FCHM February Ezine

First Class Homeschool Ministries

"Connections"

Connecting the Homeschooling Community
Building a Network of Independent Homeschool Cooperatives
February 2008

Announcing the newest FCHM Co-ops:

Welcome!
United States:
Ventura County, CA
Ackamack, VA
Internationally:
Nottingham, UK

Contact us today!

NEW
from FCHM!

Friends of
First Class

The First
FCHM Podast Click HERE to Listen!

Guests:
Jay & Heidi St. John
Listen in as Jay and Heidi talk about all that God is doing at FCHM!
_______

It's February!
Refresh your Homeschool Heart!
Here are
5 Easy Ways to Avoid HSB and Thrive in '08!
(HSB: home school burnout)

Review.
What's working? What's not? If you're using it but it's not working, get rid of it. Better to find something that works and stick with it.

Refresh
Get rid of things you don't need. Take them to a local shelter or Goodwill.
When in doubt,
throw it out!

Restructure
Write out a schedule
(Don't marry your schedule, go on a date with it and see how you match up!)

Reward
Notice the good things that are happening with your children's schooling.
Write them down.

Revive
Yes, we mean excercise!
(Check out Dance Praise!)

Use your crockpot!

Give your older children daily lists with their assignments on them.

Rest
Get enough sleep. You can't be effective if you're running on empty!

Rely
On God's Word and on your relationship with Him for strength and direction. Pray with your children before you start school for the day.

heidi st. john

What is a Homeschool- Friendly College?
By Lee Binz

In general, a homeschool- friendly college is one that treats a homeschool applicant the same as a public school applicant. Your child would be requested to take the exact same tests as any other student - more tests are not required of a homeschool applicant. Some colleges say they are homeschool- friendly, when in reality they have "hoops" that we have to jump through.

Retreating or Engaging?

The following is a transcript from Homeschool Heartbeat.

Originally Aired: 3/22/2004

Is homeschooling actually helping society, or is it a refuge for people who have rejected society?

Mike Smith:
First, a little history: homeschooling has enjoyed massive growth since its reemergence 25 years ago-changing from a small group of families and a few thousand children to one where an estimated 2 million children are now receiving their education at home. Over these years homeschooling has continually silenced the skeptics by proving that children educated at home can succeed both academically and socially.

But despite these successes, many critics continue to contend that homeschoolers are retreating from society.

Quite to the contrary, homeschoolers I know are training their children at home in order to engage with society, not retreat from it. These parents have decided that maturity is a necessary requirement for successfully engaging the culture. Retreating is the last thing on the mind of most homeschoolers.

Christians face tremendous pressures from a world which is losing its moral foundations and a state-supported education system which has largely adopted a secular worldview. Regrettably, in the view of many parents, government education has become a hindrance to training up a child in the way he should go.

Many homeschoolers have accepted the challenge to produce godly children in a lost and dying world, and we are seeing great success in this area for many families.

Please see Homeschool Heartbeat for other HSLDA Broadcasts.

The Busy Homeschool Mom's Guide to Romance
By Heidi St. John

"I don't know how to homeschool our children and have any energy left over for my husband at the end of the day! Can you talk about romance?"

This was the "quote that launched a thousand talks" on this subject for me. As a speaker, I have had the privilege of speaking to hundreds of women about their marriages. These precious women have laughed with me (probably because a glimpse into my life makes them feel better about theirs!!) and cried with me, because the issues we face in this culture as women of God are not always easy.

Because it's February, we are devoting most of this e-zine to the marriage relationship. One of my favorite topics - in fact - it just may be my favorite - is talking to homeschool moms about keeping the home fires burnin'! If you're wondering how you can balance romance with 'rithmetic, keep reading.

No doubt you've heard a lot of the "same advice" from seasoned homeschool moms. I simply want to challenge you to prioritize your commitments in view of God's Word.

Remember your first love.
Long before you ever became a homeschool mom, you were a wife ~ your husband's companion and lover. Next to nurturing your relationship with the Lord, this needs to remain your primary priority. In the long run, if your marriage suffers during the homescholing years, it won't matter if you've produced a little Einstein. Keep things in right perspective.

Recognize that homeschooling adds unique joys
(and stresses) to your marriage,
and be honest about them.

The enemy of Christian marriages wants to take you by surprise. Don't let him. Be aware and honest about the struggles you face as a homeschooling wife. Trying to be the "perfect" homeschooling mom and wife while ignoring the stresses opens the door for all kinds of trouble.

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
1 Peter 5:8

Reclaim the things that have become "roadblocks to romance" in your life.

