We are blessed to have Amy Roberts of Raising Arrows share with our community today.

It is inevitable that at some point you will face a crisis during your homeschool years. The crisis may be a happy thing like the birth of a child or a devastating event like the death of a family member. Whatever your crisis may be, you must expect to face a season when homeschooling is difficult because life is difficult.

I have spoken at various conferences on the nitty-gritty of how you survive these times of crisis, but what I want to discuss today is the attitude you must have to face your season of crisis.

Faithfulness

You have to believe that God will carry you through this time in your life. You have to believe your children will be okay and your life will find a new normal following the crisis. The moment doubt begins to creep in, you must shoo it away with prayer. During a crisis, the Psalms are a good place to read since David knew firsthand the difficulties this life throws at us. You can download my free eDevotional: Psalms for a Grieving Heart because even if the crisis you are working through isn’t the death of a loved one, crisis does often bring grief and the Word always brings healing.

Patience

When you are faced with a crisis, often you just want that crisis to be over with so you can move on. However, the Lord does not allow crisis in your life as a stumbling block. It is there for a purpose and through it all, you must rest in Him. This is not the time to think about all the things
you aren’t getting done. This isn’t the time to analyze your daily schedule or add extra things to your plate. Be still. Be patient.

Thankfulness

Because we serve a merciful and perfect Creator, we can give thanks even in the midst of trials. We don’t have to be happy about what is happening to us, but we can choose to be thankful for a God who does not fail us. A thankful heart is a heart much more likely to weather the storm of crisis without crumbling in despair.

So, no matter your crisis, no matter your season, remember to keep your attitude looking up…up, toward Heaven.

Amy Roberts is the homeschooling mother of 6 living children and one precious little girl named Emily resting in the Lord’s arms. Her days are filled with giggly girls, rambunctious boys, and sticky baby kisses. At night she blogs about it all at Raising Arrows. It is her deepest desire that out of the overflow of her heart, her mouth should speak…and her fingers type.

Homeschooling is hard for even the most well-intentioned among us.  But by avoiding common pitfalls, we can become highly effective homeschoolers!  As a former homeschool student and a homeschool Mom to 5 little kids, I’ve had a front row seat to what works and what really does not.

Without further ado, here is my list of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Homeschoolers.

1) Get off the computer.  I know, I know. If you are reading this, you are probably on a computer.  We all get on them from time to time.  It only becomes a problem if you find yourself “homeschooling” by sitting in front of a computer all day, sipping coffee in pajamas while your kids run wild.  So log off during school time.  You can check your facebook in the morning, or after the kids are in bed, or in the afternoon when they are outside playing.  If you have a particularly strong addiction to Pinterest, consider taking a week or two off.   Your kids will thank you.

2) Turn Off the TV.  This kind of goes along with number 1 on the list.  We are not a TV free family (although there are times I wish we were!), so we need to make sure that we are not turning on the TV at inappropriate times.  It can be tempting, when you have a particularly distracting toddler, to turn on the TV while you get some school done with the older children.  While it may seem like a good idea, I find that television makes my toddler a bit crazy and largely more distracting than if the TV were shut off.

3) Build a Network.  Homeschool Moms are not immune to burn out.  Help avoid this by building a network of fellow homeschool Moms in your area.  You can do this by joining a homeschool group or co op or making your very own!  Making friends who “get it” and who can share in your triumphs and failures as a Homeschool Mom can encourage you and help bolster against burn out.  Your kids will make friends in the process and your whole family will benefit.

4) Just Read.  Sometimes we can forget that homeschooling doesn’t need to be fancy.  Plenty of successful Americans were taught to read and learned a great deal from just reading books.  I know that snuggling up under a quilt with your little ones and a big stack of books doesn’t FEEL like the hard work of learning, but rest assured that it is happening.

5) Take Days Off.  Every Teacher gets “in service” days.  Make sure that you take yours.  As a Homeschool Mom, you’re doing two full time jobs.  You will need to take a day here and there to take stock of what is working, what is not, and what needs some tweaking.  Its not “skipping school.”  Its making your homeschool the best it can be.

