Spring has arrived!

Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages, we are happy to announce: Spring has arrived at last!

After waiting what seems like more than a season, we are so happy to see sunshine, have blue skies, and temperatures that are consistently ABOVE freezing. Spring is often fickle around here, it comes, it goes, it shows up again a couple weeks later. This year, instead of waiting six more weeks after Groundhog's day, it appears we needed to wait ten weeks.

What does a late Spring mean? Perhaps our vegetables will be a little later getting started, maybe the Spring allergy season will be a more intense, or maybe, . . . it will be life as usual. More than looking at the outward events that herald Spring's arrival, perhaps we should look at what we can learn from waiting.

Hebrews 11:1 states: Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

When God calls us to wait, whether it is for a new season, for a new job, or for provision, how do we respond? When we place our faith in things, we are often disappointed. Rightly so. Things are just material, they do not last past this life. When we place our faith in Christ, we will not be disappointed, we will be blessed and given peace. Faith in Christ is not a panacea that takes away our troubles, rather, faith in Christ puts our troubles in perspective. Faith in Christ puts our eyes back on God's power and provision, it takes our light and momentary troubles and draws them back down to size. Christ does not give peace like the world promises peace. The peace that Christ gives is beyond worldly understanding. It girds us up when we are lagging, and it gives us joy in the midst of whatever comes our way.

Be convicted of the greatness of God, be assured of His love for you. Be at peace in Christ, knowing that God is watching over you and directing your life for His glory.

Trust Him.

Whether you're waiting for Spring to arrive, or you're already outside planting flowers and vegetables, take time to wait upon God for His answers, His timing, and His provision. 

Working and Homeschooling ~ Spring Break

A huge thank you to all of you for the wonderful response to our Working and Homeschooling series!

This week is the first time it has really felt like Spring around here, so I declared a Spring Break ~ for me! 

I spent time cleaning up the flowerbeds, mowing the yard, and the girls and I went on a long hike this afternoon.

We will be back next week with more real life tips from our own experiences. In the mean time, here are the links to all of the working and homeschooling posts so far.

Week 1 ~ WHY Are You Working?
Week 2 ~ Homeschool Schedules 
Week 3 ~ The DANGEROUS Comparison Game
Week 4 ~ Housework, a Family Affair
Week 5 ~ Education Breaks

Hope you're having a wonderful weekend!

Ephesians 5:1-2

HomeschoolDiploma.com ~ A Crew Review

As our children turn into young adults, homeschool parents think about High School, as they start their Senior Year, we sometimes get a little nervous. "What about graduation, what about transcripts, what about a diploma?!" Fear not, we have been blessed to review the Exclusive High School Diploma from HomeschoolDiploma.com and we are here to tell you the quality of the diploma and the customer service are both excellent!




HomeschoolDiploma.com offers diplomas, graduation announcements, caps and gowns, tassels, class rings, and gifts for graduates. Since Emily will be graduating later this year, we knew it was time to take a look at what is available for diplomas and graduation announcements. Several of our friends have used HomeschoolDiploma.com for graduation announcement in the past few years, so the sample they included with our diploma order looked quite familiar. 

HomeschoolDiploma.com offers several options for diplomas, the standard 6" x 8" size that was popular back when Kurt and I graduated, and the 8.5" x 11" size that is more popular today. All of their diplomas come with a sturdy cover, which can also be personalized, as well as the option to purchase a laminated wallet diploma to go along with any of their various diploma options. 

The Exclusive High School Diploma was our choice because of all the customization options available. The turnaround time was amazing. The standard ordering has your diploma shipping out the third business day after you place and pay for your order. If you're pressed for time, they offer a RUSH offer where they start on your diploma that same day. Even without RUSH ordering, we received Emily's diploma via Priority mail in only 6 days (including that we placed the order on the weekend!) That is quality customer service! There are various shipping options available.

HomeschoolDiploma.com offers printing and graphic arts services to school administrators, and parents who home educate who are in compliance with state statutes. What does this mean to you? You can use their services to order your students' diplomas for private schools or homeschool. If you are ordering for multiple graduates, they have options for that too!

Each diploma offered walks you through the available customization steps one by one. Since we selected the Exclusive High School Diploma, I'll walk you through how that works. The first step is to choose the center seal. Because we had options, Emily sat down with Kurt and I and we walked through these choices together. We gave her opinions weight, but we also knew it needed to be a diploma we would want to present. As we discussed the various options we found ones that satisfied all three of us. Next up was entering the student's name as we wanted it to appear, and the school information. There is an option to add the city and state for our homeschool, and we decided to include that as well. This is also where HomeschoolDiploma.com checks to make sure you're the administrator with authority to present the diploma to the graduate. We were looking for a diploma that showed our daughter's Christian education, while still resembling a standard diploma one of the local school students might be receiving.

The next section of personalization is the diploma wording. There are four basic choices, with options available on each one. This area took us a while. There is the standard option, with your state listed, as well as Honors or College Prep options. Among the choices here you can also find wording that includes "Thanks to God" or "Godly Wisdom." I really think this is the section that makes this diploma so unique for your graduate. What was their focus in High School? Let it shine through here in the diploma's wording.