Here are just a few common ones:

Schedule: Does it need "tweaking" so that you have more time with your husband?
Stress: Most of us are involved in things outside our homes. I happen to think that's great - BUT - we need to do those things that bring joy to our families and bring life to our marriages. If it's just a stressor and it's not necessary, it may be time to rethink your involvement.
Strife: Is there conflict in your marriage? Make sure you are working things through instead of covering them up. Communication breakdowns do not foster romance!

Five ways to bring romance back into your marriage:

1. Start Simple.

Look at everyday kindnesses as gestures of romance.
Keep your home clean (notice I do not say perfect).
Light candles at dinner (the kids will love it, too!).
Use your best dishes once-in-a-while.
Leave love notes where your husband will see them.

2. Learn your husband's love language.
This is a MUST. They are:

Words of affirmation
Acts of service
Physical touch
Quality time
Receiving gifts

3. Take care of yourself.
You can't take care of your husband or your children if you are run-down emotionally and/or physically. Taking care of yourself includes nurturing your spirit by spending time in God's word each day, and taking the time to hear from Him.

Walk
Stretch (this is a life-saver for me, I do it every morning!)
Put down your homeschooling if you need to re-group. It's okay to take a break!
Nurture a friendship with a woman of God who will encourage and support you in your marriage.

4. Create romance in simple ways.
Many homeschool moms forget how absolutley amazing it is to be in a romantic relationship. Afterall, phonics and romance don't exactly mix, and your kids have to read, right? Romance doesn't have to be complicated, but it needs to be intentional. You are never late in re-building your love-life and re-kindling passion in the heart of your husband.

Your bedroom should be a santuary for you and your husband:

Not cluttered
Clean
Restful

Set the mood around your house in simple ways

Candles or soft lighting
Fresh flowers here and there
Set out photographs of the two of you (even that big hair from the 80's ... celebrate YOU!)

5. Continue dating.
My husband and I made a commitment to continue dating each other long ago. Jay was a pastor for 17 years, and as such we learned to live with a "not-so-normal" schedule. Sometimes, life would get a little hectic, and our "dates" would consist of a stroll through the grocery store. Seriously! We have made important decisions in the frozen food aisle! Jay's commitment to me has taken him places he never dreamed he'd go (like to the grocery store at ten o'clock at night). The point is that our "dates" don't have to be fancy - they just have to be ours.

Make the time. Too many marriages today, yes, even homeschooling couples, are finding their marriages in trouble. You cannot afford to put off spending time alone together.

If your children are old enough to stay home while you take an hour at a coffee shop, take the hour. It's an investment in your future - and in the future of your family.

If your children are still little and you cannot leave them with a babysitter, finds ways to structure your time at home so that you have time alone to talk and re-connect with each other. Don't put it off.

Woman of God, you are loved by the Almighty! The marriage relationship is His gift to you. Nurture it, and the rewards will be yours to pass on to generations to come, long after the homeschooling years are over.

Jay and Heidi St. John have been married for over 18 years and are the homeschooling parents of six children who range in age from sixteen to two. Heidi speaks to mothers with humor and grace on many subjects dealing with homeschooling. If you are interested in having the St. Johns speak at your event, please contact them through FCHM.

Make the Connection:
Enjoying the "One Flesh" Relationship
by Steve Lambert, Publisher of Five in a Row

One of the subjects we deal with in our Real Life Marriage seminars is sexual intimacy.

Besides the obvious physical pleasures, there is a spiritual component through which the relentless, tugging separation that seeks to divide a husband and wife is pushed back for a season; the two are re-joined. That re-connection is a feeling we long for at the deepest core of our being - to be rightly connected to someone who loves us and accepts us as we are.

Yet we try to fill that longing with all sorts of substitutes; pornography, infidelity, perversion and more. God intended us to dine at the most luxurious restaurant in the world, eating delicacies set aside for kings and for queens. Yet we persist in trying to satisfy that appetite by dumpster diving.

If the eating out of dumpsters doesn't make us sick, at the very least it leaves us unsatisfied - still longing for real food. And so it is with issues of intimacy.

The only thing that can satisfy the deep urge within each of us is a rightly connected experience with our wife or husband. Anything less than that fails to satisfy. Perhaps you've explored pornography for instance. What you quickly discover is that "it" is never "enough." Each encounter leaves you unsatisfied, wanting more the next time - more intensity, more of the taboo, more of whatever it is that will satisfy the insatiable thirst deep within you. But the thirst is never satisfied.

