Sacrificing Homeschool Freedom on the Altar of Sports (Part 1)

If you missed my introduction to this blog series, click here to read it first!



I have promised with this blog series to address some of the arguments I am hearing surrounding this issue of homeschoolers being allowed to play on public school sports teams. I have already made clear where I stand, but I want to give firm reasons. Many of my answers will be geared mostly toward Christian homeschoolers since we stand to loose the most from this. However, this issue affects all homeschoolers who love their educational freedom! What I have to say may not sit well with many of you, but I am just firm enough in my convictions to not mind ruffling a few feathers!

So for today, here is one of the first arguments you will hear from those who support homeschoolers participating in public school activities:

We pay taxes that support the public school system! Therefore, our children deserve the same right to get to play sports on school teams as the public schoolers!

On the surface, this sounds valid. It sounds like homeschoolers are being treated unfairly. But this is a trap! This argument is very shallow.

For starters, our taxes go to support many things we seriously hope to never have to use (like 911 services).

Christian homeschoolers: Please don’t fall for this trap! This is exactly what the socialists who take your hard earned money want you to do. They want you to feel entitled so they can then slowly (but surely) step into your life more and more. You accept their "services," they tell you what you may or may not do as a homeschooler.

What is more important to you anyway, your money or your children? It would be far better, and wiser, to use the freedom and rights that we already have to work to correct this situation by reducing or eliminating those taxes. I have been known to complain more than once about how much of my husband's paycheck goes to support a school system we do not want or use! Maybe we should stop complaining and do something about that! But until then, let Caesar have his money, and let us keep our children and dedicate them to God! Matthew 22:21b “…Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.”

I have _so_ much more to say in posts to come on this issue! I am choosing to do this as a series rather than one big post in hopes that this will get folks' attention and they will consider each point carefully and prayerfully! In the meantime, feel free to share your thoughts. While I welcome comments, please know this issue is settled for me. You will not change my mind or silence my voice by leaving a negative comment!

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Sacrificing Homeschool Freedom on the Altar of Sports Blog Series

Imagine this ridiculous scenario with me:

The Israelites have been enslaved in Egypt for over 400 years. With their blood, sweat, and tears they have been forced to build great cities for the wicked king. They have been beaten and abused. Their babies lives have been taken. They live in horrible conditions. For generations now they have cried out for deliverance. They long for freedom to live in a land of their own, to worship their own God, and to give their children a better life than what Egypt has to offer them.

Finally, God sends their deliverer! Through one amazing miracle after another, He sets them FREE! FREE from Egypt, it's king, it's taskmasters, and it's bondage! Then, when that freedom is tested, He opens up the waters of the Red Sea for them. They can cross and leave Egypt and it's slavery behind forever. FREEDOM is close enough to taste! But then...

The Israelites stop and say, "Wait just a minute!! We worked hard to build those cities back in Egypt! We demand our right to send our children back there to visit those cities, learn the Egyptian ways, and play with all the Egyptian children and their cool toys!"

"WHAT?!" you say, "NO! Cross the the Red Sea! Cut all ties! RUN AWAY TO FREEDOM! The toys are NOT WORTH IT!! GO while you can! Send your children back to Egypt, and they will be enslaved all over again! Just GO!"

Of course to anyone this seems so ridiculous! And yet...

This is no different than what is truly happening with this whole issue of homeschoolers fighting to participate in public school sports programs. For years homeschoolers all over the United States have fought for their right to remove their children from the public schools and teach them at home according to their own consciences. Many, MANY sacrifices have been made along the way! God has opened many doors for us, He has answered the prayers of the brave souls who have gone before to pave the way, and now homeschooling is legal in all 50 states! (With some states of course being more free than others.)

And now what do we have? A generation of people who are willing to take that hard earned freedom: my freedom, your freedom, and our children's freedom...

And sacrifice it on the altar of SPORTS!!!



Something we have all wanted, freedom to teach our children and train them up in the way they should go...could be seriously undermined all for the sake of GAMES!!!

I KNOW this is going to be a controversial blog series!

But the things I have to say DESPERATELY need to be said...LOUDLY! With all the "Tim Tebow bills" being introduced in many states, and all the claims and arguments being made, I want to face it head on and put out there exactly WHY I will NOT be supporting this fight! (And why our homeschool group actually worked to defeat a dangerous "Tim Tebow bill" that was introduced in KY earlier this year!)

In this blog series, I plan to tackle all the arguments I am hearing on this issue. I trust you will join me!!! In the meantime, here is an outstanding article written several years ago that I found as I was preparing for this series. It is titled Why the Question of Homeschoolers' Playing Public School Sports Affects All Homeschoolers

Are slam dunks so dear or touch downs so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it Almighty God! I know not what course other's may take, but as for me...Give me liberty or give me death! (With my apologies to Patrick Henry!)

