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Visit CHEK or Christian Home Educators of Kentucky at www.chek.org
| Director's Corner |
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Something special is coming up in about a month. Can you guess what it is? The CHEK Family
and Homeschool Conference! Mark June 25-26, 2010 on your calendar and make plans to attend. We get started at 1:30 on Friday
and you won't want to miss our fabulous speakers on Friday. This year, we've been blessed with two awesome keynote speakers:
Andrew Pudewa and Mark Hamby. Their presentations are about much more than academics. They get right to the heart of knowing
and loving your families well.
Andrew Pudewa will be presenting Motivating Boys and Other Children Who Would Rather Be Building Forts All Day and Rebuilding
Your Education Paradigm: Teaching for “Freedomship”.
Meanwhile, Mark Hamby has graciously volunteered to present four different workshops.
- I Will Not Let You Go!
- Raise Them Up. Don't Crush Them Down.
- The Great Awakening of a Child's Imagination . . . One Story at a Time
- The Education of a Child – The Wisdom of Fenelon
We also have other great featured speakers. Amanda Bennett will be sharing about unit studies, Heather Laurie will discuss special needs homeschooling, Cindy Wiggers will tell us how to add spice to any curriculum, AC Donahue has a great set of workshops especially for the men, we'll have groups of moms hosting a Mom-to-Mom room
! where they'll share their stories and answer your questions, plus there will be vendor workshops and MORE! We've got a lot
to cram into the full 16 hour schedule so make plans to be there BOTH days.
And, please, invite your friends. Share the conference information with your homeschool groups.
We may not have the largest convention in the nation, but we do have an amazing line up of speakers, great vendors, and some
special activities planned just for you all. Help us to continue to grow our conference by helping get people there. And pray
for the conference, our speakers, and the people who will attend. Our hope is that families are blessed and lives changed.
What you are doing as homeschool parents is important. It has eternal value. And we're here
to help you on that journey.
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Summer is quickly approaching, and thus ends much of my children's schoolwork. After years
of homeschooling I know that I love the freedom of summertime, but sometimes too much of a good thing can lead to trouble.
If I rewind to the old days of my youth, summertime days were filled with playing kickball and running in the woods and riding
our bikes all over the neighborhood and swimming and picking blackberries. I am guessing that my parents knew precisely where
I was about 5% of the time.
Well, times have certainly changed, and my children really
do not have the freedoms that we had in our youth. Today's parents are often looking for safe, fun ways for their children to
get to explore, to exercise, and to have good, wholesome, healthy fun. This puts a lot of pressure on mom to come up
with a plan for our children's days which allow for appropriate freedoms and development. Before your official summer break
begins, it would be wise to think through what kinds of things you would like for your children to do in the summer.
- How much time should be spent on chores?
- Where do they have the freedom to go in the neighborhood?
- Where are they allowed to ride bikes?
- With
whom may they play outside?
- Who is allowed to come into your house and play?
- What are the
rules for playing in neighbors yards or homes?
- Have you explained those rules to your children?
- How much academic work
will you require over the summer?
- How much time will you allow for video or computer games?
- What special skills should they be developing
over the summer to prepare for the next school year?
- For older children who may be home without a parent at times, what are the house rules?
- How will you be sure they get adequate play and exercise?
- What
about rainy and bad weather days? Will you allow other options for those days?
- If your children are playing outside, how often do they need to check
in with you?
If you are constantly making these decisions at the spur of the moment,
you may find that your children will always be challenging your decisions and your authority. This leads to resentment from
them and frustration for you.
Take the time to think through their days (and yours), and
make some decisions before summertime arrives. Ask your husband for his input and advice. Of course, you can always change
your mind or make adjustments as the summer progresses.
It has been my experience that children left with too
much idle time on their hands tend to get into trouble, get restless and bored, and become very demanding. Be sure to build
in plenty of work, exercise and play into their days, and you will have a much more satisfying and enjoyable summer.
For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are
sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.
Isaiah 61:11
When I see God’s miraculous creation, praise springs forth from my very soul. I can’t
help but praise Him each time He places something wonderful in my path during a nature walk. It certainly doesn’t take
a nature walk for me to catch a glimpse of His awesome works in the world, but focused time spent outdoors allows God to reveal
Himself to me in mighty ways.
I’m always amazed at how much time nature walks give me to talk about Him
with my children, too. Try it and see. With every bright bird that flutters past and every new wildflower you stop to smell,
you’ll find praises stirring in your soul and wonderful discussions about God’s handiwork flowing freely.
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