In my last post I pointed out that “Homeschooling911” actually started as a book idea – that my original goal was to write a book that would give homeschoolers the tools they needed to continue to homeschool even when life got complicated…or worse.  While “Homeschooling911” did ultimately evolve from a book idea to a website, and while I have actually spent almost two years sharing the “nuts-and-bolts” of homeschooling with prospective and current homeschoolers, I still want to be of assistance to those who are in the middle of a crisis, tragedy or challenge of any kind.

And it became even clearer to me recently that I needed to address this subject while going through an unexpected and unwelcome challenge of my own.  I won’t go into details but I was very ill during the latter half of December and the beginning of January.  The problems actually started in early November but escalated in the week before Christmas, to the point where I ended up in the ER on December 22^nd and subsequently spent hours (and thousands of dollars) on doctor’s appointments, lab work and other unpleasantness.

In the middle of this, not knowing how long it would take for me to regain my health I began to plan what I would do with my 4^th grader for school once the “Christmas break” ended.  I decided that I would start with only committing to one subject a day, and that subject would be math.  If I managed to do anything else with him, that would be gravy, but math would be my first priority.

And that brings me back to what I discussed in part one of this “mini-series” – when life throws you a curveball, you need to do two things in order to continue to homeschool successfully: prioritize and be flexible.

If you haven’t read that post yet, I suggest you do that right away.  It’s okay, I’ll wait…

So you’re back.  Having read that post you now know that I discussed, in a general way, why I believe prioritizing and being flexible are so crucial to dealing with disaster, change, turmoil and the complications of life – and that’s true for anyone, but particularly for those of us who have taken on the additional responsibility of homeschooling our children.

In this post I am going to go into specifics.  I am going to share those tactics that actually helped me deal with tragedy, turmoil and circumstances that turned my life upside down.  And I firmly believe that these tactics will help you as well.  I also believe that you can continue to homeschool when your life becomes topsy-turvy.

As I pointed out in my previous post, in order to prioritize in difficult times you must learn to be flexible.  If you need to throw a temporary tantrum because of all of your wonderful plans have gone awry, by all means do!  But after you’ve had your fit, take a deep breath, and start prioritizing.  What do your children really need, right now in order to continue to progress in their studies?  What can be put aside for next week, next month, or even next year?

I will contend (and I’m not claiming any kind of special knowledge because this seems pretty obvious) that your children really only need three things in terms of their schooling – those three things are traditionally called “the three ‘R’s.”

Mathematics, reading and writing are the foundation of your child’s education.  Everything else is gravy.  If your child can read, they can find information for themselves.  If they have a solid grasp of mathematics, they can interact with their world in any number of circumstances.  And if they have been trained in composition skills so they can communicate effectively, well, they’ll be ahead of the vast majority of their peers.

I also believe that the order of importance of those three subjects matters, and I put them in the order I have for a reason.  I will explain why below.  When tough times come, and they will, I believe if you follow the methods I have used you can’t go wrong!

Mathematics: At the beginning of this post I mentioned my decision to focus solely on mathematics with my fourth-grader while I was dealing with a debilitating illness.  Why math?  Unlike other subjects, math is the one subject that constantly builds upon previously learned facts and material – and unlike other subjects it also tends to need constant review in order to make those facts and material “stick.”

For example, once your child learns to read, they are not going to forget how to read.   Sure, you will want them to read more challenging material over time, but they will still know how to read.  But will your child forget their addition or multiplication facts?  Will they forget how to multiply fractions or do long division?  In a heartbeat!  Math is the one subject that, more than any other, you must stick with come heck or high water.

So when life goes crazy and you need to prioritize, make sure your kid is getting in their math – whether that involves you sitting down with them, or an older sibling teaching them, or they work on a computer math program or watch DVD’s – whatever you do, keep up with their math.  And if you’re smart you’ll do like I do – once my kids are in sixth or seventh grade they are responsible for completing about 75% of their work independently.  Tell them to do math first.  Every day.  No excuses.

