|
The Old Schoolhouse
has MORE for you!
Check out these other
fantastic resources:
New
to homeschooling?
We can
help!
Looking for
Curriculum?
Favorite
Articles
Free
Stuff
Who We
Are
|
|
"Just a quick note to say thank you for "The Homeschool
Minute".
I look forward to seeing this in my inbox!!
The information has been priceless, timely, and helpful to my
homeschooling family. Keep up the good
work!"
-T, THM
Reader
|
"Thank you so much for
writing about the perfect subjects to lift me up, encourage me
and motivate me. I cannot thank you all
enough!
May the Lord bless each
and every one of you,"
- Sandra, THM
Reader
|
"I love The Homeschool Minute and
the addition of The Familyman, Todd Wilson, is great!
He really made me LOL. ;0 ) I think it is great to
get a man's perspective and it's nice to know we women are not
alone. Your aritcles are short and to the point, yet full of
encouragement. Thank you so much!"
-Nancy,
THM
Reader
|
"I
thoroughly enjoyed this week's topic and I am very impressed
with the new addition to the team. He has a very real
way of expressing how we are to have a bibilical
worldview."
- Holly, THM
Reader
| |
| |
The Old Schoolhouse
Magazine
Home Where They
Belong
|
May 9, 2007
|
Dear
Christina,
 Hope you are having a wonderful week. With Mother's Day
just around the corner, we wanted to take this issue to thank
you all for all you are doing for your families and to
encourage you in this High Calling.
There is a great
article online called Home School Mothers: The Beatrice
Brigade. In this piece the author
says:
Home school mothers are the heart of a
traditionalist revolution that is driving life back into the
homes. To these women, and the men blessed to be married to
them, homes are no longer assets or places to share a
microwave dinner at the end of an exhausting day of
separation. Spreading like some beneficial virus, men and
women are returning basic educational, economic, and social
functions to home where they have always
belonged.
I love that phrase "a traditionalist
revolution". In reaching back to the basics and truly
embracing family, we are making a difference. We may not get
the limelight in mainstream media, but quietly, without a lot
of fanfare, we are making a difference.
Don't
underestimate how you are touching the future.
Enjoy every minute!
THM Editor
P.S. Did you receive this
week's Minute to Minute newsletter on Saturday about Reaching
the Reluctant Reader? We'll have a new question this Saturday
and another chance for you to help another homeschool mom.
Don't forget that you have to subscribe in order to receive
it. Just click on the blue Update
Profile link at the bottom of this email to
subscribe.
| |
 Home Where They
Belong
Gena Suarez, TOS Publisher
When I think of motherhood, even before I
consider the obvious "mother" in my life (me), I reflect on MY
mother. She's with the Lord now, has been for about the last
12 years. Mom never met my last two children - her
grandkids. I was in my 20s when she passed into her "forever
life," eternity.
In those short twenty-something years
I had with her, I was greatly impacted. No, she was no great
disciplinarian (hence, I was a rebellious teen and bratty
little kid). She wasn't all that educated either. (I remember
when she got a teacher's aid job while I was in 8th grade - I
had to help her memorize her times tables). Not a success,
surely, by this world's standards, anyway. Never had much of a
career, didn't hobnob with anyone rich or famous, couldn't
even really cook all that great. BUT -- there was one thing
that she did do. And an impact happened - a domino effect
if you will - that cannot even be measured this side of
heaven. My mom prayed for me
without ceasing. Literally before I was born, I
was prayed over. My future husband, too, was prayed for - even
while I was in utero. It was constant, it was sincere, it was
real. And God heard her.
With my weird life, I should not have
ended up with the husband I did and the family I have. The
only ray of hope throughout my entire childhood was my mother.
Sadly she had little power, little voice. But she had her
prayer life and she used it up on her children. And God
heard. I will praise Him forever for using her to bring
me to Himself.
And when I get to heaven, the first
saint I wish to see is my mother. We have quite a long walk to
take...so much to catch up on. For now, though, I'll follow
her example. I will pray for my children and their future
spouses. I will petition my great God and Saviour to make them
faithful, to make them His. My prayers will be full of detail;
why be vague?! God loves to hear our hearts. I thank Him for
my mother's willingness to forego the vague and to beseech Him
on my behalf in full detail. May we all do the
same.
-Gena
|
 Homeschool Freebies
Julie Nott, TOS Marketing Manager
Mother's Day for me is all about
freebies - free hugs & kisses! Free candy! Free time! (My
husband is really good at this!) I usually get some portion of
Mother's Day to myself. After the cards and gifts and hugs, my
husband "gifts" me with the day off. And I take him and the
kids up on it. I might go to a bookshop and browse - alone. I might go to a store
- alone. I might go to
a park and take a walk - alone. And it's at these
times - alone times -
that I reflect on these precious children with whom I've been
entrusted. And I feel so unworthy to have that kind of trust.
And yet, so blessed to have it.
In celebration of "OUR"
day Moms... have Dad check out this website for you. Lots of coupons, printable cards
and bookmarks!
Why not have the kids do some
Mother's Day worksheets in honor of you? I'm sure they'll love that!
Ever
wondered about the history of Mother's Day?
This website has a great collection of Mother's Day
stuff. That's enough to keep 'em busy while you're having
your free time.
