The same thing applies to support group leadership. Policies are made and guidelines are set for the good of the group.

Read the rest of this article and the entire May 2013 Leader Letter.
 
 

The post Taking the Good With the Bad appeared first on Texas Home School Coalition.

“I have a M4 A1 RIS Double Eagle M83.”

“Mine’s a JG M4 S-System Special Ops.”

“Cool, I would love to have a ICS C-15 M16 Sniper Fixed stock.”

These terms meant nothing in my mama world—or did they? Although I didn’t know what the boys were talking about at the time, the lingo was important. It represented a block between me and good communication with my boys. I’d have to learn the lingo.

“Lingo” simply means the special vocabulary of a particular field of interest. Simply put, if you want to communicate with a particular set of folks, you’d better know the lingo. Today’s world provides all sorts of areas of special interest, and the home school community is no different. Learning the lingo as a support group leader is vital to good communication with your group. Young mothers speak a language of toddlers, blogs, and kindergarten. Seasoned veterans talk of graduation, crazy technology, and how to stay on top of the online activity calendar. You have to know the lingo.

So where do you begin? Easy. Take time to learn. This month’s featured article from Nancy E. Schwartz, “Five Tech Tips to Punch Up Your Nonprofit Communications,” will give us some ideas on how to make our online communication more effective.

Another area where we may lack proper lingo is in the political arena. THSC Capitol Days are sure to fill that void. From the informative sessions to the practical application, this event is sure to update your legislative lingo.

The world of lingo is ever changing. Be prepared, take time to learn, and you’ll rarely be caught in a sea of unknown chatter.

Read the entire March 2013 Leader Letter.

The post Know the Lingo appeared first on Texas Home School Coalition.

To show appreciation and to honor support group leaders in the Texas home school community who sacrificially give of their time and energy to serve home schoolers, and to promote home education, the Texas Home School Coalition has sponsored Home School Leader Appreciation Week in Texas (April 8-14, 2013) for many years.

In conjunction with Home School Leader Appreciation Week in Texas, THSC has honored outstanding leaders with the coveted Home School Leader of the Year Award. This award is based on testimonies of appreciative members of the leaders’ groups. The process requires at least three members of the group to complete the online submission form in which they document why their leader, either an individual or a couple, should be selected as the 2013 THSC Home School Leader of the Year.

THSC is now accepting nominations for the 2013 Home School Leader of the Year. The support group leader/couple selected will be invited to and will be honored at the THSC Annual Awards Gala and Fundraiser on April 12, 2013, in San Antonio. To nominate a leader, please follow the link below to complete your information. Leaders must have a minimum of three nominations from members of their support group to be considered for this prestigious award. Only one leader/couple may be nominated per group.

Nominations for THSC’s Leader of the Year must be received no later than March 29, 2013.
 

Nominate Your Leader

The post Does Your Support Group Leader Shine Brighter Than the Rest? appeared first on Texas Home School Coalition.

“Good morning. May I sit here?”

“Absolutely.”

The elderly woman dusted off the wooden seat beside her.

“You know, I used to chase little boys around too. My boys are now men and are doing what they have always dreamed about. My oldest is a preacher in a little country church in Kentucky. My middle son is a Marine and has been in Iraq since February, and my youngest is a high school teacher and chases little ones all day long.

“I often wonder which of my boys has the toughest challenge. Which one will look back on his life and say, ‘I did just what I set out to do. I contributed to my country, made it stronger in the process, and still proclaimed the word of God’?”

Just as the young woman mentioned above, I, too, am a mother of three boys. Although they are not yet adults, I do still wonder what I am doing in their lives to instill pride in their nation, an understanding of war and sadness, and—most of all—the difference between government decisions and godly ones.

Parents today are surrounded by challenges to our children’s Christian upbringing. Many of these challenges we can choose to deal with or just ignore. One challenge from which we cannot turn is defining the difference between government decisions and moral ones. For Christians, the issues of same sex marriage, abortion, prayer in school, and the removal of the word of God from the public square are not in question. We are either for them or against them, based on what we believe to be biblically true. Less cut and dried is the teaching of our precious children to respect our nation and its leaders, support our troops, and follow the laws we are required as citizens to follow.

