than 10 minutes each day, if he focused on his work and stopped worrying about the density of his navel lint and other distractions.  During third grade his work was a combination of printing and cursive.  When he entered fourth grade we required that all work be completed in cursive.  He continued daily cursive practice and completed all his work in cursive through the first part of his sixth grade year.

Something amazing happened over the summer between fifth and sixth grade.  His hands were returned to him and some chicken somewhere got her feet back.  The kid has pretty good handwriting.  The years of practice were worth it.  I highly encourage all home schooling parents to fight the good fight.  Make your children practice.  It is another way that homeschooled children will stand out from their peers when they grow up, move out, and head off into that big, big world that we are preparing them for.  Every advantage helps!  And the public schools just aren’t teaching cursive like they should.

Dear Friends and Family:

Here we are at the start of 2009, wondering what happened to 2008!  Here are a few highlights from the past year in the Difino household!

Jim and Linda stayed busy with family, work, and church responsibilities.  As the chairman of the deacons at Lombard Gospel Chapel, Jim spent most of the year heavily involved in our recently completed building project. During the spring and summer months, Linda’s work took her to homeschool conventions all over the U.S, and copywriting, tutoring, homeschool consulting, and babysitting enabled her to work from home during the remainder of the year.  Sunday school, AWANA, music ministry, and the regular demands of homeschooling and family life kept both of us busy. But by far, the biggest highlight of our year was a summer trip to Tennessee to celebrate Linda’s folks’ 50^th wedding anniversary. Mom and Dad, along with all the kids, spouses, and grandkids, spent a whole week vacationing together in the beautiful Smoky Mountains!  What a wonderful time we had hiking, splashing in mountain streams, and relaxing on our big front porch overlooking the mountains!

Darcy, 21, will soon begin her final semester at Northern Illinois University.  She just completed her 1^st grade student-teaching assignment and had a wonderful time!  She is living at home this year and has gotten quite involved in ministry and social life at the chapel. After one more semester of classes, she will graduate in May. We’re all hoping and praying that Darcy will be able to find a teaching job that will keep her close to home!!

Janna, 20, is also living at home right now while pursuing her college degree in a slightly less traditional manner.  She is earning “credits by examination” and has accumulated 63 college credits in the past 14 months!  She hopes to earn her bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences by December of 2009!  Janna also babysits regularly for a local family and is enjoying getting more involved with the college and career group at the chapel.

Nina, 18, is in her final year of high school (still homeschooled!) and is considering what the Lord might have in store for her future.  She went on a youth group missions trip this summer that the Lord used to increase her interest in missions and ministry. It will be exciting to see how the Lord leads her in the days ahead. Currently, watching hockey and enjoying time spent with friends from youth group are the highlights of Nina’s life!

Jimmy, 5, will begin (officially) Kindergarten in the fall. He is already “doing school” several days each week and loves it…most of the time! His current obsession with roller coasters and fast rides keeps him screaming through the house at breakneck speed!  A Christmas trip to Stormy Lake included MANY fast rides down a snowy hill on a tube!  He LOVED it!

All in all, 2008 was a wonderful year spent enjoying God’s rich provision for our family.  We are especially thankful to him for the friends and family that he has blessed us with!

May God richly bless you in 2009!

post election trauma
thats what im having
not because of who won
no, i'm confident in my God
i know, he knows
but i wonder to myself
as i observe the amount
of my believing friends
who voted for the elected
what now has this Church
that i belong to become?
is this a Church that
no longer believes in the
sanctity of life?
no longer believes in the
right of the family?

this is my post election trauma
not for the sake of my country
but for the sake of my church
to choose lower taxes over life
seems hardly fair to me
but i guess it's not for me to judge
but if this is the American Church
LEAVE ME OUT!

"Patrick Joshua is the Director of the National Prayer Network (India) and a father figure to the prayer movement in India. Because of a special burden for our nation, he visited the United States twice in recent months, including a trip to Houston. Patrick believes the U.S. is at a very critical time in history, the impact of which will be felt around the world. During his visits, Patrick told the story of God's intervention in India in 2004, in response to the fervent, united prayers of His intention of turning their nation in a direction that would make it almost impossible for Christians to share or practice their faith. Those forces had the momentum and the numbers, as the Christian population in India is a minority - by some estimates representing only 6% of the 1.1 billion people in the nation.

"The situation was desperate. Many thought it was impossible. So they turned to the God of the impossible and began to pray. In cities and states; across their nation, a movement of united, fervent prayer arose, but with a unique focus. They weren't praying for particular candidates or political parties.  Instead they were praying for the person of righteousness, the person of God's choosing, to be elected in every elected office.

