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| May,
2005 Leadership E-Newsletter |
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After the last meeting of each year, as
a leader we have to begin planning the coming year. All of our meetings
and activities have to be audited and evaluated in order to have fresh
and exciting plan for next year. In this issue you will find helpful
leadership tips, finishing the year, and finally planning for next
year. We also have a big announcement regarding a new Homeschool Blog
Community. Be sure to send your entry for our monthly contest, you
could see your name in the next enews!
If you have not signed up for our new Leadership Yahoo! Group be sure
to come and join us! We have had some very helpful and interesting
discussions along with some wonderful ideas. If you’d like to
sign up, send a blank email to: TOSHSN_Leadership_Group-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
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Marnie Tabor from Florence, Alabama; Willynn
McRee from Phoenix, Arizona; John Martin; and Janece Turner-Suarez
from Catoosa, OK.
We will randomly select FOUR support group leaders who send in and
entry with tips for summer activities. To enter the drawing for next
month, send your tips for summer activities. What sort of things does
your group do during the summer? Do you have regular meetings or casual
get-togethers? Entitle your email “Summer Happenings”
and send it to anissa@thehomeschoolmagazine.com.
We will chose 4 winners randomly from the entries and announce them
here in next month’s newsletter. The winners will receive a
$25 gift card of their choice, from Barnes & Noble, Borders, Amazon.com,
Bath & Body Works or Starbucks. We will notify the winners by
email before the next issue of the newsletter.
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We received some helpful tips from last
month regarding leading your group. Our number one response was PRAY,
always asking God for His direction. Another top response was to develop
a mission statement for your group. This can be an effective tool
to keep your group on the right path. Involve the members when drafting
this statement and ask for their input about what is important to
each family. Keep this vision and mission statement in mind when planning
activities each year. You can’t do this alone, so ask for help.
It is not a sign of weakness; you cannot take on the enormous task
of leadership, now matter how large or small your group may be!
One thing that we all will encounter during your time in leadership
is inactive or dwindling membership. I can be a frustrating time but
keep in mind that you have to consider if the planned activities are
meeting the needs of the member families. If not, do not be afraid
to change course mid-year. Even the newest member can teach you things,
so be open to new ideas and suggestions because it is sometimes difficult
if you have been heading up this group for many years. New ideas can
breathe new life into the group. Synergy is defined by dictionary.com
as: Cooperative interaction among groups, especially among the
acquired subsidiaries or merged parts of a corporation, that creates
an enhanced combined effect. Cooperative interaction is essential
in keeping the group moving forward toward a common goal!
Lastly, remember why you are on this road. Keep yourself focused,
stay on course but also value your time. Remember to keep this fun
and exciting for yourself and your group, when it becomes work then
you will become frustrated and lose heart. Teri Olsen said it best:
As with any job, it’s a good idea to take some regular time
off for yourself to relax and recharge. Don’t let past failures
or delays diminish your enthusiasm or keep you from pursuing your
homeschool group’s goals. Remember that God's hand is working
in your life. Pray about what He wants to accomplish through you and
your group.
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| by Rich Sauser |
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You are in the final stretch; the school year is almost over. However,
as a homeschool parent you never stop teaching. The same can be
said for the leaders of a homeschool support group. They never stop
leading a support group, even during the summer months. As you wrap
up the year and plan for the next year, you might want to consider
some of the following items.
Celebrate!
One of the most challenging aspects of running a homeschool support
group is to find volunteers. If you haven’t thanked the volunteers
of your support group during the year you still have time. Some
options to consider:
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Cake and coffee.
Have a “thank you” cake at your last meeting and
have all the volunteers stand up (you should have a regular
meeting as well as just having a special “thank you”
meeting may not be enough to have people attend). |
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Thank you cards. If you have a list of everyone
who volunteered, you can have your leadership team send cards
out to each person. |
You might also want to consider doing something special for the
leaders of your support group (e.g. small gift card to Starbucks).
