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Eclectic Educational Weblinks:

• ...But Is It Educational?
  by Jean Hall
  When toy shopping, many a homeschool parent is looking for a two-fer. Sure they want the toys they select to be fun to play with, but what if they could also be “educational.” With so many toys clamoring for you and your child’s attention, what exactly is an educational toy?
• A Christ-Centered Home
  by Tamara Eaton
  There are so many books on Christian parenting and homeschooling available now and more are being published every month, often with conflicting opinions and advice. I like the older Christian parenting books--especially those written years ago by conservative Christians who reared a large family and whose children turned out well. These books not only stressed Biblical child training principles, but also encouraged parents to seek the Lord for wisdom and direction—a key ingredient in successful parenting and homeschooling! A good homeschooling book will do the same and not adamantly declare that there is only one way to achieve homeschooling success--by following their program or method.
• A Father Daughter “Date”
  by Maribeth Spangenberg
  Maribeth Spangenberg shares about the blessings that come from father daughter relationships when time is taken to nurture them.
• A Mother's Ministry
  by Tamara Eaton
  Do you long to be used by the Lord yet feel your ministry is "on hold" because you are so busy caring for your family?
• Are You a Tragic Martyr Mother?
  by Beverly S. Krueger
  I’ve been thinking about starting a new association devoted to the tragic martyr mothers who devoted their lives to their children and faced the worst of childish atrocities involving art supplies, kitty litter, and stuff that seemed safe.
• Aspire to Patience
  by Maribeth Spangenberg
  Interfering in God’s Plan is dangerous business. Lack of patience and absence of trust in the Lord can have devastating results.
• Avenues of Ministry
  by Maribeth Spangenberg
  My ministry is to be a full-time mother, and to homeschool my children, leaving me little time for outside pursuits. At this season of my life, the Lord wants me home. But that doesn’t mean I remain stagnant spiritually.
• Be Vigilant
  by Maribeth Spangenberg
  We don’t plan to fail, but all too often failure comes, and, unfortunately, it can happen to any one of us. We say, “yes” one too many times, and we experience an emotional collapse. We get stretched too thin, and we allow other things to distance us from our immediate responsibilities.
• Bear One Another's Burdens
  by Beverly S. Krueger
  Have you ever felt at times that every member of your family has a tight grip on some part of you and each one is pulling in a totally different direction?
• Birthday Traditions
  by Maribeth Spangenberg
  As homeschooling parents, it is sometimes easy to get caught up in the academics, only seeing it as a juggling act between family and housekeeping; but emotional needs and individuality apart from school, need to be nourished also. What better time to do this than on the special day that commemorates their entering into our lives.
• Celebrations on a Shoestring: Spring Celebrations
  by Eva Stockett
  Spring is a time of new beginnings and is the perfect time to get friends and relatives together for fellowship. If this overwhelms you due to the wave of seasonal sports and exams, remember that simple is the rule of thumb.
• Christmas Outsourcing
  by Robin McDonald
  If I were of the world, I would not be having a great Christmas season this year. We are unfortunate victims of the recent outsourcing craze by large companies, and are currently undergoing what I call a purging season in our lives. While companies are downsizing their offices and outsourcing to other countries, we are likewise trying to downsize our lifestyle and spending, and outsource our financial needs to the real Source, making our lives simpler.
• Christmas Traditions Old and New
  by Beverly S. Krueger and EHO Readers
  Christmas past, Christmas present, and Christmas future are all wrapped up in how we celebrate the birth of our savior Jesus Christ. Keeping old family traditions connects us with the past while creating our own Christmas traditions builds a bridge to the future. As one of our questionnaire respondents said, “I would love to hear other people's traditions, too!” It’s a great way to get new ideas to start new traditions in your family.
• Compare Ye Not
  by Maribeth Spangenberg
  I am not an early riser. It took me a number of years in my early days of homeschooling to accept this fact. As much as I attempted to live up to what I THOUGHT was expected of the “typical” homeschooler, I would always fall short. The harder I tried to fit the expected mold, the more irritable, frustrated and discouraged I would become.
