Extras and announcements -- Efficiency vs. Effectiveness -- November 12, 2005

#1 · November 12, 2005, 11:01 am

Quote from Forum Archives on November 12, 2005, 11:01 am
Posted by: homenews <homenews@...>
Dear Hope Chest friends,

Here are a few little extras and announcements about a Mission:X presentation, a M.O.M.s meeting, hurricane relief with Sharon Cameron, my blog pages, an interesting interview, Peter Drucker's management gems, parenting, having fun with preschoolers, organizational aids, and teaching children to read. I think there will be something for everyone here. Enjoy!

First, two events that are time sensitive! For those of you who live in the Orlando area, there will be a presentation tonight on the Mission:X teams that went out from our church this past summer. Mary and Julia each went on one of the Bolivia teams, and Julia will actually be on of the young people who gets up to talk about it tonight. If you're interested, it will be at 6:45 at Metro Life Church in Casselberry. I'll be there! Also at Metro this next week is the M.O.M.s brunch on Thursday morning from 9:30 until noon. Usually the M.O.M.s meeting is geared for mothers of young children, but this month will minister to women in all seasons of life as a mom who has had her marriage restored will be speaking a message of hope and encouragement. Please come and bring a friend! Childcare is provided! (In case you are wondering, M.O.M. stands for Mastering Our Motherhood.)

Next, Sharon Cameron in Mississippi is very thankful that a few Hope Chest readers sent her care boxes for families who have been devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Many of her neighbors are still living in tents and badly damaged homes. She notes that, "The town I grew up in is gone. There is no main street. I can't tell what is what."  With Christmas coming, many people might forget the children who "need a celebration." The Salvation Army, swamped with requests, may not be able to help everyone. If you can send a small toy, game, doll or other gift for a child, Sharon would be glad to pass it along to someone who needs it most. You can also send money, Wal-Mart gift cards, blankets, sheets, towels, dishes, and other household items since Sharon is also still trying to provide basic home supplies to families. She does not have e-mail. Her address is: Sharon Cameron, 2309 Lloyd Lane, Vancleave, MS 39565-8222.  Thank you! (As an extra incentive, if you send a package to Sharon, you can take $3 off the purchase of any of my books. Just e-mail me if you order by PayPal or include a note with your snail mail order. I'd like to hear from those who send a package, even if they aren't ordering a book! For more info on the books, visit www.TheHopeChest.net/)

Rachel has updated my blog pages at www.homeschoolblogger.com/VirginiaKnowles with most of my recent articles. Thanks, Rachel! This was a huge help in a special way....

Mark Pinsky, the religion writer for the Orlando Sentinel, used my blog pages to prepare for interviewing our family this past Sunday afternoon -- for two hours! This actually isn't for another newspaper story (I was an evangelical voice a few years back in his article on the first Harry Potter movie), but for his book-in-progress with the working title of "A Jew Among Evangelicals." He is a self-described left-wing Jew. We were one of the three evangelical Christian families, and the only home schooling one, included in the first or second chapter of the book. The book's target audience is liberals in blue (Democrat-dominated) states so they can understand what really goes on in our lives beyond the media stereotypes. Anyway, he sent the chapter back to us for some twiddling, which should be done today. From what I understand, in January, Mr. Pinsky will becaome a Fellow in the Duke University divinity school. We sure enjoyed talking with him!

On the subject of blogs, if anyone can recommend a safe -- preferable Christian -- web site for teens to blog, please let me know. There is a large bunch of teens at our church who have a cluster of blogs on a site that isn't the best thing. Our youth pastor expressed his concern about this recently, and shortly after that I saw on segment on ABC Evening News saying it was a target spot for on-line predators. So, if anyone has anything better to suggest, I would appreciate it!

I saw on the USA Today web site this morning that management guru Peter Drucker just died at the age of 92, after a long career of transforming business management theory.   If you've read my book The Real Life Home School Mom, you've already heard two "Druckerisms" which apply so well to what we do.

"The difference between efficiency and effectiveness is that efficiency is doing things the right way, and effectiveness is doing the right thing."
"MBO = Management by Objective (pro-actively setting and meeting goals, preparing for situations) while MBE = Management by Exception (reacting to situations after they've happened)"

The first of these pithy statements had a profound impact on my life a few days after I heard it in a business management course at UCF. To make a long story short, I cancelled my engagement to a young man who wasn't "the right thing" for me no matter how hard we tried to "do things the right way." I am so thankful that God used this simple concept to open my eyes at just the right time.   I met my true "Mr. Right", my husband Thad, a year later.  Our 20th anniversary is the day before Thanksgiving this year!