I welcome comments! You are entitled to your opinions, but please know that this is one issue that is firmly settled in my mind. You will not be changing my mind or silencing my voice by leaving a negative comment! Are you also concerned about losing homeschooling freedoms because a few families think their children must play public school sports? I want to hear from you! And please stay tuned as we talk about this further in posts yet to come!!

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Little Pilgrim's Progress by Helen Taylor

My 7 year old and I have thoroughly enjoyed reading Little Pilgrim's Progress together as an afternoon read aloud in our homeschool!



This book keeps the main story plot and allegorical style as John Bunyan's original classic, but the main character, Little Christian, is a child. Many of the other characters in the story are also children. The story is related in language more easily understood by children, but it is still beautifully written.

The first part of the book tells the story of Little Christian's pilgrimage from the city of Destruction to the Celestial City where his mother is waiting for him. He faces many challenges and temptations along the way, and he learns many important lessons. The second part of the book follows Little Christian's dear friend, Christiana, and her journey to meet Christian in the Celestial City.

Although geared toward the 8-12 age group, I feel younger children and adults would also love and learn from Little Pilgrim's Progress.

It has been a wonderful read aloud in our home! My son was constantly begging to hear "just one more chapter!" every day. It was hard for me to put down, too! I am sure we will be enjoying this lovely tale again when my younger son gets a little older.

If you are looking for a timeless classic to inspire your children to live bravely for the Lord, teach them valuable life lessons, and engage their imaginations with an exciting story, then I heartily recommend Little Pilgrim's Progress by Helen Taylor!

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for this honest review.

Click here to purchase your copy of Little Pilgrim's Progress!

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Thoughts from Leviticus 1 & 2

Our study of the book of Leviticus has begun! So far I have read the first 2 chapters as part of the Good Morning Girls Bible study.



As I said in an earlier post, Leviticus is tough reading. The cermonial laws, sacrifices, etc. do not apply to us today the same way they did for the Israelites at the time this book was written.

But after taking some time to read slowly and prayerfully, I do have a couple of brief thoughts I would like to share.

Leviticus 1

Verse 3 mentions the people bringing their sacrifices to the Lord of their "own voluntary will." This reminded me of Paul's instructions in 2 Corinthians 9:7 "Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver."

God wants us to worship Him willingly from our hearts. Our worship and service to God should come naturally from a heart that truly loves Him!

Leviticus 2

In verse 11, Moses instructs that no offering to the Lord should contain leaven. Leaven is a symbolic representation of sin & evil. The mention of the leaven spoke to me today. It is a reminder that if we regard iniquity in our hearts, the Lord will not hear us. (Psalm 66:18) Any unconfessed sin that we may try to hide or just sweep under the rug will surely hinder our prayers and will cause God not to accept our attempts at worship. Paul said a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump! There is no such thing as a "little sin." Little things are a big deal to God!

Are you studying the book of Leviticus with us right now? We are just reading one chapter each day (Monday-Friday) and sharing what the Lord is teaching! Visit Women Living Well for more information and resources!!



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The Set-Apart Woman by Leslie Ludy

This book, The Set-Apart Woman by Leslie Ludy, challenges women to go beyond being "Sunday Christians," and surrender their lives completely to the Lord!



The subtitle is "God's Invitation to Sacred Living." The author explores the meaning of God's calling for Christians to be set-apart. I was quite impressed with this author's boldness. Her message is powerful, clear, and easily understood. God wants every aspect of our lives to be totally surrendered to Him, and there are special blessings in store for the woman who chooses to be set-apart for God. She offers practical words of wisdom in each chapter on what it truly means to surrender our lives to the Lord.

This book would be great for personal devotions or for a women's Bible study group. Each chapter gives several Scriptures to read, discussion questions, and personal reflections.

This book also includes a great Recommended Resources list that I look forward to using! The author shares many books that have been helpful in her Christian journey.

I received a free copy of this book from Tyndale Blog Network in exchange for this honest review.

Get your copy of The Set-Apart Woman here! This is an affiliate link. I receive a small commission when purchases are made through this link at no extra cost to the buyer. Thanks so much!!

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Introducing the Book of Leviticus!

The Good Morning Girls Bible study has been on Spring Break for the past week and a half since we finished up reading the book of Matthew. But we are starting back up on Monday morning, April 20th!

We will be reading through the book of Leviticus 1 chapter at a time for the next 5 1/2 weeks. I plan to share some of what I am learning here on the blog once or twice per week. I hope you will join me!

If you have ever read it before, Leviticus is a tough book filled with the civil, moral, and cerimonial laws of Moses. But I do look forward to studying deeper and finding out what I can learn and apply from this book!

