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#8-13: Focus on Faithfulness

#1 · October 8, 2005, 9:08 am

Quote from Forum Archives on October 8, 2005, 9:08 am
Posted by: homenews <homenews@...>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hope Chest Home School News

with Virginia Knowles

October 8, 2005

#8-13: Focus on Faithfulness

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Hope Chest Home School News is a free monthly e-mail magazine sent to almost 1300 families around the world. The publisher is Virginia Knowles, wife of Thad, and mother of seven daughters and three sons. Virginia is also the author of The Real Life Home School Mom, Common Sense Excellence, and The Learner's Journal lesson planner and resource log. You can visit her web site at www.TheHopeChest.net, e-mail her at [email protected] or subscribe to the Hope Chest by sending any message to [email protected]. If you wish to unsubscribe, send a message from that address to [email protected]. To change your address, unsubscribe from the old one and subscribe to the new one.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Dear Hope Chest friends,

Im delighted to publish this new issue of The Hope Chest! I hope you enjoy the intertwined themes of faithfulness and writing that you will find here.

Im also excited about the NEXT issue of the Hope Chest, Nations and Generations, which will include Kim Forders story of adopting triplets from Liberia, my two oldest daughters stories about their mission trips to Bolivia, and much more. I will actually send this next issue out sometime in October as an extra bonus this month. (This is possible because I dont have to write it, and necessary since some of the information is time sensitive!) The November issue -- just in time for the holidays -- will most likely be, Where Our Hearts Find Home.

Susie Fleenor has been hard at work updating my web site, so be sure to take a look at it: www.TheHopeChest.net. If you click on the About Our Family page, you will see a family picture taken by my mom in August when Melody was less than a week old. Some of the pages havent been updated yet, but keep checking back. At some point, there will be an blog/archive page! Thanks, Susie!

Speaking of my mom, her name is Mary Quarrier, and its her birthday today! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM! Thanks for all of the love you have invested in your three children and their spouses, and into your thirteen grandchildren! Youre the best!

In His Sovereign Grace,

Virginia Knowles

www.TheHopeChest.net

In this issue you will find:

             Focus on Faithfulness by Virginia Knowles

             [ Untitled ] A Poem by Mary Knowles

             For the Write Reason -- Book by Marybeth Whalen, Review by Virginia Knowles

             Excerpts from Common Sense Excellence by Virginia Knowles

             A Final Note from... Susannah?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Focus on Faithfulness

By Virginia Knowles

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My life is a grand adventure! After all, Im a home school mom! Its been well over a decade since we set out on this path, and I thank God that I have this privilege. I do rue how much time Ive squandered along the way on stuff that is infinitely insignificant in comparison. Lord have mercy! May I be MORE faithful in the next 18 years!

I catch myself resting on comfortable assumptions that as long as I am home schooling my kids, they will turn out to be raving successes in every aspect of life. Unfortunately, if am not faithful in the little things associated with this BIG task, I have at least two problems. First, important stuff doesnt get done that will be sorely missed down the path. Second, my poor example will set up a stumbling block for my children.

I often read advice on how we should slow down our lives so we can relax and enjoy the little moments. I need to hear that sometimes! And yet, many of us use that as justification to just sit around and do nothing. If anything, we should slow down our lives and not do so many DIFFERENT things so that we can focus on working very hard at the FEW things that we are called to do in this season of life. I am deeply sobered when I consider how much there is to do with what little time I have each day. With Gods help, I am responsible for training my children spiritually, guarding their morals, making sure they develop GOOD habits, teaching them academics, overseeing their health, safety, nutrition, and home atmosphere -- and so much more! (Oh, and did I mention that I am a wife, too?) To do an excellent job with this divine call leaves very little time for anything else, but I know that I invest these precious hours each day to fulfill my life destiny. Thats a reason to rejoice!

Likewise, I want to take a good hard look at the future and evaluate whether I am preparing my children to meet their life destinies with competence and confidence. For that, I need to teach THEM faithfulness, and I dont have the luxury of waiting until the last few years before they leave home. It needs to be built into everything we do throughout their lives. I want them to be able to communicate effectively, work with excellence and initiative, be well-versed in the Biblical worldview, creatively solve problems, be good stewards of their time and money, and keep their homes in order. Most of all, I want them to have a passion for the Lord, his word, his church and his ways.

