The Home Front: The e-Newsletter for Military Homeschooling Families
October 2006
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In This Issue
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Commander's Report: What's new on the Home Front
By Trish Nonaka
Does this year just seem to be rushing by faster than ever? It feels like that to me. I can hardly believe we've been at this assignment for almost a year already. I am excited to be able to once again experience the changing of the seasons and am enjoying the leaves as they change, hearing geese honk overhead and cooler temperatures. The seasons and time move on, but for many of our readers and even for members of The Home Front team, time seems to stand still while waiting for Daddy to return home safely from places far away. Whether you are waiting for the return of your loved one or just coping with the day-to-day homeschool routine, enjoy your time with us here on the Home Front. Grab a cup of something warm, settle in, and share some special time with your military homeschooling friends. We're all in this together!
With hundreds of thousands of service members deployed, recognizing the daily sacrifices made by military families has never been more important. Did you know that November is Military Family Month? In her debut article, Renae Meyer tells us all about it. Sheri gives us the lowdown on the IDEA program, while Janet challenges us to think about Psalm 9:2, "I will be glad and rejoice in you." Jennifer shares about academics and character in one article and then shares her heart about being in a holding pattern waiting for her DH to return. Want to learn more about writing family memories in order to share with your deployed sweetie? Then check out Janet's review on Jill Novak's e-book! Need a change of pace and something special and fun to do with the kids? Cindy brings you great fall craft ideas. And I bring you some base field trip ideas to squeeze in before the snow flies! Let's get to it!
Trish Nonaka
Commander-in-Chief/Editor, The Home Front e-Newsletter
www.HomeschoolBlogger.com/military
www.HomeschoolBlogger.com/MamaBugs
Boot Camp: November Is Military Family Month
By Renae Meyer
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November brings to mind Thanksgiving, falling leaves, the smell of turkey, cornucopias, turkeys made from my kids' handprints, and family. Honestly, I didn't even know November was Military Family Month. I had to "Google" it just to see what it was all about. Two decades ago there began a Military Family Week, which occurred around Thanksgiving. In 1996, the Armed Services YMCA expanded this into Military Family Month.
ASYMCA is a non-profit organization that serves all junior enlisted service members-in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard-and their families. This is not your neighborhood YMCA. The Armed Services division provides childcare, counseling, singles centers, airport welcome centers, hospital programs, and much more for all branches of service. (Note: The Coast Guard is a small branch of the military, and I don't believe there are any ASYMCA branches at USCG units. However, Coasties who are near a large DOD installation do have access to the ASYMCA and its services.)
In November, to celebrate Military Family Month, the ASYMCA sponsors art and essay contests for children of military families. U.S. savings bonds are awarded to the first and second place winners from each branch of service. At www.asymca.org you can view the winners of this year's contest and find out how to enter next year. Representing the USCG, Bryce Moorhouse took first place and Jennifer MacIntyre second in the art contest. Maybe I'll have my kids draw a picture to illustrate their military family. Their pictures are a glimpse into their heart. I need to see things from their point of view.
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Women's Day magazine is even involved. They are sponsoring Operation Holiday Joy and will use all donations to purchase toys and food baskets for military families in need.
To me, November has always meant family. We are a Christian family, a homeschool family, and a military family. My family is blessed to be together this November. Many military families are not. My thoughts and prayers go out to you. If you find your family in need this November, contact the ASYMCA and see what they offer. If you find your family blessed beyond measure this November, contact the ASYMCA and see how you can give. We are all part of a bigger family, the United States Military.
Need more information or support?
Renae Meyer has been married to her sweetie for 19 years. They have two boys and two girls, ages 3 to 13 years, who have always been homeschooled. They are a Coast Guard family currently stationed at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Visit Renae at www.homeschoolblogger.com/keeperathome44
Special Training: IDEA--Golden Goose or Trojan Horse?
By Sheri Payne
When I first began researching for this article, I was planning on writing a standard "pros vs. cons" lighthearted treatment, giving everyone the facts so as to provide a guideline to help parents decide whether IDEA, or charter schools in general, would be appropriate for their families. I put a call out for information from military homeschool families and began looking online for commentary on this subject. What I found made me realize that I would have to write a very different article.