Reading: How you deal with reading in your “prioritizing” depends on the ages of your children.  For young children learning to read, the world will not end if you put their reading program away for a little while.  On the other hand, the two keys I recommend you use when teaching your child to read involve little to no help from you at all.  I discuss this in depth in my post “How to: Teach Your Child to Read” but, in a nutshell, if you use Leapfrog
materials (particularly their phonics DVD’s) and the “Explode the Code” phonics workbooks, your kids are almost guaranteed to learn to read – and with little involvement on your part.  Frankly, many of the phonics programs I have looked at make learning to read way more complicated than it needs to be.  And granted, all kids are different – but the “Explode the Code” workbooks are so solid that I believe few kids would have trouble learning to read if they are used consistently.  And fortunately, they don’t require much time at all.  Spend 15 minutes a day, at most, and you will see results.

Now if your children are older and already reading – well that just makes things even easier!  Forget the grammar, vocabulary, spelling, etc. for a while.  If your kids know how to read, give them things to read.  Have them carry a book everywhere they go.  Have them read to you, if you feel like it.  Or have them read to their younger siblings.  I especially recommend you assign them a series of books.  For kids in 2^nd to 4^th grade, say – assign them the Boxcar Children series.  For kids in 5^th to 7^th grade, for example, you could assign the Ralph Moody series that starts with Little Britches (fantastic series by the way – based on Moody’s life these stories show kids that are resourceful, responsible and respectful).  For even older kids, get them into Charles Dickens or G. A. Henty or Jane Austen.  Reading several books by the same author can help your children with their own writing skills as well.  They learn to recognize an author’s voice and can better understand how to find their own voice when writing.  Which brings me to:

Writing: There are two components to writing: the mechanics of handwriting, and the creativity of composition.  When life gets complicated, you can certainly scrap the handwriting program for a time.  Penmanship is something you’ll work on with your kids for years – and all the work you do doesn’t guarantee your kids will end up with good penmanship as I know only too well.  My daughter has nice handwriting as does my middle son but my oldest son’s handwriting is atrocious.  But so what?  He spends most of his time on the computer anyway!  So yes, I do work on handwriting as part of our curriculum (I use “A Reason for Handwriting”) but it’s very hit-and-miss around here.  It’s certainly not a huge priority and can be put aside for quite a while if necessary.

Composition is another thing.  Now first of all, if you have kids under the age of 11 or 12, don’t even bother!  You see how much work I just saved you!  I realize there are some homeschooling philosophies that involve a LOT of writing on the part of your little students.  I think it’s a waste of time.  Just my opinion!

For one thing, narration bores me to death.  I know it’s an integral part of the Charlotte Mason school of thought.  I tried it…and it put me to sleep.  I don’t think we even lasted a week.  And the other school of thought that you should have your child tell you a story while you write it down – another snooze-fest as far as I’m concerned.

And frankly, I believe that composing written work is far too abstract a concept to be assigning to your kids while they’re still mastering fractions and long division.  Now I want you to understand me here: if you have a child that likes making up stories, by all means let them!  And be sure to throw that in your lesson plan schedule when they come to you with something they’ve created (whether by hand or on the computer).  My youngest loves to create stories and cartoons.  So I let him.  But I don’t assign stories or essays.

Once your child is somewhere between 5^th and 7^th grades, then it’s time to think about a composition program.  And the only one I ever found, after years of searching, that’s worth its salt is “Write With the Best.”  WWTB comes in two volumes and you can easily get three to four years worth of composition instruction out of these two volumes if you take your time.  “Write With the Best” also includes lessons in grammar so you can throw away that extra grammar curriculum.

Another thing I like to do with WWTB is to use the literature assignments as a basis for reading assignments.  For instance, WWTB uses passages from famous literature to teach a specific concept, such as writing a descriptive paragraph or an expository essay.  Rather than just have my child read that one excerpt, I have them read the whole book.  So, for example, as part of using WWTB my middle son read Treasure Island, The Wind in the Willows, and Twenty-Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.  “Write With the Best” is simply a fabulous program and if you have kids ages 12 and up, you should be using it!

So to sum up:  How do you tackle tough times as a homeschooler?  Well, first of all you need to decide that you are going to be flexible and you are going to prioritize your studies based on what your kids really need, which I believe would be, in this order: mathematics, reading and writing.