Twenty years and ten kids later... On Sunday morning, baby Melody was dedicated at church. Sheree Phillips, the wife of one of our pastors, offered a very timely prayer for Thad and me a few minutes later. She counseled us to put just as much energy into raising Melody (our tenth baby) as we have our older ones. She knows from experience, as a mother of seven and grandma of three, how easy it is to slack off when you get older and more fatigued - and how easy it is to just default into letting the older ones raise the younger ones. "Remember who the parents are!" Thanks, Sheree, for your personal care even in the midst of your busy life! (Sheree also organizes the M.O.M.s ministry mentioned above.) I share this tidbit with all of you, because I suspect it will be a helpful reminder to someone, especially when coupled with "efficiency vs. effectiveness" and "MBO vs. MBE."

Our little ones do sometimes get lost in the shuffle. Do they ever get their own activity time with Mom?  My friend Christie Henson, who moved to Tennessee a few years back, came up with a terrific idea for busy moms of preschoolers. (She has two precious little ones, ages 4 and almost 2.) Christie has designed a kit with 78 activities to used three per week for 26 weeks. So you won't have to run all over town looking for the stuff, nearly all of the materials are included in numbered zip lock plastic bags, along with a simple instruction guide. You and your child can make Lion and Mouse finger puppets, go on a yarn walk, duplicate shape patterns, tell stories, see what floats, make a rain stick, and much more. The kit costs $48. Check it out at www.children-games-crafts.com.   Christie sent me a kit, and it's really fun for the kids, and easy on the moms! Way to go, Christie!

Yes, we are all busy, whether we have preschoolers or not! One other thing that might help with efficiency and effectiveness is a quick trip to the www.donnayoung.org web site, which is packed with free downloadable organizational helps, calendars and planners, home school teaching aids, and more. I printed off monthly calendars for my notebook, as well as math drill worksheets for Micah, who finished his first semester math book two months early and needed something extra to do. (The kid loves math!)

Speaking of Micah, his reading skills are really starting to take off! Since my boys are studying the American Revolution, I checked out the easy reader, George the Drummer Boy, from the library. As Micah and I slowly worked through it, he was getting frustrated because I kept telling him words that he didn't know -- and he wanted to read it all by himself! Every time we would hit a snag, he would start over at the top of the page or even at the beginning of the book. Well, that's not all bad, since the repetition gave him extra practice, but I knew there must be a more efficient AND effective way to do this. So I pre-read the next few pages, and created a "cheat sheet" with over a dozen words that I figured he wouldn't be able to decode by himself. I underlined each syllable separately, and lightly marked ambiguous letters like C with the sound clue, such as /s/ or /k/. Then we went over all of these words on it ahead of time so that when he saw them in the book, he could recognize them easily. It worked! Micah is so excited about his progress! You can find much more about teaching kids to read in my book Common Sense Excellence: Faith-Filled Home Education for Preschool to 5th Grade.

Well, that's all for today, friends!

Blessings,

Virginia Knowles

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@...>

Dear Hope Chest friends,

Here are a few little extras and announcements about a Mission:X presentation, a M.O.M.s meeting, hurricane relief with Sharon Cameron, my blog pages, an interesting interview, Peter Drucker's management gems, parenting, having fun with preschoolers, organizational aids, and teaching children to read. I think there will be something for everyone here. Enjoy!

First, two events that are time sensitive! For those of you who live in the Orlando area, there will be a presentation tonight on the Mission:X teams that went out from our church this past summer. Mary and Julia each went on one of the Bolivia teams, and Julia will actually be on of the young people who gets up to talk about it tonight. If you're interested, it will be at 6:45 at Metro Life Church in Casselberry. I'll be there! Also at Metro this next week is the M.O.M.s brunch on Thursday morning from 9:30 until noon. Usually the M.O.M.s meeting is geared for mothers of young children, but this month will minister to women in all seasons of life as a mom who has had her marriage restored will be speaking a message of hope and encouragement. Please come and bring a friend! Childcare is provided! (In case you are wondering, M.O.M. stands for Mastering Our Motherhood.)

Next, Sharon Cameron in Mississippi is very thankful that a few Hope Chest readers sent her care boxes for families who have been devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Many of her neighbors are still living in tents and badly damaged homes. She notes that, "The town I grew up in is gone. There is no main street. I can't tell what is what." With Christmas coming, many people might forget the children who "need a celebration." The Salvation Army, swamped with requests, may not be able to help everyone. If you can send a small toy, game, doll or other gift for a child, Sharon would be glad to pass it along to someone who needs it most. You can also send money, Wal-Mart gift cards, blankets, sheets, towels, dishes, and other household items since Sharon is also still trying to provide basic home supplies to families. She does not have e-mail. Her address is: Sharon Cameron, 2309 Lloyd Lane, Vancleave, MS 39565-8222. Thank you! (As an extra incentive, if you send a package to Sharon, you can take $3 off the purchase of any of my books. Just e-mail me if you order by PayPal or include a note with your snail mail order. I'd like to hear from those who send a package, even if they aren't ordering a book! For more info on the books, visit http://www.TheHopeChest.net/)

Rachel has updated my blog pages at http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/VirginiaKnowles with most of my recent articles. Thanks, Rachel! This was a huge help in a special way....