Outside of what the providers of charter schooling wrote, and the comments of a few families satisfied with the program, the comments ranged from extreme caution to outright negative assessment. It seems that for many families there is a misconception about what IDEA or other charter school programs provide, but the law is clear: it is public education at home and, as such, is clearly and completely administered by the public school systems and all the laws and restrictions that come with it. The courts in recent years have confirmed that whenever government education funds are used, the education given becomes a public education.
When the education you're providing comes under government supervision, there is an implicit surrender of certain rights. I think all of us who have used or heard of these programs understand that monies are not to be used to purchase religious curricula. However, in established programs this has been revised to state that families will not even get credit for courses taught using religious materials. At the establishment of the program, the supervising teacher is your "partner," but as programs grow and mature in their understanding and enforcement of the law, that teacher becomes more than a partner. In Alaska now, the supervising teacher is the only one allowed to assign grades to the children's work. In essence, he or she is your child's primary teacher.
Certainly there are many families who have had great experiences with charter school options. For some families, it could be an excellent choice. More commonly, however, are the stories of families who entered the program full of enthusiasm, only to drop out a year or two later, disillusioned. Belinda Guerette, of Homeschool Happenings, who used the program when she lived in Alaska, commented, "Each semester it seemed that they asked one more little thing of us. Give up one more little freedom."
IDEA is one company that provides publicly funded homeschooling in Alaska and Hawaii (and possibly other states, but I don't have that information). IDEA International is the arm of this company that provides the same services through DOD and also to Foreign Service workers. There are many other companies who provide the same types of services on the state level or internationally. K12 does this in the states where they can legally do it. Basically, any program in which the education is funded through the government is a public education. Some people might call this a charter school. Others might call it a virtual school. IDEA International, or whoever is going to provide the service overseas this year, is still classified in this category.
For further reading:
Sheri Payne is the wife of 13 years to Jim, a Navy deep-sea diver (her own Man of Honor), and mom to two girls, ages 11 and 7, and a boy, 9. She has been involved with homeschooling since she began researching it before her own children were born. She is currently on the leadership team of her local homeschool group, and she also maintains the Hawaii blog for Homeschool Nations. Her personal blog can be found at www.homeschoolblogger.com/pro3128.
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Brat Report: Fall Crafts
By Cindy Burlingame
I found some great fall craft links that I am sure our "brats" would enjoy! Have fun!
- This one, from homeschoolzone, has great ideas for both boys and girls!
www.homeschoolzone.com/PP/fall.htm
- Over at Enchanted Learning, I really like the thankful wreath children can make!
www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/thanksgiving/thankfulwreath/
- Family Fun has some interesting crafts to make with apples.
www.familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts/season/specialfeature/famf0802_sf_autumn/famf0802_sf_autumn.html
- This site, which I stumbled across this evening, looks like it has some wonderful fall crafts, too!
www.creativeladiesministry.com/kidsfallcrafts.html
Get out the craft supplies and let your "brats" have a blast being creative! After all, isn't that part of what makes us military homeschoolers unique--our ability to budget on a string, improvise, adapt, and overcome? Happy crafting!
It's a great idea to mail these things to Daddy or to other troops to brighten their day, but before you do, please send us a photo of your crafts to be included in a future issue! We'd love to see them! Email them to: HomeFront@theoldhomeschoolhouse.com
Cindy Burlingame is a Marine Corps wife and has been married for 16 years to the light of her life. She is homeschooling their two children. They are currently stationed at Camp Pendleton, California. If you would like to have your child interviewed for the "brats" section, or if you have any outstanding brat accomplishments or original brat works you would like to share, please contact Cindy at www.HomeschoolBlogger.com/cre8ivemom
Chapel: Rejoice in the Lord
By Janet Kelly
Our memory verse this month is Psalm 9:2 -- "I will be glad and rejoice in you." (NIV). Take time to reflect on this verse. What exactly does this mean? Does it make you think of Philippians 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again, I say rejoice." You may be saying, "Okay, Janet, I have memorized these verses. I have heard them for ____ many months/years (you fill in the blank), but what exactly does this mean or what does it look like?" I think these are excellent verses for those of us associated with the military, and homeschoolers to boot (pun intended).
