My kids informed me there are three weeks left of school this year.

Silly boys. Don’t they know the sun is shining?

We’ll be lucky to get that far!

In the summer, we always have everyone do some sort of self-study. Physical fitness, daily reading, yard work and friend time are all on the kids’ wishlist for their free time. But so is independent learning.

Hebrew! The kids want to learn Hebrew!

Can you imagine you and your kids learning to read, write and speak the very language of Jesus and our heroes of the Bible spoke? What if…

• This could unlock an amazing and much deeper understanding of the word of God?
• Learning Hebrew can open doors bigger than you could ever know in your life?
• This can bring you a personal revival like never before?

I am thrilled to introduce you to Hebrew for Homeschoolers, by Ana Wills at They Call Me Blessed!

Ana shares,

“I am passionate about Hebrew for some many reasons. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew and that is about 70% of the whole Bible. Jesus and His disciples read the Holy Scriptures and prayed in Hebrew daily.

“Hebrew is the best language to learn of all… no one can really understand Scripture without it.” – Martin Luther

Hebrew is the language of Moses, King David, and so many heroes of our faith. Learning Hebrew brings you into a much deeper understanding of the Bible and strengthens your faith.

Why am I qualified to teach Hebrew?

Of course, just being passionate about Hebrew is not enough to qualify me to teach your kids. So here is a bit of background information for you.

I come from a Jewish background and when I gave my life to Jesus 19 years ago, I knew I wanted to learn Hebrew, move to Israel, and share the Good News about the Messiah with my people. So I did just that!

I had the privilege of living in Jerusalem and walking where Jesus walked for 5 years of my life. Israel is where I graduated, got married, had my first two children, enter full-time ministry, and lived the best five years of my life!

I was blessed to study at the Hebrew University for two years and to graduate from Israel College of the Bible in Jerusalem with a Bachelors of Arts in Bible and Judaic Studies. For 12 years I have taught Hebrew and a course on Understanding Israel and The Jewish Culture to churches around the world.

YOUR KIDS WILL LEARN HEBREW WITH ME!!! And so much more.

Is Hebrew too hard to learn?

No, not at all!

It is much easier than you think.

In fact, one of the things that makes Hebrew so easy to learn is that the Hebrew letters always have the same sounds, unlike the English language that has many different sounds to many letters and it’s so confusing with so many exceptions.

“Hebrew is to a large extent a phonetic language with a relatively small vocabulary. Generally, it is based on a simple three-letter root system which provides a helpful memory aid in the formation of various verbs and nouns; nothing like the complexity of many modern European languages.”
– David Bivin, Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus.

Here is what Hebrew for Homeschoolers for Beginners will teach you:

– The Alef-Bet (Hebrew alphabet)
– Numbers
– Colors
– Shapes
– Greetings
– Basic vocabulary
– Biblical vocabulary
– Hebrew songs

In only 10 weeks you and your children will be able to read, write and speak Hebrew for beginners and have basic conversations. How fun will this be?

There are no other courses like Hebrew for Homeschoolers!

• Classes are self-paced and last about 60 minutes.
• This course is geared to the whole family, from the youngest to the oldest in the family.
• You will have lifetime access to the course.
• And join our Facebook community for extra learning.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Here is what parents are saying about Hebrew for Homeschoolers:

“Hebrew for Homeschoolers has been such a blessing to myself and my children! Out of all the “school” things we do, they look forward to this the most. My five year old even remembers that Mondays are for Hebrew! Ana is a fabulous and gifted teacher!” – Dee Harrington, homeschool mom.

“Our family really enjoyed Hebrew for Homeschoolers. The fact that Ana brings LIVE classes to your home combined with her natural teaching ability made learning the foundations of the Hebrew language so easy. Whether you have a little Hebrew under your belt (like us) or none at all, Ana shows you how to take what you learn and put it into immediate use by also teaching greetings, songs, and common things spoke in everyday conversations. Not to mention, if you can’t tune in live, the replays are available immediately to watch at your convenience! If you are looking for a foreign language to study for personal or extracurricular use, I highly recommend Hebrew for Homeschoolers with Ana!” – Michelle Huddleston, homeschool mama, and blogger at With The Huddleston’s.

“My two daughters and I have been enjoying the classes. I am really learning a lot about Jewish Culture, which, I believe, is important. My girls really like the songs that Mrs. Willis teaches. Ana is a very beautiful lady; even when she was recovering from her toothache, she was bubbly and enthusiastic. Her passion for Hebrew is evident, which makes her the perfect choice for a teacher. We are looking forward to the next class! Thank you so much, Ana.” – Tamara Williams-Smith, homeschool mom.

