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www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com
 Introduction

Welcome to the Homeschool Business

For More
& Entrepreneur Directory!
Information:
H
omeschoolers today are blessed with a bounty of curriculum, resources, and
supplements to enrich and enliven their children’s education. This brand-new Homeschool requirements are
directory is designed to help parents navigate the sea of possibilities when it
legislated by each individual
comes to choosing what resources to use in their home, whether they need a language arts
curriculum, a geography book, or a dissection kit. state and vary greatly. The
Homeschoolers do much more than homeschool, though, and we’ve brought in listings Home School Legal Defense
from almost every type of business imaginable—from real estate and home décor to Association (HSLDA) provides
insurance and Web design.
helpful links to each state’s
Every business advertising here is owned either by a homeschooling family or by
someone supportive of the homeschooling choice, and we sincerely hope you’ll use this homeschool regulations and
directory to connect with like-minded people as you fulfill your own family’s needs. support groups. Please visit
Before you delve into the directory listings, take time to read the articles we’ve gathered www.hslda.org to determine the
for you. You’ll be encouraged in teaching and guiding your children through their lives.
rules for your state.
You’ll also be able to read about the continually growing homeschool market and how you
can share materials you’ve created with other homeschooling families.
The encouraging articles for budding entrepreneurs are designed especially to help
Find encouraging research
homeschoolers start and/or build their own homegrown businesses. When you do delve and statistcs regarding
into the directory listings, consider building your business using the support products and homeschooling at
services offered there. www.nheri.org.
Blessings from our families to yours, And, don’t overlook the benefit
Paul & Gena Suarez, Publishers, and of connecting with other
The Homeschool Business & Entrepreneur Directory Project Team homeschoolers online. There
is a wealth of experience,
information, encouragement,
and fellowship at
The 2011 Homeschool Business & Entrepreneur Directory
www.HomeschoolBlogger.com.
You’ll find bloggers ranging
© 2011 The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC from classical homeschoolers
P.O. Box 8426, Gray, TN 37615 to unschoolers and everything
Printed in the United States of America
in between. Journal your
All rights reserved homeschool journey, practice
your writing skills, let the world
Project Manager: Cindy Horton know what you think about
Project Assistants: Donna Campos and Amy Osborn
Project Editors: Liz Koon, Donna Rees, and Karen Sargent
things, or just read along. The
Cover Design: Christi Gifford choice is yours.
Layout: David Borrink

This published work may contain facts, views, opinions, statements, recommendations, hyperlinks, refer-
ences, websites, advertisements and other content and links or references to external sources (collectively,
“Content”) not owned or controlled by the publisher, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC (“TOS”).
This Content does not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or recommendations of TOS, and any reli-
ance upon such Content is taken at the user’s sole risk. TOS and the individual contributors have made
reasonable efforts to include accurate, current, “family-friendly” Content, but TOS makes no warranties or
representations as to the accuracy, safety or value of Content contained, published, displayed, uploaded,
downloaded or distributed through or as part of this publication and assumes no liability or responsibility
for the content of linked or referenced sources or for errors or omissions in Content. Users are advised that
online content, and the user’s experience, may change during use or over time, and are strongly advised
to use discernment and wisdom when considering advice and recommendations made in this or any other
published work. TOS accepts no responsibility for the actions of third parties or for Content provided,
uploaded, linked or posted by third parties.

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©2011,The
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OldSchoolhouse®
Schoolhouse®Magazine
Magazine 33
 Table of Contents

3 Welcome to the Homeschool Socialization 58 From Desperation to

Business & Entrepreneur Publication: A Curriculum Is
Directory! 30 Inveterate Ironies of Born
Socialization by Kim Kautzer, Expo Speaker
by Emily Hoffhines
Homeschooling Styles 62 Illuminations
31 Homeschooling and by Dari Mullins, Expo Speaker
6 What Kind of Homeschooler Socialization Opportunities
Are You? by Heidi Johnson 64 A True Tale
by Loretta Spangler by Diana Waring, Expo Speaker
32 The Great Bugaboo
7 Quiz Time: Find Your by Donna Conner 66 A Father of Vision
Homeschooling Style by Norm Wakefield, Expo Speaker
The Homeschool Market
8 What Makes Classical Education 70 Making Time for Things That
Different 34 How to Break Into the Matter: Everyday Education,
by Susan Wise Bauer Homeschool Market LLC, The Story of a Business
by Liz Koon by Janice Campbell, Expo Speaker
10 What is a Unit Study?
by Amanda Bennett 36 The Marketing vs. Advertising 72 From Famine to Feast: How I
Conundrum Built My Writing, Editing, and
12 A Traditional Approach to by Mari Almon Coaching Business as a Single
Homeschooling Homeschooling Mom
by Sandy Dawson by Mary Jo Tate, Expo Speaker
Working at Home
13 Unschooling 75 NHERI—The Research Institute
by Bethany George
38 Ten (Unusual) Roles You’ll Play
as a Work-at-Home Mom by Brian D. Ray, Ph.D., Expo Speaker
14 Eclectic Homeschooling by Carol Topp, CPA
78 Five Reasons to Use Mobile
by Diana Waring Technology for Education
40 Move Past the Juggling
Act: Balancing Home Life, by Terri Johnson, Expo Speaker
16 A Mini Primer on Charlotte
Mason for Everyday Life Homeschool, and Home Biz
81 A Case for Freedomship &
by Rea Berg by Mary Jo Tate
Entrepreneurial Education
by Andrew Pudewa, Expo Speaker
18 The Relaxed Homeschooling Schoolhouse Expo 2011
Lifestyle 85 Learning and Teaching and
by Mary Hood, Ph.D., Executive 45 Hello, Friends! Business, Oh My!
Director, ARCHERS for the Lord®, Inc.
by Barbara Beers, Expo Sponsor
46 Accountant to Author: A Home
21 Frustration to Fun: Informal Business Journey 88 The Adventure of a Lifetime
Homeschool Days by Carol Topp, CPA, Expo Speaker by Davis Carman, Expo Sponsor
by Cindy Horton
49 Carol Barnier’s Impressive 90 Your Kids Can Train to Become
Special Needs Business Plan Fire Station Buddies
by Carol Barnier, Expo Speaker by Karen McHale, Expo Sponsor
24 Why Homeschool Children with
Special Needs? 51 Child Diagnostics, Inc., Denver, 93 Rainbow Resource Center: Then
by Rebekah Wilson Colorado and Now
by Dianne Craft, MA, CNHP, Expo by Bob and Linda Schneider, Expo
25 Ten Reasons to Homeschool Speaker Sponsors
Your Child With Special Needs
by Amanda Fuller 54 Jim Weiss and Greathall
Productions
27 Guiding Your Gifted Child by Jim Weiss, Expo Speaker 100 Who We Are and Why We Exist
by Maggie Hogan
56 Bright Ideas Press: A Brief 102 Statement of Faith
History
by Maggie Hogan (& Tyler Hogan),
Expo Speakers

44 ©2011,
©2011,The
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www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
 Homeschool Business & Entrepreneur Directory - Table of Contents
Resources for Cosmetics & Skin Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 Illinois . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Homeschooling Families Crafts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 Indiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Arts & Crafts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Economics / Finance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 Iowa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Baby & Toddler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Event Venues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 Kansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Business & Economics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Family & Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 Kentucky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Business Services & Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Foreign Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 Louisiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Christian / Bible Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Fun & Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 Maine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Classical Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Gardening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Maryland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Clothing & Fashion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Graphics & Web Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Massachusetts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
College & Career Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Health & Wellness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 Michigan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Colleges & Universities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 Handmade Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 Minnesota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Computers & Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 Homeschooling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 Mississippi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Cooking & Nutrition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 Homeschooling Encouragement & How-To . . . 133 Missouri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Critical Thinking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 Homeschooling - Full Curriculum . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 Montana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Cross-Curricular Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 Homeschooling - High School & Beyond . . . . . . 134 Nebraska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Family & Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 Homeschooling - History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 Nevada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Fine Arts, Music & Drama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 Homeschooling - Language Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 New Hampshire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Foreign Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Homeschooling - Mathematics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 New Jersey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Full Curriculum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Homeschooling - Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 New Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Fun & Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Homeschooling - Online Courses . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 New York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Gifted Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Homeschool - Planning & Organization . . . . . . . 135 North Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Health & Physical Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Homeschooling - Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 North Dakota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Health & Wellness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Household . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 Ohio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
High School & Transcripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Household - Frugal Living . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 Oklahoma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
History & Geography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 Household - Home Décor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 Oregon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Homemaking & Household . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 Household - Keepsakes, Gifts & Awards . . . . . . . 137 Pennsylvania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Homeschool Encouragement & Information . . 117 Household - Kitchen Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 Rhode Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Language Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117 Household - Organization & Storage . . . . . . . . . . 138 South Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Language Arts - Penmanship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138 South Dakota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Language Arts - Phonics / Early Readers . . . . . . . 118 Literature & Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138 Tennessee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Language Arts - Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 Natural Foods & Farms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Lapbooking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 Preschoolers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 Utah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Literature & Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 Photography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 Vermont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Mathematics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 Publishing & Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Movies & Film . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 Real Estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Online Schools & Classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121 Science & Nature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 West Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Preschoolers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Screen Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 Wisconsin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Special Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 Wyoming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Science & Nature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Travel & Hospitality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 Alberta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Special Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 Virtual Assistants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 British Columbia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
STEM Curricula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 Work from Home Opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 Manitoba . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Struggling Learners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Writing & Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 New Brunswick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Testing / Assessments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Newfoundland & Labrador . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Travel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Listings by Region Northwest Territories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Unit Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Alabama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 Nova Scotia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Alaska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 Ontario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Homeschool-Friendly Arizona . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 Prince Edward Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Entrepreneurs Arkansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Quebec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Automotive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Saskatchewan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Baby & Toddler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 Colorado . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 Yukon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Business Services & Marketing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 Connecticut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 Finland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Christian / Bible Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 Delaware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Christian Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 Nigeria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Clothing & Fashion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 Georgia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 United Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Computers & Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 Hawaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Cooking & Nutrition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 Idaho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

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©2011,The
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Schoolhouse®Magazine
Magazine 55
 Homeschooling Styles
What Kind of Homeschooler Are You?
by Loretta Spangler
S
tanding before the boxed mixes in
the baking aisle of the grocery store,
I am struck by the similarities be-
tween homeschooling and baking brown-
ies. There are many options. From a single
brand of mix, choices include chocolate
chunk, dark chocolate, and cookie brown-
ies. From a single cookbook, options in-
clude peanut butter, mint, and even ginger-
flavored brownies. Oh, sorry, I’m making
you hungry; I’ll stop now. The point is
having so many choices can be simulta-
neously wonderful and overwhelming.
Likewise with homeschooling. Given the
variety of educational methods and materi-
als available today, the bigger decision is
often not whether to homeschool but how
to homeschool.
“The bigger decision is often not whether to
homeschool but how to homeschool.”
The truth is there are as many ways to
homeschool as there are families who ho-
meschool. That is why homeschooling is
such a unique gift. Every family can fully
customize the education of their children.
Even so, most homeschooling approaches
fall into one of several general types.
The Charlotte Mason approach, also
known as the living books approach, is
based on ideas developed in the early
1900s by British educator Charlotte Ma-
son. The essence of this approach is that
the child is a person whose mind should be
offered a feast, not a container to be filled
with predigested bits of knowledge.
The classical approach is based upon
methods that have been used successfully
for centuries. It can refer to both a specific
content, including logic, Latin, and Great
Books studies, and a method based on stag-
es of learning described in a famous essay
by Dorothy Sayers.
Those who use the eclectic approach
combine what they consider the best parts
66 ©2011,
©2011,The
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OldSchoolhouse®
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Magazine
of many methods in order to create a truly
individualized education that matches the
teaching style of the parent and the learn-
ing style of the child.
Unit studies are characterized by inte-
grating work in all subject areas around a
chosen topic.
Unschooling takes advantage of a child’s
innate curiosity by providing a rich learning
environment of books, resources, and adult
models so that he can productively explore
those subject areas that interest him.
The folks at The Old Schoolhouse® have
brought together a group of experts to tell
you more about each of these homeschool-
ing styles. As you read, you may find your-
self nodding in agreement—“Yep, that’s
me”—or you may find you don’t fit into
any one “type.” If so, that’s okay; person-
ally, I think peanut butter chocolate brown-
ies taste great.
So, what kind of homeschooler are you?
Did you readily identify with a particular
style? If so, you can use that knowledge
to help fully customize the education you
are giving your children. In choosing cur-
riculum, for example, you can look for
resources developed specifically for your
style of education.
Perhaps you found yourself thinking,
“I’m this kind of homeschooler, but I’d like
to be that kind of homeschooler.” If so, be
encouraged to make changes; many fami-
lies switch from one style to another over
the course of their homeschooling years,
basing their approach at any given point in
time on their children’s interests, maturity
levels, and state grade-level requirements.
Still not sure what kind of homeschooler
you are? The good news is you don’t have
to figure that out in order to homeschool
successfully. While labels are helpful in
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sorting through the many curriculum re-
sources available, it isn’t necessary to
identify explicitly with one or the other.
Just as some families change homeschool-
ing styles in different seasons of life, other
families blend two or more styles.
So continue to explore these essays.
Search out the suggested resources. Talk to
homeschool moms near you. Read curricu-
lum reviews. Join an online homeschool
community. Investigate on a small scale
styles new to you. Try out the Charlotte
Mason approach by adding a living book to
your current history or science curriculum.
Sample the unit study approach by using
one of the Schoolhouse Planner modules
published by The Old Schoolhouse® Maga-
zine. Delve into classical education by play-
ing around with an elementary-level Latin
curriculum. Experiment with unschooling
in just one subject area, maybe science.
Try all these things at once, and you’ll be
an eclectic homeschooler by default!
You see, it doesn’t really matter if you
are a classical homeschooler with a little
Charlotte Mason thrown in, or if your un-
schooling sometimes looks a lot like unit
studies, or if your style defies classifica-
tion. Homeschooling that is worthy of the
name happens when children are learning
at home and having fun while they do.
Returning to the brownie analogy, it isn’t
necessary to identify your favorite kind in
order to bake a batch. So go ahead and
throw a handful of chocolate chips or stir
a spoonful of peanut butter into your basic
brownies. The important thing is that they
are sweet and they are chocolate.
Loretta Spangler is a widow who has al-
ways homeschooled. She has graduated one
of three sons and continues to homeschool
the other two in between vegetable garden-
ing, baking brownies bread, caring for the
chickens, tutoring upper-level math, and
running her used curriculum and children’s
book business. She blogs at http://home-
schoolblogger.com/amnbooks and may be
contacted at amnbooks@juno.com
 Homeschooling Styles

Quiz Time: Find Your Homeschooling Style

B
efore you read the homeschooling styles articles on the following pages, take this quiz to find out which homeschooling method
might fit you best! Remember, there are no right or wrong answers. These questions are simply designed to help you figure out how
your personal preferences match up with the most common styles of homeschooling.

1. What type of lesson plans do you prefer?

A) I want to open a book and have the lessons completely laid out–no preplanning for me!
B) I love making up my own lessons and hate having someone else tell me what I should teach.
C) I prefer laid-out lesson plans, but I don’t mind buying materials or preparing in advance.
D) I like having a plan, but I’m always tweaking things to fit my family.

2. I want to be able to teach all of my children at the same time.

A) Definitely
B) Not really

3. How do you feel about re-creating a schoolroom at home?

A) I think a dedicated place for learning is important.
B) I don’t want our homeschool to look anything like a classroom.
C) We may not use school desks, but I think structure and a daily routine are very important.
D) I’d rather “’do school” cuddled up on the couch or outside in the sunshine!

4. How do you define academic success?

A) When I see my children really enjoying their school time.
B) Good test scores.
C) Having my child develop a love of learning.
D) My goal is for all my children to attend college and begin
successful careers.

5. How do you feel about child-directed learning?

A) I worry that we’d miss important concepts or topics.
B) I think that following my child’s interests makes it easier
for him to truly learn the material.
C) I like the idea, but I’ll keep offering suggestions and guid-
ing his interests.

6. As a homeschool teacher, you want to be:

A) An example to your children. As you spend time read-
ing and learning about new subjects, you’ll inspire your
children to love learning new things.
B) A resource for your children. You’re available to answer
all their questions and discuss topics that interest them.
C) A source of information for your children. You’ll plan
lessons and select topics that are important for your chil-
dren to learn.

Write down your answers, then go to page 43 to find

out what your homeschooling style is.

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 Homeschooling Styles
What Makes Classical Education Different
by Susan Wise Bauer
M
odern classical education is built
around three distinctive, time-
tested principles. First: a child’s
mind develops in three distinct stages. Sec-
ond: living books and primary sources are
worth more than textbooks. Third: the pur-
pose of education is to train lifelong learn-
ers, not to fill a student’s head with a set
amount of information.
The first principle—the three-stage de-
velopment of the young mind—is proba-
bly the most distinctive aspect of classical
education. In the classical pattern, the ear-
liest years of schooling, roughly the same
grades that American educators think of
“The purpose of education is to train life-
long learners, not to fill a student’s head
with a set amount of information.”
as “elementary school,” are spent on aca-
demic basics. These years are often called
the grammar stage of education; not be-
cause the young student spends four years
doing English grammar, but because dur-
ing these years, the foundation for all oth-
er learning is laid. Grammar, in its origi-
nal sense, means the basic elements of any
art or science; during the first four years
of education, children learn the basic el-
ements of reading, writing, mathematics,
and science.
The elementary years are the best pos-
sible time for this basic learning. During
grades one through four, the child’s mind
is incredibly retentive, ready to memorize
and retain information. So during this pe-
riod, education involves not primarily self-
expression and self-discovery, but rather
the learning of facts. Young students cer-
tainly aren’t discouraged from self-expres-
sion, but original thought and creativity are
not required as a basic element of learning.
Instead, the focus is on spreading out a rich
feast of information for the child. Rules
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of phonics and spelling, rules of gram-
mar, poems, the vocabulary of foreign lan-
guages, the stories of history and literature,
descriptions of plants and animals and the
human body, the facts of mathematics—
the list goes on.
This information provides the “gram-
mar,” or the basic building blocks, for the
second stage of education. By fifth grade
or so, most children begin to lose inter-
est in memorization and mere absorption
of facts. Instead, the young student begins
to think more analytically. The child is no
longer satisfied with asking a question and
receiving an answer; instead, she wants to
find out why the answer is true. The second
phase of the classical education, the logic
stage, is a time when the child begins to
pay attention to cause and effect, to the
relationships between different fields of
knowledge, to the way facts fit together
into a logical framework.
A student is ready for the logic stage
when the capacity for abstract thought be-
gins to mature. During these years, the stu-
dent begins algebra and the study of logic
and begins to apply logic to all academic
subjects. The logic of writing, for example,
includes learning paragraph construction
and how to support a thesis; the logic of
history demands that the student find out
why the War of 1812 was fought, rather
than simply reading its story; the logic of
science requires that the child learn the sci-
entific method. For a grammar-stage stu-
dent, the study of literature means reading
a book and then answering a simple ques-
tion: What happened? For a logic-stage
student, the study of language involves
new questions: Why do the characters act
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as they do? Why does this book hold or lose
the reader’s interest? What is the book’s
climatic point, its crisis, its resolution?
Developing the habit of critical analy-
sis prepares the student for the final phase
of education, the rhetoric stage. At this
point, the high school student learns to
write and speak with force and original-
ity. The student of rhetoric applies the
rules of logic learned in middle school to
the foundational information learned in
the early grades and expresses his conclu-
sions in clear, forceful, elegant language.
Students also begin to specialize in what-
ever branch of knowledge attracts them;
these are the years for art camps, college
courses, foreign travel, apprenticeships,
and other forms of specialized training.
The second and third phases of edu-
cation—the logic and rhetoric phases—
depend on the second principle of classi-
cal education: Living books and primary
sources are more valuable than textbooks.
Certainly, textbooks have their place in
education. The classical educator is care-
ful to make a distinction between skills
and content areas. Skills such as arithme-
tic, English grammar, spelling, and begin-
ning scientific education rely on the step-
by-step introduction of new material that
builds logically on what has come before.
A student can’t understand what a subject
and predicate are until she understands
nouns and verbs; she can’t fully grasp mul-
tiplication and division until she’s learned
how to add and subtract. A well-designed
textbook can be the best possible guide to
mastery of these skills.
But in the content areas—history, litera-
ture, more advanced sciences—classical
educators encourage students not to rely on
textbooks. Rather, children are given “liv-
ing books”—books by individual authors,
presenting particular points of view—and
primary sources.
Why? Because students in the logic and
rhetoric stages are encouraged to think
critically about the ideas presented in their
history, literature, and science materials.
(continued on page 23)
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 Homeschooling Styles
What is a Unit Study?
by Amanda Bennett
W
ell, first let me tell you what it is
not. A good unit study does not
involve dry reading or memori-
zation, busy work, endless worksheet com-
pletion, and bored children. A good unit
study involves learning about one topic in
an interesting and engaging way that will
captivate students and make them want
to learn more and continue to think about
the things that they are learning. From cell
phones to Ethiopia, from catapults to el-
ephants, unit studies can open up the world
to your children, one topic at a time.
As the process of “education” has de-
veloped through the ages, people have
slowly but surely categorized and com-
partmentalized almost everything in our
“A unit study works by capturing children’s
attention and helping them understand the
pieces of the whole as they fit together.”
world into specific areas of learning.
These include science, history, geogra-
phy, art, and many others. However, to
children who are eager to learn, the world
is viewed as whole pieces, not segmented
bits and parts. When they see the vast
ocean, they see it as teeming with whales
and dolphins, full of sunken pirate ships
and octopus and seashells, covered with
rolling waves. A unit study tries to work
from this viewpoint, taking one topic at a
time and explaining the way it works as
a whole to children who already see it as
a whole. They don’t see the ocean as his-
tory, geography, marine biology, etc.
A unit study works by capturing chil-
dren’s attention and helping them under-
stand the pieces of the whole as they fit
together. When they learn about the oceans
with a unit study, they learn about whales
and dolphins, how the oceans flow, how
explorers traveled the oceans with currents
and wind, how big and wide and deep the
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oceans are, and how all of these compo-
nents work together.
Take a minute to compare textbooks
with unit studies. Textbooks are one form
of curriculum used for education, and most
of us were educated using textbooks. They
are written from the perspective that ev-
erything in the world fits neatly into one of
several categories, such as science or ge-
ography. Textbooks include a collection of
information that is to be read, memorized,
and repeated for a test or exam. The main
problem with textbook learning is that the
student becomes very well trained at mem-
orizing information, but unfamiliar with
how all of this memorized information ap-
plies to the world around him. By coming
from a different perspective and teaching
the child about a complete topic, unit stud-
ies offer the advantage of helping children
grasp the big picture and then apply what
they have learned to other areas and other
topics as their education continues.
A frequently asked question about unit
studies is “will there be holes in a child’s
education using unit studies?” How many
textbooks did you finish in your own edu-
cation? Most of us never finished a single
textbook. We have huge holes in our own
education. Also, realize that it will be im-
possible to teach your child everything that
is now known. It is vitally important that
we provide an excellent basic education
and teach these bright young minds how to
think and find answers.
In this day and age of information ex-
plosion, textbook publishers rush to keep
adding new information to textbooks, fur-
ther abridging, condensing, and modifying
or deleting what they deem less important
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or not politically correct. Many textbooks
now read like encyclopedias, with little in-
teresting reading included, just facts, fig-
ures, and condensed material. Most chil-
dren or adults would never rush to pick up
a textbook these days for a “good read.”
Why would they get excited or eager to
learn from a textbook?
If we can teach our children with in-
teresting materials, challenging them to
think, reason, analyze, and dig deeper for
further information, we will find them to
be well-educated and ready to move on to
a lifetime of challenge and questions and
adventure. While we will never be able
to teach children everything, we can cer-
tainly teach them these things, providing
a strong foundation and knowledge base
for the future.
After writing unit studies for 18 years,
I have been blessed to be able to see first-
hand some of the advantages offered with
this curriculum choice. The use of unit
studies can help your student develop into
a self-motivated learner, eager to see what
the world has to offer. Children learn to
think and reason and understand the deep-
er connections that God created in this
world and how so much of His creation
fits together according to His plan. Instead
of learning about clouds and water vapor
and the water cycle separately from the
study of the rivers and lakes and streams
and oceans of the world, they learn about
these things just as they were created—as
one part of an amazing world!
Amanda Bennett is a wife, homeschool
mom, speaker, and author. She travels and
speaks at conferences and retreats, sharing
her faith, homeschool experiences, and a
contagious love of learning. Her newest se-
ries of books, Download N Go™, is based
on a groundbreaking combination of unit
studies, lapbooks, and digital interactivity.
With two that have graduated from college
and one teenager at home, she and her hus-
band stay busy on their tree farm in Ten-
nessee. Visit Amanda at www.UnitStudy.
com and www.AmandaBennett.com.
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 Homeschooling Styles
A Traditional Approach to Homeschooling
by Sandy Dawson
I
n order to understand the traditional
approach to learning, we must look
back to the very foundations of edu-
cation in our country. The first American
schools were an extension of the family.
Each community had its own autonomous
school, whose teacher served at the plea-
sure of the families in that community.
These schools were local and individual-
ized. Quality was high and waste was at a
minimum. The parents provided the lead-
ership and resources for the education of
their children, because education was not
considered a function of government.
A traditional approach to homeschool-
ing would follow this one-room school-
house format. One teacher (the parent) su-
pervises the studies of numerous students,
spending time working individually with
each child. This one-on-one methodology
“Each child is permitted to progress at
his own rate, on his own performance
level, with the emphasis on ‘learning’
rather than ‘teaching.’”
is crucial to the success of the traditional
approach to learning. Each child is per-
mitted to progress at his own rate, on his
own performance level, with the empha-
sis on “learning” rather than “teaching.”
The focus is the child and his individual
needs. The parent serves as a tutor to as-
sist when needed rather than as a lecturer.
This frees the parent to zero in on areas of
strength and weakness for each child, giv-
ing him the personal attention necessary to
make sure concepts are fully grasped. The
child’s learning style and personality can
be considered in the approach taken when
working individually with that child.
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Recognizing the fundamental nature of
reading to all other learning, traditional
training in reading is foundational and
based on a phonetic approach. Knowledge
of letters, sounds, blends, and pronuncia-
tion rules will enable students to decipher
any printed word they may encounter. The
study of phonics gives them basic reading
tools, which will not limit them to a list of
sight words they recognize.
After a child masters the basic phonetic
skills, he moves on to reading mastery
and concrete drills. A person learns skills
by understanding and performing them
repetitiously. Memorization is not only
a means of retaining information; it also
disciplines the mind for more difficult
tasks to follow. As his mental maturity
allows, the older student will move into
more abstract thought, allowing him to
deal with more complex materials. “Line
upon line, precept upon precept” is the
Biblical model that is followed in direct-
ing a child’s learning.
In order for a child to master concepts
and be able to use them effectively, learn-
ing must be routinely measured. The stu-
dent is taught to take responsibility for his
own learning, with frequent testing to en-
sure mastery. In all areas of study, mastery
is required before a student is permitted to
advance to the next level.
Along with academic subjects, the tradi-
tional approach to education values the de-
velopment of communication skills. Reci-
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tation and creative writing are tools used
to help children express themselves in an
effective and confident way. The ability to
speak comfortably before others is recog-
nized as a skill that will serve them well
throughout life.
The most important aspect of traditional
learning is the emphasis on character train-
ing. Our forefathers understood the need
for instilling certain values in the hearts
and minds of our children. It is not enough
to present lessons on such traits as honesty,
compassion, resourcefulness, and responsi-
bility. The parents, through their example,
mentor their children to incorporate these
traits in daily life. Open discussions should
ensue that show the practical relevance of
the desired character traits and identify
them in each child’s relationships and ac-
tivities. The regular study of Bible verses
and stories that exemplify the traits being
learned will help children understand how
to apply them to real-life situations. This
three-fold approach to character training
(example, discussion, and application) will
create a foundational platform from which
a child’s daily decisions are formulated.
The traditional approach to education is
individualized, child-focused, and mastery-
based. Through the use of regular measure-
ment, training in communication skills,
and an emphasis on character, children can
establish a solid moral and academic foun-
dation in their lives.
The use of an established, time-tested, in-
dividualized curriculum allows parents the
freedom to spend their educational time in-
teracting with their children instead of pre-
paring lesson plans. Accelerated Christian
Education® has been meeting this need for
over four decades for thousands of home-
schooling families around the world.
Mrs. Sandy Dawson serves as an education
specialist for Accelerated Christian Edu-
cation. After 25 years in the classroom, she
and her husband have spent the last nine
years traveling the globe training Chris-
tian educators.
 Homeschooling Styles
Unschooling
by Bethany George
O
f the myriad of homeschooling
styles being utilized today, un-
schooling has got to be the most
misunderstood. It was only a few months
ago that I, myself, had a very skeptical at-
titude towards it. I didn’t know much about
unschooling, but what I did know left me
confused and maybe even a little suspi-
cious. I was too concerned about my kids
keeping up to consider unschooling. How-
ever, I did want to choose the materials and
methods that would cause the least amount
of moaning and groaning in our home. I
didn’t think there was much hope for my
kids to actually love school, but I wanted
them to at least not hate it. So I was always
on the lookout for fresh ideas and tried to
keep our learning as fun as possible.
“An unschooling parent is highly involved,
continually receptive to her child’s particular
needs, interests, and abilities during each
season of growth.”
That’s when I happened upon John Holt’s
book, What Do I Do Monday? (Boynton/
Cook, 1995). The author’s ideas made a
huge impact on me. It was an exciting time
as I began to view learning in a brand new
way. After looking for more information
about John Holt, I found that his writings
had inspired the unschooling movement! I
was really intrigued now, and eager to give
unschooling another look.
After I had done my research, I realized
that my previous assumptions about un-
schooling were far from accurate. I began
by learning what unschooling is not. For
example, I found that unschooling is not
un-parenting. In fact, nothing could be far-
ther from the truth. An unschooling parent
is highly involved, continually receptive to
her child’s particular needs, interests, and
abilities during each season of growth. An-
other unschooling myth is that unschoolers
do not use traditional materials or take tra-
ditional classes. On the contrary, unschool-
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ers use whatever resources or experiences
they deem useful and appropriate to their
current need or interest. A third, and likely
the most powerful, unschooling myth is
that unschooling is simply too risky. Terms
like interest-led and self-directed can be
very unsettling for many homeschooling
parents. And yet unschooling students
continue to excel. Unschooling is serving
many families very well.
The unschooler label is broad enough for
a very wide spectrum of homeschoolers to
fall under it, some of which consider them-
selves very close to mainstream, and others
far from it. But the way that unschoolers
learn is surprisingly familiar; it’s exactly
how we “non-school-age” folks learn.
When I become interested in a particular
topic, I’ll use the Internet, library, conver-
sation with others, and sometimes classes
or hands-on experiences to get the level of
knowledge I’m looking for. That’s real-life
learning, and that’s unschooling.
Unschooling asks why more often than
the other homeschooling styles, I think.
The parent and student both know why
they are learning what they are learning.
Maybe it’s because the student is strongly
interested in the subject. Maybe it’s some-
thing the parent feels is important to know.
Or maybe it’s simply required by the state.
There can be many motivators for learning.
The unschooler knows and can articulate
which motive is driving his studies.
Because they are apt to ask why, un-
schooling parents seem less afflicted with
what I like to call the look-what-they’re-
doing syndrome—you know, that panicky
feeling you get when you see the wonder-
ful things other homeschooling families
are doing, and feel that you must somehow
©2011,
©2011,The
do them in your homeschool too, even if
you know your kids will hate them! Un-
schoolers aren’t immune from comparing
themselves, but typically they won’t stub-
bornly plow ahead with something when
their kids hate it and they’re not really sure
why they’re doing it in the first place.
If you think about it, we are all unschool-
ing every day, though we may not call it
that. We live our lives, gathering the infor-
mation and skills that are useful to us (or
that will be soon.) We find it easy enough
to trust this way of learning for ourselves,
but somehow less so when it comes to our
children. Unschooling strives to nurture
the natural joy for learning that we are all
born with. In this way, a refreshing amount
of respect is extended to the student, reject-
ing the moldy idea that education must be
miserable, grueling, and forced.
If there were an awards ceremony for
homeschooling styles, unschooling would
undoubtedly win the Kid’s Choice Award.
But how quickly the thought follows: If
they like it, it must not be good for them.
I’m ready to challenge that thinking. My
desire is for my children to be enthusiastic,
curious, resourceful young people who car-
ry with them the joy of learning throughout
their lives. With these goals in mind, I’ve
moved from misunderstanding to embrac-
ing the principles of unschooling, and from
suspicion to trust. These are exciting days
for our homeschool as we continue to grow
and learn together.
A second-generation homeschooler who
also attended public and private school,
Bethany knew she would choose home-
schooling for her own children. Blessed
with parents whose wisdom as veteran
homeschoolers she can draw from, she
has also found inspiration in the writings
of Ruth Beechick and John Holt. (Betha-
ny’s mom is TOS contributor Deb Turner
http://homeschoolblogger.com/pattycake.)
Bethany, her supportive and hardworking
husband, Josh, and their four young chil-
dren enjoy living in the beautiful, rolling
farmland of Upstate New York.
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 Homeschooling Styles
Eclectic Homeschooling
by Diana Waring
W
hat on earth does that mean?
Eclectic homeschooling can be
defined as “enjoying the freedom
to individually choose and utilize the best el-
ements of various educational resources for
your individual children, rather than strictly
following a particular style.” Instead of be-
ing tyrannized by a textbook, scolded by
a schedule, or controlled by a curriculum,
eclectic homeschoolers have the liberty to
say, “We will do this and not that today.”
It is emancipation from the impersonal de-
mands of an educational approach that does
not know (or care about) our unique child or
particular situation.
Where did it come from? This contempo-
rary term is actually the strategy originally
used by homeschooling pioneers to teach
their children—when that was so far out-
side the norm that it was illegal in many
“They discovered that this approach pro-
duced far better results than traditional
forms of education!”
states. Since these pioneers had already
stepped outside the boundaries of tradition-
al schooling, they found it natural to look
for new and innovative ways of teaching
that would meet the needs of their unique
children, inspiring them to love learning
in the process. They discovered that this
approach produced far better results than
traditional forms of education!
What do eclectic homeschoolers know
about how children learn? Learning is
not a mechanical process. As parents, we
do not set our children on conveyor belts
where knowledge is dropped through a
chute into their brains and then on to the
next subject’s dispenser! Instead, learn-
ing is relational: it should be warm and
responsive, kind and thoughtful, full of
God’s grace and mercy, taking into ac-
count the real, human students who are
learning, and the real, human teacher who
is helping them in this process. Because
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learning is a dynamic operation involving
children who are constantly growing and
changing, it needs to be able to flex and
develop with them.
What does this look like? An eclectic
homeschool mom will have spent time
prayerfully considering the unique needs
and styles of her children, since she recog-
nizes that one size does not fit all. In addi-
tion, she will have taken her own adventure
into the realm of learning—reading, listen-
ing to, and studying the varied educational
ideas, philosophies, and resources—so that
she can draw from each one’s particular
strengths. She recognizes that the extra
time she spends now provides huge divi-
dends later, since her children actually en-
joy the learning process and aren’t bogged
down by boredom mid-year. Essentially,
she has the freedom to choose her family’s
educational provisions from a wide variety
of resources so that they can love learning.
Where do I start? Become a “bird-
watcher” of your kids: go to their natural
habitat and quietly observe. What makes
them tick? What delights their hearts?
What bores them? Do they like to tinker
with toasters? Do they want to play group
games? Do they love to read books? Do
they run and leap? Do they spend hours
creating LEGO® masterpieces or prac-
ticing music or painting pictures? All of
these are clues to what will give them joy
in the journey of homeschooling. Learn-
ing styles, modalities, and the eight intel-
ligences make the eclectic homeschooler’s
efforts in understanding her unique “birds”
far more productive. Be encouraged—you
figured out how to potty train them! This is
merely continuing down the same path.
How much does it cost? Think about
what it costs to buy a festive cake from a
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European-style bakery versus purchasing
ingredients from the store and baking the
cake yourself. Obviously, homemade—if
you have the time and a bit of pluck—is far
cheaper. Your version might not have the
fancy box, but it won’t have the fancy price
tag, either. More importantly, with quality
ingredients, the taste of your homemade cake
will be far better than the store-bought cake.
In the same way, an eclectic homeschooler
gets more bang for her buck by picking up
some quality ingredients—readers, projects,
maps, etc.—from used bookstores, libraries,
neighbors, and resale sites. With her wise
and thrifty approach, she knows she can
scrimp here and splurge there.
How do you know it will work? Because
we are dealing with humans, not machines,
we realize this is a dance between two
people, requiring a daily give and take.
Our vision, as we look down the road, is to
prepare their hearts for the future. We rec-
ognize that our approach—though glori-
ously liberating, giving our children a love
of learning—is going to be an ongoing
process of tweaking and adjusting. It may
mean occasionally tossing out things that
didn’t work and trying something new, like
Thomas Edison did with his light bulbs. As
eclectic homeschoolers, we have to walk
in humility—always ready to say, “Hmm,
that didn’t go like I planned”—but we also
walk in confidence because these students
will be equipped to engage in every imag-
inable endeavor.
Diana Waring, author of Beyond Survival,
Reaping the Harvest, and the History Re-
vealed curriculum published by AiG discov-
ered years ago that “the key to education is
relationship.” Beginning in the early ‘80s, Di-
ana homeschooled her children through high
school—which provided her the real-life op-
portunities to learn how kids learn. Mentored
by educators whose focus was to honor Him
who created all learners, and with an interna-
tional background (born in Germany, univer-
sity degree in French, lifelong student of world
history), Diana has been enthusiastically re-
ceived by audiences on four continents.
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 Homeschooling Styles
A Mini Primer on Charlotte Mason
for Everyday Life
by Rea Berg
Education Is an Atmosphere.
C
harlotte Mason’s motto, “educa-
tion is an atmosphere, a disci-
pline, a life” might accurately
be called “educating organically.” As
parents, many of us are interested in pro-
viding our children with the most whole-
some foods we can offer in our day of
mechanized corporate agriculture. When
available, we desire organically grown
fruits and vegetables, minimally pro-
cessed whole grains, free-range, antibi-
otic- and hormone-free meats, and best
of all, homegrown fruits and vegetables
from our own gardens! We desire, to put
it simply, to provide our families with
foods that are as close to nature and as
unadulterated as possible.
“...true education happens when the
right atmosphere is established that
nurtures life and growth.”
This same perspective could be ap-
plied to understanding Charlotte Mason’s
methodology of education. By defining
education as “an atmosphere, a discipline,
a life,” Mason strove to reconnect educa-
tion to an organic understanding of it; in
other words, true education happens when
the right atmosphere is established that
nurtures life and growth. When the human
spirit is nurtured by love, transcendent
truth, beauty, music, literature, adventure,
imagination, play, and healthy expanding
labor, the mind and the spirit grow natu-
rally. As Miss Mason noted, “we must
sustain a child’s inner life with ideas as
we sustain his body with food.”1 Analo-
gous with nutrition’s importance to main-
1
Mason, Charlotte. Towards a Philoso-
phy of Education. Radford, Virginia:
Wilder Publications, 2008. p. 86.
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taining life is the suitable nourishment of
the mind and heart.
As parents striving to avoid for our chil-
dren foods that are adulterated with sugar,
preservatives, unhealthy fats, and chemi-
cals, so, too, our approach to education
should reflect a similar devotion. Mason
called the adulterated curriculum often
proffered children “twaddle—the men-
tally inferior and useless stuff produced
or written for children by adults.”2 Mason
defined an “organic” curriculum as rich in
“living books.”3
Because Mason recognized the inherent
dignity and individuality of each child, she
strove to establish an approach to education
that respected and encouraged that intrinsic
value. Just as parents avoid junk food with
its questionable nutritional value, curriculum
based upon tedious workbooks, monotonous
rote work, and watered-down, uninteresting
stories is to be avoided for its questionable
educational value. Mason advocated only
the best literature for children. As she notes,
“We hold that a child’s mind is no mere sac
to hold ideas, but is rather . . . a spiritual or-
ganism, with an appetite for all knowledge.
That is its proper diet.”4 An educational cur-
riculum rich in Scripture, classic literature,
histories, biographies, poetry, and dramatic
works nurtures the spirit, develops the imagi-
2
Macaulay, Susan Schaeffer. For the
Children’s Sake: Foundations of Edu-
cation for Home and School. Wheaton,
Illinois: Crossway Books, 1984. p. 15.
3
Towards a Philosophy of Education. p.
118.
4
Ibid. p. 89.
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nation, and equips a child for life. The clear
delineation of right and wrong in fairy tales,
folk tales, and mythic and epic literature, nur-
tures the inclination of the human heart for
that which is good, lovely, honest, and true.
By a rich and orderly serving of living books,
the child’s heart is expanded and enlarged. As
the youngest child listens and understands a
story, he freely relates back his response to
the story. The growing discipline of narration
initiates the child into the world of words.
True education begins.
Education Is a Discipline.
In addition to a solid foundation of living
books, Mason advocated the educational
benefit of play and nature study. Indeed,
Mason “recommended four to six hours
outdoors each day . . . from April to Octo-
ber” for growing children.55 While Mason
had the benefit of the English countryside
at her doorstep, many of us must drive or
plan in advance in order to provide these
experiences for our children. But provide
them we must. Running, swimming, skip-
ping, jumping, climbing, and dancing will
all make for happy, well-rounded children.
Weeding a garden, feeding chickens, pick-
ing fruit in an orchard, —all work to con-
nect children to real life.
While outdoor free play is important
in and of itself, Ms.iss Mason also advo-
cated nature studies that open the eyes of
the child to the beauty and wonder of the
outdoor world. By the discipline of ob-
serving and relating (and even sketching
and recording) what a child sees as they
he experiences and examines the natural
world–—both terrestrial and astral, —a
connection to and appreciation for beauty
is established. This is the beginning of
wonder. In a technology-saturated culture,
where children often spend little time out-
doors, this becomes increasingly essential.
The ability to see the small wonders of the
(continued on page 23)
5
Mason, Charlotte. Home Education.
Radford, Virginia: Wilder Publications,
2008. p. 40.
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– David McCullough, Pulitzer Prize author of John Adams