Homeschooling in and of itself is a selfless act of service to our children. Add in the military life and you have an adventure on a scale never before imagined. But you don't have to lose your joy in the process. Remember what we have looked at over the past few months. God doesn't call us to do something without going ahead, preparing the way, and preparing us. He will gladly guide us and lead us minute by minute if we need Him to. We have the best teaching tool for our children, too--an all-inclusive road map, scope and sequence, and curriculum called the Bible.
But, in the military, we face uncertainty, frequent moves, deployments, and a host of other challenges. I believe that in those times we make a choice. We can choose to serve God, to serve our children, and to be okay with all of it. We must choose to be joyful and glad with whatever comes around the next corner. Remember, God has our days written in His book, and He knows what is coming even before we do. He never asks more of us than we can handle. Our family is finishing a two-year tour in Korea. We didn't ask for a tour here. In fact, we asked not to be stationed here. So what did we do when we found out we were coming? Well, we didn't exactly go around dancing and singing. But we did choose to see that God was allowing us to stay together as a family after one deployment. We were able to see and experience a different culture and show our son that the rest of the world is very different from America. It was a two-year Social Studies and Geography lesson. We chose to seek out the ministry He had for us here. And we sought after Him like we never had before.
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Now we are at the end of our tour. We are going to South Carolina for my husband to attend school. South Carolina is home for us, and we feel blessed to be able to return home. We just found out this week that after the five-month school, my husband will be assigned to a deploying unit. Are we happy about this? No. No one is happy to hear that a husband/father is going off to war. But we choose to be okay with it. We choose to be joyful. I will be glad and rejoice in the Lord. Look closely; it doesn't say I will rejoice because of my circumstances but in Him. See the difference? By dwelling in Him, we find our joy. No matter what kind of chaos is swirling around us, we can rejoice because we are in Him (and He in us).
What about school? We don't have all rosy days in our home. If we all were honest, there probably wouldn't be anyone out there who could honestly say that every day of homeschooling is great. There have been some days when I have sent our son to his room other than his quiet time just for my own peace of mind. There are days when he "bucks" me on handwriting or any manner of assigned work. (Granted he is only in first grade, but I still believe he needs to get some basics.) But even on the days when we are at our worst, we choose to rejoice in the Lord. I am so very thankful to be able to homeschool our son. I sincerely love being with him and love being able to teach him. It is an amazing gift we have, the gift to school our children in relative freedom. Rejoice! Be glad!
The homeschool journey and the military life are arduous enough each on its own, but when you combine the two, days can seem overwhelming. Choose to rejoice in the Lord. You would be surprised what reading a Psalm a day and playing praise or Christian music in the house can do not only for your mood, but also for the mood of the whole family. God loves you and is with you each step of the way. He wants only good for you, a hope and a future, and not to harm you. Rest in Him and find your joy again. Find it in Him. He loves you and wants to be your Joy.
Memory Verse: Psalm 9:2-- " I will be glad and rejoice in you." (NIV)
Janet Kelly is the wife of Army chaplain Mike Kelly and mom to one son. They are currently in the process of returning to the US. Janet has begun her second year of homeschooling. Her desire is to encourage women to treasure God with all of their heart (Matt 6:19-21), and to guard their heart (Prov. 4:23) by recognizing that they are the heart of their home. Check out Janet's blog for further meditation and additional verses for this and all other Home Front Chapel devotionals. Visit Janet at www.HomeschoolBlogger.com/theheartofthehome.