“I had never even thought to learn Hebrew. However knowing what an amazing teacher Ana is I had to take this class! It has been such a joy to watch every week with my son.” – Jessica Kangai, homeschool mom.

What if Hebrew for Homeschoolers will be the best investment you’ll make this week for your family?

Don’t want to wait?

Use Code SPRINGSALE to get a 50% discount!!

 

SPECIAL for YOU : April 28-May 2, 2019 for parents of kids FIVE and Under!!

2019 Homeschool Mom Conference is open Monday April 29, 2019! Don’t miss the fun!

Like chocolate and vanilla ice cream; teenagers and electives are meant for one another!

What better way to take the reins of their learning, than to allow our teenagers to have a little bit of creative control over their future and learning.

What is an elective?

Homeschool electives are homeschool high school courses the help supplement core subjects or are geared to your child’s interest. Electives are a fantastic ways to teach your teen life skills.

Credit

When determining credit, 120 hours is the minimum necessary to earn one credit, while 60 hours would be adequate to earn ½ credit.

Can you create your own? Of course!!

You would be wise to write a course description giving details of the course’s content. The HSLDA does a great job explaining this!

Why electives are amazing

Electives are a beautiful way to allow your kids the opportunity to try on and master skills that will help them step toward their future.

Entrepreneurial Electives: Why not make a little money along the way!!

• Starting an Online Business for Beginners (1 credit) **Use code ELECTIVE2 for discount
• Learn how to Launch a Podcast Series (1 credit) **Use code BETA for discount!
• Selling on Etsy masterclass (1 credit)
• EBay Resale (¼ credit)
• Make and Sell Printables (1 credit) **Use code ELECTIVE1 for discount

Masterclasses: So many to choose from!!

• Learn to program (1 credit)
• Filmmaking (1 credit)
• Photography (1 credit)
• Game design and theory (1 credit)
• Electric Guitar (1 credit)
• Directing (1 credit)
• Electronic Music Production (1 credit)
• Chess (1 credit)
• Tennis (1 credit)
• Writing for young audiences (1 credit)
• Hand Lettering (1 credit)
• ASL (American Sign Language) (1 credit)
• Cooking (1 credit)
• YouTube Channel Creation (1 credit)
• Learn Hebrew (1 credit)
• Pinterest marketing (1 credit)
• Learn to Declutter (1 credit)
• Facebook Fan Building (¼ credit)
• Art History (½ credit)

Have a recommendation for an elective? Comment below!

I walked into the bathroom and saw the empty toilet paper roll.

The kitchen’s trash can is overflowing and there’s an empty milk jug in the refrigerator next to an unsealed bag of cheese that now is as hard as a rock.

You would think we don’t teach basic chores and life skills in our homes, but I know you battle against these same issues in your home too. Kids need a lot of practice to allow common sense and practical skills to become second nature.

As a homeschool mom, you may find that finding time to teach these life skills gets squeezed out by academic pressures, like learning to write beautifully.

Boy, do I have good news for you!

Amazing Handwriting Worksheets to the Rescue

Combining important life skills with menial tasks, like penmanship practice is perfection!

These Amazing Handwriting Worksheets do just that for you and your kids.

Each category is filled with quotes, instructions, or quick tips to help build your child’s life skills a little at a time. Use the pages for handwriting practice, writing prompts, or simply conversation starters.

Finally!
Handwriting worksheets that combine common sense and penmanship!

“When I reach the end of the roll of toilet paper, I hereby swear to replace the roll with a NEW roll of toilet paper. I also promise to throw the empty cardboard tube into the trash can.”

Yes, our kids need to have legible handwriting. Beautiful penmanship is almost a lost art form these days. There’s even a joke going around saying if we simply switch to cursive and cut off wifi we could cripple a whole generation. LOL.

But we want our kid to do more than write beautifully. Why not use handwriting practice as a springboard into teaching life skills about cleaning, car care, first aid and more.

Handwriting prompts can also be used as simple conversation starters. Did you know that “when a girl asks if you’re tired, it’s usually because she wants to talk?”

Handwriting practice can also be an excellent way to introduce or reenforce common sense activities such as replacing the toilet paper roll, throwing away the empty milk jug, or feeding the dog.

Let’s use this simple academic skill to reinforce excellent behavior and habits. You can download your copy here.

Every day, I wake up long before my teenage sons. It’s always been that way. Maybe it’s that fact that I need a few moments where no one in my world is calling, “mom!” Maybe its the fact that I love silence. But really, it’s because I know kids need to sleep.