• Creative Gift Giving
  by Tammy M. Cardwell
  Great ideas for year round gift giving on a budget.
• Cultivating Calmness
  by Tamara Eaton
  I once heard a preacher say that God created families to do a perfecting work in us that couldn't possibly be done unless we were thrown together with the same group of people day in and day out. As a homeschool mom, I can sure identify with this! I've spent a lot of time with my family—and while I love it, we've had our share of "grumpy" days when nothing seemed to be going right and we were irritated by one another. Can a homeschool home be a calm home?
• Dips!!!
  by Schellie Moore
  Fall is fast approaching and with that comes football season. Tailgate parties are just one great place to serve these fantastic dips. These dips will be a hit at Thanksgiving at Grandma’s, a New Year’s Eve bash, or the next church potluck. Sally’s Salsa comes straight from watching Sally make what is easily the best salsa every made.
• Discovering Louisiana on a McFamily Road Trip
  by Robin McDonald
  We recently decided to go on a McFamily road trip to New Orleans, Louisiana, to participate in the bicentennial of the Louisiana Purchase, and to visit several historical sites along the way. Read more about the McFamily road trip and get information about touring each of the fifty states.
• Eagle Scout an Example for Us All
  by Robin McDonald
  Houston area homeschool student and Boy Scout Clay Vaughan is currently spreading a little bit of Christmas spirit to hundreds of soldiers with his new Eagle Scout project, Operation Christmas Soldier. While he hoped to have a small movement in the Houston area, he has seen the idea spread throughout the region and hopes that it takes hold throughout the nation in the years to come.
• Faithfulness in Accomplishment
  by Maribeth Spangenberg
  Having homeschooled for 24 years and with many more years to go, Maribeth wonders if God’s call to homeschool changes when you get older and start feeling your years. We all get tired as Maribeth acknowledges and God can tell you to do one thing with one child and something else with another. But if God’s call hasn’t changed, then our response shouldn’t change. Need your resolve strengthened?…let Maribeth’s cloud of witnesses point you in the right direction.
• Family Fun
  by EHO Staff
  Great ideas for summertime family fun.
• Front Porch Lecture
  by Maribeth Spangenberg
  Field trips can be great blessings with the proper preparation. Our children will catch our enthusiasm, as they see our own love for learning. Read how an unexpected rainstorm created a serendipitous moment for field trip learning at its best.
• Giving Thanks Daily
  by Tammy M. Cardwell
  Tammy Cardwell shares why giving thanks should be an important daily event in our lives and a terrific idea for making it just that.
• Guarding the Back Door
  by Maribeth Spangenberg
  We're all concerned about the influences in our children's lives, but have we taken care of those things that slip in through the back door?
• Heirloom Recipes - Apple Treats
  by Schellie Moore
  It's fall and the apple harvest brings us fresh apples and fresh apple cider. It's time for homemade applesauce, apple crisp, and the ubiquitous harvest festival treat, caramel apples.
• Heirloom Recipes - Special Breakfasts
  by Schellie Moore
  Family time, often we think of family time spent around the dining room table playing board games or feasting at holidays. Breakfast is another great way to spend family time together before the start of a busy day or a lazy summer day. Special breakfast time means special breakfast recipes. We've got several that should turn your breakfasts into special times.
• History of Christmas
  by EHO Staff
  What is the history of Christmas? When did we start sending Christmas cards and why? Why candy canes? How did Santa Claus become part of Christmas?
• Homeschool and Housework!
  by Tamara Eaton
  Does the combination of homeschool and housework seem like oil and water—they just don't mix? It used to seem like we were either successful in homeschooling or housework but never both in the same day. It's easier now— our kids are older, we have a good system and most importantly— lower standards! We would never make the cover of "Better Homes and Gardens" but at times, we could qualify for "Cluttered Homes and Jungles"!
• Homeschool Camping
  by Beverly S. Krueger
  Would you like to take an economical vacation? Is it time for your family to experience the great outdoors and discover the wonders of nature? Does sleeping in a sleeping bag inside a tent and cooking over a campfire stir your inner camper? Then it's time to go homeschool camping.