Immunizations: Academics and Character
By Jennifer McDonald
"Day in and day out, we are shaping our children's characters so that they will be equipped to be godly men and women. If we do it cleverly, they will also end up knowing many, many useful things about God's creation. That knowledge is secondary, though, and can be filled in as needed in late childhood or even adulthood. What cannot be filled in later are godly character traits such as obedience, submissiveness, cheerfulness, kindness, and the rest; if we fail to instill and strengthen these traits, we have failed no matter how smart and capable our children are by the world's standards."
This is a wonderful quote from an article by Rick Saenz at: www.cumberlandbooks.com/howtothinkabouthomeschooling.html.
There is a much to consider in this article, especially for those whose kids are entering the high school years, and I encourage you to check it out. Why do we homeschool... and continue to homeschool? Is it about knowledge? I have heard the saying that there is nothing worse than an educated fool. Obviously, as Christians, it's not about merely filling their heads with facts.
Having talked with many friends whose older children have graduated from their homeschool, I am slowly realizing that there is not much, academically speaking, that can't be made up later should they miss some things here or there. The "are we missing something" question used to keep me awake at night. What I'm beginning to notice now, though, is that moral or character gaps or issues are the ones that are difficult to "make up" later in life.
Not that it's an either/or proposition between academics and character. But it's easy to get our sights on the temporal, scholastic part of education and to neglect those "subjects," if you will, of godly character and moral formation. I am surprised to see how much of my schooling time with my teens involves discussion--discussing books, Scripture, movies, and worldviews. I have the sense that we are on borrowed time (we are!) and that this time together is fleeting. We laugh and joke a lot, but we have delved into some heavy subjects (such as racism) and some not so heavy (such as aliens)! I pray that we are making precious memories and that my teens will remember our discussions. I love that the folks at Cumberland Books talk about conversation being a mainstay of their children's education. I knew there had to be some way to get credit for all the words flying around here. We are a family of talkers!
The bottom line for me: having the confidence to do for our family what God is leading us to do, knowing that He will give us grace and fill in any "gaps" and knowing that we have been given our particular children because the Lord has something specific for us to impart to them. Thank God for this opportunity!
I am Jennifer McDonald, and I recently celebrated my 18th anniversary (!!) with my high school sweetheart, Steve. We have four always-been-homeschooled children, ranging in age from 7-14. We're an Air Force family, currently stationed in Northern California. I love reading, walking, scrapbooking, and cooking! Visit me at www.HomeschoolBlogger.com/AFJen88
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Maneuvers: Base Field Trip Ideas
By Trish Nonaka
Here are some great ideas for field trips right there on your installation!
Have you toured the facility of your installation publication? How about calling the base historian to see what is available or to arrange a tour? There are often walking tours, and you can pick up maps for them at the historian's office or headquarters. On almost every military base we've been to, there are numerous static displays of aircraft, tanks, etc. If it's possible, arrange for a tour of your spouse's workplace. Don't forget the veterinarian's office! Or is there a K9 unit? See if you can arrange for a behind-the-scenes tour of one of the chow halls or dining facilities, the medical or dental facility. Are there special attractions like a beach, a flight line, or helicopter pads? Go to the installation flagpole during a ceremony and observe from a respectful distance. Do you have a parade field where you observe troop movements or ceremonies?
What are some of your suggestions for base field trips?
Send them in and we will share them!
Here's one from Janet: the commissary. The homeschool group at Bliss did this one, and it was a BIG hit for the kids and parents. Another idea is that most bases/posts have museums. The one at Bliss and the several here in Korea are really awesome.
Mom's R&R: Moving the Furniture
By Jennifer McDonald
"If you can't change the world, you can move the furniture." --Gladys Six
This is a saying I grew up hearing, as it was originally spoken by my great-grandmother and oft repeated by my grandmother. Honestly, as a child I didn't think it made much sense. What did moving furniture have to do with anything?
It makes so much sense now.
I have little control over what happens in my life--none of us really have any. It's just a matter of admitting it, I suppose. The past couple of weeks since my husband left for his latest deployment have been kind of a "holding pattern" for me. Just trying to get through, do the next thing, deal with the kids' issues, and not lose my mind in the process. He's not been gone that long yet, but the months stretch out in front of me like a big blank. I just don't feel like doing this again.
