BevK November 26th, 2007
Having participated in something similar, I know what a good thing it is when homeschoolers make use of their skills to benefit other homeschoolers.
A couple of months ago, the homeschool mom was led down some new paths. Rhodes, who received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in physical education, now teaches a homeschool P.E. class for teens and works with homeschool moms in a “Commit 2 Fit” program.
BevK August 15th, 2007
Thank you everyone that donated. The benefit was a success. The goal of reaching $15,000 to cover renovation expenses on the mini-warehouse was met plus a little more. The actual total has yet to be announced.
Tammy is blogging about the construction project at her personal blog at From a Cluttered Desk.
She’s got a lot of work ahead of her, but I know she’s looking forward to being in a new dry, cozy home before winter hits.
BevK August 10th, 2007
Just a final reminder…
The Emergency Firesale for Tammy Cardwell, which I wrote about earlier this week, is scheduled to END Saturday at midnight!
This is your last chance to donate what you can & be a blessing to a family in need… and in return receive a fantastic collection of great homeschooling resources for your family.
You can find all the details here:
http://www.chirotoons.com/cardwell
But be sure to take a look before the deadline Saturday at midnight.
It is WELL worth your time and attention!
Thanks so much!
BevK August 6th, 2007
I wanted to take a moment today to let you know about a very special event that is going on this week that we would like to ask YOU to be a part of.
We are taking part in an event this week…a true “Emergency Firesale” for a good friend you might know…Tammy Cardwell.
Many of you know already know Tammy very well. She is a prolific writer, editor, publisher and speaker, and has volunteered countless hours of service to the homeschooling community over the past decade.
Tammy’s situation is urgent. Just read it and you’ll see why we jumped on board with this when we heard this event was being put together:
http://www.chirotoons.com/cardwell/
You won’t believe all the resources that have been donated for this. (And they’re all new resources… none repeated from the earlier benefits!) It is really an amazing outpouring of love and support that shows just how much impact and influence Tammy has had amongst her fellow homeschool publishers over the years.
Please take a look… YOU can be a real blessing to a family in need…and in return, YOUR FAMILY will receive can also receive a blessing from the wonderful selection of resources that you’ll find there.
This benefit will only last until Saturday, so take a look now…and then please tell a homeschooling friend or two about it!
http://www.chirotoons.com/cardwell/
Thanks so much,
Bev Krueger
BevK March 8th, 2007
This article just makes me mad.
Honorable Thomas Zampino of the Family Division of the New Jersey Superior Court has ordered penal charges against a home-schooling mother of seven. According to a report by Matt Bowman on the website constitutionallycorrect.com, the mother’s supposed infraction is home-schooling her children without supervision from the local school board - a right explicitly upheld in New Jersey law.
As you read on in the article, you discover that this family homeschooled, but once the parents separated the father decided it wasn’t what he wanted for his kids and has been using the courts against her.
In an effort to implement “certain basic requirements and safeguards”, the judge ordered Tara to submit her home-schooling children to standardized tests supplied by the local school district despite NJ law which says, “A child educated elsewhere than at school is not required to sit for a state or district standardized test.”
The judge also ordered the local school board to file a suit against Tara in order to be able to “evaluate the instruction in the home,” a requirement only permissible if the local school board determines that there is credible evidence that the home education is below the standards of the public school.
Because of NJ’s explicit laws protecting the parental right to educate their children at home, the judge had only limited options when it came to personally implementing his philosophies of “monitoring” and “registering” home-schoolers.” The judge cautioned that, should the school board refuse to comply with his ’suggestions’, the court would “consider, by formal opinion, a request to join those parties to action.”
It boggles my mind that the judge can do this. I can only imagine what he would have done if the law hadn’t put some restrictions on his actions. Read some of his remarks, and you’ll find the whole thing both maddening and a bit scary. Passing good homeschool laws is important in every state.
BevK July 26th, 2006
http://eclectichomeschool…=135&topicid=14
In light of Andrea Yates second trial, I thought I’d remind everyone of an article posted several years ago at the Eclectic Homeschool Online inspired by Andrea Yates.
Home Schooling and Mental Illness
- Is it a sin to take anti-depressants?
- How do I know if I have a spiritual problem or a physical/mental illness?
- How can a Christian home schooling mother get depressed?
- How can I help a friend who is depressed?
These are hard questions with no easy answers.
BevK April 3rd, 2006
I wanted to focus on how we deal with people who are forced to quit homeschooling because of circumstances beyond their control. That could be anywhere from the death of a spouse (Example: The death forced him to make an even more difficult decision: Stop home schooling his children and put them in a classroom.) to illness or divorce.
Most often in these circumstances, the family’s that have to stop homeschooling don’t do so because they believe homeschooling is no longer the best way to educate their children. No, usually they’re forced into the decision because homeschooling actually becomes a drawback to their children’s general well being. Let me give a for instance to set this in better context.
