Check this awesomeness out…

“homeschoolers scored 34-39 percentile points higher than the norm on standardized achievement tests.”*

“…whether or not parents were teacher-certified had no impact on these high scores.”*

Did you know that an average of $9,963 is spent per public school student? Homeschoolers who had under $600 spent on them still scored 30+ percentile points above public schoolers!*

I have no idea what the Lord has led your family to do in regard to education, but those stats are pretty encouraging to me as a homeschool mama!

You know what is the most important thing to me though?  Reaching my children’s hearts so they can reach the heart of others for Jesus.

Here are some of the resources I’m saving up for in order to plant love seeds and encourage an education for the soul (kindergarten):

My Father’s World (some of it for my 3yo and some for my soon-to-be 5yo)

Polished Cornerstones

The Put-On Chart

For Instruction in Righteousness

The If-Then Chart

A Little Princess in the Making

A Little Hero in the Making

Little Keepers at Home

Character Sketches Volume 1

First Catechism

I Heard Good News Today

Can You Find Me? Building Thinking Skills…

Addition Songs – learning math through song is so much more fun then workbooks!

Math on the Level - learning math through real-life activities – all the way up through pre-algebra!

TATRAS – vertical reading program

Sonlight Read-aloud list (I’ll get them from the library)

Art books (from the library)

A different composer each month (CD’s from library)

I heart the Charlotte Mason philosophy of education, so we will be learning through life, enjoying one another, reading great books, and inserting education where my babes are ready and interested.

Recommended Resource:  The Children of Caesar – Whoever controls the schools control the world – Very informative and thought-provoking talk on education!

What resources are you using to educating your babes?

*Taken from the HSLDA Homeschool Progress Report 2009

Unique and practical bag patterns – vintage and modern styles to choose from! Find them here! (ad)

The fire in my heart for home educating burns once again.

I attended my very first homeschool conference this past weekend and I LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!  I was only able to be there for a few hours, but be still my heart, I’m even more in love with home educating then I was before.  I love that I can form my child’s education (tailored just for their little personalities and bents), that I can instill in them a biblical worldview in all we learn about – that we can find God in each “subject,” and that we can just enjoy studying and learning and loving God together!

During my conference go-round, I may or may not have stalked the Vision Forum booth, was introduced to an incredible mentor program, learned about a whole new way of learning math, found out about a lovely little site full of gems, got to hear this amazing family speak, collected so many catelogs (that I have been gloriously pouring over) I could barely walk straight, and soaked up every bit of the graciousness that God bestowed upon me in placing the desire to home educate in my and my husband’s hearts.

I will share tomorrow more of the incredible resources I plan to use in educating my babes, but for today I wanted to share some of my notes from the “Raising Children for Mighty Works” session held by the Mally’s.

My Notes

How Do We Win Our Children’s Hearts?

• Be on their side – be their ally
• Trust them – give them the benefit of the doubt
• Enjoy being with them
• Guard against bitterness – resolve problems
• Communicate
• Take the humble position
• Treat your children as partners (love this!)
• Discern hurt and show compassion
• Be easy to please
• Try to please them
• Give teaching so you think alike
• Pray with them

Having Vision:

• Know what you are preparing for (let your kids know what they are preparing for) Ephesians 2:10 “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”  How Do We Prepare? Seek first the kingdom in education!
• Develop life messages that God has given you – how have you seen His hand in your life – what are you stories?  What stories are you going to share one day in heaven?
• Pray that God would build into you and your children godly convictions
• Bring forth fruit that is eternal

*God wants us to do works that are humanly impossible to do!

Five Goals For Home Educating:

1. Wisdom – the world can’t give this
2. Godliness – the world can’t give this
3. Knowledge – the world can only partly give this
4. Skills
5. Ministry – all the goals are for ministry – everything we do is so we can be better equipped for the kingdom of God

Some extra tid-bits that stood out to me (in no particular order):

• Use your skills/talents for the kingdom of God – don’t get distracted!
• Memorize portions and/or books of the bible instead of just verses (my family is learning Psalm 1 together)
• Focus on ministry projects together rather then getting through school books – things that last
• Know the basics of creation science
• Seek wise influences – use a lot of biographies in your home educating
• Start serving others ASAP – don’t wait, take initiative and do it
• Be skilled in evangelism (they recommended reading The One Thing You Can’t Do in Heaven)
• What parents want for their children: Philippians 2:15 “so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.”

I am bursting with anticipation of our home educating journey, and I look forward to giving you glimpses of my family’s heart for home school in the process.

Tomorrow I’m going to post some interesting facts on homeschooling and a few more resources!  :)

Don’t you just want to buy from Marie-Madeline Studios because the ladies behind it are so wonderful?! You think I’m kidding?  Read about them here and you will fall in love like I have!  (ad)

Someone asked me this the other day:  “How do you do it? Homeschool, enjoy kids, house in order, hubby taken care of AND amazing blogs/social media?”

Let me shatter the myth right now.

I don’t do it.

I don’t do it all well and something at some point will have to give (either that, or my time management skills will have to drastically improve).