Yes, I am sobered as I think of these things! When I feel overwhelmed, I remember that the Lord does not want them to be a burden, but a challenge to be diligent -- to be faithful! I want to encourage you along the same lines, but not merely leave you with philosophical ideas. Lets get practical for a few minutes. Here are some ideas to help you:

If I am going to develop faithfulness in myself and my children, I need to

take care of my health -- nutrition, exercise and proper sleep -- so I wont get grumpy or burned out.

choose to cherish my family and show them ample affection, because it helps us all stay cheerful and fosters a sweeter servant attitude. When I do get cranky, I need to realize that this cheerfulness is a CHOICE and I can make an instant "mood swing" in the right direction whenever I want!

talk to my husband and get input on what he wants me to do, and feedback on how Im doing. Then I can talk to my children to see how things are going from their perspective, and make adjustments as needed. (This should be a result of me thinking it through, not my children manipulating the situation. )

plan ahead for what Im going to do, and then follow through -- but not get upset at interruptions.

carefully evaluate how I spend my time and how my children spend theirs -- remembering that its much better to do a few things well than many things in mediocrity.

limit the amount of time spent on the phone, surfing the web, playing around on the computer, watching TV or videos, and running around town. (If watching too much TV is a problem for your family but you need your set for educational videos, you can disconnect the antenna or disable channels using the TV menu. If you really need to watch something special, you can hook it back up. Its amazing at all the things you can get done if the TV is NOT on -- and Im not just talking about work! How about reading a story book cuddled up on the couch, or playing Scrabble, or turning on some music and dancing around the room with your children, or inviting a lonely friend over for dessert?)

keep my children busy with the essentials first, because if they arent doing their schoolwork and housework with a great attitude, why should they be doing anything else on top of that? (The same goes for me!)

assign challenging yet appropriate school work to my children, and make sure they follow through with a GOOD JOB and not just the bare minimum. A lesson planner is a big help here! Often, a bright child who coasted through the early years of school on sheer natural ability and curiosity will need to learn self-discipline to make it through the later years, when school work is not quite so fun or intuitive. This can be a tough transition!

delegate house work to my children, and inspect to make sure that it is completed according to my reasonable standards. A chore chart can keep everyone on track! If you dont know what is appropriate for each age level, consult a book or chart on this. Here are several links to help you:

       Chores: You Are NOT Doing Them All By Yourself, Are You? http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/KeepingtheHome/1054/

       Chores: What 1-2-Year-Old Walkers Can Do http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/KeepingtheHome/1053/

       Chores: What a 3-5-Year-Old Can Do http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/KeepingtheHome/1052/

       Chores: What Elementary-Aged Children Can Do http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/KeepingtheHome/1051/

encourage my children to set manageable goals for themselves, and coach them through how to set up steps to complete them.

consider enrolling my child in a class or hiring a tutor for a subject where I may lack expertise or where he or she needs extra accountability. (My children have always thrived best when taking high school lab science classes away from home.)

take the time to nurture and teach my little ones, even if they arent school age. Check out the ideas at http://www.PreschoolersAndPeace.com/, a lovely web site by a home school mom of many.

stay close to the Lord, and continually ask for his wisdom and strength.

If you would like to read more on these topics, I encourage you to get a copy of my first book, The Real Life Home School Mom, especially the following chapters: Life Management 101, A Vision for the Future, Excellent Work!, Building the Family Team and Busy at Home.

If you want to know what and how to teach each school subject up through the elementary years, I recommend my book Common Sense Excellence: Faith-Filled Home Education for Preschool to 5th Grade, which I have excerpted near the end of this issue.

You can find out more about each of these books at www.TheHopeChest.net/resources.html.

May God bless you as you focus on being a FAITHFUL home school mom!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[ untitled ]

A Poem by Mary Knowles

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I sigh.

Poems are hard to write, and I have to write one.

I am not exactly a poet, though people guess that I am,

the same people that think I must dance ballet because my hair is in a bun.

I want to be a writer in the future, a newsgirl, but not a poet.

But I remind myself, any kind of writing is hard work,

like mentally breaking up earth, plowing fields and sowing many sentence seeds.

With the warm laptop on my lap, the washing machine oscillating and the finish line in sight,

I stare down another assignment.

And I like the click of the keys, even when its mostly the backspace key,

the lightning of thought striking screen

-- and occasionally, as Mark Twain would say, the lightning strike of the perfect phrase.

Someone once said, When I run, I feel Gods pleasure,

and I say, when I write, I feel Gods pleasure, the God who gives good gifts but buries them in fields,

hidden until someone sacrifices much to dig them out.

Now the rocks are coming away from my field, and the weeds, and the thorns.

And I think, I am small, and I stink at sports, and I will not win Miss Outgoing,

but I can become a writer if only I keep chipping away with my spade,

or perhaps that would be my keys, even my backspace key.

I still sigh, but now its a different sigh.