With my three boys, I often find myself taking advantage of situations that arise to explain as much about our government as I can. This is sometimes done on a serious note and sometimes not. When President Bush was in office, a brown-eyed boy asked why President Bush was “preaching on so many channels.” It was a perfect opportunity to explain what the “State of the Union Address” is and why we have it. Another time, our then seven-year-old did not understand why our neighbor did not start his class in the morning with prayer. I explained that we are allowed to pray before class because we homeschool, and we are not required to follow the rules concerning prayer in public school.

When issues arise concerning our soldiers and the role they play in countries far away, I find it is always good to discuss the positive and negative aspects of war. One of the difficulties of parenting is understanding that no matter how hard we try to shelter our children from the sadness of death and the fright of war, they will be aware of the actions taken by our country and will be looking to us for reassurance and, most of all, knowledge of the facts.

There are many ways to help children understand our government and how it is possible to combine issues of morality with political correctness and still act as a strong American. Take your daughter with you to the polling booth. Explain why we vote and the different types of governments that exist in the world. Read the U.S. Constitution with your son, and talk about what each line means. Discuss morality and prejudice with your kids, not only from a biblical standpoint but also from the view of an elected government official. The best strategy is open, honest discussion with children. Most of all, know the people you are electing into office. Take the time to look into the ways our judges, governors, and elected officials in Congress and the Senate have voted on important issues affecting Christians. That way you will be able to make informed choices when local, state, and national election times come, both on a national and a local level.

What will the future hold for my boys? Where will they be when they are grown? Kansas? Iraq? Teaching high school students? I can only hope that they will be proud of what they are doing, making a difference in the lives of those they touch, having pride in their lives, their country, their God.

We are not only raising our children to be strong, proud Americans; we are raising godly ones.

The post Home Schooling to God’s Glory appeared first on Texas Home School Coalition.

A Note from Kay
Sites of Interest
Regional Activities
Video Link: Legacy of Freedom
Helping Hand
Social Waters
Featured Article: Making Meaningful Christmas Memories
Holiday Recipe
Wise Words
Stay Connected

View December 2012 Leader Letter.

The post December 2012 Leader Letter appeared first on Texas Home School Coalition.

A Note from Kay
SLC Schedule
Sites of Interest
Regional Activities
Stay Connected
State Leadership Conference
Featured Article: Leadership Humility

View the November 2012 Leader Letter.

The post November 2012 Leader Letter appeared first on Texas Home School Coalition.

A Note from Kay
Sites of Interest
Regional Activities
Stay Connected
State Leadership
Featured Article: The Benefits of Training
SLC Schedule

View the September 2012 Leader Letter.

The post September 2012 Leader Letter appeared first on Texas Home School Coalition.

A Note from Kay
Sites of Interest
Regional Activities
State Leadership Conference
Social Waters
Featured Article: Leadership: If You Want a Team of Leaders You Must Become One First
Wise Words
Stay Connected

View the August 2012 Leader Letter.

The post August 2012 Leader Letter appeared first on Texas Home School Coalition.

Once the chicks were old enough to be turned out into the chicken coop, the boys took turns going with me each evening to carefully scoop the chicks up one by one, placing them inside the protection of their enclosure for the evening. We were meticulous about cleaning their water containers and giving them food designed to help them grow strong. We were meeting every need the sweet chicks had and then some.

A couple of weeks ago, in the shadows of a good old West Texas thunderstorm, the unthinkable happened. With the speed of lightning, all of the precious chicks were gone. In my haste to get things tied down before the storm, I neglected to put the chicks in their special house inside the coop. By the time I remembered, the storm was already upon us. I thought to myself, “They are locked in the coop, and it’s pouring outside. What would venture out in this storm to eat a bunch of scrawny little chicks?” The answer to that question is coyotes—stinkin’ coyotes.