• Homeschool Travel
  by Beverly S. Krueger
  We all dream about that perfect homeschool trip during which we not only travel to some place that combines equally large doses of learning and fun, but in which everything goes smoothly, all family members are cooperative and cheerful, and the bed or sleeping bag we sleep in gives us a perfect night’s rest each and every night. I won’t shatter your dreams and say this won’t happen, but it certainly is an impossibility if you always stay home.
• Homeschooling Little Ones
  by Tamara Eaton
  Our first four children were born very closely spaced together, (4 in 4 1/2 years) and we have always homeschooled them all. So I began homeschooling with little ones, and managed to include them from the very start in our activities.
• I Resolve to... Rest
  by Tammy Marshall Cardwell
  New Year’s is a time when man makes all sorts of resolutions – to lose weight, to organize the garage, to write the great American novel, to follow school plans religiously, to do a science project every week, to... Most of our resolutions require action, effort, and the expenditure of energy. No surprise, right? I challenge you to make a different type of resolution this year, one that will also require action of a sort, and will definitely require effort since it will likely involve breaking old habits.
• Imagination
  by Tammy Marshall Cardwell
  How many times have we, as homeschoolers, taken for granted our own children's bright and lively imaginations...until we encountered a child who had none?
• Informing Your Family
  by Julie Carlson
  Have you been asked numerous questions regarding your choice to homeschool? Well, if you’re like us, we’ve been bombarded. We decided to put together an information packet to give to people when asked questions.
• Little Strength
  by Maribeth Spangenberg
  When I first held my daughter in my arms, I was flooded with many emotions. Where once it was only me and my husband, now it became three. This little product of our love, a combination of two families that had come together, was opening a new door in our lives. She was the beginning of a ministry that would last a lifetime.
• Live in the Moment
  by Tammy M. Cardwell
  The future offers temptations every day that keep us from truly living fully in the present moment. Don’t believe you’re susceptible to letting the future invade your present? Maybe you haven’t recognized the symptoms.
• Living in Harmony: Encouraging Sibling Friendships
  by Tamara Eaton
  As parents, we want our children not only to get along with one another, but also to develop friendships and actually enjoy one another. There is a saying: "If Christianity doesn't work in the home, don't export it!" We want to encourage our children to demonstrate the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) in the home, as well as toward those outside our family.
• Lots of Little Ones!
  by Tamara Eaton
  Often I am asked how I felt about having so many little ones close together, did I ever get tired? Did I pray a lot to get through the days? How did I manage?
• Lower Your Voice
  by Tammy Cardwell
  Is yelling at one another the norm in your home? Let Tammy Cardwell share how she overcame her need to yell and how it dramatically changed her home.
• Mom's Job Satisfaction
  by Tamara Eaton
  When do you know your day has been successful? When I look back on the day and remember...
• Moms Need Mothers, Too
  by Maribeth Spangenberg
  Motherhood lasts a lifetime. Maribeth shares how her mother was there for her in a time of need and how all mothers can lay a foundation of trust to assure that their children will reach out to mom even after they’ve grown up.
• Mood Setter and Attitude Adjuster
  by Maribeth Spangenburg
  As the mother in my home, God has given me the tremendous responsibility of “mood setter”. How I view my ministry to my husband and children has the capability of affecting their outlook on life. Children raised with a happy, contented mother will more likely become happy, contented adults. However, children raised with a complaining, discontented mother will learn to do the same as adults.
• Nothing but Leaves
  by Maribeth Spangenberg
  I am not a botanist. The only way I know maple trees is because God had planted one in our backyard, and I fell in love with its beautiful, red, fall leaves. That is why I became confused when the Lord warned me in my spirit to beware of my homeschooling becoming as a “cursed fig tree."
• Our "Perfect" Homeschool
  by Tamara Eaton
  Recently someone asked me what I would like to change about our homeschool. I thought about it for several minutes, but I couldn't think of anything I wanted to change. For the past few years, we've reached a homeschooling plan and style that suits our family just perfectly!