I read something simple yet profound a couple of days ago in, of all things, a novel I'm reading. The gist of it was that we can deal with anything, once we accept it.
Gladys had to accept many things now that I look back at her life. She lived through two world wars; her husband Ray served in WWI, and she didn't know when or if he'd come home to her. As a young wife in the 1920s, she was a missionary to China and delivered several of her children there, including her first, my grandmother, Mary Virginia. My grandmother told me how she walked down a mountainside in the dark, while in labor, to get to the midwife to deliver. That's some woman.
Gladys also lost a son in his early adult years, to complications from diabetes. That's a heartache I can't even imagine going through. She also saw her husband pass away before her and then spent her final years in a wheelchair.
I'm sure my great-grandmother had many other struggles I will never know about. Yet she was remembered by her children as a loving mother, wife, friend, writer, and gardener extraordinaire. She obviously took the time in the midst of her busy and challenging life to cultivate beauty, love, and friendship.
It helps me to look back at her life and the examples of other godly women--Amy Carmichael, Elisabeth Elliott, and others. Circumstances fall into perspective, and that helps me remember that my trials will also pass. I hope you have someone in your life that you can look to for an example. And remember these words from James 1:2-4:
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."
While I wait for that, I think I'll move the furniture!
Pass in Review: Jill Novak's "The Gift Of Family Writing"
By Janet Kelly
Jill Novak has a lovely e-book out, and it is free to military families. What is so special about her book is that it speaks to the heart of something special in the military family--creating memories and saving your family's stories through writing or journaling. This is something that many military families are seeking to do, especially in this time of frequent, and often repeat, deployments.
Jill's book speaks to my heart especially. I long to save memories of our life story for our son. I long to save his life story. But I am not a scrapbooker; scrapbooking is overwhelming to me. Jill admits she feels that way also. I was immediately drawn to her!
It is actually a way of life to write your family's and your children's stories. But I love the rewards that come with this lifestyle change: deeper relationships with your children, an awakened sense of wonder, a slowing of life's hectic pace. All of this appeals to me. And what I like best is that Jill shares how this can be done, all without requiring you to take a writer's course. She tells us that you don't need to write well; just start writing. It will come! You can take dictation for younger children. I am doing this with our son. It makes my heart warm to have him come to me and tell me he wants to put something in his journal.
If you haven't already, I urge you to take Jill up on her offer of a free e-book to military families. It is well worth your time to read. It isn't a difficult read, and it will fill you with many good ideas for your family. If you follow the suggestions in the book, you'll have a lifetime of memories and family stories to treasure when the craziness of military life gives way to adulthood and retirement into the civilian world. Learn how to save your memories through Jill Novak's e-book, The Gift of Family Writing.
Editor's Note: This offer is FREE to military families, but Jill requests that everyone leave a note about family writing on her blog www.HomeschoolBlogger.com/JillNovak in order to receive the link to the e-book. Please do so!
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The Schoolhouse Store Spotlight
Most of us have participated in the traditional September Back-to-School shopping spree, purchasing supplies and goodies for our children. With the school year back in full swing and organization and scheduling in the forefront of our minds, this is the perfect time for Mom to receive some helpful supplies" as well. Our BusyWoman Planner/Purse/Tote Set is a great way to get organized and look good at the same time!
This matching purse and tote set comes with a Busy Woman Basics Daily Planner with planning pages to start you on your way to an organized schedule, this daily planner is sure to get you on track. Your choice of blue, black, burgundy or hunter green. Check it out HERE. |
Final Address: Next Month's Battle Plans
This sure was a full issue, wasn't it? On behalf of all the ladies here on The Home Front, I want you to know that we are here for you and want to serve you in your military homeschooling walk. We know firsthand that this is not an easy road. We deal with the same frustrations and issues that you do. If we can help you in any way, please contact us via email or on our blogs. We'd love to hear from you! Let us know what is happening on YOUR Home Front!
As always, for regular updates and posts, stop by Homeschool Nations--Military Home Front.
From our Home Front to yours,
Trish
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