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 Homeschooling Styles
The Relaxed Homeschooling Lifestyle
by Mary Hood, Ph.D., Executive Director, ARCHERS for the Lord®, Inc.
R
elaxed homeschooling is more a
mindset than an educational phi-
losophy and can be the basis for
instruction using a variety of methods
and materials. It is rooted in the follow-
ing beliefs:
• You are a family, not a school.
• You are a dad and the head of the
household, not a principal.
• You are a mom, not a teacher.
• You have individual relationships
with your children, not a classroom.
These beliefs free parents up to set their
own goals for their children and use what-
ever curriculum materials they may decide
to use in their own manner, without concern
for the intent or methods of the publishers.
It also frees the parents to treat the children
as individuals, rather than a group, and be
“It frees the parents to treat the
children as individuals, rather than a
group, and be mindful of individual
strengths and weaknesses.”
mindful of individual strengths and weak-
nesses, as well as differences in learning
styles and readiness. Finally, it helps the
parents establish a framework for their days
and their overall lives that is flexible and re-
laxed, providing the structure children need
while allowing all parties to have some free-
dom to make adjustments when needed.
Today, for example, I’m sitting indoors
in Atlanta, here in the Deep South. Out-
side there are four inches of snow on the
ground! I’m staying flexible, writing this
article instead of doing the real estate ap-
praisal work I’m supposed to be doing! If
the children were still young, we wouldn’t
be sitting indoors studying about Egypt
today, either, even if that were what I had
planned! We’d be outside studying how
to make a snowman! “School” would be
in session, even if the subject matter had
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changed! Life has many lessons, and I’ve
found the best ones rarely come from an
instruction manual!
When the children are young, I believe
the most important thing is to establish a
basic structure for the home. Our organi-
zation is called “ARCHERS for the Lord,
Inc.” (www.archersforthelord.org). We
are a non-profit 501(c)3 organization, and
the name stands for “Association of Re-
laxed Christian Home Educate . . . Rs” (It
almost works). It is also based on Psalm
127, which talks about our children be-
ing arrows in our quivers. For most of the
people who are associated with our group,
our Christian beliefs provide the bedrock
for the education and training of our chil-
dren. If you have other beliefs, your own
values will guide you to find the basic
structure for your family. Whatever you
may believe, it is important to think out
this structure carefully and set goals that
will guide your actions.
The structure includes not only your ba-
sic religious and philosophical beliefs, but
also the organization of your home and
your day. A famous philosopher once said,
“There is a certain disorder in any busy
workshop.” Those homeschooling mothers
who try to keep “Better Homes and Gar-
dens” houses are probably being unrealis-
tic. However, I believe there needs to be
an underlying order. I’ve always said, “A
place for everything and everything out of
its place some of the time . . . at least while
we’re working on a project!”
Our schedule for our day was loose, but
we always had one. When we first got up
in the morning, we began at the breakfast
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table. If we ever looked like a school,
that was the time. We always did some-
thing before leaving the table—generally
a Bible Study, followed by some kind of
unit study. For the Bible study, we read
The Story Bible by Pearl Buck (Random
House, 1997) over and over. When the
children were very young they drew pic-
tures to go with the story. We used the
11”x17” primary paper with the lines on
the bottom and the place for the picture at
the top. The presence of the lines motivat-
ed the kids to want to put something there.
As they became ready, it started with a
title, then a caption, then a few sentences.
After a while they were writing stories that
took up several pages. We stapled them
all together at the end of the year, and the
children wound up writing their own ver-
sion of the Bible every 3–4 years.
After that, we often worked on a “re-
laxed unit study” One memorable one was
“Medieval Times”. (Being relaxed means
that Mom did not spend all night preparing
a medieval feast or making costumes) In-
stead, we read books, had meaningful dis-
cussions, watched a couple of related vid-
eos, and maybe went on a field trip. Then,
about the time other families would gear
up for the big “culminating activity,” ours
would die a normal death and we would
move on to something else.
Sometimes we used the time at the break-
fast table to work on foreign languages. I
believed in dabbling in several languages
when the children were little, thereby pre-
paring them for serious study later on. We
also studied other countries and cultures
and read biographies of missionaries. This
planted the seed for later missions work.
Two of my kids wound up working in Asia
for several years as young adults.
After the breakfast table, the morning
was known as “productive time.” “Produc-
tive” might include playing with LEGOs
or digging in the dirt, thinking! It did not
include playing with neighborhood chil-
dren before noon. The television stayed off
and there were no video games. This didn’t
(Continued on page 20)
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19
The Relaxed Homeschooling Lifestyle
(Continued from page 18)
change during the summer or vacations. It
remained the same throughout their child-
hood, until the children became teenagers,
when the situation began to shift a bit.
Our education was always guided by
long-range goals, which I believe are
critical for success in any endeavor. The
areas my husband and I considered were
(in order of importance to us): values, atti-
tudes, habits, skills, individual talents, and
knowledge. Note that knowledge was on
the list and was very important to us, but it
was less important than the kind of people
we were raising.
Since we believe that our children should
be treated as individuals, their own goals
and individual passions became more and
more important as they got older. To what-
ever extent they were able to set goals,
plan their own work, and manage their
own time, we largely backed off after they
became teenagers. However, to whatever
extent they weren’t able to do so, we still
stepped in to help them do it! Even though
I stress that teenagers are actually “young
transitional adults” and should be treated
differently than children, we still kept be-
havioral boundaries in place.
One of my sons was a very strong-willed
individual, and as he entered the middle
school years, it became difficult to work
with him. One day I had asked him to do
something for me, and he said, “You can’t
make me do that!” (He had recently be-
come bigger and stronger than I was, and
he was probably just testing the waters.)
Rather than fly off the handle and send him
to his room until he was 21, I just looked at
him, and said, “You’re right. I can’t make
you do that.” While he was gloating, I fol-
lowed up with, “And you can’t make me
make your supper, clean your uniform, and
drive you to the game tonight.”
After a brief pause, he did whatever I had
asked him to do. (I don’t even remember
what it was anymore.) One of the reasons
this worked was the consistency that my
husband and I had developed in our disci-
plinary techniques over the years. We did
not have a million rules for the kids—just
the basics, such as don’t hurt anyone and
don’t ruin anyone else’s things. However,
when we did take a stand on something,
the kids knew we would follow through.
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Too many parents would have done ex-
actly what I did, but then knuckle under
later. “Oh, well, the team needs you and
we don’t want to let them down. I’ll go
ahead and take you just this once, but I
HOPE YOU LEARNED SOMETHING
FROM THIS!”
All our kids are grown now, and they have
all grown up to be people we can be proud of.
They all followed unique, interesting paths
into their adult lives. All five entered col-
lege and did quite well when they got there.
Three have college degrees already and one
is working on her master’s in counseling. All
but one have spent time overseas.
The relaxed homeschooling lifestyle can
be a wonderful way of living together and
enjoying your children. You don’t need to
live with constant stress and worry about
“You don’t
need to
worry about
someone else’s
expectations.”
someone else’s expectations. You don’t
have to slavishly follow a curriculum, or
mindlessly follow the dictates of anyone
outside of the family. Of course, you do
need to know the laws of your state and do
what it takes to stay legal, but most of the
time, if you really have your own convic-
tions clear and can explain your goals and
methods to the authorities, you will be able
to follow the dictates of your heart.
It is important to keep good records,
even if your own state doesn’t expect it. I
believe in standardized testing every year,
beginning in the third grade, mostly to
help the children develop their ability to
take tests. If they don’t do a great job, re-
member the test makers aren’t testing your
curriculum, and may not share your goals.
The tests never told me anything I didn’t
already know.
I also kept a journal reminding me of ev-
erything we did during the year, although
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I never turned this in to anyone. A typi-
cal entry might say, “Today we discussed
good and bad insects while we were plant-
ing the beans,” or “Today we talked about
the Civil War while going on a field trip to
Gettysburg.” (We did a LOT of field trips,
usually just by ourselves or with a couple
of other families.)
In addition, we always kept a list of the
books that we were reading. In most ho-
meschooling families, just this list will im-
press the socks off the authorities if they
ever really look at any of your records.
Above all, just learn to chill and relax!
Set some worthwhile goals. Enjoy the pro-
cess of moving forward while concentrat-
ing on the present. Focus more on abilities
than perceived disabilities, and have fun
with your kids while they are with you!
Now that mine are scattered all over the
world, I miss those times! Remember, too,
that we have an enemy who loves to stir
up feelings of discouragement, depres-
sion, and inadequacy. Be assured that God
wouldn’t have called you to this journey
unless He believed you have what it takes
to follow through! Relax, and let God guide
your goals. Enjoy those kids while they
are little. As they get older, spend more
time on your knees than trying to control
everything yourself, and then sit back and
get ready to be astounded at the wonderful
men and women they will become!
Mary Hood, nationally known as “The
Relaxed Homeschooler®,” believes that a
“relaxed homeschool” develops out of the
mindset that you are a family, not a school;
a dad, not a principal; a mom, not a teach-
er; and that you have individual relation-
ships with your children, not a classroom.
This mindset helps you to stress out less
over school-like expectations, and relax
and enjoy your family. Mary Hood and her
husband, Roy, have been homeschooling
their five children since the early 1980s.
The older children have successfully made
the transition to college and adult life.
Mary has a Ph.D. in education and is a na-
tionally known speaker and the author of
such books as The Relaxed Home School,
The Joyful Home Schooler, and The En-
thusiastic Home Schooler. Visit Dr. Hood’s
website at www.archersforthelord.org.
 Homeschooling Styles
Frustration to Fun: Informal Homeschool Days
by Cindy Horton
L
et me start out with complete hones-
ty—homeschooling can be frustrat-
ing. Sometimes kids get frustrated,
and sometimes Mom gets frustrated.
The cause is often a difficult subject
such as math, reading, or spelling but is
just as likely to be a learning disability,
illness, or plain ol’ burnout. Adjustment
to a major change in life, such as a move,
a new baby, or going from public school
to the home environment, can also lead to
difficulty and frustration.
Whatever the cause, the result of this
frustration frequently includes tears, ar-
guing, and a true inability to learn new
“A relaxed atmosphere in the home,
both during school time and in general,
helps a struggling child to feel more
comfortable, which in turn helps him
look forward to learning new things.”
information. Moms may interpret this
as a refusal to do lessons, as a contrary
attitude, or as disobedience. In reality,
though, a child can become so stressed
that his mind can’t possibly retain any
new information whether it comes in the
form of phonics rules, spelling words,
math facts, or state capitals.
Drop the Formality
If frustration has found its way into your
home, one of the most helpful things you
can do is drop the formality of school for
a short time (or permanently!) and take
a more relaxed approach to learning. As
mom Sarah Dugger says of her son, “When
we relaxed, so did he.”
A relaxed atmosphere in the home, both
during school time and in general, helps a
struggling child to feel more comfortable,
which in turn helps him look forward to
learning new things. Most homeschooling
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parents agree that instilling a love of learn-
ing in their children is one of the most im-
portant goals of this journey.
Why exactly does being relaxed and
comfortable make learning easier? Think
of it this way: When your body is well-
rested, tackling a physical job like clean-
ing out a closet or weeding the garden
is manageable, maybe even easy. If you
sleep fitfully the night before or wait until
late in the day to begin, however, these
same jobs become challenging and take
much longer to accomplish.
The brain works the same way. It learns
better when it’s well-rested, calm, and re-
laxed. Penny Ray, whose daughter is on
the autism spectrum, says, “As I relax and
move more and more into following her
interests . . . I see her absorbing more in-
formation and applying it.”
But How?
Okay, so you know that leaving for-
mal schooling behind can help a child
relax and learn better, but maybe you’re
wondering how in the world to go about
this. Without textbooks and lesson plans
to guide you, what exactly should you
be doing?
Mom Debbie Rowand sums it up nicely:
“We look at schooling as a life experience.”
Learning doesn’t just happen between the
pages of schoolbooks. It can happen any-
where and everywhere!
Beginning readers can practice their
phonics skills on signs at the grocery store
or along the side of the road, or anywhere
©2011,
©2011,The
they happen to be. The grocery store and
the gas station are great places to prac-
tice all of the math skills, including esti-
mation, multiplication, fractions, and, of
course, decimals.
Most subjects can be learned and prac-
ticed in non-traditional ways around the
house as well. Try these suggestions from
homeschooling moms:
“Stair hopping” for spelling or math.
Place rewards, such as gum or coins,
on the stairs. Each time the child spells
a word or answers a math problem cor-
rectly, she gets to hop to the next stair and
pick up the reward.
Handwriting can be practiced in a
sandbox, in a cookie sheet filled with
rice, salt, or beans, or even on a mir-
ror covered with shaving cream. If your
child is past the “finger writing” stage,
let him use a dry erase marker to practice
writing on the windows.
Audio CDs, especially for history and
literature, can grab a child’s attention even
if she usually balks at those subjects. Play
them in the car or around the house while
the kids play or help with the cooking or
cleaning. Even when they don’t seem to
pay close attention, you’ll be surprised at
how much they retain.
Lisa Ann Young likes to do projects and
activities with her kids that help them learn
“without even knowing it, because it is just
plain fun!”
• Baking (covers math skills and home
economics)
• Painting
• Gardening
• Working puzzles
• Reading books together
• Watching educational programs and
then discussing the topics
• Listening to CDs with math facts,
spelling words, or other topics set
to music
Take It Outside
Being cooped up indoors all day long
isn’t fun or healthy for anyone, but out-
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Frustration to Fun: Informal Homeschool Days
(Continued from page 21)
side lessons stir up excitement in kids of
all ages and personalities. Writing spell-
ing words or math problems or just draw-
ing pictures with sidewalk chalk is always
going to be more fun than sitting at a table
writing on notebook paper—but it still
counts as learning!
“...it’s often best for kids to ‘experience
first and name later.’ ”
Angela Wells suggests taking a nature
hike where your kids are sure to see plenty
of wildlife, even if it’s only the six-legged
variety. If possible, let them pick flowers,
leaves, and grass or collect some of those
bugs to take home. They could use a book
or website to identify their items later or
simply enjoy them. As Angela says, it’s
often best for kids to “experience first and
name later.”
Field trips interest almost all children
and allow them to experience history and
nature firsthand. These are but a few pos-
sibilities:
• Historical homes
• Native American sites
• Battlefields
• Natural wonders such as caverns,
canyons, and waterfalls
• Science museums, children’s muse-
ums, and art museums
• Zoos and botanical gardens
Even if your family can’t take a trip to
visit a major battlefield or a large zoo, you
can probably find field trip opportunities
close to home. In our small city of about
8,000 people, our family has visited more
than a dozen different places where we’ve
learned about history, animals, literature,
and our community.
For example, our local Chamber of
Commerce has its offices inside a home
that was built before the Civil War, and
they offer free tours to anyone who’s
22
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interested. There, our kids learned that
the Confederate Army burned the entire
town except for that house when they fled
the area during the war and that Lt. Col.
Rutherford B. Hayes and Sgt. William
McKinley set up their headquarters and a
hospital there.
Other local field trip possibilities include:
• State and national parks, which often
offer free or low-cost nature programs
• Fire station, police station, and
rescue squad
• Farms or dairies
• Banks
• Library
• Veterinarian’s office
When choosing field trips, it’s important
to select things your child will enjoy. If
you have a young boy who likes to collect
frogs and climb trees, he may not enjoy an
art museum, even if art appreciation is part
of the lesson plan this year.
Meeting Requirements
When it comes to informal homeschool-
ing, parents are sometimes concerned
about meeting their state requirements for
yearly assessments and mandatory days
or hours of instruction. In reality, no state
mandates the use of textbooks or formal
curricula, which means that an informal
approach to homeschooling meets the le-
gal requirements no matter where you live
in America.*
For states that require families to log
hours spent on different subjects, re-
member that math skills are being used
during baking and trips to the super-
market. Playing a spelling game counts
as language arts class just like taking a
spelling test would. If your child asks a
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question about supernovas or your fam-
ily discusses the French and Indian War
at the dinner table, those conversations
constitute science and history lessons.
Depending on your unique situation,
you may prefer to use a portfolio evalua-
tion instead of a standardized test for your
child’s yearly assessment. A portfolio can
contain any cards or letters your child
has written, photographs of projects he’s
completed or of sites she’s visited, and
printouts of computer work.
Remember that most portfolio evalu-
ators ask for just two examples of the
child’s work from each subject—one from
the beginning of the year and one from
the end. In math, for example, a child
could complete two worksheets or work
problems on notebook paper just twice
to fulfill that request. During the rest of
the year, math work can be done through
games, using sidewalk chalk, or in any of
the other ways mentioned.
If a state requires a yearly, standardized
test, taking a little time to practice reading
questions and filling in bubbles is usually
sufficient. This is when moms have to re-
lax even more and trust that the informal
lessons are doing exactly what they’re
supposed to do—helping a comfortable
child to learn and retain the information he
needs to know!
*If your family lives outside of the Unit-
ed States, you should check your local laws
regarding homeschool requirements.
Cindy Horton lives in beautiful West Vir-
ginia with her husband, Jon, and their
sons, Nick, James, and Robert. Her fa-
vorite moments are spent with her family
snuggled up under blankets, camping, or
just playing in the backyard. She also en-
joys knitting, hanging clothes on the line,
and baking—mostly brownies and cook-
ies! Cindy and Jon have homeschooled
their sons from the beginning and fol-
low a relaxed, eclectic style. They like to
learn together by reading great books as
a family, working on projects, and taking
field trips. You can visit their family at
Fenced In Family.
A Mini Primer for Charlotte
Mason for Everyday Life
Continued from Page 16
natural world around us (even if we live
in a city or suburb) gives the child a lens
through which to appreciate beauty and ex-
perience life.
Education is Is a Life.
Mason’s philosophy of education is de-
signed to develop life-long learners. Intro-
ducing children at a young age and through
their educational career to the “best which
has been thought and said in the world”
connects them to the rich literary heritage
of western civilization–—a heritage that
can inform and inspire them throughout
their lives.66 Opening the eyes of a child
to the beauty of the natural world around
them him develops wonder–—a defense
against the cynicism and hubris of post-
modern life. This can provide a critical an-
tidote to an often violent and topsy-turvy
world. Understanding their his place in
that world establishes a solid foundation
for right relationship with God and their
his neighbor.
Rea Berg is the author of the Beautiful
Feet Books History Through Literature
Study Guides, which utilize a living books
approach to teach history. Her company,
Beautiful Feet Books, has brought back into
print the popular D’Aulaire biographies,
the Genevieve Foster “World” books, as
well as many other well-loved children’s
authors. Rea speaks at educational conven-
tions around the country on history, educa-
tion, and children’s literature. Rea has a
bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s
degree in children’s literature. She blogs
on children’s literature at Rea Berg’s Book
Blog and at Rea Berg’s Book Blog and can
be emailed at rea@bfbooks.com.
6
Arnold, Matthew and Jane Garrett.
Culture and Anarchy. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2006. p. 5.
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What Makes Classical
Education Different
Continued from Page 8
They are taught to examine the informa-
tion they’re given, evaluate it for accura-
cy and truth, and form their own opinions
about it. Textbooks actively discourage
this sort of learning. Instead, textbooks
provide students with a set amount of in-
formation that must be accepted as “true”
and memorized. Textbooks rarely pro-
vide footnotes; the authors are unknown,
or else grouped together so that no one
writer claims responsibility. Textbooks
are designed to be accepted and passively
memorized, not questioned and analyzed.
And this style of learning—passive, trust-
ing, and non-critical—is the complete op-
posite of classical education.
The final goal of classical education,
after all, is to train a lifelong learner. The
three-stage pattern of classical educa-
tion (first, master the basics of a subject;
second, think critically and analytically;
third, develop and express an opinion) is
a pattern that will guide all later learning.
The adult who decides to take up knit-
ting follows this same process; first, learn
the basic stitches; second, connect those
stitches together into a pattern; third, in-
vent new patterns. So does the lifelong
learner who sets out to teach himself a
new subject, be it philosophy or astro-
physics. First, he learns the basic terms,
definitions, and arguments; second, he
learns how the terms relate to each other,
and evaluates the arguments; third, he de-
cides whether or not he agrees.
In contrast with much modern educa-
tion, which doesn’t know exactly what
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“The final goal of
classical education,
after all, is to train a
lifelong learner.”
kind of adult it wants to produce, classical
education has a very clear goal. It aims to
turn a child into an adult who knows how
to think: how to take in new knowledge,
evaluate its worth, and then either discard
it or put it to good use.
Susan Wise Bauer is a historian and writ-
er. She is currently at work on a four-vol-
ume history of the world for W. W. Norton;
her books include The History of the An-
cient World, The History of the Medieval
World, and The Well-Educated Mind (all
from W. W. Norton) and The Art of the
Public Grovel: Sexual Sin and Confession
in America (Princeton University Press).
She is the founder of Peace Hill Press, a
small press dedicated to publishing his-
tory and literature resources for parents
and teachers. Susan holds a Ph.D. from
the College of William and Mary, where
she now teaches writing. She lives in
Charles City with her husband and four
children.
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 Special Needs
Why Homeschool Children with Special Needs?
by Rebekah Wilson
I
n a public school, a special needs stu-
dent would be thoroughly evaluated
prior to an IEP meeting taking place.
The IEP meeting would create a special-
ized education plan designed specifically
for the special needs student. The IEP
meeting would include the IEP—a legal
document—stating what the child’s needs
were and how the school would fulfill
those needs. An IEP is a legal contract be-
tween the parents and the school on behalf
of the child.
For homeschoolers with special needs
students, where do you start without an
IEP, and how do you know you are doing
the best for your child? How do you adapt
curriculum, and how do you create expec-
tations for your child that are reasonable
“Homeschooled children already have profes-
sionals in their lives—their parents!”
and reachable? If the curriculum you are
using is difficult or isn’t working for your
child, how do you modify it or should you?
What happens if your special needs child
reaches an educational hurdle and can’t
move past it? Is that the end or are there
alternate ways to get him past the hurdle
and learning again? How do you know his
learning is adequate? Could he be doing
more in public school?
When it comes to special needs chil-
dren, most parents think they need to go
to the “professionals” to make sure their
child receives the best education possible
and has the best options. However, home-
schooled children already have profession-
als in their lives—their parents! Parents are
professional experts where their child is
concerned. Parents simply need guidance
in knowing what to do and how to do it,
and, most especially, they need to be flex-
ible and patient. The focus should be on the
child’s ability and reachable goal, not on
the parents’ expectations.
There are two vital areas of homeschool-
ing a special needs child: understanding the
child’s strengths and weaknesses, which
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provides a basis of his area of limitations
and how to work with or overcome them,
and being very flexible and patient as the
child learns, practices, and begins to master
new concepts. Special needs children gen-
erally learn slower than their non-affected
counterparts and need a great deal of re-
view through spirals. It is not unusual for
their lessons to be broken down into multi-
ple steps that may take days or even a week
or two to get through instead of just one
day. Understanding that this is normal and
is also what happens in public school can
help homeschooling parents feel less stress
when educating their child at home. Ho-
meschooling generally goes at the child’s
pace already, but when educating a special
needs child it may trickle down to a crawl
or even a standstill and that is okay. Don’t
worry; don’t panic; just persevere.
Many homeschooling parents who
have special needs children worry about
not meeting the expectations of the local
school district or falling short and “getting
in trouble.” The reality is, in public schools
they often water down lessons for special
needs children to the point of not educating
the child! What you do at home, and the
information your child is presented with
and exposed to, is more than your child
would gain in a public school even with
the “professionals” working with him.
Special education classrooms are filled
with students of multiple levels of ability
and age, and the special education teacher
has to teach to the whole group. If a child
is on a higher level, he is forced to learn at
a lower level and often get bored and disin-
terested. If the child is on a lower level, he
is forced and pushed along to keep up with
the rest of the class regardless of whether
he understands or masters the concepts
being taught. Public schools cannot stand
still or slow down and continue teaching
your child like you can at home. They have
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a written agenda called the lesson plan,
and the lesson plan demands that the class
move forward regardless of whether the
students understand or not. The teacher as
well is at the mercy of the lesson plan, for
if she does not adhere to it, she will find
herself in trouble with the school. There
is no freedom—no time to make changes,
slow down, or ensure your child is learning
before moving on.
At home, as with non-affected children,
you as the teacher can go at the child’s
pace and make adaptations and modifica-
tions and return again and again to a topic
until the child is able to comprehend and
retain and move on to something new. This
doesn’t happen in public schools! Never
feel you are shortchanging your special
needs child by homeschooling him. You
are giving him an enormous opportunity to
be educated one-on-one by a person who
has his best interest at heart.
There are numerous strategies that can be
utilized when educating special needs stu-
dents at home and in public school. These
transcend the barriers of home and school
and target the strengths of the student to
help him make connections with informa-
tion, as well as comprehend and retain it.
Learning what these strategies are and how
to use them can make homeschooling your
special needs child much easier and less
confusing, and will help show progress
where you may not have seen it before.
Setting specific and reasonable goals for
your child to reach and providing flexibility
with the level of mastery your child attains
will allow you to enjoy the homeschooling
adventure instead of pushing too hard and
making the experience unpleasant for you
and your child. Enjoy the journey—your
special needs child is far better off at home
than at school.
Rebekah Wilson homeschools her eight
children: four have autism, and seven have
learning disabilities. Rebekah is earning a
B.S. in elementary and special education
to help homeschoolers with special needs
children.
 Special Needs
Ten Reasons to Homeschool Your
Child With Special Needs
by Amanda Fuller
C
hoosing to homeschool your child
is a huge decision. Then add to that
a child with special needs. This
brings up all kinds of mixed feelings, un-
certainties, and emotions. I feel we tend to
sell ourselves short when it comes to our
children with special needs because this
is uncharted territory. However, with re-
search, resources, and much prayer, you
can do it. Here are ten reasons to home-
school your special needs child.
1. No one knows and understands
your child’s needs better than
you do.
Who is there when your child is diag-
nosed with a special need? Who spends a
great deal of time at doctor appointments,
in therapy sessions, and by their beds when
“Your knowledge of his needs allows you
to modify your child’s schooling based
on his needs instead of his needs having
to conform to someone else’s teaching
method or classroom rules.”
they are sick? You! You have been through
thick and thin with your child. You know
and sometimes understand a need or be-
havior your child might be experiencing.
Your knowledge of his needs allows you to
modify your child’s schooling based on his
needs instead of his needs having to con-
form to someone else’s teaching method or
classroom rules.
2. Homeschooling provides posi-
tive socialization opportunities.
One of the most common questions we
hear as homeschoolers is “What about
socialization?” Something I have learned
over the years is that not all socialization
is good or positive—especially for a child
with special needs. Developing a positive
relationship with Mom and Dad is one of
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the best experiences a child can have in
life. By homeschooling, you are able to
help special needs children nurture and
develop positive relationships with others
around them. Some of the most positive so-
cialization comes from family and friends
of all different ages, who help them learn
to interact with adults as well as children.
3. There are fewer distractions.
When a special needs child is trying to
learn, the last thing he needs is distraction.
Most have to work harder to focus on their
work, so when you have their attention, it is
important to keep it. Having them at home
gives you the opportunity to keep distrac-
tions at a minimum. If you need to take that
child into a separate room during instruc-
tion time and close the door so that he or
she can concentrate better, you can do that.
Staggering the teaching time between your
special needs child and your other children
is helpful.
4. You can provide one-on-one
teaching.
Many special needs children require
one-on-one guidance throughout their dai-
ly lives. This holds true for their education
as well. You can sit down face-to-face with
them and take as much time as needed to
explain and work through the task at hand.
Giving your special needs child one-on-
one attention not only can help encourage
and improve your relationship, but it also
can give him a positive school experience.
Also, it helps you as his teacher to be able
to see where adjustments and improve-
©2011,
©2011,The
ments need to be made to personalize your
child’s education.
5. It gives you the ability to focus
on your child’s strengths—not
weaknesses.
Children with special needs face all kinds
of challenges. The last thing they need in
their education is negativity. You can take
the subject or work area that they are stron-
gest in and spend as much time as is needed
throughout their day working on this. This
can boost their confidence, providing them
with an opportunity to say, “Hey, I’m good
at this!” instead of feeling frustrated while
working on tasks they aren’t ready for.
If they have subjects that they are not as
strong in or are struggling to comprehend,
you can just touch on these subjects briefly
throughout the teaching time. Minimize
their frustration by focusing more attention
on their stronger subjects.
6. Use your child’s interest or com-
pulsive tendencies as educational
tools.
My daughter with Down syndrome loves
to shuffle cards repetitively on a daily ba-
sis. She rarely goes anywhere without
them. So we use them in her education. She
has trivia cards that we use for reading and
playing cards that we use for number or-
der, number recognition, sequential count-
ing, addition, and subtraction. She loves it
because she is getting to use her favorite
things while she is doing school.
7. Siblings or other homeschoolers
can encourage and help your child
with his or her schoolwork.
Siblings are fantastic teachers for your
child with special needs. They are fantas-
tic motivators. When your special needs
child sees a sibling learning to write in cur-
sive, you may very well hear these words
from her: “I want to learn how to write like
that.” You might find yourself teaching her
something you never thought possible. If
she doesn’t have siblings, then you can re-
(Continued on page 39)
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Are You Enjoying This
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 Special Needs
Guiding Your Gifted Child
by Maggie Hogan
H
ow can you tell if you’re the parent
of a gifted child?
• You regularly ask your 6-year-old to
troubleshoot your computer problems.
• Your 14-year-old speaks and writes a
foreign language fluently . . . one of
his own invention.
• Your 2-year-old insists on putting to-
gether his jigsaw puzzles “color-side
down” so it won’t be “so easy.”
• At the bookstore you discover your
9-year-old in the checkout line with
$500 worth of science books.
• Your 4-year-old cries when he hears
news reports about a famine in Africa.
• Your 5-year-old strikes up a conversa-
tion with a stranger on a plane, which
results in his deriving a mature grasp
of negative numbers.
• Your 10-year-old writes, directs, stars
in, and gets all her friends involved in
a musical.
“...we’re just holding on for dear life.
They drive us crazy one minute and leave
us laughing, flabbergasted, and utterly
amazed the next.”
Whew! Hanging on!
Does any of this sound familiar? Life
with our gifted children can certainly be
both a joy and a challenge! Think of it as
an amusement park ride—fraught with
thrills and screams and the fear of immi-
nent disaster, but when we get off, we just
want to hop right back on! Despite opin-
ions to the contrary, we aren’t “pushing”
our children; we’re just holding on for dear
life. They drive us crazy one minute and
leave us laughing, flabbergasted, and ut-
terly amazed the next.
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What Does It Mean to Be Gifted?
At the most basic level, the word gifted
means “having the ability to think or do
beyond the abilities of average people.”
When we see someone who understands
things more quickly, learns more easily,
or performs certain tasks far better than
others, we say this person has a “gift for
something—a gift for language or mu-
sic or sports, etc.” We call a person who
learns easily and thinks well or differently
“intellectually gifted.” Many types of tests
and assessments that help to ascertain gift-
edness are available. This partial list of
attributes commonly found in gifted chil-
dren is a useful starting place. (Few gifted
children will exhibit all of these, and some
characteristics may be masked by learning
disabilities.)
• A developed sense of humor
• Does things earlier and better than
peers
• Very different perspective than peers
• Extreme focus on one or two hobbies
• Sees patterns—both concrete and
abstract
• Precocious use of language (if
verbally gifted)
• Prefers to do math work in head (if
mathematically gifted)
• Active imagination—creative
• Extremely competitive
• May show extreme emotional
sensitivity
• Original thinker—may be a
nonconformist
• Persistent
©2011,
©2011,The
• Resourceful
• Highly developed abstract reasoning
skills
• Intense
The Flip Side of the Coin
Then there are other potential characteris-
tics common to the gifted that can be, shall
we say, “a bit more difficult” to live with.
• Perfectionism
• Super sensitivity or heightened senses
(can’t stand the toes of the socks to be
on “wrong,” requires the tags in shirts
to be cut off, or overly sensitive to
light or sound or environment, etc.)
• Very intense emotionalism
• High energy levels
• May require little sleep
• Stubbornness (the extreme side of
persistence!)
• Unable to finish projects
• Impatient with details
• Manipulative
• Opinionated
• Argumentative
• Organizationally challenged
• Easily frustrated
Parenting Gifted Kids
I think a parent of gifted children must
have coined the phrase “herding cats!”
You know what I mean—these kids are
always into something and they are seem-
ingly impossible to keep on track (your
track, that is!). At times, their overwhelm-
ing energy, creativity, persistence, and
boundary testing can drive a parent just
south of crazy. But please understand this:
Gifted children are gifts. God intentional-
ly placed your gifted child in your home.
When it gets difficult, when you think you
can’t keep up with her, don’t despair. You
can’t—but God can! Look to Him first for
wisdom and encouragement.
Should We Homeschool Our Gifted
Children?
We may find ourselves wondering if we
can really provide these amazing children
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Guiding Your Gifted Child
(Continued from page 27)
with an appropriate education at home:
Surely they would be better off in “gifted
programs!”
The good news is that there is a growing
amount of support, in terms of services,
research, and information available to
you. In the fall 2007 issue of Mensa Re-
search Journal, Simone de Hoogh writes,
“Research results confirm the effective-
ness of home education beyond a doubt:
Parents and caretakers who choose home
education create an environment for the
child in which it can develop its abilities
in both social and intellectual fields, re-
gardless of the educational level or social
position of the parents.”1
We parents need to search out the best
in education, resources, and opportunities
for our gifted learners, just as we would
for our athletes, musicians, or learning
disabled children. With prayer and pa-
tience we can provide our gifted chil-
dren an outstanding education within the
sphere of homeschooling.
Working With Their Natural Bent
Use what you know about your child in
order to guide and motivate him. Some stu-
dents need encouragement to work to their
capabilities, while others are perfectionists
and need help learning to lighten up and to
not take everything so seriously. Our oldest
son, JB, was a serious, perfectionist child.
He refused to learn to ride a bike until he
was sure he could get on it and ride with-
out falling off. (He was considerably older
than his peers when he finally learned, but
he learned on his terms.) My husband and I
didn’t pressure him to succeed because he
was already hardwired to avoid failure at
all costs. If anything, we needed to show
him that making mistakes is a part of life.
More to Life Than Academics
Although it is easy to focus on academ-
ics, remember to develop other essentials
such as social skills, spiritual develop-
ment, character, service to others, fine
arts, etc. When our youngest son, Ty-
1
Hoogh, Simone de, “Home-education:
A successful educational experiment?”
Mensa Research Journal 38.3 (2007):
35-39.
28
28 ©2011,
©2011,The
TheOld
OldSchoolhouse®
Schoolhouse®Magazine
Magazine
ler, began high school, he was spending
more and more time at church—too much
time, I thought, to get all his academics
completed as well. Plays, choir, orches-
tra, and mime ministry were all compet-
ing for his time. Fortunately, before I did
something stupid, God helped me to see
that this was His plan for Tyler. No, there
wouldn’t be time for Latin, but yes, there
would be time for God! Tyler’s desire
was to serve the Lord through his musi-
cal and theatrical gifts, and God blessed
Him. Ironically, I once told Tyler that all
this mime and such wouldn’t get him into
college or provide him with a livelihood.
God must surely have chuckled when
Tyler secured a full, 4-year, academic
scholarship to a fine Christian college, in
part on the strength of his mime perfor-
mance! Now that he has graduated from
college, he is working toward starting a
Christian Performing Arts Center. The
lesson I learned? Always submit your
curriculum plan to the Lord.
Curriculum for Gifted Students
In case you are wondering, there is no
perfect curriculum designed for gifted
children. Additionally, curriculum is not
limited to textbooks. In developing your
student’s educational plan, think outside
the book. Use resources and activities that
incorporate higher-level thinking skills.
Provide plenty of imaginative learning op-
portunities. A student might:
• Volunteer
• Create a board game
• Perform in a play
• Publish a newspaper
• Invent a product
• Start a business
• Pursue a passion
• Travel
• Apprentice
• Write a book
• Enter a competition
• Try Scouts or 4-H
• Learn a language
• Enjoy free time!
Finally, Relax, Dear Ones
Our job as homeschooling parents is not
to cram all the available facts into their
heads (as if we could!). Although one of
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www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
our jobs is indeed to teach them how to
learn and to inspire them to learn, it isn’t
our primary job. Our primary job is to raise
disciples of Christ, and there is no place, no
place, better than home to accomplish this
goal of eternal importance.
Maggie Hogan is an author and speaker
who lives in Dover, Delaware, with her hus-
band, Bob. They are the founders of Bright
Ideas Press. When not reading or play-
ing with her granddaughters, you can find
Maggie drooling over travel magazines.
Resources
Mentors—Look to families with gifted
children who are older than yours. Pick
their brains; find out what worked and
what didn’t. (Then pass it on—be a mentor
yourself.)
Groups.Yahoo.com/Group/HSGifted—
Maggie Hogan’s safe haven for Christian
parents who want to talk about the joys
and challenges of homeschooling gifted
children.
Nationally Recognized Gifted
Programs
CTY/IAAY: Grade 2 and up. Johns Hop-
kins University has widely recognized
programs for gifted youth. They consist
of testing to determine eligibility, camps,
workshops, symposiums, and online class-
es, all created for very gifted kids and/or
their parents.
Johns Hopkins University and the Center
for Talented Youth (CTY)
3400 North Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21218
1.410.516.0337
www.cty.jhu.edu
www.cty.jhu.edu/imagine/linkb.htm
(links to academic and artistic competitions)
Duke has a similar program called TIP
(Talent Identification Program), which in-
cludes a seventh-grade talent search. Duke
also publishes a free, quarterly E-Newslet-
ter for parents of gifted students.
Duke University TIP
Box 90747
 Durham, NC 27708
919.684.3847
www.tip.duke.edu
Useful Websites
GiftedDevelopment.com/Index.htm
www.UniquelyGifted.org—Resources for
gifted children with special needs (ADD/
ADHD, learning disabilities (LD), Asperg-
er syndrome, etc.)
Giftedness as Special Needs?
Let’s look at giftedness now from an-
other angle: giftedness as a “special need.”
First, read the following three quotes:
From the Encyclopedia of Children’s
Health: “Although gifted and talented
students are not usually considered candi-
dates for special education and there is no
federal mandate to support these students,
exceptionally gifted children may also be
entitled to receive special education ser-
vices. Gifted children who are not identi-
fied and continue to be taught in a general
classroom may develop behavioral issues
due to boredom.”
http://www.healthofchildren.com/S/Spe-
cial-Education.html#ixzz1GJa5TEDo
“The US government defines “Gifted &
Talented” students as those . . . “who give
evidence of high achievement capability
in areas such as intellectual, creative, ar-
tistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific
academic fields, and who need services or
activities not ordinarily provided by the
school in order to fully develop those ca-
pabilities.” 20 U.S.C. Section 7801(22).
(Wrightslaw: No Child Left Behind, Title
IX, Part A, (22). p. 526)
http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/2e.in-
dex.htm
Former U.S. Commissioner of Education
Sidney P. Marland, Jr., in his August 1971
report to Congress, stated, “Gifted and tal-
ented children are those identified by pro-
fessionally qualified persons who by virtue
of outstanding abilities are capable of high
performance. These are children who re-
quire differentiated educational programs
and/or services beyond those normally
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www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
provided by the regular school program in
order to realize their contribution to self
and society.” (Marland, 1972)
http://parentpals.com/gossamer/pages/De-
tailed/686.html
Now, realize that No Child Left Behind
legislation created a new, achievement-
based definition of giftedness; however,
it does not mandate that states use its
definition.
If you are curious as to what individual
states have to offer concerning special pro-
grams for the gifted, look at this page:
http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/state_
policies.aspx
What does all this mean? It means that
yes, gifted children do have special needs.
And no, the government is not going to
solve your educational dilemmas for you!
As a parent whose oldest son was in a full-
time gifted program until we elected to pull
him out of public school at the end of third
grade, I will attest that what we did at home
for him was far more valuable than ANY-
THING he received in his gifted program.
Giftedness and Other Special Needs
As if it isn’t sometimes tricky enough deal-
ing with a gifted child, many gifted children
are also “special needs” in other ways as
well. Being gifted does not make one “im-
mune” to dyslexia, ADD, Asperger’s Disor-
der, etc. These children are often referred to
as “twice-exceptional” or “2e.”
Many times these children are misla-
beled. Sometimes their giftedness hides
the disability. (Gifted children who strug-
gle with reading, for example, may mask
it with their tremendous memory.) Some-
times their disability hides their giftedness!
I’ve heard this so many times: “He can’t be
gifted—he can barely read” or “she can’t
be gifted—she is way behind in math.” It is
important to realize that being gifted does
not mean your child doesn’t need help in
some way! Too often people assume that if
a child is smart, he will get by just fine. If
a child has a disability, the parent has the
responsibility to sort it out and use the ap-
propriate resources for helping that child—
even if that special need is “giftedness.”
©2011,
©2011,The
Giftedness, Special Needs, and
Home Education
Lastly, research bears out what parents
already instinctively know. Home educa-
tion gives one the best opportunity to pro-
vide individualized instruction to students
with special needs.
“Home-education makes it possible to
individualize instruction, respecting the
principles of good education for high-
ability children. Home-education gives
all highly and differently gifted children a
chance to flourish in a way that is tuned to
their unique needs. . . . Moreover, home-
educated highly gifted children with learn-
ing disabilities (twice exceptionals) are
self-confident students, and although their
academic skills may develop at uneven
rates, they have usually achieved academic
proficiency by high school.”
Excerpted from:
Hoogh, S. de (2007). Home Education, a
Successful Educational Experiment? Men-
sa Research Journal, Vol. 38, no. 3, Fall
2007, p. 35–39.
Here are websites jam packed with infor-
mation and ideas to help you in your quest
to do your best by your gifted student and
your twice exceptional student:
http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/
The mega-site for all things gifted!
http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/special_
needs.htm
Hoagies’ page for 2e children
http://www.davidsongifted.org/
Davidson Institute for Talent Develop-
ment—this site has a great articles library.
http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/2e.index.
htm
Wrightslaw page on twice exceptional
children
TheOld
OldSchoolhouse®
Schoolhouse®Magazine
Magazine 29
29
 Socialization
Inveterate Ironies of Socialization
by Emily Hoffhines
O
ne of the inveterate ironies in the
life of a home educator is that the
question, “What about socializa-
tion?” exposes the flawed social skill of
the enquirer. This is most often asked by
a person who has only recently met you.
The question presumes that socialization
could be troublesome. Because it carries an
intrinsic mistrust in your ability to recog-
nize and deal with socialization issues, the
question can rankle your defenses if you
are not prepared for it.
Bless their hearts, most people who ask,
“What about socialization?” are quite clue-
less that they have just made a faux pas. A
well-socialized person would never cause a
new acquaintance to feel defensive on pur-
pose. But even if she is oblivious to how she
“Clearly, city-size groups are not always the
best forum for acquiring social skills.”
sounds to a homeschooler, she has tuned in
to the collective belief that socialization is a
problem for many people.
A few years ago I had the opportunity to be
involved in a countywide youth rally. During
registration we asked the teens to fill out a
short informal questionnaire about what they
felt was the greatest problem they faced. No
one was troubled by foreign verb conjugation
or irrational coefficients of imaginary num-
bers. No one was worried about their carbon
footprint or the spikes in the prime lending
rate. The top three answers were drugs, sex,
and peer pressure—all of which are rooted in
negative socialization.
Public schools are truly a “house di-
vided” when it comes to socialization. In
policy statements, they are against illegal
drug use and promiscuity; yet they provide
the climate that fosters these very behaviors.
School is the place to be popular and fit in.
Acceptance is aggressively competitive and
the most highly admired qualities are often
materialistically driven.
So, what about socialization? How did
it start? And what are some of the Biblical
30 ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
principles we have for guidance?
It started rather badly. History books are
filled with examples of disastrous social-
ization. In the earliest Biblical account, we
find Adam and Eve chatting with a soon-
to-be notorious serpent. The next thing we
know, they hear God walking around and
decide to go hide. In their case, you could
make the argument that they hadn’t had
much opportunity to gain practice in social
situations. But nine generations later, Noah
found himself bobbing along on top of a
flood after the socialization experience had
gotten out of hand.
Socialization under Nimrod gives us a
snapshot of one possible outcome for the
mantra, “Can’t we all just get along?” The
unity and teamwork used to build the Tower
of Babel were extraordinary but sorely mis-
directed. In the end, the LORD scattered the
construction crew abroad over the face of
the whole earth.
A lot of what passes for good socializa-
tion today has seeds of the same error. They
had said let us build for ourselves a city, and
let us make for ourselves a name. Self-confi-
dence and pride of workmanship have their
place, but how close has today’s doctrine of
socialization come to emulating the builders
of Babel? This was a highly socialized soci-
ety, but the focus was on self-improvement,
not on mentoring a servant’s heart.
When we do find successful socializa-
tion in the Old Testament, it often comes
structured as generational continuity.
Perhaps it is because America began as
a nation of immigrants whose familial
ties were severed by a voyage across an
ocean; perhaps it is the product of the in-
dustrial revolution followed by the rapid
progression of technology; perhaps it’s
a combination—but in any event, family
time is not what it used to be.
Clearly, city-size groups are not always
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the best forum for acquiring social skills.
Again and again the Old Testament pat-
terns of socialization reside in families.
We learn in Genesis 18:19 that Abraham
was chosen because God could trust him
to be a family counselor. Moses, who was
raised by Pharaoh’s daughter, had his sis-
ter, brother, and father-in-law for social re-
sources during the wilderness years. Queen
Esther, with the Persian court before her,
found her best social networking with her
cousin, Mordecai.
In the E-Book, Turning Points,1 Donna
Wood tells of the time her son remarked that
he loved Saturdays. Expecting an answer
along the line of getting to sleep in or be-
ing able to watch television, she asked him,
“Why?” But instead of focusing on any spe-
cial privilege, he shrugged and said, “I feel
like part of the family on Saturdays.” Her
son had seen the socialization offered at the
local Christian school and had decided that
Saturday with the family was better.
But sometimes, even families are too big
for learning good socialization. In a maneu-
ver that defies the common logic, there are
times when the best socialization takes place
alone. The Gospels offer many examples of
Jesus going off by himself. I believe his hu-
manity had to connect with who He really
was/is. A properly socialized person will
need time for reflection, and time to learn to
think for himself.
Without first becoming grounded in who
you are, who your Creator is, and in know-
ing what your purpose for the day is, social-
ization can become a buffeting wind that
sends you even farther adrift.
Emily Hoffhines homeschooled her three
children from babyhood to adulthood. She
is currently an adjunct teaching assistant
at Ashford University and enjoys writing,
editing, and woodland gardening.
1
Turning Points: Real Life Stories of
Families Searching for Their True
North (The Old Schoolhouse® Maga-
zine, LLC, 2009)
 Socialization

Homeschooling and Socialization Opportunities

by Heidi Johnson

I
f you have thought about homeschool-
ing or presently homeschool, you have
invariably thought about the socializa-
tion issue. “Lack of socialization” keeps
many people from homeschooling because
they think homeschoolers don’t get the in-
teraction with others that they need. People
who homeschool can just smile when oth-
ers ask about socialization, because they
know there are plenty of opportunities
for homeschoolers to interact with others.
Here are some examples:
1. Community activities
Almost every community has some form
of recreation department that can offer
a variety of activities such as volleyball,
“People who homeschool can just smile
ents trade teaching time with other parents
so their children can learn something the
parent isn’t able to teach them. Seasonal
events such as spelling bees, science fairs,
and group field trips allow plenty of oppor-
tunity for interaction with others and even
public speaking practice.
4. Interaction with siblings and
parents
Just because a child interacts with five
people each day instead of 30 doesn’t mean
he doesn’t know how to relate to people.
Children who are homeschooled interact
with their family members and siblings
constantly. Sometimes family relationships
are the most challenging relationships they
or playing an instrument. Many times adult
worship teams encourage teens to partici-
pate with them. Various churches have
sports teams or open gym activities as an
outreach to the community. Homeschool
students can participate there and interact
with others in a sports setting.
Homeschooling offers plenty of ways
for children to interact and socialize with
others as long as parents watch for and are
aware of the various opportunities avail-
able to them.
Heidi Johnson specializes in helping
families find resources to simplify and im-
prove their lives. For more tips on home-
schooling and homeschool resources, grab
your free report “How to Homeschool
Using the Best Resources” at www.home-
school-how-to.com by Heidi.