Review The Past Year
With everyone being so busy, it is very easy to just do the same
things every year without evaluating if they still make sense or
should be changed. For example,
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If you have a phone
hotline, determine how many people are calling it to see if
it still makes sense to have it. |
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Do you still need to have a paper copy of the
newsletter? Most libraries have internet access and members
can get free e-mail accounts. |
• |
How often does the leadership team need to meet?
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Plan For Next Year
Sometimes you can be so relieved that your school year is finally
over, you don’t realize you have a three hour break before
you need to start things up for the next year. You may want to consider
some of the following items now as you plan for next year:
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Based on this year's
budget, prepare an estimate of next year and determine the
membership fee for next year |
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Review and update the membership application.
Is there additional information that should be collected that
would benefit the other members (e.g., large support groups
may consider adding the “church” to the application
so other members can find out who attends their church)? |
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Set out the plan for the registration process
(e.g., when do they need to be approved, mailed, etc.) |
| • |
Plan some leadership team social functions over
the summer. It helps get the year off to a good start if the
leadership team starts to get to know one another and have some
fun before the “challenges” begin |
| • |
Contact the leadership team and determine when
they can meet |
| • |
Reserve your support group meeting rooms for
next year |
| • |
Plan the first support group meeting (e.g.,
topic/speaker, volunteers, etc.). |
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| By Wayne S. Walker |
Our local support group (St. Louis Homeschooling Activities, Resources,
and Encouragement, or SHARE) begins each "school year" with
a Back to School picnic. In addition to our regular monthly support
group meetings, this past year we did a new homeschooler seminar in
September, a seminar for homeschooling fathers in October (which I
conducted), a harvest skate and thanksgiving party in November, a
Christmas party in December, a spelling bee in January, a valentine
party in February, Iowa Testing and a Spring Fling Crazy Bowl party
in April, and we always end the "school year" with a Field
Day at the park in May.
Summer activities include a St. Louis area legislative academy
in June. We also did several co-op classes (elections, Spanish,
science) and are hoping next year to set up a full scale supplemental
learning center. In addition to this, we do at least one field trip
a month (sometimes more--next year the leaders are talking about
a field trip co-op) and have monthly bowling. We also network with
other groups to provide opportunities for baseball, volleyball,
basketball, and swimming--plus a whole lot of other special events
and activities too numerous to name in detail.
This summer, we will undoubtedly set a time for the leaders, the
advisory board, and anyone else who is interested to sit down, discuss
what went well and what did not, see how we can improve what did
not go well, and start making plans for next year. From what I can
tell from talking to others, we pretty much plan to do everything
that we did last year again next year and add to it, assuming that
we can find volunteers who are willing to coordinate what needs
to be done, and we never seem to have had much trouble in finding
help for the things that we really want to do. It is nice to be
part of a group of homeschoolers who are enthusiastic and active
and where people are willing to work together. The leaders encourage
participation and creativity with the attitude, "He who does
the work gets to make the decisions."
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| TOS would like to announce the new Homeschool
Blog for sharing ideas and thoughts about homeschooling and leadership.
For anyone interested in becoming a beta tester the opportunity has
arrived! Though the design of the system is still being implemented,
the framework is up and running and hungry for your participation.
One of the main benefits to acting quickly on this is that you can
name your blog anything you like before the program is unleashed and
someone else grabs your name.
Homeschoolblogger.com
is a free full-featured blog hosting service. With Homeschoolblogger.com,
you can have total customization over the look and feel of your
blog, instantly publish content and images, and create a network
of friends. Plus - get your very own short URL - http://www.Homeschoolblogger.com/yourname.
Don't know what a blog is? A blog (short for Web Log), is a frequently
updated, shared on-line journal where people can post entries about
personal experiences or express thoughts and ideas. Anyone with
Internet connection can publish their own blog. There is great variety
in the quality, content, and ambition of weblogs, and a weblog may
have anywhere from a handful to tens of thousands of daily readers.