Now depending on the legal situation in your state you may need to insert more studies into your schedule BUT, if that is the case, I encourage you to be creative.  If you’re a relative “newbie” to the homeschooling scene, get some advice from veteran homeschoolers.  I’m sure one of two of them have been through tough times and have figured out ways to satisfy the government’s requirements while staying sane.  (And for the record, I think it is deplorable what some states require from homeschoolers…as if the public schools are producing 100% academic stars???)

When I say “be creative” I am suggesting, for example, that some of your everyday activities be counted as schoolwork – whether those activities are cooking meals, helping out with a relative in a crisis situation, or even just spending time reading good books or watching some nature DVD’s.  Everything “homeschooling” doesn’t have to mean sitting at a desk with a textbook!

Finally, I want to encourage you to look at the “big picture.”  Whatever hell you might be going through, you will get through it.  I know that isn’t very comforting when you’re in the middle of a tragedy.  I lost my brother in 1997 when he was killed by a drunk driver – he was 37 years old.  I lost my niece in 2007 when she was killed in a traffic accident – she was 19.  I’ve been through tragedy.  The kind that makes you almost wish you would lose your mind because the pain hurts so bad.  Through it all, by the grace of God, I continued to homeschool.  And I’m so thankful I did.

And you can too.  It doesn’t require Supermom powers.  It just requires some determination and, as I learned in my own life, a decision to be flexible and prioritize your child’s studies.

If you have any questions or just need a little encouragement you can leave a comment below or, if you’d rather keep it private, fill out my contact form and I will get back to you personally.

And if you have any tips related to how you homeschooled through tough times, please share them in the comments.  We all need some encouragement from time to time.

If you’ve read my post titled “Why Homeschooling911?” you know that this website originally started as a book idea.  The idea I had in mind was to share the experiences in my life that had been at times extremely stressful, and at other times utterly tragic, and to share the truth that it is more than possible to continue homeschooling through, as I called them, “life’s big and little emergencies.”

Where did this book idea come from?  Well, there’s something I have found out about life: it happens.  Just because you homeschool doesn’t mean you are going to be exempt from: the death of a loved one, sickness, a job loss, or some other upheaval that affects your life in a profound way.  Homeschoolers always seem to be surprised that situations come along that throw their well-laid plans into disarray.  I even recently read in one forum a question about dealing with these kinds of disruptions, as if there is a secret formula for continuing to breeze along with your homeschool objectives when the kids are sick or you’re sick or you need to attend a funeral or you suddenly have to up-and-move because your husband’s company transferred him…but the bottom line is that life happens to all of us and there is no “secret formula.”  However, there are coping mechanisms you can put into place so that you can not only continue to homeschool, but you can do so in a way that can provide teaching moments for your children that come no other way.

When life happens, as a homeschooler, you need to learn to adjust and adapt.  You need to do what I discussed in a guest post titled “Homeschool Survival: How to Get Through Tough Times” at The Survival Mom website.  What I recommended in that post was a two-pronged approach to getting through tough times: prioritize and be flexible.

Prioritize: When life sends you a curveball you need to learn to do more than duck.  And one of the best things you can do in terms of your homeschool is to realize it is YOUR homeschool.  You have the right to do or not do any certain subject today or tomorrow or the next day.  Granted, I realize that some states are more demanding than the state of Florida in regards to what you have to teach and how many days you have to teach, etc.  But I guarantee you there are ways to be creative in terms of fulfilling your obligations in regards to your state government and local school board and I strongly encourage you to make the most of all the resources available to you including, and especially, the resources which your state homeschool organization can provide to help you when you are facing a turbulent time in your life.

That being said, I learned a long time ago that when, say, a hurricane came through and flattened my city, that it was okay to scale back on what I was teaching.  That it was perfectly fine to say, “Hey, this year we’re just going to pass on history.  We’ll get to that next year.”  Believe it or not, IT WORKS.  Every time I have gone through a disastrous and/or traumatic situation in my life, whether it was Hurricane Andrew or a move across-state or the sudden death of my brother in 1997 – when I got back to the basics – the “three R’s” if you will – it worked every time.  There was less stress on me, which benefitted me and my kids, and my children’s education did not suffer.  In Part Two of this little “series” I am going to discuss in detail what I mean by scaling back and how that might look for you.  I hope you’ll come back and read that post because I believe it will help you and – if you share it – who knows, you just might help someone else who is struggling to homeschool while going through a tough time.

