Tips for Moms:
1. There are many side effects to having low progesterone: PMS, infertility, cysts... I have found an invaluable website with information on progesterone deficiency and how to treat it. The NatPro cream that is offered on this website is great and really works to balance hormones. I hope you find it useful. The website to go to to find out more about how low progesterone affects us and how to treat it is: http://www.progesteronetherapy.com/ You have to enter your email to do the questionnaire, but I have found the emails that I have received since submitting mine to be very helpful. Check out the whole website for information on all kinds of women issues.
2. One of our moms recommended a really neat site for high school biology students (or anyone). It is http://www.froguts.com and is for viewing/interacting with dissections online. No smell of formaldehyde either! Check it out. The demo is really fun to do.
3. At our Mom's Night Out a great website for ideas in character training was suggested. I've looked at it and would like to recommend it to you. Check out their "If-Then" chart - it's a great guide to helping your children know what consequences they will face in certain situations. The website is: www.doorposts.net
4. One of the most difficult parts of home schooling can be the character training part - guiding children to be joyfully obedient to authority. There is some advantage to those who have home schooled from the beginning grades since disobedience issues are more evident because the children are around all day, and so can be dealt with early on. For those of you just starting to home school working with an older child, realize that character issues may be your biggest challenges for awhile, and cause you the greatest discouragement. The more daytime hours spent with your children, the more the weaknesses in your child training just show up - sometimes REALLY show up. Thank the Lord for these times, and use the opportunities to guide your children into a path of obedience and submission to authority. Here are some great resources for godly wisdom in training your children:
www.nogreaterjoy.org Michael and Debi Pearl offer great wisdom in raising godly children. "Train up a Child" is a must read for every parent. The sequels - "No Greater Joy Volumes 1 and 2" are also very informative.
www.growingkids.org Gary and Anne Marie Ezzo provide wonderful help for discipling and training children of all ages. If you have a new baby, you'll want to check out their Baby Wise books. Growing Kids God's Way curriculum is well worth checking out, too.
Both of these websites have so much great information. Spend time reading them and asking God for wisdom in raising children that honor Him.
Because home school families are taking a "different path", we are judged more harshly. It is so important that we have children who are obedient, kind, compassionate, honest... that Christ may be honored, and that the home schooling reputation may be protected.
And, just one more challenge: To train our children in a godly lifestyle, we first must allow God to change us. Children learn very much by example, so we must be honest, obedient, kind.... in our everyday living.
Just some thoughts!
Blessings,
Tina
5. From one of our moms: I have found that getting everyone ready for church on time is simplified by preparing and freezing several breakfast casseroles at once. A slightly thawed casserole may be placed in the oven first thing on Sunday morning and bake while I attend to other things. It's much more filling than high carb cereals, so everyone can make it through the service without complaining.
Here's a recipe I use from the new BH&G that I tripled and adjusted to our tastes. It calls for frozen hash browns, but shredded and rinsed potatoes that are blotted dry will do just fine.
Farmer's Casserole for Freezing
Makes 3-9X9 casseroles, 6 servings each
9 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes (this is the size of a store bought pkg.)
3 cups shredded cheese of choice
1 - 1lb tube of breakfast sausage, cooked and drained
3/4 cup chopped yellow or white onion
1 dozen eggs
4 1/2 cups milk
1. Line three 9X9 dishes with foil and treat with non-stick spray. Divide potatoes, cheese, sausage, and onion evenly between the three pans.
2. Measure 1 1/2 cups of the milk into a four cup glass measuring cup. Add four eggs to the milk and wisk them together. Season this with salt and pepper to taste. Pour the egg mixture into one of the prepared pans. Repeat for the other two pans.
3. Cover the pans with foil and freeze until set. Remove each of the casseroles from their pans using the foil lining and slip into gallon size freezer bags to free up pans.
4. Place the casserole in a baking dish to thaw the night before use, covering with a piece of foil. Bake, uncovered, in the morning at 375 for 50min.-1 hour.
6. There is some great information on "Learning Glitches" on Diane Craft's website. (Diane has a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary and Special Education from St. Cloud State University in Minnesota in 1966 and a Master's Degree in Special Education from the University of Northern Colorado in 1990.) She has very helpful information on how to help bright children who struggle with reading, spelling, and/or writing. Some of her information concerns symptoms of too many antibiotics or deficiencies in certain vitamins and minerals. She has new ways to teach reading and spelling to children who may be "right brain" dominant rather than "left brain" dominant. Check out her website for great help and ways to work with struggling learners. www.dianecraft.org
7. Do your kids know the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag? Take the time to start each school day with Bible Reading, Prayer, and the Pledge of Allegiance. As the child repeats the pledge consistently, it will become easy for him to recite by memory. Then when your child finds himself at a sporting event or other social event where the pledge is repeated, he will already know it, and you will give a sigh of relief that he does.
"I pledge allegiance to the Flag
of the United States of America,
and to the Republic for which it stands:
one Nation under God, indivisible,
With Liberty and Justice for all."
8. Make it a habit to remind your younger children to brush their teeth before leaving the house for errands or other social events. Or, if you are having company over, be sure and do the "breath" test. Have you taught them to brush their tongue to get rid of bad breath?
9. Moms of older students: Do you know to keep track of all subjects and extracurricular activities for your 9th-12th graders? If they plan to enter college you'll want to have that information easily available to put together their high school transcript. Be sure and list everything that has helped shape their education - even tractor driving, baking, house cleaning (home economics), 4-H, Church Choir... You can find a great transcript guide at: http://www.oklahomahomeschool.com/trans1.html, and also at: http://www.hslda.org/highschool/docs/PHCsample.doc.
Check out the left tab "High School Planning Chart" to help you, too.
10. From one of our moms: "In this age of expensive everything.....you might not be able to buy new clothes everytime you need something...or the "in style" clothes. Shop clearance sales every chance you get for clothes that are not in season. Buy sweaters in the summer, and summer things in the winter in the size your child will be next season. Planning ahead can save $$$. Also, remember that the clothes do not have to be expensive to look nice, just clean. If your children's faces are washed, their hair is brushed, and their clothes are stain free and ironed, no one will notice that their clothes are not the most expensive, just that the child looks very taken care of and neat."
Have a tip? Go to the contact page and share it with us. Input is always welcome. (Ideas will not always be published on this website.)
Deuteronomy 6:5-7
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road,
when you lie down and when you get up."