Under the diploma wording, the Exclusive High School Diploma offers a choice of three Scripture verses to choose from, or the ability to include your school's motto for an additional $3.99. Please understand that you can also choose no verse or motto. Customization is key at HomeschoolDiploma.com! 

Do you know the exact date of your graduate's ceremony? Great! If not, that's ok too, because the Date & Signatures section allows you to choose a specific date, or a month and year option. For the signatures section, they are asking you what you wish printed under the signature line(s).  Administrator, instructor, parent? There are several options to choose from. You can also choose to leave this section blank and the diploma will be printed with signature lines, but no words underneath.

Are you worn out just thinking about all the choices? I was a little overwhelmed at first, but by following the steps, we only had to agree on one thing at a time. Since the diploma will be with Emily forever after graduation, we let her choose the Diploma paper and lettering for the graduate's names options herself. After that was the section that allows the administrator to add an honors seal if earned for an additional $2.95.  Then there was just one more section of thinking about the diploma before the review of the order...the diploma cover. How long should a diploma cover last? Forever, or close to it! The simple Diploma of Graduation cover we selected (without a seal or student or school name) comes in eight different color options. After a lot of thought, Emily chose black. If you're wanting a seal on the cover to match the one you chose for the diploma, those are also available, for an additional fee. 

You're almost done with the ordering, just a few more thoughts before you place your order. Do you want an archive copy (is your child going overseas, and you want to keep a second copy in case it gets lost?) or would you like to add-on that wallet sized diploma? Would you like 23K gold illumination the school name, or a diploma tassel? If yes, choose these before you click "Finish."

HomeschoolDiploma.com offers several companion products, and if you're interested, take your time browsing all the options. Personalized note cards, graduation announcements, thank you cards, graduation bling? If you can think of it for graduation, they probably already have! As I mentioned before, several of our friends have used the graduation announcements from HomeschoolDiploma.com. If you get overwhelmed by the ten different designs with multiple options to choose from, you can have a sample of any of them mailed to your home, with corresponding envelopes, for only $1.50.

More than 40 families from the Schoolhouse Review Crew joined in on this adventure at HomeschoolDiploma.com. Click the banner below to view the variety of personalization options available, as well as read their thoughts on the process. We thought the adventure was amazing and highly recommend HomeschoolDiploma.com !


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Working & Homeschooling ~ Week 5 ~ Education Breaks

Dear parents,
YOU need an education break!
Sincerely,
      Me :)

There is a train of thought that works really well for home education for the children, but can be a nightmare for working and homeschooling parents. The train of thought creates wonder and excitement in children. The train opens new ideas, new opportunities, and new experiences for students, and yet...it can leave the parents exhausted.

What is this train you may ask? It is the "always learning" train. We have found it quite beneficial to our daughters to not give them a set school ending time, because we didn't want them to check their brains at 3:30 p.m. and stop learning. Home education truly is a lifestyle, one where everyone can learn all day long, even on the weekends, and explore a vast number of interests.

The problem with this train comes when the parents can't stop the amount of things that still need done and become exhausted and overwhelmed. Parents need education breaks, especially working parents. 

Here are some things we have found that can help you continue to enjoy the educational lifestyle with your children, without coming to the end of your proverbial rope:

Prayer

Once again I must remind you that none of us can fulfill this role as home educating parents without help! Rely upon God's strength and understanding daily...not just when you've run out of your own.

Accept Limitations

Stop listening to what the world is telling you about gaps in your children's education, and start listening to what God wants you to focus on. Every child's education has gaps, whether they went to public school, private school, or were educated at home.

I went to pubic school, I graduated near the top of my class with an outstanding GPA, know what? I have HUGE gaps in my education! I didn't realize just how big those gaps were until we started educating our daughters. That's ok, because I had a couple of superb teachers who taught me HOW to learn. I have used those skills over and over again to fill in the gaps I wanted filled. I have learned alongside our daughters. Those other gaps? They haven't mattered much in the 25 years since I graduated High School.

Once you have God's plan for your children's educations, you can focus less and less on supposed gaps, and more and more on them learning things that will be relevant to their adult lives.

Make your own vacation schedule

Some homeschooling parents want to take their vacations when the local school takes theirs. Either for convenience's sake, or from fear of questioning, they've forgotten one of the greatest freedoms of home education is setting your own schedule. Yes, there will still be state rules to follow, but if you want to take your Spring break a month earlier, or later, than everyone else -do it! 

I am a 4-H Leader, which means a part of every summer is devoted to helping the other 50+ 4-Hers in our club (and their parents) get ready for our county fair. So while my focus remains on helping our daughters understand their projects and complete them on time...I'm still really busy helping everyone else too! When the State Fair starts in August, our family steps away from the rest of our 4-H club and we focus on just enjoying the fair together as a family. The month of August is MY summer. The time between outside responsibilities, and when the girls start their new school year. This is when we usually take a short family vacation. Almost everyone else is back in school, and we can enjoy the sights in relative quiet.


