- Does Our Life Style and Conversation Reflect Our Christian Profession
- Urgent Communication for the Attention and Action of All Sheriffs, Attorneys General, and Governors
- Evert’s Electables
- No. 1 New York Times Bestseller Jonathan Cahn's Explosive New Global Blockbuster, 'The Dragon's Prophecy' Rockets to Top of the Charts
- Local Elections Matter More Than You Believe
- NC Attorney General Josh Stein’s 2020 Judicial Rebuke on Election Rules
- The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews Launches 'Flags of Fellowship' Campaign to Commemorate First Anniversary of October 7 Attacks
- Springfield, Ohio—Federally Imposed Immigration Disaster
- Modern-Day Paul Revere
- George Soros Approved to Purchase Stake in Audacy, over 200 American Radio Stations including SC’s WORD 98.9
- Reshaping and Cancelling America
- Massive Immigration Wave Waiting for Kamala Election
- More Ukrainian F-16 Losses
- Kamala Seriously Misrepresents 2024 Border Bill
- Christians Nationwide Unite in Prayer for Divine Intervention in Upcoming Election and 'Expect God's Help'
Homeschool Columns
The Top Ten Mistakes of New Homeschoolers
- By Raquelle Sheen
Okay, I’ll admit up front that I am unmarried and have no children. What could I possibly know about mistakes new homeschoolers make? I’m just a pipsqueak!
My list of credentials is short but Very Weighty. (Every pipsqueak thinks their credentials are Very Weighty.) I was homeschooled my entire life. I got my accredited bachelor’s degree and accredited master’s degree from home via distance education. I have volunteered with a variety of homeschool organizations. I’ve watched many homeschooling families and seen some successfully raise wonderful kids. I’ve seen other families crash and burn. By dint of keeping my eyes and ears open and using my Acute and Intuitive Perception (pipsqueaks always think they have Acute and Intuitive Perception), I have compiled a reasonable list of common errors that trap new homeschoolers. Kindly be impressed!
- Hits: 4305
Sheep Dogs
- By Ray Sheen
For those of us who are Christians, we often use the metaphor that we are sheep. Well, the other day I was thinking about that metaphor and I would like to extend it a bit. In this extended metaphor most of the people in our society are sheep. However, there are also some wolves in the community who prey on the sheep. They look for a sheep who is isolated or who is weak and then they attack. However, in addition to the sheep and the wolves, there are sheep dogs. These protectors of the flock help to keep the sheep together and ward off the wolves when they get to close.
- Hits: 3940
Optimal Time
- By Heather Sheen
We made a lively group at the dinner table that night. My sister and I were staying with a homeschooling family of 10 kids. That made 14 of us at the table, all talking 90 mph. Discussion flew back and forth concerning politics, toy trucks, theology, dolls, sleeping bags, movies and everything else a group from the ages 2-55 could think of. Until Junior caught a word from the adults and asked a question. “What’s a homosexual?”
Wow, that table got quiet. I felt for Junior’s parents, who obviously weren’t ready to answer that. I kept my mouth shut, not sure how much they wanted 10-year-old Junior to know. But the silence grew embarrassingly long and I finally realized they weren’t going to answer the question at all.
- Hits: 4233
Little Brother is Watching You Too
- By Ray Sheen
George Orwell’s book “1984” painted a grim picture of society. One aspect of that Orwellian society was a pervasive surveillance that existed everywhere. “Big brother is watching you,” was a theme of that society and book. Orwell told his story as a warning against totalitarianism and the total dominance of the police state. In 1949, when it was published, no one had envisioned the internet, Wi-Fi, Facebook, or Google. In fact, to many people computers were still a thing of science fiction.
It is now nearly 60 years later. Today we live in a society where there is a tremendous amount of interconnectivity. We can phone, text, or Skype, etc., with almost anyone anywhere in the world. One of our pastors recently did a short-term mission trip to Nepal and was a bit embarrassed to find that most of the kids on the streets in the cities he visited had better smartphones than he had. Both as individuals and as society, we have incredible technical tools at our disposal.
- Hits: 4471
Sez Who?
- By Raquelle Sheen
Teachers, child psychologists and parenting “experts” have told us for decades how children ought to be raised and educated. Although their advice has varied through the years, most people are happy to accept whatever happens to be the current prevailing wisdom. It is so much easier to just trust an expert. Parenting can be challenging, confusing, and even frightening. Self-doubt, second-guessing, and fear of failure are feelings every parent is familiar with. Advice from experts feels like an anchor in the storm or a GPS in an unfamiliar city.
- Hits: 4631
Edu-Vacation
- By Laura Belknap
Summer is a great time to fit in an extra-special field trip. Many families take off time from school, but that doesn’t mean that kids have to stop learning. The South Carolina Upstate is within a reasonable drive of mountains, lakes, beaches, museums, and even a few zoos, so the options for day trips are outstanding. For those who enjoy longer trips and overnight stays away from home, the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter in northern Kentucky are excellent choices to expand students’ understanding of how well the Bible fits into science and history.
- Hits: 3655
Growing Writers
- By Laura Belknap
What makes a great writer? Over the years, we've used a number of different activities and texts. What helped the most? I polled my students--who range from college age to teens--to see what they thought. The results were interesting.
While the early activities we shared and the texts we used probably had at least some role to play, our students credited other things for their success: developing strong reading skills, getting to write on topics that were important to them, having a writing buddy for advice and encouragement, analyzing others' papers, and studying a foreign language.
- Hits: 11662
How to have a Perfectly Miserable Homeschool
- By Raqyelle Sheen
School time is here! Why wait? Start planning now if you want to have a Perfectly Miserable Homeschool this year! Cranky kids, lost tempers, stress, discontent, an unhappy marriage and plenty of complaining can be yours with very little trouble! Just follow these ten easy steps! (Start by leaving your sense of humor behind and taking this tongue-in-cheek article Very Seriously.)
- Hits: 15336
Responding to the Anti-homeschoolers
- By Ray Sheen
Recently, a bill was introduced in the South Carolina legislature that would have severely curtailed homeschooling. I was pleased to see the rapid response of homeschoolers to this threat to our freedoms. Based upon some of the questions and concerns that we fielded during this time, I thought it would be helpful to review how to respond to those who attack homeschooling.
Over the years, I have found that people who oppose homeschooling, or who want to severely regulate it, fall into one of three categories. There are those who oppose based upon ideological principles. There are those who oppose based upon ignorance of homeschooling. And there are those who oppose because of insecurity about their own educational decisions. Our response to each of these three groups should be different.
- Hits: 9815
Real Help for ADHD
- By Laura Belknap
ADHD is a controversial subject in America today. Is it just a discipline problem? Is it just a gender issue blown out of proportion? Does it really exist at all? Part of the misunderstanding lies in the definition of ADHD itself. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is not really a single disease with a set course of treatment, but rather a collection of symptoms that may point to different underlying problems. One of the advantages of a home school setting for students with ADHD is that it offers flexibility for parents to explore the underlying issues that may be contributing to the out-of-control behavior they observe. Drugging ADHD students in school to make them compliant is like putting a band-aid on a compound fracture. It may keep the outward symptoms covered up during the school day, but it fails to cure the underlying issues.
- Hits: 9497