~~

Virginias note: Mary wrote this for an Advanced Placement English class which she took on-line through the Florida Virtual School last year. Though she was already an excellent writer, this rigorous course stretched her! Mary is well on her way to being a newsgirl. She just had two articles about a church-state symposium printed on the front page of UCFs Central Florida Future newspaper, and has applied to the Journalism school there. Heres the link to one of Marys articles: http://www.ucfnews.com/media/paper174/news/2005/09/29/News/Church.State.Sparked.Debate.In.Symposium-1002429.shtml

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For the Write Reason:

31 Writers, Agents and Editors Share Their Experiences with Christian Publishing

Book by Marybeth Whalen, Review by Virginia Knowles

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One of the lovely fringe benefits of publishing the Hope Chest is that people send me books to review! Marybeth Whalen is a home school mom of six, author, speaker -- and long-time Hope Chest reader! Her new book is called For the Write Reason: 31 Writers, Agents and Editors Share Their Experiences with Christian Publishing. In this book, you will read about how other writers (mostly women) got their start, what inspires them, how they deal with rejection, how they get published, how they balance family and writing, and much more. After each chapter, Marybeth offers a one-page devotional on some aspect of being a writer. She has done an awesome job of compiling this valuable resource.

I particularly liked Marybeths counsel on keeping priorities in place:

While ministry is a calling from God and an excellent way to use our gifts and talents, it is not meant to take away from the needs of our family. We must remember that discipline our children and meeting our husbands needs is of the utmost importance to God. We cant afford to make the mistake of getting our priorities out of order. A decision to neglect our responsibilities will most certainly have eternal ramifications.

I also liked the piece by Karen Ehman, a home school mom who had been active in drama, writing and speaking prior to the birth of her first child. Having a colicky baby put an abrupt halt to these ministries. Here is an excerpt from her chapter:

My days were spent wiping and rocking; cooking and cleaning. Even though I loved my family, I also quietly resented them, feeling that my life as an at-home mom was keeping me from my dreams. Finally I came to a point of willful surrender. Deciding that it was the only option, I told God Id be content to be knows as a Mrs. and a mom but He would need to take away my desire to perform, speak and write. Just as He often does, God whispered a plan to my heart that I had not though of. He nudged me to begin using my talents to bless my family instead of to make my name known. I was convicted of my wrong motives and purposed in my heart that I would use my gifts to love and serve my family first (and perhaps only). What happened next was nothing short of miraculous for this otter-personality-type, stage-loving gal. I became content to sing lullabies and silly songs with my children as my only audience. I began to use my imaginative mind and love for drama to act out exciting Bible stories or to invent different voices for the characters in the books we read aloud at bedtime. I threw myself into writing love letters to my husband, clever poems for my kids and simple musings to myself. I honestly felt that outside ministry opportunities would never come my way and I was surprisingly OK with that!

Later on, the door divinely opened for Karen to take over publishing A Mothers Mission Newsletter, which a friend had started. She continued this for five years. Eventually, she designed the Hearts at Home Moms Planner, co-authored the books Homespun Gifts from the Heart and Homespun Memories for the Heart, and spoke on many national radio programs, including Focus on the Family. This reminds me so much of Edith Schaeffers counsel (in her book The Hidden Art of Homemaking) to let our gifts bloom at home, and then see what God does with that growth outside of the home!

Ive been writing and publishing for many years. I try hard to keep a balance between that and effectively caring for my family. Its not easy. I have often edited my books and articles while sitting on a childs floor until they fell asleep for naps. Or Ive gotten up early or stayed up late -- not always a good idea! Or I would write and rewrite mentally while doing housework or running errands -- and then sit down at the computer and type as fast as I could!   I have to learn to focus on the core message as I write. My mind raced down a dozen different bunny trails as I thought of what to say in my main article in this issue. I actually wrote far more than I should have, and then deleted most of it because it was far too ponderous. Thats a picture of my life. I have to prune it down, and not try to go in so many directions. Thats why I dont spend much time at all marketing my books. I just let the orders trickle in as they may. Being a full-fledged business woman is not on my agenda in this season of life!

You can purchase Marybeths book for $17.99 plus shipping from Proverbs 31 Ministries at: http://proverbs31.gospelcom.net/resourceBooks.htm

Check out Marybeths own web site at: http://www.marybethwhalen.com/

Ill include more information about Karen Ehmans books in the November issue of the Hope Chest. Her new web site will be done in a few weeks, too. Meanwhile, you can contact her at [email protected].

