Homeschooling Children

The first and foremost homeschool resource available to you is yourself. That's right, it's you! Right from the start it is your motivation to provide your child with the best education you can possibly muster and your ability to stay focused on your projects that will ultimately determine the quality of education your child receives. But now, what homeschool resources and materials are available to YOU?

Depending upon the age(s) of your children the resources that you use will vary. A great way to help determine what homeschool materials to use will be to observe and take on not only what interests your child but how they appear to learn. CD's are a great learning tool. With today's graphics and sophisticated programming the learning process can be both fascinating and fun for the child!

In fact, check out some of the software resources from the suppliers available to you right from this website!

Story books are a tried and true homeschool material. Teaching your children through the use of story books has long been a lynchpin in child education. Children's magazines are also another great source of learning and discovery for children. Animal stories are among some of the most popular. One advantage to magazines is that they stay current and each issue is just a bit different.

Last, and probably least is television. That is if you carefully monitor not only the programs that your child watches but the amount of time spent watching television. Don't ever substitute television (or any other automated type of medium such as computers) for hands on learning from their parent. With all of the technology available this can easily happen. Remember one of the great advantages to homeschooling is to be able to spend more time with your child and to directly control their educational experience. Slipping into too much computer and/or television time defeats the purpose of the homeschooling time.

When it comes to homeschooling children, your resources are unlimited and so is your child's ability to learn. Their world is boundless and so should be your creativity.

Mary Joyce is a former educator, successful homeschool parent, and has written many articles on teaching your child at home [http://www.homeschool-curriculum-4u.com] for the Homeschool-Curriculum-4u website. Please visit [http://www.homeschool-curriculum-4u.com] for more of Mary's articles, resources on homeschool, ideas, and curriculum information.

Education Taxes and Government Schools

School levies will once again be on the ballot in various districts around my home state of Washington on February 14 (Valentine's Day). The education establishment learned some time ago not to put bonds and levies on the regular November ballot as they often fail at elections where larger numbers of voters turn out. In recent years, such levies are nearly always voted on in a so-called "special election" at an off season when nothing else is on the ballot and few voters participate. If the education establishment can get its base of support to turn out, and if few voters participate overall, then an ever-increasing flow of revenue for the bloated education bureaucracy will much more likely result. Never mind the waste of taxpayer dollars spent on a special election - "it's for the kids!"

I'm sorry to have to say it, but those of us who identify ourselves as Christian, conservative or Constitutional, tend to spend more time complaining than taking action. We've become too preoccupied with talking about how big the education establishment is, how much money they have and how much power they have. We've convinced ourselves that there's nothing we can do to stop the Godless, humanistic, socialistic brainwashing of a generation by the all-powerful government education establishment. But I beg to differ. In fact, I dare say that there are few if any problems facing America today that we couldn't lick if we had the courage of our professed convictions and were willing to endure a little hardship and make some sacrifice.

For example, I'm persuaded that if Christians, conservatives and Constitutionists were to act on their professed values, we could demonstrate for all to see that there isn't even a need for a government-run education system. If the large percentage of the population that identifies as Christian were to place their children into Christian private schools, or homeschool (an equal or in some cases even better alternative), the government-run schools would become virtual ghost towns. The injustice of taxing all the citizens in order to prop up the establishment bureaucracy that serves only a few, would become evident for all to see. The people would soon demand their tax dollars be returned to them to be used on the education option of their choice. The government education bureaucracy just might be put out of business altogether.

Now some will say "oh, but we can't afford a private school tuition." This is where putting our money where our mouth is comes in. If everyone who rails against the deplorable and depraved state of the government schools were to donate $5, $10, $25, or $50 per month to a private school (or a neighborhood homeschool family), that school could then reduce it's tuition rate so that most any family could afford a private education. Those with successful businesses, or those who have finished raising a family and whose household expenses are now reduced, have no excuse.

If every Christian-conservative-Constitutionist were to act on their professed convictions, private Christian schools would become the new booming industry in America. They would be springing up in every neighborhood. They would be hiring teachers who would be set free from the bureaucracy of the government education establishment and turned loose to teach with all of their God-given natural talent - free to honor their Creator as they educate children with all of the gifting that He has given them. And thanks to people like you giving to help support those private schools, they could offer assistance to families who truly cannot afford the tuition. The devotion of parents to their children in homeschooling or sacrificing to pay a tuition, and the sincere charity of others in assisting those who need it, would soon replace the bloated, bureaucracy ridden, government education establishment.

Gee, I'm getting myself all worked up here. Maybe I'll just have to practice what I preach. Okay, I just stopped and wrote a check to the K-8 school at my church. Take that government schools!

This might sound like the lofty, idealistic vision of a dreamer, but the fulfilling of the dream is really only as far away as each of us giving up going to a movie once a month, or giving up a latte a couple times a week - a sacrifice alright, but much less sacrifice than those who laid down their lives and fortunes to give us this country. My point is that it is doable if we are willing to do what it takes. Therefore, whiling away my days complaining about the current state of affairs just isn't an option for me, not while action can still be taken.

