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Today, we are joining some other homeschooling families at the park to mark a milestone for one of our young friends. About a year and a half ago, our friend (age 6 at the time) began chemotherapy for a brain tumor. This spring, his finished his last treatment, much to the relief of all, and tomorrow we’re going to celebrate with him.

As I thought about our friend, I remembered a tradition another family shared with me long ago — the Blessing Box. At the end of every month, family members would write down the blessings received from God over the past few weeks, each one on a separate slip of paper. They might be small things, like an unexpected gift, or bigger things, like the end of our friend’s cancer treatment. They dated each entry, folded the paper, and put it in the box. Then, at the end of the year, the family would gather together to read the “blessings,” saving the papers from year to year. What a great reminder of all that God had done for them!

We had started our own Blessing Box years ago, when my oldest son was small. He helped me decorate it, and I began writing down the blessings and storing them in the box. Somewhere in the busyness of life, though, our Blessing Box was set aside, and we haven’t used it for a long, long time.

But our friend’s party presents the perfect time to start again. And instead of writing the blessings down once a month, once a week would better suit our schedules (and my memory!).  And as we’re writing, we can remember to praise God — for our friend, for health, for comfort, for His peace, for freedom, for His provision — for all the things we often let slip by without giving Him thanks.

Last Friday night, we attended a graduation ceremony at a local church for the seniors from our co-op. It was a very nice service, and even though I only knew three of the students who were graduating, by the end of the ceremony, I knew them all a little better.

After the official welcome, the service began with a couple of song selections by the choir from co-op, made up of about fifteen students. The procession of the graduates followed; from our small co-op, we had fourteen seniors.

Next on the program was a musical performance by five of those graduating. They played Pachelbel’s Canon  — but in way I had never heard before. Instruments in the ensemble consisted of a cello, drums, an acoustic guitar, a bass guitar, and an electric guitar. I think the teens created the arrangement themselves, and it was well-done. Unusual, but very creative.

The youth pastor of the church then spoke, followed by the presentation of the diplomas. When a student’s name was called, he or she went up on stage along with his or her parents. The student gave the mom a rose as a letter was read out loud to the student. Sometimes the letters were written by the mom, sometimes the dad, and sometimes both. All of them were bitter-sweet as they reflected on events along the way, the time homeschooling, and the transition from childhood to adulthood. (The students had a chance to express their thoughts to their parents as well, each one writing a note that was published in the program.)

As each letter was read, photos of the student as he or she was growing up were displayed on a screen. The dad then presented the student with the diploma. Following this presentation, a slideshow of the seniors, put together by some of the students, was shown on the screen.

Though the graduating class was small in number, they concluded their homeschooling years in a memorable way. I know of other co-ops and organizations who have similar ceremonies. It’s exciting to me that, just like homeschooling itself, graduation can be tailored to fit the families involved. What an opportunity to make it so meaningful!

When my daughter Lillie was about a year old, we decided to “adopt” a grandparent at a nearby nursing home. For the next nine months or so, we visited Mr. Roy, and then he passed away. We waited about a year, then started visiting another resident of the home, Mrs. McCall. We saw her once a week or so for about two and a half years, until she, too, passed away. Though sometimes the visits were hard, I still felt as if it was a good experience for the children.

Since then, we’ve continued to visit the nursing home, though only once a month. Now we go more to entertain the residents, filling a 30-minute activity slot with the children singing and playing musical instruments. Sometimes it’s just my four children and myself; other times, friends are able to join us, and we have quite a large group. After everyone has finished, we spend a few moments going around and greeting and hugging the residents who are there.

Though I know visiting the nursing home is a good service opportunity for our family, I often wonder what sort of impact our visits really have. After all, it’s just 30 minutes out of our month. This week, I’ve been reflecting on it even more.

A close friend of my family in another state has been in a nursing home since early this year. Over the years, her family has drained her finances, leaving her penniless, and though she could function at home with only minimal assistance, they aren’t willing to take her in. They won’t even come to visit her. When my mom, sister, and I went to visit her after Easter, she told all the nurses that we were “her people.”