6) Get Out.  Yes, even “Home” schoolers need to get out.  Take the kids to a museum.  Or to a friend’s house.  Have a Library Day every week or every other week and stick to it.  This will help break up the monotony for both you and the kids as well as giving you time to clear your head (and a reason to blow dry your hair.).

7) Get Your Kids On Your Team.  Give your kids incentives to work toward.  Praise them lavishly for their work, their help, their attitudes, anything you think of.  Give lots of rewards for good behavior.  Gradually, you will notice a difference.  They will get their work done with less haruanging from you.  They will help with siblings willingly.  They will go above and beyond.  Keep it up.  A helpful, happy, willing child is definitely worth the cost of a candy bar every now and then.

What about you?  What works for you to keep you moving in the right direction?  What do you see as a major distraction?

Lydia is a former homeschool student and Mama to 5 little ones.  When she’s not drilling A-B-C’s and 1-2-3′s, she’s blogging contentment, encouragement and homemaking over at Small Town Simplicity

As homeschooling parents, you know how busy it is once the day gets started.  You’re listening to one child read, racing back and forth between math questions and calling out a spelling list sometimes all at the same time!  And when the last ”t” is crossed and “i” is dotted on the final lesson of the day, there is soccer practice, music lessons, or church activities.  When everyone finally resurfaces, it’s suppertime then off to bath time and bed.  For that reason, I encourage homeschooling families to start their day with a devotion time-before the hustle and bustle of the day begins.  We have our devotion time during breakfast while everyone is still sitting at the table.

The Fruits of the Spirit is a great study to begin during the winter months when there are lots of opportunities to practice patience and gentleness while everyone is spending most of their time indoors due to blustery weather conditions outside.

Day1:  Gentleness
Give each child an uncooked egg and let him use a Sharpie to draw on a face.  Challenge the kids to try to show gentleness to their eggs.  Tell them that at the end of the day you will see whose egg is still “alive.”  As they care for their eggs, remind them to show gentleness to everyone.

Day 2:  Love
Tell the story of Paul and the Jailer from Acts 16:23-32.  When they showed love by staying (when they could have escaped), the jailer listened to what they had to say about Christ and was saved.

Day 3:  Kindness
Give each child a piece of white paper.  Instruct them to draw a person and color it.  Explain that God designed them to show kindness to others.  When we don’t treat others with kindness, our lives no longer reflect God’s character.

Discuss situations when kindness was not shown.  Tell your children to color over a part of the person using black crayon.  Now discuss situations where kindness was shown and use a penny to scratch away the black crayon.

Day 4:  Peace
Light a candle and put it in the middle of the table during breakfast. Go around the table giving each child a back rub.

Have your children list things that the world associates with peace.  (spa, massage, meditation, relaxing at the beach, no world wars)  Explain that peace that comes from God is different from the world’s peace and not based on circumstances.

Day 5:  Patience
Ask your children to name some times when it would be easy to lose patience (sibling takes something of yours without asking, when you are running late, a friend breaks your toy).  Tell them that patience means not being easily provoked.

Day 6:  Self Control
Have your children work together to try to make a house of cards.  You can be sure that tempers will flair as this can be a frustrating activity.  After a reasonable amount of time, tell your children to think about whether they demonstrated self-control during that activity.  Self control is doing what you should do, not always what you want to do.

Day 7:  Joy
Ask your children the following questions:
How do you feel when your team wins a ball game?
How do you feel when it’s your birthday?
How do you feel when you get an A on your spelling test?
How do you feel when you get to go to your favorite restaurant?

All of these things make you happy.  Joy is not dependant on circumstances.

Look at the example of Job.  He lost everything, but still had joy.  His joy was an unexplainable joy that comes from knowing and trusting God.

Day 8:  Goodness
Print out this Ten Commandments poster and discuss each one with your children.

Day 9:  Faithfulness
Tell the story of Daniel in the Lion’s den which comes from Daniel 6.  Because Daniel was faithful, the king wanted to put him in charge of the whole kingdom.  When Daniel heard about the law that he could only pray to the king, he was still faithful in his prayer life to God alone.