when others ask about socialization,

because they know there are plenty
of opportunities for homeschoolers to
interact with others.”
softball, baseball, soccer, and more. Some
communities even have drama, choir, and
band groups in which your child can par-
ticipate.
2. Lessons and classes
Parents can pay for their children to take
classes such as martial arts, gymnastics,
ballet, and swimming. Free classes are
sometimes offered by various organiza-
tions or groups that teach jewelry making,
babysitting, drawing, and more. Home-
schoolers can interact with people in these
classes and learn a great deal about how to
relate with adults and other children.
3. Homeschool co-ops or support
groups.
If homeschoolers belong to one of these
groups they can often attend weekly or
monthly classes or events. Sometimes par-
will have to deal with. They can practice
and learn problem-solving skills all day
long by interacting with their own family.
5. Public school activities
Some schools are now allowing older
students to participate in classes that they
can’t get at home, such as band, choir,
or drama. There are many programs that
schools provide that are open to anyone in
the community and are usually free. Stu-
dents can attend sporting events with their
families and interact with others while
watching.
6. Youth group or church activities
Many churches promote programs where
children meet and practice a drama or mu-
sical and then perform it for the congrega-
tion. Youth groups often have a youth band
where students can participate by singing

www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine 31

 Socialization
The Great Bugaboo
by Donna Conner
S
ocialization.
It really is the “great bugaboo” of the
homeschooling community. Gener-
ally, it’s the first thing those on the outside
ask about when they hear we homeschool-
ers are educating our children at home. It
seems to be the primary concern for some-
one contemplating this new lifestyle. By
and large, it truly is extremely overempha-
sized. It is, however, more of a concern for
those with only one child.
There is no built-in peer group. No one to
automatically learn alongside. No siblings
to put one into his place. No siblings with
whom to play, to fight, or to work togeth-
er. No one to share with on a regular and
“It is, however, more of a concern for those
with only one child.”
daily basis. Also, no one to occupy oneself
with while Mom is doing her own neces-
sary chores, duties, or even when Mom just
needs a small break in the conversation.
We have to be more proactive in getting
our child in with groups to learn all the nice-
ties of social living. We need to encour-
age a few play dates, and depending on the
personality of our own child, consider how
many co-op classes might be helpful.
Americans tend to think “more is better”
and can easily go into overdrive, living out
of their vehicles so that their children are not
deprived in some way. Classes of all sorts
abound on our schedules (or can if we don’t
keep this in check): soccer, art, science, his-
tory, language, sports for every season, and
so forth. Balance is always needed. I have
heard that some families with more than
one child will allow one activity per season
for each child to be involved in. Those with
multiple little urchins to tote to practices
and classes give way to allowing half the
children to have one activity and the other
half skip this season, rotating throughout the
year. This can be tiring and expensive any
way you look at it.
Having only one student may not be as
expensive as if you had four or more, but
32 ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
we have to remember a watchword: bal-
ance. Yes, we do have to be more proactive
on the social aspects of education, but we
don’t have to do “school in the car” every
day of the week.
First, consider your child’s personal-
ity. Is she a homebody, happy to play and
work alone? Or is he a social butterfly who
thrives on all that interaction and go-go-
go? Both types do need interaction with
others (of all ages). The homebody may
need to be pushed a bit out of her comfort
zone, but doesn’t need constant or daily
interaction. The social butterfly may want
constant or daily interaction, but he needs
to learn to cope with times when he is on
his own. Balance for both is needed.
Second, list what you already are doing
as a family in the way of getting out and
about. Remember, every outing is a lesson
in socialization! How do we react to strang-
ers interacting with us? Do we run scream-
ing to the nearest exit (or behind momma’s
legs), or can we learn to be polite without
familiarity, knowing that this nice person
really is a stranger. Children need to be able
to talk for themselves in all situations, and
learning how to deal with a stranger under
mom’s protective presence is a great way to
learn. Learning how to address one’s elders
is important. Young men should be taught
to open doors for others (both ladies and
their elders, and even to be polite with peer
groups), and this can easily take place at the
grocery store, the mall, or the doctor’s of-
fice. Church attendance is full of opportuni-
ties to learn social skills. One has to learn
what kind of behavior is expected in the
sanctuary, during Sunday school, Sunday
morning, Sunday evening, and/or Wednes-
day night services, and children’s ministry
activities. You may find that your child is
getting a lot more socialization in a week
than you thought you were providing!
Third, depending on the age of your
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child, you can look into the icing on the
cake—the extras: activities and classes that
are not necessarily imperative but do add
that balance to your charge’s life. For the
very young, having another family or two
to interact with in each other’s homes is
a nice, easy step into play dates at parks
with a larger group. Then there are classes.
They may or may not be needed for several
years. If you have a social butterfly, they
may be a bit more necessary earlier than
for one who is a homebody.
Don’t forget to look at your pocketbook!
Classes can be expensive, in either actual
cash outlay or in the time you need to vol-
unteer. Don’t fill up every empty hour. It’s
not horrible if you are home one, two, or
even three days a week! (Sometimes, I’ve
been home with my son for a full week at
a time or more with no scheduled activi-
ties. We both happen to be homebodies by
nature, but I don’t allow us to become her-
mits!) Don’t fill up your child’s life (and
yours) with good programs when the bet-
ter way is to be less active. Don’t settle for
good when you can have the best. Every
family’s calendar will look different. Af-
ter all, we are all individuals and unique!
Aren’t you glad? I don’t know if I could
keep up with the ones who have two or
three things scheduled every day of the
week (and more on the weekends). Give
yourself permission to say no to some great
programs or activities, and don’t feel guilty
about it! Your child needs to learn balance,
and he or she is watching you.
Donna Conner lives in Fort Worth, Texas,
with her husband, Glenn, their son, Mike,
Donna’s mother, Charlotte, and their dog,
Lucia. Donna is an artist and has always
enjoyed writing. She wrote Homeschool-
ing Only One in 2003, after discovering
that there were many other families home-
schooling only one child. Her website is
devoted to those with only one student in
their homeschool, with listings of online re-
sources. You can visit her website at http://
donnac.com and read her blog at: http://
www.homeschoolblogger.com/DonnaC.
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine 33
 The Homeschool Market
How to Break Into the Homeschool Market
by Liz Koon
W
hether you are an established
business with years of experi-
ence or you have an idea for a
new business that targets home educators,
the homeschool market can be a profitable
place to sell your products and services.
This is a billion-dollar market represent-
ing nearly 2.5 million homeschoolers in
the United States alone. Even during eco-
nomic downturns, the homeschool market
is growing as families continue to search
for innovative products and services to use
in their homeschools.
“Consider where customers will be searching
for products like yours and choose a variety
of methods to connect with buyers.”
If you are attempting to break into
the homeschool market, John Holzmann
of Sonlight Curriculum® recommends:
“Fall in love with your customers, not
your product(s). Serve your customers’
needs. That’s not only Biblically right,
but it makes good business sense. Sure,
you’d love to sell product. But if you’re
more concerned about selling your prod-
uct than you are about meeting your cus-
tomers’ real needs, plan on being out of
business soon!”1
The first thing you need to consider
is your marketing strategy. A marketing
strategy will help customers become fa-
miliar with your products and lead to sales.
Prayerfully ask yourself these questions:
• What is unique about your company?
What do you have to offer to the
homeschool market?
1
http://thehomeschoolmagazine.
com/E_News/e-newsletters/
PRMama_e_Newsletter_02_06.
php http://thehomeschoolmaga-
zine.com/E_News/e-newsletters/
PRMama_e_Newsletter_02_06.php
34 ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
• What is your target market? What
types of homeschool families do
you think will be interested in your
product?
• How will you position your products
or services? What problems can home-
schoolers solve with your products?
• What will be your marketing meth-
ods? Where will you advertise? What
types of advertising will produce the
best results?
• How much should you budget for
advertising?
Mari Almon, director of advertising sales
at The Old Schoolhouse, recommends a
marketing strategy that includes advertis-
ing frequently and keeps customers think-
ing about your product. She says: “It’s a
well-known fact that one-time ads don’t
yield the desired effect. The people you are
trying to reach need to see your ad/logo/
brand name many times to consider your
company real as a resource when stacked
up against the well-known competition.
Consider this: Even the major, most well-
known companies still advertise—even
though they have made it to the top—be-
cause they understand that it is necessary
to advertise to keep their position in the
market. Out of sight is really out of mind
when it comes to advertising.”
Once you have a marketing strategy, you
can begin to choose advertising venues to
help customers become familiar with your
company and boost sales. Homeschoolers
are a diverse and unique group. Some ho-
meschoolers like to use pre-packaged cur-
riculum they can use right out of the box,
while others have a more eclectic approach
to schooling and like to use a wide variety
of resources to teach their children. Con-
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
sider where customers will be searching
for products like yours and choose a vari-
ety of methods to connect with buyers.
There are many ways to advertise—
some free or relatively inexpensive. Begin
advertising where your budget allows and
then as your business demand increases
and funds become available, increase
your advertising expenditures. Here are
some different advertising mediums start-
ing with lower-cost options and moving to
more-expensive choices:
• Press releases or white papers that can
be distributed for little to no cost
• Social networking through Face-
book®, Twitter®, Ning®, LinkedIn®,
blogs, etc.
• Internet marketing via a company
website, blogs, affiliates, Google®
AdWords, or webinars
• Email marketing by distributing
newsletters or promotional blasts
• Online or brick-and-mortar home-
school conferences at which you can
display and sell products, hand out
flyers, or give workshops
• Magazine advertisements in home-
school publications
Let’s discuss each of these options in
more detail. A press release is similar to
a news story. It may provide information
about a trend in your industry, an anniver-
sary, a restructuring, an award, or a pub-
lic appearance, or it may announce a new
product or service offered by your compa-
ny. Although press releases may be mailed,
they are more commonly emailed or faxed
to editors at newspapers, magazines, radio
stations, television stations, or television
networks. Commercial press release distri-
bution services, free or for a fee, are also
used to distribute press releases. Journal-
ists are always looking for news, and if
your press release is newsworthy, it may
be picked up for publication or broadcast.
Sometimes journalists may also request an
interview in response to a press release.
Many word-processing programs such as
Microsoft® Word have templates that can
be adapted easily to create press releases.
 The white paper is written as a persua-
sive essay to address a specific problem
and pose a solution. White papers are also
known as learning guides, position papers,
reference letters, market overviews, or in-
formational manuals. The white paper does
not actually sell anything, but it highlights
the reliability of your company and subtly
introduces your product. It can build your
company’s reputation. White papers may
be distributed as a hard copy, PDF file, E-
Book, audio (podcast), video (vidcast), or
webinar. White papers are spread far and
wide and promote your company as read-
ers pass them on to friends and colleagues.
Social networking is a new and relative-
ly inexpensive means of reaching custom-
ers and includes using sites such as Face-
book, Twitter, Ning, or LinkedIn. There
are two ways to use these sites. The first
is to establish a company presence and set
up a business page, an almost no-cost op-
tion. On Facebook, for example, you can
set up a business page and build a follow-
ing of customers. Offering coupons, spe-
cials, or valuable information can attract
readers to your Facebook page. The other
option is to purchase advertising on these
websites. Facebook has an especially pow-
erful advertising system in which you are
charged each time someone clicks on your
ad. Social networking can quickly spread
information about your company across
the Internet.
The Internet provides other options for
spreading the news about your company
and equips you to reach a worldwide audi-
ence. A company website permits custom-
ers to browse an online catalog, ask ques-
tions, and purchase products. A blog is like
an online newsletter and helps establish
name recognition for your company. Blogs
may be a part of your website or posted
free on sites such as HomeschoolBlogger.
com or WordPress®.
Numerous methods for advertising on
the Web abound. Affiliate marketing uses
other company or individual websites as
adjunct marketers for your products and
services. An affiliate is like an indepen-
dent sales person for your company. An
affiliate agrees to place on his website a
banner or button that links to your com-
pany. In return, you give him rewards or
a portion of the profits made through his
referrals. Other advertising options in-
clude advertising on other websites or us-
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
ing programs such as Google AdWords to
drive traffic to your website.
Email marketing is another Internet-
based advertising option. Rather than mail-
ing information to customers, you create
emails (blasts) to promote new products,
send reminders about workshops or speak-
ing engagements, or announce other im-
portant company information. The success
of email marketing is based on the value of
your customer list. Names for your list can
be collected in exchange for free down-
loads or newsletters; from customers who
purchase products, visit your website, or
view your Facebook page; or by partnering
with another company. For example, TOS
offers a service in which your email can be
sent to customers on their email list.
“Seek God’s will for your business,
obtain wise counsel, research your
options, plan carefully, and follow
sound financial practices..”
Webinars are basically online classes or
forums. They provide an interactive way
for you to meet with customers and dem-
onstrate a product or teach customers how
to use products. Examples of webinars
would be the FREE Classes offered by Ho-
meschoolBlogger.com.
Homeschool conferences, either virtual
or those hosted in a physical location, can
provide valuable publicity for your com-
pany. You can display your products in
vendor booths, conduct workshops, hand
out flyers, or speak during main sessions.
Conferences allow you to network with
prospective customers, homeschool lead-
ers, and companies like yours—people
who can help spread the word about your
company. Online conferences include the
Schoolhouse Expo sponsored by TOS, and
physical conferences are usually hosted by
a state homeschool organization.
Although advertising in magazines can
be expensive, it is an excellent means of
marketing your company. Print advertising
in homeschool magazines allows you to
better reach your target audience. In addi-
tion, print advertising has a longevity that
other types of advertising do not. Readers
©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine 35
often save magazines to read again and
again. Customers frequently mention that
they save copies of The Old Schoolhouse®
Magazine and refer to back issues year af-
ter year. A reader named Anna wrote: “I got
my magazines today and they are wonder-
ful! I have read every article in them and
there was so much that gave me encour-
agement and helpful ideas to use with my
daughter . . . . These are definitely maga-
zines that will be kept and referred back to
again and again.”
This is a short overview of ways that you
can enter the homeschool market. For more
information about growing your business
and marketing your products, purchase a
copy of To Market, To Market, an E-Book
being released in the spring of 2011 by The
Old Schoolhouse®. Filled with more than
one hundred pages of marketing advice,
tips, and inspiration, this E-Book will be a
valuable tool in your marketing arsenal.
What’s the best way to break into the
homeschool market? Seek God’s will for
your business, obtain wise counsel, re-
search your options, plan carefully, and
follow sound financial practices. Remem-
ber, it must be God who builds your com-
pany (Psalm 127:1). The billion-dollar
homeschool industry continues to flourish
as parents realize that home education is
the very best choice and as homeschooled
children become adults and school their
own children. The homeschool market has
plenty of room for old and new businesses
to prosper.
Liz Koon is a freelance writer and editor
and an assistant to the publisher at TOS.
She and her husband, Craig, have three
children—two homeschool graduates and
one to go! Liz loves learning new things
and crafting with dried flowers. You may
contact her at LizKoonWritingandEdit-
ingSvcs@gmail.com.
 The Homeschool Market
The Marketing vs. Advertising Conundrum
by Mari Almon
H
ave you developed a product or ser-
vice that you’d like to introduce into
the marketplace? Perhaps you have
put thousands of hours into research and de-
velopment getting your product or service
ready for the market, and depending on the
product, you may have made a huge financial
investment already. Tell me now—are you
ready to sell your product?
You are ready, right? Now comes the easy
part, right? No!
“You are ready, right? Now comes
the easy part, right? No!”
Now that you have “birthed” your prod-
uct, you must make every effort to ensure its
growth and longevity of success in the mar-
ket. Much like raising young children, you are
stepping into a new stage of life. You are now
ready to segue from the development stage
to the marketing and advertising stage. You
are totally sold on your product—you love
it! You created it, and you are convinced that
many consumers out there need it and will be
eager to purchase it. Congratulations! But you
still have a way to go . . .
As I speak with potential advertisers who
are in the development stage of a product, I
hear a couple of recurring statements from
those who are eager to get a product on the
market—statements like these: “I will start
promoting my product as soon as I have it
ready and packaged for sale” and/or “I have so
much invested in the development stage that
I can’t afford to advertise, so I’ll just do what
I can myself” or “I didn’t budget for any ad-
vertising.” But this is a fact: You will not have
buyers if they don’t know about your product.
How many people do you know? How many
people can you personally introduce your
product to? What is your time worth?
What’s the difference between marketing
and advertising? Do I need both for my busi-
ness to prosper? Let’s look at the difference;
the answers will become evident.
Marketing is the process by which products
and services are most effectively described to
36 ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
the marketplace as they are introduced. Think
of it as “the effort to enhance the perception
of your product,” which includes market re-
search to gain knowledge about potential users
of your product and the purpose(s) for which
they will want to use your product (some of
these answers may have become clear while
you were doing research as you developed
your product). The images you relate to the
product, the logo, the packaging/colorations/
specific words used, and even the partner-
ships you form can all enhance how you are
perceived in the market. Perception is critical.
If you are trying to reach more than one mar-
ket, you may even need to package and pres-
ent your product differently to each market to
generate the maximized perception.
Advertising is the aggressive promotion of
a product, idea, or organization in order to
cause individuals to buy, support, or approve
of it. It is a deliberate attempt to promote your
product or service to specific individuals or
companies whom you hope will buy it, using
the advertising venues that your marketing
research has determined will convince them
most effectively. Successful advertising re-
quires strategy and understanding of the vari-
ous advertising venues available, as well as
knowledge about your competition.
As I mentioned earlier, working hard to
produce an excellent product is critical, but
equally important is getting your product in
front of the prospective buyers quickly—over
and over again. If you want your business to
grow, then I can tell you from years of ex-
perience that advertising is not optional. You
must get the word out in a broad way, quickly,
to generate the “buzz” that catches a potential
buyer’s interest. No matter what the product
is, repeat views of the image and message
are what sell products over the long term. It’s
not necessarily the size of the ad that matters;
what matters most is putting your product out
there in the sight of, or hearing of, potential
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
consumers. “Out of sight is out of mind.”
I strongly recommend that you consider
rolling out your advertising slightly in ad-
vance of finalizing your product. You want
orders as soon as that product is available. A
well-made ad that announces that your prod-
uct is “coming soon” or tells consumers to
“order now for first fulfillment” can generate
early sales that you will appreciate, especially
since you have already spent a lot of money
getting your product to this point.
There are experts you can hire to help you
sift through the information, and if you have
a large company with several products, you
may want to consider doing this. However,
often you can navigate this process on your
own and save thousands of dollars that can be
invested elsewhere. Here at The Old School-
house®, we offer free market research tools,
demographic survey information, and advice
to help you promote your products within our
niche. Generally, most reputable advertising
venues will be able to provide this sort of ma-
terial if you ask for it.
I always recommend comparing what a
couple of competing companies have to offer.
Don’t look only at price, but consider the reach
of the company and the various services it of-
fers. Just remember that old adage is true—you
do get exactly what you pay for. So dig deep
and make sure that you have all of the answers
you need—before leaping.
I wish you the very best in your new ven-
ture! Please feel free to contact me if I can
answer any questions for you.
Mari Almon, Director of Advertising Sales
for The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, spe-
cializes in consultative sales in a business-
to-business, media environment and is also a
homeschool marketing consultant. Mari is a
published author, an avid gardener and bird
watcher, and an enthusiastic traveler. She is
married to her best friend, Steve. They have
two grown children, both of whom were ho-
meschooled through high school graduation.
Mari and Steve live in northern Georgia, and
you can write to Mari at MAlmon@TheHo-
meschoolMagazine.com.
 What is your business dream?
Have you ever wondered how easy it would be to sell to the
homeschool marketplace?

To Market, To Market will help you launch or grow your business

and provide you with the advice, inspiration, and tips you
need to market successfully—whether you're just starting or
you have already established your own business.

This valuable marketing tool is only $49.

Order your
copy today!

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www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine 37
 Working at Home
Ten (Unusual) Roles You’ll Play as a
Work-at-Home Mom
by Carol Topp, CPA
E
very work-at-home mom (WAHM)
plays several roles. I’ve been work-
ing from home for more than ten
years, and I change myself into something
different several times a day. Usually, I’m
an accountant, but sometimes I feel like a
gymnast doing a balancing act, a writer cre-
ating a business plan, a detective sniffing
out scams, or a time management special-
ist wondering how I’m going to get it all
done!
I hope you can learn from my tips for
working from home! They are a little un-
usual, but very practical.
“I’ve been working from home for more
than ten years, and I change myself into
something different several times a day.”
1. Don your leotard and tights and
practice walking on a balance beam. You’ll
need to work on your gymnastic skills as
you balance your work and home life. Be-
fore you begin being a WAHM, ask your-
self, where will the time come from? If you
think you will need 10–20 hours a week for
work, write down specifically where that
time will come from. For example:
• Skip three favorite TV shows and
work 3 hours a week.
• Get up one hour earlier 5 times a
week (ouch!).
• Work one night a week for 4 hours.
Then discuss your list with your spouse
and children. They will be your reality
check and ask hard questions, such as:
• Can you really be productive in the
morning?
• What if customers call or visit in the
mid-afternoon?
• What if sales calls must be made in
the evenings?
2. Take up your pen and write. If
you’re starting your own business, write a
business plan. Even if you are working in
38
38 ©2011,
©2011,The
TheOld
OldSchoolhouse®
Schoolhouse®Magazine
Magazine
direct sales for a company, a business plan
can help you focus on customer service
and marketing. Here is what to put in your
business plan:
Goals: How much do you hope to earn
and how, specifically, will you do it?
Market: Who are your customers and
how will you reach them?
Competition: Who is already out there?
How are you unique?
Price: What will you charge? Be sure to
cover your direct costs, indirect costs, la-
bor, and add in some profit.
Your qualifications: Do you need to
learn more about any aspect of your busi-
ness? Where will you go for help and in-
formation?
Obstacles to overcome: List everything
that can go wrong, along with solutions.
3. Buy some crime scene tape and set
boundaries. Stretch out some tape around
your workspace so your family can clearly
see where there are boundaries. A real of-
fice with a door is ideal, but a spot where
you can work comfortably and store your
things can also suffice. If you don’t have a
set workspace, try what one mother did. She
put on a special hat when she was working,
so her children knew that she should not be
interrupted. That works in a pinch!
4. Become an alarmist. Set an alarm
and establish a quitting time. Author of the
popular history curriculum The Mystery of
History, Linda Hobar, had set hours for ho-
meschooling and for work when her chil-
dren were young. She found that she could
homeschool in the mornings and then as-
sign independent work for her children to
finish while she researched and wrote her
books in the afternoons.
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
5. Practice your runway walk. Put on
working clothes and model them in front
of the kids even if you are staying at home.
Some WAHMs find that it puts them in the
correct frame of mind if they are dressed
for work. I didn’t follow my own advice
one morning during tax season—it was
9:30 a.m. when a tax client called and told
me he was dropping off his tax return in
10 minutes! I was in my sweaty workout
clothes, had on no makeup, and there was
no time for a quick shower! I kept him at
the door and rudely stuck out my hand to
grab his folder of information, muttering a
quick “Thank you for stopping by.” I tried
getting my kids to answer the door, but
they were in their pajamas (we’re home-
schoolers, baby!).
6. Investigate like a police detective.
Watch out for WAHM job offer scams.
Here are a few clues that a scam may be
operating:
• It sounds too good to be true.
• There is only a vague idea of what the
job entails.
• Promises of making tremendous
amounts of money with little time
invested are made.
• Advertising with lots of exclamation
points and lofty promises.
• Ads require you to pay a fee to get
information or dial a 900 (toll) phone
number.
• Working at home is the main empha-
sis in the ad, not the skills or experi-
ence needed to perform the job. Re-
member working at home is a benefit
of a real job, not a job in itself.
7. Study industrial engineering (or
just watch the movie). Pioneer of indus-
trial engineering and time management,
Lillian Gilbreth, of Cheaper by the Dozen
fame, used her experience as a mother of
12 to eliminate wasted time. She’s one of
my heroes (I studied industrial engineer-
ing at Purdue University where Lillian
had been a professor in the 1930s). Lillian
taught managers how to be efficient, sim-
plify work, and manage their time better.
I apply her principles when I make a to-do
list, create a filing system, or keep my desk
organized. Rent the 1950 version of the
movie Cheaper by the Dozen for an enter-
taining evening with the family while you
pick up some ideas on running your work-
at-home life better.
8. Pull out the dictionary and read
about the difference between “work at
home” and “home-based business” op-
portunities. The latter means that a lot of
the work is done outside of your home,
such as selling presentations and deliv-
ering products. Mary Kay®, Pampered
Chef®, and Usborne® books are all con-
sidered “home-based.” You will work
several hours at home making phone
calls and placing orders, but many hours
are spent outside of the home also. Many
homeschooling mothers enjoy this type
of work because their selling parties of-
fer an opportunity to get out a bit. My
friend Cindy, a jewelry sales representa-
tive, finds that the best part of her work,
dealing with people, is also the hardest.
“Getting people to commit to booking a
party and return my phone calls can be
difficult,” she admits. “But I have met the
Ten Reasons to Homeschool Your Child With Special Needs
(Continued from page 25)
cruit a fellow homeschooler to spend time
with her.
8. Personalize self-help and life
skills to meet your child’s specific
needs.
Each child with special needs has very
different needs. If your special needs child
is at home, you can identify his needs and
discern what he needs help with to grow
up to be as self-sufficient as possible as an
adult. If this means that you dedicate an
entire school year to teaching him how to
feed himself with a spoon or how to choose
the appropriate clothing to wear for the
weather outside, then that should be a part
of his education that is just as important as
math and reading. Children with special
needs do have to work harder to accom-
plish tasks, with lots of repetition and posi-
tive reinforcement, and this holds true for
self-help and life skills.
9. Teaching morals, values, and
manners is also important for chil-
dren with special needs.
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
nicest people too.” Direct-selling compa-
nies can offer wonderful opportunities for
WAHMs, but you should be aware of the
pitfalls, such as overspending your time
away from home.
9. Become a techie (or find a seven-
year-old). Learn how to work an answer-
ing machine. Turn on the answering ma-
chine during meal prep time and do not
answer the phone nor let the children an-
swer it. Nothing throws off a schedule like
an interruption at dinnertime. Return calls
after dinner.
10. Put on a green eyeshade and do
your bookkeeping. “Here are my receipts;
I have no idea if I made a profit,” Bob
told me as I prepared his tax return. I am
amazed that some of my tax clients are so
lax at record keeping. It was no surprise to
learn that Bob had not made a profit that
year. Businesses that keep monthly records
have an 80% survival rate, while business
owners who only prepare records once
a year have a 30% survival rate.1 Keep
1
The Small Business Book; Robert
Hamilton and John English
Homeschooling your children gives you
an opportunity not only to verbally teach
them your family’s morals, values, and
manners but also to show them by your ex-
ample. Just because your child has special
needs doesn’t mean that you can’t teach
her these things too. You want her to have
every opportunity that life can offer, just
like anyone else. If we hold back on teach-
ing our special needs children how to be
respectable people in life, then we are sell-
ing them short. The instruction might have
to be broken down into smaller or simpler
lessons, but it can be done.
10. You can share all of the differ-
ent joys, excitement, and struggles
that you and your child may en-
counter during his education.
Teaching a child with special needs can
be rewarding and yet heartbreaking. Spe-
cial needs children have to work harder
at school and life. There is nothing more
rewarding than to see your child achieve
or comprehend something that he has been
working on for weeks, months, and pos-
©2011,
©2011,The
up with your bookkeeping or get help if
needed. There are software packages such
as QuickBooks® and new online services
such as FreshBooks® to make record keep-
ing easier for WAHMs.
Working from home for the past ten
years has been a great experience and I
have stretched myself in many ways. I had
no idea I would learn so much and perform
so many roles. Fortunately, I have had sup-
port and lots of helpful role models. You,
too, will find working from home challeng-
ing as you learn new skills and roles, but it
is very rewarding.
Carol Topp, CPA (CarolToppCPA.com)
has been working from home while ho-
meschooling her two daughters for ten
years. She is an author and accountant
offering “cents and sensibility” to fami-
lies, micro-business owners, and non-
profit organizations. She is the author
of the Micro Business for Teens series
and Homeschool Co-ops: How to Start
Them, Run Them, and Not Burn Out.
sibly even years. To see that joy and ex-
citement after such a struggle is priceless,
and with the child at home you are right
there to share it with him. You get to see
the tears of joy and struggle and even shed
some yourself.
As a parent of a special needs child, I
feel that we have been chosen by God to
raise these precious, special children. If He
has laid it on your heart to home educate
yours, then He will be there to help guide
you through the amazing journey. It may
not always be easy, but with much prayer
and patience, it can be done.
Amanda Fuller and her husband, Billy,
have been homeschooling their two chil-
dren, the oldest of which has Down syn-
drome, for seven years. Amanda enjoys
spending time with her family and has a
newfound love for gardening. For the last
ten years, she also has been a support par-
ent for other parents of children with spe-
cial needs. The Fuller family lives in west-
ern North Carolina.
TheOld
OldSchoolhouse®
Schoolhouse®Magazine
Magazine 39
39
 Working at Home
Move Past the Juggling Act: Balancing Home Life,
Homeschool, and Home Biz
by Mary Jo Tate
B
alancing all the responsibilities of
home life, homeschool, and home
business can often seem overwhelm-
ing—better suited to Supermom than ordi-
nary mortals. How do you do it all?
Here are just a few of the frustrations
that work-at-home, homeschooling moms
may encounter:
• You sometimes wonder what good it
does to be working at home if you’re
too busy to spend time with your
children.
• You’re paralyzed by such a long to-
do list that you don’t know where to
start.
“You sometimes wonder what good it does
to be working at home if you’re too busy to
spend time with your children.”
• You drag through the day exhausted,
thinking only of how much longer it
is before you can finally collapse into
bed . . . just to get up and start all over
the next day.
• Your life is so dominated by the ur-
gent that you never get to the impor-
tant.
• You feel like you could finally get it
all done . . . if you could just get past
that pesky 24-hours-in-a-day barrier.
If these struggles sound familiar, you’re
probably caught up in the juggling act . . .
but take heart! You don’t have to stay in
that trap.
As a single mom homeschooling four
energetic sons while growing my home
business as a writer, editor, and coach,
I’ve battled all those challenges. I’m not
Supermom, but I’ve developed powerful
strategies that cut through the chaos and
get results. I’ll share some of my most
important secrets—excerpted from my
7-hour home study course, How Do You
Do It All—here.
40
40 ©2011,
©2011,The
TheOld
OldSchoolhouse®
Schoolhouse®Magazine
Magazine
Don’t Juggle; Balance
For years I thought in terms of juggling
my responsibilities; you probably use that
metaphor too. You have all these balls in
the air that you’re juggling, and it’s so hard
to keep everything from crashing—includ-
ing you.
In the early years of my business, I
handled the juggling act with the Planned
Neglect Rotation Cycle. When I had an
editing deadline, I’d spend less time ho-
meschooling and taking care of the house.
I didn’t literally neglect my children, but
comparatively speaking, they got much
less of my time.
I’d focus on the editing job while it last-
ed, and then there wouldn’t be any more
work for a while (I hadn’t learned about
marketing yet), so I’d spend extra time on
homeschooling and housekeeping. When a
new editing project came up, I’d shift my
attention back to business. I’d neglect one
thing at a time, but I would keep rotating it,
so that everybody and everything eventu-
ally got taken care of . . . or so I thought.
Finally, I realized that the juggling act in-
evitably leads to dropping the ball.
Eventually I found a better metaphor for
what I wanted to accomplish. Think of a
performer on the high wire at a circus or
maybe crossing the Grand Canyon on a
tightrope. Tightrope walkers make fre-
quent small adjustments to maintain their
balance; they move a little to the right and a
little to the left, adjusting gradually without
drastic shifts. That image of balance rather
than juggling made a powerful difference
in the way I approach my daily life.
When we’re caught up in the juggling
act, we think in terms of crisis manage-
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
ment, resulting in a triage approach to life:
We ignore the things that aren’t going to be
done no matter what, ignore the things that
will be taken care of anyway, and give all
our attention to the current crisis.
You just can’t live that way for very long.
Life is a marathon, not a sprint. You’ve got
to find a pace that you can maintain for the
long haul. Rushing frantically from one
deadline or crisis to the next will burn you
out and eventually injure innocent bystand-
ers—your family. Constantly operating in
triage mode is a signal that your life is like
a disaster scene.
So don’t think in terms of crisis manage-
ment. Don’t even think in terms of time
management. The most balanced approach
is to think in terms of life management—
balancing all of life in the real world.
Although the details vary, our life cir-
cumstances fall into three main categories:
(1) irreducible facts—things you can’t
change, such as chronic illness or being
a single mom; (2) non-negotiables—deep
commitments you’re not willing to change,
such as religious practices or homeschool-
ing; and (3) preferences—things you can
change and are willing to change. The third
category is where you have to make deci-
sions that reflect your ideals but also ac-
commodate the realities of your life.
Find Peace in the Space Between
the Ideal and Reality
One of my number-one rules is no whin-
ing. The irreducible facts are just that—
facts. Pity parties and panic attacks are
counterproductive; they sap your energy.
The cure for whining is one of my most
fundamental principles: Find peace in the
space between the ideal and reality.
The ideal is what you would do and have
if you could do and have anything you
wanted without any complications or the
hindrances of an ordinary life. The reality
is your everyday life—the facts that you
have to deal with. No use whining about
that. The real question is: What are you go-
ing to do in the middle?
(Continued on page 42)
 How Do You Do It All?!?
Proven Strategies for Balancing
Family Life and Home Business “ Mary Jo is a real pioneer in this arena.
We were truly amazed when we saw
what we had accomplished using her
Mary Jo Tate is a single mom with four energetic sons—whom she guidelines. — Colleen in TX
homeschools—while growing her profitable enterprise as a writer, editor, and
Her practical teaching takes real life
book coach. Her downloadable time-management course can help you move
into consideration—interruptions,
past the juggling act and into genuine success:
dirty dishes, and all! — Joy in LA
• Finding peace in the space between the ideal and reality
Mary Jo liberated me to pour my
• Setting goals—when, why, and how
energies into being a woman of
• Essential tools to simplify your life
motion, rather than being paralyzed
• Entrepreneurial principles for growing your business
by my list of what ‘should be’ but
• Schedules, routines, and flexibility
wasn’t. — Dawn in IN
• Training independent, responsible children
• Avoiding a crisis-management approach to daily life Her down-to-earth, sensible advice
• When to multitask and when to focus is grounded in the fact that she lives
•
•
Your calling versus opportunity
Balancing self-discipline with self-care. . .
. . . and much, much more. Get all the info at:
it herself. It isn’t just some theory.
— Karen in WA
”
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Move Past the Juggling Act: Balancing Home Life, Homeschool, and Home Biz
(Continued from page 40)
One of the best ways to implement this
principle is to be realistic in your educa-
tional plans, especially about how much
time you can devote to direct instruction of
your children.
Teach your children together whenever
possible. Skills such as math and phonics
have to be taught at individual levels, but
children of different ages can study the
same period of history and the same sci-
ence topics, with individual assignments at
varying levels of difficulty.
Encourage independent learning when
they become competent readers. Tak-
ing responsibility for their own education
teaches important skills and offers the op-
portunity for each child to pursue his own
special interests.
Don’t try to do everything yourself.
Delegate some instruction of younger
children to older children, which rein-
forces their own learning as well. Par-
ticipating in a good homeschool co-op
can multiply your own efforts. You can
also delegate, in moderation, to techno-
servants such as audiobooks, educational
videos, and software.
It may not be possible for your home-
school to match your highest goals, but
you can still make it work and give your
children an excellent education.
Set Written, Specific, Measurable,
Shared Goals
Zig Ziglar says, “There are two sure
ways to fail: think and never do, or do and
never think.” That’s another balance we
all have to find. Setting goals and putting
them into action helps you balance think-
ing and doing.
Goal-setting may be old hat for some
people, but if you’re deep in the trenches
of triage, you may think goals are a luxu-
ry you can’t afford—your only goal is to
survive another day! But no matter where
you are in your life and in your business,
setting goals is one of the most important
things you can do.
Goals must be written; otherwise,
they’re just talk. Writing down your goals
makes them more real, and you become
accountable to that piece of paper—espe-
cially when you look back to evaluate how
you’re doing.
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Goals must be specific and measurable.
If you can’t measure it, how can you know
if you did it? For example, instead of set-
ting a vague goal to get more exercise, my
specific goal is to walk at least 30 minutes,
at least 5 days a week. It’s very easy to as-
sess: Did I walk 30 minutes? Did I do it 5
days? Yes or no—very clear-cut.
Goals should be shared. I’ve done the
best job of sticking to my goals when I’ve
shared them with a mastermind team or ac-
countability partner. Having a trusted friend
or team who will ask tough questions when
you start to slack off is priceless.
Balance Short-Term and Long-
Term Goals
Everyone needs both short-term and
long-term goals. Building our lives primar-
ily around short-term tasks plants us firmly
“Goal-setting may be old hat for
some people, but if you’re deep in the
trenches of triage, you may think goals
are a luxury you can’t afford—your
only goal is to survive another day!”
in triage mode and keeps us focused on the
urgent rather than the important. Instead,
start with a long-term vision for your life
and build your yearly goals around that.
Then you can plan each month, week, and
day in alignment with that vision.
Use the week between Christmas and
New Year’s to review the year and set
goals for the coming year. Each Sunday
afternoon throughout the year, evaluate
the previous week and plan for the week
ahead. Just half an hour of weekly planning
will multiply your productivity and relieve
stress and frustration.
I use seven essential planning tools: (1)
long-term vision (big dream), (2) yearly
goals, (3) monthly priorities, (4) weekly
plans, (5) daily tasks, (6) running to-do list,
and (7) stop-doing list. The order is impor-
tant. Each set of goals should be in align-
ment with the one that precedes it.
It’s useful to set goals in three major cat-
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egories: personal, family (including home-
schooling), and business. Using these cat-
egories helps you see the balance (or lack
of it) in your life each week. You won’t al-
ways have a perfect balance among the cat-
egories—and it’s not just about the number
of items in each group. Some weeks will
necessarily lean more toward one area than
others. But if you often have 25 items in
the business list, 5 in family, and 0 in per-
sonal, you’re headed for burnout fast!
It All Boils Down to Prioritizing
Just as the three most important factors
in real estate are location, location, loca-
tion, the three most important tasks for
work-at-home moms are prioritize, priori-
tize, prioritize.
Remember that pesky 24-hours-in-a-day
barrier? It’s real. You can’t add a major
commitment like a home business to an al-
ready busy life without letting something
else go. That’s why the stop-doing list is so
important. Here are a few strategies to help
you prioritize.
Focus. Figure out what it is that only
you can do, and prioritize those things.
Remember your long-term vision when
you consider what your focus should be.
What are you passionate about? What are
your most profitable skills? What is unique
about what you have to offer?
Eliminate. Edit your life by eliminating
activities that don’t fit your goals or your
current priorities. Opportunity does not
equal obligation; say no to the good in or-
der to say yes to the best.
Delegate. If it can’t be eliminated, of-
ten someone else can do it instead of you.
Delegate some housework, laundry, and
cooking to your children—this helps them
learn responsibility and makes them feel

like they’re contributing to the family in a
meaningful way. Look for ways to involve
your children in your business.
Outsource. For a fee that’s often less
than the hourly value of your own time,
you can outsource household and business
tasks such as lawn care, housecleaning,
piano lessons, order fulfillment, duplicat-
ing CDs, accounting, keyword research,
website design, and much more.
Find Time for Fun and Take Care of
Yourself
Don’t neglect to make time for fun as a
family. When you work at home, it is dif-
ficult to identify when your “work day” is
over. Taking a break is good for all of you,
and it can actually make your work time
more efficient.
Many work-at-home moms neglect tak-
ing care of themselves, but you simply
can’t nurture, provide for, and educate
your children well if you’re always on the
edge of burnout. Taking care of yourself
isn’t selfish, and it isn’t optional. You ab-
solutely must make time for personal rest,
renewal, relaxation, and even recreation.
Make sure you’re getting enough sleep,
exercising, eating right, and drinking
plenty of water.
God Is Faithful
Even with the best strategies and goals,
things won’t always go exactly as you plan.
But if God has called you to homeschool
your children, He will provide the strength,
patience, grace, resources, and time to do
it. May your family and your life be a testi-
mony of God’s faithfulness.
Mary Jo Tate, host of the “Homeschool
Spotlight” interview series for the Home-
school Channel, has been educating her
sons at home since 1997. A lifelong bib-
liophile, published author, book coach, and
international editor since 1986, she also
teaches homeschoolers, single moms, and
work-at-home moms how to create balance
between family life and home business. Her
complete How Do You Do It All course is
available at www.HowDoYouDoItAll.com.
Quiz Time: Find Your Homeschooling Style
(Continued from page 7)
Use this table to calculate your score:
Question 1 Question 3 Question 5
A) 1 points A) 1 point A) 1 point
B) 4 points B) 3 points B) 4 points
C) 2 points C) 2 points C) 3 points
D) 3 points D) 4 points
Question 6
Question 2 Question 4 A) 4 points
A) 3 points A) 3 points B) 3 points
B) 1 point B) 1 point C) 2 points
C) 4 points
D) 2 points
If you scored 7-10 points, you may be most comfortable with a
traditional approach to education. The security of planned out lessons
and clearly defined goals will help you measure success as your
children grow and learn. Start by reading Sandy Dawson’s article, A
Traditional Approach to Homeschooling, on page 12.
If you scored 11-14 points, you may prefer a more hands-on
approach to education through unit studies and other activity-based
learning. Unit studies may provide the perfect balance between
carefully planned lessons and your child’s interests to keep both
of you happy. Start by reading What is a Unit Study? by Amanda
Bennett on page 10.
If you scored 15-19 points, you may enjoy a literature-based style
such as classical education or the Charlotte Mason approach.
Both of these methods allow you to teach children of different ages
together with a focus on great books. Start by reading Susan Wise
Bauer’s What Makes Classical Education Different? on page 8 or
Rea Berg’s article, A Mini-Primer on Charlotte Mason for Everyday
Life on page 16.
If you scored 20-23 points, you may want to use a relaxed approach
such as unschooling. With this approach, your child’s interests and
natural curiosity can lead to learning throughout everyday life. Start by
reading Bethany George’s article, Unschooling on page 13.
Of course, there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to homeschooling.
Maybe the result you got from this quiz doesn’t really match the style
of homeschooling you see yourself using. Most parents pull from
multiple teaching philosophies as they homeschool their children and
discover what works best for each individual child. Diana Waring’s
article, Eclectic Homeschooling, on page 14 talks about this style of
homeschooling which is tailor-made for each unique family.

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 Do you have days when you find it difficult
to fulfill all your responsibilities at home?
Do you ever feel poured out? Empty?

Take time to
“get a refill”
at the Schoolhouse Expo

Dr. Susan Wise Bauer Carol Barnier Deb Wuehler Dianne Craft Diana Waring Kim Kautzer

Listen to your favorite speakers whenever it’s convenient with Expo To Go!
Download MP3 recordings of every Schoolhouse Expo session and listen to the
encouragement and inspiration any time you need a refill. Find out more at our website
where you can also read up on the speakers and topics we’re lining up for 2012!

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 Schoolhouse Expo

2011 Schoolhouse Expo

Hello, Friends! Speakers
Spring 2011 marks the third Schoolhouse Expo, brought to you by The • Susan Wise Bauer
Old Schoolhouse® Magazine. This totally online conference features • Janice Campbell
• Dr. Brian Ray
encouraging speakers such as Dr. Brian Ray, Susan Wise Bauer, Carol • Dianne Craft
Barnier, and Norm Wakefield. With the theme “Homeschooling with • Kim Kautzer
• Diana Waring
Heart,” the speakers share tips, tricks, and tools to enhance all phases of • Malia Russell
your homeschool journey, from the preschool and elementary years to • Carol Barnier
• Maggie Hogan
high school, college, and beyond. • Tyler Hogan
• Dari Mullins
As a special bonus, this section of the Homeschool Business & Entrepre- • Carol Topp
• Jim Weiss
neur Directory includes articles from some of the 2011 Schoolhouse Expo • Norm Wakefield
speakers and sponsors. • Mary Jo Tate
• Terri Johnson
Here they share their stories with you—stories of how they started their • Tricia Goyer
• Heidi St. John
businesses at home and grew into the successful companies of today. • Andrew Pudewa
These articles will help you get to know your favorite speakers a little bet- • Molly Green
• Deborah Wuehler
ter and might just inspire you to start your own business!
Vendor Workshops
The live “Homeschooling with Heart” Schoolhouse Expo (held May
16–20, 2011) may be over, but you can still enjoy the inspiring sessions • Karen McHale, Fire Station Buddies
• Barbara Beers, Schola Publications
through ExpoToGo. An MP3 recording of each and every session is avail- • Zan Tyler, Apologia Educational
able for download through our website. Ministries
• Marie Rippel, All About Spelling
• Janice Price, Rainbow Resource
If you attended the live event, you may download the recordings at no
• Vivian Doublestein, Masters
charge! Otherwise, check out ExpoToGo in the Schoolhouse Store. Re- Academy of Fine Arts
• Jennifer Courtney, Classical
cordings from the May and October 2010 Schoolhouse Expos are avail-
Conversations
able as well! • Joy Anderson, Start a Preschool
• Michael Liu, Mike Kelley, David J.
Visit www.schoolhouseexpo.com for up-to-date information about the Brancamp & Colleen S. Leavens-
Knapp, EDU2000
next Schoolhouse Expo coming in 2012! • Barnabas Bridgman & James
Townsend, LeTourneau University

Visit our website at http://www.

The Schoolhouse Expo Team schoolhouseexpo.com/?page_
id=10150 to read descriptions of
each session topic.
Michael and Sharra Badgley, Cindy Horton, Renee Neace,
and Wendy Hilton Remember to visit the virtual
Vendor Hall too!
http://www.schoolhouseexpo.
com/?page_id=8698

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 Schoolhouse Expo
Accountant to Author: A Home Business Journey
by Carol Topp, CPA, Expo Speaker
W
hen my children were young,
I switched careers. I had been
working as an engineer for the
U.S.  Navy. It was an interesting job that
paid well and used my skills, but it in-
volved traveling and leaving my children
with a babysitter.
I needed and wanted a source of in-
come that:
• Had flexible hours so I could take
care of my children instead of using
babysitters or daycare.
• Allowed all the work to be done in
my house. Since I had started to ho-
meschool, I wanted to be in my home.
I noticed that a lot of businesses were
“home based,” meaning the office is
in the home, but a lot of time doing
the job was done outside of the home.
• Used my skills, talents, and interests.
“Start with what you know. Don’t start a
business; instead grow a business from
your current interests and hobbies.”
Career Exploration
I decided to spend a little bit of time re-
searching work-at-home opportunities. I
read a lot and I evaluated my skills. The
book What Color Is Your Parachute? by
Richard Bolles (Ten Speed Press, 2008)
was very helpful. I knew my strengths were
in math, analysis, and organization, so I de-
cided to take the H&R Block® tax class, and
I really enjoyed it. The challenge of seeing
if I got the right answer and if I understood
how to fill in the tax forms appealed to me. I
then worked a season for Block. This job did
not fit my three criteria mentioned above,
but I looked at it as a learning experience.
I learned that I could be a tax preparer and
even enjoy it, so I started studying account-
ing classes to become a certified public ac-
countant (CPA). I studied at home, taking
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one class at a time while I homeschooled my
children. I call myself a homeschooled CPA.
I named my first website HomeschoolCPA
as a play on words.
Launching a Home-Based Business
My daughters were eight and ten when I
received the news that I had passed the gru-
eling, two-day CPA exam. By this time, I
was enjoying homeschooling so much that
I didn’t want to re-enter the workforce, so
I decided to start a home-based accounting
and tax preparation business.
I wanted to start small, so I had to care-
fully consider my advertising. I limited my
clients to my network of friends and ac-
quaintances. I started by throwing a party to
celebrate passing the CPA exam, so all my
friends and neighbors knew that I was now
a CPA. Then I considered all the organiza-
tions I belonged to, including my church,
neighborhood, and several local home-
school organizations. Several groups al-
lowed free ads in their newsletters as a way
to support the businesses of their members.
This is how I landed my first tax clients.
Now I rely entirely on word-of-mouth and
frequently turn away clients because tax
season is already very busy for me.
Volunteer to Gain Experience
At the same time I started my fledgling
tax preparation business, I started volun-
teering my accounting services to several
nonprofits. I served as treasurer for my
church, as a finance committee member for
a local crisis pregnancy center, and as the
volunteer bookkeeper for American Heri-
tage Girls, a God-based scouting program.
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These were great experiences. I met many
wonderful people and learned a lot about
running a nonprofit. Volunteering allowed
me the flexibility I needed to continue to
homeschool and stay at home with my
daughters, but unfortunately, it didn’t pay
anything! Eventually, I realized I could
combine what I knew about nonprofits, ho-
meschooling, and accounting and launch a
new business.
A New Business Is Born:
Homeschool CPA
One day I was explaining nonprofit sta-
tus and its benefits to a local homeschool
co-op leader. She was very confused and
I wrote her a long email explaining boards
and bylaws. I realized that there was very
little information for homeschool leaders.
On the Internet I found a few articles about
starting a support group, but very little on
running a co-op, forming a board, collect-
ing money, or obtaining 501(c)(3) tax-ex-
empt status with the Internal Revenue Ser-
vice (IRS). I saw a need that I could fulfill,
so I started writing down what I knew in
some short articles, and I launched a web-
site, HomeschoolCPA.com, in 2006.
HomeschoolCPA.com is a website for ho-
meschool leaders of support groups, co-ops,
and sports and arts programs. My articles
cover many areas, including setting up as a
nonprofit organization, opening a checking
account, writing bylaws, paying workers,
conflict resolution, and insurance for home-
school groups. There was some information
that needed to be in a longer format, so I
started writing short books. Initially, I of-
fered them for free on my website; later I
expanded each book and now offer them
for a low price through a digital-products
company called Clickbank®. Eventually I
expanded the website to include a question-
and-answer blog and webinars.
I Never Planned to Be an Author
After about a year of running Home-
schoolCPA.com, I took a writing class
titled Want to Be An Author? I never in-
Continued on page 48
 Cents and sensibility from Carol Topp, CPA

Micro Business
for Teens
A micro business is a very small, one-person
business that a teenager can start easily and
quickly with what he or she already knows or
owns. No money needed, low risk and no
debt! Students can spend as much time run-
ning a micro business as they wish and even
close it down during busy times.

By starting a micro
business a teenager
can learn:
 Business skills
 Writing skills
 Public speaking
 Time management
 Confidence
 About future careers

 How to earn money!

Books and ebooks available at

MicroBusinessForTeens.com
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Accountant to Author: A Home Business Journey
(Continued from page 46)
tended to be an author, I just needed help
with the articles I was writing for my web-
site. The class instructor encouraged me
to submit articles to magazines, and I was
thrilled when The Old Schoolhouse® Mag-
azine published my first article “Pursuing
Their Dreams: Career Exploration for High
School Students” in Spring 2006. Later
they published other articles on running a
homeschool organization including:
• Building a Strong Homeschool Orga-
nization
• Insurance for Homeschool Groups
• Money Management for Homeschool
Groups
• Easy Fundraisers for Homeschool
Organizations
In 2008 I launched my first full-length
book, Homeschool Co-ops: How to Start
Them, Run Them, and Not Burn Out. It
took me two years to research the con-
tent and learn about self-publishing and
marketing a book. I joined Yahoo groups,
including The Old Schoolhouse® Home-
school Leaders’ forum and another great
group called Christian Self-Publishers. I
learned so much from the generous people
in these forums. It was through their com-
ments that I learned about E-Books, self-
publishing, blogging, and how to build a
better website.
The Learning Never Ends
I continue to learn about running a
home-based business, being an author, and
meeting the needs of my readers. I take
online classes from great teachers such as
Kelly McCausey (my Web designer) and
Jimmy D. Brown (an Internet marketing
guru). I visit forums (MomMasterminds.
com is one) and listen to podcasts such as
Felice Gerwitz’s Information in a Nutshell
for Authors and Publishers.
I have found that I have knowledge that
people need, and I view my job as an op-
portunity to communicate this knowledge
in a clear and easy-to-understand way. I
started a small self-publishing business
called Ambassador Publishing this year. I
chose the name because I see myself as an
ambassador between the IRS and my clients
or readers. I speak a foreign language called
IRS-ese and help my clients understand in
plain English what the tax regulations are so
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that they can be successful. I try to explain
nonprofit management to homeschool lead-
ers, confusing tax forms to taxpayers, and
IRS rules to small-business owners.
After several years of doing tax returns, I
had helped a few ambitious teenagers who
had started their own businesses. From that
experience, I decided to write a book series
titled Micro Business for Teens. It is set for
an official launch in early 2011. This is a
new area for me so I have hired a publicist
to teach me how to market a book. I am
also honing my speaking skills by travel-
ing to homeschool conventions and doing
webinars and podcast interviews. These
speaking engagements help me reach my
audience of homeschool leaders and mi-
cro-business owners in a new way.
I have now been a home-based accountant
for ten years, and I find that I love work-
ing from home. I also enjoy how my career
changes, grows, and expands into new ar-
eas. I will continue to learn more every year
as I try to help my readers and clients.
Lessons Learned
After ten years of running a home-based
business, I have learned a lot and have
had many great business mentors. Here’s
a brief list of my tips and lessons I have
learned along the way:
Grow your business as the kids grow.
I started with 12 tax clients my first year.
Now as my children are almost grown (one
is in college and one is in her last year of
high school), I have expanded to 60 tax re-
turns a year. I also serve dozens of nonprof-
it clients and find myself writing and speak-
ing more. This didn’t happen overnight! It
grew slowly as my children grew.
Start with what you know. Don’t start
a business; instead grow a business from
your current interests and hobbies. Starting
and running a home business means long
hours and sacrifice; it is easier if you are do-
ing something that you enjoy. Brainstorm
your skills and list everything you’ve done
or know about whether you’ve been paid
for it or not. Focus on areas where you can
see yourself spending a lot of time. Then
consider whether your area of interest can
generate income.
Set boundaries:
• Set up a real office, if possible. A
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room with a door is ideal.
• Establish a daily routine with set
lunchtime and a real quitting time. If
you never stop working, you will soon
burn out. Burnout can be prevented if
you stop working every day at a set
time and give yourself a break.
• Turn on the answering machine dur-
ing meal prep time. Do not answer
the phone and do not let the children
answer it either. Nothing throws off a
schedule like an interruption at dinner-
time. Return calls after dinner.
• Stick to a daily schedule. Have set
hours for homeschooling and for
work. I homeschooled in the morning
and assigned independent work for
my children to finish while I worked
in the afternoons.
Go where your experiences take you. I
find a lot of inspiration from the story of Jo-
seph in the Old Testament. He was sold into
slavery, worked for a rich man, landed in
jail through false accusations, had oversight
of his fellow prisoners, interpreted dreams,
and eventually managed the seven-year
famine that saved Egypt and his own fam-
ily. Joseph made the most of every opportu-
nity that came his way, whether intended for
good or evil. Each experience led to being
hired for his ultimate “dream job” of work-
ing for Pharaoh. We do not know what the
future holds for us, but we do know Him
who holds the future. Entrust your plans,
ambitions, ideas, and fears to our Lord, and
He will guide you as He did Joseph.
I keep in mind this treasured verse:
And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as
to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing
that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward
of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord
Christ. (Col 3:23, 24)
Carol Topp, CPA (CarolToppCPA.com
and HomeschoolCPA.com) is an author
and accountant specializing in helping
homeschool organizations and micro-busi-
ness owners. She is the author of the Micro
Business for Teenagers series and Home-
school Co-ops: How to Start Them, Run
Them, and Not Burn Out. Her next book is
titled Business Taxes and Tips for Authors
and Publishers.
 Schoolhouse Expo
Carol Barnier’s Impressive
Business Plan
by Carol Barnier, Expo Speaker
I
wish I had a really impressive story
about my little business—something
about looking into the churning clothes
washing machine and seeing the fabrics
aligning themselves into a message from
God. “Write . . . a . . . book.”
Or perhaps something more proactive—
like I’d known since I was 18 months old
that I wanted to be a writer so I followed
that path steadfastly through grade school,
high school, and college, apprenticed with
a dozen well-known writers, and began my
dream the moment I graduated. Doesn’t
that sound self-disciplined and focused?
But the truth is I was just living my life,
being happily married and raising kids. My
“Not very business-y of me, huh?”
firstborn child was very ADHD (from the
womb forward), and we began to home-
school after recognizing that a traditional
classroom wasn’t going to work. Five
years of trial and error produced a pretty
good stable of ideas that worked well with
this child’s distractible mind. I turned to
my husband one day and said, “I wish I’d
known then what I know now” . . .which
led to a website, which led to a speaking
invitation, which led to a book.
There was no plan.
In fact now, over ten years later, with
dozens of articles, tens of thousands of au-
dience attendees, frequent guest commen-
taries on Focus on the Family®, and two
more books with another on the way (if
it sounds like a pregnancy, there’s a good
reason—the mood swings, weight gain,
and birthing pains are about the same), I
must admit, there’s still no plan.
Not very business-y of me, huh?
Don’t get me wrong. I believe in plans.
I like plans. I think plans are a really good
thing, essential, in fact, for most endeav-
ors. And frankly, if you want to become a
writer, you’d better do some serious plan-
ning, because there are a lot of steps and
there’s much to learn.
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
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Online educatiOn
frOm
taylOr university
But there’s a backstory to my approach.
For a long time I wasn’t a Christian. In
fact, I was an atheist. And boy, did I have
plans. I owned my own successful busi-
ness at 23. I measured my value by ac-
complishments. I kept score with dollars.
I had left God out of things by design. It
was part of my plan.
So when I came to faith, I took a differ-
ent tack. I simply told God I would walk
through whatever doors He presented to
me. I was done being in charge. Now I
have my hands thrown skyward while He
pilots this roller coaster I’m on, and so far,
it’s been a fun ride. He’s taken me places Christ-centered.
I would never have dreamed of going, let Academically excellent.
Flexible.
This is our commitment to you.
You can take a class or earn your degree
completely online while studying
alone made plans for. at home when it fits your schedule.
I don’t know what turns He’ll take me Programs include:
on next. I may write another book, (well • Dual credit classes
actually, that one is happening), I may start • Associate of Arts in Biblical Studies
a lawn mowing service (I really hope He • Associate of Arts in Justice
doesn’t open that door), and I may end up Administration
learning Klingon for a feature role in an up- • Associate of Arts in Liberal Arts
coming Star Trek movie (please oh please • Bachelor of Business Administration
oh please, open that door). • Transition to Teaching
• Various certificate programs
Don’t know. But for now, I’m watching
for the next door.
Dual Credit Program:
So how does this all impact you?
Well, if you’d like me to write for your
Head Start on College
Courses are taught online in an
magazine, blog, or other publication, give
independent study format, which means
me a call. If you’d like me to speak to your there is only one student in the class.
group or retreat, give me a call. He/she completes assignments at his/her
If you’d like me to mow your lawn, pray pace while working one-on-one with the
about this, put out a fleece, sacrifice an un- professor. The coursework is due six
blemished goat, and I’ll get back to you. months from registration, but can be
If you’d like me to be in that Star Trek completed early. Students
movie, give me a call. Better yet, just send can register and begin
me your number and I’ll call you. a course any day of
Stop by the year.
Today.
our Expo
booth for more
Carol Barnier, author of three books, is a information
popular conference speaker who is known
for mixing serious topics with equally se- 800-845-3149
rious humor. Learn more at www.Carol- online@taylor.edu
Barnier.com or www.SizzleBop.com www.taylor.edu/online
©2011,
©2011,The
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I Can't Believe I Said THAT!
We don't write on the baby.
Get your head out of the cheese!
Please don't lick the car.
How can you not know what hit you?
The bruise is between your eyes.
Parents of highly distractible kids wind up saying
things that other parents just don't. We never know
what these kids will do next.