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Common Sense Excellence

A Book Excerpt by Virginia Knowles

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The following is a short excerpt from the first chapter of my book Common Sense Excellence: Faith-Filled Education for Preschool to 5^th Grade.

~~~

COMMON SENSE

I say common sense because I think that real education has often been obscured by educationalese jargon and artificial techniques. These may be necessary for a public school classroom in a pluralistic, bureaucratic society, but for educating my own children in my own home, I have found the need to go back and strip away my preconceptions about what education really is! What is effective rather than merely efficient? What are the most natural, uncomplicated, powerful methods of transferring information and inspiration to a young child? Its really common sense, if we can dig away the layers and get back to the core. Education does not need to be difficult. It does not need to be left to the experts. God has supplied you with all the IQ and love you need to be your childs prime teacher. You just need to tap into it and nurture it! If you are a brand new or prospective home school mom, please dont stress out about teaching kindergarten. The only possible way you could mess up is to put so much pressure on your child that he starts to dislike learning. If you relax and enjoy your child, and work at things bit by bit, youll both learn together just fine. Trust me!

EXCELLENCE

What about excellence? This means giving our children the very best. Not the most expensive, not the fanciest, not chasing the 99th percentile on standardized tests. Just the BEST. This means an investment of our time and energy, and yes, some of our hard-earned money. This is the balance to my relax advice in the previous paragraph. Though we shouldnt stress out, we shouldnt veg out or tune out either. We cant have a laissez-faire (does that sound like lazy?) attitude toward our childrens education, especially as they move into the upper elementary grades. Mediocrity is no testimony to Gods working in us. We are to study to show ourselves approved so that we can be salt and light for the generations who need the grace of God. Though I believe home schooling to be the most promising approach to educating children, I have sadly seen many parents who just let their children float aimlessly, and then wonder why home schooling has gotten a bad rap from their family and friends. Education must be intentional and focused. We must pursue excellence.

~~~~~

Here is another excerpt from Common Sense Excellence about working directly with your child using a technique I call tandem writing.

~~~~~

Do you have a really reluctant writer? Maybe this is a child who claims he cant think of anything creative to write, even when you give him ideas. Hes not into silly stories, but maybehe has been reading books about snakes. So you suggest, ever so casually, Can you tell me a few things about the king cobra so I can write them down? Have your pencil and paper ready so you can slide into this naturally, without raising too much suspicion. If your child is willing to do this, ask him for three or four things that you can write down for him. OK, Im ready for the first thing. Then write just what he tells you -- some fact or opinion. Rephrase something for him if necessary, and check if that is what he meant. Then, How about a second thing? Dont worry if there is a smooth transition from the last item to this. Now is not the time for major editing! You might, however, suggest a specific thing based on the first, such as, What does the king cobra eat? You can keep this up as long as your child is interested. Then put it away until tomorrow. When you come back to it, read it together. Help your child choose a logical order for the items and number them on the paper. Then he can type it into a word processing program, ready for the next step in the writing process: editing and proofreading! You can use this phase of tandem writing as often as necessary until your child has enough confidence in his own power over words that he can write by himself.

~~~

Common Sense Excellence is a 243 page comprehensive guide to teaching all of the school subjects from a Christian perspective. Since writing is one theme of this Hope Chest issue, I will mention that the section on writing includes teaching tips for Handwriting, Spelling and Vocabulary, Grammar, Written Composition, and Making Books. For more information on Common Sense Excellence, please visit www.TheHopeChest.net/resources.html.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Final Note from... Susannah?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The other day, my friend Donna brought our family a lovely plate of yummy chocolate chip cookies, along with a baby congratulations card addressed to Susannah? Huh? It was a joke, a facetious yet flattering reference to Susannah Wesley, famed 17th century mother of 19 children. (Nine of them died before age two, so I guess that puts me even with her raising ten kids.) Anyway, Susannah Wesley is notorious among Christian home school moms as being incredibly disciplined and hardworking, with very high standards for her children. She even wrote theology books for them! Oh, how she puts me to shame in her level of faithfulness! But at least shes one of my role models, and at least Im trying. http://www.historyswomen.com/womenoffaith/SusannahWesley.html

Another noteworthy Susannah was the wife of the great Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon. After the birth of her twin sons in 1857, she suffered poor health and was often bedridden, but that didnt stop her from training these precious children faithfully. One of Susannahs other legacies, besides writing several books of her own, was setting up a Book Fund to supply poor pastors with theological books. Now theres a woman after my own heart! http://www.historyswomen.com/womenoffaith/SusannahSpurgeon.html

Well, its time to end my time travel for the moment, and get back to my own family in 2005!