Kathy Hutto currently homeschools her own children and teaches classes through her local homeschool co-op. You can visit her blog at Toddler Bites.

Not too long ago I heard a quote that revolutionized the way that I think about change,

“You can suffer the pain of change or suffer remaining the way you are.”

Questions:

• Does the thought of change make you cringe?
• Do you wait until the New Year comes around to make a commitment to change?
• Do you fret over things that you can’t change?
• Do you embrace the opportunity for change?

Heavy questions. I know! I’ve had to ask myself those same things and really thought that I was being real and honest with my answers.

The bright side of change is that we recognize a need for improvement.

Let’s look at those questions in light of home education and parenting.

Often times, improvement must come through self-education; taking a class, reading a book, asking the advice of a trusted source, asking our children questions about us (oooh! I know what you may be feeling on this one!).

When our children watch us develop a hunger to improve in different areas, it will more than likely spur them on to do the same. This goes hand in hand with God’s Word that says,

“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” Proverbs 22:6

What does change for the new year look like for me? Its the same theme year after year because it never gets old nor does it go out of style. Ready?! Being intentional!

The list of things to be intentional about could possibly be endless, but this is something that should be tackled one item at a time.

I ask you, dear reader, what will change look like for you in the coming months?

Kela home educates 6 children in South Carolina. You can find her blogging at Pursuing What Is Excellent

Image Credit: dan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Even before my first child was born, I knew I would homeschool. It was perfectly logical (I like logical) and I truly felt called to do so. In fact, it’s one of the first things I can remember feeling called to do. A divorce changed the circumstances in my life dramatically around the time my daughter Kathryn was preschool-aged, and for a while I wondered if I would ever be able to homeschool as I’d planned. I ended up working at a church-run preschool for two years, and my daughter attended there during that time. When she reached kindergarten age, I was finally in a position to homeschool as I’d hoped. Those years of not knowing if I’d be able to homeschool has made me appreciate home educating my children as the blessing that it is.

Years later came another significant call in my life: to adopt a child from the state foster care system. As God orchestrated it all, we adopted a fourteen year old girl named Lindsey. She had struggled through the public school system and had never even known anyone who homeschooled. This was a completely foreign concept to her. To make a very long story short, we tried two different hybrid academies (part private school/part public school) as well as traditional homeschooling, but we battled through them all because she’d made up her mind to hate homeschooling. It broke my heart, and I was at a loss as to what to do.

Finally one day, after another fight over her desire to go to public school, I felt the Lord tell me to send her. She’d made public school an idol, but I was dangerously near making homeschooling an idol. When my husband and I talked it over, he agreed. So this diehard homeschool mom sent her child to the local public high school.

Although I felt strongly this was what God wanted us to do, I still felt like we were throwing her to the wolves. Over the summer, when I took her to meet with the guidance counselor about registration and classes, I felt a little bit like throwing up. But the fact is, God is BIG enough to handle this.

This experience hasn’t been all good for us, but it hasn’t been all bad. I’ve learned a few lessons along the way, too:

• I’m never really in control of my child’s education (or anything else), but God is.
• I must constantly work on keeping my children’s hearts and guiding them spiritually — regardless of where their academic education takes place.
• Being together in the same house does not equal quality time. I can have that whether they are in my home most of the day or not, but I must be intentional about it either way.
• God can teach lessons I can’t.
• Being faithful to Him often takes me out of my comfort zone.
• Sometimes he brings things around full circle. Lindsey is already talking about the possibility of homeschooling next year so that she can graduate on schedule, something she won’t be able to do if she continues in public school. She’d also like to have a job so that buying a car could be something in the foreseeable future, and that won’t happen anytime soon with the stricter schedule of public school.

Someday life circumstances may change what you have planned for your children’s education, so I want to encourage you that it things change, it will be okay. If God leads you there, he will lead you — and your child — through it all.