So where do we find our community?

Where's our support group?

Come to Sizzle Bop (it's free), where you get

teaching tips
discipline tips
commentary on relevant news
action prompts
community input
curriculum survey results
funny stories about our funny life with
these funny (and oh-so-precious) kids
and best of all . . . where you get com-
munity with people who completely
understand why you adore this child

www.SizzleBop.com
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 Schoolhouse Expo
Child Diagnostics, Inc., Denver, Colorado
by Dianne Craft, MA, CNHP, Expo Speaker
C
hild Diagnostics, Inc is a consul-
tation service that serves children
who are considered struggling
learners. I define a struggling learner as
a bright, hard-working child who has to
work too hard to learn. This consultation
service has been in business for 13 years
in Denver, Colorado. There are three
“arms” to this company:
Private consultations for parents of chil-
dren who are working too hard to learn.
Over 65% of the parents I see fly in from
other states. We spend the day together,
“I found that the older methods that
included a lot of auditory teaching or
required them to write while they were
learning were not methods that worked
for these young students.”
evaluating the child and then videotaping
the interventions that will help the child
become successful, whether the need is for
academic intervention (reading, writing,
math) or behavioral intervention (sensory
processing, attention/focus, Asperger’s,
autism, or other children whose nervous
system is in disequilibrium). For the be-
havioral interventions we use targeted
nutritional supplements, along with some
change in the child’s everyday diet.
Teaching products, such as a right-brain
reading program for children with dyslex-
ia and other reading issues, a home mid-
line therapy program called Brain Inte-
gration Therapy to minimize the effect of
the learning struggle, and teaching DVDs
on right-brain learning strategies and cor-
recting dysgraphia and writing problems
at home.
Workshop presentations at homeschool
conventions, and one-day, struggling learn-
er seminars, along with teaching webinars
given across the country to help parents of
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children who struggle become successful
at home . . . easily, effectively, and inex-
pensively.
In the Beginning . . .
I am a former homeschool mother
who previously had worked in the spe-
cial education field. I have a bachelor’s
and master’s degree in special education.
After I finished homeschooling my son,
I returned to the public school setting
to teach for many years. God turned my
teaching resource rooms into laboratories.
Through God’s leading, I learned many
new ways to help my struggling learn-
ers in these classrooms. For many years
I taught children who were labeled “twice
exceptional.” These were children (like
many we have at home) who had above-
average intelligence and were considered
gifted, but who were also working two to
three years behind in either reading, writ-
ing (composition and spelling), or math.
Many of them had a true dyslexia, so they
were very far behind in reading. I found
that the older methods that included a lot
of auditory teaching or required them to
write while they were learning were not
methods that worked for these young
students. I taught children in grades one
through eight who were struggling be-
cause of processing difficulties such as
auditory processing problems, visual pro-
cessing problems, or writing problems
such as dysgraphia.
As I sought God for new solutions for
these bright, hardworking children of all
©2011,
©2011,The
ages, I was led to seek out classes that were
taught around the country on brain integra-
tion therapy and right-brain teaching strat-
egies. When I pursued this education and
then implemented these techniques into my
resource room teaching, I saw spectacular
results. In fact, in the students I used these
new techniques with, I almost always saw a
two-year gain in reading, writing, and math
in one year. I praised God for the wonder-
ful answers he was showing me.
Another special education teacher, Anna
Alvarado, who taught across the hall from
me, asked what I was doing to make such a
difference in these children. She had been
teaching at that school in special education
for years, using the old, regular methods
and was just seeing a six- to seven-month
gain each year. I was very happy to show
her the new techniques that God had taught
me. She experienced the same success I did
. . . a two-year growth in one year for these
wonderful, struggling learners. I now have
shown these techniques to many home edu-
cators, have worked personally with many
schools to increase the efficiency of their
special education and literacy classes, and
teach courses to teachers and occupational
therapists for graduate level continuing
education credits through the University of
Colorado in Denver.
Free Daily Lesson Plans
My passion is to help homeschooling
parents identify where their child’s learn-
ing glitch is and learn how to help that
child overcome the glitch in the home set-
ting. Many of the homeschooled children
I see have had extensive testing and have
labels such as “auditory processing dys-
function” or “sensory processing dysfunc-
tion,” but the parents still do not know how
to help their child at home. I feel that is
my calling—to show these parents how I
taught children in a school setting to get
them past the learning glitch, and how they
can do it at home. My motto is, “It doesn’t
have to be so hard, and it doesn’t have to
be so expensive!”
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Child Diagnostics, Inc.
(Continued from page 51)
All parents who are willing to read and
learn can become their child’s own re-
source room teacher. (Resource room is
the name given to the classrooms that edu-
cate children who were tested and qualified
for special education classes or literacy
classes). On my website, www.dianne-
craft.org, I have provided the lesson plans
that I used daily for the reading and writ-
ing classes when I taught these wonderful
children in the school setting. These daily
lesson plans have often been used by many
new special education teachers in their first
few years of teaching, until they felt that
they could branch out on their own, using
their rich experience. These teachers, as do
the parents, almost always experienced the
same success that I saw by using the com-
bination of brain integration exercises, and
right-brain teaching strategies . . . a two-
year growth in a year. These daily lesson
plans are called:
• Daily Lesson Plans for the Struggling
Reader
• Daily Lesson Plans for the Struggling
Writer and Speller
I have provided these daily lesson plans
for FREE on my website. They include
the step-by-step method that I used each
day, four days a week, with the students I
worked with. They include the daily exer-
cises designed to help make more connec-
tions between the brain hemispheres for
easier processing of material and elimina-
tion of reading and writing reversals, the
right-brain phonics technique for reading
which eliminates copying or memorizing
sounds, and the right-brain, visual spell-
ing method, which bypasses the writing
and auditory gates for spelling by training
the child to use his strong photographic
memory for spelling. These methods work
incredibly well, and cost nothing. I provide
the list of spelling words along with the
technique I used for free on my website.
I also provide for parents the method of
paragraph and composition writing that I
successfully used with my second through
eighth graders. For example, by the end
of the year, my sixth graders, who had
struggled writing even a paragraph for
me, were writing four-page papers on their
own. I give detailed instructions about how
to do this at home. This is free also. Af-
ter the child can easily write a paragraph
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or paragraphs, then any other good writing
program can help with the polishing of his
work. Many children who have not writ-
ten anything because it has been so hard for
them are successful using this easy, stress-
free writing method.
Convention Workshops
I love to educate parents on effective
teaching methods for their bright but strug-
gling children. I do this through a series of
workshops I offer to homeschool conven-
tions. The titles of these workshops are:
• Identifying Your Child’s Learning
Block
• Smart Kids Who Hate to Write
• Teaching the Right-Brain Child
(Parts 1 and 2)
• The Biology of Behavior (Parts 1
and 2)
At the end of this six-workshop series,
parents are able to identify exactly which
of their child’s learning gates are blocked
and have a simple plan to reduce the stress
in the child’s learning system.
For the speakers committees who are
interested in having me speak at their con-
ventions, I have a speaker’s package avail-
able with the detailed descriptions of the
workshops. They can just email me for this
speaker’s package at craft@ecentral.com.
A Nutritionist’s Perspective
The unique perspective I can offer parents
of bright but struggling learners includes
not only my experience as a homeschooling
mom and my years as a special education
teacher, but also the fact that I am a nutri-
tionist. My exact title is certified natural
health professional. I became a nutritionist
after realizing that there was another impor-
tant puzzle piece to these struggling learn-
ers. If a child’s biochemistry is upset and his
nervous system is not responding correctly,
it can look like he has a focusing problem,
auditory processing problems, and even
dyslexia. We now know that there is a par-
ticular chemistry of dyslexia. It is a chemi-
cal upset, really a deficiency that we tend
to pass on to our children, generally male
to male. This cycle can be stopped with the
correct information.
I also have found that many parents who
have a non-verbal or very low-verbal child
see fantastic gains when they add some
©2011,
©2011,The
unique enzymes plus the essential fatty ac-
ids in very particular amounts. In addition,
many of these children are experiencing
“hearing under water” because of an un-
diagnosed dairy allergy. I have written ar-
ticles on this, and worked with the parents
who come in for personal consultations
and have heard the wonderful results that
they very frequently see.
When a child is having frequent melt-
downs or the parent is finding that she
needs to walk on eggshells around a
particular child because of these daily
upsets, we generally find that there has
been early antibiotic use, or even that the
child was exposed to antibiotics in utero,
or that the mother had a yeast infection
while she was pregnant. These scenarios
tend to upset the child’s nervous system
for many years if proper interventions
have not been taken to “right” the child’s
chemistry after these exposures. The
interventions are easy and powerful. I
have articles on my website, and a three-
month nutritional supplement program in
a CD set called The Biology of Behavior
that gives parents a step-by-step guide in
helping their child feel better, and thus
act better and focus better. The parents
can also see a local nutritionist if they
would like personalized help with just
this one area of learning.
I have so enjoyed using my knowledge
as a nutritionist for parents who are often
at their wits’ end with their wonderful chil-
dren. I have a teaching PowerPoint slide
that has these words on it, “Is it Character
or Chemistry?” Dr. Sydney Walker, MD,
says that “children act how they feel.” We
often overlook the obvious physical is-
sues the child is presenting that can be the
cause of this unhappy behavior. We always
seem to be able to impact a child’s focus-
ing, memory, and behavior with targeted
nutritional strategies. I receive wonderful
testimonies all the time from parents who
have used this information to set their child
free of the unwanted behaviors.
My Business Plan
I presently have a waiting list of about
nine months for families for a personal
consultation with their child, although we
do have a cancellation list, so families can
(Continued on page 54)
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 Schoolhouse Expo
Child Diagnostics, Inc.
(Continued from page 53)
Jim Weiss and Greathall
get in sooner most of the time. I have a
slightly shorter waiting list for telephone
Productions
consultations. We sell my teaching and nu- by Jim Weiss, Expo Speaker
tritional products to countries all over the

world. I continue to be privileged to speak
at statewide homeschool conventions
across the country. To what do I attribute
my success?
• God is my business and personal
partner.
• We freely give products and informa-
tion at every opportunity that comes
up. You can never out-give God.
• I continually study to keep myself at
the top in my field.
What methods have I used to “market”
this business?
• Many free articles on the website,
educating parents.
• Speaking engagements to make par-
ents aware of alternative methods of
teaching.
• YouTube teaching videos.
• Web seminars presented for various
organizations.
• Articles in local homeschool
magazines.
Running this business is the most fun
I have ever had. It is so exciting to set
children free who have been working so
hard.
Dianne Craft is a former homeschool mom
who has a master’s degree in elementary
and special education. She has 25 years’
experience teaching bright, hardwork-
ing children who have to work too hard to
learn. She teaches parents across the coun-
try how to help their children learn faster
and easier, using therapies and strategies
that are very effective while being very
inexpensive. Dianne has created many
teaching products for right-brain learn-
ers and those struggling with dyslexia or
dysgraphia. She is also a certified natural
health professional specializing in natu-
ral treatments for children with attention,
learning, and behavioral issues. Dianne
is president of the educational consulting
firm Child Diagnostics, Inc., in Littleton,
Colorado.
I
n June, 1989, Jim decided to do
something more with the craft that
he had formerly practiced solely
for pleasure. He and his wife, Randy,
formed a production company, Greathall
Productions, and have thus far produced
forty-four (44) storytelling recordings,
all recipients of national awards from
The American Library Association, Par-
ents’ Choice Foundation, NAPPA, the
Parents’ Council, The Oppenheim Toy
Portfolio, The Film Advisory Board,
Parents’ Guide to Children’s Media
Award, and more.
As a storyteller, Jim’s connection to his
audience is magnetic and interactive,
proof positive that storytelling remains
among the moving, most personal
forms of entertainment.
In addition, Jim has recorded many
complete audiobooks, from read-alongs
for early readers to the Newbery Award-
winning biography Carry On, Mister
Bowditch, and from works by the British
novelist G.A. Henty to Susan Wise Bau-
er’s acclaimed The Story of the World.
Jim’s newest release, Gone West:
Bold Adventures of American Explor-
ers and Pioneers, includes stories of
the Westward Expansion, including the
Louisiana Purchase, Lewis and Clark,
Fulton’s steamboat, the covered wagon
pioneers, the impact on Native Ameri-
cans, and the building of the transconti-
nental railroad—all in story form.
Live Storytelling Performances
Jim Weiss’s live performances have
been called “inspiring, exciting, and .
. . filled with laughter.” He offers both
performances of stories and entertaining
sessions on how to write, tell, and ben-
efit from stories. Jim travels extensively
throughout the United States, perform-
ing at theaters, stores, libraries, schools,
colleges, and community events. He has
hosted and starred in an Emmy Award-
winning PBS television special and has
even performed at The White House an-
nual Easter event.
As a storyteller, Jim’s connection to
his audience is magnetic and interactive,
proof positive that storytelling remains
among the moving, most personal forms
of entertainment. Adults and children
alike leave the performance feeling
that they have really met the charac-
ters and benefited from “experiencing”
the events. Jim’s presentations garner
heightened respect for the art of story-
telling and the literature itself.
Twenty-two years after forming
Greathall Productions, Jim and Randy
Weiss still pursue the same goal: to
instill in children the lifelong love of
great literature by telling the stories on
a child’s level without altering the au-
thors’ intent.
Jim Weiss is an internationally known
author, storyteller, recording artist, and
teacher who performs across the U.S.A.
and internationally. His vast repertoire
includes vivid presentations from classic
literature and history ranging from Ae-
sop to Shakespeare, Bible stories to the
Founding Fathers, Greek mythology to
accomplishments of great scientists, art-
ists, and authors. Jim’s recordings have
received more than 90 major awards.

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 Schoolhouse Expo
Bright Ideas Press: A Brief History
by Maggie Hogan (& Tyler Hogan), Expo Speakers
T
hroughout the years, we’ve learned
that God often works in mysterious
ways. Ever since I was a little girl I
have wanted to become a writer. Although
I had opportunities over the years to write
articles in newspapers and magazines, it
wasn’t until I became a homeschooling
mom that God really began opening doors
for me to pursue my writing dreams. To-
day, those dareams have developed into
a substantial business, a great experience
with the wonderful world of homeschool-
ing, and a chance to bless others.
“Our mission has always been to provide
practical, fun, and affordable geography,
history, and science. Our materials are
designed to be hands-on, appealing, and
exciting for all ages and learning styles.”
When I (accidentally) became the di-
rector of a local homeschool group in
1992, I discovered that I had a lot of help-
ful advice that many new homeschoolers
needed. With that in mind, my best friend,
Janice, and I decided to collaborate our
experiences with home education into a
simple book. Although I was new to the
homeschooling field myself (and hardly
felt qualified to write on the topic) the
publication of The Unofficial Guide to
Homeschooling in Delaware was a huge
help to many families. This was a great
learning experience for me.
The next year brought my first invita-
tion to speak at a homeschool support
group on the topic of geography. Janice
was helping me and we worked hard on
developing great handouts. Perhaps we
went a little overboard on them, because
instead of a handout, we ended up with
our next book: Hands-On Geography.
(Since then it has been greatly revised and
expanded.)
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As time passed, my sons grew older
and they were able to help with various
aspects of our business. My husband also
became progressively more involved. (He
is now newly retired after 35 years of civil
service. He is looking forward to work-
ing with me full-time.) JB, our oldest, has
written a book which we’ve published (a
collection of stories about his military ex-
periences called From Basic to Baghdad:
A Soldier Writes Home) and does proj-
ects for us with his wife, Christy, from
their home in Iowa. Our youngest, Tyler,
started working for us full-time after he
graduated from Belhaven University. He
manages the office and helps develop our
curriculum and product lines. His wife,
Helen, also writes and illustrates for us
(when she’s not busy with their two little
girls, Kaylee and Avalon).
Our business is a ministry that my hus-
band and I enjoy doing together. We love
traveling and meeting people. I love to
speak and Bob has such a servant’s heart
for helping homeschooling parents in our
booth at conferences. He also takes care of
the business finances, freeing me to write
and be creative. It’s also been so encourag-
ing seeing Tyler grow as a business man-
ager, speaker, and writer. He’s taken over
many of the areas that I don’t have the time
or energy to run anymore. I always knew
he had the entrepreneurial bug too!
Over the years, through talking with so
many families, we’ve noticed three main
things that get in people’s way as they ho-
meschool. We call them the “three home-
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school busters.” Boredom is the first one.
Too many families rely on unappealing,
dry textbooks, which suck the fun out of
learning. The second is burnout. Many
families, in an effort to fit into a certain
philosophy of education or prove them-
selves to their family or friends, try to do
way more each day than can reasonably be
expected. Lastly, budget. Many great pro-
grams are just too pricey for the average
family to afford.
That’s why our mission has always been
to provide practical, fun, and affordable
geography, history, and science. Our ma-
terials are designed to be hands-on, appeal-
ing, and exciting for all ages and learning
styles. We strive to assign a reasonable
amount of work, and make it clear when
things are optional, while still giving stu-
dents enough of a challenge to help them
grow. We also try to do everything we can
to keep our costs low, so we can pass sav-
ings on to you!
It’s been so exciting to publish Christ-
honoring books, which families can enjoy
and customize to meet their own needs.
In the past few years we have published a
number of popular books, including:
• The Mystery of History series
(by Linda Hobar)
• The Christian Kids Explore Science
series (by several authors)
• The All American History series (by
Celeste Rakes)
• Illuminations—a literature/language
arts program, which uses our history
books as its spine
And there are many more in the works!
In the past few years, we’ve seen a no-
ticeable shift in the needs of our custom-
ers. For one thing, people have recently
seemed more concerned with conserving
shelf space. To that end, we’ve been em-
phasizing our digital products and supple-
mental materials more. We have recently
put out downloadable products such as fol-
derbooks, coloring pages, challenge cards,
notebooking pages, etc. for our history and
science programs, which have been hugely
(Continued on page 61)
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 Schoolhouse Expo
From Desperation to Publication:
A Curriculum Is Born
by Kim Kautzer, Expo Speaker
I
guess you’d call me a veteran.
After 15 years of homeschooling my
three kids through the hills and valleys
of childhood and adolescence, I took down
my shingle when our youngest, Ben, grad-
uated from high school in 2003.
My children were such different learn-
ers. Like their mama, Karah and Janel
were pretty much born with a natural
knack for the written word. They became
voracious readers from the moment they
figured out how to decipher the code. And
once they picked up that first pencil to
“To our dismay, every child in the group
struggled. They all needed to go back to
the basics, and nothing on our shelves
seemed to hold the key.”
scrawl out their earliest sentences, they
never looked back.
Eager and independent, the girls learned
with ease and progressed quickly through
their lessons. But Ben—my fidgety, ac-
tive, kinesthetic little guy—was a pea
in a much different pod. Like a sponge,
he soaked up facts about volcanoes and
black bears and Pilgrims, but when the
time came for learning to read and write,
he couldn’t catch on.
I was at a loss, because what had worked
for my daughters was failing me miserably
now. Lord knows, I tried. I found myself
starting and stopping again and again, fi-
nally realizing that my son just wasn’t
wired to learn traditionally at this season in
his life. I had to let go of my expectations,
which meant asking God to help me teach
in a way that met the needs of my auditory,
hands-on boy.
Looking for Answers
Since Ben had such a hard time hold-
ing a pencil (or sitting still, for that mat-
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ter), I let him dictate to me as I wrote down
his words. This was years before I’d ever
heard of Charlotte Mason or the whole
concept of narration. But it made sense that
if he couldn’t write the words himself, all
his great ideas would just smolder inside
his busy little brain unless he had an outlet.
By allowing him to dictate his stories and
short reports to me (with lots of prodding,
prompting, and questions on my part), I
was letting Ben express his knowledge
and understanding of the different things
we were studying—and his creativity with
oral vocabulary and storytelling grew by
leaps and bounds.
But by the time he was 12, I had become
more desperate to see some independence
in this area. So even though we had no idea
what we were doing, my friend Debbie
and I committed to teach a writing class
for a handful of homeschoolers. Our class
launched in September 1997, and believe
me, I was nervous. What did I know about
teaching writing? I’m one of those intuitive
types for whom writing comes easily. But I
had no idea how to help others learn what I
know and do what I do.
Still, Deb and I were enthusiastic and
expectant. That Tuesday morning, we
greeted our little class with their first as-
signment: a five-sentence paragraph. But
our high hopes met reality face to face
when we sat down with those composi-
tions later that day.
“Oh, man!” we squeaked. “What have
we gotten ourselves into?”
And it wasn’t just our own reluctant
boys whose efforts cried out for help. To
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our dismay, every child in the group strug-
gled. They all needed to go back to the ba-
sics, and nothing on our shelves seemed to
hold the key. So we canceled class for two
weeks, scrapped the lesson plans we had
so carefully crafted over the summer, and
started from scratch. We had made a com-
mitment to teach these children to write,
but clearly we had to take a detour.
From the Ground Up
Deb and I needed a plan. Our minds
swirled with goals and ideas, but we felt
rather clueless about how to achieve them.
While each of the programs on our shelves
had merit, not one of them provided every-
thing we needed or wanted to help us feel
successful at teaching writing. But how
does one build a writing course from the
ground up?
We began—as good writers often do—
with a brainstorming session in which we
dreamed up a wish list of components for
our “ideal” writing class:
• Pre-writing games to get creative
juices flowing
• Skill-building activities to equip stu-
dents with new writing tools
• Creative, varied writing exercises
with clearly defined expectations
• Incremental lessons that built upon
previously learned material
• Writing checklists to help students
edit their own work
• A simple evaluation tool to help us
grade final drafts objectively
Our new plan was in place, and class
began afresh. We prepared lesson plans
and activities as well as homework as-
signments, and we designed checklists and
grading keys to suit our needs.
Deb and I had no intention whatsoever of
writing a curriculum. After spending hours
together in person and by phone, we were
relieved just to hammer out one lesson at a
time by Monday at midnight! But in a mat-
ter of weeks—when writing finally began
to click for every student in the class—we
knew we’d struck gold.
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From Desperation to Publication: A Curriculum Is Born
(Continued from page 58)
Within two years, as our class waiting
list soared to 50, parents started asking
us to write a teacher’s guide and turn our
ideas into a curriculum so they could teach
it at home. “Ha!” we scoffed. “That’s for
real authors.”
But the seeds had been planted. And
when a trusted friend with much experience
as a curriculum counselor gave our thick
stack of lessons her stamp of approval, we
set to work on a teacher’s manual. Eventu-
ally we published our first set of materials
for junior high and high school students:
WriteShop I and WriteShop II.
New Ventures
Even as our young company was mak-
ing headway in the homeschool curriculum
market, neither Debbie nor I ever expected
to write or publish any more books. Yet in
“But as they say, “Necessity is the
mother of invention.” And for Debbie
and me, necessity came in the shape
of those two 12-year-old boys who
simply could not write.”
2007 we spread our wings again and intro-
duced a new product line—StoryBuilders
E-Books—offering printable writing
prompt cards to help families add some
pizzazz to writing time.
WriteShop Primary, a writing series for
K–3, followed during the next couple of
years. This was our first experience part-
nering with another author, the amazing
Nancy I. Sanders. We also learned to col-
laborate with a graphic artist and an il-
lustrator. In the end, we were thrilled to
produce an eye-catching, hands-on cur-
riculum that helps parents introduce the
writing process to little ones gently and
effectively.
Now that we have writing materials for
early elementary ages, junior high, and
high school, it only makes sense to fill the
gap by developing products for middle- to
upper-elementary ages too, so we’ve been
keeping Nancy Sanders busy writing les-
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sons for our newest series, WriteShop
Junior. Filled with fun, creative ideas for
teaching writing, WriteShop Junior has
been receiving high marks among home-
school families currently testing the les-
sons. We plan to release WriteShop Junior
Books D and E in 2011.
Making Sense of Marketing
Debbie and I are not born businesswom-
en, and we’ve had to learn as we go. The
world of printing, publishing, and market-
ing was new to us, but we knew we needed
to get the word out about our books.
A small but growing publishing business
such as WriteShop has limited resources
for advertising, so we’ve tried to think of
creative ways to get the most for our mon-
ey. Over the years, we’ve invested time
learning how to:
• Develop a website and optimize it for
search engines. Many new custom-
ers learn about WriteShop through a
friend, but over half find us by search-
ing Google for “writing curriculum”
or “homeschool writing program.”
• Write a blog that offers encourage-
ment, teaching tips, and free writing
lessons for homeschool moms. The
poetry lessons and articles about
teaching reluctant writers draw the
most traffic to In Our Write Minds.
• Advertise wisely (we currently run
print ads in TOS magazine and ad-
vertise on a few homeschool-focused
websites, and we watch for other
special opportunities as they arise).
• Participate in cross-promos with other
homeschooling companies.
• Join the social-networking sphere
via Twitter and a WriteShop Face-
book page.
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• Take advantage of viral marketing
opportunities such as the TOS Re-
view Crew. Because the homeschool
blogging community is so active,
word about a favorite new product
or method can spread like wildfire as
bloggers link to curriculum websites
or reviews.
In addition to purposeful marketing, I’ve
found it helpful to become a speaker. Pre-
senting sessions at homeschool conven-
tions over the past eight years has enabled
me to bring encouragement and support
and share my expertise with many who
struggle to teach writing at home. I’ve also
enjoyed coming alongside homeschoolers
through articles I write for various blogs
and magazines.
Necessity Is the Mother
of Invention
If anyone had bothered to ask me 14
years ago what I planned to “do” with my
life when I was done homeschooling, I may
have rolled out a list of unfinished projects
I’d finally have time to complete, stacks of
books I longed to read, or the conversation-
al Spanish class I yearned to take.
I would certainly never have said, “I
think I’ll write a curriculum for home-
schoolers.” Nor would I have ever dared to
say, “I’d like to speak at conventions and
equip parents to teach their kids to write.”
My dreams didn’t allow for the possibil-
ity that something I put my hand to would
become a topic of conversation on Inter-
net discussion boards, or that homeschool
bookstores would one day stock their
shelves with books that have my name in
the byline.
But as they say, “Necessity is the
mother of invention.” And for Debbie
and me, necessity came in the shape of
those two 12-year-old boys who simply
could not write.
This story ends well. By high school
graduation, Ben had become quite a deep
thinker, avid reader, and strong, articulate
writer. Now 25, our once-struggling son is
a Ph.D. candidate studying “to show [him]
self approved unto God, a workman that
needeth not to be ashamed, rightly divid-
ing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
The very subjects that dogged him as a

child—reading and writing—have become
his passion. I thank God that he encour-
aged me to let Ben be Ben, and that when
the time came, He showed me a new way
to help my son learn.
WriteShop Turns 10
Many times during this wild WriteShop
adventure, we’ve felt like we were barrel-
ing down the rapids, but God has remained
faithfully in control of our little boat. Along
the way, we’ve been encouraged through
many testimonials of homeschooling fami-
lies who have successfully used WriteShop
materials with their children. There’s noth-
ing so satisfying or fulfilling as knowing
we’ve had a hand in helping inspire so
many successful writers.
2011 marks WriteShop’s tenth anni-
versary as a company. These days, with
WriteShop users in all 50 states as well
as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Great
Britain, and beyond, Debbie and I still
pinch ourselves now and then to make sure
this is real. We don’t have all the answers,
but we can offer tools to teach and evalu-
ate writing in a parent-friendly, step-by-
step manner. And while we may appear to
be “writing gurus” to some, in truth we’re
a couple of ordinary homeschool moms
who stumbled out of obscurity because
our children had a need. Desperation
yielded to creativity, creativity gave way
to potential, and potential became reality:
WriteShop.
Author and speaker Kim Kautzer loves
to help parents feel more confident about
teaching writing. The co-author of Write-
Shop, she now helps develop and publish
new products for the company. Kim and
her husband homeschooled for 15 years.
They live in Southern California, where
they enjoy their empty nest and six spunky
grandchildren. Kim blogs about writing at
www.writeshop.com/blog.
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Providing the following online
courses:
 Dyslexia In-Depth
 Reading Comprehension
 Special Education
Advocacy
 Orton-Gillingham
 Tutor Training
Our courses are ideal for any
parent, teacher, guardian, tutor
or anyone who is interested in
learning more about dyslexia,
how to remediate it.
Additionally, graduate credits are
available through the University
of San Diego.
Some perks of online courses:
 Log on any time
 Go at your own pace
 Ask questions any time
 Live chats with the
instructors
 A chance to meet other
parents and teachers
who are interested in
dyslexia or may have a
child with dyslexia
 Instructors with
extensive experience
and education about
dyslexia
To register and for more
information:
dyslexiatraininginstitute.org
619-517-0683
©2011,
©2011,The
Bright Ideas Press
(Continued from page 56)
popular. Additionally, people have been
looking for programs that are simple and
don’t require a tremendous amount of plan-
ning on their part. To that end, we’ve put
out a new program called Illuminations,
which is an all-in-one curriculum that ties
together history, Bible, geography, litera-
ture, and language arts chronologically.
We have received great feedback about this
product. Parents really appreciate having a
detailed yet flexible schedule that they can
use with a wide age range.
Our Lord has blessed us beyond measure.
Often, I simply stand back in wonder at all
the Father has done for us. It has certainly
not been easy—sometimes it’s been very
difficult and humbling. But we’ve tried to
keep our eyes on our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ and to follow His will for our family
and our company. He has brought us from
the first year of homeschooling to the pres-
ent year of our business, and we know He
will keep us in His hands forever.
It’s our privilege to be a part of your ho-
meschooling journey! Please let us know if
there’s any way we can serve you.
Maggie Hogan & Tyler Hogan
www.BrightIdeasPress.com
contact@BrightIdeasPress.com
Toll Free 877.492.8081
Maggie Hogan is an author and speaker
who lives in Dover, Delaware, with her hus-
band, Bob. They are the founders of Bright
Ideas Press. When not reading or playing
with her granddaughters, you can find Mag-
gie drooling over travel magazines.
Tyler Hogan (Maggie’s son) is the office
manager at Bright Ideas Press. He is a
husband, father, teacher, writer, speaker,
world traveler, mime, and graduate of Bel-
haven University. He and his wife, Helen,
enjoy time with their daughters, reading,
and drinking tea.
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 Schoolhouse Expo
Illuminations
by Dari Mullins, Expo Speaker
I
met Maggie Hogan many years ago at a
homeschool convention in Boston. We
were both speaking there and I felt es-
pecially blessed to be spending time with a
“veteran” homeschooler whom I respected
and admired. We had a great time sharing
ideas and stories. It turns out we think a lot
alike. (In fact, she said I was the only other
speaker she had ever met who also spoke
on both geography and poetry!) She asked
if I would be willing to help her with a new
project down the road. Of course I jumped
at the chance.
Several years later, our paths crossed
again at another homeschool convention
in Florida. She shared again her vision for
“The mission is simple: to provide a
quality program that is customizable
for each individual family while
remaining practical, fun, affordable,
and encouraging.”
this new curriculum project with me and
asked if I would be willing to do market
research for it. I agreed and so began a new
journey for both of us.
After extensive market research and
much prayer, Bright Ideas Press deter-
mined that the product idea was both vi-
able and needed. They asked me to join the
team as Project Manager. We assembled a
core team of four (now five) people, with a
combined 35+ years of homeschooling ex-
perience, to oversee this massive project.
We meet several times a year at various
locations for marathon planning sessions.
Thank goodness for technology . . . or we
would all have to move to Delaware!
The mission is simple: to provide a qual-
ity program that is customizable for each
individual family while remaining practi-
cal, fun, affordable, and encouraging. Il-
luminations is an all-inclusive curriculum
based on The Mystery of History and the
62
62 ©2011,
©2011,The
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All American History series for grades
3–12. With these two popular history se-
ries as spines, Illuminations schedules ad-
ditional subjects, including everything ex-
cept math. Bible, language arts (grammar,
writing, copywork/dictation, spelling, and
vocabulary), literature, science, humani-
ties (poetry, theatre, music, and art), geog-
raphy, history, and life skills are all either
scheduled based on existing curriculum
(for example, WriteShop®) or were written
expressly for Illuminations (for example,
our Bible and literature study guides).
When designing Illuminations, the core
team had several ideas to make the curricu-
lum unique:
• The customizable schedule grids
allow parents to tailor the program
to specifically target their children’s
interests and needs.
• Learning-style friendly: We include
many ideas for kinesthetic, visual, and
audio learners.
• Paper trails for record keeping.
• Summer enrichment literature guides.
• Parent support.
The authors and designers for this proj-
ect are qualified people who include ho-
meschool parents, homeschool graduates,
professors, clergy, and others with vast ex-
perience in their chosen fields. With many
of the authors using the product, we are
walking alongside each other in this home-
schooling journey.
Each year is available in a single down-
load and includes a wealth of practical
schedules and useful information. Simply
load it on your computer and you are ready
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to go! Visually appealing schedules are
provided—use them “as is” or type your
own entries in the blocks. They are cus-
tomizable!
Choose the elements you want to use—
just history and literature or all the disci-
plines—your choice! Either way, your cur-
riculum elements are completely scheduled
for you. We’ve chosen curriculum you can
just pick up and use.
Our literature guides are the best avail-
able. They include discussion questions
and activities for all learning styles. The
literature study guides provide questions,
discussion generators, applicable Scripture,
activities, and vocabulary words. They are
companions to the literature selections,
written to walk with you through each
book carefully chosen for Illuminations.
With strong spiritual and literary analysis
emphasis, these guides help prepare your
students for college and for life.
However, even with the best plans, ho-
meschooling can sometimes feel over-
whelming. With Illuminations, our online
community provides you with support and
encouragement without ever stepping out
your door. Go ahead; dive in! You CAN
do it!
Fun—what is fun about school you
might ask? Well this is where Illumina-
tions wants to help! Not all education will
be fun, but we designed Illuminations to
help you build “fun time” into your sched-
ule. We have all kinds of doable activities
that help make memories. These things in-
clude simple items such as audio and video
suggestions to reinforce your studies, or
simply having great read-aloud and discus-
sion time questions (and answers—which
makes it easier on Mom!) that encourage
thoughtful responses.
There are projects that require a little
more time and effort but provide lots of fun
time for you and your children. These in-
clude things such as fun games, building a
model of a Chinese invention, or making a
costume based on a favorite character from
that week’s literature.
(Continued on page 69)
 Since 1992 we’ve provided user-friendly resources for homeschoolers.
Now We’re Excited to Present
Our Brightest Idea Yet...

Practical Fun Affordable Encouraging

We can do this! We can enjoy this! We can get this! We’re not alone!

Illuminations is: What people are saying about Illuminations:

An all-inclusive curriculum based on “We have just entered week 10 of both MOH 1 and ILM 1 - and we
The Mystery of History and are LOVING it! I really want to communicate just how much these
tools are affecting my life and walk with the Lord, as well as that of
All American History series. my 11-year-old daughter.”
The program includes:
“The Family Study Guides alone are worth at least triple the
» Bible » Mom Support money! I didn’t realize how great those Graphic Organizers are! It’s
amazing how it has helped my son to write out his answers and
» Literature » Language Arts thoughts in a much more structured and understandable way.”
» Science • Grammar
» Humanities • Writing “Having tried to use another curriculum, I’m looking forward to a
program that looks much more realistic for my family!”
» Geography • Copywork
» History • Spelling “Thank you so much for everything. I love Illuminations and MOH.
My school time is much happier now and I’m spending quality
» Life Skills • Vocabulary time with my kids rather than yelling at them to get their work
» Projects done. My husband has also noticed the happy difference in our
homeschool.”

Your Complete, Chronological, Customizable

Guide to a Christian Education!

Years 1, 2, & 3 available now! For a literature list and free samples go to
3rd-8th Grade or High School
http://Illuminations.BrightIdeasPress.com
Call toll-free 877.492.8081
On CD or as a Digital Download

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 Schoolhouse Expo
A True Tale
by Diana Waring, Expo Speaker
O
nce upon a time, there was a vi-
sionary girl named Diana and a
steadfast boy named Bill. At the
time of their marriage, their prayer to the
One who had called them together was
simple: “Lord, teach us to live by faith.”
From that point, things got complicated.
If she had had any idea what God’s an-
swer to that prayer would entail, I don’t
think she would have had the courage to
pray it. Thank God, she didn’t know.
Fast forward ten years. Three children—
homeschooled from birth because their
mother read a Dr. Raymond Moore book—
two dogs, and two mortgages later, a friend
suggested that I teach a workshop at our
local homeschool convention. Little know-
ing that this was the first step on a path
around the world, my proposal to the or-
ganizers was an off-the-wall idea that was
interesting to me: how to learn American
history through its folk music. When they
“Lord, teach us to live by faith.”
From that point, things got complicated.
agreed to this proposal, I suddenly realized
that the research necessary to pull this off
might be easily turned into a booklet, and
that some local friends with a studio might
join me in creating the accompanying folk
song recording.
Fools Rush in Where Angels Fear
to Tread
I had no concept of how much work this
would be. Through the mercy of God and
many long nights, we somehow managed
to gather up all of the barely finished piec-
es just in time for the convention. To my
amazement, this “History Alive! Through
Music” booklet and tape sold so well that
the partnership of Hear & Learn (the studio
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64 ©2011,
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musicians and I) decided to send us to sev-
eral more conventions that year.
Going to these conventions was fun, not
profitable. And they were educational, as
well. We met people like David and Shir-
ley Quine, who had been homeschooling
much longer than we had. Their approach
was so richly relational and warmly in-
teractive that it challenged my very con-
cept of education. Inspired by what I had
seen and learned in interactions with the
Quine family, we began a new chapter
in our own homeschooling, moving from
a dreary plodding through textbooks to
an intriguing adventure in real books and
experiences. Tuning in to our children’s
questions and studying to understand what
delighted their hearts led to some memora-
ble—if rather offbeat—learning experienc-
es. “Why do steel ships float?” had never
entered my mind, but when my son really
wanted to know, the quest for answers be-
came a fun detour for a few weeks. The
results, after hands-on experiments and
wild stories from history, were absolutely
riveting: bright and interested kids who re-
ally and truly said, “Do we get to do school
again today?”
When Life Hands You Lemons . . .
When a series of unpleasant circum-
stances pushed us back to my husband’s
hometown in South Dakota, we did not see
this as the hand of God leading us along the
next step of answered prayer. It felt crazy
to move to a town with few opportunities
for employment, but this was what opened
our hearts to the casual invitation from Bob
and Tina Farewell of Lifetime Books &
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Gifts to be their representatives in the Mid-
west. Packing our three children and two
dogs into the minivan, pulling behind us a
U-Haul trailer filled with books, we began
our vagabond lifestyle of traveling, exhib-
iting, and speaking at homeschool events.
Though it was sometimes fun, it was still
unprofitable.
It began to dawn on us somewhere dur-
ing this time that the difficulties we faced
might be connected to that prayer, “Lord,
teach us to live by faith.”
Reading about the heroes in the “Hall of
Faith” of Hebrews 11, I began to recognize
that these folks had lived through impos-
sible circumstances before they saw the
promises fulfilled. That’s the point—faith
is the substance of things hoped for, the
evidence of things not seen.
His Ways Are Not Our Ways
In 1995 at a point when we were ear-
nestly searching for a better career/life-
style, it became crystal clear that the path
we were trying to get off was the one
God had set us on. It went something like
this, “You have been given a business.
It’s time to treat it like a business.” Sigh.
Thus, Diana Waring—History Alive!,
with its few books and tapes, was born.
(Due to an unexpected and threatened
lawsuit over the name “History Alive!”
several years ago, we changed our busi-
ness name to Diana Waring Presents!
That experience turned out for our good,
however, because we met our copyright
attorney, Susan Spann.)
If someone had asked me when I was
younger if I wanted to be a business own-
er, I would have emphatically replied, “No
way!” Routine schedules, taxes, and mail
order all sounded incredibly boring. But
obedience opens doors to an abundant life
beyond your wildest dreams.
Much to my surprise, this path has taken
us beyond the borders of North America—
all the way to Thailand and Hungary, to
Korea and Scotland, to Australia and Eng-
land . . . and to New Zealand for a seven-
month sojourn.
The Key to Education Is
Relationship
It was during this 1999 Down-Under
trip that I met Rosalie Pedder, a brilliant
Christian educator from New Zealand,
who became my mentor. With a passion-
ate and practical knowledge gained from
teaching around the world, Rosalie had
experienced firsthand how God made each
person smart—in his or her own way. She
fervently believed that non-Western stu-
dents could become brain surgeons just
like their Western counterparts, as long
as they were taught in a way that honored
their unique approach and culture and with
methods that drew them deeply into the
subject. In other words, if they were taught
relationally, with dignity and respect, they
could learn anything. Her commitment to
bring “the glory of God” to the classroom,
and her determination to make education
available to all—regardless of learning
style or ethnic background—passed to me
and became foundational to our work and
ministry.
My book Beyond Survival, developed
over the course of hundreds of conversa-
tions with struggling homeschool moms
at conventions, intrigued Rosalie. She
told me that reading it had tremendously
encouraged her because she saw that what
she was doing for adult learners, I was do-
ing for children—opening the doors to a
love of learning for all different styles of
learners so they could thrive, not merely
survive.
He’s Got the Whole World in
His Hands
Meanwhile, the American history book-
let and tape had given rise to a whole new
way of learning history: a multi-disciplin-
ary approach that included not only music
but geography, literature, science, drama,
even cooking! No longer content to mere-
ly focus on American history, I plunged
headlong into a panoramic study of world
history, beginning with Creation.
As a little girl, I used to constantly get
in trouble for reading books at night. And
for talking too much. Though struggling to
chart out the chronologies of the kings and
queens of England from encyclopedias did
not get me in trouble, it was an odd thing
for a 10-year-old to do. But God’s design
in this learner became increasingly clear as,
thirty years later, I devoured books, charted
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chronologies, and told stories from the re- Linda Schneider). These incredible people,
search to spellbound audiences throughout along with the countless ones I haven’t
the U.S. and Canada. named, have provided wisdom, encourage-
In 1994 at the advice of a friend, we re- ment, counsel, prayer, and laughter. We
corded these stories and released a series wouldn’t be here today if it had not been
of world history tapes. Not knowing what for them.
to call the series, I asked our dear friends Looking back, we see the unmistak-
“I was opening the doors to a love
of learning for all different styles of
learners so they could thrive, not
merely survive.“
from Five in a Row, Steve and Jane Lam- able hand of the Lord leading us on this
bert, for help. Steve’s brainstorm “What in journey to serve homeschooling families.
the World’s Going On Here?” became our The mistakes are ours; the grace is His.
award-winning, number-one bestseller. And I would not have missed this living-
Fifteen years after that original booklet by-faith adventure for all the coffee in
and audiotape on American history, I had Seattle!
written three world history study guides,
two books on homeschooling, and had Diana Waring, author of Beyond Sur-
recorded more than twenty-five audio vival, Reaping the Harvest, and the His-
tapes. Planning to move on to greener tory Revealed series, discovered years ago
(and easier) pastures, I was stunned by that “the key to education is relationship.”
God’s clear direction to go back and do it Diana homeschooled her children through
all over again. He showed us in unargu- high school—providing her the real-life
able ways that our world history products opportunities to learn how kids learn.
required revision and expansion for a new Mentored by educators whose focus was to
generation of homeschoolers and Chris- honor Him who created all learners, and
tian schools. with an international background (born
in Germany, university degree in French,
Anything worth doing is worth lifelong student of world history), Diana
doing well has been enthusiastically received by audi-
It hadn’t dawned on me how long doing ences on four continents.
well would take on a project of this size and
complexity. After slightly more than seven
years of revisions, the final piece of the His-
tory Revealed series is nearly finished.
After our children graduated and stepped
on to the path of their own adventures, my
husband and I continued to work togeth-
er as a pas de deux—a dance of two. By
God’s grace, though, we have been en-
circled by a fantastic network of support
from our publishers (Answers in Genesis,
Apologia Ministries, Emerald Books), and
our friends (including Dr. Jay Wile, Paul
and Gena Suarez, Clay and Sally Clarkson,
Eric and Joyce Burges, Jay and Heidi St.
John, Derek and Cheryl Carter, Bob and
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©2011,The
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 Schoolhouse Expo
A Father of Vision
by Norm Wakefield, Expo Speaker
I
magine the following scenario. Eight
junior high boys are placed in a gymna-
sium for one hour with a football, bas-
ketball, soccer ball, and ten 8” rubber balls.
There are no adults and no vision is given to
them. What do you think would happen?
What happens when no one has jurisdic-
tion and any group of people lack vision?
It’s devastating. Proverbs 29:18 explains it
well. “Where there is no vision, the people
perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy
is he.” The primary purpose of the one who
has jurisdiction is to give vision or revela-
tion of what is right. That’s what made
the nation of Israel so different from other
nations. Until Jesus came, they were the
“The father who leads his family with
vision from God’s Word provides them
with a basis for security and happiness.”
only people on the planet to whom God re-
vealed Himself. That revelation (the Law,
the Prophets, and the Writings) provided
restraint to Israel and gave them a basis for
security and happiness.
The man in the flow of God’s Word has
the right and responsibility to speak God’s
vision, His revelation to the family. If a
man doesn’t have vision for his family, you
can count on it—Satan does! However, the
father who leads his family with vision
from God’s Word provides them with a ba-
sis for security and happiness.
What Is Vision?
I’ve found it helpful to think of vision
as the perspective of heart that produces
purposes or goals from which all words
and actions flow. Lets take an artist for
example. His vision of his work prede-
termines his actions. The painter sees a
picture in his mind previous to any brush-
stroke on a canvas. Every touch of the
brushstroke of the painter is dictated, pre-
determined by his vision.
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God’s Vision Is to Make Us
Like Christ
Our confidence with God is based on the
same principle. From beginning to end,
when God puts His brush to your canvas,
every action occurs to fulfill His vision
to make you like Jesus Christ, if you are
His. We are told in Ephesians 2:10 that “
. . . we are His workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus unto good works, which God
hath before ordained that we should walk
in them.” I am so glad my salvation does
not depend upon my workmanship. How
about you?
From God’s perspective, his purpose or
vision predetermines His every act. This
principle of vision in concept is contained
in the word predestined. To some, this is a
frightening word, however, it’s not a word
of which to be afraid or troubled because
it’s a word that communicates security. The
Greek word for predestine is prohoridzo.
You’ll notice the root word horidzo is the
base for our English word horizon. It there-
fore means “to mark off or to put a bound-
ary around.” No matter where we go, the
horizon goes with us. We’re always in the
middle of it. That’s how it is with vision.
The acts of God or a person are always in
the center of the vision.
We might think of God’s vision this
way. He has revealed that His vision for
all of His people is conformity to Jesus
Christ. This vision restrains all His ac-
tions toward us. Therefore we read in Ro-
mans 8:28–29 that “ . . . all things work
together for good to them that love God,
to them who are the called according to
His purpose.” We could say Christ-like-
ness is their destiny. Notice the connec-
tion between predestine and destiny. They
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have the same root word. We draw great
security from the verses in the Bible con-
taining the word predestine because these
assure us of God’s vision.
Isn’t it amazing to think that God put
a restraint upon Himself with regards to
all of His children? Remember, vision
provides restraint. His wrath does not fit
within the vision; therefore we need not
fear His wrath. In contrast, God’s vision
for His Son was that He would bear the
wrath of sin, therefore God’s vision pre-
determined that Jesus would bear the full
force of God’s judgment against sin. That
is our peace as Christians. We are assured
that nothing happens in our lives apart
from God’s purpose for us. Whether trials,
persecutions, affliction, wealth, comfort,
and pleasures in this life, everything in the
life of the believer is understood to have a
sanctifying purpose. As long as I evaluate
and respond to all the affairs of life from
that vision, I have peace and grace. When
I don’t, I suffer.
Natural Man’s Vision Is His Own
Happiness and Comfort
As it is with God, our words and actions
reveal our vision. All of our actions relate
directly to our vision. Without vision from
God we are unrestrained. That is why we
get confused, bitter, angry, and despair-
ing. To us, life is viewed through our vi-
sion for life and history—our own comfort
and happiness. Every situation is viewed
through the filter of our own purposes and
goals. We even evaluate people’s actions
in light of ourselves, as if we were God.
Such is the effect of sin.
How easy it is to get offended at others
who don’t have the same vision we do—
making ourselves happy and comfort-
able. This is why man is hostile to God
and we are at enmity with each other. Sin
has so controlled man’s heart and ruined
his soul that his vision alienates him from
God and others. Without a work by God’s
Spirit, man will always be in conflict with
God’s vision.
(Continued on page 68)
 Re-
Relation-
Resources for Relationships
Books, DVD’s, CD’s, and MP3’s
Equipped to Love: Idolatry-Free Relationships
Equipping Men: Practical Tools for Life’s Issues
Teenagers 101: Practical Help in Challenging Times
Marriage for God’s Glory
Walking Worthy Series for Men
Looking Up: Faith At Work
www.spiritofelijah.com