I learned a valuable lesson that night, one that should hit close to home for all of us. My false sense of security was based solely on my belief that the animals wanting to eat my chickens wouldn’t care to be out in the rain, or that they might be too lazy to expend the effort to tear open the coop to get to them. I greatly underestimated the creatures that surround me.

The same sense of false security can be applied to our lives today, not only as support group leaders and home school families, but also as loving parents.

THSC, this year, formally expanded our mission statement to include parental rights, which has always been the foundation of our right to homeschool, as we more and more defend explicitly the fundamental, constitutional right of parents to direct the care, control, and upbringing of their children. As easily as a coyote comes under the veil of night, so, too, come those who seek to steal the rights of fit parents across our state.

So, how does this apply to you? Simply put, no one is beyond the reach of this struggle—a family in your support group, perhaps someone in your community, or even yourself. The time to prepare is now, before there is a challenge.

Establishing a strong system for operating your support group is one place to begin. The featured article this month provides clear information concerning the proper procedures for setting up and running an organization. The “Social Waters” column gives details on how to run an effective, proper board meeting.

Another great way to deter challenging situations is by standing up for one another, being involved, and by knowing what is happening in your community. Finally, vote, and vote carefully. We are ultimately at the mercy of those who determine our laws. We make our voices heard by selecting candidates who reflect our hearts and minds. Protect your chicks, and guard the coop! Be ready when the coyotes come knocking. To learn more about THSC’s move into the parental rights arena, read through the selections found on our THSC PAC site.

The post Guard Your Coop! appeared first on Texas Home School Coalition.

I knew how to teach history, literature, and grammar. For years the boys and I had smelled the gunpowder at Gettysburg, built pyramids with the Egyptians, and gone swimming with Tom Sawyer through our minds’ eyes, but upper-level math was definitely not my strength. I turned to the only places I knew I would find honest answers: my friends, fellow home school moms, and veteran teachers. I explained that I was looking for something that would be a good transition from a public classroom to our home school. I also needed something that would be easy to follow and would have clear explanations of each answer, because I felt certain it would be a challenge for me to teach. I was also concerned about the order in which the girls should take the required math subjects and at what level they should begin, as I had no real knowledge of their ability levels. The whole process felt overwhelming. A very wise, fellow support group leader, Kay Tucker, led me to Teaching Textbooks.

We began in the fall with Teaching Textbooks: Algebra 1, and we found the material very clear and easy to understand. The lessons are presented in a simple fashion, each lesson building on the last. Visual learners will benefit from the animated lecture and example problems. Parents will love the automated grading system. Stuck on a problem? “Do not fear; the answer disc is here!” Many times, my nieces and I would look intently at an algebra problem and wonder, “Hmmm, how on earth did they get that answer?” Fortunately, each Teaching Textbooks course comes with an answer disc, with each problem worked step-by-step for ease of understanding. We easily navigated Algebra 1 and Algebra 2, and we are now well on our way to completing geometry.

Teaching Textbooks begins at the third-grade level and provides outstanding instruction all the way through pre-calculus. For those who are not sure at what level to begin their instruction, Teaching Textbooks placement tests are designed to assist you in this decision. The material is concise and well planned. Following each lesson explanation, you will find a set of example problems. Each lesson consists of a lecture, example problems, and lesson assignment. Each chapter ends with a chapter test. The student book is also complete with a written description of the lecture, so reviewing key concepts is a snap. Definitions, theorems, and postulates are provided within the student book for easy reference.

Our family has certainly changed over the past three years. Our oldest son will begin Algebra 1 this fall. Rather than dreading high school mathematics, I am now actually looking forward to watching him feel a sense of pride as he completes an assignment, or as he finds the value of “x” with ease. What once was an unsure navigation of mathematical teaching waters has been transformed into a blessing beyond measure.

Our family is continuing to enjoy the freedoms that home education provides for us. We are growing, experiencing a host of opportunities, and learning together . . . thanks in part? to Teaching Textbooks!

The post Teaching Textbooks: A Review appeared first on Texas Home School Coalition.