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I have a confession to make: I am not good at keeping tabs on incoming links. Just today I found I had been given a blog award by a friend of mine… back in April. I think this qualifies as my Friday Fail. I can’t believe it’s been that long and totally missed it!
 The Prolific blogger Award originally comes from this post at Advance Booking. There’s even a Linky there! This award has some rules attached to it:
1. Every winner of the Prolific Blogger Award has to pass on this award to at least seven other deserving prolific bloggers. Spread some love!
2. Each Prolific Blogger must link to the blog from which he/she has received the award.
3. Every Prolific Blogger must link back to this post, which explains the origins and motivation for the award.
4. Every Prolific Blogger must visit this post and add his/her name in the Mr. Linky, so that we all can get to know the other winners.
So the seven bloggers who I would love to give this award to are:
When receiving this award I’m asked to…
- Thank the person who gave you the award.
- Share seven things about yourself.
- Give this award out to other bloggers that you think are fabulous, interesting and deserving.
- Contact each of the bloggers you chose.
Seven things about myself:
- I love coffee, but only drink it at church while I am managing the espresso cafe there.
- I wear Birkenstocks all spring and summer. I go for comfort first!!
- I never wanted to homeschool. Ever. God laughs at me now.
- I’ve lived much of my life backwards.
- I have known my husband since I was a baby.
- My favorite ice cream is Caramel Caribou.
- I took woodshop in 6th-11th grades because I loved it.
And I want to give this award to just a few ladies who I feel are the some of most versatile bloggers I know. And besides, if I gave it to 30 people would it really mean anything to them?  Just a thought. So I chose only three:
Honey at Sunflower Schoolhouse, Jamie at See Jamie Blog, and Nish at The Outdoor Wife.
I realize that these blog awards come around now and then, like email forwards almost, but it’s been enough years since I joined in the last ones that I thought it might be fun. Check those all those ladies I listed—they’re all fantastic!
My children must be isolated from the Real World.
“Why don’t you want your kids to live in the real world? They will never be able to make it if they don’t.”
This has to be the hardest question to combat with a total stranger. I mean, think about it. The person obviously has their own preconceived ideas about homeschoolers. When they see my children and I out IN the Real World, it doesn’t even occur to them that the traditionally-schooled children are the ones who are kept away from it.
The myth of the socially-inept homeschoolers does have some truth to it. I have seen some homeschoolers who really were socially awkward and unable to fit into a group of same aged peers. Not many, but some. The vast majority, however, are simply NOT like that. Mine certainly aren’t!
My kids have always been very busy, socially speaking. From the early years, when we did pizza & bowling on Thursdays (Homeschool Bowl time, $2 for 3 hours!), to the days of twice weekly swimming lessons and then swim team, at the YMCA. Let’s not forget Missionettes and Royal Rangers on Wednesday nights, and volleyball and indoor soccer practices and games. These days, with they boys it is also twice weekly swimming lessons, and Royal Rangers. Soccer or basketball (Upward, not at the Y) are coming up and the boys want to play. Homeschool bowling and art classes will be starting up again soon too. There are PLENTY of group activities around here to keep ANY kids, and their families, quite busy in The Real World.
And just for fun, here’s a video about the difference between being Homeschooled and being a Homeschooler.
Nothing makes me happier than to have an adult come up to us and remark on how well behaved, or talkative, or kind one of my kids are. And when that son is able to make eye contact, smile, and thank them or even initiate conversation (Gasp! With a stranger!), so much the better. They can join in bike riding or ball with the neighborhood kids, hold babies in the church nursery, and play pool with the teenagers in the youth group. My kids aren’t even close to being isolated from the real world. They are in it every single day.
 “But if we do that, then what if _____ happens? THEN what are we going to do?”
It came out in a conversation, awakening us to “What if?!” What if, what? What if she learns some hard lessons, and begins to take on responsibility? What if we, her parents, take the Fear, the other F-word, by the horns and put it where it belongs? Fear can make people do (or keep them from doing) lots of things.
Fear had invaded our lives. It crept in but when it reared its ugly head, it seemed so sudden, as if we didn’t invite it. But we did. We had literally been held hostage to the What IF scenarios, and facing it has been like a cross between a breath of fresh air and truth, and a runaway motorcycle with no brakes. But fear is not from God.