B y N o r m W a k e©2011,
f The
©2011, i eOld
The Oldl d Magazine
Schoolhouse®
Schoolhouse®
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67
A Father of Vision
(Continued from page 66)
What Vision Principles May Be
Learned?
Understanding how vision works, we are
able to draw some conclusions and articu-
late some vision principles we may apply
to all of life in general, but our to our fa-
thering in particular.
Everyone functions with vision. The
question we all face is whether we will
function with our own vision or that given
by another. This principle has already been
explained, but remember, everyone’s de-
fault function is selfishness.
Vision predetermines all actions.
When we don’t understand someone, it
helps to think in these terms: I appar-
ently don’t understand his vision. There-
fore, I’ll inquire by asking questions to
discover his vision. Also, if my words and
actions are being misunderstood, clarify-
ing my vision will give others a basis for
understanding.
The one who has jurisdiction must give
clear vision according to God’s word.
The person who will have to give an ac-
count to God for the jurisdiction has the re-
sponsibility to give God’s vision for those
in his jurisdiction. This requires humility,
knowledge of God’s Word, and prayer. It
is a husband’s and father’s responsibility
to give God’s vision to his family and ex-
pose and remove all di-vision. Where there
is uni-vision, there will be peace with God
and one another, security, happiness, and a
sense of order.
All conflict is a collision of visions.
Conflict occurs when two or more people
in any union (marriage and family), organi-
zation (work force or church), or team have
different visions. Where there is no vision,
the people are unrestrained. This concept is
clearly explained in the word division: di-
meaning two and -vision meaning purpose
or goal. For example, if a father doesn’t
provide vision for his wife and four chil-
dren, then everyone in his jurisdiction will
develop his or her own vision. The chances
for conflict escalate exponentially.
Where the vision is absent or unclear,
the most assertive person will provide vi-
sion. I’m amazed at the number of families
being led by teenagers or children because
they are the most assertive members of a
family. Because parents are either too busy
to lead or haven’t known what God’s vi-
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sion for the family is, the lack of vision
has left the family to the loudest and most
demanding person. God did not intend for
fathers to abdicate the leadership of the
family to their wives and children. It is a
sign of God’s judgment when women and
children rule because fathers have been ab-
sent or unclear about God’s vision for the
family (Is. 3:12).
How to Be a Father of Vision
You’ll discover things at home will go
much easier and more peacefully if you
will take the time to listen to the members
of your family and together develop vision
annually, semi-annually, monthly, weekly,
and daily. It doesn’t take as much time as it
may seem, especially when you think about
the advantages and benefits to be gained
from the time expenditure. You probably
do it at work! Why not at home?
God’s Vision Test
Perhaps you can imagine this demon-
stration. I’m holding a cup of orange juice
and ask my wife to take my wrist and shake
it. When she does, of course, orange juice
sloshes out of the cup on both of us and
on the floor. Question: Why is there orange
juice on the floor and us? Answer: Because
there was orange juice in the cup. Lesson:
Whatever you are filled with will come out
when your cup is shaken.
What comes out of you when your cup is
shaken? Usually we react to the agent God
uses to shake our cups, don’t we? How-
ever, understanding the vision principles
above, we can view such an event entirely
differently. There are sinful and selfish at-
titudes within me that must be put to death
if Christ is to fill me. My goal in life is
for Jesus Christ to come out of me when
I’m shaken. When the Holy Spirit wants
to sanctify me and lead me to put to death
a flesh hindrance in my life, how does He
put it on the table for me to see? He allows
someone to shake my cup by acting con-
trary to my vision!
I’ve heard it said, “If you can be offend-
ed, then count on it, God will allow others
to offend you until you can’t be offended
and Jesus’ love comes out.” This is liber-
ating. I can view every relationship as an
opportunity to love and every event as an
opportunity to trust.
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When we view the tests and trials of life
as “God’s vision tests,” we will respond
differently to them than when we view
them as interruptions and roadblocks to our
plans and desires. Children have always
been powerful tools in the hands of God
to test fathers. They constantly check us
to see if we are fulfilling our jurisdictional
responsibilities and leading with God’s vi-
sion for the family.
Troubleshooting With Vision
Principles
Here are some questions that help trou-
bleshoot problems when they arise:
• Am I in di-vision with God?
• Is God shaking my own vision
through this individual or situation?
• What is my vision, and have I articu-
lated the vision clearly?
• What is the other person’s vision?
• How is God using this di-vision to
make us like Christ?
• How can I gently and lovingly correct
someone’s vision, which is in conflict
with mine?
• Can we come to the same vision?
Correcting a Problem
Where you haven’t been giving vision or
have been in error, you need to confess it,
apologize, and ask forgiveness. If you have
allowed your wife and children to rule the
family and have not given vision for a long
time, then be patient after you have first
begun your repentance. To begin leading
with vision, you’ll want to show how your
vision relates to God’s Word. If someone
has rejected God’s order and your vision,
then humbly lead her (or him) through the
process of evaluating her relationship to
God’s vision. Depending upon what God
wishes to accomplish through this conflict,
she may or may not respond. If she does,
then you can forgive her and lead her to
confess, apologize, and submit to God’s vi-
sion for her life.
Father in heaven, make us fathers with
Your vision.
This is my prayer for you. You may learn
more about vision from the Equipping
Men Series or Walking Worthy as Fathers,
which are available at www.spiritofelijah.
com. Norm will be presenting this message
in the upcoming Schoolhouse Expo.

Norm Wakefield is the founder of The
Spirit of Elijah Ministries, International and
has ministered to homeschoolers around the
world since 1992. Norm and his wife, Alma,
have four children and fourteen grandchil-
dren, all of whom live in the greater San
Antonio, Texas, area. Norm’s messages and
workshops equip parents to pass on the
blessings of God to the next generation. Vis-
it his website at www.spiritofelijah.com.
building
understanding
Our award-winning K–12 math program
is building understanding all over the world.
Learn more at www.MathUSee.com
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Illuminations
(Continued from page 62)
We have included challenging projects • ILM 1: http://groups.yahoo.com/
for those of you who like more involved, group/Illuminations1/
hands-on activities. Some of these proj- • ILM 2: http://groups.yahoo.com/
ects include putting together a Power- group/IlluminationsYear2/
Point presentation, making some of the • ILM 3: http://groups.yahoo.com/
recipes used in the readings, or making group/IlluminationsYear3/
models using clay or LEGOs. Illumina- We have put up lots of how-to and FAQ
tions provides lots of activities for your videos on our YouTube® page. Check us
family to build fun memories of your out: http://illuminations.brightideaspress.
homeschooling years! Catering to all com/?page_id=11.
learning styles and personalities, your
year will be filled with happy, smiling Dari Mullins, co-author of Galloping the
children who love learning, hug you fre- Globe and Cantering the Country, is the
quently, and don’t mind doing chores . . . mother of three teenagers. She and her
(well, maybe not, but at least they won’t husband, Allen, have taught their chil-
be bored during school!). dren at home since the oldest started kin-
At Bright Ideas Press, we’re committed dergarten in 1997. They live in Asheville,
to providing you with fantastic products at North Carolina, where Dari teaches co-
affordable prices. Like you, we try to be op classes and stays active with the local
as frugal as we can and pass our savings community. She is currently working for
on to you. Bright Ideas Press as the project man-
We offer Illuminations in two levels: ager for their new, all-inclusive curricu-
3rd–8th grade and high school. For fami- lum, Illuminations.
lies with students in both levels, we offer
a discounted “combo pack.” Both levels
use the same history spine and share a few
programs (such as English from the Roots
Up or The Ultimate Geography and Time-
line Guide, and sometimes read the same
literature).
Illuminations is a downloadable product,
meaning once we’ve processed your order,
we’ll send you a download link. If anything
happens to your computer, just let us know
and we’ll send you a replacement link (if
you’ve registered your product).
Also, some years of Illuminations are
available one semester at a time, meaning
you pay half up front, and the remainder
when you need the second semester.
If you love Illuminations, join our affili-
ate program and receive up to a 30% com-
mission on sales of any of our digital prod-
ucts. That’s an easy way for your program
to pay for itself!
We know homeschooling is hard. And
it’s even harder to do without support
and encouragement. Our goal is to help
provide you with a constructive, helpful,
and uplifting community of fellow ho-
meschoolers. Our Facebook® page, blog,
and Yahoo!® groups are our three biggest
sources of online encouragement. Great
conversations are going on all the time—
check them out!
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 Schoolhouse Expo
Making Time for Things That Matter:
Everyday Education, LLC, The Story of a Business
by Janice Campbell, Expo Speaker
M
any families dream of incorporat-
ing a small business into their ho-
meschool experience. It’s an ide-
al way to teach entrepreneurship and many
other skills, but what does it look like in
real life? Here’s the story of how one small
venture began and grew, followed by a few
tips on starting your own small business.
Q: When did you first begin to think of
having a business?
A: It all began with avocados, a little red
wagon, and a serious entrepreneurial bent.
Until I felt too old to be seen in public with
my Radio Flyer, I peddled our generous
yearly crop of avocados around our Los An-
“It wasn’t wealth untold, but for a
kid, it wasn’t bad. I learned the value
of creative presentation and pricing
by size, and my customers got lovely,
fresh avocados for their guacamole.”
geles neighborhood, averaging about $100
a year with no overhead. It wasn’t wealth
untold, but for a kid, it wasn’t bad. I learned
the value of creative presentation and pric-
ing by size, and my customers got lovely,
fresh avocados for their guacamole. One
neighbor found my budding business so
amusing that for many years he’d donate a
bag of fertilizer for the tree so I’d be sure to
have a lot to sell. That first business experi-
ence showed me that it was possible to start
simply and make money from home.
Q: How did you end up writing for ho-
meschoolers?
A: From my earliest days as a bibliophile
(book lover), I knew that I’d one day write
my own books. While I was waiting for the
right time to get started on fiction, I began
writing and editing for the local home-
school community. I was homeschooling
our four sons while caring for my elderly
grandparents, so there was plenty to write
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about. I’ve always enjoyed sharing things
I learned, so I ended up writing many ar-
ticles about homeschooling through high
school, teaching literature, teaching writ-
ing, becoming a writer, and creating a
learning lifestyle.
Q: When did your writing and speaking
turn into a business?
A: I wrote articles and edited a home-
school newsletter and magazine for sev-
eral years, then bought the domain name
Everyday-Education.com in 2000. I had
accumulated many articles, and wanted a
place to share them, as well as a place to
post answers for the questions I often re-
ceived. My son created my first website
and I was able to post many of my articles.
It was a great learning project for him, as
well as the start of something big for me.
I’m still using that first site, and it’s grown
bigger than we ever anticipated.
Whenever I spoke at homeschool con-
ferences, I heard many of the same ques-
tions being asked, so in 2002, I wrote a
short book called Transcripts Made Easy. I
didn’t know how to price things or put up a
shopping cart, so I just wrote a description
of the book, stuck a price on it, and told
people to email for further information if
they wanted to buy it. They did want it, and
the website grew. And grew . . .
In 2005, the boys were nearly grown and
I began to write even more. I completed
Get a Jump Start on College! A Practical
Guide for Teens, Evaluate Writing the Easy
Way, and most recently, the Excellence in
Literature curriculum for grades 8–12.
By 2007, I was also doing a lot of work
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with other writers and editors, teaching
them how to create a profitable business
from home. During that year, I founded
the National Association of Indepen-
dent Writers and Editors (NAIWE.com),
which provides individual websites, ca-
reer-building teleclasses, and marketing
support to members.
Q: What does your business look like
today?
A: Since 2008, I’ve offered all my books
as both print books and E-Books. Interest-
ingly, when I first began offering E-Books,
I sold about one E-Book for every four or
five print books. Now I sell about three
E-Books for every print book. People, es-
pecially international customers, love the
convenience of instant download, plus the
savings on shipping.
Q: What new projects are you working
on for the future?
A: There’s always more to do! We’re
working on a new website just for the Ex-
cellence in Literature curriculum. I envi-
sion being able to offer it as an online book,
with many of the art, music, and research
resources right on the site. I’m also working
on the Making Time for Things That Mat-
ter Life Planner, the TimeFrame Timeline,
a writer’s handbook to go along with Excel-
lence in Literature, and a few other things.
Q: What advice can you offer other
families who would like to start a home-
based business?
A: Start small: If you begin with a mi-
crobusiness, work only with what you have
in hand and build the business with its own
profits. That way, you will be able to ex-
periment on a small scale to find out what
works, and eventually build a profitable
business without risking a lot of money or
stressing your family.
Always be ready to learn: Make sure
you don’t get stuck in the rut of what you
knew when you started the business. As
an entrepreneur, you need to continually
(Continued on page 74)
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• Guy de Maupassant
Walden Wadsworth Longfellow • Prologue Antigone
• O. Henry • Rip Van Winkle • The Nun Priest’s Prologue and Tale
• Eudora Welty Unit 3: Alexandre Dumas • The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Unit 3: Virgil
• The Reeve’s Prologue and Tale
• James Thurber The Count of Monte Cristo The Aeneid
• Selected Works • The Pardoner’s Prologue and Tale
Unit 2: Jules Verne Unit 4: Joseph Conrad Unit 3: James Fenimore Cooper • The Magistrate’s Prologue and Tale Unit 4: Dante Alighieri
Around the World in 80 Days Heart of Darkness The Last of the Mohicans • The Canon’s Yeoman’s Prologue Inferno
and Tale
Unit 3: Mark Twain Unit 5: C.S. Lewis Unit 4: Nathaniel Hawthorne Unit 5: Miguel de Cervantes
A Connecticut Yankee in King ‘Til We Have Faces The House of Seven Gables Unit 3: Edmund Spenser, Sir Gawain, Don Quixote
Arthur’s Court and the Arthurian Legend

©2011,
Unit 6: Willa Cather Unit 5: Herman Melville Unit 6: Victor Hugo
Unit 4: Charlotte Bronte Unit 4: William Shakespeare
Death Comes for the Archbishop Les Miserables

©2011,The
Moby Dick King Lear
Jane Eyre
Unit 7: William Shakespeare Unit 7: 19th-Century Russian

TheOld
Unit 6: Mark Twain Unit 5: John Milton
Unit 5: George B. Shaw Julius Caesar The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Reader: Selections
Pygmalion Paradise Lost
• Pushkin,
Unit 8: Sir Walter Scott Unit 7: Edith Wharton • Dostoyevsky,
Unit 6: Robert Louis Stevenson Unit 6: Jane Austen
Ivanhoe House of Mirth
Treasure Island Pride and Prejudice • Tolstoy,
Unit 9: Oscar Wilde Unit 8: F. Scott Fitzgerald • Chekov
Unit 7: Charles Dickens

OldSchoolhouse®
Unit 7: George Orwell The Importance of Being Earnest The Great Gatsby Great Expectations Unit 8: Johann Wolfgang Goethe
Animal Farm
Faust
Unit 9: Ernest Hemingway Unit 8: Emily Bronte
Unit 8: William Shakespeare The Old Man and the Sea Wuthering Heights Unit 9: Isak Dinesen
The Tempest

Schoolhouse®Magazine
Out of Africa
Unit 9: Jonathan Swift Unit 9: Virginia Woolf
To the Lighthouse

Magazine 71
71
Gulliver’s Travels
 Schoolhouse Expo
From Famine to Feast: How I Built My Writing, Editing, and
Coaching Business as a Single Homeschooling Mom
by Mary Jo Tate, Expo Speaker
A
s I look back over twenty-five
years as an editor (but only the
past ten as a serious entrepre-
neur), I see that my business is a com-
bination of talent, passion, opportunity,
necessity, experience, networking, and
especially God’s providence. The exact
recipe can’t be duplicated, but you can
apply the essential ingredients to your
own unique situation.
When my husband left in 2001, I was
shocked, angry, and scared. I was embar-
rassed to be divorced; for a while I felt
as though a scarlet D were emblazoned
on my dress. My sons (ages 9, 6, 4, and 6
months) were bewildered, and their world
was turned upside down. I was deeply
committed to remaining at home and con-
“I tell single moms “Don’t be a lone
ranger,” and the same principle applies
to work-at-home moms. Building a
support system is essential.”
tinuing to homeschool them, yet I won-
dered how I could support us all finan-
cially. Slowly I converted my occasional
freelance editing to a real business, but I
had a lot to learn.
Editing and writing were a natural fit for
a lifelong bibliophile and English major, but
oddly enough, the providential seed of my
business goes all the way back to my fourth-
grade piano teacher. I married a seminary
student during my senior year at the Univer-
sity of Mississippi in 1986 and took a series
of mind-numbing secretarial jobs. By then
my former piano teacher worked for a semi-
nary professor who was looking for some-
one to edit Doctor of Ministry dissertations.
She told him I was “good in English,” and
the rest is history.
I cut my editorial teeth on dissertations
written by students for whom English was
a second language; I think I earned $25 per
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project. I also copyedited the seminary’s
quarterly magazine. When I applied to
graduate school at the University of South
Carolina as my husband’s studies neared
completion, I sought one of the four edito-
rial assistantships rather than the traditional
teaching assistantship because I knew that
editing would be more compatible with
staying at home someday with our future
children. (At that time I had never even
heard of homeschooling.)
That morsel of underpaid experience
gave me a competitive edge, and I landed
an assistantship with Professor Matthew
J. Bruccoli, the world’s leading expert on
F. Scott Fitzgerald, who became my first
mentor. I had the incredible privilege of
working with him on the Cambridge Uni-
versity Press edition of The Great Gatsby,
so I can legitimately say I have edited one
of the great American novels.
My first son was born six weeks be-
fore I completed my thesis for my M.A.
in English (Finishing the thesis six weeks
before his birth would have been so much
smarter!), and we moved back home to
Mississippi. I did some sporadic freelance
editing for Dr. Bruccoli and even wrote an
academic reference book (F. Scott Fitzger-
ald A to Z) when he recommended me to a
publisher. My second and third sons were
born nineteen months apart during the time
I was writing the 931-page manuscript. I’d
nurse the current baby, hand him off to a
college student who helped in the after-
noons, and write for a few hours before the
baby got hungry again.
When my fourth child was six months
old, my husband moved out to live with his
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mistress, and our divorce was finalized in
the fall of 2001. One of the first things I did
was call Dr. Bruccoli, and he connected me
with several publishers as well as having
me edit and index his own books. I also
edited The Fallacy Detective for Nathaniel
and Hans Bluedorn, and Laurie Bluedorn
became a one-woman, volunteer, word-
of-mouth marketing machine in the home-
school publishing community. For several
years, at least 75 percent of my work came
from Bruccoli or Bluedorn referrals.
The boys and I received enough child
support and alimony to live on for about
a year while we adjusted to our new life,
and I edited when I could squeeze it in.
(Total business income for 2001: $455.) In
2002 my ex-husband stopped working for
five months, and we received zero. When
he went back to work, his monthly support
to us was only $200. I reluctantly went on
food stamps and even got groceries and one
month’s electricity payment from a nearby
charity. My parents helped with house and
car payments, or we would have been in
serious trouble. We were blessed with a
loving church that sometimes helped finan-
cially, and church members often provided
volunteer child care and home repair, as
well as gifts of clothing and firewood.
Sometimes we received anonymous cash
or gift cards in the mail—providentially
timed when we needed them most.
I knew that something had to change for
my business to become profitable enough
for me to remain at home with my children,
so I started reading business books and at-
tending business conferences, beginning
with Rhea Perry’s Entrepreneur Days. I
began to get a vision for what was possible,
to learn business and marketing strategies,
and then eventually to take action. I call
this sequence Grow, Know, and Go.
As I began applying what I learned, my
business shifted from sporadic to steady
and eventually to overflowing. At first,
weeks or sometimes even months elapsed
between jobs. I still remember the land-
mark day when UPS delivered my next ed-
iting project just three hours after I mailed
off the last manuscript.
It wasn’t just about the money. I wanted
financial freedom not only to pay the bills
and get rid of the terrible pressure of pover-
ty, but also to gain time freedom. I wanted
time to spend with my boys. I wanted time
to minister to other people. I wanted time
to take care of myself and my own health
without collapsing into burnout.
I tell single moms “Don’t be a lone
ranger,” and the same principle applies
to work-at-home moms. Building a sup-
port system is essential. In 2004 I joined
a mastermind team of five entrepreneurial
Christian women with similar goals for
growing our businesses. We met weekly
by phone for a year and a half to pray,
brainstorm about challenges, share our
goals, and hold one another accountable
for doing what we said we would do. Later
I worked with an individual accountability
partner, as well as a professional business
coach, Mauricio Martinez, who urged me
to aim higher and helped me figure out
how to accomplish my goals.
One of the most important principles
I learned was that I had to get out of my
comfort zone. That uncomfortable lesson
was reinforced in a surprising way. My
second son, Andrew, went with me to an
entrepreneurs’ conference in Phoenix in
2005. On day 1, it was a challenge for him
just to look people in the eye and shake
hands; by day 3, he spoke in front of 200
people with a handheld microphone and
won a sales contest to help a charity.
Afterward we went to the Grand Can-
yon—it was utterly glorious! Andrew,
who was ten at the time, went right up
to the edge, but I was hanging back ner-
vously, so he challenged me: “You know,
Mom, if I could get out of my comfort
zone enough to speak in front of 200
strangers, I really think you could get out
of your comfort zone by moving closer to
the edge of the Grand Canyon, couldn’t
you?” What else could I do? I moved a
little closer to the edge!
That trip triggered massive action and
progress for me, and within a year I dou-
bled my income and won a contest for the
most-improved business. I’m still enjoy-
ing the laptop computer I won, but the
most valuable part of the contest was that
it forced me to think seriously and strate-
gically about where I wanted my business
to go, where the money would come from,
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12 Tips to Build Your Business:
• Find the intersection between your passions/talents and
what the market will pay for.
• Gain experience and testimonials wherever you can to
get started.
• Ask satisfied clients to refer you to friends and associates.
• Grow by gaining vision, know by getting education, and
go by taking action.
• Work with a mastermind team, accountability partner,
mentor, and/or coach.
• Get out of your comfort zone.
• Plan strategically and work on your business as well as
in your business.
• Eliminate or outsource less profitable activities to focus
on what you do best.
• Charge what you’re worth.
• Network at live events.
• Teach what you know.
• Build your platform as an expert through speaking
and publicity.
and what I wanted my life to look like. I check made me ineligible. Don’t you love
learned to work on my business as well as God’s timing? I cut up my food stamps
in my business. That’s also when I devel- card on stage when I won the contest three
oped the time management and work/life months later.
balance strategies I teach my students and At the same time, I loosened my perfec-
coaching clients today. tionist death grip on doing everything my-
I eliminated less profitable business self and began outsourcing website design,
activities (editing magazine articles and recording, transcribing, and smaller editing
selling Creative Memories scrapbooking projects. I even hired someone to rearrange
supplies) to focus on editing and writing and copyedit new material for the second
books, and I raised my editing rates to re- edition of my own Fitzgerald book. I did
flect my experience and expertise. More my first public speaking at a Los Angeles
importantly, I developed a new service, publishing conference co-hosted by an ed-
Tell Me Your Book, to target a more lucra- iting client I had met at an Internet mar-
tive market—businesspeople who needed keting conference, was interviewed on my
to publish a book but didn’t know how first teleseminar as a guest, and hosted my
to write. The fee for my first booktelling first teleseminar to interview a marketing
project was equal to my entire income the expert whom I had met at another confer-
previous year, and the down payment ar- ence. (Are you starting to see the value of
rived in the same day’s mail as my notice networking?)
to reapply for food stamps—for which that (Continued on page 74)
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73
From Famine to Feast...
(Continued from page 73)
Even though work was steady and my
rates were higher, I was still trading hours
for dollars, so I began implementing what
I had learned about creating residual in-
come (work once; get paid over and over).
“Teach what you know,” the experts said,
so in 2006 I taught a four-part teleseminar
called Get Started as a Freelance Editor,
then turned it into a downloadable home
study course. I also trained several editing
apprentices. In 2007 I taught a five-part
teleseminar, How Do You Do It All? Prov-
en Strategies for Balancing Family Life
and Home Business in the Real World, and
turned it into a downloadable home study
course, with a follow-up offer of one-on-
one coaching.
Since 2008, I’ve been interviewed about
work/life balance, homeschooling, single
parenting, writing, and home business for
Making Time for Things That Matter...
(Continued from page 70)
learn from others who are farther along
in business and marketing than you are.
Ask questions, read books and blogs, and
be willing share what you know with oth-
ers who are coming behind you. There’s a
big learning curve to becoming an effec-
tive business owner, no matter what field
you’re in. You’ll never know enough to
stop learning!
Make time to connect: When you’re
starting business, even a small one, it’s im-
portant to be where people can find you.
Potential customers first, of course, be-
cause they need to be able to find you in
order to purchase what you offer. But sec-
ond, you need to connect with others who
know more than you do, and who under-
stand what it means to have both a business
and a balanced life. The Internet has made
it possible for people to start and run busi-
nesses that would have been impossible
twenty years ago. Learn to use it to connect
with those you need and those you serve.
Learn how to estimate time: I confess
that I’m an optimist, and tend to underesti-
mate the time it takes to complete projects,
but I’ve finally learned to double and some-
times even triple my initial time estimates,
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radio, TV, Focus on the Family magazine,
and a book for work-at-home moms. I love
to teach, encourage, and inspire, so I’ve
also enjoyed speaking for teleseminars,
webinars, and live conferences. In 2010 I
got out of another comfort zone by going
on camera (Gulp!) for an HSLDA webinar,
a local TV station, and a weekly Internet
TV program, “Homeschool Spotlight,” for
the Homeschool Channel.
Every entrepreneur’s situation is unique,
but there are many common principles for
success. (The sidebar lists 12 strategies
that have helped me the most.) Your path
won’t look just like mine, and that’s okay.
For example, don’t fret if you can’t travel
to conferences; God will enable you to
bloom where you’re planted. The Home-
school Channel studio is a mere two miles
from my house.
and that’s closer to what it really takes.
Outsource: Know what you do well and
focus on it. As soon as financially feasible,
get rid of things that you’re not sure of or
don’t do well. When I was able to out-
source bookkeeping, it removed a lot of
stress and freed up more time for writing.
You may feel that it’s cheaper or easier to
do it yourself, but that’s usually not true.
By doing things that others can do better,
you’re wasting time that could be spent
building your business with the things that
only you can do.
Good enough is good enough: Many
would-be entrepreneurs waste years wait-
ing to get their book or product absolutely
perfect, or every detail of life perfectly in
order. Others keep themselves stuck in one
place by insisting that no one else can do
things as well as they can, so they fritter
away work time doing something they’ve
not been called to do. The reality is that
there is only one perfect Creator, and it’s
neither you nor I.
If you have something you need to be
sharing through your business and you’re
holding back because it might not be per-
fect, let me assure you that perfection
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I’ve been amazed at the momentum as
God has opened doors and one opportunity
has led to another and then another. I am so
thankful for His faithful provision, and I pray
that He will bless you abundantly as you seek
His will for your life and your business.
Mary Jo Tate, host of “Homeschool Spot-
light” for the Homeschool Channel, has
been educating her sons at home since
1997. A lifelong bibliophile, published au-
thor, book coach, and international editor
since 1986, she also teaches homeschool-
ers, single moms, and work-at-home moms
how to create balance between family life
and home business. Find her online at
www.WriteAGreatBook.com, www.How-
DoYouDoItAll.com, www.EditingBusi-
ness.com, www.SingleParentsAtHome.
com, and www.EclecticBibliophile.com.
will never happen. If it’s good enough to
provide the information or perform the
activity for which it was designed, and if
it’s something that can meet the needs of
others, let go of your ego and put it on the
market. If you feel very unsure about it, get
some feedback from another businessper-
son or offer it as a “beta version” and re-
quest customer feedback. For each of my
books, I’ve discovered and fixed typos in
every edition I’ve published. It’s part of
life, and most people realize that (and you
probably don’t want to be around the ones
who don’t!).
Starting a business isn’t for everyone, but
it has worked well for our family. It’s been a
blessing to be able to share what I’ve learned
with others while still being at home, mak-
ing time for things that truly matter.
Janice Campbell, author of Excellence
in Literature and Transcripts Made Easy,
is the graduated homeschool mom of four
sons. Visit her websites (www.Everyday-
Education.com and www.NAIWE.com)
and blog (www.Janice-Campbell.com) to
find resources and encouragement for ho-
meschooling, writing, and business.
 Schoolhouse Expo
NHERI—The Research Institute
by Brian D. Ray, Ph.D., Expo Speaker
National Home Education Research
Institute and Its Beginnings
T
he halls of academia—ahhh, the
books, the professors, the musty
smell of the old buildings, and bul-
letin boards. The flyers might tell of an
upcoming lecture on overpopulation, a
folk dance down on Main Street on Fri-
day night, or a basketball game. Or, that
a group is looking for a teacher for their
children in an alternative school.
Many things happened as forerunners to
the National Home Education Research In-
stitute (NHERI). I was wandering the halls
of Oregon State University one day and
saw a “want ad” looking for a teacher for
“Homeschool organizations began to
see the value of research, and many
began commissioning or helping
sponsor research I was doing.”
a small, one-room school with children of
various ages. It turns out that these were ba-
sically alternative homeschooling folks be-
fore the term “homeschooling” was known
or settled upon. I passed up a teaching job
offer but was becoming more keenly inter-
ested in “alternative schooling.” About the
same time, my wife and I were wondering
“what to do with” our children.
Fast forward. I was in the middle of my
doctoral studies years (mid-1980s) and
by then had heard of people homeschool-
ing. I wondered how much research had
been done on the topic and found it was
nearly none. As part of my doctoral stud-
ies, I wrote a comprehensive paper enti-
tled, A comparison of home schooling and
conventional schooling: With a focus on
learner outcomes (1986) and defended it
before my department professors and doc-
toral-student colleagues. In a sense, and as
they say, “The rest is history.” Almost im-
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mediately, many people began to consider
me an “expert” on homeschool research.
I suppose if no one has done something,
and then someone does it, he is an expert.
(Be careful, it does not necessarily mean
he knows what he is talking about or is a
good expert.)
In 1985, I founded the quarterly publi-
cation Home School Researcher. It was
basically a review of research for several
years. Soon, however, it was converted to a
peer-review, or refereed, scholarly journal.
Professors, doctoral students, other gradu-
ate students, and others began submitting
research to it. I was the editor-in-chief.
Soon thereafter, I conducted basic and
new research on homeschool students, com-
paring them to public school and private
school students, as an on-the-side study
to my doctoral dissertation research. (My
committee did not allow me to study ho-
meschoolers but that, as they say, is another
story.) That study was published as Under-
standing public, private, and home school
students’ beliefs, attitudes, and intentions
related to science learning (1989). From
then on, the Lord led me from one study to
another in the field of home-based educa-
tion, and I began meeting people from all
over the nation who were interested in home
educating their children and anything that
research might say about homeschooling.
Homeschool organizations (e.g., Home
School Legal Defense Association, state-
wide homeschool organizations) began to
see the value of research, and many began
commissioning or helping sponsor research
I was doing. They also were generous in
contributions to help NHERI, founded in
©2011,
©2011,The
1990, purchase basic equipment such as a
laser printer (wow!). (Thank you, all you
individuals and organizations who were a
part of NHERI’s beginnings.)
It was not long before NHERI and I got
to execute and publish many studies that
went far and wide into the media, the cul-
ture, research organization conferences,
homeschool conventions, and society’s
consciousness. The research that others
and I were doing began affecting how leg-
islators, educators, policymakers, the me-
dia, grandparents, parents, and many more
perceived the relative effectiveness of and
philosophy and pedagogy behind the ho-
meschool movement. A limited sampling
of those studies is as follow:
• A nationwide study of home educa-
tion: Family characteristics, legal mat-
ters, and student achievement, 1990
• Home education in Montana: Family
characteristics and student achieve-
ment, 1990
• Social capital, value consistency, and
the achievement outcomes of home
education, 1990
• Home education in North Dakota:
Family characteristics and student
achievement, 1991
• On the propriety of education profes-
sionals instructing home educators,
1992
• A nationwide study of home education
in Canada: Family characteristics,
student achievement, and other topics,
1994
• Strengths of their own—Home
schoolers across America: Academic
achievement, family characteristics,
and longitudinal traits, 1997
• Home schooling for individuals’ gain
and society’s common good, 2000
• Home educated and now adults: Their
community and civic involvement,
views about homeschooling, and other
traits, 2004
• Academic achievement and demo-
graphic traits of homeschool students:
A nationwide study, 2010
(Continued on page 84)
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OldSchoolhouse®
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Just the Facts, Ma’am!
(and a dash of philosophy)
www.nheri.org National Home Education Research Institute PO Box 13939, Salem OR 97309

Join Forces With NHERI!

The National Home Education
Research Institute and Dr. Brian
Ray are already working for you!
Get free reports by signing up at “Ongoing quality homeschool research is essential
nheri2010.org/nheri/ for success in both courts and legislatures.
and we will send you a copy of Your participation with NHERI is vital.”
Dr. Ray’s spiffy booklet,
— Michael Farris, Chairman, Home School
Home Education Reason and
Research: Common Questions
Legal Defense Association;
and Research-Based Answers Chancellor, Patrick Henry College

Free
Research
Booklet
NHERI:
• Helps in court cases
• Testifies in state legislatures and courts on behalf of parents
• Influences public opinion through the media
If you sign up (for FREE) • Produces basic research, facts, and statistics for all to
use and benefit from
to get homeschool research
updates and pithy messages • Assists providers of curriculum and other materials in
understanding homeschoolers’ needs
from NHERI • Acts as a clearinghouse of information for home educators,
scholars, & the media
and Dr. Brian Ray. • Serves home educators at conventions

National Home Education Research Institute

PO Box 13939, Salem OR 97309
(503) 364-1490 • fax (503) 364-2827 • www.nheri.org • mail@nheri.org
76
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Magazine www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
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www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
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©2011,The
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 Schoolhouse Expo

Five Reasons to Use Mobile Technology

for Education
by Terri Johnson, Expo Speaker

B
eing an educator today is very ex- click “install” and it does.
citing. It is 2011. We have rolled Less expense! Frankly, I think apps are
over to a new year and there are too cheap, but why not take advantage of
“For education, we so many educational opportunities on the it while this is the trend? Take foreign
usually rely upon horizon. Today’s technological advances
are as monumental as the world-changing
language, for example. You can buy a
textbook for $50 or more, or computer
our eyes, ears, and inventions of paper or the printing press.
Information is dispensed at increasingly
software for upwards of $200 or more,
to help your child learn a new language.
sense of touch. If you rapid speeds. Or you can buy an app for $4.99. This
The speed and methods we use to is simply amazing technology at ridicu-
own a smartphone absorb information have not changed, lously low prices.
but our access to it and the ways that Tip: If you do purchase apps for educa-
or mobile device we interact with that information have tion (and you should if you have the tech-
(especially an changed greatly.
As human beings, we continue to pro-
nology!), then remember to back up your
iPhone or iPad to iTunes so that you can
iPad), you hold cess information the same way we always
have—through our five senses. For educa-
re-install the apps if they ever get inadver-
tently deleted or you replace your device
an incredible tion, we usually rely upon our eyes, ears, with a new one.
and sense of touch. If you own a smart-
educational tool in phone or mobile device (especially an Terri Johnson is dedicated to helping
iPad), you hold an incredible educational homeschooling families succeed. For 10
your hands.” tool in your hands. Why, you ask? Be- years, her company, Knowledge Quest,
cause it is interactive and multisensory. Inc., has published a large selection of
“How is an iPad different from a comput- history and geography curricula for the
er?” is another question you may be asking. homeschooling marketplace (http://www.
Here are my top five reasons why an iPad KnowledgeQuestMaps.com). Since new
is superior to a regular computer and even and experienced homeschooling parents
textbooks when it comes to learning. are using more technology than ever,
No mouse! As quickly as we all pick Knowledge Quest is seeking to provide
up the concept of a mouse moving a cur- an online location where parents can
sor on a screen, it is still an extra step for find, rate, and review the best mobile
the information to travel from the brain to apps available for educational use (http://
the device and vice versa. When a child www.Apps-School.com).
uses his finger to manipulate information
or draw in a letter or a shape, there is no
extra step of the mouse to get in the way.
No cords! You can take an iPhone or an
iPad with you anywhere. In fact, that’s the
whole point—technology on the go. You
can learn from anywhere, not just a school
desk or a kitchen table.
No books! Now, I love books and have
thousands of them, but you can learn ev-
erything from Spanish to math to grammar
to handwriting, all from one single device
without having to lug around an armful or
backpack full of books.
Less waiting! Installation of an app is
much quicker than installing software
onto a computer. Super easy too—just