Let’s face it, I’m not the only one who believes one of the best advantages of homeschooling is sleep.

I don’t mean that as a joke.

Read More »

Wow Mama,

We’ve learned so much about who we are as wives, moms, and homeschoolers over the last 26 years.

I found a magical time machine that allows me to communicate with you while your hair is still dark brown and your weight still matches what your driver’s license says.

Read More »

It’s not fair.

When you dedicate your life to raising your kids and personally stay at home to make sure their needs are met, you are like a master gardener inside a greenhouse.

Greenhouses are safe and controlled environments which provide optimum conditions for seeds to grow.

Plants are given just enough food and water and care to ensure they are healthy and strong and exposed to plenty of light.

As homeschoolers, we are greenhouse parents.
We carefully tend to their needs as young learners, providing just enough to help them grow in their love of learning, while providing plenty of opportunities for time in the sun.

Someone I respected told me I was setting my kids up for failure because my husband and I chose to homeschool our five sons. I was rattled.

My sons’ doctor had homeschooled all six of their children, so I asked him if I was making a mistake. “What would be your mistake?” He asked with a warm smile.

“Over protecting and over sheltering my kids,” I replied.

He laughed. “Bekki, look to the Bible. God ALWAYS over protects His kids. He hides them under His wings, protects them from storms, covers them with clouds, and warms them with pillars of fire. He parts seas when they need to cross water and sends food when they are wandering in the desert. God always over protects His kids. We should do the same.”

That one conversation gave me such a burst of confidence, I never looked back again. In fact, my husband and I pressed in and became expert Greenhouse Gardeners for our Kids.

Just like tomatoes and flowers grow better in a greenhouse, so do our kids… for the same reasons.

Temperature Control

“Outdoor temperature swings range widely between day and night. Plants subjected to extreme cold and heat across a 24-hour period do not grow as well as greenhouse plants and stressed plants become stunted over time.”

Kids left to their own devices, or worse the whims of the world, are subjected to extreme cold and heat in the form of topics and agendas being thrust into their worlds long before their roots are strong. Over time, they become stressed and their own growth is stunted.

• It’s the right thing for us to control the temperature in our children’s lives. To give them the proper balance of normal, healthy, and whole- all flowing from our love for the Lord.
• It’s ok for us to control the flow of information that comes into our child’s mind while they are young.
• It’s necessary for us to give our kids boundaries and rules based upon the word of God and to teach them His guidelines for truth.

“They will know us by our love.”

Carbon Dioxide Factor

“Controlling indoor air movement provides the greenhouse plants with a constant supply of carbon dioxide, which they need for sugar production.”

A master gardener knows that controlling the air flowing to her plants is key to their health and eventual harvest. Too little of the right air and the plant withers, too much and it is not healthy. The key is balance.

Kids need the proper flow of ideas, teachings and truth to be controlled as they flow into their lives also. As a greenhouse homeschooler, you don’t cut your child off from the world entirely, instead you are completely in control of how much of the world has contact with your children as they are developing. Master gardeners will not fill their greenhouses with sunshine, water, locusts, and diseases that may arm their plants.

Greenhouse parents take precautions when raising their kids as well, carefully selecting and controlling what they let in. That is the best way for kids to grow.

Reduced Pest and Disease Exposure

“Plants in greenhouses grow in containers with specifically chosen soil. Unlike an outdoor garden, your greenhouse container soil does not have the potential of harboring harmful diseases and pests. As a result, your greenhouse is practically sterile to fungi, bacteria and pests, such as borers. Without stressful pathogens and pests, the plants concentrate on healthy growth rather than repair and defense.”

Read that last sentence again. ‘Without stressful pathogens and pests, the plants concentrate on health growth rather than repair and defense.’

You are NOT stunting your child’s life when you control which ideas and ideologies you allow in your home. You are strengthening them and giving them an unfair advantage for growth.

This is where everyone takes sides and draws lines, I get that. You have every right to decide what you want to pass on to your children, but be careful. EVERYTHING is too much.

Kids who are exposed to an “anything goes- no boundaries” world are not set up for confidence and success to the same degree as those who are taught to live within the safety of boundaries. The right boundaries are more than beneficial for our kids. They catapult them toward stable, secure, healthy and fruitful lives.

Our kids have an unfair advantage because they grow in safety, security, and confidence in this greenhouse environment.

We made the decision long ago that we would homeschool our kids, I would be a full time mom and homeschool teacher, and we would stand upon the word of God and all His precious promises.

