Issue #23, Sept 3, 2001

---

Seedling

---

Nurturing our children in the freedom of Christ
Issue #23, Sept 3, 2001
Sr. Editor & Publisher: Elissa Wahl
Assistant Editor: Teri Brown
Contributing Editor: Angel Dyke


IN THIS ISSUE

---

1. Welcome from the Editor
2. Tonka Trucks by Kylie Rutherfurd
3. Learning Through Community Service by Karen Lovett
4. Book Review : Ignite the Fire, by Terri Camp
5. Come Chat with us!!
6. Teri's new project
7. Special Deal: HELM subscription and our book!
8. Closing letter from the editor
9. Subscription Information
10. Reprint Information

---

1. Welcome from the editor

Hi all, hope this newsletter is received in the manner it was
sent ... in love and through God!

We just said goodbye to my parents. They visited us for the first
time since we moved across country a year and a half ago. We did a
lot of sightseeing and playing with the kids. It was a wonderful, yet
tiring time of togetherness. At the end of the week, we had to part
and it was with extreme sorrow that my sons and I drove away from my
parents.

This was one of those times when I had to be stronger than I felt...I
had to console my son instead of sobbing my own guts out. At
Christmas, my pastor had reminded us of how Jesus was sent to a
FAMILY, and I reexamined that idea again briefly and introduced it to
my son as he was hysterically crying. My point was, that family is
so important and we are so blessed to be loved and able to love.

We were designed to love. God has given us many different abilities
as far as loving..agape = an abstract or spiritual love; a willful
love phileo = a heart-felt or spontaneous love; an affectionate love
and eros= a passionate love..here is a website to check more into the
different kinds of love: http://www.bibletexts.com/terms/agape-c.htm

My son and I agreed, being loved and loving is a true blessing.
To love another person is to see the face of God. [Les Miserables]
~ Victor Hugo ~


Please read on, and we pray you are blessed!

---

2. Tonka Trucks
Kylie Rutherfurd

I can't say we are the perfect example of unschooling. In fact there
are a lot of subjects I haven't quite let go of yet, but I wanted to
share with you the wonderful time we had today.

While I was out putting washing on the line, our two children (5 & 7)
decided it was time to start collecting the gravel we would need to
put at the bottom of a couple of pots I'm planning on shortly filling
with flowers . After deciding they couldn't find a bucket, they
lined up their three tonka trucks, of varying sizes, and set to work.

The concentration on this 'job' lasted all of about five minutes when
they discovered our garden had no gravel to mention, and then
the 'games' began.

Our driveway is shared with a number of other houses and has quite a
steep slope just after our house. Each child set their tonka truck
at the top of our driveway and then released them. The trucks went
screaming down the driveway, followed by two laughing children, to
come to an abrupt halt at the end where there is a sharp bend before
our neighbors' house. After about five attempts with the same
results, there were two happy, but slightly less spirited children.
That was Physical Education for the day and we also had an
opportunity to talk about road safety and why you shouldn't drive too
fast when you're approaching a corner, hopefully instilling some
sense of driving responsibility which will hold them in good stead in
years to come if I keep reinforcing it.

We then moved up the driveway to the part of the driveway which leads
to our house and we began Science. By placing two of the trucks at
the top and watching which would arrive at the bottom first, my son
and daughter were able to see that the heavier vehicle will move
faster down a slope. The physics of it may be beyond them at the
moment, but for now they are developing a wonderful base for years to
come when it may be important to them and they had a wonderful time.

For that matter, so did I.

Kylie

---

3. Learning through Community Service

by Karen Lovett

As any veteran homeschooler can tell you, learning doesn't happen
only when you think it should. Learning is a way of life. I never
cease to be amazed at all the opportunities to learn surrounding us
each day. The trick is in not to ignore the opportunities as they
arise and take full advantage of as many as possible.

Homeschoolers tend to be more aware of the learning opportunities
than their public and private school counterparts. This is not
something that we are born with or acquire as part of a secret pact
or meeting when we begin homeschooling. This comes about quite
naturally, as the freedom of learning seems to seep into our everyday
lives. It starts with not using the same books and materials that
public schools use and grows to an ever-widening circle of
educational experiences that we surround ourselves with.

Over time, we tend to look at things just a little bit differently.
Ordinary things such as a trip to town are no longer chores but an
opportunity to learn. Helping others is not something that we all
would consider part of our every day lives. Just like finding
educational opportunities sort of sneaks up on us until we do not
realize we are learning, volunteer opportunities are hiding all
around us.

Sometimes it simply requires thinking outside of the box to find
them. If your child is interested in gardening, you could contact the
local garden clubs, or you could contact local nursing homes, elderly
centers, churches, or homeless shelters. Although these are not your
ordinary places you think of to volunteer your gardening abilities,
they could use a little sprucing up also. If you are lucky, your
child may come away from the experience not only with a renewed sense
of self worth from volunteering, but just may also have a better
understanding of a group that they may not have known much about
previously.

If singing is their forte, the same places could probably use an
occasional show to lift the residents or members' spirits. Another
option would be working with younger kids to help them learn more
about singing and having fun in the process. Do not forget the
possibility of doing charity concerts to help those in need.