I was so excited when I found out what Good Morning Girls will be studying over the summer...the book of Proverbs and the Song of Solomon! It is going to be awesome, and I invite you to join in, too!!

The Good Morning Girls study has really helped renew my desire to get into God's Word each day and provided me with the accountability I have needed to make it a habit.

Over the break, I have read through the books of 1 & 2 Peter during my daily time with the Lord. Peter's writings are a goldmine!



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2015-2016 Curriculum Has Arrived!

The mailman made me a happy lady this week! :)

The last pieces of Big Brother's 2015-2016 3rd grade Homeschool curriculum have arrived! Yaay! :)

I know, we haven't even finished this school year yet, but I have found it best to plan for the next year during the Spring and Summer so that by August I have at least some clue as to what we are doing!

Also Rod & Staff had their annual curriculum 10% off sale through April 15, so I always try to take advantage of that.



Here's a list of what we have:

Math - R&S Exploring Arithmetic Grade 3 set (Student Textbook, extra Worksheets & Answer Key, Speed Drill booklet, & Teacher's Manual)

Spelling - R&S Spelling by Sound and Structure Grade 3 (Student Workbook) I will be getting the Teacher's Manual passed on to me for FREE from someone else who used it this year! :)

Reading - R&S 3rd Grade Bible Nurture Readers (I had FREE "hand me down" copies of 1 of the readers and the Teacher's Manual!)

English - R&S Beginning Wisely for 3rd Grade set (Includes Student Textbook, Worksheets, Test Booklet, and Teacher's Manual)

History - ABeka Our American Heritage (Including Student Textbook, Map Skills booklet, Quiz/Test booklet, & Teacher's Guide) We got all this brand new for FREE when a local Christian academy closed last year!

Science - ABeka Exploring God's World 3rd grade (Student Textbook & Teacher's Guide) We also got this brand new set FREE from the Christian academy that closed.

Since we are making use of the brand new ABeka science and history curriculum we got for FREE when a local Christian academy closed last year, accepted a few "hand me downs", AND took advantage of the R&S sale, the total cost to us for Big Brother's 3rd grade curriculum was less than $100 for the year!!

Of course we will be supplementing with lots of good library books, field trips, videos, games, experiments, copywork, memory work, extracurricular lessons/classes, etc. to round out his full curriculum.

I am working on putting together a "Morning Memory Work" binder for next year as this is something I really want to incorporate into our day! I am pulling together important facts, rules, definitions, map skills, etc. that coordinate with what he will be studying each week in each subject. I am also including Scriptures, poems, hymns, Spanish vocabulary, and American Sign Language. My plan is to spend about an hour each morning working on memorizing these together through songs, games, hand motions, flash cards, recitation, and other activities. I guess my idea of this is somewhat like the "classical education" method we hear so much about these days...just my own version of it! :) (I think I have officially decided I am an Eclectic-Traditional-Classical-Charlotte Mason-Interest Led Homeschooler...just one method does not fit, you see!)

Little Brother will be 1 1/2 by the start of next school year, and I am gathering ideas for doing a little fun "Tot School" time with him, too. I will definitely keep you all posted on that!

Have you started planning for next year yet? I would LOVE to hear about your curriculum choices and plans for your children of all ages!!! Feel free to share in the comments!!

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Testing Tips for Homeschoolers

It is that time of year when many students around the country (homeschoolers, private schoolers, and public schoolers) are taking some sort of standardized achievment tests.

Here in Kentucky, homeschoolers are NOT required to take these tests; and if we do choose to test our children, the report goes to no one but us. We do NOT have to show our children's test scores to anyone for any kind of "approval." (I understand homeschoolers in some other states are required to do this. Visit HSLDA.org to find out specific requirements for your area!)

I personally have chosen so far to test Big Brother for various reasons:

1.) To assure myself that he is right where he "needs" to be academically.

2.) To make sure there are no huge learning gaps in any certain subjects that I may have somehow missed.

3.) To give him practice with taking bubble tests so he will be prepared for taking tests later on like the ACT to get into college.

4.) To give him practice, just in case our laws here were to change!

Big Brother will be doing testing 2 mornings this week. This will be his 3rd year taking the Stanford 10 Acheivment Test. (I understand this is the last year the Stanford will be available! So we may be switching to the Iowa or CAT next year.) The past 2 years he has tested with students at a local Christian academy. The academy has closed, so this year we are testing with our homeschool support group.



Here are a few tips I hope you may find helpful if your homeschoolers are testing:

* If they have never taken a "bubble" test before, you might want to let them practice filling in little bubbles to answer questions. We have used some of the Spectrum Test Prep books for this.

* Give them some practice with following both oral and written directions. Most of these tests will expect the student to be able to follow both well.

* Choose a testing location and test administrator your child will be comfortable with. Some children will not test well if they are scared, anxious, or unfamiliar with their environment. Make sure the location, administrators, and other students who may be present are all a good fit for your child.