Last year we did something really unusual with our schedule. We went to Florida for a week in early November. Guess what? The beach is almost empty, but the weather is still warm. It was actually hot! We didn't stop learning while on our trip, the exact opposite, as the girls had never been to FL before, and neither Kurt or I had been to this part of the state. Want to know what we did do? We stopped requiring the girls to keep track of it. No reports to write, no summaries to give, not even a little narration. Just enjoy the vacation. It is OK for your child's education to be different from the kids down the street. We were making memories, the vacation was educational, but mostly, it was a vacation ~ for all four of us!

Stop grading Papers

Oh dear working parents, you simply have to give up the idea of grading every assignment your student completes. If you are working and homeschooling there just isn't time each day, and you probably don't have the mental capacity to stay focused on it anyway. I'm not saying "don't grade anything," I'm saying be selective. Choose which subjects you most need written grades for, or find an online course for your older student that is self-grading. If your student is trustworthy, have them check their own daily work, then all you have to do is administer and grade the unit test. Find a happy medium for your family. Perhaps your oldest students could check the math or spelling papers for your youngest, perhaps instead of always giving written tests, your middle school aged student could answer their history questions orally while they help you prepare dinner. There is a method that will work for each family that has working and homeschooling parents, if you're struggling to find yours, refer back to the first tip: Prayer!

Education Breaks for parents

Schedule in some education breaks for the parents. Or don't schedule them, but DO take them when needed! Just as our children need time each summer to reset their internal clocks and just be kids, sometimes WE need time to reset ourselves as parents. You can give your child the day off of their schoolwork, or you can just choose to not grade anything they completed that day. Find a way to step away from being the teacher once in a while, and simply focus on enjoying your children. They grow up ~ quickly!


Stop in again next week, there is still a lot more to be shared about working and homeschooling!

Psalm 113:3

Tips for Homeschooling Parents ~ High School

Here we are on the final day of our Tips for Homeschooling Parents Blog Hop. I hope you've found lots of encouragement and help this week. I saved High School for last. Many parents feel they are ill-equipped to teach High School and consider sending their children to Public School. Let me encourage you that you CAN teach your High School aged students at home, and they can succeed, while you have the blessing of watching them grow into young adults.

I just have five points I want you to think about, and then I'm going to link some of our recent posts about High School to give you more of an idea about what the day to day life of High School is like around here.

Keep The Vision

You started this journey with a vision, as you draw near to that goal, do not waver. It is ok to change up your curriculum choices, or even your teaching style, but remember WHY you started home educating in the first place and keep that forefront in your heart and mind. There are a lot of options for High School, textbook, living books, online, dual enrollment, private tutors. You can continue on through graduation with some planning and effort.

Make a Master Plan for Each Child

At no time since you taught them to read will you notice the differences in each child as much as when you sit down to plan out their 4 or 5 years of High School. Yes, you read that right, some students should be taking five years. One of ours is taking 4.5 years, the other one? We'll wait and see. Sit down as parents with your child and a copy of your state's requirements. Pencil in the basics, then talk honestly about which electives your student wants to consider. You don't need all the electives chosen before you begin, but you should have the state requirements for Math, Science, History, and Language Arts filled out early so you don't overlook a course they'll need to graduate!

Write it all Down ~ On Paper!

There are a wealth of online planners and record keepers out there. However, you're going to need to keep a basic tally of courses completed on paper. Computers crash, companies change software, with at least a general outline on paper, you can always re-create any transcript information that might have been lost.

Transcript choices

You don't have to decide NOW which way to write out the transcript, but you should be thinking about it. When in doubt, write it down in a notebook or planner you save JUST for High School records. See the link below to our post about transcripts and graduation for more ideas!

Remember the Field Trips

We are HUGE proponents of experiential learning. Plan at least one field trip each month in High School. Sometimes you won't get them all in, but try. Older students love the break from book work, and are often able to formulate deeper questions to ask about the event or location than they could at younger ages. You'll love seeing things through new eyes as well.

Enjoy the Ride!

The High School years can be a wonderful, crazy, exhausting ride. It is so worth your time and effort to spend these last few years with your children as they mature into adults. Continue to tie heart strings. Remember that you were once a teenager. Be the parent, but also be their friend. Show them through your actions that they are valued, and that you are truly blessed to be able to spend this time together!

Click on the links below for more of our real-life High School posts.

Transcripts, Graduation, and a Diploma

Help! I Can't Fit it all in!

How Will I Teach High School?

Math and Science in High School

Homeschooling High School ~ Electives

Language Arts (& History!)

Making a Plan ~ Homeschooling High School 




To see what everyone else is sharing today, click on the banner below! Thanks for stopping by all week!

Visit my friends to read their tips for Homeschool Parents

Dawn @ Double O Farms 

Dawn @ Guiding Light Homeschool 

Debbie @ Debbie's Homeschool Corner 

Desiree @ Our Homeschool Notebook 

Diana @ Busy Homeschool Days 

Diana @ Homeschool Review 

Elyse @ Oiralinde: Eternal Song 

Emilee @ Pea of Sweetness 

Erin @ For Him and My Family 

Jen @ Chestnut Grove Academy