Flexibility: The second key to surviving tough times as a homeschooler is to learn flexibility.  In reality, flexibility and prioritizing go together.  It’s hard to prioritize and eliminate some of the extraneous elements of homeschooling if you can’t be flexible.  Being flexible may even mean taking a month off, or handing the homeschooling reins over to an older child who can supervise their younger siblings.  What works for you and your family will be an individual decision.  But flexibility in homeschooling is key – and at the risk of offending someone – being flexible doesn’t have to mean putting your kids in school.  In fact, I am a strong believer that continuing to homeschool through the hard times is actually a win for your kids.  What do I mean by that?  When you continue to homeschool through hard times your children learn some valuable lessons that they will likely learn no other way.

Think about it: your children will learn how to deal with difficulty.  Yes, they may see you grieve – but that’s okay.  They will learn that grieving is part of life.  They will see how being flexible can serve them well when they encounter tough times in their own adult life.  They will learn how a family can pull together to help one another and to be a blessing to one another and maybe even to other family members who are a part of this challenging time in your life.

During the very difficult times in my life, such as after Hurricane Andrew blew through our community in 1992, homeschooling actually provided stability to my children.  While other families were scrambling to figure out when their kids would go to school and where their kids would go to school – considering that many schools had been blown away – our family, though we spent the next six weeks living with various family members, kept right on going…we just took school along with us!

In 1997 when my brother was killed by a drunk driver and I had to take a flight out immediately to be with my parents, I found out that the training I had provided my daughter – who was 13 at the time – had indeed paid off.  My husband was to drive down with my kids the day after I flew to my parents but he had to tie up loose ends at work since he would be out-of-town for several days.  During that time my daughter did all the laundry and all the packing for herself, her two brothers, and my husband!  I was actually astounded at the way she stepped up and took over the duties that normally I would have taken care of.  And in the months ahead, when I made several trips to my parents’ home to help them with various issues (such as meeting with the state attorney to discuss the case against the man who had killed my brother) my daughter again took over the reins including planning and cooking all the meals.  The only thing she couldn’t do was the shopping as she was too young to have a driver’s license!  She cared for her brothers, the house, everything.  This is one of those hidden benefits of homeschooling that I talked about.  And if my kids had been in school during that time, it would have been very difficult for me to get away as often as I did.  Too many don’t realize the tremendous blessing homeschooling can be not just in the good times, but in the tough times as well.

I would encourage you to take a new look at the way you approach your homeschool.  I don’t believe it should be compartmentalized into something you do “X” hours a day.  One of the false claims by those who oppose homeschooling is that it doesn’t prepare children for “life.”  On the contrary, I believe school attendance creates a completely artificial view of life (and often leads to the entitlement mentality too many young people exhibit these days).  In fact, homeschooling is the only school option that actually exposes children to real life, with all its complications, stresses, and trials.  And only homeschooling can provide the teaching platform to help your children learn how to deal with “real life” before they are out on their own managing their own lives and confronting their own challenges.

So I encourage you: don’t be afraid to homeschool through the tough times.  It is not only manageable, it will provide benefits to your children that will last a lifetime.  Stay tuned for Part Two of “Tackling Tough Times,” where I will discuss further some ways to put prioritizing and flexibility into practice.

And don’t forget to share this post with your network.  The “share” button below offers many options for doing just that!

If you are a regular reader of my blog you may have noticed that I have been somewhat MIA this month.  I did spend the first part of the month studying for the final exam in my history class (I’m working on finishing an English Lit degree at Florida State University).  That class was a beast.  One of the worst I’ve ever had.  I did end up with a B+ in the class in part due to the excellent job my 18-year old son did quizzing me!  By the way, I had a brainstorm a week or so before the exam to put together a timeline of all the events that I might be tested on.  Got out a roll of brown Kraft paper and cut about five feet of it, then taped it to my family room floor!  I wrote down all the dates (in order) for the dozens of events that had been covered the second half of the semester – this professor was VERY big on dates – and then my son quizzed me from that.  So…might be an idea for you to use for your homeschool some time!