Blessings,

Susannah

(Um, I mean, Virginia!)

www.TheHopeChest.net
  --  To subscribe, send ANY message to: [email protected]  To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: [email protected]  Visit my web site at www://thehopechest.net  

Posted by: homenews <homenews@...>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hope Chest Home School News

with Virginia Knowles

October 8, 2005

#8-13: Focus on Faithfulness

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Hope Chest Home School News is a free monthly e-mail magazine sent to almost 1300 families around the world. The publisher is Virginia Knowles, wife of Thad, and mother of seven daughters and three sons. Virginia is also the author of The Real Life Home School Mom, Common Sense Excellence, and The Learner's Journal lesson planner and resource log. You can visit her web site at http://www.TheHopeChest.net, e-mail her at [email protected] or subscribe to the Hope Chest by sending any message to [email protected]. If you wish to unsubscribe, send a message from that address to [email protected]. To change your address, unsubscribe from the old one and subscribe to the new one.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Dear Hope Chest friends,

Im delighted to publish this new issue of The Hope Chest! I hope you enjoy the intertwined themes of faithfulness and writing that you will find here.

Im also excited about the NEXT issue of the Hope Chest, Nations and Generations, which will include Kim Forders story of adopting triplets from Liberia, my two oldest daughters stories about their mission trips to Bolivia, and much more. I will actually send this next issue out sometime in October as an extra bonus this month. (This is possible because I dont have to write it, and necessary since some of the information is time sensitive!) The November issue -- just in time for the holidays -- will most likely be, Where Our Hearts Find Home.

Susie Fleenor has been hard at work updating my web site, so be sure to take a look at it: http://www.TheHopeChest.net. If you click on the About Our Family page, you will see a family picture taken by my mom in August when Melody was less than a week old. Some of the pages havent been updated yet, but keep checking back. At some point, there will be an blog/archive page! Thanks, Susie!

Speaking of my mom, her name is Mary Quarrier, and its her birthday today! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM! Thanks for all of the love you have invested in your three children and their spouses, and into your thirteen grandchildren! Youre the best!

In His Sovereign Grace,

Virginia Knowles

http://www.TheHopeChest.net

In this issue you will find:

Focus on Faithfulness by Virginia Knowles

[ Untitled ] A Poem by Mary Knowles

For the Write Reason -- Book by Marybeth Whalen, Review by Virginia Knowles

Excerpts from Common Sense Excellence by Virginia Knowles

A Final Note from... Susannah?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Focus on Faithfulness

By Virginia Knowles

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My life is a grand adventure! After all, Im a home school mom! Its been well over a decade since we set out on this path, and I thank God that I have this privilege. I do rue how much time Ive squandered along the way on stuff that is infinitely insignificant in comparison. Lord have mercy! May I be MORE faithful in the next 18 years!

I catch myself resting on comfortable assumptions that as long as I am home schooling my kids, they will turn out to be raving successes in every aspect of life. Unfortunately, if am not faithful in the little things associated with this BIG task, I have at least two problems. First, important stuff doesnt get done that will be sorely missed down the path. Second, my poor example will set up a stumbling block for my children.

I often read advice on how we should slow down our lives so we can relax and enjoy the little moments. I need to hear that sometimes! And yet, many of us use that as justification to just sit around and do nothing. If anything, we should slow down our lives and not do so many DIFFERENT things so that we can focus on working very hard at the FEW things that we are called to do in this season of life. I am deeply sobered when I consider how much there is to do with what little time I have each day. With Gods help, I am responsible for training my children spiritually, guarding their morals, making sure they develop GOOD habits, teaching them academics, overseeing their health, safety, nutrition, and home atmosphere -- and so much more! (Oh, and did I mention that I am a wife, too?) To do an excellent job with this divine call leaves very little time for anything else, but I know that I invest these precious hours each day to fulfill my life destiny. Thats a reason to rejoice!

Likewise, I want to take a good hard look at the future and evaluate whether I am preparing my children to meet their life destinies with competence and confidence. For that, I need to teach THEM faithfulness, and I dont have the luxury of waiting until the last few years before they leave home. It needs to be built into everything we do throughout their lives. I want them to be able to communicate effectively, work with excellence and initiative, be well-versed in the Biblical worldview, creatively solve problems, be good stewards of their time and money, and keep their homes in order. Most of all, I want them to have a passion for the Lord, his word, his church and his ways.