• Our Work of Faith
  by Maribeth Spangenberg
  For a number of days I had been feeling so inadequate as a mother. Whatever was I thinking when I wanted a lot of children? I’m a failure! I have so many faults and shortcomings. And since I am homeschooling, my children see them everyday.
• Passing on Your Faith
  by Beverly S. Krueger
  How do we, as Christian parents, raise our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord so that they have a committed and lasting relationship with the Lord?
• Resurrection Eggs
  by EHO Staff
  21 different possibilities for creating your own set of resurrection eggs to celebrate Easter with your children.
• Silent Servitude
  by Maribeth Spangenburg
  Who can be a perfect mother? Is it possible to be a perfect mother? Does the perfect mother exist? Even in turning to Scripture, I could not find the perfect mother. But I DID find God's choice of the RIGHT mother. Her name was Mary!
• Sleeping for Sorrow – The Cure
  by Maribeth Spangenberg
  I have found that when I battle discouragement in my homeschooling, I also face the temptation to get lax. I often have lofty goals when I enter each new school year, maybe a promising new curriculum or a novel way to teach a difficult subject. My intentions are good and my initial enthusiasm is high, but my expectations are sometimes unreal. My homeschooling goals may clash with the reality of family life.
• Speaking Love to Your Family
  by Beverly S. Krueger
  In The Five Love Languages, Gary Chapman defines the five ways that most people show love to others, not necessarily verbal.
• Spiritual Glasses
  by Maribeth Spangenberg
  Every day we need to view our husbands through spiritual glasses, seeing them as the special blessing that they are. God’s favor will then be upon us when we seek to nurture this blessing, through prayer, support, and encouragement.
• Summertime Activities
  by EHO Staff
  Whether you plan a trip to your local library or museum for their summer activities or plan your own, summertime is a great time to try new things.
• Summertime Celebrations
  by Eva Stockett
  Summer is here and so are many occasions to have friends and family over. Party planning during the summer is especially easy because the entertaining can be done outdoors.
• Supporting Authority
  by Maribeth Spangenberg
  Little pitchers have big ears, or so the saying goes. That’s usually meant to remind adults not to gossip in front of children, but it’s also true of many other things we can say in their presence. Maribeth considers this when dealing with a misbehaving child and another adult’s method of correction.
• Surviving or Celebrating?
  by Tammy M. Cardwell
  As the Christmas season approaches are you celebrating or just surviving? Tammy tells us ways to move out of surviving mode.
• Taking Thoughts Captive
  by Maribeth Spangenberg
  My body was exhausted from the many responsibilities and tasks that go along with homeschooling a large family and, at the same time, keeping house. I needed my rest! Yet, even in sleep, I found my mind racing, waking my body with its many wanderings.
• Teaching Kindergartners
  by Tamara Eaton
  Certainly you may provide the very best "reading readiness" training in the way of reading aloud wonderful books to your son! Answer his questions. Let him learn all he wants to learn, at his own pace, but never push him! I adamantly believe that children this age should not be pushed or pressured into formal academics. Yet, at the same time, neither should we hold back information from them if they are interested!
• The ABCs of Order in Your Home
  by Marilyn Rockett
  Okay, Ladies—let’s talk. It’s time to drag this idea of organization out of the shadows, dust it off, and take a good look. We know we need “it” but we aren’t sure where to get “it” or how to keep “it.” We see a friend or acquaintance with “it,” and we wonder how she does “it.”
• The Clink of Coins
  by Maribeth Spangenberg
  Do you find yourself experiencing déjà vu when you find yourself yet again moving clothes from washing machine to dryer. There were times when I was the young mother of five that I wondered if my life would be made up of the events sandwiched between my time spent folding clothes in the basement. Maribeth gives new and old moms a beautiful perspective on the daily grind.
• The Giving at Thanksgiving
  by Maribeth Spangenberg
  Blessings lead to blessings. It’s an immutable rule of God’s plan for us. Holidays are meant to be shared and to remind us of God’s blessings. When do our actions become something more? The Spangenbergs discover this at Thanksgiving.
• The Price of Disobedience
  by Maribeth Spangenberg
  When our children suffer the consequences of disobedience, we often suffer, too. How do we, as parents, know when to save them and when to step back? How do we deal with the times we can’t be with them?
