Volume 3 - Edition 7 - April 2007
HCOS Admin Team on the Road
by Janet Rainbow
My office has been busy lately organizing a trip to visit our families who live in North – Central British Columbia. Part of the email that was sent to them stated -
It is Heritage Christian Online School’s sincere desire to be a servant to all of our families regardless where they live in BC. It often appears to those who live far away, that those that live the closest get the most attention. Since I live in a small rural area on Northern Vancouver Island, I can often identify with that sentiment. After all, I am the only administrator, not living in Kelowna and working at the head office. Emails and phones are wonderful communication tools but sometimes we just need the personal touch so I find myself traveling to Kelowna on a regular basis.
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Convention Time
by Sarah Bennett
As you all know, the second BC Christian Home Educators’ Convention is coming up on April 20 and 21. What an amazing time it’s going to be! I was really excited about last year simply because Susan Wise Bauer is my favourite homeschool author and I had wanted to hear her speak for years. This year I’m excited about our theme. Raising a generation to make an impact. Wow.
I was at a convention meeting this morning and two of my friends turned to me for an explanation. They couldn’t believe their eyes when, earlier that morning, a convention registration form for my husband crossed their computer screens. It’s true. My husband, who has never read a homeschool book, attended a homeschool convention or even really talked with a homeschooler (besides myself) is actually attending our convention this year. He’s looking forward to hearing some workshops about intentionally parenting our children, guiding their spiritual development, and helping prepare them for the future that God has planned for them.
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HCOS Resource Packages
by Sarah Bennett
As you all know, the second BC Christian Home Educators’ Convention is coming up on April 20 and 21. What an amazing time it’s going to be! I was really excited about last year simply because Susan Wise Bauer is my favourite homeschool author and I had wanted to hear her speak for years. This year I’m excited about our theme. Raising a generation to make an impact. Wow.
So, what keeps us repeating actions/decisions over and over, knowing they’re not working? We wouldn’t be doing something over and over if we weren’t getting ‘rewarded’ somehow. After all, no one you know would, in her right mind, want to drive herself crazy, right? Unless there was a payoff. Mmmmmm…so, what’s the payoff?
Perhaps it’s comfort. The curriculum or style of homeschooling you know is comfortable to you. You’ve used it for so long, it must be right for you. It doesn’t scare you, it’s like an old sweater that’s been yours forever…except that it no longer keeps you warm because it’s threadbare, and besides, you’ve outgrown it (or it’s shrunk)..it really doesn’t fit anymore.
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“Let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage”
Micheal Flaherty
President, Walden Media
At the end of C. S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy assume their rightful thrones as Kings and Queens of Narnia. Lewis dedicates only one sentence to describing how they governed during the Golden Age of Narnia, but it is interesting to hear his summary of their most important accomplishments. Lewis tells us that they “made good laws and kept the peace and saved good trees from being cut down and liberated young dwarfs and young satyrs from being sent to school and generally stopped busybodies and interferers and encouraged ordinary people who wanted to live and let live.”
It is interesting to note that the first item of business after keeping the peace and protecting the environment was abolishing school! Narnia is thus the first kingdom where home-schooling is not only encouraged, it is required! But I think Lewis was talking less about the institution of school and more about what was being taught there. And when it came to what was being taught, Lewis thought that stories made all of the difference.
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Using your Purchase Order (PO) Number
by Ted Gerk
You're probably so tired of me harping on using your PO number! I know, I know! Sometimes I think I even dream of PO's at night. Well, maybe not really, but sometimes they haunt us, those PO as we try to home-educate our children.
Based on common questions I get, remember that the PO merely helps us track purchases you make, so we can properly work with a family to administer their curriculum budget.
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ANNOUNCING CHEC 2007!!!
Whether you’re just thinking about home schooling, or are already fully entrenched, this weekend will provide you with the information, inspiration and encouragement you need. From keynote speakers who understand the issues and challenges facing today’s home schooling family, to workshops assisting you with the nuts and bolts of home schooling mechanics, to a vast supply of the latest and greatest curricula and resources available, we’ve got what you’re looking for.
Online registration form is OPEN!!!!
Do you find yourself commenting – ‘That reminds me of what it says in Philippians?’ I have been amazed at how frequently I am pondering this – on a walk, with a friend, during Bible Study, in the middle of a sermon, or as I drive. This is definitely one of the benefits of memorization – God’s word is continually on one’s mind! What benefits have you experienced from yours and your children’s memorization? Please pass on your list to your teacher or directly email me at cstace@onlineschool.ca (with Phil Challenge in the subject line) and we can compile a HCOS list of the bonuses of memorization!
There are approximately 7 weeks left of the Philippians Challenge! How are you doing? If your goal is to ‘conquer’ the book of Philippians, you should be beginning chapter 4 (about week 28). This will give one week to review and recite the verses to a non-family member (or your teacher). The deadline is June 12, so plan to do your reciting and let your teacher know by then so that the student’s name will be entered into the draw for the amount of verses memorized (1 verse/week = 35 verses, 2 verses = 70 verses, 3 verses/week = the book of Philippians, 4 verses/week = 140+ verses). We would love to be able to reward every student who memorized, but will need more donations to be able to do this. If you or a business you know can send a tax deductible donation for the Phil Challenge (make it to HCOS and write on it for the Phil Challenge), the school will match up to $500 which will be used for prizes.
To keep the verses that have been memorized fresh, review a chapter a day or every other day so that you say the book each week. If another activity can be done at the same time (bouncing a ball, jumping on the trampoline, skipping….) the verses are really yours! If more than one member of the family has memorized, review together. Make it fun – the person holding the ball recites a couple verses, stopping wherever he wants. The ball is ‘hot’ and can be thrown to another player at any time. The recipient of the ball then takes over wherever the other player left off. Use different voices each time the ball is caught. Be dramatic – adding variety makes the memorization fun, and more easily remembered! Navigators has said that the key to memorization is review, review, review!
Keep at it – you are on the homeward stretch!
Remember to send in some benefits of memorization your family have experienced!
Join the 
now!