Yes, I am sobered as I think of these things! When I feel overwhelmed, I remember that the Lord does not want them to be a burden, but a challenge to be diligent -- to be faithful! I want to encourage you along the same lines, but not merely leave you with philosophical ideas. Lets get practical for a few minutes. Here are some ideas to help you:

If I am going to develop faithfulness in myself and my children, I need to

take care of my health -- nutrition, exercise and proper sleep -- so I wont get grumpy or burned out.

choose to cherish my family and show them ample affection, because it helps us all stay cheerful and fosters a sweeter servant attitude. When I do get cranky, I need to realize that this cheerfulness is a CHOICE and I can make an instant "mood swing" in the right direction whenever I want!

talk to my husband and get input on what he wants me to do, and feedback on how Im doing. Then I can talk to my children to see how things are going from their perspective, and make adjustments as needed. (This should be a result of me thinking it through, not my children manipulating the situation. )

plan ahead for what Im going to do, and then follow through -- but not get upset at interruptions.

carefully evaluate how I spend my time and how my children spend theirs -- remembering that its much better to do a few things well than many things in mediocrity.

limit the amount of time spent on the phone, surfing the web, playing around on the computer, watching TV or videos, and running around town. (If watching too much TV is a problem for your family but you need your set for educational videos, you can disconnect the antenna or disable channels using the TV menu. If you really need to watch something special, you can hook it back up. Its amazing at all the things you can get done if the TV is NOT on -- and Im not just talking about work! How about reading a story book cuddled up on the couch, or playing Scrabble, or turning on some music and dancing around the room with your children, or inviting a lonely friend over for dessert?)

keep my children busy with the essentials first, because if they arent doing their schoolwork and housework with a great attitude, why should they be doing anything else on top of that? (The same goes for me!)

assign challenging yet appropriate school work to my children, and make sure they follow through with a GOOD JOB and not just the bare minimum. A lesson planner is a big help here! Often, a bright child who coasted through the early years of school on sheer natural ability and curiosity will need to learn self-discipline to make it through the later years, when school work is not quite so fun or intuitive. This can be a tough transition!

delegate house work to my children, and inspect to make sure that it is completed according to my reasonable standards. A chore chart can keep everyone on track! If you dont know what is appropriate for each age level, consult a book or chart on this. Here are several links to help you:

Chores: You Are NOT Doing Them All By Yourself, Are You? http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/KeepingtheHome/1054/

Chores: What 1-2-Year-Old Walkers Can Do http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/KeepingtheHome/1053/

Chores: What a 3-5-Year-Old Can Do http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/KeepingtheHome/1052/

Chores: What Elementary-Aged Children Can Do http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/KeepingtheHome/1051/

encourage my children to set manageable goals for themselves, and coach them through how to set up steps to complete them.

consider enrolling my child in a class or hiring a tutor for a subject where I may lack expertise or where he or she needs extra accountability. (My children have always thrived best when taking high school lab science classes away from home.)

take the time to nurture and teach my little ones, even if they arent school age. Check out the ideas at http://www.PreschoolersAndPeace.com/, a lovely web site by a home school mom of many.

stay close to the Lord, and continually ask for his wisdom and strength.

If you would like to read more on these topics, I encourage you to get a copy of my first book, The Real Life Home School Mom, especially the following chapters: Life Management 101, A Vision for the Future, Excellent Work!, Building the Family Team and Busy at Home.

If you want to know what and how to teach each school subject up through the elementary years, I recommend my book Common Sense Excellence: Faith-Filled Home Education for Preschool to 5th Grade, which I have excerpted near the end of this issue.

You can find out more about each of these books at http://www.TheHopeChest.net/resources.html.

May God bless you as you focus on being a FAITHFUL home school mom!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[ untitled ]

A Poem by Mary Knowles

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I sigh.

Poems are hard to write, and I have to write one.

I am not exactly a poet, though people guess that I am,

the same people that think I must dance ballet because my hair is in a bun.

I want to be a writer in the future, a newsgirl, but not a poet.

But I remind myself, any kind of writing is hard work,

like mentally breaking up earth, plowing fields and sowing many sentence seeds.

With the warm laptop on my lap, the washing machine oscillating and the finish line in sight,

I stare down another assignment.

And I like the click of the keys, even when its mostly the backspace key,

the lightning of thought striking screen

-- and occasionally, as Mark Twain would say, the lightning strike of the perfect phrase.

Someone once said, When I run, I feel Gods pleasure,

and I say, when I write, I feel Gods pleasure, the God who gives good gifts but buries them in fields,

hidden until someone sacrifices much to dig them out.

Now the rocks are coming away from my field, and the weeds, and the thorns.

And I think, I am small, and I stink at sports, and I will not win Miss Outgoing,

but I can become a writer if only I keep chipping away with my spade,

or perhaps that would be my keys, even my backspace key.

I still sigh, but now its a different sigh.