Jamie is a wife and homemaking mama in a blended family that includes three kids and one exceptionally intelligent dog. She thinks most clearly with a steaming mug of tea in hand, and adores all things retro. Follow along with her journey of homeschooling, adoption, family life and more at See Jamie Blog.

Today’s guest post is by Whitney from Whit’s World.

I sat down and began reflecting a little on 2011…what a year of changes and obstacles it was for us to say the very least.

At this time last year, I was feeling very lost.  A new baby, this new stay-at-home lifestyle, and raging hormones did not bode well for me or my family at first. I was super frustrated with my oldest son and had no clue why or what was really going on with him. I just kept sending him to school and denying the issues.

In February of 2011 he was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome…this explained so much to me, but my entire life changed that day.

Almost immediately following, God began placing homeschooling information in front of me everywhere: an article every time I sat down at the computer, a random person who struck up conversation at the grocery store, or catching up with a dear old friend who had just begun homeschooling her son of the same age. I felt like God was laying this heavily on my heart, so I approached my husband with the idea.

We wrestled with the idea for months; would we (I) be able to handle it; what about the baby, how would I take care of him and teach my son; would we be able to afford it; how many hoops must we jump through? We didn’t make a final decision until the day we were scheduled to go meet his second grade teacher. I drafted a letter of withdraw and hand delivered it to his now old school that day, and so began our homeschooling journey.

I honestly felt like I was “winging it” for the most of the first part of the year. I have not been confident in myself for whatever reason. I allowed myself to get totally overwhelmed by it all and quickly lost the joy, so I took a step back and changed everything up. I also prayed a lot about it and can now say that we did finish out the year and semester strong.

A new year means finding more strength and confidence in myself, my abilities as a mother, a wife, a cook, an educator, all of it! I am not going to be scared or timid anymore because of a diagnosis or the huge responsibility of educating your children at home.

I am going to take the time this year to feel thankful and blessed for the gift I have to so closely witness my children grow and learn. I was in school to be a math and science teacher, so I could not feel more privileged to do what I want with my own kids. I want to give these boys the best education possible so that is on the top of my priority list this year.

I know that there will be many imperfect weeks this year and ornery obstacles that rear their heads at the most in opportune times, but I am confident that we will all be able to handle it this year.

Whitney of Whit’s World is a stay at home homeschooling momma to an 8 year old and a 20 month old. I am a devoted wife to my incredibly hard-working husband, whom makes all of this possible. I enjoy writing about my family and products that I love and use. Most of all, I a strong Christian woman! I hope you will stop by so we can connect some more or follow my random life on Twitter.

Today’s guest post is by Tiany from Social Savvy Mom

This year I have no New Year’s resolutions, instead, I will keep an ongoing “God Willing List”. Of course I still desire to be more organized, make better use of my time and stick to my workout regimen, among other things.

Delight yourself also in the LORD; and he shall give you the desires of your heart. ~ Psalm 37:4

One of my greatest desires and sitting at the the top of my God Willing List , was to take part in a mission trip. While raising my boys, keeping my home and running a small business, I had put the idea on the back burner for a decade and accepted that God had placed me where he could best use me for this season in my life. He always has a perfect plan for us!

I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD ~ Jeremiah 29:11

In October I was presented with a wonderful opportunity to work with ABC News for their new campaign, Million Moms Challenge. Towards the end of the 3 month campaign, I received a call from Million Moms organizers, they wanted to send me on a trip to Guatemala with Save the Children. I was given one day to decide and only two weeks notice before the trip was to take place. Everything seemed to fall into place quite easily, my sister volunteered to stay with my boys {bless her heart}, my mother helped fly my sister to Louisiana from Georgia and my husband had given his blessing.

Two weeks later I was on a plain to Guatemala, a HUGE answer to prayer. The short 4 days with the people of rural Guatemala changed me and changed my outlook on so many aspects of my own life. I was able to see first hand how members of the community serve as community healthcare workers. These healthcare workers are saving lives in their own rural, remote villages. Healthcare workers who are poverty stricken themselves, walk miles serving and checking in on mothers, newborns and children. In each village we visited, we were introduced to more amazing men and women making a difference in their own communities.