Once I got my exam out of the way, I thought I’d have a few relaxing weeks for “Christmas break” but alas, I have been quite sick.  So sick I ended up in the ER last week on IV fluids.  I will spare you the details of how long it took the nurse(s) to get needles into my little veins but suffice it to say that my daughter, who was with me, told me later she thought she was going to pass out.  I’m still on meds and supposed to be following up with my doctor and I would certainly appreciate your prayers!

In any case, last year around this time I offered a “wrap-up” that linked to the most popular posts on my blog for that year.  So in the interest of consistency, and also for the benefit of my newer readers, I have compiled a list of the most popular posts of 2011.  I based my decision of what posts to include primarily on the number of readers who commented (for better or for worse!) but in the case of the last two posts listed, they were also two of the most “visited” posts of the year.

The Myth of Socialization
My Definition of an Adult
Homeschooling Your High Schooler
A Christian Marriage Reality Check
A Comment About Rascal Flatts
Making the Most of a Home School Conference
How To: Teach Math Concepts
How To: Teach Math Drills
How To: Teach Your Child To Read
How To: Teach Language Arts

Finally, if you don’t want to miss any of my posts in 2012 be sure to sign up to be notified of new posts either via RSS feed or my e-mail newsletter.  Just go to the top of this page and fill out the e-mail form or click on the feed.  And to all those who have read and/or shared my blog this year: Thank You!

It’s that time of year again!  Here in North Florida it’s cold, sometimes sunny, sometimes blustery (à la Winnie the Pooh).  My youngest is over-the-top excited about Christmas decorations and presents and my 18-year old and I are in the throes of studying for final exams (okay, that doesn’t really fit with the season but it’s a fact of my life!)

Last year at this time I wrote several holiday posts that were rather well-received and so I thought I would put the links for them all together in one place for your reading pleasure.

The first three posts offer practical tips and are, perhaps, at times humorous:

• Home-School Credit and Other Christmasy Thoughts
• Be the Boss of Your Holiday!
• Overdosing On Turkey? 

This next post is much more serious and was written based on my experience of going through the holidays after experiencing a great tragedy in my life.  It was one of my most trafficked posts last year.  If you have experienced a loss this year, or know someone who has, this post might just help you cope a little better with the emotional roller-coaster the holidays can be:

Tips for Coping with Grief During the Holidays

Finally, if you still need to get a gift or two for one of your kids, check out my recent post:

10 Smart Gift Ideas for Kids 

The gift suggestions in the above post are great not only for kids but for families and the “big kids” in your life as well!

I hope that these posts encourage, inspire, or help you in some way.  Feel free to share them using the  ”widgets” you find below.  You never know who might need some encouragement or inspiration today!

My regular readers may have noticed that I did not post any new material this past week.  There is a reason for that.  I was in Miami (Florida) last weekend for the “Bird Road Baby Boomers” reunion at Tropical Park.

Now if you’re not from Miami you’re probably scratching your head wondering exactly what (or who) are the “Bird Road Baby Boomers.”  Allow me to explain.

I grew up in Miami, lived there for most of the first 34 years of my life, in fact.  Moreover, I am a second-generation Miami native since my mom was born there as well (in Coral Gables).  Again, that may not mean much to you if you’re not from the area, but you have to realize that up until the early part of the last century, Miami was little more than a one-horse town with a lovely beach area that was home to a number of gangsters (Al Capone, for example, had a place on Miami Beach).  In fact, even in the middle part of the 20^th century there was still plenty of room for families to come in and put down roots, which they finally started doing because by that time there was a way to control the mosquitoes and you could make a home *almost* bearable with fans and, later, window air conditioners.