Virginias note: Mary wrote this for an Advanced Placement English class which she took on-line through the Florida Virtual School last year. Though she was already an excellent writer, this rigorous course stretched her! Mary is well on her way to being a newsgirl. She just had two articles about a church-state symposium printed on the front page of UCFs Central Florida Future newspaper, and has applied to the Journalism school there. Heres the link to one of Marys articles: http://www.ucfnews.com/media/paper174/news/2005/09/29/News/Church.State.Sparked.Debate.In.Symposium-1002429.shtml

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For the Write Reason:

31 Writers, Agents and Editors Share Their Experiences with Christian Publishing

Book by Marybeth Whalen, Review by Virginia Knowles

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One of the lovely fringe benefits of publishing the Hope Chest is that people send me books to review! Marybeth Whalen is a home school mom of six, author, speaker -- and long-time Hope Chest reader! Her new book is called For the Write Reason: 31 Writers, Agents and Editors Share Their Experiences with Christian Publishing. In this book, you will read about how other writers (mostly women) got their start, what inspires them, how they deal with rejection, how they get published, how they balance family and writing, and much more. After each chapter, Marybeth offers a one-page devotional on some aspect of being a writer. She has done an awesome job of compiling this valuable resource.

I particularly liked Marybeths counsel on keeping priorities in place:

While ministry is a calling from God and an excellent way to use our gifts and talents, it is not meant to take away from the needs of our family. We must remember that discipline our children and meeting our husbands needs is of the utmost importance to God. We cant afford to make the mistake of getting our priorities out of order. A decision to neglect our responsibilities will most certainly have eternal ramifications.

I also liked the piece by Karen Ehman, a home school mom who had been active in drama, writing and speaking prior to the birth of her first child. Having a colicky baby put an abrupt halt to these ministries. Here is an excerpt from her chapter:

My days were spent wiping and rocking; cooking and cleaning. Even though I loved my family, I also quietly resented them, feeling that my life as an at-home mom was keeping me from my dreams. Finally I came to a point of willful surrender. Deciding that it was the only option, I told God Id be content to be knows as a Mrs. and a mom but He would need to take away my desire to perform, speak and write. Just as He often does, God whispered a plan to my heart that I had not though of. He nudged me to begin using my talents to bless my family instead of to make my name known. I was convicted of my wrong motives and purposed in my heart that I would use my gifts to love and serve my family first (and perhaps only). What happened next was nothing short of miraculous for this otter-personality-type, stage-loving gal. I became content to sing lullabies and silly songs with my children as my only audience. I began to use my imaginative mind and love for drama to act out exciting Bible stories or to invent different voices for the characters in the books we read aloud at bedtime. I threw myself into writing love letters to my husband, clever poems for my kids and simple musings to myself. I honestly felt that outside ministry opportunities would never come my way and I was surprisingly OK with that!

Later on, the door divinely opened for Karen to take over publishing A Mothers Mission Newsletter, which a friend had started. She continued this for five years. Eventually, she designed the Hearts at Home Moms Planner, co-authored the books Homespun Gifts from the Heart and Homespun Memories for the Heart, and spoke on many national radio programs, including Focus on the Family. This reminds me so much of Edith Schaeffers counsel (in her book The Hidden Art of Homemaking) to let our gifts bloom at home, and then see what God does with that growth outside of the home!

Ive been writing and publishing for many years. I try hard to keep a balance between that and effectively caring for my family. Its not easy. I have often edited my books and articles while sitting on a childs floor until they fell asleep for naps. Or Ive gotten up early or stayed up late -- not always a good idea! Or I would write and rewrite mentally while doing housework or running errands -- and then sit down at the computer and type as fast as I could! I have to learn to focus on the core message as I write. My mind raced down a dozen different bunny trails as I thought of what to say in my main article in this issue. I actually wrote far more than I should have, and then deleted most of it because it was far too ponderous. Thats a picture of my life. I have to prune it down, and not try to go in so many directions. Thats why I dont spend much time at all marketing my books. I just let the orders trickle in as they may. Being a full-fledged business woman is not on my agenda in this season of life!

You can purchase Marybeths book for $17.99 plus shipping from Proverbs 31 Ministries at: http://proverbs31.gospelcom.net/resourceBooks.htm

Check out Marybeths own web site at: http://www.marybethwhalen.com/

Ill include more information about Karen Ehmans books in the November issue of the Hope Chest. Her new web site will be done in a few weeks, too. Meanwhile, you can contact her at [email protected].