It may be unfair to everyone outside the greenhouse, but it’s still the best for our kids and the effects are evident in our kids as they grow in joy, love, confidence, and passion.

All five of our sons are healthy, strong, and catapulting toward successful futures.

Don’t be afraid of the greenhouse. EMBRACE it!

My boys will fight over blueberries, Legos and who gets to be the most gentleman-ly boy. 

Today, we entered the gauntlet of doors at our dentists office.

There are three doors to open and they fought over who got to open which door AND almost killed me in the process.

LOL.

You should have seen the girls behind the desk.

Are you in the same boat?
If you have sons, are your holding on to your sanity as you raise up the next generation of godly men?

Boys test our grit. If your sons are near the age of 12 you may be surprised at the thoughts that go through your mind.

Related: All five of my sons were lucky to survive 12… just being real.

I have thousands of readers with daughters and yet I’m still looking for bits of wisdom to pass on. Do you have any nuggets of wisdom for raising godly women?

I was chatting with a mom this morning about our kids.

She was trying to make sense of our family’s stance on dating. It seemed so foreign, strange, and crazy that none of our sons date. Oh, they’re social and have lots of friends. The girls think they are super cute and the boys have to be creative in keeping them at bay… But they don’t date.

It’s so odd to the world. Funny, that’s how it should be. Our kids, our families, our lives shouldn’t fit in.

Our 20-year old was cussed out at college and called horrific names because he opened the door for a young woman who had her arms full.
His offensive crime? He saw she had her hands full, so he opened the door.

Gasp.

After he told her to have a wonderful day (sincerely) a group of boys said, “dude… you have guts. I’d never open the door for a girl here!”

How sad.

When did it become wrong, bad, or offensive to be kind, considerate, and a gentleman?
When did it become weak, bad, or scandalous for a woman to accept assistance from a …….MAN?

Related: 22 Simple manners Kids should know by the time they graduate high school

I’m rambling a bit.

We need to be strong when raising up our sons and daughters. The world needs men and women of God who are not afraid to be men and women of God.

How will they know what that means if they are not taught? How can we teach them if we weren’t taught ourselves?

There are some INCREDIBLE goodies for you to grab before the BYB goes away.

REAL MEN 101: GODLY MANHOOD

GOD’S GIRLS 101: GROW IN CHRIST

There is so much inside this year’s Build your own bundle.

You’re gonna need a cup of tea, a chunk of time, and a printable to help you.

Related: Homeschool Goals Planner to help sort through the Build Your Own Bundle

Where do I begin with the Build Your Own Bundle?

• Grab your free planner
• Decide how many products you want from the bundle
• Choose the best option for you: 

This year, you can add ANY product (excluding the mystery bundle & premium products) as long as the retail value is $100 or more. 

Now, here’s the really cool part!

$100 retail = you pay $25
$200 retail = you pay $40
$340 retail = you pay $60
$800 retail = you pay $80

The more you add to your bundle the BETTER the savings!  Again, the flexibility of this makes it totally WORTH IT!

Time to save hundreds of dollars on next year’s homeschool curriculum and resources!

The Build Your Bundle sale begins on May 15th, but you can enter now for your chance to win ALL 15 bundles in this year’s sale. Plus more great prizes will be awarded from May 15th-22nd, so head over now!

#BYB2019
Enter here for your chance to win BIG this year from Build Your Bundle. Two winners will receive ALL 15 Bundles, plus daily prizes awarded May 15th-22nd for more than $5000 in total prizes!

“I discovered Build Your Bundle four years ago, and it has made a world of difference in our homeschool journey! My kids LOVE being able to pick what they want to learn about and how they want to learn about it, as well as having such a wide variety of options to choose from. We’ve grown from elementary to middle school with BYB, and we wait anxiously every year for it to roll around. This was an incredible way for us to learn about new companies, authors, blogs, and opportunities for us as a homeschooling family. We discovered Mystery of History, How Great Though Art, A Journey Through Learning, and Amanda Bennett through BYB, as well as dozens of other great authors and resources. Plus, the cost is so much less than buying traditional curriculum. For a family on a budget, you can’t beat it! And if you’re trying to find new ways to learn and grow, then this is a sale that can’t be missed!”

April D. – South Carolina, USA

• Road Trip: Car Ride Games for Kids
• Charlotte Mason PARTY!!!
• Hebrew for Homeschoolers: Perfect Timing!
• High School Electives for Homeschoolers
• Amazing Handwriting Worksheets Teach Life Skills