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. 1Timothy 1:7
Fear isn’t supposed to rule our lives, nor are we to make our decisions based on fear of the consequences. True, some fear is healthy, and often consequences need to be considered, as in choosing to speed in the car, and paying a speeding ticket. But to face life this way is unhealthy. I am seeking God for wisdom in this and all circumstances. I don’t know it all.
We had not gone to that extreme; fear did not rule us. It did, however, cause us to enable to lazy teenager to continue to be lazy. We were so concerned about what might happen, that we prevented anything from happening. It’s like that scene in Finding Nemo.
Marlin: I promised I’d never let anything happen to him.
Dory: Hmm. That’s a funny thing to promise.
Marlin: What?
Dory: Well, you can’t never let anything happen to him. Then nothing would ever happen to him. Not much fun for little Harpo.
Not much fun for Mom & Dad either.That was until we looked the situation dead in the face and said “No more!”
I love my daughter, so much. She’s not a bad kid; not at ALL! She just needed a push in the right direction. And now we just need to pray that with our push, she makes good decisions based on the faith and trust she has in the Lord, and the foundation we have given her all during her growing up years.
Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me. Psalm 31:3
Raising kids can be fun, wonderful, and challenging. Preparing a teenager for adulthood can be downright crazy! Without the Lord, we would be so lost. You simply cannot live under the fear of What If.
This post linked to iFellowship, and Word-Filled Wednesday! If this is your first time visiting, welcome! Don’t miss a post! Please Subscribe by Email, Follow me on Twitter, or Like Me on Facebook!
 
I’m not sure if you have to be a curriculum junkie in order to be a homeschooler, but I do know that when you start teaching your children at home, you need resources. I have received nearly every home education-geared catalog out there. Oh I’m sure there are some I haven’t had, but I have had most at one time or other.
This list isn’t complete, because of course I only chose 10. To me, these are the ones that are the most useful, and have the most value for the amount of time you will spend perusing them. I left out the textbook publisher catalogs because they only sell their own products. I encourage you, especially if you are just beginning to homeschool, to visit these websites and request catalogs.
1. Rainbow Resource- I ordered my first catalog from them in 1998. I was impressed at the thickness, a whopping 3/8” of the largest array of homeschool curriculum I had yet seen. These days, think large city telephone book, and you’ve got their current catalog. Often they have the best prices around. When the new catalog comes in the mail, it goes everywhere with me for about the first two weeks. 
2. Christian Book Distributors- They have an assortment of specialized catalogs, and their homeschool one is very good. It is colorful and has reviews in it as well. Their prices are really good.
3. R.O.C.K. Solid- Not a huge catalog by any means, but the items that they do carry are solid, and they give plenty of product information and have really great prices.
4. Timberdoodle- Local to Washingtonians like me, Timberdoodle carries creative and fun educational supplies as well as curriculum. If your kids are into mechanics, construction, science, or just plain fun, they have products that will thrill them.
5. Home Science Tools- This company carries science supply kits for almost every science program out there. If it’s not listed in their catalog, chances are you can call them and ask. They also sell Apologia and BJU.
6. Library and Educational Services- Not a typical homeschool catalog, but LES carries lower-cost books and DVDs. Their service is really good!
7. Sonlight- Not to promote a program here, but their catalog is a virtual wealth of great book lists! I get it simply for the literature recommendations for all subjects.
8. Beautiful Feet Books- Another fantastic ‘book list’ type catalog, although not nearly as extensive as Sonlight, BF Books has great history programs and top notch literature suggestions.
9. Blick Art Materials- Again, not your “typical” homeschool catalog, because it isn’t, at all. Blick carries just about anything art-related that you can think of. Their prices blow away our local art supply here in town and even with shipping we saved a bunch. Fast delivery too!
10. Elijah Company- I put this one here for posterity sake. You “old” or “veteran” homeschoolers can relate with me that Elijah Company was much MUCH more than a catalog. They are no longer in business, but you can read all of their fantastic newsletter articles via The Wayback Machine at Archive.org. I was so sad to see them close, and even sadder to not receive their catalog any more. There was so much EXTRA included… articles on homeschooling, faith, parenting, teaching tips, and so much more. Bookmark this one!!
So tell me about YOUR favorite homeschool catalogs! If I missed your favorite catalog, please SHARE!
 
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The Prolific blogger Award originally comes from this post at Advance Booking. There’s even a Linky there! This award has some rules attached to it:
Momma’s Talk