Fall 2011 Back Issue

Description

Do you ever believe that you’re not equipped to be a homeschool teacher?

Do you ever doubt your calling to educate your children at home? Do you ever feel intimidated by stories in the media about extraordinary homeschool families? What do you do? Where do you turn?

You’re not alone . . .

In our new Fall issue, Deborah Wuehler reveals how she feels when she hears stories about above-average and overachieving homeschoolers. She says,

Although fascinated when I hear about them, I often feel like maybe I am not equipped to produce any extraordinary homeschoolers in my little school. . . . This thought can paralyze me, cause me to doubt my calling to homeschool, motivate me to send my children to someone else to educate, or—on the opposite end of the spectrum—give me great relief.

In this month’s editorial, discover how Deborah finds relief from doubt because of a “God Who takes the ordinary and makes it extraordinary.”

Find the companionship and guidance you need in the pages of the Fall issue of The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine. Read articles written by ordinary homeschool parents who know what it’s like to doubt and who have faced and conquered the same fears you face—with God’s help.

Are you the parent of a teen?

• Gain tips that will help you raise a generation of teens that can change the culture.
• Todd Wilson provides tips for those turbulent teenage years and reveals why “smile and wave” may be the key to survival in “Teenland.”
• A homeschooling mom emeritus shares 10 principles that worked for educating her teens and how they can work for your family too.
• Amelia Harper presents reasons why you should homeschool through high school and dispels common myths about homeschooling high school.
• Get the lowdown about dual-credit programs: how and why your teen should take advantage of them!
• Judah Burk, a homeschool grad now pursuing a master’s degree, expounds on six elements of success for the parent who is homeschooling high schoolers.
• Examine ways to help teens uncover an author’s worldview and expose the hidden dangers in literature.
• Homeschool grad Lyla Lawless shares her perspective on the privileges and benefits of high school at home.

Are you a homeschool dad?

• Discover God’s purpose for your life. Learn how you as a man, husband, and dad can reflect God’s love and light and be a part of the cure for this ailing society.
• Discard the notion that there’s a cookie-cutter template that will make you the perfect homeschool dad. Learn basic principles that will help you be the homeschool dad your family needs.

Are you homeschooling grandchildren or wondering how to involve grandparents in your homeschool?

• Terri Lore shares the lessons she has learned while homeschooling her son and an ever-changing rotation of grandchildren.
• Grandpa George Dalton admits his misgivings about his children’s decision to homeschool his grandchildren—and how his doubts were dispelled.
• Donna Rees discusses reasons why grandparents should nurture the hearts, souls, strengths, and minds of their grandchildren.
• Steve and Jane Claire Lambert share five unique gifts grandparents can give their children and grandchildren to support their homeschooling efforts.
• Learn why Harriet Michael, whose three children attended private schools, is excited about homeschooling . . . her grandson!
• Make the past come alive through oral histories told by your elders.

Are you facing troubles and difficulties?

• Follow Andrea Newitt through a journey with affliction as she shares how God helped her through every step, and how He taught her to look at her affliction from an eternal perspective.

Are you a single parent?

• A single mom discovered the best biblical education for her children: homeschooling. Share the excitement as the Lord protected and guided Heather Berryman.
• Divorced, unwed, or remarried parents can face challenges when homeschooling their children. Attorney Antony B. Kolenc shares five factors parents must understand to help protect their ability to homeschool when they’re not married to their child’s other parent.

Are you struggling with your roles of mom, teacher, AND WIFE?

• If being the wife you want to be is a challenge, find hope as Christina reveals how the Lord can help you balance your responsibilities and allow you to enjoy spending time with your husband.

Are you struggling with meal preparation or dealing with picky eaters?

• Learn how your freezer can become a means of expediting meal preparation.
• Banish the “what’s for dinner” question at your house by instituting meal planning.
• Find out what a “food adventure” is and how it can reform picky eaters.
• From meals to snacks, discover your role and the role of nutrients in the development of your child’s brain.

Are you looking for simple ways to institute fun activities in your home?

• Start a new tradition this year with delicious recipes from TOS staff members—12 family-tested soup and bread recipes.
• Create gingerbread houses using Kimberly Eddy’s recipes and step-by-step instructions.
• Prepare a delicious batch of gingerbread cookies using Carolyn Hurst’s recipe. While your gingerbread men are baking, follow Carolyn’s simple art lesson and draw gingerbread men.

Are you and your teen considering college?

• Writing instructor Allison Haupert introduces ways to prepare your student for college writing.
• Follow Debra Bell as she provides a road map to college at home.

Are you wondering how to make learning practical?

• Learn how a 14-year-old homeschooler gains real-life lessons as he runs his maple syrup business.
• Discover how a micro business can help your teen find practical uses for his academic studies.
• Help your kids get time on their side by teaching them the basics of money and investing, now!
• Make writing clear, smooth, and meaningful with five writing principles.

Are you battling ingratitude in your home and school?

• Discover how to make gratitude a way of life.
• Use a fun unit study with 30 unique, creative, simple ideas to help your family study—and practice—gratitude.
• Refuse to worry; embrace gratefulness.

Are you wondering what happened to education in America?

• Get an overview of the development of the “public school mentality” in the United States.
• Examine whose definition of “education” you’re endorsing by your words and actions: the world’s or God’s?
• Follow the unraveling of American public education and the rise and fall of education in the U.S.

Are you looking for a plan to teach state history?

• Explore your state’s history using a variety of convenient resources with the activity ideas and numerous websites Sandy Sieber provides.

Are you an “older” homeschool parent?

• Enjoy Amelia Harper’s practical and humorous evaluation of “the aging homeschool parent.”

Whether you just began homeschooling last week or you’ve been homeschooling for longer than you care to admit . . . you’re not alone.

As Deborah Wuehler states, “This fearful and ordinary homeschool mom found help in veteran homeschoolers, classes, higher learning activities, and a God Who guided us each step of the way.”