Mark Pinsky, the religion writer for the Orlando Sentinel, used my blog pages to prepare for interviewing our family this past Sunday afternoon -- for two hours! This actually isn't for another newspaper story (I was an evangelical voice a few years back in his article on the first Harry Potter movie), but for his book-in-progress with the working title of "A Jew Among Evangelicals." He is a self-described left-wing Jew. We were one of the three evangelical Christian families, and the only home schooling one, included in the first or second chapter of the book. The book's target audience is liberals in blue (Democrat-dominated) states so they can understand what really goes on in our lives beyond the media stereotypes. Anyway, he sent the chapter back to us for some twiddling, which should be done today. From what I understand, in January, Mr. Pinsky will becaome a Fellow in the Duke University divinity school. We sure enjoyed talking with him!

On the subject of blogs, if anyone can recommend a safe -- preferable Christian -- web site for teens to blog, please let me know. There is a large bunch of teens at our church who have a cluster of blogs on a site that isn't the best thing. Our youth pastor expressed his concern about this recently, and shortly after that I saw on segment on ABC Evening News saying it was a target spot for on-line predators. So, if anyone has anything better to suggest, I would appreciate it!

I saw on the USA Today web site this morning that management guru Peter Drucker just died at the age of 92, after a long career of transforming business management theory. If you've read my book The Real Life Home School Mom, you've already heard two "Druckerisms" which apply so well to what we do.

"The difference between efficiency and effectiveness is that efficiency is doing things the right way, and effectiveness is doing the right thing."
"MBO = Management by Objective (pro-actively setting and meeting goals, preparing for situations) while MBE = Management by Exception (reacting to situations after they've happened)"

The first of these pithy statements had a profound impact on my life a few days after I heard it in a business management course at UCF. To make a long story short, I cancelled my engagement to a young man who wasn't "the right thing" for me no matter how hard we tried to "do things the right way." I am so thankful that God used this simple concept to open my eyes at just the right time. I met my true "Mr. Right", my husband Thad, a year later. Our 20th anniversary is the day before Thanksgiving this year!

Twenty years and ten kids later... On Sunday morning, baby Melody was dedicated at church. Sheree Phillips, the wife of one of our pastors, offered a very timely prayer for Thad and me a few minutes later. She counseled us to put just as much energy into raising Melody (our tenth baby) as we have our older ones. She knows from experience, as a mother of seven and grandma of three, how easy it is to slack off when you get older and more fatigued - and how easy it is to just default into letting the older ones raise the younger ones. "Remember who the parents are!" Thanks, Sheree, for your personal care even in the midst of your busy life! (Sheree also organizes the M.O.M.s ministry mentioned above.) I share this tidbit with all of you, because I suspect it will be a helpful reminder to someone, especially when coupled with "efficiency vs. effectiveness" and "MBO vs. MBE."

Our little ones do sometimes get lost in the shuffle. Do they ever get their own activity time with Mom? My friend Christie Henson, who moved to Tennessee a few years back, came up with a terrific idea for busy moms of preschoolers. (She has two precious little ones, ages 4 and almost 2.) Christie has designed a kit with 78 activities to used three per week for 26 weeks. So you won't have to run all over town looking for the stuff, nearly all of the materials are included in numbered zip lock plastic bags, along with a simple instruction guide. You and your child can make Lion and Mouse finger puppets, go on a yarn walk, duplicate shape patterns, tell stories, see what floats, make a rain stick, and much more. The kit costs $48. Check it out at http://www.children-games-crafts.com. Christie sent me a kit, and it's really fun for the kids, and easy on the moms! Way to go, Christie!

Yes, we are all busy, whether we have preschoolers or not! One other thing that might help with efficiency and effectiveness is a quick trip to the http://www.donnayoung.org web site, which is packed with free downloadable organizational helps, calendars and planners, home school teaching aids, and more. I printed off monthly calendars for my notebook, as well as math drill worksheets for Micah, who finished his first semester math book two months early and needed something extra to do. (The kid loves math!)

Speaking of Micah, his reading skills are really starting to take off! Since my boys are studying the American Revolution, I checked out the easy reader, George the Drummer Boy, from the library. As Micah and I slowly worked through it, he was getting frustrated because I kept telling him words that he didn't know -- and he wanted to read it all by himself! Every time we would hit a snag, he would start over at the top of the page or even at the beginning of the book. Well, that's not all bad, since the repetition gave him extra practice, but I knew there must be a more efficient AND effective way to do this. So I pre-read the next few pages, and created a "cheat sheet" with over a dozen words that I figured he wouldn't be able to decode by himself. I underlined each syllable separately, and lightly marked ambiguous letters like C with the sound clue, such as /s/ or /k/. Then we went over all of these words on it ahead of time so that when he saw them in the book, he could recognize them easily. It worked! Micah is so excited about his progress! You can find much more about teaching kids to read in my book Common Sense Excellence: Faith-Filled Home Education for Preschool to 5th Grade.

Well, that's all for today, friends!

Blessings,

Virginia Knowles

http://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