As a Floridian I cannot begin to tell you how thankful I am for central air conditioning.  I grew up in a home with no air-conditioning and I can still remember lying in bed on a summer night unable to sleep because I was sweating (or rather, perspiring) so profusely.  Furthermore, the air coming in through the open windows was so still and hot that, if anything, it just made things worse.  I can also remember going to high school and wondering how a certain friend could look so amazing when we were in classrooms that were easily 95 degrees with humidity of close to 100%.  She said her secret was talcum powder.  Somehow it never worked quite so well for me.

In any case, one of the (many) main drags in Miami is 40^th Street, known to the locals as “Bird Road.”  It is the site for one of the best pizza places in the world: Frankie’s Pizza – and you can even get their pizza shipped to you!  It also is home to Tropical Park which started out as a horse track (they were still racing horses there when I was a kid) and later turned into a huge park for various recreational and exercise facilities along with a stadium where the local high schools played football.  It now also houses an “equestrian center” which is where the Bird Road Baby Boomers event was held last weekend.

The concept for the event, a clever one I think, was to invite alumni of the baby boomer generation that had attended the various public high schools in the vicinity (a half-dozen or so) to a big-time reunion that would allow friends from different classes and schools to reconnect and also, to raise money for Alzheimer’s research.

I had missed my 30-year high school reunion two years ago due to me and my kids coming down with swine flu so when I heard that someone from my class of 1979 was planning a “birthday party” as a bash within a bash, I said, “Sign me up!”

Which brings me to a secret that I now must share to my chagrin – I am turning 50 this month.  You see, the reason for the “birthday party” for those of my graduating class is that this is the year that most of us are turning 50.  Ouch.  And for the record, I contend that all those people who smugly assert that “age is just a number” have been reading way too many motivational posters.  I would suggest a steady diet of “De-Motivational” posters starting with perhaps this one: Self-Esteem.

I’ve got plenty of body parts that can attest to the fact that age is not “just a number.”  My creaky hip for one.  But never mind that.

Frankly, I can see that there are a few good aspects to turning 50.  For most of us, once we hit our 30’s and especially 40’s (and beyond) we begin to see how incredibly stupid most humans under the age of 25 are.  And I’m not talking about book-smarts or even, necessarily, uneducated.  I mean they actually believe that, for instance, their actions have no consequences.  The truly sad thing is when you see someone in their 30’s or, for that matter, in their 70’s that still believes that their actions have no consequences.  They are generally the people whose family members are no longer speaking to them and whose friends are either long-gone or just as messed-up as they are.  Age is supposed to bring experience and wisdom.  Even if sometimes that wisdom comes from walking through some hard times.

I also think that turning 50 grants me a certain license to be lazy, indifferent, or even a little loopy.  Not in an irresponsible manner, mind you.  Not in any way that would hurt someone else.  But why, for goodness sake, shouldn’t I take a nap if I feel like it?  Or scream like a crazy person at a Seminoles football game?  I mean, I’ve lived half a century, darn it!

On the other hand, life at 50 for me is not quite like life at 50 for most women.  In the days leading up to the Bird Road Baby Boomers bash, I was communicating via e-mail with one of the coordinators about some questions I had.  I mentioned that I was a member of the “Fabulous at 50” group.  In my e-mail I remarked that, by having our own little “bash within a bash” celebrating our 50^th birthdays, we were sort of trying to turn lemons into lemonade.  Her reply was something along the lines that “in your 50’s it’s all lemonade.”  In other words, your kids are grown, you’re enjoying your grandchildren, and you have the time and money to travel and pursue your own interests.

There’s just one problem.  Actually it’s a joy, but nevertheless, what it amounts to is that I am not in the stage of life where: my kids are all grown, I’m enjoying my grandchildren and I have the time and money to travel and play.

I do have two grown children (no grandchildren yet, but that’s okay!) but I also have two children that I’m still homeschooling and one of them is only nine!  I’m in the throes of getting my high school senior son applied to college and college scholarships all the while I am teaching my nine-year old long division.  And while I generally like math, I hate long division.  It goes against all the other rules of solving equations and it’s just annoying.

In any case, I made it to Miami where I attended two events: one on Friday night for the members of my class of ’79, and another on Saturday where I got to see those classmates again as well as a number of other people that were not in my class but that I had known well at one point in my life.  Many of the people I reconnected with that weekend were, in fact, people I had gone to elementary school with and who had lived in my neighborhood!  It was wild.  I had an absolute blast.  (And while it’s dry as dust in Tallahassee right now it rained both days in Miami and I managed to get soaked at both events!  Oh well.  Living life on the edge, right?)