Not only are they helping others, but also they are learning at the
same time. Each month, we will take a different volunteering
opportunity and explore some of the educational benefits of that or
similar opportunities. Some of the ideas may seem a little strange to
you at first if you are new to homeschooling, but give it time.
Thinking outside the box or public school system sometimes takes a
little getting used to, but the benefits to your child's education
will make it seem well worth the extra time, energy, and imagination
that is utilized in learning through community service.

---

Bio:

Karen Lovett is a wife, mother, and writer who enjoys exploring all
the educational opportunities that her family can find. Although her
children have benefited from a variety of educational methods,
homeschooling is her method of choice.
http://www.extendyourhand.com/article1028.html
http://www.extendyourhand.com
http://www.learninfreedom.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AWritersMotivation

---

4. Book Review: Ignite the Fire; Freedom is Real Education
written by Terri Camp
Reviewed by Teri Brown
www.ignitethefire.com


"Fire Purifies," writes Terri Camp in the introduction of her book,
Ignite the Fire. She goes on to illustrate how Fire, if lit by the
Lord, can purify and once the smoke clears can spring forth with new
life. She correlates this to education. If left to their own, she
writes, children may learn a lot, but "they may not grasp the wisdom
to develop those passions and talents on their own."

The introduction of the book can almost be called a devotional. It
does what all good devotionals do, makes you think and points the way
to God. The Fire Method is explained here and you walk away feeling
inspired.

Terri Camp is not an unschooler. In fact, she makes several points
about the foolishness of allowing children to learn (completely) on
their own… but let me make this clear…. Several of her points are
valid. Okay, before anyone stones me, let me explain what I mean and
what I think she means. She reiterates… God cannot be left out of the
equation. He must be the largest part of any education. This is also
what Elissa and I believe and wrote in our Christian unschooling book.

So why would I recommend a book that doesn't advocate Unschooling?
Because I believe her method and the educational ideals she espouses
value and are not that different from the philosophy behind Christian
Unschooling.

Plus, you will get a lot of great ideas of educational activities to
try with your children. The bible notebook, the art notebook and the
personal notebook are all wonderful ideas that she explains in the
book. She also includes a wonderful chapter on getting them
interested in all sorts of subjects. She calls the chapter
S.P.A.R.K.S. which stands for Sparks Promote an Attitude that
Releases Kinetic Studies. This chapter includes games and other
activities to "ignite the fire" within them.

This book is easy to navigate and has a lot of take away value.
Ignite the Fire doesn't just help you to create a fire for learning
in your children, it will warm and inspire your own heart.

---

5. Come Chat With Us!!

Our publisher, Champion Press, has set up a chatroom for us to be
able to talk with others about unschooling. The link is:
http://www.championpress.com/authorworld.html
Please come check us out on one of the following dates:

SEPTEMBER

9/10/01
Time: 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Eastern
Topic: Getting Started

9/17/01
Time 2:00pm- 3:00 pm Eastern
Topic: Unschooling and Volunteering


OCTOBER 2001

10/1/01
Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm Eastern
Topic: Unschooling and Record Keeping

10/8/01
time: 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Eastern
Topic: Unschooling Examples; seeing education in life!

---

6. Teri's New Project:
Introducing a Work in Progress... Honey for the Homeschoolers Heart:

Heartwarming True Stories Especially for the Homeschooling Parent.

Be a part of this wonderful book especially for us, by us. If you
have a warm, inspiring, or encouraging short tale that relates to
homeschooling that you would like to share please send to Teri Brown:
unschoolr2@aol.com. Each story should be between 600 to 1500 words in
length. Payment is one copy of the book when published. Responds
within 6 weeks. This will include stories from all kinds of
homeschoolers, unschoolers to structured homeschoolers and
everyone in between!

---

7. Special Deal: HELM Subscription and our book!

- HELM, Home Education Learning Magazine and authors Teri Brown and
Elissa Wahl have announced a special promotion for families
interested in home education.

HELM, a magazine focusing on independent learning, and Ms. Brown,
author of the recently published book Christian Unschooling: Growing
your Children in the Freedom of Christ (written with Elissa M. Wahl)
are offering a special price of only $26.95 for a one- year
subscription to HELM and a copy of Christian Unschooling. This is a
savings of $11.95!

Payment are accepted through Paypal, personal check, and money
orders. This promotion is ongoing through November 1, 2001 and
complete details are available at the HELM web site here:
http://www.helmonline.com/pages/cubook.html .

Contact Information:

Donna M. De Poalo
941.321.7372
Donna@helmonline.com

---

8. Closing Letter

Many of you are just "restarting" your homeschools, while others
never stop the learning process, wherever you are in your
homeschooling journey, we pray you
are blessed. Keep up the good work and keep on loving your kids!!


Until next time,
Be blessed you all!

Elissa Wahl
Teri Brown
Angel Dyke

---

9. Subscription Information

Subscribe at : http://yahoogroups.com/community/Seedling or email
Unschoolr@aol.com

Unsubscribe at: http://yahoogroups.com/community/Seedling or email
Unschoolr@aol.com

---

10. Reprint Information

Individual authors herein retain their own copyrights. You may
freely copy this entire newsletter or material from this newsletter
in other nonprofit publications (unless otherwise marked in the
article), but you MUST include the author's name and this entire
notice:

"Reprinted with permission of Elissa Wahl from Seedling, a
Christian Unschooling E-Zine. For a free subscription, send
any e-mail message to Seedling-subscribe@yahoogroups.com or visit
URL: http://www.ChristianUnschooling.org"