As a mother, it tore at my heart to see families in such extreme poverty, 80% of the children in the rural, remote villages we visited were malnourished. While in Guatemala, I felt an overwhelming obligation to reach out and ease burdens.

A new year used to mean preoccupation with “self”. This new year my heart is still with the people of Guatemala. This new year I hope to find more ways to reach out and serve as a family. My greatest desire is to raise my boys to have a servants heart.

Here are just a few ways we can serve others in 2012:

• Serve God through your family
• Give an hour of your time to help someone in need.
• Give a hug of affirmation.
• Prepare a meal for someone who is sick or for a mom who has had a baby.
• Sponsor a child
• Donate unused items
• Give to missions
• Anonymously adopt a family in need during the holidays or any day.
• Volunteer at your local soup kitchen as a family
• Visit a nursing home / read to the elderly

May we prayerfully be the hands and the feet of Christ whenever we can… wherever we can… to whomever we can.

How will you serve this year? I would love to hear how you have found opportunities to serve in your communities and homes.

Tiany is the mom of 4 boys and wife of 16 years to one amazing Jazz drummer. Owner of The Homeschool Lounge and blogger at Social Savvy Mom.

I hate New Year’s resolutions. I don’t even like them if I call them “goals.” For me, they feel like a sure indicator that I’m going to fail in those areas—the areas that are most important to me.

As 2011 ended, I found myself thinking about 2012 anyway. I prayed about what God wanted to do in and through me. And I finished reading The Ministry of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson. It is a wonderful book that left me feeling convicted and inspired, and it turned my ideas of interacting with my children upside down. I admit that there were times that I felt like a failure as I read it. But other sections left me feeling pretty good about my parenting.

When I started the book, I was hoping to learn how to be more intentional in discipling my children. It definitely helped with that, but as I was praying and thinking about how to implement what I learned into our daily life, I found out some things about my children that gave me even more insight.

The information about my younger daughter came from some specialists we saw in December. What they uncovered helped me to understand her better and gave me a lot of guidance and direction in how best to guide and instruct her.

I have been watching my older daughter for a long time, realizing that she has some “special” needs herself—ones that come from having a sibling with special needs and everything that entails. I have been praying about how best to help her for months, and then I ran across a statement on Twitter one day that made me say, “That’s it!”

A book, some specialists, a Tweet—combined with lots of prayer and seeking God’s face for how to disciple my children more intentionally, to raise them with hearts that burn with passion for Him—helped me realize that what my children need is me. What my children need is me! A mother who loves God with all her heart and seeks to walk in the Spirit, sharing the journey with her children, is what God intended from the beginning.

My plan for 2012 was there all along. I just needed for God to open my eyes to His path for us and to give me a clearer picture of my children. He did just that, without those dreaded resolutions or goals!

“Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Deuteronomy 6:5-7 (NIV1984)

What is your plan for 2012?

Jennifer is the wife of one wonderful husband and the mother of two amazing kids. Visit Jennifer at her blog to find out how her 2012 “plan” is going!

Photo credit: Jennifer A. Janes

Today’s guest post is by Connie from The Daisy Head

New Year, New Dream

It’s the time of year when it seems that everyone is making New Year resolutions. Everyone, that is, except my family. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think resolutions are evil. Making New Year resolutions has never appealed to me. I just don’t understand it, and so my children have never really caught the enthusiasm for resolutions either.

That said, I love the advent of a new year. I love the feeling of newness. The new calendar really doesn’t change anything. It’s just the next day—the same as any other—but it gives us a sense of a fresh start. When a thing is new, it can become anything.

The New Year gives me a sense that my days are new. They are renewed. Anything can happen. It gives us a sense that God will do something new in our lives.

A Time to Reflect

The excitement of a new beginning naturally causes us to think back on the year just finished. We ponder the things we had planned and wished for. We consider whether we have lived up to the dream we had this time last year.