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Common Sense Excellence

A Book Excerpt by Virginia Knowles

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The following is a short excerpt from the first chapter of my book Common Sense Excellence: Faith-Filled Education for Preschool to 5^th Grade.

~~~

COMMON SENSE

I say common sense because I think that real education has often been obscured by educationalese jargon and artificial techniques. These may be necessary for a public school classroom in a pluralistic, bureaucratic society, but for educating my own children in my own home, I have found the need to go back and strip away my preconceptions about what education really is! What is effective rather than merely efficient? What are the most natural, uncomplicated, powerful methods of transferring information and inspiration to a young child? Its really common sense, if we can dig away the layers and get back to the core. Education does not need to be difficult. It does not need to be left to the experts. God has supplied you with all the IQ and love you need to be your childs prime teacher. You just need to tap into it and nurture it! If you are a brand new or prospective home school mom, please dont stress out about teaching kindergarten. The only possible way you could mess up is to put so much pressure on your child that he starts to dislike learning. If you relax and enjoy your child, and work at things bit by bit, youll both learn together just fine. Trust me!

EXCELLENCE

What about excellence? This means giving our children the very best. Not the most expensive, not the fanciest, not chasing the 99th percentile on standardized tests. Just the BEST. This means an investment of our time and energy, and yes, some of our hard-earned money. This is the balance to my relax advice in the previous paragraph. Though we shouldnt stress out, we shouldnt veg out or tune out either. We cant have a laissez-faire (does that sound like lazy?) attitude toward our childrens education, especially as they move into the upper elementary grades. Mediocrity is no testimony to Gods working in us. We are to study to show ourselves approved so that we can be salt and light for the generations who need the grace of God. Though I believe home schooling to be the most promising approach to educating children, I have sadly seen many parents who just let their children float aimlessly, and then wonder why home schooling has gotten a bad rap from their family and friends. Education must be intentional and focused. We must pursue excellence.

~~~~~

Here is another excerpt from Common Sense Excellence about working directly with your child using a technique I call tandem writing.

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Do you have a really reluctant writer? Maybe this is a child who claims he cant think of anything creative to write, even when you give him ideas. Hes not into silly stories, but maybehe has been reading books about snakes. So you suggest, ever so casually, Can you tell me a few things about the king cobra so I can write them down? Have your pencil and paper ready so you can slide into this naturally, without raising too much suspicion. If your child is willing to do this, ask him for three or four things that you can write down for him. OK, Im ready for the first thing. Then write just what he tells you -- some fact or opinion. Rephrase something for him if necessary, and check if that is what he meant. Then, How about a second thing? Dont worry if there is a smooth transition from the last item to this. Now is not the time for major editing! You might, however, suggest a specific thing based on the first, such as, What does the king cobra eat? You can keep this up as long as your child is interested. Then put it away until tomorrow. When you come back to it, read it together. Help your child choose a logical order for the items and number them on the paper. Then he can type it into a word processing program, ready for the next step in the writing process: editing and proofreading! You can use this phase of tandem writing as often as necessary until your child has enough confidence in his own power over words that he can write by himself.

~~~

Common Sense Excellence is a 243 page comprehensive guide to teaching all of the school subjects from a Christian perspective. Since writing is one theme of this Hope Chest issue, I will mention that the section on writing includes teaching tips for Handwriting, Spelling and Vocabulary, Grammar, Written Composition, and Making Books. For more information on Common Sense Excellence, please visit http://www.TheHopeChest.net/resources.html.

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A Final Note from... Susannah?

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The other day, my friend Donna brought our family a lovely plate of yummy chocolate chip cookies, along with a baby congratulations card addressed to Susannah? Huh? It was a joke, a facetious yet flattering reference to Susannah Wesley, famed 17th century mother of 19 children. (Nine of them died before age two, so I guess that puts me even with her raising ten kids.) Anyway, Susannah Wesley is notorious among Christian home school moms as being incredibly disciplined and hardworking, with very high standards for her children. She even wrote theology books for them! Oh, how she puts me to shame in her level of faithfulness! But at least shes one of my role models, and at least Im trying. http://www.historyswomen.com/womenoffaith/SusannahWesley.html

Another noteworthy Susannah was the wife of the great Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon. After the birth of her twin sons in 1857, she suffered poor health and was often bedridden, but that didnt stop her from training these precious children faithfully. One of Susannahs other legacies, besides writing several books of her own, was setting up a Book Fund to supply poor pastors with theological books. Now theres a woman after my own heart! http://www.historyswomen.com/womenoffaith/SusannahSpurgeon.html

Well, its time to end my time travel for the moment, and get back to my own family in 2005!

Blessings,

Susannah

(Um, I mean, Virginia!)

http://www.TheHopeChest.net

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