Well, I might not be exactly living life on the edge.  Unlike one of my (female) cousins who is only two months older than me, I am most definitely not jumping on my Harley to travel the country.  But that’s okay.  I have the pleasure of snuggling on the couch with my nine-year old listening to the classical composers, or laughing over a funny story, or solving long division problems.  Actually, maybe we should just move on to fractions.  Yeah, let’s do that!

P.S.  For those who would say that reunions like this are (à la #15 and maybe #24 of The Bitter Home-Schooler’s Wish List) a reason why kids should not be homeschooled because they would miss out on the wonderful memories and camaraderie, I say, “Pshaw!”  (Yes, it’s a word!)  My daughter still keeps in touch with homeschooling friends she grew up with and, moreover, she has been a member for many years of the Home School Alumni organization.  HSA has members from all over the country who get together for national conferences as well as smaller regional and local events.  My daughter has coordinated and attended some of these events and made many wonderful friends as a result.  If you have a child who has graduated, or will soon be graduating, your homeschool program, make sure they check out HSA!

A few weeks ago – May 3^rd to be exact – marked the one-year anniversary of the launch of this website.  It actually kind of snuck past me a little but when I realized that I had reached this milestone I decided that I wanted to do something to celebrate it.  But rather than give myself a party or present I decided to offer an opportunity to my readers to win something for themselves.

So here’s the deal.  I am giving away, to one lucky reader, one of the following books:

• Homeschooling: The Right Choice
• The Seven Laws of the Learner
• Write With the Best, Volume 1

The entry requirements are easy-peasy.  They are as follows:

1. Leave a comment here telling me how wonderful I am.  Okay, just kidding.  All you have to do is tell me which book you want.  You don’t even have to tell me why you want the book.  For all I know you’re going to re-gift it or something.
2. Due to shipping costs I have to limit this giveaway to my readers who live in the continental United States.
3. If you are the winner you will need to give me a physical address so that I can send you your book!

It doesn’t get much easier than that does it?!  If you aren’t familiar with the books I am offering you can click on the links above to read my reviews then come back to this post to let me know which book you want. 

Just a couple more details: Entries will close at 11:59 pm EST on Friday, May 27^th.  If you are the lucky winner I will send you an e-mail so I can get your address.  You’ll have 48 hours to respond.  If I don’t hear back from you during that time frame I’ll select another winner.

So what are you waiting for?!  Homeschooling + a free book…doesn’t get much better than that!

If you have been reading my blog for awhile then you know that I launched this website in May of this year.  As I look back on the last seven months of blogging, reviewing, and answering your questions, the first thing I want to do is express my appreciation to every single person who has read this blog, shared it, subscribed to it, and especially those who have taken the time to comment on it.  I have also had some wonderful guests post here.

Besides taking the time to thank my readers I also wanted to take a moment to wrap up what has been an interesting (and learning!) experience by sharing the posts that have seemed to strike a chord, based on the traffic they received and/or the number of comments that were posted.

Have You Ever Done This? – What to do when you’ve had “one of those days.”
Why Homeschooling911? - The concept behind Homeschooling911 revealed…
How Home Schooling Is Like Learning To Drive A Car – A discussion of how the work and rewards of home-schooling are like learning to drive a car!
The Bitter Home-Schooler’s Wish List - 25 Answers to those comments all home-schoolers love to hear.
What Do The Miami Dolphins Have To Do With Home-Schooling? – Yes, I proudly admit that I LOVE football.
It’s Funny How… - A reflection on some of the ironies of life.
Six Workbooks That Work! - These workbooks can be a welcome addition to any curriculum.
Sonlight: A Literature-Based Approach to Learning – A review of a popular and effective curriculum.