Enjoy your day...every single minute of
it.
-Julie
P.S. Keep on the lookout
next week for an email from TOS. We're launching a "Back to Homeschool Sale"
next week in The Schoolhouse Store! Why now? Well, we're already thinking
about next school year and what materials we're gonna use...so
we figured you probably were too!
|
Schoolhouse Spotlight
Dena Wood, Schoolhouse Store
Manager
 The Schoolhouse Store is chock
full of goodies
for mothers. Whether for giving or receiving (or giving
to yourself!) we've got something you're sure to enjoy. Just this week, we've added these lovely
All Natural Soy Wax
Candle Making Kits from
Homestead Originals. For only $12.50 and FREE Shipping, these
make wonderful gifts or a fun project for mom to do with the
kids. And their gorgeous All Natural Beeswax
Tapers make a lovely
addition to your spring décor. Another new addition is
Joyful
Homeschooler by Dr. Mary
Hood, author of The Relaxed
Homeschool. Both of
these books offer mom encouragement and tips for making
homeschooling a joyful experience for all involved.
A true gift for
Mom as well as the entire family, not to mention a future
family heirloom, is The Gift of Family
Writing. This
paperback/CD set will inspire you
to put your pen to paper as you read about the different ways
you can write to and with your children. Family journaling,
letter writing, memoirs, personal essays, and tributes are
just a few of the genres that you will explore. And
Johanna Bluedorn's, My Mommy, My Teacher is a lovely example of a
child recording her homeschooling experience. Your children
are sure to be captivated by the lovely illustrations as Mom
is honored in this sweet book.
If you're a mom
who's a bit more on the practical side, consider our Chef's Companion and
Stain Removal QuickStudy Guides. Keep all that tricky info organized in one spot
for easy reference and amaze your family with your
know-how! Marmee's Homebaker's
DVD is wonderful for
learning how to make all kinds of wonderful breads, twists
& rolls with your Bosch. And if you don't have a Bosch,
don't worry! Kimberly Eddy's Bread by Hand
E-Book gives you
all the know-how you need to create delicious goodies.
(Kimberly says she was initially going to title it Bread
Making for Morons but thought the better of
it.)
|
The Familyman
Todd Wilson, Familyman Ministries
Hey
Mom,
Well, Sunday is the
big day, the day on which the entire world honors you mothers
for all you do. For all the labor pains, sleepless nights,
dirty bottoms, and runny noses, you get - a flower in a cup.
That's right. For all your sacrifices, you'll probably be
handed a wilted marigold in a Styrofoam cup at
church.
If you're lucky, you
might get a quickly made card, a grunt of appreciation from
your teenager, an "I was going to do something for you,
honestly," from your husband, or lunch out at Pizza Hut.
Believe me, the day
will come when your children WILL rise up and call you
(probably collect) and tell you how much you mean to them, but
that might take a couple of decades. And your husband, well
take it from me: he's a man. He appreciates all you do so
much, but sometimes it gets lost in the
translation.
So let
me be the one to say, you ARE spending your life on what is
best, Mom. Every one of the many sacrifices you have made and
WILL make as a mother is infinitely worth it. And even if
everyone overlooks you on your special day and all you get is
a flower in a cup, don't ever doubt your
worth.
Also, because at least
one mom didn't appreciate me saying last week that as a man I
don't do poetry;let me just close with a little poem.
Roses are red, asphalt
is gray
I hope you have a great Mother's
day!
Be
Real!
Todd
P.S. - Be thankful
you're not a dad. We don't even get the flower in the
cup. |
Mercy in the Morning
Deborah Wuehler, TOS Senior Editor
I used to wish I could
get out of Mother's Day. I know that sounds strange, but let
me explain. Cards and sentiments abound extolling my praises,
when I know in reality, I am not that perfect "Mother's Day"
mom! The videos of my impatience and frustration and "woe is
me" attitudes rewind and play through my mind. I am not always
dressed right, I don't always teach right, and I am most often
a not-so-perfect mom. Mother's Day sentiments make me feel
sort of like Mary did when the angel came to
her:
"Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is
with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him,
she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what
manner of salutation this should be."
Luke 1:28,29
Knowing my frailty and
weakness, God still chose me to be the
mother of these children. Not because I am good enough, but
because He is Good through me. He and I both know that I am
unqualified for the job. But knowing the goodness of God, I
know that I will find in Him what I require to be a mother
that pleases Him. That's why I can say, like Mary
said,
"Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me
according to thy word." Luke
1:38
It is the Lord who
calls us to motherhood and it is the Lord who will perform
through us His good will and pleasure. Mary's cousin Elizabeth
said it this way:
"And blessed is she that believed: for there shall
be a performance of those things which were told her from the
Lord." Luke
1:45
Consider Mary's prayer
of exaltation when you consider your own personal call of God
to motherhood:
"My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit
hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low
estate of his handmaiden... For he that is mighty hath done to
me great things; and holy is his name." Luke
1:46-49
There is a place of
honor in the position of motherhood, as it has been ordained
by God. And, He honors those mothers who honor Him. God honors
you dear mothers, and I heartily now say it with Him: Happy
Mother's Day to you!
~
Deborah
Motherhood is priced
of God,
a price no man may dare to lessen or
misunderstand.
~Helen Hunt
Jackson | |
| |