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 Schoolhouse Expo
A Case for Freedomship & Entrepreneurial
Education
by Andrew Pudewa, Expo Speaker
E
ntrepreneurship and freedom were
intricately woven through the origi-
nal fabric of American culture.
Ninety percent of those early Americans
were owners . . . of farms, shops, trading
vessels, small businesses. Freedom and
faith marked these entrepreneurs whose
success rested squarely on their hard
work and integrity and the quality of their
product. Today, more than 90 percent of
Americans are employees. The ideal of
ownership has been lost. And although
many people do wonderful, respectable,
important, and meaningful jobs, the men-
tality of an employee is vastly different
from that of an entrepreneur.
“Schools gradually changed from educating
individual talents to becoming a method of
social engineering and standardization.”
What has happened to our entrepreneur-
ial spirit? Where have “owners” gone?
Oliver DeMille, in his teaching on leader-
ship education, places the responsibility
for this change on the educational system
itself. With a brief history of this system,
DeMille describes how schools gradually
changed from educating individual talents
to becoming a method of social engineer-
ing and standardization.
During the Colonial period, most chil-
dren learned their basic skills—reading,
writing, and arithmetic—at home with
their parents or mentors. Colleges, such as
Harvard, Princeton, and Yale, were estab-
lished as schools of divinity, designed to
educate Christian leaders for a Christian
nation. The country boasted high levels of
literacy and produced people like Jefferson
who were able to self-educate. The book,
A Thomas Jefferson Education (George
Wythe College Press, 2000), describes the
mentorship style of this period.
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During the 1800s, the one-room school-
house was common. As many as forty chil-
dren between the ages of six and sixteen
learned in an environment that nurtured
independence, cooperation, shared learn-
ing, and leadership. Older students helped
younger students and gained teaching
experience and leadership opportunities,
while the younger students had role mod-
els to follow.
The Industrial Revolution of the mid
and late 1800s created a great need for
factory workers who could do mindless
jobs for long hours, and this correspond-
ed with the establishment of city schools,
where children were segregated by grade
or age. Children became less independent
and more teacher-dependent. They had
fewer opportunities to demonstrate leader-
ship and, without their older role models,
tended to adopt similar vocabulary and be-
havior as their peers, whether good or bad.
This modern educational system began
to produce its desired goal: a predictable,
controllable, obedient workforce not pos-
sible in the earlier American climate.
New methods of instruction—based on
German psychology aimed at creating this
type of worker—were implemented in the
classroom. Initially parents resisted, but
by the early 1900s, most memory or un-
derstanding of the previous approach had
faded, leaving only conveyor belt educa-
tion where students enter in kindergarten
or first grade and move through a standard-
izing system. By twelfth grade they are
ready to enter the workforce or military.
But we know that when children are age-
segregated, any group will still exhibit two,
©2011,
©2011,The
three, or even four grade levels of aptitude
in core subjects. To ensure success for all,
standards must be lowered, then raised
again when they fall too low. Grade level
integrity fails and children move to the
next grade . . . ready or not.
In his book, The Underground History
of American Education (Oxford Village
Press, 2000), New York State Teacher of
the Year John Taylor Gatto describes how
David Farragut, the first admiral of the
U.S. Navy, took command of his first ship
at age 12. Thomas Edison couldn’t read
and was kicked out of school, but by age
14 was printing a newspaper and making
more money than the teacher who removed
him. Albert Einstein, who also did poorly
in school, stated: “It is nothing short of a
miracle that the modern methods of in-
struction have not yet entirely strangled the
holy curiosity of inquiry.” History proves
that all children want real, honest-to-God
responsibility—to be relevant, to be need-
ed, to be able to make a real contribution
and a meaningful difference, but increas-
ingly, students find schools to be uninter-
esting and irrelevant. Even Bill Gates as-
serts that the modern system of education
is not meeting the needs of the modern
economy, and that America’s high schools
are quickly becoming obsolete, in that they
are not teaching our youth what they need
to know for the continuation of a free and
prosperous nation. We no longer live in an
industrial economy, and the factory model
school won’t meet the needs of our ever-
changing society.
Oliver DeMille, in The Coming Aristoc-
racy: Education and the Future of Freedom
(The Center for Social Leadership, 2009),
suggests that entrepreneurial-style edu-
cation is beneficial for the individual and
for the nation. Without skilled, character-
driven, competent people in the society,
the whole society becomes susceptible to
governance by the few, “the coming aris-
tocracy,” and an increasingly greater gap
between those who “know” and those used
as pawns of the whole system. The convey-
(Continued on page 83)
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A Case for Freedomship & Entrepreneurial Education
(Continued from page 81)
er-belt system of education was useful for
the Industrial age, but fails in the informa-
tion age. Employers in every industry and
field complain about college graduates to-
day, arguing that “they can’t speak prop-
erly, can’t write properly, and don’t think.
They’re worthless until we train them.”
What we need now—for the good of the
country—is a nation of “owners.”
“A “freedomship” and entrepreneurial
education is therefore based on the idea of
self-education, mentorship, and initiative. ”
A “freedomship” and entrepreneurial
education is therefore based on the idea of
self-education, mentorship, and initiative.
Though the word freedomship is not found
in the dictionary, we are trying to coin this
term, which refers to self-directed leaders
in homes, families, businesses, and life.
People who lead themselves well become
responsible, independent, intelligent,
well-educated citizens in a free country.
Entrepreneurship is learning about busi-
ness, economy, and activity, and an entre-
preneur is “a person who organizes and
manages any enterprise, taking on the
initiative and the risk.” The word comes
from the French word meaning “one who
undertakes an endeavor.”
According to Peter Drucker, one of the
foremost thinkers in the area of business
success and entrepreneurship today, “In-
novation is the specific instrument of en-
trepreneurship. It is the act that endows
resources with a new capacity to create
wealth.” And having the means to create
wealth is, in essence, the key element of
political and economic freedom.
My own entrepreneurial drive began at
age 16 with selling war games out of the
trunk of my car, and since then I have al-
ways been self-employed. When my two
oldest children were 12 and 10, I started
looking for resources that would help chil-
dren learn how to start a business. I found
a resource called Business Kids, which
came in a game-style box and provided
booklets, checklists, and planning forms to
help children learn how to get their busi-
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ness started. That product was short-lived,
but the idea never left me. When our com-
pany, Institute for Excellence in Writing,
started publishing materials, I continued
thinking about a curriculum that would in-
tegrate writing with practical tips for kids
on how to plan and start a business. A few
years ago, I came across someone who had
created a sequence of lessons and activi-
ties that could be done with one child or a
group of children. We have since licensed
and published this excellent course under
the title Lemonade to Leadership.
Again, entrepreneurial success rests
squarely on hard work, integrity, and qual-
ity of product. When looking to start a
business, ask yourself, “What service or
product do you have the skills or resources
to provide?” Other questions also help:
“What are some of the needs in the neigh-
borhood? What are some problems? What
are some things people are too busy to
do? What could you do that someone else
couldn’t do? Will it work? Is it safe? Le-
gal? Is it profitable? Can I get customers?
Do I have access to what I need? Is it going
to require start-up funds? Do I have time?
Do I have the experience?” These ques-
tions, along with forms and simple writing
activities found in the eight-lesson series,
help to crystallize the thinking of the future
entrepreneur and lay the foundation for set-
ting goals, creating a name, doing market
research, getting official, and starting to
sell. Aimed at middle-school children, the
course is simple, yet solid enough to help
parents with businesses that they might
like to start on the side.
We’ve only been publishing the program
for about a year and have had several re-
ports back from kids who’ve done this. I
recently met an 11-year-old boy who had
gone through the lessons. He saw that res-
taurants provide crayons to children as they
wait, and knew that children like crayons
shaped into different things, such as fish,
©2011,
©2011,The
cars, and rocket ships. His idea was to melt
down crayons into molds, and then sell
them to restaurants. So he convinced local
schools and day cares to recycle their use-
less little crayon stubs, thus providing him
with free materials. He melted the crayons
into molds, then packaged, and began mar-
keting them. (I bought a package of four
little fishy crayons from him for a buck.
How could I not?) There is now a national
chain of restaurants that wants to purchase
his molded crayons. He is an articulate
and enthusiastic 11-year-old, and meeting
him would convince anyone that there’s a
bright future for this country.
I went through the process with my son
and helped him start up a little business.
Because he is profoundly dyslexic, reading
and writing have always been hard, but he
loves swords, so selling swords became his
business. Together we figured out costs,
selling price, profit margin, record keep-
ing, marketing, etc. He would sell at con-
ventions with a table near mine. I watched
as he drew crowds. The boys liked the
swords, the girls followed the boys, and
the moms came to find their children. He
developed this elaborate little impromptu
speech explaining that when you buy a
sword, you buy a bit of history, and that
buying a sword was an educational pur-
chase. I was very impressed.
However, his dyslexia caused him prob-
lems. One of the nicer-looking swords he
was selling cost him $16, so we decided
that he should sell them for $32. That
seemed fair. Well, we took them to our
next show, where he sold every last one
of these swords. When we counted up his
money, we found he was considerably
short. Then I found a check for $23. He
had sold the swords at the inverted price!
Rather than get discouraged, he simply
changed the price at future shows to $33,
so that either way he was safe. For every
problem there is a solution if you think
about it. It was a hundred-dollar lesson,
but well worth it.
Mentoring is essential to leadership
education, because few children can suc-
ceed without guidance. This is where par-
ents are key. Starting a family or child-
run business, whether it succeeds, breaks
even, or loses a little money, is never a
waste of time or resources. Every family
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A Case for Freedomship & Entrepreneurial Education
(Continued from page 83)
should have a business; it is an educational
opportunity—one that allows children to
grow up making a meaningful contribution
to the family. In all my business ventures,
my children have assisted me; my older
children helped me run a preschool. When
I got the writing business started, they put
the books together, collated discs, and
hauled boxes at conventions. They learned
to give some of my talks. I needed them
and they knew it, which was a great thing
for them to know growing up. The educa-
tional and social growth opportunities that
a home business has afforded my children
are irreplaceable.
Because there is significant correlation
between activities learned at a young age
and developing lifetime aptitudes, provid-
ing meaningful, challenging work for chil-
dren is a lifetime gift. Another reason to
encourage entrepreneurial activities at a
young age is the fact that children are fear-
less, and this make learning easier—even
when they make mistakes. It is the job of the
mentor to stress that failures are just part of
the lessons. What lessons are learned? My
son learned that invisible things have costs.
Dyslexia had a cost . . . along with his time,
NHERI—The Research Institute
(Continued from page 75)
In a sense, the long name, National
Home Education Research Institute, hides
what NHERI really is. It is a relatively few
people with a big, long-term vision to ad-
vance knowledge, understanding, and truth
about parent-led, home-based education.
They want to do basic research and sum-
marize research done by others, and put it
out to the nation and to the world. It goes to
regular dads and moms, to professional ed-
ucators, to legislators, to professors, to the
media, to judges, and to teachers’ unions.
Further, the folks at NHERI realize
that all researchers (and all persons) hold
a worldview from which they formulate
ideas and conduct their lives, including
research. The folks at NHERI want to see
all things from a biblical perspective. They
strive to recognize God’s revelation and
truth in all activities and let this guide their
plans and research.
I have the privilege of leading NHERI. I
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the booth, and the product. He also learned
that although he is not good at everything,
he is good at many things, despite his dys-
lexia. He has already decided to hire other
kids to do what he can’t or doesn’t want to
do. He has learned the value of teamwork
and using his strengths.
I believe we are in a time when we will
either rescue Western civilization or we
will watch it become something else. We
can save America or watch it fall. We’ve
had a period of safety and grace, but we are
at critical mass in our economy, politics,
education, and international influence. To
regain what once made America great, we
must raise children who know the truth and
can communicate that truth powerfully—
children who have evangelical and entrepre-
neurial energy that will preserve goodness,
truth, and beauty. It is because I have this
sense of urgency that I’m working hard to
create things that support and encourage this
mission. It requires courage and strength to
be a parent in this century. Though the world
opposes your attempts to nurture Christ-like
qualities in your children’s minds and souls,
it is possible to raise up children of wisdom,
virtue, and good character.
get to do most of the research. We have a lot
of others who serve the public via NHERI.
We have a board of directors, volunteers
who do things such as keep the website
current, and we have donors—yay!
NHERI is a nonprofit organization that
has a simple, three-part mission:
• Produce high-quality homeschool
research (e.g., statistics, facts, findings
on home-based education or home-
schooling).
• Serve as a clearinghouse of research
for the public, researchers, home-
schoolers, the media, and policy
makers.
• Educate the public concerning the
findings of all research on home edu-
cation (i.e., homeschooling).
We rely on contributors, those who pray
for us, research grants, and encouragement
from a lot of people.
Come and take a look at the research and
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Education cannot solve the world’s
problems. Neither can money. Both are
tools. Bill McCartney of Promise Keepers
maintains that, as with first-century Chris-
tianity, it all begins in the marketplace
where the disciples of Jesus daily rubbed
shoulders with the lost. Christian entrepre-
neurship is essential for bringing truth and
goodness and beauty into the public arena.
I commend you in this direction. The world
will hate you for it, but if you persevere,
you and your children can experience true
and lasting success.
Andrew Pudewa is the director of the In-
stitute for Excellence in Writing. Present-
ing throughout North America, he speaks
on many topic,s including writing, thinking,
spelling, educational philosophy, and the
value of entrepreneurship and home-based
businesses. With clarity, insight, practical
experience, and humor, he inspires and
equips parents, students, and teachers
while delivering powerful tools to dramati-
cally improve their students’ skills. He and
his beautiful, heroic wife, Robin, currently
teach their three youngest children at home
in Locust Grove, Oklahoma.
what we do at www.nheri.org.
I strongly encourage you to sign up for
our free E-message system. We will tell you
when new research comes out. I try hard to
make it interesting. And I try to challenge
your educational and philosophical think-
ing. Sign up here: www.nheri2010.org. I
think you will like it.
Dr. Brian Ray is president of the Nation-
al Home Education Research Institute
(NHERI.org). He has published numer-
ous articles and books, been repeatedly
interviewed by major media, served as an
expert witness in court cases, and testi-
fied to legislatures regarding educational
issues. Dr. Ray is a leading international
expert in research on homeschooling. He
holds a Ph.D. in science education from
Oregon State University. Brian and Betsy
have been married 32 years and have eight
children.
 Schoolhouse Expo
Learning and Teaching and Business, Oh My!
by Barbara Beers, Expo Sponsor
W
hen asked to write an article dis-
cussing my homeschool busi-
ness, how my company got
started, and what steps I have taken so far
to help get it where it is in the marketplace,
my first reaction was to chuckle. I had vi-
sions of eager young faces looking up to me
for guidance about what college degrees to
pursue and about how to write a compelling
business plan. They would hang on to every
word in which I waxed eloquently about the
pros and cons of various corporate struc-
tures that I had learned while working on
my doctoral thesis in business administra-
“You see, He has a wonderful sense of
humor in that He took someone like
me who did not finish college (a music
major of all things) and led me to learn
Latin, teach Latin, and then write a
curriculum for others to use.”
tion. And of course, while actively pursuing
a brilliant business career, I had mastered
classical Latin and was prepared to impart
my vast knowledge to these fledgling stu-
dents, teachers, and even homeschool par-
ents. (Bubble pop!)
Oops, back to that article. I’m sorry to
disappoint you (although maybe it will not
be such a disappointment after all), I did
not follow the typical model for starting
and maintaining a viable business for over
19 years. God had other plans for me, a
plan that unfolded and continues to unfold
where He provides the love, inspiration,
energies, content, and people to share with
me, and I follow along behind striving dai-
ly to pay attention, understand, trust, and
work hard along the way. You see, He has
a wonderful sense of humor in that He took
someone like me who did not finish college
(a music major of all things) and led me to
learn Latin, teach Latin, and then write a
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curriculum for others to use.
Without coming across as self-centered
or self-important (I hope), I should prob-
ably tell you a little about me. I love to
read, I love to learn, and I love to teach.
Because my dad was in college preparing
to go to seminary when I was young, he
taught me how to read before I ever went
to school and even had me reading out of
the King James Bible—his favorite. And
without a television in our house in those
days (horror of horrors!), there was no end
to what we could learn through reading,
games, outside activities, etc. As the oldest
of five children, my love of teaching was
often interpreted as bossy older sister, al-
though that did not deter me from pursuing
it with great vigor through all the years I
lived at home.
After high school and some college, I
married a great Christian guy, had three
children, and came face to face with school
as my oldest was turning five years old. It
is not that I hated school; I actually loved
school, did well, and got good grades. But
with the constant deterioration of educa-
tion and especially in its anti-Christian phi-
losophies and methods, my husband and I
ended up opting for Christian school. But
even a couple of years into that, we saw
that there was little difference in the edu-
cation methods, since most of the teachers
(as kind as they were) were steeped in the
modern education models of their universi-
ties and teachers’ colleges.
Homeschooling? You’ve got to be kid-
©2011,
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ding. I could never do that—I don’t have
the patience. Yes, I went through all the
same emotions and excuses inherent in
considering homeschooling. I loved the
thought of teaching my kids real truth and
real content as was my calling as a mom,
but was I ready to put all my effort into a
well-rounded education for all of my chil-
dren, each with his or her particular needs?
Not to mention that in those early days of
homeschooling, A Beka Book® and Bob
Jones University Press® would not even sell
to us because we were not “real” schools.
And some parents even spent some time in
jail for teaching their kids at home.
After much prayer, research, and with a
commitment to undertake this task (with
a bit of fear and trepidation), we began
our homeschool journey. The details of
all the joys, troubles, accomplishments,
failures, and tremendous work would fill
too many pages, but suffice it to say that
this journey has been the most rewarding
and hardest thing we have ever done. God
stretched, molded, corrected, encouraged,
enlightened our understanding, and always
remained faithful no matter how deficient
we were in many areas of life.
In those beginning years, after getting
over the initial fears and then getting over
the giddiness of having three young stu-
dents who would hang on my every word
and make permanent every skill I would
teach them, it became important to me that
if I were going to pray for the downfall of
the modern education system as we know
it today, with its emphasis on a humanis-
tic model, I would need to be prepared to
offer a viable educational option for those
coming after me. I ended up writing and
coordinating most of my own curriculum
in those days, since most studies either
were designed for a classroom with a lot
of busywork or employed suspect methods
and content.
Because I loved to read, learn, and teach,
it was a great joy to prepare and teach
various skills to my children, but the first
thing I learned was that there was a lot of
(Continued on page 87)
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Learning and Teaching and Business, Oh My!
(Continued from page 85)
“fluff” out there in the educational commu-
nity that passed itself off as curriculum. I
was expected to teach a myriad of subjects
that never seemed to result in any skill.
Content for memorizing was emphasized
over building skills, and very few students
learned how to think for themselves, much
less write with any fluency using words
like a fine craftsman. So from the begin-
ning of building initial skills in spelling,
writing, and reading, I immersed myself in
probably the best early language curricu-
lum out there, The Writing Road to Read-
ing by Romalda Spalding. The preparation
in learning and implementing this study
was very intensive, but in teaching my kids
not only the skills it taught, I helped them
understand it so well that they could turn
around and teach it when they got older.
Each of them participated and finished
a 2-week teacher training course in this
method by a certified instructor near the
end of their own studies.
With these solid, basic foundations in
spelling, writing, and reading English
words, we began building those words
into sentences, learning the grammar and
relationship of those words as they helped
us to communicate. At the same time we
practiced composition skills that helped
us communicate to others effectively by
using those words correctly. We stud-
ied high-quality children’s literature that
taught us how great authors paint pictures
with words so that we could emulate them
in our own writings. Rather than treating
the subjects of spelling, handwriting, read-
ing, grammar, composition, and literature
as separate unrelated and boring subjects,
even the youngest students understood the
reasons for each new skill.
By the time my children were near the end
of their elementary years, I was faced with
how we would proceed with our advanced
language studies. I got excellent grades in
English classes all the way through school
but truly understood more about English
when I took my three years of high school
Spanish. There is something about having
to translate between two languages that
fixes the relationships of words, sentenc-
es, and communication in general in your
mind. And since I knew they needed two
years of a foreign language in high school,
I began searching for the best approach.
Oh, oh! I ran smack into Latin again.
You see, we had been seeing Latin com-
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ponents in many of our more difficult Eng-
lish spelling words for awhile, but delving
a bit deeper, I ran right into the fact that
there was no language in all the world’s
history that affected English as much as
Latin. English is over 60% based in our
vocabulary with valuable clues to both
meaning and spellings. I knew from my
experience in Spanish that the translation
process would help us think logically and
learn the details of the grammar of both
languages well. And since Latin is the
mother language of Spanish, French, Ital-
ian, Portuguese, and Romanian, I could
give my children an even better head start
in language than I had. As far as I could
see, there was only one problem—I did not
know Latin!
But what many homeschool parents
come to understand after a number of years
is to not let the fact that you do not know
a subject deter you from teaching it. Crazy
as it sounds, there is no better motivation
for learning something than the desire for
your children to know it. And so I became
a Latin junkie. As I drilled vocabulary,
they drilled vocabulary. As my notebook
grew in thickness, so did my students’
notebooks. My library grew to hundreds of
Latin textbooks dating back to the 1800s,
which formed the content of most of my
pleasure reading for several years. But we
did not learn Latin just for Latin’s sake.
Our Latin study formed the foundation for
our advanced English grammar skills. And
so what developed in those years was an
upper-level Latin curriculum with built-in
advanced English grammar and vocabulary
all designed to fit the needs of homeschool
families. And because we began earlier, we
actually finished our high school foreign
language by the beginning of high school.
During this process of learning and
teaching, many of my friends wanted to
have their children learn Latin, so I got the
opportunity to fine-tune my study with stu-
dents other than my own and at the same
time give the parents the resources to learn
and teach Latin as I had done—except with
all the preparation work done for them!
And so 18 years ago The LATIN Road
to English Grammar was made available to
parents and teachers for the first time. With
all the helps of a written text, worksheets,
tests, a notebook approach, lesson plans,
answer keys, charts, vocabulary cards, au-
dio pronunciation CDs, teacher training
©2011,
©2011,The
DVDs, and reference guides, a parent can
confidently teach high school Latin even
as she learns it with her students that are
fifth grade and higher. Because there were
so many more custom pieces to this cur-
riculum than other Latin studies, I chose to
oversee its production and Schola Publica-
tions was born in 1993. The final volume
in the 3-year study was completed in 1997
and has been successfully used by thou-
sands of homeschool families around the
world as well as many junior high and high
schools. Our business has steadily grown
every year, even since my own children
have grown, married, and given me seven
grandchildren (another set of eager learn-
ers!).
My husband and I have traveled around
the United States each year for the past 18
years speaking and sharing my curricula.
Year after year I would speak to parents
and teachers who often lamented about the
poor spelling, writing, and reading skills of
their students. Trying to teach Latin to stu-
dents with poor basic skills was nigh unto
impossible. And so in 2002 I began assem-
bling all the language arts that I had done
with my children when they were young
and The PHONICS Road to Spelling and
Reading was first made available in 2004.
Completing Level Four in 2007, The PHO-
NICS Road was the first and is still the only
complete language arts curriculum to make
the method first developed by Dr. Samuel
Orton and Mrs. Spalding easy to imple-
ment in a home or classroom by presenting
it fully on 42 DVDs over four years. A par-
ent can get all the advantages of personal
teacher training in her own home and then
implement it to meet her children’s needs.
Curiously, in the writing, paginating,
scripting, video production, and print pro-
duction I have done over the past 20 years,
I have actually become rather skilled in a
number of business models, well beyond
what I could have attained with several de-
grees. Who’d have thought?
A veteran homeschooler for over 27 years,
Barbara Beers has not only taught her
own children, other students, parents, and
teachers, but has organized her studies and
written the popular series, The PHONICS
Road to Spelling and Reading and The
LATIN Road to English Grammar, used
in schools and homeschools around the
world.
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 Schoolhouse Expo
The Adventure of a Lifetime
by Davis Carman, Expo Sponsor
R
ecently, Rachael and I celebrated
the graduation of our oldest child
after thirteen years of homeschool-
ing, yet I still remember the fear and anxi-
ety that accompanied our initial decision
to teach our children at home. By God’s
grace, we’ve come a long way since that
first year. I’ve learned that homeschooling
is not a stroll down a cleared, well-marked
trail but, rather, is a choice to take the path
less traveled. The journey is rarely a casual
walk where sandals are sufficient. It’s best
to have your boots on because homeschool-
ing is a hike.
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©2011,The
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OldSchoolhouse®
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Magazine
Does your family enjoy a good hike?
Mine does. Sometimes our excursions are
as simple as walking through the woods
in our backyard. We’ll follow the stream
through the neighborhood, looking for
deer tracks, turtle shells, and trees felled
by an enterprising beaver. When we first
began exploring the few acres surrounding
our house, we experienced times of won-
der, suspense, and even fear. Little hands
gripped mine to make sure they didn’t get
lost or stumble over a stray log. There was
no path to follow—we were literally blaz-
ing a new trail.
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But as the years progressed and our path
became worn, we all grew more confident
in our ability to navigate the terrain and
find our way around. Initial fears of losing
our way were replaced with a clear sense
of direction.
Homeschooling is often like the adven-
ture of hiking. The parents may start off
tentatively, as everything is so new and
unfamiliar and even scary at times. A
friend may give some welcome advice to
“just read to the kids.” The wary parents
give it a try and soon find that the relation-
ship with their children is growing stron-
ger. They notice that the kids are enjoying
time with Mom and Dad and are actually
paying attention and learning. With each
new school year, they set higher goals and
make course adjustments. Then one year
they realize they’ve grown in confidence
and are ready to blaze new trails with
their children, now excited and not fearful
about what the future holds.
The photo with this article depicts a
family working together to climb a dif-
ficult trail. They are helping each other,
reaching out to assist one another as they
strive together to reach their goal—the
summit. Along the way, I suspect, they
will see some wondrous sights and stop to
take it all in. They’ll rest every once in a
while to catch their breath and plan for the
next leg of the journey. They’ll probably
check their map and compass to make sure
they are still headed in the right direction.
They may even run into an obstacle that
forces them to regroup or even change di-
rection. Yet they will stick together, work
together, climb together, encourage one
another, and persevere until they reach
their final destination.
Homeschooling is a journey that pres-
ents unique challenges and marvelous op-
portunities for you and your children. As
a parent, you can create for your family a
rich learning environment that stimulates
young minds and strengthens young hearts.
This may be achieved through continual
exposure to great books, providential meet-
(Continued on page 92)
 WHAT WILL SHE
BELIEVE WHEN
SHE’S 15?
Every time she turns on the TV, listens to her iPod, or logs on to
Facebook, she hears different ideas about who she is, how she’s
supposed to look, and the person she should aspire to become. These
messages are often in conflict, and many are seductive yet extremely
harmful. What’s a girl to do?

You can’t protect your children forever, but you can help them separate
the truth from the lies by teaching them to see the world around them
through the unerring lens of God’s Word. Provide them a clear biblical
worldview with the What We Believe curriculum series.

Beautifully illustrated and written in a conversational style, the

What We Believe series makes the study of God’s Word exciting and
memorable for boys and girls of all ages. Through engaging stories and
creative notebooking, your kids will begin to develop an unshakeable
faith and a sense of God-given purpose that will carry them through
the teen years and beyond.

“A wonderful tool to help Christian parents keep family discipleship

front and center.”
Debra Bell
Author of The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling
in partnership with
“A powerful inoculation of truth that will help protect our young
people and make them better ambassadors for Christ.”
Frank Turek
Co-author of I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist

VISIT WWW.ApoLogIA.com or cALL 1-888-524-4724

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 Schoolhouse Expo
Your Kids Can Train to Become
Fire Station Buddies
by Karen McHale, Expo Sponsor
K
ids love firefighters and know that
firefighters will come and get them
if they are hurt. Firefighters do a
lot more than just fight fires though—they
have become all-hazard emergency re-
sponders. As a volunteer firefighter in the
mountains of Colorado, I invented the Fire
Station Buddies to help kids learn about
problem solving, strategy, tactics, rescue,
and to just have fun.
The Fire Buddies were created when my
boys were small. My oldest son, Jesse, car-
“Pretty soon the entire neighborhood
had Buddies, and the kids were making
up stories about what they did, how they
lived at the fire station and were on the
trucks, and the adventures they had.”
ried a blanket around and was always sick,
even though I washed that blanket every
day. When my son Drew was born, I de-
cided no more blankets, and I put together
a pillow buddy made out of quilt material
and stuffing. The Buddy could be washed,
and both boys had 5 or 6 Buddies each.
Pretty soon the entire neighborhood had
Buddies, and the kids were making up sto-
ries about what they did, how they lived at
the fire station and were on the trucks, and
the adventures they had. When I became a
firefighter, I used the Buddies to help raise
money for our volunteer fire department. I
still sew them and store them on the trucks,
and we hand them out to kids at accident
scenes. Jesse and Drew are now in their 20s
but they still help me with the Buddies.
I finally decided to start writing the adven-
tures down. The first book I wrote was The
Legend, which is a picture book for kids 5
years old and younger and introduces kids to
the Buddies. I have plans to write more pic-
ture books for younger children, but it’s the
older kids that have my attention right now.
My second book, The Pact, is a chapter
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book for kids 12 years old and younger. It
tells about the secret of the Fire Buddies
and how those fun pillow animals for the
younger kids are really a cover story for the
real animals that help firefighters do their
job. This elite group of animals can only
talk to firefighters, and they help train kids
to become emergency responders. In The
Pact, you meet Jordan and his five friends
(Annie, Will, Michael, Kate, and Ryan),
who stumble onto clues and find out that
these animals do exist, but the firefight-
ers have forgotten all about them. The
kids bring the firefighters and the animals
(Flame, Majesty, Sage, Max, Omega, and
Stanley) together and they all start train-
ing. There will be six more books in the
series—one for each kid and the animal he
or she now trains with. You can download
a free copy of chapter one at www.firesta-
tionbuddies.com.
So how can you train without a training
manual? The Buddies now have a train-
ing manual that will be written by section
and available for download only at the Fire
Station Buddies website. Get your kids a
three-ring binder about two inches thick
and keep a lookout for the training sec-
tions. The first section is about the Incident
Command System (ICS) that all respond-
ers use. It is a management system for all
events. September 11, 2001 showed that
there were communication, organization,
and manpower problems in our response to
emergency events. Police, firefighters, and
paramedics from all over the country went
to New York to help, but they couldn’t even
talk to each other on their radios. Sched-
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ules were made of who was in charge and
which team went where, but it was very
confusing and there was no basic, standard
plan for the event. President Bush created
Homeland Security, reorganized FEMA,
and instituted ICS in 2002. All responders
must be certified in ICS and must use the
system on all hazards, small and large. We
now have a command structure as well as
endless documents that are filled out on ev-
ery call. Your kids will learn what ICS is
and how to use it. As more sections of the
training manual are available, children will
have to use ICS to work on the problems I
will give them.
Section two is about putting a prepared-
ness plan together in case you have to evac-
uate from your home. What do you take?
Will it all fit in the car? What about impor-
tant documents, medicine, clothes, and pets?
You will need to help your kids build the
evacuation list and then you need to prac-
tice. Kids love doing this and you will be
surprised at how much stuff you think you
are going to take with you and can’t. Make
your list, practice by building a pile in your
living room, and then see if it will all fit in
the car. Making sure that your kids have re-
sponsibilities and feel that they are contrib-
uting will help them to be less afraid.
There may be twenty to twenty-five sec-
tions in total, and future sections will in-
clude how we do search and rescue and
how kids can help rescue themselves. Sec-
tions will include what to do if you are lost
in the mountains, swift water and ice res-
cue, and lots of ways to practice. Kids will
also learn how to talk on a walkie-talkie
and will learn some of the radio codes we
use. So the next time you call them for din-
ner, they can tell you they are code 3 (en
route), and when they get to the table they
can tell you they are code 1 (on scene).
The radio code list, along with instruc-
tions for building an emergency backpack,
are available on the website. I explain why
they need the backpack, what goes inside
it, and how to start using it. An emergency
backpack, the Fire Buddies books, and a
(Continued on page 95)
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The Adventure of a Lifetime
(Continued from page 88)
ings with influential people, or travel to
inspiring locations. I hope it also includes
consistent and reverent worship of God Al-
mighty and our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Family discipleship naturally lends itself
to individualized educational planning. If
your daughter loves science and excels in
biology, then she can spend an inordinate
amount of time studying and mastering that
subject. A homeschooler who wants to be a
missionary to China can work on learning
the language and culture for many hours
each week. A son who is constantly work-
ing on a computer graphics or animation
project will have the opportunity to master
this subject because it can be written into
the curriculum. As a parent, you can infuse
into your kids the notion that they are being
groomed to change the world. Every day,
your children can hear and believe that
they are God’s workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus to do good works, which God
prepared in advance for them to do (Ephe-
sians 2:10).
Think of the possibilities! You may be
growing a future leader in a field that needs
talented Christians to reshape the culture.
The homeschool lifestyle is truly an ad-
venture. You cannot anticipate exactly how
everything is going to play out, but you
can make adjustments along the way and
press on toward the goal. I encourage you
to enjoy the educational benefits of family
discipleship and savor the sweet fruits of
homeschooling. It may be a hike, but the
blessings you find along the way are well
worth it.
Building a Firm Foundation
of Faith
In 2008, Rachel and I embarked on a
new and exciting adventure. We purchased
Apologia from Dr. Jay Wile, who founded
Apologia Educational Ministries in the
early 1990s when the modern homeschool-
ing community was young and in need of
high-quality, creation-based science cur-
riculum. Dr. Wile authored or co-authored
several junior high and high school science
textbooks, which were so well received
that the series quickly grew to become the
leading science curriculum among home-
schooling families.
We completed the acquisition of Apologia
Educational Ministries with a vision to take
the company in new and expanded directions.
92
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OldSchoolhouse®
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Magazine
Today Apologia offers a lineup of award-
winning K–12 science textbooks, biblical
worldview studies, practical books and re-
sources to equip and encourage homeschool
parents, retreats for homeschool moms, mis-
sion and scholarship programs, and an on-
line academy with courses in science, Bible,
worldview, and apologetics. We’ve also
Get out and play!
locked arms with respected Christian organi-
zations such as Summit Ministries and Walk
Thru the Bible Ministries.
noodleheadfun.com
I believe that Apologia will be honored
as we honor God. We will stand on the
truth of God’s Word and point people to
no one other than Jesus Christ, the author
and perfecter of our faith. I want this to be
true of everything we say, do, and publish
at Apologia.
You can learn more by visiting our web-
site at www.apologia.com. We’d love to
hear from you. You can join the discussion
at www.facebook.com/apologiaworld or
send us your feedback at our contact page.
I pray that your family will look to Deu-
teronomy 6:4–7 and that you will teach
your children to love God with all their
heart, soul, mind, and strength. I trust that
your example will inspire other parents to
diligently teach their children the ways of
God in the daily course of family life—as
they sit, as they walk along the way, as they
rise up, and as they lie down. Is this not a
beautiful picture of family life?
Davis and Rachael Carman are in their
second decade of homeschooling their sev- Assistive Technology
Resource Guide
en children. Davis is an engineer and a vice Created for Parents
president of North Carolinians for Home Nationwide Consultation Service
Education, the state’s largest homeschool Physical Disabilities
Autism Spectrum Disorder
association. Rachael is a published author ADD/ADHD
Learning Disablities
and a popular speaker at homeschooling
conventions and women’s retreats.
educational
Dinnertime
Fun!
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 Schoolhouse Expo
Rainbow Resource Center: Then and Now
by Bob and Linda Schneider, Expo Sponsors
T
he goal of our family business,
Rainbow Resource Center, has al-
ways been to help homeschoolers
in as many ways as possible. We started
as a ministry to help families reduce their
curriculum costs by purchasing used items
for less-than-new prices and giving sell-
ers a way to turn no-longer-needed school
items into cash. When we added new items
to our offerings, we decided to sell these
items at discount prices. A widening selec-
tion of products from more publishers al-
lowed customers to select items most suit-
ed to the student’s learning style and the
“We started as a ministry to help
families reduce their curriculum costs by
purchasing used items for less-than-new
prices and giving sellers a way to turn no-
longer-needed school items into cash.”
teacher’s preference. So that our custom-
ers could make informed decisions about
which products might work best for them,
we provided detailed descriptions as well.
Bringing a wide array of items to home-
school curriculum fairs around the country
allowed parents to evaluate the products
firsthand. And for those who needed addi-
tional help in selecting curriculum or deal-
ing with teaching issues, we offered free
consulting services.
Our homeschooling career spans 25
years, beginning in 1986. After home-
schooling for three years, we had accumu-
lated a number of schoolbooks that were in
good condition but that we did not plan to
use again. Living in a rural area with few
homeschoolers, we had no local options for
reselling these items. Since the number of
homeschooling families was much smaller
in the late 1980s, we thought other home-
schoolers around the country might face
a similar problem. We were also looking
for a ministry that we could do as a family
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with our four young children. Linda was a
computer systems consultant and Bob had
his CPA, so we decided to start a recycling
service for homeschool materials. In this
way, buyers could save money compared
to buying new materials, and sellers could
get cash when their items sold. In these
pre-Internet days, we generated on a dot-
matrix printer our first newsletter contain-
ing 10 pages of products and a few helps
and hints on school and family issues, and
then mailed it to 200 families whose ad-
dresses we had found in homeschooling
publications.
Response was encouraging, so we
forged ahead, undaunted by our lack
of space (half the living room, hallway,
2-car garage), staff (kids 9, 7, twins 5),
money (subscription was $6/year for 8
issues), or time (published phone hours
were 3–9 p.m., but calls on our single-line
family phone could come anytime). Linda
was homeschooling four kids, and Bob
worked full-time.
Fall of 1990 saw increased subscriptions
for our 65-pages-of-used-book-inventory
newsletter and also marked the beginning
of the new products “catalog,” containing
a whopping 56 products.
Our used book recycling service grew
at a modest pace and then hit a plateau; it
also proved to be a very time-consuming
proposition. Each book had to be evalu-
ated for condition, entered in the comput-
er, and shelved in findable order. Pages of
the newsletter were now printed by a local
print shop, but, being frugal, we assembled
them ourselves. Our family sat in a line
©2011,
©2011,The
and collated the pages, with the last person
folding and stapling it together.
Fortunately for our bank account, our
new products catalog was becoming
more popular, and in 1993 contained 60
pages of products. Items were described
in detail, with some pages containing
only one or two products. This was also
the year that we started exhibiting our
materials at homeschool fairs, hitting six
shows in the Midwest.
By 1995 the business had grown enough
that Bob could leave his job and work full-
time in the business. That we had managed
to keep up with and grow the business is
a testimonial to Linda (who worked tire-
lessly between homeschooling and doing
all facets of the business for six years) and
the four oldest kids (who also worked at
schoolwork, exhibits, packing books, and
writing descriptions, all with very little
free time).
By 1997 we had outgrown our home (sev-
en kids now), office (enclosed front porch),
and warehouse (over-sized, under-heated,
2-car garage). Finding a suitable home in
the area and able to buy the adjacent 8-acre
field, we moved family and business about
30 miles to our current location. The huge
(to us) 5,000-square-foot office/warehouse
would be heated and air-conditioned, a
luxury not previously available. Just before
our first 1998 exhibit, we finished moving
our shelving and inventory into the ware-
house, and conducted interviews for new
employees in the as-yet-unfinished office.
For the first time, customers could contact
us via email. And the following year, you
could find us on the Web at www.rainbow-
resource.com.
Having survived Y2K, our number of
product offerings and our sales continued
to grow. We currently offer about 40,000
products for grades PK to 12 from over
1000 publishers. In this way we can offer
items for all teaching and learning styles.
We offer these items at competitive, dis-
counted prices, staying true to our original
mission of saving families money. Our
(Continued on page 95)
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OldSchoolhouse®
Schoolhouse®Magazine
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 There’s no place like a homeschool convention...
... to see new products, meet new people and be encouraged by terrific
speakers. Since 1993, we have exhibited at hundreds of conventions to bring
you some of the best products at affordable prices, as well as experienced and
helpful staff members to answer your curriculum questions.

While it’s hard to beat convention shopping when it comes to seeing products
for yourself, we try hard to bring elements of conventions into everything we do.
That’s why you don’t even have to set foot in a Rainbow booth to enjoy...

Product consultants to answer your questions

via email or phone - at no charge to you!
In-depth product reviews in our catalog and website

A wide variety of curriculum choices for

all of your students’ unique needs

Fun supplemental items for all ages and subjects

Now also your
exclusive source Year-round Free Shipping on Orders
for Five in a Row of $150 or more to all 50 states*
and FIAR * does not apply to purchase orders. Free shipping
is economy shipping.
book packs!

Serving the Homeschool

Community Since 1989
Toll-free Phone: 888-841-3456
Toll-free Fax: 800-705-8809
Email: info@rainbowresource.com www.rainbowresource.com
Visit our website to check out our 2011 convention schedule, contact our consultants,
view our inventory of new but damaged “Bargain Books,” request a catalog and more!

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Rainbow Resource Center: Then and Now
(Continued from page 90)
1300-page catalog is free for the asking,
but it contains some of the best informa-
tion available anywhere on educational
products. We continue to provide detailed
reviews so that the educator can make in-
formed choices about which products will
be the most effective. Reviews are writ-
ten by our family and employees, based
on our own evaluation of the items. Our
website includes these reviews, plus cover
and content images, and even a table of
contents where appropriate. In both the
catalog and website, similar products are
grouped together to make comparison and
evaluation easier.
Since God has blessed us over the years,
we are able to offer free consulting servic-
es. We currently have four consultants—
women who have taught in homeschool,
private school, public school, and tutorial
Firestation Buddies
(Continued from page 90)
T-shirt will be given away as a door prize
during the Expo.
After all the training, your kids should be
able to become the Incident Commander at
a fire, search and rescue, or other event.
They should be able to figure out what re-
sources are needed, plan the operation to
complete the event, know what strategies
to use, and be able to document the event
and successfully complete their task. I am
planning to develop computer games at
some point so kids can try out their plans
and then react to the results.
Knowing what is going on behind the
scenes makes kids less afraid. We hear
news stories of kids who are only six years
old saving their parents’ lives because they
were taught to call 911. Kids at car accident
scenes tell me all the time that they knew
the firefighters would come and get them.
Your kids will learn about the equipment
we use and how they can become career
responders as well as a volunteers.
My goal with the Fire Station Buddies
is to train an entire generation of kids to
become volunteer emergency responders.
It’s not just about being a firefighter, po-
lice officer, or paramedic. Responders are
accountants, meteorologists, fire scientists,
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settings. They do their best to offer advice
on curriculum selection and other educa-
tional matters, and can be contacted by
phone or email.
Our order fulfillment has improved as
well, since we currently operate out of our
36,000-square-foot distribution center. Or-
ders typically leave the warehouse in one
to two days, and more than 98% of the
items are normally in stock.
If you attend homeschool curriculum
fairs around the country, you may well
see us there. This year we will be at 39
conventions between March and July. Al-
though we can’t bring everything in the
catalog, we offer between 2500 and 4000
different items at these shows. Where pos-
sible, one of our consultants also provides
workshops and is available at the booth to
answer questions.
mechanics, inventors, clerks, lawyers,
truck drivers, dispatchers, carpenters, and
people who are good at strategy, tactics,
and logistics. We have big disasters in the
U.S., and it takes thousands of people to
rescue and rebuild.
The kids currently in the program love
it and tell me all the time to hurry up and
write faster. Your kids can email any of the
Buddies and they will write back. I encour-
age kids to make suggestions for future
books. Your kids will learn with the Bud-
dies lessons they can use throughout their
lives whether they become responders or
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God has been good to us, and we have
grown significantly over the years. We are
thankful that we have been able to serve
tens of thousands of homeschool families
over the years. We are also thankful that
two of our daughters and their husbands
are working with us in the business. We
look forward to serving your family into
the next generation.
Linda and Bob Schneider have home-
schooled all of their seven children from
first grade through high school, starting
in 1986 and with the last two currently in
high school. Both graduated with business
degrees from the University of Illinois and
worked in the business field before starting
their own family business.
not. Sign up to become a volunteer Buddy
today and start the adventure. www.firesta-
tionbuddies.com.
Karen McHale, is a chemical engineer,
volunteer firefighter, and an emergency
planner. She has spent her career help-
ing industrial facilities in the private and
government sector to plan and then train
for any kind of all-hazard event. Karen
has authored three books and has an In-
ternet talk show on VoiceAmerica™—The
McHale Report.
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 A N e w Y e a r ~ !
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www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
C lassical
onversations
Classical Christian Community
®

Homeschooling is a journey...
Classical Conversations partners with you all along the way.
By equipping: Beginning with the earliest learners and continuing all the way
through graduation (ages 4-18), we offer classical programs to equip your student not
only with knowledge, but with the tools of learning.
By training: As a student develops and expands his or her inventory of informa-
tion (known as the grammar phase) we begin to incorporate critical thinking and
analytical skills (known as the dialectic phase). Formal logic and debate hone your
student’s ability to view culture, history, philosophy, language, science, and math
through the lens of a biblical worldview. Finally, in the rhetoric phase of high school,
your student shows mastery of learning by deeper
analysis of topics, by persuasive speaking and
writing, and by leading peer discussions.
By mentoring: All of this occurs within
community. Grammar-stage families meet with students weekly to receive
mentoring and encouragement from experienced homeschool parents. At
the rhetoric level, only students meet with a trained and experienced
homeschool tutor who nurtures, guides, and directs learning as well as
serving as an invaluable resource as you navigate the road toward
adulthood and college.
To learn more, or to find a community near you, please visit our website.

It is a mission... It is a model... It is a method...

to know God and to make Him known.
In every subject, God has hidden His
truth and beauty. It is our pleasure as
students and teachers to discover Him
as we learn.
to combine a biblical worldview and
classical tools. We support parents in
their divinely appointed role as
educators of their children by provid-
ing classical tools of learning.
to equip parents and encourage
students. We do this in community
with other parents at each stage of the
classical learning journey: grammar,
dialectic, and rhetoric.

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www.ClassicalConversations.com
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Schoolhouse®Magazine
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 Mission Statement

Who We Are and

Why We Exist

Our Mission Core Values Target Market

Our mission is to produce a high-quality,
Biblically based magazine that is a practi-
cal resource for homeschoolers. We strive
to introduce the home educator to addi-
tional products, services, and information
that will strengthen, support, and challenge
the family both spiritually and academical-
ly. Ultimately, our goal is to equip home-
schoolers to impact the world for Christ.
The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine for ho-
meschoolers is a business. We do not claim
to be a ministry, but because our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ rules our lives, we seek
to honor Him in all things, including the
education of our children, our vocations,
and our recreational activities. Therefore,
we seek to honor Him through the publica-
tion of The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine.
Our Purpose
To equip parents to take back their chil-
dren spiritually and educationally by sup-
porting, encouraging, informing, edifying,
and inspiring them.
Our Vision
• The Word of God is foundational to Age
everything we do. Women between the ages of 25 and 50
• Biblical family values—God comes • 25-33—Newbies, rigid
first, family second, others third, and • 33-40—Transitional, experimental
self last. • 50+—Oldies, mentors
• Biblical authority structure—The hus- (Encourage the older women to men-
band is the head of the home; the wife tor the younger. Encourage the younger
is in submission to her husband; the ones to honor those who pioneered ho-
children are obedient to both parents. meschooling. Remind them of the move-
• Parental responsibility—Education, ment’s history, where we came from,
both academic and spiritual, is the where we want to go.)
parents’ God-given responsibility.
• Christian worldview—We hold and Marital state
promote a Christian perspective on • Married moms who work part-time
life and education. • Married stay-at-home moms
• Single moms
Core Qualities • Divorced moms
Integrity—We are who we say we are
even when no one else is watching. Educational background
Empathy—We come alongside ho- • The majority have at least a bach-
meschoolers, encouraging and sharing as elor’s degree.
fellow homeschoolers, without judging or • Thirteen percent have doctorate
condemning. degrees.
Transparency—We’ve been where they
are and we’ve learned from our mistakes.
d Gizmos Galore!
ology: Gadgets an
Inclusivity—We are inclusive in meth- Educational Techn Celebrating 10 Years

To advance the cause of Christ by odology and curriculum, without compro- ®

mising our biblical stand.

strengthening homeschool families Non-Political approach—We avoid po-
spiritually and academically. litical topics unless they relate to the clear
How to Become a
teaching of Scripture.
Backpacking
Core Beliefs
1. Homeschooling is not just a choice; What Is Lifestyle Learning?
oybto o
Rhwa tics: Chef
Pat Fun, Teamwork,
it is a conviction. The Learning Lifestyle and Creativity
2. Public schools pursue a godless pur-
pose and agenda. Christian parents
• Involves the whole family. ling
HomeschooFie
• Emphasizes raising children in the Grammar ld
on the Mission
need to be lovingly warned about
the dangers of the public education
fear of the Lord.
• Instills godly character and integrity Rules
We Just Can’t Live Witho
ut

system. in the children.

Y u m m y M at h :
3. Homeschooling allows parents to Physics Class in

1
• Promotes and strengthens a child’s My Homeschool?
exercise their God-given respon- relationship to God.
sibility to educate their children • Provides quality education for chil- Lessons in the Kitchen
ry!
spiritually and academically. dren. Captivating Chemist
4. Homeschooling strengthens fami- • Does not have to be formal. way he should go and
when he is old,
Train up a child in the Proverbs 22:6
lies, ultimately strengthening the • Uses many different methods. he will not depart from
it.

body of Christ. • Addresses a variety of learning styles.

5. Homeschooling is a venue to impact
the world for Christ.

100
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©2011,The
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Magazine www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
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 Financial state • Reassure homeschoolers that they are
• Middle-class not alone.
• Average income $60,000 a year • Demonstrate that our transparency
and sincerity by avoiding a know-it-
Family size all or dictatorial tone.
• Varying number of children (3-5 • Legitimize homeschooling.
average) • Reinforce the vision of homeschool-
• Wide age range (often kindergarten to ing.
high school) • Encourage home educators to be per-
sistent, rekindling their commitment.
Geographic location • Give a sense of camaraderie/com-
• Across the nation munity.
• Houses and apartments • Be practical for the family—relational
as well as educational.
Religion • Offer help for special needs learners.
• Mostly nominal Christians • Introduce and evaluate homeschool
• Growing number of non-Christians vendors/products.
• Provide a platform for homeschool
Value in the Market experts and everyday homeschool
Homeschooling moms are frugal about educators.  and everyday home educators all over
their purchases and may view TOS Maga-
zine as a luxury rather than a necessity. But Positioning
they will spend money on what they feel is • Remember that the customer’s initial
a priority/must-have item. We need to be at perception of our company is her
the top of the list of homeschooling neces- reality.  • We aggressively pursue and partner
sities. We need to prove our value. • Answer their “pain” through the
To be valued in the market, TOS must: magazine, e-blasts, newsletters, etc.
• Provide immediate access to relevant • Control the market by creating a
ideas, advice, and resources. unique system with our own vocabu-
A Walk Down Me
lary.
mory Lane: The
History of the Hom
eschool Movem
ent
• Position TOS as the intentional first
Celebrat
ing 10 Yea
choice.
rs
® • Learn from successful companies,
services, and products like Heinz,
Charlotte Mason
• How do I get started?
• Where do I look for resources?
• What materials should I use?
• How can I manage the household,
teach my kids, help my husband
financially, and still keep my devo-
tional life vibrant?
Our Place in the Market
How are we unique?
• We don’t tell them how to home-
school. We provide information about
a wide range of methods and teaching
styles.
• We provide the most up-to-date
research and statistics.
• We have the largest homeschool blog
in the world.
• We have staff and writers, experts
the world to provide many diverse
perspectives.
• We have high-quality, well-designed
print products with solid content.
with the homeschool market.
• We have a website, blog, magazine,
e-blasts, message boards, conferences,
The Schoolhouse Store, e-newsletters,
partnering promotions, and more.
 
Competition in the Market
Our competition is not just other home-
school magazines. It is any person or place

&
Google, and Aspirin. where customers go to meet their “pain.”
a Relaxed Homeschoo
l
The
Art
of Letter Writin
g
The Pain in the Market • Other homeschoolers
Lapbooking What are they thinking? • Friends
Our Way to • I’m disorganized. • Church
Horses! • I’m not educated enough; I need more • Support Groups

17
From training. • Conventions
Grocer • I’m inadequate. • Google
to
Grace • I’m always being criticized by friends • Libraries
Reforming and family. • Vender partners’ websites
the Picky Eater

Ways to Connect • My children don’t get along.

• I have a strong-willed/problem child.
• Blogs

With Literature • How will I every get it all done?

Homeschooling the
Special Needs Ch
• I never have enough time alone.
Train up a child in ild • I wish I could spend more time with
the way he should
he will not depart go and when he is
from it. old,
Proverbs 22:6 my husband.

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 Statement of Faith
From The Old Schoolhouse & Paul and Gena Suarez
Jesus Christ, the Word is God, God the Father is God.
The Holy Spirit is God.
There are no gods but one God.
We believe in God the Father, who is the
Maker of the heavens and the earth; and in
Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord. Jesus
Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
and was born of a virgin, Mary. He min-
istered to many during His ministry, never
once sinning. He suffered tremendously
under Pontius Pilate, was crucified on a
cross, died, was buried (descending into
Hades at that time), and then ROSE again
on the third day, from the dead! After ris-
ing, which shocked and amazed many wit-
nesses, causing them to worship Him and
acknowledge Him as God in the flesh, Je-
sus ascended into Heaven, where He sits
at the right hand of God the Father. Back
to Earth He shall come again, to judge the
living and the dead.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, one holy
Christian church, the communion of all
true saints, the forgiveness of sins, the
resurrection of the body, and the eternal
(never-ending) gift of life.
We believe that the Bible is the ONLY
inerrant Word of God. In it, we can find all
instructions in righteousness, holiness and
faith. It is our authoritative “handbook” for
Christian living . . . the ONLY book that is
necessary for our faith.
We believe that there is one God, eternal-
ly existent in three persons: Father, Son and
Holy Spirit. This ONE God is omnipotent,
omnipresent and omniscient. This God is
also holy, righteous, good, loving and full
of mercy, by character. He is the Creator of
all things. He sustains all things.
We believe that Jesus Christ, Who is our
Lord God, is fully God, yet fully man. Only
through Jesus Christ can man find redemp-
tion and have eternal life. Without Jesus
Christ, man cannot find eternal life but will
spend eternity apart from God, in suffering.
102
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©2011,The
TheOld
OldSchoolhouse®
Schoolhouse®Magazine
Magazine
This eternal life with God is freely given of
God but must be accessed His way, which
is through His son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
We believe in the full deity of the Holy
Spirit, and acknowledge His role as God,
in creation and in redemption and, very
importantly, as our Comforter. The present
ministry of the Holy Spirit, among many
things, is to indwell in the Christian, en-
abling him to live a Godly life.
We believe that man is in rebellion
against God because of Adam’s sin. Man’s
very nature is evil and all are bound for hell,
a place of eternal darkness and torment,
unless the Father calls him. For salvation
of any man, regeneration by the Holy Spirit
is absolutely necessary. We are made righ-
teous by God, through faith in Him, and
although faith without works is dead, it is
faith ALONE which brings salvation.
We believe in the resurrection of both
the saved and the lost, those who are saved
to the resurrection of life, and those who
are lost to the resurrection of damnation.
We believe that at the perfect time in
history, God chose to reveal Himself and
to declare His will to His Church. After-
wards, for the purpose of preserving and
propagating the truth, and for the more
certain establishment and comfort of the
Church against corruption, and the malice
of Satan and of the world, it pleased Him
to commit this revealed will to the written
word. We can approach the Word of God
as the source of truth about the gospel of
Jesus Christ.
The Holy Scripture (the Bible or the
Word) consists of all of the books of the
Old and New Testaments, which are Gene-
sis through Malachi, and Matthew through
Revelation, respectively. Each and every
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one of these books is given by inspiration
of God, to be the rule of faith and life.
There are several books, commonly
called the Apocrypha, which are not of
divine inspiration and are no part of the
canon of Scripture. Therefore, they can not
be used as an authority from which to draw
from in the Church of God. They are not
to be more esteemed, or made use of, than
any other works of printed materials.
The authority of the Bible does not de-
pend on the testimony or tradition of any
man or church, but entirely upon God, who
is Truth itself, and the Author of truth. It
is therefore to be received as the highest
authority, and can be depended on fully,
without any supplementation. It is the di-
vinely inspired Word of God.
The whole counsel of God, concern-
ing all things necessary for God’s glory,
man’s salvation, faith and life, is either
expressly set down in Scripture or may be
deduced from Scripture. Nothing what-
soever is to be added to this, whether by
“new revelations” of the Spirit or by the
traditions of man.
The infallible rule of interpretation of
Scripture is the Scripture itself. Therefore,
when there is a question or misunderstand-
ing about the true and full sense of any pas-
sage in the Bible, it must be searched and
known by other places in God’s Word that
speak more clearly, always considering
Biblical context.
We believe that there is one living and
true God. He is infinite, perfect, pure. He is
the Rewarder of those who diligently seek
Him. He is most just in His judgments, hat-
ing all sin, and He will by no means clear
the guilty. God is loving, gracious, merci-
ful, patient, abundant in goodness and truth.