• The Real Reason
  by Maribeth Spangenberg
  Why can’t my children just learn to get along? Why do they have to argue? Why can’t they always respect each other’s privacy? Why do these issues have to interfere with my homeschooling?
• Thoughts on Mothering
  by Tamara Eaton
  Every mother of more than one child has times when she feels stretched in several directions at once trying to meet the needs of each individual child. In fact, often a mother of one or two who is thinking of having more children asks herself, "Will I be able to handle more than one or two? Will I love each child as much as the first? How will I manage if they all need me at once?"
• To Organize or Not to Organize...Do I Really Have To? Colored Storage Bins and Other Tales for the Organizationally Challenged
  by Shari Crooks
  Part of being better organized is the way you organize.
• Training Children (and Parents!)
  by Tamara Eaton
  The first key to successful Biblical child training is parent training! It all starts with us—are we seeking the Lord for wisdom? Do we have a positive attitude toward our child or do we view him as a burden or a problem? Are we disciplining calmly, in love, or are we giving into anger and raising our voices? The Lord delights in working in our own hearts as we strive to be responsible, loving, godly parents.
• Turning Out Well—God’s Plan Fulfilled
  by Maribeth Spangenberg
  As our oldest are now entering marriage, we find ourselves being objects of interest from younger homeschoolers, who are now looking up to us and asking, “How did you do it?” and “I hope my kids turn out as well.”
• Vacation Planning Guides for All 50 States & US Territories
  by EHO Staff
  Find tourism information for each of the fifty states and the US territories. Plan a short trip or a complete family vacation that can be both fun and educational.
• Vision Revival
  by Maribeth Spangenberg
  I love curriculum fair season! To me it is a revival of the joy and anticipation that I felt when I first ventured into homeschooling twenty years ago. Seeing all the extended vans in the parking lot gives me a sense of love of family and children. Being under the same roof as others of like-mindedness, automatically renews my vision.
• Watch Your Words
  by Tammy M. Cardwell
  From the beginning of time, God has demonstrated the power of the spoken word. He has also given us the ability to tap into that power – and the responsibility to use it correctly. When God said, “Let there be light,” light was. When Jesus said, “Lazarus, come forth,” the formerly dead man left his grave behind. When Peter said, “Rise up and walk,” the lame man leapt to his feet. These events may seem to have nothing to do with the day-to-day life of the modern Christian, but they do. They illustrate that spoken words loose a power that can change reality.
• What If He Rebels?
  by Tamara Eaton
  Every month we (chfweb.com) hear from distraught parents who are worried about their teens rebelling. Often these parents fear to confront their children on important issues because they're afraid of "losing" them.
• When “No” Is Good
  by Maribeth Spangenberg
  Saying no is not always the easy thing to do. If you’re a helper at heart, you want to help when someone asks. Are they reasons why you should say no to even simple sounding requests? Maribeth shares from her life and how God’s direction helps her answer the question of when she should say no.
• When Parents Disagree
  by Tamara Eaton
  Karen was concerned, she appreciated her husband's leading in their home but was worried that his decision to change to a new structured curriculum was going to spell disaster for their homeschool!
• Witnessing the True Meaning of Christmas
  by Robin McDonald
  As I was putting together the Christmas edition of the homeschool newsletter I write every month, I was lamenting to a friend of mine that we had very little news because everyone is so busy with Christmas preparations.
  
  She said, to me, "But remember, Robin, this is Christmas! No news is the Good News!" With that reminder, I want to remind everyone to heed well the birth of Jesus and the spirit of Christmas.
• Worth in Weight
  by Maribeth Spangenberg
  With spring comes the desire to shed some of the pounds that seemed to appear unasked during the winter months. Are you letting your own self worth fluctuate with the changes on your scale?

Unit Study Articles - Home and Family

• Lasting Memories
  by Tammy M. Cardwell
  Can you see yourself in this picture? Your family just completed the unit study of your dreams. You’re at the end, and you’re thinking there must be more. What can you do with all of the fabulous projects, the stack of photos, and your memories of the fun?