"Right up until the day of the election every poll and pundit predicted the election would be a landslide for those who were opposed to the gospel.  When the votes were counted, however, the results revealed a different story. In district after district those candidates and political allies who opposed the gospel had been soundly defeated. At a national level they were out of power. Needless to say the press and the pundits were stunned.  No one saw it coming.

"So what happened?  It seems God heard the cries of His people and touched the hearts of the voters as they went into the voting booths.  Some believe a corporate conviction came upon the people and they indeed voted for the person of righteous, the person of God's choosing. This was seen most dramatically in the states and regions where prayer was the most concentrated and fervent. In one of those states, laws that restricted the advance of the gospel were immediately repealed.

"While our situation is certainly different, Patrick believes we are at a critical crossroad. He has encouraged us to follow a similar pattern in prayer for our upcoming election. Here's the pattern for prayer as we approach our election."

1. Those running for office nationally: Instead of praying for specific candidates or political parties - Pray that the person of righteousness, the person of God's choosing, would be selected in every congressional district, every senate race and for the office of President.
   
   Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people. (Psalm 14: 34)


2. Those running for office at the state and local level: Pray that the person of righteousness, the person of God's choosing, would be selected in every elected office at the state and local levels. 
   
   When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan. (Proverbs 29:2)
   
3. Those voting: Pray that each person voting will be convicted to vote for the person of righteousness, the person of God's choosing, in each elected office and in each ballot initiative. Pray for God's Presence to overshadow each person as they make their decision. 
   
   The Spirit of the Lord will be upon him - the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord – and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.  He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears.
   (Isaiah 11:2-3)
   
4. Those involved in the election process: Pray that every official involved in the election process would serve with honesty and integrity of heart. 
   
   The Lord abhors dishonest scales, but accurate weights are his delight. (Proverbs 11:1)
   
5. Those praying: Pray that God would empower intercessors and people across the nation and around the world to call out to Him day and night in extraordinary prayer during this season. 
   
   And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a Spirit of grace and supplication.  (Zechariah 12:10)
   
6. The Church: Pray that the Church would be fully awakened, engaged and empowered during this critical season. Pray that we would understand the urgency and importance of this election and the implications for the advancement of God's purposes in our nation and around the world. 
   
   The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.  (Isaiah 9:7)
   
7. Our nation: Pray that God's plans and purposes for our nation would be established during this election season. Pray that we would be a nation who follows God and is a blessing to the nations of the earth. 
   
   Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  (Matthew 6:10)
   

This week's theme is SCARY. 

That's a REALLY scary ghost on my son's cheek!!

Now this is REALLY scary....this is my husband and me almost 25 years ago.  What's really scary is how good my husband looks as a girl!

• I prefer to choose the time, place, and manner for educating my children in the use (misuse) of recreational drugs as well as the consequences of such use. 

My friend's 6th grader waits at the bus stop every morning with a group of middle school and high school students.  She knew the older kids were smoking, but didn't realize WHAT they were smoking.  Several weeks into the school year, a construction worker employed by my friend drove by the bus stop and noticed a suspicious odor wafting through the air!  He told my friend, who in turn called both schools. 

Cue: "Whacha gonna do when they come for you? Bad boys, bad boys, whacha gonna do?"

Several days later the kids at the bus stop had the privilege of experience what most people only get to see on COPS!.  A police car raced up to the stop and two officers jumped out and performed a "drug bust" right there at the bus stop.  They targeted only the guilty parties (thankfully), dumped a pile of marijuana and "paraphernalia" on the hood of the cruiser, and promptly hauled the bad boys off to the police station. Wow.  Not your typical morning at the bus stop. Thanks, but no thanks.  My kids can learn about drugs in slightly less dramatic fashion.

But just in case some public school kids miss out on learning about drugs at the bus stop, maybe they can find this book in their school library. 

• I prefer to choose the time, place, and manner of my child's sex education. 

Pretty much all that needs to be said about this particular subject is contained in the story itself.  CLICK HERE.  (Incidentally, all charges were dropped against this man, but the school STILL refuses to notify parents when homosexuality will be discussed in the school's classes...even kindergarten classes!) Even more horror stories out of Massachusetts here.

• Homework is a waste of time.
  

If a child understands what the teacher taught, homework is redundant...and a waste of time.  If a child doesn't understand what the teacher taught, the homework will only be confusing...and a waste of time.  The 6th grade student that lives next door to me does between 2-3 HOURS of homework some nights. That's insane.  The kid just spent almost 8 hours in school.  As adults we get paid overtime for anything over 8 hours.  If you can't teach what you need to in 8 hours, you shouldn't be teaching.  Period. 

• Homeschool is WAY cheaper than public school.

I cannot believe how much it costs my friends and relatives to send their children to public (taxpayer funded!) school. WAY more than it costs me to homeschool (not taxpayer funded!) And my kids are getting a better education. Hands down.

• Liberal politics have completely ruined education in our country.