He forgives sin, but there is only One way
He will forgive sin, only One—through
His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, Who sacri-
ficed Himself on the cross for His Church.
Many men say their ways “seem” right,
but in God’s holy Word, we find what God
Himself requires for the forgiveness of our
sins, and eternal life with Him.
God has all life, glory, goodness, bless-
edness, in and of Himself. He is not in
need of any creatures which He has made.
He has most sovereign dominion over all
creatures—over them, to do by them, for
them and upon them. He does what He
pleases, and nothing to Him is contingent
or uncertain. He is most holy in His coun-
sels, His works and in all His commands.
To Him, and Him alone is due from angels
and mankind, and any other creature, what-
ever worship, service or obedience He is
pleased to require of them.
Please send us a note if you would like
more information on spending eternity
with God . . . Click Here.
e ss & Entre p
s in
TOS
u
s ch o o l B
e
om
A
P S
H O
S S
E A D
2011
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www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
As our Statement of Faith presents, TOS is a Christian
(protestant) company. We have gathered many businesses
of all sizes for the Homeschool Business & Entrepreneur
Directory, but in doing so, we have utilized Facebook,
word-of-mouth, and other Christian homeschool
businesses to spread the word of our existence and desire
to provide this listing of resources for homeschoolers.
We have asked that businesses choosing to join us be in
support of homeschooling, even if they are not actively
homeschooling themselves, and many are likely to be
of a likeminded biblical worldview as well, but some
may not be. The Homeschool Business & Entrepreneur
Directory accepts all subscriptions for listings, subject
only to editorial criteria concerning inappropriate
or offensive language. A listing does not imply any
evaluation or endorsement of any listed business by
the publisher of the Directory, so we urge users to be
diligent in thoroughly browsing websites, reading
“About Us” pages where appropriate, and determining
the suitability of any business in regard to a personal
worldview. Our hope is that all of our readers find the
salvation in Jesus Christ that has so incredibly blessed
our lives, and that homeschools grow closer to God as
families learn together.
Welcome, to the
Homeschool Business &
Entrepreneur Directory of
business listings ready
to do business with
re
the homeschooling
neu
community!
r Direct
or
y
S
E
©2011,
©2011,The
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OldSchoolhouse®
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 Ar ts & Cr af ts - Chr is tian / Bible S tudy

Arts & Crafts Business &

__________________________________
ArtiSands
ArtiSands sand art is fun for all ages and
abilities! All of our kits come with colorfast,
nontoxic sand in a beautiful array of colors
and a wide variety of patterns.
(866) 950-SAND
www.artisands.com
__________________________________
Hygloss Products
From teaching supplies to craft supplies,
Hygloss has been bringing you creative
products for art and education since
1950! Check out our science, craft, and
classroom kits!
(800) 444-9456
www.HyglossProducts.com
Resources for Homeschooling Families
__________________________________
Shirley’s Prepackaged Crafts
Unique monthly craft subscription for
preschoolers. Everything needed to
complete crafts comes delivered to your
door in a box. Monthly, quarterly and school
year subscriptions.
(763) 682-4894
www.ShirleysPrepackagedCrafts.com
Spears Art Studio, Inc.
ART MAKES LEARNING FUN! Teach your
children art from a biblical worldview
Economics
__________________________________
Micro Business for Teens
Start a micro business, a very small,
one-person business, with what you
already know or own and without debt!
Students learn about business, money,
and themselves.
Carol@MicroBusinessForTeens.com
MicroBusinessForTeens.com
__________________________________
Professor in a Box, LLC
Professor in a Box markets business
courses (Financial Accounting, Principles
of Marketing, Entrepreneurship)
featuring lectures by college professors
to homeschooled students, students

__________________________________
Punkydoodles – Die-Cut Paper
Shapes
Punkydoodles—colorful, die-cut paper
shapes—can make any lesson more exciting
or interesting! Use alone or with crayons,
stickers, glue, glitter, paint. Three sizes to
help meet your objectives!
(800) 428-8688
www.punkydoodles.com
__________________________________
with the Spears Art Studio K–8 teacher’s preparing for CLEP exams, and small-
manual and high school art survey (Art business owners.
1 equivalent) student manual. Covers www.professorinabox.com
art/design elements, art principles; __________________________________
rich in interdisciplinary, historical,
and contemporary art connections;
FREE ART LESSONS, and much more.
spearsartstudio@wildblue.net
Business Services
(830) 612-2585 & Support
www.spearsartstudio.com/
curricintro.html

Baby & Toddler

__________________________________
Angelsong Creations, LLC
Want to give your baby or toddler an
advanced foundation for future learning?
Check out MommyJingles.com—a new
kind of baby music class. Use Coupon Code
“OldSchool” and save $100.
MommyJingles.com
__________________________________
Frogmama
Great Baby Carriers and More! Helping
you find the best baby carrier for you and
your child. A huge selection of baby and
toddler carriers.
(530) 921-8855
www.frogmama.com
__________________________________
Intellectual Baby
Entertaining and educational products
created to help parents teach their babies
to read. MonkiSee DVDs, flash cards, books
and more are designed for children from 3
months–3 years old.
_ (877) 505-5079
www.intellbaby.com
__________________________________

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 Ar ts & Cr af ts - Chris tian / Bible S tudy
__________________________________
Christian Work at Home Moms PhonicBooks
CWAHM provides job listings, business
information, spiritual encouragement, and
thousands of other resources for Christians Small, successful publishing company,
who desire to work from home. specialising in phonic reading books
for beginner and reluctant readers, is
contact@CWAHM.com looking for a distributor in the USA for
CWAHM.com the home education and schools market.
__________________________________ Our books are used in 4,000 UK schools,
approved by British Department of
Education, and selling in 23 countries
worldwide.
www.phonicbooks.co.uk
_______________________________
Start a Preschool
Learn how to make an extra $500, $1,000,
even $4,000/month while teaching
preschool with your  children. Business
training materials & pre-made activity-rich
curriculum help homeschooling families
start teaching preschool right away!
joy@startapreschool.com
www.startapreschool.com/
homeschool
__________________________________
Christian / Bible
Study
Alpha USA – Youth Alpha
Youth Alpha is a dynamic, practical
introduction to the Christian faith for
11- to 18-year-olds. The course runs
__________________________________ over 10 weeks in all main Christian
denominations (Catholic to Protestant).
How Do You Do It All? Balance Family Fifteen sessions cover topics, including
Life and Home Business these: “Who is Jesus?” and “How can we
Mary Jo Tate, entrepreneur and single
have faith?” and “How does God guide
homeschooling mom of four sons, helps us?” Email: youthalpha@alphausa.org.
you move past the juggling act and find
balance so you, your family, and your (800) DO ALPHA
business can flourish. (362 5742)
www.HowDoYouDoItAll.com www.alphausa.org/youthalpha
__________________________________
& Entr
__________________________________
ss ep
in e Apologia Educational Ministries, Inc.
s __________________________________
TOS
Products, resources, and services that help
re
e s ch o o l B u
neu
homeschool families learn, live, and defend
the Christian faith. We publish Christian
r Direct
worldview & science curriculum, including
the award-winning, creation-based science
curriculum for grades K–12.
om
(888) 524-4724
or
A
P S y
O S
H S S E
E A D
www.Apologia.com
2011 __________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
__________________________________
CBH Ministries (AKA Children’s Bible
Hour)
An international Christian ministry based on
the Gospel of Jesus Christ, CBH Ministries
produces and distributes excellent media
resources to evangelize and disciple kids
and their families.
(616) 647-4500
www.CBHMinistries.org
__________________________________
Deeper Roots
Our exciting Jr. & Sr. High Bible
Curriculum can move your student
from Bible knowledge to spiritual
APPLICATION!  Download FREE sample
portions of these  practical studies to help
your student grow spiritually.
(407) 797-8557
Resources for Homeschooling Families
www.DeeperRoots.com
__________________________________
Landry Academy
Landry Academy offers Christ-centered
online classes and academic summer camps
for homeschooled students.
www.LandryAcademy.com
See Display Ad on Next Page
__________________________________
RainBeforeTheReign.com
Rain Before the Reign—free audio and
video Christian short stories.
www.RainBeforeTheReign.com
__________________________________
Tale2k
Heather Kendall’s nonfiction book, A Tale of
Two Kingdoms, traces the Christ-centered
storyline of the Bible. It includes maps,
index, timeline, and Points to Ponder.
Suitable for teenagers and adults.
(705) 456-7925
www.tale2k.com
__________________________________
The Trinity Foundation
We offer quality Intellectual Ammunition
in theology, apologetics, philosophy,
education, economics, and logic. Hundreds
of articles and audio lectures available for
free download. Age group: high school and
college.
(423) 743-0199
www.trinityfoundation.org
Truth Publishers
Home school bible study course, 25
lessons, fundamental, premillenial, baptist,
textbook, Path to Truth and Freedom,
teacher’s guide, student workbook. $25ppd.
Helpful resources.
(864) 268-5121
www.truthpublishers.com
__________________________________
105
Resources for Homeschooling Families C ategory

www.LandryAcademy.com
106 ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
 Cl assic al Educ ation - College & C areer Pl anning

Classical __________________________________ College & Career

Education
__________________________________
Classical Academic Press
Classical Subjects Creatively Taught:
Latin, logic, Spanish, Greek, and Bible
taught clearly and creatively with texts,
DVDs, games and more.
(866) 730-0711
www.ClassicalAcademicPress.com
__________________________________ __________________________________
The Foundation for American
Christian Education
Publishes classical Christian curriculum
and resources based on the Principle
Approach®–This method of learning
produces a Christian worldview through
reflective thinking and reasoning based on
biblical principles.
(800) 352-3223
www.Face.net
Memoria Press
The place to come for your classical/
Christian curriculum. Home of Latina
Christiana, Traditional Logic, Famous Men
history books, and much more! Check out
our K-2nd curriculum packages; 3rd-6th
coming soon!
Planning
__________________________________
Career Coaching for Students™ by
Success Discoveries
Personal Leadership, Career and College
Planning Program provides clear steps a
student can take to identify and evaluate
career and educational options; includes
student binder, assessments, web
resources and much more.
(972) 346-2892
www.careercoachingforstudents.net
__________________________________
College Prep Genius
Get FREE college, raise your SAT score as
much as 600 points, and go to the college
of your choice! Learn how thousands

Resources for Homeschooling Families

of homeschoolers have earned huge
(877) 862-1097 scholarships!
www.MemoriaPress.com
__________________________________ (817) 282-PREP (7737)
www.CollegePrepGenius.com
Peace Hill Press __________________________________
We publish classically-oriented history and _
language arts materials for parents, teachers,
and K-12 students. Our materials bring
traditional teaching methods up to date,
giving you the tools for excellent education.
(877) 322-34445
PeaceHillPress.com
__________________________________

Clothing &
Fashion
Homeschool Mania

__________________________________
Easy Classical
Easy Classical provides resources for
homeschool families who desire to teach
classically. We offer schedules, writing
guides, copybooks, and geography
curriculum all integrated for ease of use
and increased retention.
www.easyclassical.com
__________________________________
Show your homeschool pride with
the original homeschool company.
Professionally silkscreened and
embroidered products. Anvil, Bella,
Lat, Next Level, and other high-quality
products with fast shipping! Homeschool
Rocks, Homeschool mom, Extreme
homeschooler, Leave a Legacy, Pay it
Forward etc. Shirts, canvas bags, Nalgene
BPA-free water bottles, hats, magnets,
etc.
(704) 562-7130
www.homeschoolmania.com

www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine 107

 College & C areer Pl anning - Computers & technology
__________________________________
Homeschool Psych: Preparing
Christian Homeschool Students for
Psychology 101
Psych 101 is required in college. It will
challenge your child’s worldview. Many walk
away from their faith in college. Prepare
your students before they leave home.
HomeschoolPsych.com
See Display Ad on Previous Page
__________________________________
Colleges &
Universities
__________________________________
Alaska Bible College
Through biblical study, academic
Resources for Homeschooling Families
__________________________________
Crandall University
“Crandall University provides opportunities
for students and professors to have genuine
relationship as they pursue knowledge
and skills that can lead to flourishing and
transformed lives.” ~ Dr. Goodwin, History
laura.martin@crandallu.ca
(888) 968-6228
www.crandallu.ca
__________________________________
Eastern Nazarene College
Christian community passionately
committed to academic rigor, personal
growth, and spiritual development.
Students represent 30 denominations, 26
states, and 29 nations. Located minutes
from Boston & blocks from the beach.
Admissions@enc.edu
(800) 88ENC88
__________________________________
Troy University
Students earn high school and college
credit simultaneously with Troy University’s
online ACCELERATE program.  Be amazed
at what you can accomplish when put in
control of your own learning environment!
(334) 670-5876
www.Troy.edu/ecampus
__________________________________
Computers &
Technology
__________________________________
Christian Keyboarding
Are your students typing exercises
that don’t match your values? Christian

excellence, and hands-on ministry, Alaska
Bible College can equip you to be a leader
in missions and ministry.
www.akbible.edu
__________________________________
Augustine College
A one-year college in Ottawa, Ontario,
where the enduring questions of human
life can again be studied at the level they
deserve and against the background of the
Christian story.
(613) 237-9870
www.augustingcollege.org
__________________________________
Baker University
Baker University is a small, private, liberal
arts school in Baldwin City, Kansas. Baker
prides itself on its excellent faculty-student
collaboration and ability to prepare
students for the workforce.
admission@bakeru.edu
www.BakerU.edu
__________________________________
Bryan College
Bryan College is a Christian college in
Tennessee that offers nearly 40 different
fields of study. Bryan also offers accredited,
online, dual enrollment courses taught from
a Christian perspective.
www.Bryan.edu
__________________________________
College at Southwestern
The College at Southwestern provides
conservative theological programs in
the history of Western thought, missions,
education, homemaking, biblical studies,
and music.
(800) SWBTS-01
www.swbts.edu
__________________________________
Keyboarding products teach valuable and
www.enc.edu necessary computer skills while instilling
__________________________________ Christian values. No games. Real touch
typing techniques.
Ecclesia College
On campus or online, Ecclesia College (800) 559-2154
offers private, affordable, Christ-centered www.ChristianKeyboarding.com
higher education with Christian service and __________________________________
international travel opportunities and real-
world work experience for life after college.
(479) 248-7236
www.ecollege.edu
__________________________________
LeTourneau University
Did you know that almost one-fifth of
the current traditional student body at
LeTourneau University were home schooled
for their high school experience. Contact
Barnabas Bridgman at Admissions@Letu.Edu.
(903) 233-4336
www.Letu.Edu
__________________________________
Noah Webster College
Noah Webster College is a liberal arts
Christian leadership college located in
Albuquerque, New Mexico.  Strengthen
the defense of your faith and sharpen your
Biblical worldview at Noah Webster College.
NWebsterCollege@msn.com
__________________________________
Taylor University Online
Taylor University Online extends the
mission—advancing lifelong learning and
ministering Christ’s love—from the campus
located in Upland, Indiana. The online
courses and programs are Christ-centered,
academically excellent, and flexible.
online@taylor.edu
www.taylor.edu/online
__________________________________

108 ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory

 COMPUTERS & T echnology - cross- curricul ar products
__________________________________
Keyboard Town Pals
Revolutionary method teaches kids to
type on a computer keyboard. One hour
interactive stand-alone video uses puppets,
humor, music, and stories. Enter coupon
code KINUS 12 for a $10.00 discount.
(866) 200-8881
www.KeyboardTownPals.com
__________________________________
ScreenRetriever
ScreenRetriever provides parents with live
supervision of their children’s computer
activity, with their children’s knowledge,
so parents can teach safe, appropriate, and
responsible online behavior! Also has a
recording feature!
www.ScreenRetriever.com
See Display Ad on the Previous Page
__________________________________
Cooking &
Nutrition
__________________________________
Growing Healthy Homes LLC
We honor God by creating and distributing
products that educate and empower
His children to establish healthy, Christ-
centered homes.
(918) 841-2934
GrowingHealthyHomes.com
__________________________________
Wheat-N-Things
Provides home bakers with great quality
organic and GMO-free grains, bread making
supplies, Nutrimills, and Bosch mixers.
(502) 437-9396
www.Wheat-N-Things.com
__________________________________
Critical Thinking
__________________________________
The Critical Thinking Co.
Award-winning homeschool curriculum!
We guarantee our critical thinking infused
educational books and software will
produce better grades and higher test
scores—or your money back!
(800) 458-4849
www.CriticalThinking.com
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
__________________________________
My Tiny Planets
Learning is fun in the Tiny Planet’s Universe
with Bing and Bong. We engage young
children as they explore math, science, and
personal development with books, videos,
and online games.
Contact@MyTinyPlanets.com
www.TinyPlanets.com
__________________________________
Cross-Curricular
Products
__________________________________
A Beginning Advantage /
A Reason For
New homeschool distributor provides
parent resources and K–8th curricula,
always featuring scriptural values,
hands-on activities, and differentiated
instruction options. They carry all A Reason
For . . . curricula.
(877) 481-1122
www.ABeginningAdvantage.com
__________________________________
AIMS Education Foundation
AIMS Education Foundation develops
engaging, hands-on activities that build
students’ conceptual understanding of
math and science. We make learning fun,
instill curiosity, and motivate thinking.
(888) 733-2467
www.aimsedu.org
See Display Ad on Next Page
__________________________________
Bright Ideas Press
Bright Ideas Press provides practical,
fun, and affordable curriculum covering
geography, history, science, and literature.
We publish such titles as The Mystery of
History and Christian Kids Explore Science.
(877) 492-8081
BrightIdeasPress.com
__________________________________
Founders Academy
You’ve got a challenge. We’ve got a
solution! Get your student to graduate with
our homeschool courses online. Featuring
Economics, U.S. Government, and History
courses for middle and high school.
FoundersAcademy@ymail.com
www.FoundersAcademy.net
__________________________________
©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
__________________________________
Gentle Shepherd
A homeschool curriculum e-business with
a variety of unique materials: writing and
artwork pages, typing curriculum, special
preschool materials, and more! Easy to use,
creative, and fun!
(360) 798-6572
www.gentleshepherd.biz
__________________________________
Kid Scoop
Kid Scoop believes learning is fun! We
create interdisciplinary learning packets
on fascinating topics. Students enjoy the
illuminating puzzles and games while they
absorb the knowledge.
(707) 996-6077
www.kidscoop.com
__________________________________
Resources for Homeschooling Families
Knight’s Book Knook
Knight’s Book Knook is a home-based,
homeschooling-family business.
Check out our great prices on creation-
based curriculum, including: Apologia
Educational Ministries, Considering God’s
Creation, models, dissection specimens
and tools, microscopes & lab equipment,
experiments, botany, biology, chemistry,
geology, general science, physical
science, physics, zoology, and more . . .
(229) 776-8823
www.knightsbookknook.net
__________________________________
The Learning Expressway
Educational resources to supplement
language arts and mathematics for grades
PreK–8. Use code hs15 for 15% off of total
price at checkout.
www.thelearningexpressway.com
__________________________________
Rainbow Resource Center, Inc.
We offer over 40,000 homeschooling and
educational products, most at discount
prices.  Have questions?  Contact one of our
homeschool consultants, available to help
you at no charge. info@RainbowResource.
com
(888) 841-3456
www.RainbowResource.com
__________________________________
109
 cross- curricul ar produc ts

ADD MORE “AHA” MOMENTS

TM

to your math and science teaching

AIMS is a non-profit
foundation dedicated to
helping you give your students
a solid conceptual understanding
of math and science.
Resources for Homeschooling Families

AIMS Activity Books for Grades K-9

• Engaging, easy-to-use activities

• Real-world investigations provide meaningful

math and science supplements

• Includes student pages, teacher instructions,

and background information

• Required materials are easily available

• $18.95-$24.95

We’re driven by passion, not profit. We have the luxury of doing what’s best for students.
And we never tire of helping students experience the joy of learning. Try AIMS!
Engaging, Affordable, and Easy to Use!
Visit our website at aimsedu.org or call us at 888.733.2467

110 ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory

 cross- curricul ar produc ts - fine ar ts, music & dr ama
__________________________________
Steps4Kids, LLC
Award-winning instructional DVDs to
teach printing, cursive, math and more!
Awards include: Classroom “Media of the
Year,” “DVD of the Year,” “Double Star”
endorsement and more! Made in USA.
(800) 757-1702, x10
www.Steps4Kids.com
__________________________________
SynHeme Inc.
Used in schools across the country, these
decks of playing cards offer up-to-date
information on a variety of subjects from
the Periodic Table of Elements to the human
skeleton & geometry.
www.synheme.com
__________________________________
Family &
__________________________________ __________________________________
The Confetti Company, A Division of Images Press
Sandcastle Publishing, LLC Images Press publishes children’s books
At the Confetti Company, you’ll find with songs and read-alongs, Readers’
our products educational, entertaining, Theater scripts, and YouTube demos. Turn
and alive with the voices of children, reading into acting.
while promoting kids’ literacy, character
education, positive behavior, family (650) 948-8251
relationships, and self-awareness. www.images-press.com
__________________________________
(800) 891-4204
www.JustForKidsBookstore.com
__________________________________
Family Discipleship Ministries, Inc.
Bradrick Family favorite resources for
understanding the God of the Bible,
discipling our children in His Word and
ways, family Bible study, homeschooling,
learning practical skills, etc. Books, CDs,
DVDs.
FamilyDiscipleshipMin@gmail.com

Resources for Homeschooling Families

www.FamilyDiscipleshipMin.com
Relationships
__________________________________
Love Your Husband/Love Yourself
Don’t let homeschooling your kids cause
you to neglect their father. Attending to
your husband’s needs will benefit you both
in more ways than you ever imagined.
PrescottPublishing.org/Books/
Books-Love-Your-Husband
__________________________________
No Greater Joy Ministries
See Display Ad on Next Page
__________________________________
The Spirit of Elijah Ministries
International
The Spirit of Elijah Ministries International
was founded by Norm Wakefield with
the vision of equipping men to lead their
families by applying the gospel to life’s
situations and relationships.
(830) 980-5606 Lisle Violin Shop
www.SpiritofElijah.com Lisle Violin Shop specializes in stringed
__________________________________ instrument rentals, sales, repairs, and
restorations. We offer flexible and

Fine Arts, Music &

affordable rental programs with free
shipping to you, anywhere in the U.S.

Drama (800) 545-4753

__________________________________
The Five Fathers of Music
A complete music history program about
Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, and
Gershwin, using visual, auditory, and hands-
on learning. Perfect for reading age up to
8th grade. info@cntcreations.com
(972) 827-5333
www.cntcreations.com
__________________________________
www.Violins.com
__________________________________
The Master’s Academy of Fine Arts
The Master’s Academy of Fine Arts is the
pioneer and leader in fine arts education
from a historical perspective, with a 20-year
history in the homeschool community.
vivian@mafa.net
www.reclaimrestorerelease.com
__________________________________

www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine 111

 Become an NGJ Distributor!
C ategory

You may think about “changing the world” but then drop the idea
as too big and impossible. NGJ would like to encourage you to just try
“changing your world” and the lives that you touch by becoming a NGJ
Distributor. Whether it is evangelism, ministering to families or provid-
ing sound doctrinal teaching, NGJ has the materials to help “change your
world” by witnessing to the lost and ministering to the hurt and needy.
Becoming a Distributor is also an excellent opportunity for entrepreneurs
to start a business or teach your children business principles. Learn more
about partnering with NGJ and becoming a Distributor. Check it out
today and take the first step to making a difference in “your” world.
After reviewing our website, call Chuck Joyner at 931-593-3115 or
email to answer your questions or to sign up for the program.
Resources for Homeschooling Families

Available upon request:
• Your complete contact information on our website.
You provide the text and NGJ will do the rest.
• A listing of homeschool conventions in your area.
Homeschool conventions are usually from February
to August each year.
• Images and product descriptions for you to use on
your website or advertising.
• Ten FREE Reports including: Quick Start Guide,
Marketing & Sales Strategies, The Basics of a Busi-
ness Plan, and more.
• Advance notification on new products and special

Best Sellers
discounts for distributors only.

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Call toll-free M-F 8 am - 5 pm CST • 1-866-292-9936 • NoGreaterJoy.org

112 ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory


Wholesome Plays
Bring creativity, enthusiasm to your
students while strengthening skills and
self-confidence! Fun, easy-to-stage plays
and theatrical textbooks. On stage or in the
audience, everyone benefits from putting
on a show!
(866) 333-8215
WholesomePlays.com
__________________________________
Foreign Language
__________________________________
Armfield Academic Press
Armfield Academic Press is the publisher
of user-friendly language books such as
Getting Started With Latin and Getting
Started With Spanish, which are designed
especially for homeschool families.
www.ArmfieldAcademicPress.com
__________________________________
Carmenta Online Latin School
An online live audio/video Latin course
stressing grammar and the use of Latin in
conversation.
www.CarmentaLatin.com
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
fine ar ts, music & dr ama - fun & games
__________________________________
Greek ‘n’ Stuff
Learn a Greek letter, Greek word, and Latin
word monthly. Hey, Andrew! Teach Me
Some Greek!—biblical Greek. Latin’s Not
So Tough!—classical Latin. Alone With God
Bible studies.
karen@greeknstuff.com
www.greeknstuff.com
__________________________________
Professor Toto Language
Education Series
The Language Workshop for Children
Professor Toto is the award-winning
animation to teach French, Spanish,
German, Mandarin Chinese, or Italian to
kids 2-8 with The Language Workshop
for Children’s renowned method.
(877) 444-9595
www.ProfessorToto.com
Full Curriculum
__________________________________
Design-A-Study!
Affordable, award-winning, K–12 materials
that equip parents to teach effectively while
allowing the flexibility to meet each child’s
learning needs.
kathryn@designastudy.com
www.designastudy.com
__________________________________
Home Educator’s Resource
We sell new and used curriculum. Ship all
over the U.S. – $4.00 for up to 5 pounds
of books. We offer online classes to fit any
family budget.
(972) 956-8320
www.homeeducatorsresource.com
__________________________________
Lighthouse Christian Academy
Has been helping homeschool parents
successfully educate their children for
over 30 years. For a FREE information
packet, visit www.aceministries.com/
thisoldschoolhouse or call 1-866-308-2195.
(866) 308-2195
www.aceministries.com
__________________________________
©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
__________________________________
Pearson Homeschool
Flexible, affordable curriculum programs
to provide your child the rich, rounded
education you want for him (from the
publisher of Sing, Spell, Read, & Write;
Plaid Phonics; MCP Math).
Gary.Taylor@Pearson.com
www.PearsonHomeschool.com
__________________________________
Sonlight Curriculum
Give your children a lifelong love of
learning and explore the world together
as a family. Sonlight Curriculum provides
literature-rich Christian homeschool
curriculum for PreK–12.
(303) 730-6292
www.sonlight.com
__________________________________
Resources for Homeschooling Families
Fun & Games
__________________________________
AreYouGame.com
AreYouGame.com boasts a wonderfully
wide selection of educational games,
science kits, brainteasers, jigsaw puzzles,
craft kits and more! Free Shipping on
orders over $75; enter Promo Code:
OSMFREESHIP75 at checkout.
www.AreYouGame.com
__________________________________
Around the Table Games
Award-winning portable conversation
games designed to connect today’s
busy families and youth through fun,
enlightening verbal conversation! NO TECH
. . . JUST TALK!
(314) 374-4878
www.AroundTheTableGames.com
__________________________________
Ballpark Classics
Ballpark Classics brings friends and
families together for great old-school
quality gameplay. Gravity, physics,
and fun combine to create an amazing
baseball experience. Needs no batteries or
electricity. Email: info@ballparkclassics.com
(877) WILD-PITCH
www.BallparkClassics.com
__________________________________
FamilyTimeFun
FamilyTimeFun offers a collection of
educational dinner games for families to
play while they eat. These games open up
lively conversation and add lots of fun to
family meals.
(508) 346-3844
www.FTFGames.com
See Display Ad on Next Page
__________________________________
113
 fun & games
__________________________________
Noodle Head, Inc.
Noodle Head is dedicated to creating toys
that foster imagination, creativity and fun.
Our Pawparazzi® pets, Jelly Flyers® flying
discs, and Creative Kits encourage kids to
get out and play!
(866) 892-7311
www.noodleheadfun.com
__________________________________
R&R Games, Inc.
Publishers of an extensive line of award-
winning games and toys that are great for
families and friends of all ages.
(888) 874-3353
www.rnrgames.com
__________________________________
Shape the World, LLC
Resources for Homeschooling Families

Imagination and simple shapes are

combined to create images of objects in
the world around us, providing economical,
customizable, intergenerational play, with
no drawing skills required. It’s more than a
game!
(919) 961-0020
www.shapetheworld.com
__________________________________

__________________________________
Frontier General Store
Old-Fashioned Toys for Old-Fashioned Girls
and Boys. The One-Stop Cowboy Shop!
(615) 907-6993
www.frontiergeneralstore.com
__________________________________
Mrs. Pinkelmeyer, LLC
Get out and play!
Meet Mrs. Pinkelmeyer™, Silliest,
Warmest Know-It-All™, and her lovable
dog, Moopus McGlinden™. They inspire
self-esteem in children through their
love, warmth, and silliness.
(561) 368-1783 Pawparazzi
www.MrsPinkelmeyer.com
__________________________________
Mysteries of the Forest Trivia Board
Game
“Mysteries of the Forest” trivia board
game educates us, makes us aware of the
state of the world’s three main majestic Jelly Flyers
forests and also entertains families and
friends for hours.
(780) 635-2354
www.mysteriesoftheforest.com
__________________________________
Travel &
Adventure

noodleheadfun.com

114 ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory


__________________________________
Spontuneous™ Games, Inc.
Say a word and see if anyone can sing a
song with your word in it. Spontuneous™ is
the hottest new family party game on the
market! Visit www.spontuneous.com today!
(406) 380-0096
www.spontuneous.com
__________________________________
Try Out Toys
Active play like juggling can help students
be more coordinated, creative and inspire
a love of learning. Try Out Toys invites your
family to explore the world of skill toys!
play@tryouttoys.com
www.tryouttoys.com
__________________________________
Gifted Students
Homeschooling Gifted Children
Can you homeschool your gifted children?
Find out for sure in this info-packed ebook,
full of references and practical help. Know
what your next steps should be.
(270) 838-7060
homeschoolinggiftedchildren.com
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
fun & games - High school tr anscrip ts
Health & Physical
Education
__________________________________
Faithful Workouts
The ultimate fitness DVDs that combine
expert instruction, inspirational Christian
music, fun routines, & nutritional advice.
Challenging workouts for adults with
separate DVDs for kids to get their
P.E. credits.
(866) 566-0668
www.faithfulworkouts.com
__________________________________
GoTrybe
Leading-edge, physical activity and health
education tool for K–12. Build your own
workouts, learn with daily education
segments and have fun creating your own
avatar. So—get active and healthy!
info@gotrybe.com
www.gotrybe.com
__________________________________
Health & Wellness
www.SharingGreatHealth.com
You think outside the box when it
comes to education;
why not for your familyʼs health?
Use Godʼs natural plants, oils and
foods for optimum health.
Check our website to:
• Read natural wellness articles
• Join our FREE newsletter list
• Enter to receive one of ten
autographed copies of Gentle
Babies by Debra Raybern
• Listen to the conference call
series - Restoring Wellness to
the Family and more!
Debra Raybern, Christian
Naturopath, Master Herbalist,
Nutritionist, Author, Veteran Home
school mom.
oilsandherbs@yahoo.com
936-438-8829
“Beloved, I wish above all things that you
prosper and be in health, even as your
soul prospers”. III John 2
©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
__________________________________
Sharing Great Health, Inc.
Dedicated to the health of your family
naturally. Biblical nutrition principles.
Nutrition 101: Choose Life! Gentle Babies—
natural help for pregnancy and children.
Herbs and essential oils for our medicine.
(936) 438-8829
__________________________________
SO TELL ME . . . Personal Health
Organizers
Easily organize your child’s health
information on paper or computer. Keep
track of medical histories, appointments,
prescriptions, test results, and more
with the SO TELL ME . . . Personal Health
Organizers.
contact@sotellmeorganizer.com
www.sotellmeorganizer.com
__________________________________
Resources for Homeschooling Families
Vibrant Scents / Young Living
World’s best essential oils for total
family wellness. Delivered to your door;
outstanding educational support; trusted
20-year company; thousand of years used.
Science proves their effectiveness. Home
business available.
(936) 438-8829
www.debra.vibrantscents.com
__________________________________
High School &
Transcripts
__________________________________
Everyday Education, LLC / Excellence
in Literature
Visit Everyday-Education.com for articles and
resources for homeschooling through high
school (and beyond) with an emphasis on high
school literature, writing, lifestyle of learning,
non-traditional college, and home business.
jceved@comcast.net
www.Everyday-Education.com
__________________________________
My Homeschool Transcripts
My Homeschool Transcripts is a web
application that enables you to keep
track of high school classes, grades,
test scores, and achievements, and to
print official transcripts with different
formats and options. Customizable to
fit YOUR homeschool. GPA calculated
automatically, based on your grading
scale. Just one low lifetime license fee!
www.myhomeschooltranscripts.com
115
 his tory & geo gr aphy

History &
Geography
America’s Heritage -
An Adventure in Liberty
Patriotic K-12 Social Studies/
E History/Civics
F~RE
L e s s o n P l a n s ~
1. Includes elementary, elementary Spanish,
middle and high school volumes
2. Supplements and enriches all curricula
3. Emphasis on primary documents
4. Aligns content with Advanced Placement
and National Standards tests
5. May be modified or taught in segments
6. Provides activities and assessments from
group projects and simulations to
individual tasks, essays, visuals and more
Resources for Homeschooling Families
__________________________________
Diana Waring Presents Jim Hodges Audio Books
Abundant-life homeschooling
guides, world history curriculum, and
audio-recordings for the Christian
homeschooling market based on
a foundation of “Education That’s
Relational.”™ With this approach, learning
comes alive! Your children will become mentally
engaged in history by listening to Jim
(425) 397-0631
Hodges Audio Book’s unabridged
Diana@DianaWaring.com recordings of the George Alfred Henty
__________________________________ historical novels. The stories are
educational, entertaining, edifying, and
no preparation time is required from
you! Put on a CD, sit back, listen, and
_ learn history!
(405) 391-5762
jimhodgesaudiobooks.com
__________________________________

7. Develops civics skills in critical thinking,

active listening and problem solving Knowledge Quest, Inc.
8. Improves understanding of Freedom, Publishers of history and geography
Unity, Progress and Responsibility – curricula for the homeschooling
America’s key characteristics community. Their new website (www.Apps-
9. Award winning design and presentation School.com) is where parents can find, rate
10. Tested and proven to raise social studies and review the best mobile apps available
test scores
for educational use.
To Order:
www.americanheritage.org (210) 745-0203
www.KnowledgeQuestMaps.com
AN HERI __________________________________
IC T
R
E

AG
AM

E
EDU

ON
TI

A
C

TI
A

ON D
FO U N

American Heritage Education

Foundation – Claudine Kamrath

FREE patriotic lesson plans emphasize Homeschool in the Woods

America’s great national characteristics:
FREEDOM, UNITY, PROGRESS, and
RESPONSIBILITY, teaching America’s
founding principles from source
documents including the Declaration
of Independence, Constitution, and
Federalist Papers.
ahef@americanheritage.org
www.americanheritage.org
__________________________________
History resources and studies to make
learning a hands-on experience! Quality
illustrated timelines, activity studies,
lapbooks, maps, and more encourage
your child to understand history
through hands-on projects! AmyPak@
HomeschoolintheWoods.com
(585) 964-8188
www.HomeschoolintheWoods.com

116 ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory


__________________________________
Little Passports
This award-winning subscription service
for kids is your child’s ticket to global
adventure. Inspire a love of the world
as your child learns about a country’s
geography, history, and culture.
info@littlepassports.com
www.littlepassports.com
__________________________________
Roweclan Haversack
Civil War Resource Packet. Using 22 Union
and Confederate reproduction patriotic
envelopes, study questions, teacher’s
guide, and writing projects, explore politics,
culture, and personalities for hands-on
learning. $30 postpaid. cwstationeryjournal.
blogspot.com
(630) 517-4079
www.roweclanhaversack.com
__________________________________
Visual World Geography
Can you find Italy because it looks like a
boot? We help students see a world map as
landscapes of familiar objects—making all
countries easy to find and draw!
(866) VWG-7772
visualworldgeography.com
__________________________________
Homemaking &
Household
__________________________________
Econobusters.com
Molly Green is passionate about cheerful,
creative homemaking on a down-to-earth
budget. Visit her blog for tips on frugal
cooking, decorating, organizing, and
affordable family fun.
Molly@Econobusters.com
www.Econobusters.com
__________________________________
Homemaking 911
Equipping women in many aspects of home
management and education, being a godly
wife and mother, and becoming the type of
woman God is calling you to be.
Homemaking911@gmail.com
www.Homemaking911.com
__________________________________
& Entr
ess e p
s in
TOS
e s ch o o l B u
om
A
P S
H O
S S
E A D
2011
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
his tory & geo gr aphy - L anguage ar ts
Homeschool
__________________________________
New Beginnings Homeschool
Encouragement & Association
Information
We are an interactive support program
that provides education, mentoring, and
curriculum counseling for the new or
__________________________________
struggling homeschool parent. When you
ARCHERS for the Lord, Inc. don’t know where to begin . . . join New
The Association of Relaxed Christian Beginnings!
Home Educators is a national, non-profit
organization that promotes family-based
(832) 754-7927
education through educational programs, www.New-BinTexas.webs.com
__________________________________
speaking, and product development.
mary.e.hood@gmail.com
www.archersforthelord.org
__________________________________
Language Arts
Carol Barnier
Friend to distractible minds everywhere. ABC The Key
Popular speaker on ADHD, learning styles,
powered by VITA
and putting the fun in teaching. See Carol’s
Resources for Homeschooling Families
resources and join her free online coaching
community.
carol@carolbarnier.com
www.SizzleBop.com
__________________________________
Great American Homeschool
Conferences
Come to a Christ-centered homeschool
conference near you for the
encouragement, support, and vision you
need to keep going.
www.GreatAmericanHomeschool
Conference.org
__________________________________
Homeschool Legal Advantage (HLA)
A new approach to legal services for
homeschoolers. Full homeschool legal
representation, a free Last Will & Testament
and the first year is completely free. Use
coupon code TOS at our website. Join
today!
(727) 399-8300
www.HomeschoolLegalAdvantage.com
__________________________________
National Home Education Research powered by V.I.T.A.
Institute (NHERI)
Conducts and publishes research on
homeschooling. Serves as a research
clearinghouse. Promotes understanding __________________________________
of home education. Provides expert
witness testimony in court and legislative All About Spelling
hearings, consultation, speaker services, All About Spelling takes the struggle
and statistics. out of spelling with step-by-step
mail@nheri.org multisensory lessons, logical concepts,
and built-in review. It is mastery based and
www.nheri.org
customizable for every student.
__________________________________
(715) 477-1976
re
neu
www.AllAboutSpelling.com
r Direct
__________________________________
or
y
S
E
©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine 117
 l anguage ar ts
It’s not too early—or too
late—to start a business!
Let us help you!
Resources for Homeschooling Families
Lemonade to Leadership
By Bonnie Drew
This unique 12 to 25-hour
curriculum involves students in
grades 3 and older in real-world
business practices.
Order online and use promo
code TOSLTL and save $5!
Order online excellenceinwriting.com/LTL-T
__________________________________
Institute for Excellence in Writing
Learning to read, think, speak, and write can
be easy and enjoyable! IEW helps parents
and teachers transform their reluctant
students into confident and competent
leaders and communicators. Results
guaranteed!
(800) 865-5815
Excellenceinwriting.com
__________________________________
Latin Road/Phonics Road
Providing complete language arts curricula
especially for homeschool parents/
teachers, integrating the subjects of
spelling, handwriting, reading, grammar,
composition, and Latin, all taught in a multi-
sensory approach with DVD training. www.
thephonicsroad.com
(530) 275-2064
www.thelatinroad.com
__________________________________
Parker Publishing
Self-teaching English Grammar
Workbooklet. Thirty-six lessons, including
exercises and answer key. Unique building-
block presentation. Fun and rewarding.
(616) 884-0539
www.englishgrammar.com
__________________________________
118 ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
__________________________________
The Riggs Institute
Changing the way people think about
teaching writing, spelling, reading, and
thinking, The Riggs Institute is a self-
supporting, non-profit literacy agency
offering language arts curriculum for
teachers and parents.
(800) 200-4840
www.riggsinst.org
__________________________________
Safran Publishing Company
EGUMPP (Electronic Grammar Usage
Mechanics Proficiency Program) is an
interactive online grammar learning
system that really works! Visit us and try
our demo at www.egumpp.com.
(800) 858-9937
www.egumpp.com
__________________________________
Sound Bytes Reading
Does your child have READING PROBLEMS?
Now there’s HELP! Teach your child to
read easily in only four months! Complete
reading program that includes phonics,
spelling, and 90 entertaining stories.
(503) 363-5425
www.soundbytesreading.com
__________________________________
Spalding Education International
Teach children the lifelong skills of reading,
writing, and spelling with The Writing Road
to Reading. Diagnostic and instructionally
sound, this comprehensive K-6 Program will
meet your child’s individual needs.
(877) 866-7451
www.Spalding.org
__________________________________
Talking Fingers
Talking Fingers software is based on a
simple idea: text is speech made visible—
and writing is a great route to reading.
E-mail: contact@talkingfingers.com
www.talkingfingers.com
__________________________________
Total Reading
Total Reading is a complete reading/
language arts program that uses sequential,
explicit, phonetic, multi-sensory decoding
with a special emphasis on comprehension,
creative writing, correct spelling and other
basic writing skills.
info@totalreading.com
totalreading.com
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
Language Arts -
Penmanship
__________________________________
Barchowsky Fluent Handwriting
Homeschoolers choose Barchowsky Fluent
Handwriting. The choice: logical, easy-to-
teach, child appealing! Playful, pre-writing
activities prepare children for well-formed
letters that evolve into fluent legibility.
info@bfhandwriting.com
(410) 272-0836
www.bfhhandwriting.com
__________________________________
Getty-Dubay Italic Handwriting
A comprehensive series for K–6 & beyond.
“I’m thrilled with the precision and easy-to-
read style my five children have learned!”
Wendy Shaw, homeschool parent/teacher
(800) 777-2844
www.handwritingsuccess.com
__________________________________
Peterson Directed Handwriting
Teaching handwriting fluency is easy
with our unique strategy and inexpensive
materials. Extensive training is provided
free online. Call for a free consultation with
a handwriting specialist.
(724) 837-4900
www.Peterson-Handwriting.com
__________________________________
Language Arts
- Phonics / Early
Readers
__________________________________
Academic Success for All Learners
The Little Books empower your child to
explore phonics, experience 100% decode-
ability, and enjoy captivating characters
in delightful stories. Read reviews, see
program samples, and download free
support resources online.
(435) 755-7885
www.ISeeSam.com
__________________________________
All About Reading
The first complete, phonics-based,
multisensory, “open-and-go” program
that also includes teaching preschoolers
their essential pre-reading skills. The
program is mastery based and come
with lifetime support.
(715) 477-1976
www.AllAboutReading.com
__________________________________

__________________________________
Kabongo
Kindergarten games! Get children
thinking—and reading—with exciting
online games they love to play! Kabongo’s
brain-boosting activities are fun and help
kids become more confident readers.
(866) 420-9149
www.kabongo.com
__________________________________
Language Arts -
Writing
__________________________________
Bonita Lillie Publishing
Who said writing can’t be fun? We provide
simple, easy-to-use writing curricula and
homeschool resources designed to make
learning a joyful adventure for the whole
family. bonita@bonitalillie.com
(704) 575-8467
www.handsonessays.com
__________________________________
Classical Composition
Good writers are good thinkers, and good
compositions must be driven by both the
intellect and the imagination. Classical
Composition teaches students to think
compositionally.
(913) 541-1789
www.classicalcomposition.com
__________________________________
Understanding Writing
Focused! Fun! Family Friendly! Flexible!
And it really works! Christ-centered,
mastery-oriented instruction beginning
at the beginning and integrating practical
grammar and composition—bit by bit. One
manual for Levels 1-12.
Info@UnderstandingWriting.com
www.understandingwriting.com
__________________________________
WriteAtHome.com
WriteAtHome helps middle and high
school students of all abilities improve
their writing skills through personal,
online coaching.
writeathome.com
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
l anguage ar ts - liter ature & book s
WriteShop
Award-winning WriteShop offers quality,
parent-approved writing resources
for K–12, helping new & veteran
homeschoolers alike teach writing
with confidence. Engaging, step-by-
step lessons present students with the
building blocks of the writing process—
pre-writing, brainstorming, writing, and
revising—and help you edit and evaluate
their work. Teaching writing has never
been easier!®
info@writeshop.com
www.writeshop.com
__________________________________
Writing Tales
For upper elementary students, Writing
Tales is a critically acclaimed classical
writing program that students and teachers
alike love!
www.writing-tales.com
__________________________________
Lapbooking
__________________________________
A Journey Through Learning
We create lapbooks for Apologia science,
Prairie Primer, TruthQuest History, and
Geography Matters. We also have lapbooks
for history, science, Bible, holidays, and
early learning.
www.ajourneythroughlearning.com
__________________________________
Literature & Books
__________________________________
Bunker Hill Publishing
Learning should be rewarding, educational,
and fun. In creating beautifully designed,
high quality, illustrated books at very
affordable prices, we at Bunker Hill
Publishing strive to achieve these goals.
ckitchel@bunkerhillpublishing.com
(603) 272-9221
www.bunkerhillpublishing.com
__________________________________
Cleocat Books
Well-written and artistically designed,
Cleocat Books provide exciting, enjoyable,
and educational reading. The Cleocat Books
library includes rhyming, ABCs, counting,
shapes, colors, and more. Learning can be fun.
(386) 760-5434
www.CleoCatBooks.com
__________________________________
©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
__________________________________
Greathall Productions/Jim Weiss
Audio
Award-Winning storytelling audio for
the entire family by Jim Weiss, featuring
classical literature, history, G. A. Henty,
Story of the World, and unabridged titles.
“Intelligent entertainment for the thinking
family.”
Greathall@Greathall.com
www.Greathall.com
__________________________________
Kregel Publications
A Christian publisher dedicated to
developing trusted, biblically based
resources that lead individuals to know
and serve Jesus Christ. Book categories
include nonfiction, fiction, early reader, and
children’s activity books.
kregelbooks@kregel.com
Resources for Homeschooling Families
www.kregel.com/homeschool
__________________________________
Owlkids
Owlkids publishes entertaining, unique,
high-quality, award-winning magazines
that nurture the potential of children
and instill in them a love of reading and
learning.
(800) 551-6957
www.owlkids.com
__________________________________
Penny and Rio Award-Winning Books
Ingenious dog detectives are the stars
of these imaginative and interactive
books that provide exceptional learning
opportunities for young children. Great for
children just transitioning to chapter books.
www.PennyandRio.com
__________________________________
Perfect Praise Publishing
Author Chuck Black presents The Kingdom
Series and Knights of Arrethtrae books,
audios, and other character-building
products.
(701) 572-1700
www.KingdomSeries.com
__________________________________
Progeny Press
Progeny Press study guides concentrate
on teaching our children to think clearly,
understand literature from a Christian
perspective, and enjoy themselves while
they do it! Over 100 titles for K–12!
progeny@progenypress.com
www.progenypress.com
__________________________________
119
 Liter ature & book s - mov ies & film
__________________________________
Sarah Books - Jim Baumgardner,
Author
Read the Sarah books and step into Sarah
Smith’s nineteenth-century America. You
will discover why Sarah has become a
favorite of homeschoolers in the twenty-
first century.
www.sarahbooks.net
__________________________________
Terrestria Chronicles
The Terrestria Chronicles—a medieval
allegory series written to challenge young
people to serve the King of Kings. Excellent
read-alouds for family devotions or
individual reading. Study guide available.
www.TalesOfCastles.com
__________________________________
Mathematics
Resources for Homeschooling Families
Algebra Survival Guide & Workbook
The Algebra Survival self-teaching
program has a unique twist. It takes
real life situations and relates them
to algebraic concepts, making those
concepts easy to understand. What’s
more, ingenious cartoons bring algebra
to life for visual learners. Step-by-step
instructions and loads of practice
problems ensure success.
(505) 690-2351
www.SingingTurtle.com
__________________________________
HAPPYMATH – Division of Reinhard-
Bernard Enterprises
Memorize the multiplication facts with
pictures, rhymes, and rhythms! Introductory
stories, color-coded cards with pictures
and rhymes, CD with rhythms and rhymes,
review games make memorizing EASY and
FUN! gail@happymath.com
(800) 961 4277
www.happymath.com
__________________________________
Mad Dog Math
Mad Dog Math—a system to help your
child master his all-important math facts in
a fun, organized, motivating way. Software
or paper/pencil drills; flash cards; great
confidence-builder; easy implementation.
(562) 533-5772
www.MadDogMath.com
__________________________________
120 ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
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
 level), find the best route (easiest learning