Bringing children into this time of reflection can be an insightful time of reevaluation of your homeschool. Sometimes we are afraid to hear what our children have to say about our year. We are afraid they will give us a bad “teacher evaluation.” However, we may also hear some positive feedback from our students that we would never have heard without a time of reflection with them.

A Time to Set New Goals

Whether your time of reflection has been positive or negative, we have a normal inclination to begin to set new goals. There will always be something that we plan to do better in the new year, or an area that we struggled in last year that we purpose to achieve this year. These become some of our new goals for the coming year.

Writing down new goals can be a very powerful act. The act of writing them down somehow makes the goal real. It can no longer simply be forgotten. This gives us the courage to step out and bring our goals to fruition. The times when I have encouraged my children to write down their goals, I have seen it empower and fuel them.

A Time to Dream

A new year gives the impetus to dream. It’s a time when we remember that God wants to do big things in our lives. Why not dream big? Why not spend some time at His feet asking Him to give us a big dream for this new year?

Taking time to dream and encouraging our children to do the same can light a spark in them. It can awake a passion that God has put within them.

Take time to dream. Write them down. Watch what God does.

That’s my favorite part of the New Year.

Connie is the wife of a bi-vocational, associate pastor and momma to five children. She has been home educating for 14 years and is still trying to figure out how to keep up with highschoolers and preschoolers at the same time. She writes about all things homeschooling momma at the daisyhead. In her spare time, she runs a knitwear design business and blogs about her creations at DaisyHead Creations. You can also connect with her on Facebookand Twitter.

Today’s gust post is by Stacey from Brain in Trainin

For Such a Time

Its the Advent Season and our family readings take us to Esther.  My daughter opens her Bible and shares the bread of life with us all.  I pull up a chair at the table, hungry…

…today, the soul nourishment is a gentle reminder… for such as time as this.

The words send my mama mind on a journey of reflection over the last year.  The year where I resolved to be holy in the here….envisioning a serene journey.

But my life took a change of course when I was presented with my Esther moments:

an instant gratification husband needing to know I believe in him

a willed son requiring direction to become a strong man

a daughter developing a beautiful heart rather than beautiful handwriting

a father in law with life-strangling illness and miraculous healing

a job opportunity ministering to the addicted un-loveables in my community

Esther was reminded…as am I…

You are not created for your own glory, but Mine..at this perfect moment 

Mordecai delivers the message to Esther…my daughter reads the message to me.

The calling demands a response..

acceptance

preparation

courage

 determination

And the resolve to be holy in the here spreads across my days…accepting calling and change, preparing heart and mind by feasting on God’s words, taking courage in His plan, and determining to follow after Him…no matter the cost or uncertainty.

The load hits with conviction: all this requires sacrifice…humble sacrifice.  Yes, Esther was beautiful, yes she was queen, yes she was created for such a time, and yes Mordecai encouraged and motivated.  But it all came down to her sacrifice of will, embracing the hard and daring ordainment…taking captive all thoughts of doubt.

Esther approached the throne of her husband King as if it was the throne of God himself…giving her all, regardless of the outcome.  She was God’s plan A for His people and she lived it.

What if…

what if all was the throne of God…?

 Humbly sacrificing my will, I crave God’s Plan A for my life: the encouraging wife, the cultivating mother, the truth-speaking counselor.  And my everyday tasks become the alter of the almighty God himself…a doubtless confidence in knowing I’m created for each moment and that it requires a lowly offering of myself. {paradox, I know}

In a season of resolve that comes with a new year, perhaps embracing our purpose reveals the miraculous glory of God.  For we do not remember Esther for her beauty alone, but for her bold willingness to sacrifice herself to earn atonement for her people…God’s people.  The outward glory of God from an internally beautiful Esther.

And the cry of my heart swells…

confidently embracing purpose, internally beautiful submission…

All Glory to God …in my Esther moments….

 (Perhaps in a quiet moment of reflection, you might consider your Esther moments and how God would have you respond when they are presented…even when not serene or how you envisioned them.)

Stacey homeschools her two kids in the Midwest,  blogs at brainintrainin, and tweets as @StaceyRuberg