* Make sure your child gets plenty of sleep the nights before testing. A tired brain and body will not serve them well while testing!

* Serve your child a wholesome breakfast, and be sure to send a healthy snack with them to the testing site.

* Do NOT allow yourself to stress over your child's testing!! Your anxiety will be communicated your child and cause them unneeded stress and anxiety. Encourage your child to do his/her best, assure them of your unconditional love, pray with them, and DON'T SWEAT IT!!

* Arrive at the testing site in time for your child to find where he/she needs to go, make sure of where the restrooms are, and find out all the necessary instructions.

* Find out ahead of time if your child needs to bring any materials such as pencils, erasers, scratch paper, calculators, lunch, etc.

* If your child is testing with a group, it might be a good idea for them to bring a book to read just in case they finish a test section before other students are finished.

Please say a little prayer for Big Brother this week as he completes his testing!!

I hope you found this post helpful! Do you test your homeschoolers each year? Why or why not?

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Teaching My 7 Year Old to Have Daily Quiet Time with Jesus

I am officially back to the blog! :)

Last week we were busy getting the house ready for Big Brother's 7th birthday party (a LEGO party, of course!).



This week, since Big Brother is a "big" 7 year old, we added a new aspect to his day - personal "Quiet Time with Jesus."

For his birthday, we felt led to give Big Brother a new Bible. We chose The Illustrated KJV Study Bible for Kids and he could not be happier with it!



So on Monday morning, I began teaching Big Brother how to have his own personal "Quiet Time with Jesus" (aka devotions). He has his time with the Lord while I have mine, and Little Brother is pretty content to play in the floor at this time.

We are doing Quiet Time before breakfast. I want him to get in the habit of thinking of the Lord first in the morning. I told him that he is not doing this for Mommy or necessarily for school. (We still do a Bible lesson time together after breakfast to start school.) This is just a special time for him to grow closer to the Lord and to start the day off in a good way.

He responds best to written instructions, so right now while he is still learning, I give him an index card telling him what to do. He finds himself a cozy spot and follows each step:

1.) Pray and ask God to help you understand His Word.

2.) Read _ (I give him 3-6 verses to read. Eventually he will choose his own Scriptures. I am marking the page for him with a bookmark.)

3.) Think about what you can learn from what you just read.

4.) Pray again! Is there anything special you need to pray about today?

Quiet Time with Jesus generally takes him about 5-10 minutes total right now, but I think it just might be his favorite (and it is definitely the most important) 5-10 minutes of his day!

It is so sweet to hear his little prayers and see him actually able to begin to read, understand, and apply God's Word.

My personal quiet time takes a bit longer since I read a whole chapter, so he is free to play quietly with Little Brother while I finish. During breakfast he likes to tell me what he read about and what he learned. I have also shared with him some of what I am learning lately in my Good Morning Girls Bible study.

I think it is so important to teach children that they can have a personal relationship with the Lord rather than simply teaching them about Him or, worse, just teaching them a list of religious do's and don't's!

Do your children spend personal time with the Lord daily? I would love to hear about it! Leave me a comment below! How do they fit it into their schedule? What do they do during this time? When do you have quiet time with Jesus, Mom?

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Hallelujah, He is Risen!

Today we finished reading the book of Matthew in our Good Morning Girls Bible study!

And what an amazing finish! Matthew 28 tells the most important part of the whole Gospel story!

Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

(Matthew 28:5-6)

Christ's death on the cross, as important to our faith as it is, has no power whatsoever without the empty tomb! Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:14,

And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also in vain.

And again in 1 Corinthians 15:17,

And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.

The entire Christian faith has no truth, no power to save, and no relevance in our lives today if Jesus is still dead as some claim.

Many today still believe the lies that the Jewish priests and elders at the time paid the guards at the tomb to spread. They were obviously shaken by what they had witnessed, but for the right price they agreed to say they fell asleep on their watch and the disciples came and stole Jesus' body. I have heard numerous "news stories" claiming to have "found" a tomb containing the body of Jesus. But all these are just Satan's feeble attempts to undermine the Gospel and cause people to lose their faith.

How amazing it would have been to have seen these events first hand! To have felt the deep sadness after the crucifixion that turned to unspeakable joy at the empty tomb!

But I do not have to travel to Jerusalem and see the place where the Lord lay to know he is not there. As the old song says,

You ask me how I know He lives?
He lives within my heart!

And now my prayer is That I may know him and the power of His resurrection! (Philippians 3:10)

I love this amazing song from the Perry's called If You Knew Him.

If you knew him like I know Him,
You would know that He's alive!
And if you felt Him like I feel Him,
Resurrection deep inside,
You'd know He's living,
And death has died.

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