The pencil boxes are loaded, the books bought, and we're OFF!

We're OFF and running for the 2008-2009 school year!


Our first Clifton Homeschool Encouragement Group meeting on Aug 19th was attended by over 20 homeschool parents. Our time was a God-centered and helpful time. Michele Murray led off with her devotional, "Keeping our Focus on Him" in which she talked about II Tim 3:14-15 where Paul admonishes Timothy to 'continue in the faith and preach the Word." Like Timothy, this is our biblical mandate, and we can rejoice that as we keep our focus on the truth of the Gospel of Christ, we can expect God to accomplish great things in our efforts to homeschool our children.

Becky Konemann presented on "How to Begin a Successful Trip" where she likened educating our children at home to taking a journey. For this journey to be a successful one, we need to prepare, pack for the trip, organize our homes, and realistically and humbly assess both our methods and our children's unique progress, gifts, and interests.

Becky pointed out that we can expect bumps and detours along the way, but cautioned us against attitudes of irritability and rigidness as a response to the unpredictability of homeschooling. Becky also wisely reminded us that our journey is ultimately headed toward ETERNITY! Therefore, we have a great privilege and opportunity to fulfill God's purpose for our lives, which is to Glorify God and enjoy Him forever. We can trust Him to help us as we fully depend upon Christ for strength, wisdom, and help along the way.

We are so thankful to God for the wisdom and grace granted to both Becky and Michele as experienced homeschooling moms, and for the godly example of their families to our body at Clifton.

(If anyone would like a full transcript of Becky's talk, just contact Kathy by email at futureandahope@insightbb.com)

Does your child have NATURE DEFICIT DISORDER?

In his article entitled, “A Generation of Nature Know-Nothings,” R. Albert Mohler (link below) discusses a troubling new study out of the UK. It reveals that this generation of children is shockingly unaware of the outdoors. Instead, they are opting for that which can be plugged in, turned on, and booted-up. One writer has even coined a new term to describe the extent to which many kids are ignorant of the natural world (i.e., 38% of kids in the study could not identify a common frog!)

They have what is now called by some (with an inclination to assign labels) ---- “Nature Deficit Disorder.”

Here’s the link:

http://www.albertmohler.com/blog.php

Home educators have a unique opportunity here --- we can easily fit nature-study into our school day. By going for simple half-hour ‘nature walks’ with our children, we can simultaneously cover P.E., Science, and Art.

However, we parents are also influenced by the culture and the “pull” of electronics – It is often easier to point our kids to a computer game than to take them outdoors. Dr. Mohler’s article was a good reminder to me to look at our own family’s habits this summer, and to re-visit some of the resources we have found inspiring and helpful through the years:

Reader’s Digest “North American Wildlife” book
– our favorite all-in-one nature guidebook. This one includes EVERYTHING!

Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock –
B & W photos and ink drawings are not all the best, but the descriptions, prompting questions for mom, and accompanying quality poetry makes it worth owning this older book.

Keeping a Nature Journal – Discover a Whole New Way of Seeing the World Around You
- This book has been a huge inspiration for one of our daughters who learned early to combine nature study with art – at the encouragement of a home-schooling friend she started at about age 8 drawing backyard plants and insects, with accompanying short captions. One thing led to another, and she’s now the family gardener, an avid bird-watcher, and loves painting florals and birds in oils (even a common Barn Swallow like the one above, is fair game for painting!)

Backyard Bird Feeder’s Bible – a great book for bird-watching – we learned about this one from Grandpa who lives on the Chesapeake Bay.

Birds of Indiana (or Kentucky) – by Stan Tekiela

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Birds-Indiana-Field-Guide-Tekiela/dp/1885061900
State-by-state series of field guides - beautiful photographs and descriptions of local birdlife. It’s under $7 used on Amazon Marketplace and is also available at local bookstores in Louisville.

Articles regarding the value and how-to’s of nature study will inspire dads and moms. From the Charlotte-Mason inspired online curriculum, Ambleside Online:
http://www.amblesideonline.org/NatureSch.shtml (Don’t miss the ‘dry-brush tutorial’ on how to do step-by-step watercolor illustrations from nature).

Try creating a 'special little place' in your home (even a corner), for children to create nature-art or start some seedlings in egg cartons or tin cans. Two children in our household paint in a dormer window where there is natural light. It's sometimes a mess, with birds' nests and potting soil and bits of bark lying around, but they love it!

God bless you today as you enjoy HIS beautiful world! ~ Kathy

Homeschool link - a fun homeschool blog

http://bonavita.wordpress.com/

The Bona Vita blog (see web address above) is written by Kathy Adams, a homeschooling mother of 9 kids in Southern Indiana. Her blog includes some good tips and sample schedules for homeschooling with little ones around. I also enjoyed her recipes and the post on CHORES, which she calls "An Expert in His Field" - very creative.) Enjoy!