I start officially home teaching in September when my daughter turns 5 (although not intensely), and so things will have to change at that point.  My thoughts/heart/talents must turn towards home or I will regret these very short years.

Let me also say this, I don’t always enjoy my kids (but I want to), my house is DEFINITELY not always in order (heh), and my husband, well, let’s just say I could take care of him a lot better.

I’m just figuring it all out.  One.Day.At.A.Time.

By the way, if you don’t believe me, ask this gal, she knows me in real life. :)

Now, I will tell you something I AM good at…Rockin’ the Mini-van (thanks to Amanda, I swiped this from her blog):

If you want to discuss this whole comparing thing more, join in the conversation here.

So much goodness here! Recipes, giveaways, and all around wonderful! (ad)

Tonight I’ll be partying on Twitter from 9-10:30pm EST!

The fabulous (in)courage is sponsoring a #getasponsor party tonight with lot’s of prizes, fun, and a Relevant sponsorship being offered!!!!!! You have a chance to win a free ticket to Relevant!  Woo Hoo!

We will also be giving away a Type-A Mom ticket and a Bloggy Boot Camp ticket (conferences galore!).

And another thing…

We will be having experts Kelby Carr and Sara Sophia on hand to answer all of your #getasponsor questions – we want you to be able to get sponsored to go to a conference!

So hop on over to Twitter tonight and join in the fun!  Even if you don’t need a conference ticket, you can still party it up in your slippers, win prizes, and get some great sponsorship advice!  I hope to see you there!

Find all the details here.

New to the Twitter party scene? Read this.

Have you visited these lovely ladies and their fabulous designs yet?  You simply must!  Check out the most adorable fabrics and patters here! (ad)

The new episode of ‘How Do I Grow My Blog?’ is now live – find it here!

*Watch the play back here (go to the gatherinspirit box, click menu, watch movies, 5/4)!

I’m hanging out with the Gather InSpirit gals here for a live interview at 7pm EST tonight – we’re talking all things Relevant!  Come on over and say hi, ask questions, and have some fun!  You can even win this necklace tonight:

We also have the fabulous Serena Woods joining us…

She is a Relevant speaker and the author of Grace is for Sinners!

Hope to see you there!

I cannot describe in words how YUM-O these potatoes are.

My step-mom makes them every Christmas, but I snagged the recipe and now make them whenever the mood strikes (no more waiting until Christmas!).  They are great for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

I now shall pass on this delight to you…

“Becki’s Potatoes”

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. Frozen Hash Browned Potatoes, Thawed (the little square kind)
• 1/2 c. Melted Butter
• 1 pint of Sour Cream
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 1 tsp. Pepper
• 1/2 c. Chopped Onion
• 1 can (10 3/4 oz.) Cream of Chicken Soup
• 2 c. Grated Cheddar Cheese
• 3/4 c. Crushed Corn Flakes
• 1/4 c. Melted Butter

Directions:

Combine all but the last two ingredients in a casserole dish.

Mix cornflake crumbs with the 1/4 melted butter.

Spread mix over the top of the casserole.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Serves 12.

Enjoy!

This post is linked up with Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays, Tasty Tuesday, and Tuesdays at the Table.

First time here?  How about hugging your java with me everyday by subscribing here?!

Have a look at these lovely sewing patterns – so whimsical!  Aprons, handbags, and clothing! (ad)

“Jesus…thank you for the beautiful sky, how did you make it?  I know you did.”  Ella, 4 years old

I love her faith.  She doesn’t understand, or have all the answers, but her sweet faith in her God says, “I know.”

May we all wonder and ask and know like a child.

We did it, we sold 150 pairs/bundles of rose bud earrings.

You.All.Are.Amazing.

And now for the winner.

The winner of the 10for400 giveaway ($400 for charity, a $250 Visa GC for WHATEVER, and an extra pair of earrings for a friend) is….

JENN MCKEON!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Who doesn’t have a blog, go figure!)

Woo Hoo!!!!!!!

{high five, fist bump, happy dance!}

More winners announced…

The winner of the LaBella Jewels giveaway is Theresa, from Refined as Silver!
The winner of the Christian mystery Deadly Disclosures is Bobbi, from When Did I go From Kid to a Grown-Up!

Such fun on a Monday morning!  Congrats to all the winners! :)

All you industrious ladies out there, you’ve got to check out Marie-Madeline Studio (sponsors of Relevant). Super cute fabrics, patterns, aprons, and more – check them out here! (ad)

We are singing this…

Do not be selfish, don’t try to impress,

Don’t think of yourself as better than the rest.

Care about others, not only yourself,

Let the mind of Christ be in you, that’s best.

Let the mind of Christ be in you.

Who, being God, in very nature God,

Did not consider equality with God

something to grasp.

Christ humbled Himself, he became a servant.

What kind of death did Christ die?

A painful death on the cross.

To the glory of God…glory be to the Father…

To hear a sample of this song (it’s beautiful), click here.

This post is linked up with Then Sings My Soul Saturdays.