In addition to posting here on my own website I was privileged to guest post on several other blogs.  Also I was featured at a few places around the web including:

• Mister Good Guy where I was part of the Mona Lisa Million Project
• Potter on Purpose where I was the subject of a podcast interview
• The New York Times where, at their request, I submitted a mini op-ed entitled “The Home-School Advantage”

Beginning in January I am going write a series of posts on “How to…” teach specific subjects.  I would encourage you, if you haven’t already, to subscribe to my e-mail newsletter or RSS feed so that you don’t miss out on these informative posts.  You can find the sign-up form and feed on the top right-hand side of this page.  Again, thank you for taking the time to read and share Homeschooling911.  I look forward to “seeing you” in 2011!

 From left to right: Son #1, age 22; Son #3, age 8; Son #2, age 17; and The Lone Daughter, age 26.

 They are a handsome bunch if I do say so myself!

My Christmas card to you:  If you have welcomed a new family member this year, congratulations!  If you are missing a loved one today, may God give you comfort.  And finally, may you have many moments, as this year passes into history, cherishing those around you – for they are God’s gift to you.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.

]]> http://homeschooling911.com/christmas-greetings-from-my-house-to-yours/feed/ 15 http://homeschooling911.com/what-do-the-miami-dolphins-have-to-do-with-home-schooling/ http://homeschooling911.com/what-do-the-miami-dolphins-have-to-do-with-home-schooling/#comments Thu, 11 Nov 2010 13:00:04 +0000 Anne Galivan http://homeschooling911.com/?p=1259

What do the Miami Dolphins have to do with home-schooling?  Did you know that Jason Taylor, who played for the Dolphins for eleven years – and then played for the Redskins, and then played for the Dolphins, and then played for the Jets and then played for the Dolphins again before officially announcing his retirement in December 2011 – was the first player in the NFL to have been home-educated?  As a matter of fact, Jason was a pioneer in opening doors for home-schoolers to play sports at the high school and college level.

Jason Taylor is one of the greatest defensive ends to ever play the game, holding the record as the NFL’s all-time leader in fumble return touchdowns (6).  He was the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2006, a Pro Bowl selection six times, and was awarded the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award in 2007.  He recorded 130.5 sacks, trailing the NFL record by only 1.5 sacks.  There is no doubt that a place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame is awaiting this this talented former homeschooler.

But I use this all as a segue into my real purpose for this post which is to let you know that I had two guest posts published this week that I hope you will be interested in reading.  The first is at This Inspires Me and it relates my memories of watching the 1972-73 Dolphins win back-to-back Super Bowls and record a perfect season.  Yes, I was young, but I grew up watching Miami Dolphins football every Sunday and to this day I am a huge football fan.  As a matter of fact at our house we spend the fall on a roller-coaster of emotions as my family watches our beloved Florida State Seminoles play on Saturdays.  The last two weeks saw some dark days in our house as the Seminoles managed to snatch defeat from victory in the last seconds of our games against both NC State and UNC.  Ah, well.

The second guest post I had published is: “How Could Your Child Benefit from Home-Schooling?” and discusses what I have found to be some of the long-range benefits of home-schooling.  My friend from the SITS Girls forum, Missy, specifically asked me to write a post on this subject, even though she is not a home-schooler herself.  Given the fact that I am now in my third decade of home-schooling I have been able to see many benefits of home-schooling my children from the very beginning of their schooling all the way through high school.  I am so glad that I stuck with home-schooling in spite of challenges and adversity (life doesn’t cut you any slack just because you home-school!)  I hope that you will take the time to read these posts, comment on them, and share them.

Allow me finally to say how much I appreciate everyone who reads my blog and shares their thoughts, insight, and encouragement in the comments.  I also appreciate when you share this information with others.  The goal is to encourage one another as we endeavor to give our children an excellent education and I hope you find that this website does just that!

Just in case you missed any of this month’s posts…I thought I’d provide links to each of them AND a link to a website where I had the privilege of being featured last week:

• Sonlight: A Literature-Based Approach to Learning
• One Dad’s Homeschooling Philosophy: Work!
• Six Workbooks That Work
• A Primer on Restaurant Etiquette
• It’s Funny How…

AND…

• Homeschooling911 featured at Mister Good Guy

***By the way, the picture of the cupcakes has nothing to do with this post…I just thought they looked yummy!