While the current government-run education system remains, please don't talk to me about the need for a levy or bond until the entire education system, from Washington DC, to Olympia, to the local school district, has undergone and implemented all of the recommendations of an independent performance audit and is running at the efficiency levels that would be expected and required in the private sector. You see, I'm persuaded that the problem isn't that taxpayers aren't taxed enough. I'm persuaded that the problem lies in a bureaucracy that consumes most of the funds before they ever make it to the classroom.

If it were up to me, I'd start by firing everyone in DC, Olympia and the local district except the teachers, the building maintenance staff, one principal and secretary per school and one administrator and secretary per district. I believe our teachers are smart enough to figure out how to properly educate children without an army of bureaucrats in far away places telling them how to do it. And if the district administrator isn't capable of ordering the books requested by the teachers and assigning maintenance staff and funding in a manner that properly maintains the facilities, then we need to add hiring a new administrator to our to do list.

Perhaps this sounds excessively harsh, like I'm being too severe, I mean really, expecting a government bureaucracy to tighten its belt and live like those of us in the private sector, yea, that's just plain unreasonable.

On this Valentine's Day, or whatever day levies might be on your local ballot, let's have a heart, show some love for the kids and vote "No" to heaping more debt, taxes and government bureaucracy on the backs of future generations.

Bob Peck is a blue collar kind of guy, someone who would rather be outdoors, working with his hands, or better yet, riding his motorcycle down the back-roads of the Pacific Northwest. However, his love of liberty, coupled with his devotion to God and country, have compelled him to engage the political realm. Bob has chosen to invest his political efforts in the Constitution Party where he serves as chairman of the Constitution Party of Washington and as Western Area Co-Chairman for the Constitution Party National Committee. If you're feeling betrayed by the politicians of the two establishment parties, then the Constitution Party may be the place for you - check them out at http://www.constitutionparty.com or call 1-800-2VETOIRS and ask for a free information packet.

Educating Children About Their Bodies

Many young people tend to have body image issues, this has been apparent for decades, however recent years have seen an increase in said issues and are more apparent in teenage girls. Nowadays we have a media-centric obsession with being skinny, something of which has been impressed on our youth much more so than us. Even with this, morbid obesity has escalated to an all time high in all aspects of age, so it can be a daunting prospect when trying to find a medium to address a the attitude we give to our children about how they look and their appearance against a healthy body image

Here are 10 points that will help generate the right attitudes towards your child's body.

1. Looks are far from what's important. Think about your bodies abilities, and how it actually works. Your child should be encouraged to see their body as a tool of power and strength, something beyond an ornament behind glass case. This will foster a true appreciation for their body.

2. If you look after your body, it will look after you. Everyone can say that at some point they have taken their bodies for granted, it's easy to forget the better we treat our bodies, the better we will feel and the better we will function, and is something only we can do ourselves.

3. Find out what sport or activities your child likes. What sports do they take interest in? Football? Gymnastics? Make sure they're encouraged to do the activities they enjoy, but make sure it's predominately physical! Make sure it's not about competition, achievement or even performance, as long as they give it their all and enjoy it that's all that matters

4. Your body needs appreciation! If your child identifies everything their bodies do for them, there becomes less chance of them taking it for granted, therefore leading to better decisions when it comes to healthier choices.

5. Identify positive changes. When you see changes in your child, it might be dexterity, power, strength, visual acuity or even performance time, tell them! This will foster the development of self confidence, and will increase the chance of them to continue doing activities.

6. Switch to a more sustainable energy source. It sounds wrong to talk about sustainable energies when we talk about food, but it's the same principles, you'll find your body prefers to take its energy from good foods, and will sustain itself longer on them, the healthier you eat, the more energy you will have, believe me, its true!

7. Self appreciation is key. Make sure your children know their special qualities not just on the inside, but the outside too. Every single person on this earth has great positive qualities about them, make sure your kids know what they are!

8. Keep track of their body signals. Teach your children that they should eat when they're hungry, and its OK to eat when they're hungry, the key is to let them stop when they've had enough. If they're tried, either slow down or stop, if they're in pain or not feeling well they should be aware of these signals and teach them that reacting to them is OK, this will create a relationship between the child and their limits, parents should also be adopting this method.

9. Express yourself. Not only is it a great song, its a great way of brushing away those cobwebs. Your kids should know they can express themselves and who they are by any means, through physcial expression, or the way they dress or the colours they like, all of this will make them feel extra good about themselves.

10. Make them aware that your love is unconditional. You should make sure your children know you want the best for them, and that you want them to be happy, mentally and physically. But in any state, you love them none the less. How they look or feel isn't a factor you take into account of you loving them, this will help them feel secure so they can make healthy choices for themselves.

Communicating all of these points to your kids, and showing an example by doing it yourself will make your children feel more than comfortable in making independent decisions when it comes to making choices about activities and healthy eating. All these points will help your child lose weight.