Join us by going tohttp://www.homeschoolblogger.com
to get a unique username and
join our community! Already, even though we are in beta mode only,
several leaders have logged on and created at least the start of
their new blog. The exciting thing about getting yours now is that
once we release this to the readers and rest of the homeschooling
web community, all the good names will be GONE. Have a look at just
a few of the ones already starting (and keep in mind, the design
will not be beautiful YET - it is still being created):
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/?u=underthesky
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/?u=bondservant4jc
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/tn3jcarter
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/?u=Testimony
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/?u=imamom5110
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/?u=JenIG |
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The Old
Schoolhouse Magazine's
Homeschool Spring Bouquet
19 Total Gifts
$300 Value
To the Next 5,000 New Subscribers
Postage Paid!
|
 |
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| It's for
real! The first 5,000 new* two-year subscribers will receive
19 free gifts from popular homeschool companies
with a two-year (only $39) subscription to The Old Schoolhouse
Magazine! And yes, it's true –
even the shipping is paid for, making these gifts a $300
value. Let your group know!
Your NINETEEN free gifts include valuable resources from the following
companies. Included below is each one's estimated value with shipping/handling:
(You get ALL of these)
|
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You get ALL NINETEEN of the above gifts,
postage paid! But only to the first
5,000 respondents. Hurry, last year we sold out in
approximately FIVE WEEKS!
The Old Schoolhouse Magazine
is approx 200 pages, full color, gloss, and packed with support
and fun! Contests and a multitude of product reviews abound,
as do excellent columns like Creation Answers with AiG's Ken
Ham, Resource Room for special needs homeschooling with Christine
Field, Diana Waring's HisStory column, our Finishing the Race
(High School) department, and Show and Tell – where
readers share their own detailed methods and curriculum choices.
And don't forget our lengthy Teachers' Lounge where homeschool
parents hang out and talk homeschooling! Jenefer Igarashi
chats each issue as well, and Dr. Ruth Beechick drops in from
time to time. Keep up with mainstream news with Zan Tyler
and Amelia Harper. It truly is "a
homeschool convention wrapped up in a journal!" |
|
Already, packages are selling out quickly.
As of May 2nd, 2,000 are GONE already. Price for the two year
subscription is only $39 total. And you'll
pay nothing for the 19 gifts! The companies
will pay the shipping of your gifts, too! That's it! Enjoy!
The Old Schoolhouse Magazine
Call 1-888-718-HOME or 1-530-889-1698
or 1-530-823-0447 for further details on how
gifts will arrive or to pay by credit card (phones ring frequently
so if you don't get a live operator, leave a voice mail message
for a call-back). Or visit our site: www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com.
Paypal address is Publisher@TheHomeschoolMagazine.com
to secure your spot today. $39
total. Be within the first 5,000!
Already, an estimated 2,000 are GONE. Less than 3,000 left!
*This promotion is for new TOS subscribers, only. Other
gifts apply for renewing subscribers, but please
wait until you receive a renewal letter with your magazine
issue so you can take advantage of the gifts pertaining to
that cycle. Support group leaders ONLY are permitted
to renew early and receive all 19 gifts since they
often represent/introduce new resources to homeschool families.
Leaders may advertise their support group information at no
charge on the magazine's website. Just ask! (subject to agreement
with TOS Statement of Faith if group is faith-based)
Also, the first 200 leaders who request a free back issue
will receive one, postage paid - no strings attached.
US Subscribers only. All 50 states. In Canada or UK?
Your promo is coming soon! January, 2006.
|
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 Sam's
Science Adventures, offer hands-on science
in a one of a kind treasure box. Your treasure box will
be filled with everything you need to begin your adventure
as soon as you open the box! No lesson planning, shopping
for supplies or rushing to the library required! Simply
open your treasure box and let the adventure begin. |
 |
Through her scribbles, receive more
than 24 years of homeschool wisdom.
Jessica will share with you her successes and challenges,
as well as address the issues she discusses with moms
at homeschool conventions across the country and on
the KONOS eloop.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/
KONOS-JessicaHulcy/If you are interested in practical teaching
tips or inspirational mentoring,
Read a few of Jessica's
Scribbles today! |
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Do
you have a question about God, Jesus, the Bible, or theology?
Have you ever needed help understanding a Bible verse or
passage?
Are there any spiritual issues in your life for which you
need advice or counsel?
If so, we highly recommend - www.GotQuestions.org |
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