There is no shortage of articles and books which condemn dumpster diving, and I could easily write one, too. But this particular collection of thoughts isn't so much a condemnation of eating out of dumpsters, as it is a tip of the hat and a standing ovation to the infinite creativity of a Creator who is good enough to give us the only thing which will satisfy our thirst and satisfy our hunger. The act of sexual intimacy within marriage is more than a gift - it is a life-giving act of healing for married couples who have been drawn apart by the pressures of this world. It is a life preserver tossed to us by a loving God when we are bobbing about in the ocean of isolation and aloneness.

It is an act worthy of celebration and thanksgiving - and it is an act worth making time in our busy homeschool schedules to enjoy. More than a moment of pleasure or a physical pleasure - it is a bit of divine glue which rejoins fractured marriages which have become cracked and chipped in the hurry and scurry of life in the 21st century.

Will you help?
First Class is contacted weekly by dozens of families who are looking to make a connection in their homeschool community.

The vision of First Class is simple: to help churches plant homeschool co-ops within their communities.

Every day, we talk to parents all across the United States about the benefits of homeschooling in Community with other Believers. Most co-ops operate on their own, and First Class has a vision to connect these co-ops so that they can work together to bring encouragement, information and inspiration to their members.

FCHM is committed to coming alongside co-op directors with support and encouragement. We believe that this is where our ministry will have the greatest impact. As we bring leaders together, they are better equipped to reach out to their co-op families at the local level. To that end, we provide each co-op with all the tools and training they need to ensure success and avoid burnout.

If you agree that this rapidly-growing ministry is an important part of what God is doing in Christian homeschooling, please consider partnering with us to expand the reach of FCHM and encourage a new generation of homeschooling families.

We have kept the cost of the co-ops low so that everyone can participate. FCHM needs outside support to cover operating costs, and we depend on the financial support of parents and individuals just like you.

We grow through your giving. It's as simple as that. Monthly support is vital to maintaining the growth and sustaining the ministry of FCHM. Each gift is greatly appreciated...an encouragement to the staff and volunteers of FCHM.

Thank you for your support!

First Class Homeschool Ministries is committed to empowering the church to minister to homeschooling families.

Read what one pastor is saying about First Class:

from Pastor Nathan Martin

I'm writing to share our experience with the First Class Homeschool Ministry in our church.

We were approached by a family in our church who homeschools their children. They had heard of the First Class Homeschool Coop concept and wanted to know if we would be willing to make our facility available. After asking the obvious questions about liability, insurance, oversight, etc, I took the information to our board who decided to allow the homeschool coop to use our facility on a one-year trial basis.

Our experience with First Class has been nothing less than wonderful. The family members of the Coop have worked tirelessly in cleaning and arranging our educational spaces to make them more functional while respecting and caring for the existing ministries that use those spaces (Sunday School and Awana).

Each week when they meet the children are well-behaved, understanding that other activities are taking place in the building at the same time. After the Coop meets the workers clean and leave our facilities in better shape than when they arrived. I look forward to participating in the weekly chapel services and have had the opportunity to minister to families going through difficult times. It's given us a greater exposure to many families who may have otherwise never heard of us. And it's been a blessing to the Body of Christ.

It was my pleasure to meet Jay and Heidi St. John in November of 2007. They are passionate about empowering the church to minister to homeschooling families. They have created a template that any church can use and they have set the standard for excellence for all the co-ops that are affiliated with them. I can wholeheartedly recommend that your church give strong consideration to First Class Homeschool Ministries.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. Please feel free to contact me with any additional questions about our experience with FCHM.

And thank you for your service to the Body of Christ!

Sincerely,

Nathan Martin

Senior Pastor

www.ChristianChallenge.org

First Class Cenla meets at Christian Challenge in Pineville, Louisiana. They are in their second semester of classes, and have grown tremendously since opening in Sep. 2007.

George Mueller:
With scarcely enough food or money for his own family, George Muller opened his heart and home. Sustained by God's provision, the Muller house "Breakfast Club" of thirty orphans grew to five large houses that ultimately over ten thousand children would call home.
George Muller trusted God with a depth rarely seen. His faith and generosity set a standard for Christians of all generations.

Bruchko:
As a 19 yr old boy, Bruce Olson traveled into a South American jungle to evangelize a murderous tribe. His story will amaze you and remind you that simple faith in Christ can make anything possible.

These books make wonderful read-alouds and are sure to inspire, encourage and challenge you in your faith!

The FCHM "Hoodies" are in!

Every purchase made at the FCHM Bookstore

supports this ministry.

Please visit our online store for books, apparel, signs for your co-op and other support materials!

T-shirt shown is youth style, with "Homeschooling and Loving It" on the back.

Thank you for supporting the ministry of FCHM!