The father leaves his wife and children. Now, as a single mom, she’s working full time plus to keep them in food, clothing, and shelter. The children spend the day with grandma or whatever other arrangements she can make, and in the few hours she has off work before bedtime, she homeschools them. Sure if grandma is lively and spry, this could work. grandma could even do some of the homeschooling. But what if grandma is not well, and the children are taking care of her as much as she is taking care of them. The few hours available to relaxing with the children are now devoted to math, grammar, and history. This is not a recipe for happy children.
Another example: parents split up and one decides that homeschooling is wrong. That parent gets a court order that puts the children back in school.
Those who want to homeschool but can’t need our encouragement. They don’t need to hear that it’s really too bad that their children will now be subject to all the horrors that homeschoolers can dredge up about the public school system. They know all about that. Instead they need to have us come along side them, and tell them that we understand their decision and support them. Be gentle, loving, and kind, and remember that guilt makes people run away. They may run from your help just because you are a homeschooler. You can’t change that, but you can make sure that your words don’t add to the guilt.
Remind them that they can still read aloud to their kids. Remind them that they’ll still be helping them do their math and English homework. Remind them, that rather than bookwork, their spare time can be spent doing plenty of educational and fun things that they never had time for because they had to get their bookwork done. Remind them that through prayer and reliance on God, they can deal with anything that school throws at them. Remind them that the same love for their children that guided their decision to homeschool is guiding this decision, too.
BevK April 3rd, 2006
http://www.worldmag.com/articles/11707
This article updates the continuiing assistance for rebuilding in Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina. I’ve highlighted the paragraphs on assistance for homeschoolers.
Twenty-five miles west in Pass Christian, Miss., Bible Fellowship Church is learning how to stretch as well. City officials estimate only 1,000 of its original 7,000 residents have returned, and destruction of local businesses has wiped out 80 percent of the small town’s tax base. Rubble, empty lots, and mangled trees stretch for miles.
The small Bible Fellowship Church has become a big hub for relief efforts in the Pass Christian area, serving as a full-time base for three Christian relief groups, including the Florida-based Save America Now. Bill Smith serves as on-site coordinator for the Florida group’s effort to help homeschooling families affected by the storm. “You’ve got to find a niche,” Mr. Smith says as he grills hamburgers over a campfire after a long day of work. Mr. Smith says Bible Fellowship—home to the Coast Christian Home Educators Association—has been invaluable in identifying homeschooling families that need help.
BevK January 20th, 2006
http://www.missiontoperkinston.blogspot.com/
Here’s the latest enough on the hsers who are helping with hurricane relief in Mississippi. You can keep up with their work on the blog.
As we enter into the 2006, it is our intent to not forget nor ignore the continued need for those living in the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Although our intial town of Perkinston is running again, those in Bay St. Louis are not and are still in need of so much. With a brief break to honor the families God has blessed us with during the CHRISTMAS season, we are back in the seat again and ready to prepare for anything we can do to help down there.
Just prior to Christmas, Shari was able to mail boxes of goodies and supplies to Pastor Murphy at Shoreline Park Baptist Church in Bay St. Louis. Pastor’s intent was to hold a “Christmas Store” where children were able to come in and “shop” with Monopoly Money to buy presents for their families. We have not personally heard of it’s success but are sure that God blessed them with a wonderful event. There were also Wal-Mart cards sent that were donated by giving church families from the Huntsville area.
Our first project this year is going to be putting a cookbook together and then selling it with all proceeds going to the relief effort. Once it is complete, we will put a post on here and if you’d like to purchase one to help, we will give the details. At this time, we are unsure of when God will call us to physically go to Mississippi again, although we miss the friends we’ve made down there dearly, but we know that He has great plans that will prosper the area and we are praying that He allows us to continue to be a part of it.
Although the need for clothing and supplies diminished, we are uncertain how the next season will bring about need. If you are still wanting to help, one of the best ways we can think to help is to send Wal-Mart Gift Cards. We would be happy to send them for you or we can put you in contact with those we are helping. We hope to be in touch with Pastor Murphy and Pastor Daniels in the near future and will update you on the specific needs as they come to us.
Please remember in prayer, the students and families, of Perkinston Community College, who were recently killed in a car accident. Our hearts go out to them in love, as we are all a part of One Greater family.
Thank you again for your reading of our blog and as always, keep the prayers coming for the families in the Gulf Coast region. It is only through prayer that God’s will be done down there and that the rebuilding can be successful for His name.
BevK January 13th, 2006
http://www.christianityto…6/001/3.32.html
After sharing a pot of Starbucks coffee, Shari Crooks, Cathy Young, Jeanette Lawson, and I pulled away from Shari’s Huntsville, Alabama home on September 9, 2005—three homeschool moms and a nurse on a mission to a hurricane-devastated town we’d never heard of to help a community we didn’t know.
Shari Crooks is an EHO reviewer. This article talks about what Shari and her friends did back in September. Their work of mercy for the hurricane victims continues. You can read about their Thanksgiving and Christmas drive at the Eclectic Homeschool Online.
These ladies and their families really take the meaning of offering a helping hand personally.