Yesterday she went into the hospital, and again, no family members came to see this 94-year-old great-great-grandmother. Fortunately, my mother was able to go, as was another close friend.

Though I wish we could go to see her too, I’m glad we are at least able to do what we do. While some residents have family that care, others have no one. So even if it’s just a short program or a visit once a week, time spent with the residents is meaningful. It does make a difference.

I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.  Matthew 25:40 (NIV)

My oldest son John is finishing up the eighth grade, and the thought of keeping up with courses, extracurricular activities, transcripts, and standardized tests of high school makes me feel more than a little nervous. We are planning on John going to college, but we won’t be able to pay out of pocket for tuition, which means that we also need to be knowledgeable about potential universities, their costs, and any scholarships available. So when I hear about seminars, classes, or other information regarding homeschooling your high schooler, I’m ready to learn.

One tip I heard recently was to plan out your child’s high school career from the beginning. You will save yourself a lot of stress in the junior and senior years if you already have a clear idea of what your student needs to take not only to graduate but also to meet college admission requirements.

To do this, find out what courses are needed for graduation within your state, then check college websites for courses your student needs if he wants to apply to those schools. For example, our state requires only one foreign language course to graduate from high school in the college prep program. Some universities in our state, however, require the student take three years of the same foreign language if they plan to attend. I know, then, that if John might attend one of those universities, he’ll need to start a foreign language course no later than his sophomore year.

It’s not hard to find out what classes you’ll need. For high school graduation, simply do an Internet search of using the name of your state and the words “graduation requirements.”   To find out what colleges are looking for, google the name of the school and “admission requirements.”

After an afternoon of searching the web and studying the possibilities, I think we’ve come up with a pretty good four-year plan. There’s room for flexibility, and we won’t be caught short in the senior year. Now on to the extracurriculars….

My daughter Cassie turned 11 in January, but this year she decided her birthday was just too close to Christmas. She asked if she could delay the celebration until later in the year — she wanted to make the fun (and gifts) last longer. While we did have a small party for her on her actual birthday with her grandmother and a few presents, we decided to wait until springtime to have the bigger party.

The plan was to invite family over for a couple of days in May (yes, much, much later than January!) for strawberry picking, a visit to the city’s children’s museum, a picnic, and cake and ice cream. As the dates drew near, though, things just didn’t work out as we had thought, so we made a new plan. Instead, Cassie and I went to the mall (somewhere we rarely go) with a special friend and her mom.

The evening began with supper at Subway in the food court; we then spent the next two hours visiting only two stores. The girls tried on outfits and accessories and had so much fun! We hadn’t bought Cassie any birthday presents, so she took along her birthday money, extra from her other grandmother, and some she had saved, and picked out all of her own presents.

It was interesting watching her choose what to buy. She wants a new comforter for her bed, so she kept that in mind as she made her decisions. The outfit she wanted was too much, she thought, until our friends offered to share their coupon, which made the outfit very affordable. She also purchased a pair of sunglasses that were on sale, a purse, some headbands, and a pair of earrings. All in all she spent her money very wisely, as she came away from the mall with some nice things and money left over.

It was strange waiting five months for her birthday, and I don’t plan on ever doing that again. But it was a fun evening and a good celebration — just what a birthday should be.

As we wind down with another school year of art classes (I teach in my home), I like to surprise the students with a different type of art project for the final session. Last year they created some abstract art by spattering paint using several different methods; this year, we’re making marbled paper using…shaving cream!

I have three classes that meet every other week — one of the classes finished up a week ago, while the others will conclude on Wednesday. I tried the project with the first class, made up of boys ages 9 – 13, and it went great!  I figured it would, though; after all, we were using shaving cream.

There are some good sites online explaining the history of marbling, which we talked about before getting to work. Here’s how we did it:

 Supplies:

• Cardstock
• Shaving Cream
• 9″ x 13″ Pan
• Tempra paints or food coloring
• Paper towels
• Toothpicks, combs, skewers

 To prepare, I purchased one can of shaving cream and a disposable 9″ x 13″ foil pan for each student. After reading more about it online, I probably had way too much shaving cream. One teacher recommended using only a few cans for a class of 20. I saved our extra for my next class, though.

 Then I had each student squirt out a layer of shaving cream about one inch thick in the bottom of their pan (Fun!).

 Next, the students painted the top of the shaving cream with tempra paints. Food coloring worked just as well but was more expensive. We also tried watercolors, but the finished pieces didn’t seem as bright as those with the tempra paints. Craft acrylics didn’t work at all.

 Before painting, we added water to the paints to make them more fluid. As the students painted, they tried to cover most of the surface of the shaving cream with color. This usually results in a more interesting final product.

Using a toothpick, comb, or skewer,  the students  then ran the object through the color, creating swirls and other patterns in the shaving cream.

Next, they carefully placed the paper directly on top of the shaving cream. We patted it down gently so that the entire sheet came in contact with the shaving cream. Then we pulled it up gently again.

I wiped off the paper using a paper towel (a bit of a mess). Even though the shaving cream surface was smudged, the design had transferred nicely to the paper.

 We then set the paper aside to dry, and the students tried again. To do so, we simply mixed the used paint into the shaving cream until there was a ”clean” surface again.  We were able to use the same shaving cream for all of their projects that day — about four to five pieces of art each.

Summer is just around the corner, but we usually continue with school through June and most of July. Though much of the children’s free time is spent swimming at the pool, we also have fun trying new hobbies and working on crafts together.

A couple of years ago, we were involved in a 4-H sewing club, and the girls made some neat items — from little handbags to hats to toys to doll clothes. One year, when my son John was in the club too, every student designed and sewed their own quilt square; the teacher put all the squares together, and we gave the quilt to an elderly friend at a nursing home. We’ve haven’t done much sewing since then, and this summer would be a great time to start again.

Not long ago, as I was browsing through websites, I stumbled upon a sewing site for kids. If you have a child who is interested in learning to sew this summer, or if you lead a 4-H or homeschooling sewing club, be sure to visit Kids-Sewing-Projects.com

This site is so user/teacher/homeschool friendly that it’s worth a look even if you hadn’t considered adding sewing to your student’s day. Here you’ll find sewing lessons for preschoolers, beginners, and intermediates, organized to gradually take the student from simpler lessons to more difficult ones. If you find that your child is enjoying sewing, you can purchase a curriculum ebook featuring over 100 pages of lessons and projects.

What’s more, this site presents several ways for the kids themselves can be involved. They can enter the sewing contest to win a gift certificate and an ebook, or they can simply share their current projects on the “Your Projects Page.” There’s also a page for asking questions, and the author of the site will try to answer them for you.

Ready to get started? Just click on Kids-Sewing-Projects, and see what your child can do!

Last week, a new IMAX theater opened about forty-five minutes from our home, and to celebrate, theater-goers were offered free movies and popcorn during the first week. (patrons could give a donation to the Make-A-Wish foundation). We took advantage of the opportunity to see Monsters Vs. Aliens in 3-D. While my children had seen it before on video with their dad, this was my first time watching it. Though it was fun to watch on the huge screen, it wasn’t one of my favorites (nor my kids’ favorites), so I was glad we didn’t pay full price.

I find myself often thinking those same thoughts after watching a DVD at home — I’m glad we didn’t spend money to see that one in the theater. And with movie prices so high these days, I’m also glad we’ve found Plugged In Online.

Sponsored by Focus on the Family, Plugged In Online is a movie review site that covers both older films and new releases. The information you’ll find there includes: a summary of the film, the positive elements, the spiritual content of the film, sexual content, violent content, crude or profane language, drug and alcohol content, other negative elements, and finally the reviewers opinion.

The information on Plugged In is detailed and explicit, allowing parents to know just what to expect in a movie they are considering for themselves or their children. For example, in the review of Brendan Fraser’s new movie Furry Vengeance, every crude or possibly crude phrase used in the film is noted, as are the racial stereotype jokes and toilet humor. From the description on Plugged In, I know that’s one film we’re not going to see, even on video.

You’ll also find reviews on the site for music, television shows, and video games. So before you spend any more money (or time) on entertainment, check out Plugged In. You’ll be glad you did!