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• H   z  
• Bk b 30  f    
• C   b   
• G b  b    
• O-  f b w 
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• D 10 
 / 
• Aw   f  
_
__________________________________
Math Galaxy
Free, award-winning math puzzles and
worksheets. “The excitement the entire
concept held for my fourth-grader was
wonderful as he excitedly completed
problems in order to solve the riddle.”
(215) 254-8030
www.MathGalaxy.com
__________________________________
Math Mammoth
Math Mammoth offers a complete
math curriculum for grades 1-6, and
supplemental worktexts and workbooks for
grades 1-12. They are available as printed
books and as affordable downloads.
MariaMiller@MathMammoth.com
www.MathMammoth.com
__________________________________
Math-U-See
Math-U-See is a complete, award-winning
homeschool math curriculum for K–12. Our
goal is to help produce confident problem
solvers who enjoy the study of math.
888-854-MATH (6284)
www.MathUSee.com
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
__________________________________
MathFire
MathFire produces innovative math
materials that supplement any math
curriculum. Our materials are both
self-motivating and self-correcting and
promote independence while developing
math mastery.
(509) 432-6332
www.mathfireonline.com
__________________________________
mathGPS.com
A handy math teaching and learning system
to pinpoint your current location (math
pathway), and guarantee to reach your
destination (never lost again).
(888) 628-3185
mathGPS.com
__________________________________
Mu Eta Sigma National Math Honor
Society
Mu Eta Sigma National Math Honor Society
was founded to encourage mathematical
excellence specifically for home-educated
students and to promote community
service by MHS members within their
spheres of influence.
www.MathHonorSociety.com
__________________________________
Worldwide Center of Mathematics
Digital mathematics textbook publisher
that incorporates interactive videos, graphs,
and hyperlinking right in the text with PDFs
for only $15 and hard copies for only $30.
(617) 245-0171
www.CenterofMath.com
__________________________________
Movies & Film
__________________________________
Guiding Light Video
Come visit a Christian variety store for the
entire family. Musical plays, educational
and family DVDs, music CDs, games, and
much more. We can help you with your
homeschooling needs.
(610) 489-0746
www.GuidingLightVideo.com
__________________________________
Little Crew Studios
An independent filmmaking company,
specializing in action/adventure children’s
films, using all-children casts, and built
around a Christ-centered message.
www.ravensheadmovie.com
__________________________________

__________________________________
Movie Makers / Entrusted With
Arrows
Award-winning producer of educational
videos and the documentary Entrusted
With Arrows: Entrepreneurial Homeschool
Fathers. Educational film topics include
math, maps, geography, history, and movie
making.
(403) 948-7475
www.MovieMakers.ca
__________________________________
Online Schools &
Classes
__________________________________
CALCampus High School and
Postsecondary Division
Affordable, accredited online school.
CALCampus offers high school courses,
college courses, and our high school
diploma program. Earn dual credits for
high school and college. Since 1986.
Homeschooler discount. homeschool@
calcampus.com
(603) 899-2388
hs.calcampus.com
__________________________________
eLearningK12
eLearningK12 is a personalized, guided,
web-based education system for
homeschool students in grades K–12.
Core curriculum aligned to national/state
standards with assistance from professional
educators. Learning for the way you live!
(866) 477-9444
www.elearningk12.com
__________________________________
NFC Academy
NFC Academy combines over 40 years
of experience in education with today’s
technology to offer a complete program of
virtual Christian education to students in a
homeschool environment.
paulalee@nflchurch.com
www.nflcacademy.com
__________________________________
Online Education Made Easy
OnlineEducationMadeEasy.com offers
small-group, online classes in English, math,
and test prep at extremely affordable rates.
Courses are taught by a mother-daughter
team with homeschool and public school
experience.
(703) 861-2154
onlineeducationmadeeasy.com
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
movies & film - science & nature
Preschoolers
__________________________________
Montessori Preschool Homeschool
Program
Three years of curriculum and material
included in one low fee. Help your child
discover a passion for lifelong learning.
(866) 531-6618
www.montessori-home-schooling.com
__________________________________
Montessori Services
Thousands of child-size items for ages 3–9.
Every item selected to support success and
guaranteed to stand up to everyday use.
Cooking, sewing, gardening, woodworking,
art, music, geography, science, language.
(877) 975-3003
www.montessoriservices.com
__________________________________
Pre K Scholars
Specializing in high-quality, interactive,
fun kindergarten readiness kits for
homeschoolers, teachers, and preschools.
Kits meet or exceed state standards
and cover phonics, math, early reading,
handwriting, science, and fine motor skills.
(949) 300-6971
www.PreKScholars.com
__________________________________
©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
Safety
__________________________________
Fire Station Buddies, Inc.
There is a secret at Station 2. Do you know
what it is? Start your training today with the
Fire Station Buddies and learn about safety,
problem solving, and more.
Firebuddies@att.net
www.FirestationBuddies.com
__________________________________
Science & Nature
__________________________________
Academy of Science for Kids
Complete science kits for the whole
family to enjoy. Everything included–all
you add is water. Tests, degrees, diplomas,
Resources for Homeschooling Families
and technology online. No textbook,
hands-on FUN!
info@AcademyofScienceforKids.com
www.AcademyofScienceforKids.com
__________________________________
Estes Rockets
Get young people excited about learning
with Estes rockets! Free lesson plans for
grades 3–12 with links to resource materials
at our Estes Educator website. Special
educator bulk packs available.
(800) 820-0202 x270
www.esteseducator.com
See Display Ad on Next Page
__________________________________
Nature Friend Magazine
Explore the wonders of God’s creation.
Learn art, photography, creative writing.
Submit your work. Study Guides available.
We welcome you.
(877) 434-0765
www.naturefriendmagazine.com
__________________________________
Ries Software
A Survey of Chemistry is a complete
chemistry course on a CD. This interactive,
multimedia computer program is perfect
for college, high school, or homeschool
students.
kries@riessoftware.com
www.riessoftware.com
__________________________________
Ring of Fire Science
We have been providing homeschooling
families with award-winning science
material since 1998. Our science materials
include textbooks, activity books, rock
kits, and video lessons for students in
PreK–12th grade.
(888) 785-5439
www.RingOfFireScience.com
__________________________________
121
 science & nature - s tem curr icul a

Special Needs
__________________________________
Auditory Integration Training
Train the brain. Home program available.
Helps autism, dyslexia, ADD/ADHD,
sensory & neurological issues. Contact
Sarah Gewanter, MSW, LCSW at info@
__________________________________
Handwriting Problem Solutions, LLC
Specialists in teaching & implementing
“Low- and High-Tech” equipment and
software for kids with serious handwriting
challenges. This can allow them to complete
schoolwork as similar to their peers’ as
possible!

.COM
aithelps.com. (269) 749-9374
launch learning fun
(828) 683-6900 www.handwriting-solutions.com
__________________________________
www.aithelps.com
__________________________________ Learn Differently LLC
Get young people excited Dyslexia 911 Helping parents teach exceptional children:
.COM
Dyslexia 911 and The Learning To Read learning disabilities or just differences,
l a uabout
n c h l e learning.
arning fun gifted, ADD/ADHD, ASD. Planning,
Program help troubled readers and their
resources, support. Free 20-minute
It’s EASY with
parents end the emergency associated with
dyslexia through 3-D learning methods that consultation.
overcome reading and writing roadblocks. info@LearnDifferently.com
Estes Model (770) 594-1770 learndifferently.com
__________________________________
Rockets!
Resources for Homeschooling Families

www.Dyslexia911.com
__________________________________

Free Lesson Plans

■ Teaching a wide range of subjects
■ For grades 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12
■ Matched to National Learning Standards
Extensive Web Site
■ Easy to find the perfect lesson plan
■ Automatically displays items needed
■ Links to many resource materials
Dyslexia Training Institute STEM Curricula
Providing online courses & webinars in
dyslexia and related learning disabilities,
and training in the proper remediation.
These courses are appropriate for parents,
teachers, reading specialists, administrators,
and educational service providers.
(619) 517-0683
www.dyslexiatraininginstitute.org
__________________________________

Affordable Learning Fun

■ Special Educator Bulk Packs available
■ Links to funding and grants

“Estes model rockets are the best

hands-on activity I have ever done
with my students!”
Solutions for Kids With Written
Output Disorders

Get Started Now!

You’ll find everything you need at:
EstesEducator.com
Assistive Technology
educator@estesrockets.com
Resource Guide
800.820.0202 ext. 270
Created for Parents
Motivate your students with model rocketry!
Nationwide Consultation Service

• Physical Disabilities
• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• ADD/ADHD
• Learning Disabilities

122 ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory

estes_bookmark_mag_edit.indd 1 3/15/11 9:05 AM

Robotics and Things
Manufacturer, distributor, and developer
of hands-on/battery-operated ROBOTIX
educational learning toy sets, kits,
and parts integrally involved in the
creation of curriculum development
opportunities for elementary, middle, &
junior high school aged homeschoolers
based on STEM (science, technology,
engineering, & math) with the use of
National Science Standards. robot@
roboticsandthings.com
(888) 222-1809
www.roboticsandthings.com
__________________________________
Struggling
Learners
__________________________________
Dianne Craft, MA, CNHP
Dianne Craft, president of the educational
consulting firm, Child Diagnostics, Inc.,
teaches parents to help their child learn
faster and easier, using effective, yet
inexpensive therapies and strategies.
www.DianneCraft.org
__________________________________
Testing /
Assessments
Studyworks Test Prep
Prepares students for the SAT, SAT II
Subject Tests, ACT, AP Exams, & high
school subjects. Students prepare at one
of our centers or the location of their
choice. Industry leader in live, online
webclasses! Studyworks can design a
custom program tailored to your needs &
can accommodate 1 or 1,000 students!
(800) 783-1SAT (1728)
www.studyworks.com
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
s tem curricul a - unit s tudies
__________________________________
Triangle Education Assessments
We provide year-round achievement,
cognitive and career testing services,
including Iowa®, WJ III®, BASI ™, CogAT®,
career and practice tests. Simple ordering!
Great prices!
(877) 843-8837
www.TriangleEd.com
__________________________________
Travel
__________________________________
Harvey Cedars Bible Conference
Consider Harvey Cedars for your family
vacation. We offer affordable rates,
educational opportunities for kids and
parents as well as a great environment to
network and interact with homeschool
families.
(609) 494-5689
www.HCBible.org
__________________________________
Homeschool Travel Network
Travel enriches every family! Are you an
adventurous family longing to travel?
YOU CAN afford this “real life education,”
networking with others—we’ll show you
how! (Promo Code: TOSD)
Amy@HSNeighbor.com
HSNeighbor.com
__________________________________
Travel Gingie’s Way
To travel is an education. Contact TGW for
tailor-made travel programs worldwide to a
destination of your choice.
travelgway@aol.com
www.travelgway.com
__________________________________
Unit Studies
__________________________________
Unit Studies by Amanda Bennett
Countless homeschool families turn to
Amanda Bennett for carefully researched,
ready-to-use curriculum. Amanda’s Unit
Study Adventures and Download N Go™
series offer fun and adventure, as well as
long lasting learning.
CustomerService@UnitStudy.com
www.UnitStudy.com
__________________________________
©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
e ss & Entre p
s in
TOS
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u
s ch o o l B
neu
r Direct
e
om
or
E
H P
O S
S y
S S E
E A D
2011
There’s
More!
Resources for Homeschooling Families
Turn the page for even
more fantastic resources! In
the Homeschool-Friendly
Entrepreneurs section, we’ve
gathered businesses that can
provide products and services for
every area of your family life.
Some of the businesses advertised
are small; some are large. Some
do business locally in their
communities, while others operate
across the country or even around
the world. But they’re all supportive
of your choice to homeschool!
Many businesses you see in these
pages are owned and operated
by homeschooling families or
homeschool graduates. Jump in
and see what you can find! Vacation
spots, clothing, homemade soap,
kitchen supplies—it’s all here and
more.
Starting on page 144, explore
the listings organized by region.
Though most of the businesses
can sell their products or provide
services all over the globe, we
thought you’d enjoying seeing
which ones have their headquarters
in your neck of the woods.
We encourage you to patronize
those businesses that operate
locally whenever possible. Let’s
support our fellow homeschoolers
as we walk this journey of living
and learning together.
123
 Automotiv e - chr is tian / bible s tudy
Automotive
__________________________________
Tech Auto Body
Tech Auto Body is a family-owned
business since 1989. Homeschooling
since 2003. Located in downtown
Mountain Home, Idaho.
(208) 587-7443
__________________________________
Baby & Toddler
__________________________________
All About Babies Birth Center
We build a community of strong, healthy
families one miraculous birth at a time. We
serve the DFW area.
(972) 653-2229
Homeschool-Friendly Entrepreneurs
www.allaboutbabies.net
__________________________________
A Gentler Birth
Christian, certified birth doula in Gig Harbor,
Washington. Homebirth, birth centers,
and hospitals in Western Washington.
AquaDoula birth tub rentals.
(253) 884-8088
www.agentlerbirth.com
__________________________________
Sweet Little Blessings
Cloth diapers and accessories. We
carry all your favorite brands, including
bumGenius, Thirsties, FuzziBunz,
Happy Heinys, Bottombumpers, GroVia,
Knickernappies, and more! Free shipping
on orders over $40! Use coupon code
HOMESCHOOL to save 5% off any order.
www.sweetlittleblessings.com
__________________________________
Business Services
& Marketing
__________________________________
BCI – Professional Recruiting
BCI Recruiting assists employers seeking
outstanding employees. BCI also provides
resume review service. 10+ years of
experience; contact Ted@bcioh.com.
(330) 686-2588
www.bcioh.com
__________________________________
124 ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
__________________________________
Carol Topp, CPA
Starting a business? Get help from a
knowledgeable and friendly CPA. Business
plan evaluation and phone consultation.
Reasonable rates.
(513) 290-4730
CarolToppCPA.com
__________________________________
Christian Business Owners
Association
Free Book: Bible Based Businesses—Biblical
Principles for Success in Business and Life
to biblebasedbusinesses.com/bible-based-
businesses-book
(352) 217-5880
www.christian-business-owners-
association.com
__________________________________
Coffeedogz Small Business
and Technology Services
Starting a new business or have an
existing business? How can technology
help or hurt? Boost your business with
the edge Coffeedogz provides. Avoid
costly mistakes with individualized
consulting. Navigate the techie world
with my easy-to-read and easy-to-
understand E-Book. Take the tech-ache
out of business with Coffeedogz!
georganne@coffeedogz.net
www.coffeedogz.net
__________________________________
Homeschool Entrepreneur—Helping
Families Start a Home Business
Affordable hosting by Christian homeschool
family. We’ll set you up or do it yourself.
Includes easy tutorials—Websites,
Facebook, Twitter!
(615) 374-3176
AffordableChoiceMarketing.com
__________________________________
JRC Consulting
Our grant consulting services, business
writing, and books are crafted with
attention to detail—and an insatiable
appetite for accuracy.
(561) 748-9429
www.jrcbooks.com
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
__________________________________
Promos And Logos
Promotional Items. Imprinted promotional
items, screen printed T-shirts, and printing
services. Call or email for a FREE catalog.
Jay@PromosAndLogos.com
(877) 221-2160
www.PromosAndLogos.com
__________________________________
TeenBizTalk.com
Teen Biz Talk provides a safe place for
homeschool teen entrepreneurs and
their families to create, build, and grow
their business. Membership includes a
learning center and forums to exchange
ideas, find joint ventures, outsource to
each other, and find new ways to grow
their business.
(251) 456-7581
www.teenbiztalk.com
__________________________________
Tri-Media Marketing Services
Rent mailing lists, email lists of homeschool
families. Advertise in Christian Family
HomeSchool Shopper card pack quarterly
to 75,000 families.
(800) 874-0338
www.TriMediaOnline.com
__________________________________
Your Virtual Services
Assists with your online presence by
utilizing webinars/teleseminars, audio/
video recordings, email marketing,
newsletter/E-zines, website maintenance,
HTML/Wordpress, shopping cart software.
(605) 691-3834
YourVirtualServices.com
__________________________________
Christian / Bible
Study
__________________________________
Baby Bible Board Books
This set of four, perfect-size board books
helps parents teach their infants and
toddlers to love Jesus.
(704) 277-7194
www.BabyBibleBoardBooks.com
__________________________________

__________________________________
Christian Book Videos
Featuring videos showcasing the latest
releases in Christian books for your family.
Viewing is free. Find new books to read.
(704) 995-6739
www.ChristianBookVideos.com
__________________________________
Climbinghigher.org
Climbinghigher.org travels with you on
your spiritual journey providing “The Story
of the Day,” Bible Studies and inspirational
messages.
(406) 889-3969
www.climbinghigher.org
__________________________________
CrossTimber’s Name Meaning Gifts
Learn why your name is important to
God through the Christian meanings of
names. Personalize ANY NAME in our
color name meaning designs, complete
with carefully researched meaning,
Biblical Life Meaning™, and hand-picked
Scripture verse. CrossTimber offers
name meaning bookmarks, framed
NamePlaques™, and coffee mugs.
Mention “HOME10” for 10% off.
(877) 763-2646
www.Meaning.Name
Eternity Vendors
EternityVendors.com makes it easy to
find Christian-owned stores and the
great deals they are offering! Search
through our listings of trusted websites
or follow our blog for the latest sales and
special offers. Have a business? We offer
FREE advertising to qualifying sites!
www.EternityVendors.com
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
chris tian / bible s tudy - chris tian music
__________________________________
Full Gospel Family Publications
Publishers of Character Building for Families
(elementary age) and River Life: Entering into
the Character of Jesus (teens and adults)
(920) 734-6693
www.characterbuildingforfamilies.com
__________________________________
The Homeschooling Mother’s Bible
Study
Written specifically to encourage the
homeschooling moms, this 6-week study is
available as an E-Book or softcover edition.
(316) 681-2605
www.HomeschoolingMothers
BibleStudy.com
__________________________________
HOPE Refined
Helping One another Prepare for Eternity
(HOPE) with encouraging articles, uplifting
poems, gifts, and a fast, effective Bible
memory system.
ChristinaJoy@HopeRefined.com
www.HopeRefined.com
__________________________________
Legacy Leavers
Growing Godly character with the Bible and
creativity. A hands-on Bible study of people
with character worth learning about.
corideroza@gmail.com
www.legacyleavers.org
__________________________________
Loving the Lord Ministries for Girls
and Young Women
LTL Ministries offers biblical, spiritual
growth material, online resources, and
conferences geared towards encouraging
girls and young women in Christ.
info@lovingthelordministries.org
www.lovingthelordministries.org
__________________________________
Ornament Publications
Products that help your family love the
Scriptures. Full-color illustrations of
analogies in Proverbs and verses about
money.
(972) 278-5965
www.ornamentpublications.com
__________________________________
The Praise Dance Life with Jocelyn
Richard
The Praise Dance Life: Online resource
center for worship leaders, homeschool co-
ops, and missions: E-Books, virtual classes,
and videos.
jocelyn@thepraisedancelife.com
www.thepraisedancelife.com
__________________________________
©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
__________________________________
ReformationKidz
ReformationKidz provides parents with
character-building resources that include
solid theology and historical significance.
Free downloadable colorsheets,
biographies, and games.
www.reformationkidz.com
__________________________________
Russell & Associates
“Christian Concepts Series” Junior
High through Adult. Timeless Truths /
Contemporary Perspectives -- Profound,
simple, & most importantly memorable.
Award-Winning Books
(360) 834-1743
www.BOOKSrlr.com
__________________________________
Sing the Scriptures
Nine hour-long CDs of KJV verses in song,
Homeschool-Friendly Entrepreneurs
written and sung by Jim Swanson. Excellent
memory and meditation aids.
(715) 852-0289
KJVBibleSongs.com
__________________________________
Sunday School Lady
Free Sunday school lessons, crafts, and
lapbooks. Solid, hands-on, preschool
through elementary. Bible survey that
makes kids laugh and learn.
sherry@sundayschoollady.com
www.SundaySchoolLady.com
__________________________________
What Is Communion?
A children’s book about “The Lord’s Supper”
(an Evangelical Protestant view). Includes
a simple explanation and the meaning
behind it.
(618) 783-3699
whatiscommunion.blogspot.com
__________________________________
Christian Music
__________________________________
Diggles Family Ministries, Inc.
A full-time Southern Gospel singing
ministry that travels throughout the entire
USA and Canada singing at churches and
events.
(859) 552-9989
www.digglesfamily.com
__________________________________
125
 clothing & fa shion - cook ing & nutrition
Clothing &
Fashion
__________________________________
Frillacious
Lacy/Frilly Scarves. Handknit with quality
100% acrylic, we create scarves in assorted
colours. 10% of pink color to CBCF.
(905) 892-8226
joyce@greenfieldgardens.ca
__________________________________
HomeschoolShirts.com
At HomeschoolShirts.com you will find a
varied selection of apparel and homeschool
resources for both parents and children.
homeschoolshirts.com
__________________________________
Hope of My Heart Designs
Keepsake jewelry for miscarriage and child
Homeschool-Friendly Entrepreneurs
loss, infertility, and adoption, and mothers’
jewelry too. Heirloom-quality jewelry
customized just for you.
mail@hopeofmyheart.com
www.HopeofMyHeart.com
__________________________________
Leotard City
High-quality, children’s gymnastics leotards,
shorts, and unitards. Made in the USA by
homeschoolers at an affordable, everyday
price!
(480) 993-6858
www.leotardcity.com
__________________________________
Lilla Rose Independent Consultant –
Paula Ramm
Unique, comfortable, strong hair clips and
jewelry. Home of the elegant Flexi-Clip.
Beautiful hair in seconds!
paula@rammnation.com
www.lillarose.biz/BeautifulLife
__________________________________
Lovely Hair Clips – Lilla Rose
Hair Designs
Full line of beautiful and comfortable
hair clips.
Monica@yourhealthsource.org
www.lillarose.biz/HairDesigns
__________________________________
The Modest Mom
Beautiful, affordable, custom-made
maternity & women’s skirts. Fashionably
modest designs for sizes XS–XXL.
(816) 616-0320
www.themodestmom.com
__________________________________
126 ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
__________________________________
Pure Modesty
Created with beauty, distinguished by
virtue! Resources for cultivating biblical
femininity. Modest clothing, books, blogs,
and more!
(208) 670-4923
www.puremodesty.com
__________________________________
Yardmonkeys
Yardmonkeys specializes in boutique
clothing and accessories for young
girls at affordable prices. You’ll find
hair bows, headbands, tutus, jewelry,
skirt and blouse sets, hats, and more.
Yardmonkey products make great gifts
for birthdays and baby showers! We are
also happy to accept custom orders for
your little princess.
customerservice@
theyardmonkeys.com
www.theyardmonkeys.com
Computers &
Technology
__________________________________
Caldwell Global Communications,
Inc.
Homeschooler operated. Make Internet
activity part of your curriculum. CPanel and
WordPress webhosting. E-mail mailing lists.
Ask for homeschooler packages.
(888) 946-4638
sales@caldwellglobal.com
__________________________________
Firebrand Designs
Our mission is helping families to start a
business website at a reduced rate so they
can begin their journey.
(309) 393-1004
www.firebranddesigns.net
__________________________________
iHomeEducator
Award-winning iPad, iTouch, & iPhone
Educational Apps. K7 Math, Language Arts,
Science and more with automated testing
& grading.
(916) 939-9588
www.iHomeEducator.com
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
PotterVilla Applied Technology
Making technology a tool instead of
a frustration, we offer comprehensive
instruction and old-fashioned service.
Our full spectrum of computer training
is tailored especially for homeschoolers
by a homeschool graduate. Additionally,
we offer website development for your
family business or school. We can help
you take command of technology.
(517) 588-3030
www.pottervilla.com
Cooking &
Nutrition
__________________________________
Building Tomorrow’s Generation –
Homemade Convenience Foods
Prepare great meals in 10–15 minutes
with this revolutionary system. No all-day
cooking marathons. Recipes included.
(970) 842-4776
www.marciawashburn.com
__________________________________
Cooking Traditional Foods
Traditional/whole foods Menu Mailer with
five dinners, one breakfast, one dessert per
week. As low as $1.50/week!
(828) 505-4376
www.cookingTF.com
__________________________________
Gling.com – Gluten-Free Living
Gling Gluten-Free Living is a great site
for gluten-free recipes, grocery products,
and seasonal articles written by real-
life gluten-free people. You’ll receive
product reviews on the latest gluten-free
products and new ideas to keep your
meals exciting and nutritional! Visit our
site today!
mike@gling.com
www.gling.com
 cook ing & nutrition - cr af ts

__________________________________
Gluten-Free Life
Dedicated gluten-free bakery, homeschool
family owned and operated. We make
delicious cookies, muffins, breads, and
mixes without rice.
(816) 449-1371
www.gflife.com
__________________________________
Terherst Enterprises, LLC
Trouble getting your kids to eat well? We
can help. Ask for free DVD, samples, or kids’
free product program.
(866) 588-0305
info@terherstenterprises.com
__________________________________
Cosmetics & Skin
Care
Crafts
Jafra by Chelly
Ambassador Crochet
Jafra Cosmetics offers a full line of
amazing skin care products. Jafra offers
a great opportunity for moms to earn Reaching Out, One Stitch At A Time.
some extra income and still enjoy time
Crochet patterns for all skill levels,
with their families. Call me; I’d love to talk including beginner. I carry patterns
with you about it, or you can check out
for boutique style hats, scarves, cowls,
my website first. baby cocoons, mittens, hair clips and
(303) 644-5587 accessories, and more. I take custom
orders and can create almost anything
www.myjafra.com/cjames you have in mind.
__________________________________ ambassadorcrochet@gmail.com
www.ambassadorcrochet.
Jordan Essentials – Kim Lewis
Kim Lewis, Jordan Essentials Consultant. bigcartel.com

__________________________________
Avon—Misty Taylor
Meeting all your beauty needs. For $10 you,
too, can join Avon. Serving Spring, Texas,
area or direct-to-you online service.
(832) 472-7440
www.youravon.com/mtaylor1216
__________________________________
Homemade Lye Soap –
Stewart’s Crafts
Pure soap with NO perfumes or dyes.
For shower, shampoo, shaving, lotion,
clothes, dishes, the floor, or the dog!
Remove stains, scents, and odors. Helpful
for acne, eczema, psoriasis, poison ivy,
scrapes or burns, bug bites. Made in the
USA! “Create in me a clean heart, O God.”
(770) 887-6988
www.lyesoap.com
Real skin care solutions for real families.
Profitable business opportunity. Free
brochure and sample.
(803) 979-0331
www.myjestore.com/KimLewis
__________________________________
Pure Anada Natural Cosmetics Inc
Handmade mineral cosmetics and
botanical skincare! Shop online: www.
ThePureBoutique.com. Use coupon code:
HOME10 to save 10% off your purchase!
(866) 569-2714
www.PureAnada.ca
__________________________________
Vision Herbs
Natural, good-for-your-body skin care
products: lotions, creams, salves, lip
balms, soaps, hand sanitizer, teas. Mother/
daughter run.
(570) 325-8946
www.visionherbs.com
__________________________________
& Entr
e ss
s i n TOS
u
Homeschool-Friendly Entrepreneurs
__________________________________
Close to My Heart ™ – Phyllis Wagner,
Independent Consultant
Established company. Coordinated classic
scrapbooking supplies. Acrylic stamping.
Workshops. Studio J online scrapbooking.
Idea books. Entrepreneurial business
opportunity.
(919) 454-9615
PhyllisW.myctmh.com
__________________________________
Dianna’s Sugar Plum Sundries
We carry quality oils, lyes, essential oils,
butters, fragrance oils, colorants, molds,
kits, herbs, soap bases, and much more!
info@diannassundries.
com
www.DiannasSundries.com
__________________________________
Note-able Scraps
Custom scrapbooks by Note-able Scraps
make beautiful gifts or keepsakes! We also
design blogwear, stationery, and Christmas
or all-occasion cards.
(252) 876-6108
ep
noteablescraps.blogspot.com
__________________________________
re

Sew Blessed Designs by Cindy

s ch o o l B

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Modest and classic sewing patterns for
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today’s active children. Patterns include

multiple sizes and clear, concise directions
with illustrations.
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(256) 425-1668
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S S
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2011

www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine 127

 cr af ts - fun & games
__________________________________
A Snip and a Stitch
eBay’s largest sewing pattern store offering
vintage and new sewing patterns. Over
10,000 in stock.
(530) 532-1815
stores.ebay.com/A-Snip-and-a-Stitch
__________________________________
Economics /
Finance
__________________________________
ASC Accounting & Bookkeeping
Specializing in small business accounting/
bookkeeping, payroll, accounts payable/
receivable, taxes with over 20 years
experience with quick, reliable,
valuable service.
Homeschool-Friendly Entrepreneurs
ascaccountingand
bookkeeping@mail.com
ascaccountingandbookkeeping.
webs.com
__________________________________
Edward Jones – Brett Parkis
Helping you make sense of investing.
Personalized investment planning for
college savings, retirement, saving on taxes,
investments, and insurance.
(919) 553-7431
www.edwardjones.com
__________________________________
Family Financial Coaching
A one-on-one, personalized, no-gimmick
approach for getting your family out of debt,
saving money, and living financially free.
(209) 622-3299
www.Household-Budget-Made-Easy.
com
__________________________________
Household Helps
Our mission is helping families to gain
wisdom and skills in finances, homeschool,
& spiritual walk from a biblical perspective.
(309) 393-1004
www.householdhelps.com
__________________________________
Mighty Fine Books
A powerful Christian spiritual and financial
wealth building system. Create financial
independence while sharing the gospel
message. Perfect for homeschoolers.
(828) 697-5013
answers.mightyfinebooks.com
__________________________________
128 ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
Event Venues
__________________________________
Denison Ridge – Weddings & Events
We specialize in outdoor events. A garden
setting with a beautiful view of the valley
below. Serving Washington State.
(509) 954-1928
denisonridge.com
__________________________________
Family &
Relationships
__________________________________
Buzzing the Day Away
Family-friendly product reviews and
giveaways with tips on parenting,
homeschooling, going green, and more!
busybuzzer@yahoo.com
www.buzzingthedayaway.com
__________________________________
little folksters
Nurture family relationships, share
hugs and special moments. Music, play,
literature, dance, drama, and art affect
total development and spiritual growth, all
intertwined in the young child’s life. Over
300 resources and activities for infants–8s
and the grown-ups who love them.
Includes Are We There Yet? —a travel CD.
(734) 741-1510
www.little-folks-music.com
QCharm, LLC
Your home for experience-based
solutions, ideas, products, and inspiration
to help you and your child make the most
of every moment. Use our wristband
with interchangeable charms that display
Boardmaker® images for schedules,
assignments, behavior, communication,
and emotion management. Share your
ideas on our blog!
www.qcharmforcaregivers.
blogspot.com
www.qcharm.com
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
Foreign Language
__________________________________
Dora & Diego Homeschool Spanish
The most comprehensive missions-minded,
Biblically based Spanish curriculum for
Preschool through 12th grade; complete
packages starting at $25 plus s&h.
(218) 234-3264
www.DoraHomeSchoolSpanish.com
__________________________________
Foreign Language House
Instant digital downloads: teacher-created
worksheets, activity guides, and E-courses
to supplement PK–12 French and Spanish
learning.
(704) 737-4649
foreignlanguagehouse.com
__________________________________
Fun & Games
__________________________________
Bizzy City
Bizzy City provides children ages 9–13 safe,
fun, family-friendly online education and
entertainment. Created by homeschoolers
for homeschoolers.
(614) 717-5912
www.bizzycity.com
__________________________________
Dare to Lead!
An interactive board game that develops
leadership skills, critical thinking, and
problem solving. It’s never the same
game twice, lots of learning and tons
of fun! See students falling off tables,
singing, drawing or discussing—one’s
imagination is the only limiting factor to
this game. Ages 13–adult.
adkooy@telus.net
www.daretolead.ca
__________________________________
Discovery Toys
Discovery Toys—Teach.Play.Inspire. Lifetime
guaranteed, replacement program, award-
winning, income opportunity. Reps needed
today, monthly specials. Contact me.
(850) 292-7530
www.toynana.com
__________________________________

__________________________________
Discovery Toys – Rachel Uttecht
Educational toys that help parents teach
children through play. Great for children
ages infant, preschool, and early school
years.
(406) 544-2937
www.discoverytoyslink.com/
racheluttecht
__________________________________
TreeHouse Puppets & Treasures
Treehouse Puppets offers a wide variety
of quality puppets and marionettes as
well as other creative toys and games. If
you don’t see what you are looking for on
the website, please call or email and I will
be happy to help you.
(727) 397-2446
www.treehousepuppets.com
__________________________________
TryOut Toys Entertainment
Skill toys—a fun way to improve physical
coordination, creativity, and self-esteem.
Scientifically proven to increase brain
capacity.
(603) 996-1047
www.tryouttoys.com
__________________________________
Gardening
Aggrand/Amsoil Lubricant,
Independent Dealer—John
Westendorp
Natural Liquid Fertilizer. Highly effective!
Grows larger, healthier, tastier produce.
Very affordable. No environmental
impacts. Builds topsoil. Helps resist
compaction, insects, heat and cold.
Excellent for farmers, gardeners. A
division of Amsoil, the original best
protecting and longest lasting synthetic
lubricants on the market. Access via the
“shop online” link.
jawsoil@jawsoil.com
www.lubedealer.com/jawsoil/
home.aspx
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
Fun & games - gr aphics & web design
__________________________________
Successful Gardens
Helping you create a successful garden. We
offer gardening tips, information, advice,
and garden products to help beautify your
world.
info@successfulgardens.com
successfulgardens.com
__________________________________
Graphics & Web
Design
__________________________________
3Strands Communications
Affordable design; print publications
(banners, brochures, signs), electronic
media (Web, email), logos. Writing & editing
services. Homeschool ID cards.
(765) 513-8315
www.3strandscommunications.com
__________________________________
Absolute Web Site Design
Custom website development, search
engine optimization services, website
hosting, photo and graphic optimization,
social media marketing.
(586) 255-1812
www.absolutewebsitedesign.com
__________________________________
Ann Kania Design
Need a professional look? Work with a
mom who understands homeschooling.
Logos, ads, websites, brochures,
magazines, books, packaging, print
liaison. 25 years experience in Graphic
Design & Art Direction. Looking to
collaborate. Located near Sacramento/
Folsom/Jackson in Northern CA.
(916) 316-3224
artsi-ann@live.com
__________________________________
Arts & Letters Design and
Communications
David & Sallie Borrink. He draws. She writes.
You shine. Creative, quality graphic design,
Web & blog design, writing, editing.
(616) 866-1659
www.artsandletters.biz
__________________________________
©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
__________________________________
Cross Business Tools, LLC
Website hosting, web page creation,
shopping cart creation (Zen Cart and
Magento), and website changes and
support.
CrossBusinessTools@gmail.com
www.CrossBusinessTools.com
__________________________________
Dan’s Affordable Web Design
Affordable and professional small business
websites that will be up and running quickly
and that you can update yourself.
(888) 240-9295
www.affordablewebdesigners
online.com
__________________________________
Emily Berger Graphic Design
Custom graphic design, specializing in
Homeschool-Friendly Entrepreneurs
brochures, newsletters, posters, and
magazines. Digital work samples available
upon request.
Ransomed2serve@gmail.com
__________________________________
Graphics by Becky
Custom graphics and ad layouts done at an
affordable price. Will work flexible hours to
fit with your schedule.
(320) 356-1114
a.busy.muse@gmail.com
__________________________________
Hartwork Graphics
Hartwork Graphics specializes in small
business logo design, branding, and
imaging for print and Web.
www.hartworkgraphics.com
__________________________________
Insight Blog Design
Custom blog designs that reflect who you
are and what your blog is all about. For
Blogger and WordPress.
erin@insightblogdesign.com
insightblogdesign.com
__________________________________
IW Christian Web Services
Christian website hosting and website
design services.
webservices.impartingwisdom.com
__________________________________
Kandy’s Creations
Cute, quality clipart for personal and
commercial use. Wide variety of themes.
JPEG, PNG, and vector formats. Affordable
and professional.
kandy@kandyscreation.com
www.KandysCreations.com
__________________________________
129
 Gr aphic & web design - He alth & wellness
__________________________________
Paul Osborne Design
Graphic design for brochures, catalogs,
logos, trade booth displays, point-of-
purchase, packaging, copywriting, Web.
Homeschooling entrepreneur since 1986.
(419) 757-2046
www.podesign.com/PO_Design.html
__________________________________
Renee Neace Design
I’ll make your website look great! From
graphics to html. Marketing, design,
consultation. Logos, company branding.
Web help? Just ask.
reneeneace@gmail.com
www.brandnewsong.com/rndesign
__________________________________
Typeset Design
Typeset Design is a professional design
Homeschool-Friendly Entrepreneurs
service providing quality graphics and
layout for print and the web.
contact@typesetdesign.com
www.typesetdesign.com
__________________________________
Health & Wellness
__________________________________
AdvoCare – Lisa Wohlwend
AdvoCare is a premier health and wellness
company offering nutritional products and
a business opportunity that empowers
individuals.
(330) 606-2304
www.advocare4u2.com
__________________________________
Annyssa
Fun rainy day fitness solutions; bringing
the outdoors in with inspired children’s
exercise videos. Annyssa is committed to
growing family unity through fun family-
time activities, kid approved recipes, and
backyard farming.
“Healthy bodies. Well fed souls.”
kristina@annyssa.com
Annyssa.com
__________________________________
A Balanced Life, Inc.
Young Living Essential Oils Independent
Distributor, #970784. Potent, natural
solutions for everyday problems—for
home, family, and pets. Distributors needed.
(407) 388-9803
abalancedlife.younglivingworld.com
__________________________________
130 ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
__________________________________
Be Vibrant with Kayla Howard
Inspiring women to lose weight and gain
energy from home. 15 minutes is all you
need to get results!
(208) 596-0142
www.kaylahoward.com
__________________________________
Cole Creek Herbs
Provides in-depth, scientific information
about herbs, vitamins, and other natural
supplements. You can do much with the
herbal foods the Creator has provided!
Please contact us if you have any
questions about our products or would
like information about improving your
health and wellness. Sign up for free
newsletter!
(316) 655-9969
www.colecreekherbs.com
__________________________________
Essentials of Life
Unlock your child’s highest potential with
God’s gift of therapeutic-grade essential
oils, and live life abundantly! Ask me how.
(541) 444-2428
www.essentialsoflife.net
__________________________________
HCG To My Rescue!
Lost hope in your weight loss journey? The
HCG diet can help you lose weight, reshape
your body, improve health.
info@hcgtomyrescue.com
www.hcgtomyrescue.com
__________________________________
Healthy Mommies
Need energy, motivation, weight loss or
muscle gain? I’ll show you how to do it the
healthy way!
(623) 936-9984
screspin@msn.com
__________________________________
Herbalife International – Sarah
Stoddard
High-quality, low-cost nutritional products
sent to your home. Success or refund. I
lost 50 pounds and you can too! www.
loseweightnow.com/sstoddard
(734) 338-3027
www.shopherbalife.com/sstoddard
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
__________________________________
Inside and Out Wellness
Nutritional supplements: real help for
health challenges; address the problem,
not just the symptoms. Become healthier—
Inside and Out!
(765) 642-4450
www.insideandoutwellness.com
__________________________________
Juice Plus Wholefood Nutrition in a
Capsule
Most don’t eat 7–13 servings of fruits and
vegetables every day. Juice Plus helps
bridge the gap! Free child’s products.
(209) 604-5458
www.JPJuiceForHealth.com
__________________________________
LifeFx Nutritional Supplements
Close nutritional gaps for whole family,
whole body health improvement, including
children with ADHD/other focus/learning
challenges. Clinically proven.
(302) 5ENZOFX
www.lifefx123.com/kwg4610
__________________________________
Mobile Drug Testing, LLC
Parents need to protect their children
from the danger of drug use. It happens
in the very best families. We recommend
random testing before you suspect there
might be a problem, to help your child
say “No! My parents test me and would
find out!” when the time comes.
(801) 577-9411
www.mdtesting.com/hometest.
html
Multi-Pure Drinking Water
Systems – Lee Johnson
Purified drinking water at your tap for
$.08/gallon. Free from concerns about
tap water or bottled water. Several
models, reasonably priced, with special
discounts. Tested and certified. Units
have lifetime warranty. Ideal home
business opportunity for people in need
of extra income. Enjoyed by 4,000,000
customers since 1970. Let’s discuss!
(262) 632-5401
www.multipureusa.com/ljohnson

__________________________________
Natural Family Planning
NFP: safe, healthy, highly effective. It’s
family planning God’s way. Visit the website
to find a teaching couple near you.
(800) 745-8252
www.ccli.org
__________________________________
Nature Labs
Poison ivy, oak, or sumac itches? Our anti-
itch jewelweed soap will provide soothing
relief (all-natural and wild-crafted). Student-
run business.
(423) 727-5107
www.thenaturelabs.com
__________________________________
Nature’s Sunshine Products –
Christa Farmer
Get instant access to an extensive selection
of supplements and an herb specialist
guiding you along the path to wellness.
(208) 308-1850
www.mynsp.com/christa
__________________________________
N.E.W. LIFE (Nutrition, Exercise,
Wellness for LIFE)
N.E.W. LIFE (Nutrition, Exercise, Wellness
for LIFE) nutrition education/behavior
modification programs assist people with
prevention of lifestyle disease, increased
energy, weight loss, freedom from
bondage to food/body image. Food diary
evaluations, nutrition counseling, diet
book reviews, audio bites, and registered
dietitian certifications—all from a
professional, Christian perspective.
newlife4health@aol.com
www.newlifeforhealth.com
__________________________________ A Homemade Heritage
Reliv International, Denise Hyde
Nutrition you can trust. Reliv’s patented
state-of-the-art supplements provide a
solid foundation for your business. Make a
difference with Reliv.
(281) 573-2272
www.hyde.reliv.com
__________________________________
Schaben Ventures LLC
Healing ministry. Using the Bible as a
roadmap to health and wellness. Health,
healing, and nutrition the way God intended.
(515) 999-2186
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
he alth & wellness - handmade items
__________________________________
Southern California Juice Plus
17 fruits, vegetables, and whole grains in a
capsule—Fruits/vegetables aren’t just good
for you; they might save your life.
(626) 791-0421
www.southerncaliforniajuiceplus.
com
__________________________________
Young Living Essential Oils –
Bonnie Kline
Would you like to have a “biblical
medicine cabinet”? Do you want your
cleaning products to be “natural” and
free of harmful chemicals? Do you want
to earn free products, make money and
spend precious time with your family?
Young Living Essential Oils may be
for you . . .
(281) 460-7736
purplepansygal.younglivingworld.
com
__________________________________
Young Living Essential Oils – Jennifer
Southern
Enhancing health with pure, authentic,
therapeutic-grade essential oils. Southern
California workshops available. Website and
phone calls open to all.
(661) 317-6709
www.youngliving.org/jsouthern93
__________________________________
Handmade Items
__________________________________
For all the ways you make a house your
home. Homemade soaps and candles in
delicious scents! Custom orders available.
www.ahomemadeheritage.com
__________________________________
Blossom’s Barn
Handcrafted, all-natural, milk-based soaps
and lip balms. Natural products using
wholesome, good-for-you ingredients from
God’s creation.
217-379-7633
www.blossomsbarn.com
__________________________________
©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
__________________________________
Britches ‘N Stitches
We are a family-owned custom embroidery
business. We have unique items for all your
gift needs.
(866) 588-0305
www.britchesnstitches.com
__________________________________
Cards by Lynelle
Handcrafted, all-occasion greeting cards,
uniquely designed with FABRIC and
embellished with decorative edging,
ribbon, buttons, flowers, clip-art, brads,
punched shapes.
(641) 489-2138
www.CardsByLynelle.etsy.com
__________________________________
Collyott Farms
Handmade shelves and signs; gourmet, all-
Homeschool-Friendly Entrepreneurs
natural dips and spices; country décor and
farm produce.
(660) 848-9988
www.collyottfarms.com
__________________________________
DaisyHead Creations Knitwear
Design
Homeschooling mom providing wool
soakers, longies, bloomers, hats, stitch
markers, baby and accessory items. Also
original knitting and crochet patterns!
thedaisygirl@daisyhead.net
daisyheadcreations.etsy.com
__________________________________
Dane’s Leather Craft
Handcrafted leather products. Wristbands,
wallets, dog collars, gun slings, belts, guitar
straps, and more.
(719) 469-7831
danesleathercraft@gmail.com
__________________________________
Doorpost Wisdom
Putting Scripture into hands, homes, and
hearts. Handmade handkerchiefs, blankets,
totes, purses, pillows, gifts, and more.
Custom orders welcome.
(865) 414-6556
www.etsy.com/shop/
doorpostwisdom
__________________________________
Dragon’s Trove by Jenbug122
Providing handmade gifts and supplies
worldwide. Specialize in digital design,
graphics, crochet, ceramics, and foodstuffs
(southern Colorado only).
(719) 646-3195
www.jenbug122.artfire.com
__________________________________
131
 handmade items - homeschooling
Elloree Guitars
Elloree Guitars offers completely
handmade guitars, mandolins, dulcimers,
banjos, and lap steels made entirely
from straight grain woods. Choose from
a variety of woods, styles, and other
options.
(318) 388-2635
www.elloreeguitars.com
__________________________________
Handsome Woods
Fine pens, handmade from domestic and
exotic woods. Perfect for gifts. Prices start
at about $15.
Homeschool-Friendly Entrepreneurs
(616) 454-4984
www.handsomewoods.etsy.com
__________________________________
Mishy Mee-Maw
Hand-made herbal salves, lip balms, and
hard lotion, using organic and natural
ingredients. I also have quilts for sale.
mrl@mishymeemaw.com
www.mishymeemaw.com
__________________________________
A Natural Process
Handmade aprons using vintage patterns.
Purses, totes, quilts, embroidery, natural
family products & soap making. Need
crafty? We can help.
(208) 968-2530
www.anaturalprocess.com
__________________________________
Patchwork in the Desert
Our family provides fun, hand-crafted fabric
items, quilt kits, and penny wool kits! We’re
on Etsy & eBay!
(702) 524-7635
www.etsy.com/shop/
patchworkinthedesert
__________________________________
Homeschooling
__________________________________
AMN BOOKS
Gently used curriculum and children’s
books. My inventory exceeds my Amazon
listings; call with inquiries. Visit my blog,
too! (homeschoolblogger.com/amnbooks)
(410) 857-5580
www.amazon.com/shops/amnbooks
__________________________________
132 ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
__________________________________
AngelArts, A Creative Arts Agency &
Publishing House
Reach new heights in homeschooling and
beyond through Bible studies, devotionals,
language arts, graphic design, and
entrepreneurial curriculum. FREE resources!
(719) 785-4814
www.angelarts.biz
__________________________________
B.E.E. – Bixby Educational Events,
Inc.
B.E.E. is making school assembly programs
more available and affordable for all, no
matter the educational styles.
(714) 642-6482
www.bix-bee.com
__________________________________
Best Homeschool Buys
Drop by to save money on new and used
homeschool curriculum. Read reviews and
tips from 24-year homeschool veteran.
besthomeschoolbuys@gmail.com
besthomeschoolbuys.com
__________________________________
Christian Technologies, Inc.
Looking for the Noah Webster 1828
dictionary? We have it in an inexpensive,
easy-to-use, searchable, printable CD!
The hardcover dictionary is also available
below most website prices! Find gifts
from Jerusalem, classic books, children’s
computer learning games, and more at
great prices.
(800) 366-8320
www.ChristianSoup.com
__________________________________
Creative Learning Connection
Educational resources developed by
a homeschool mom: Shakespeare,
Leonardo da Vinci, Lewis & Clark, American
Revolution, Math Game, and more . . .
(256) 325-3305
www.CreativeLearningConnection.com
__________________________________
Cynda Moore, Homeworks
Consultant
Call to order any Bob Jones University
Press materials, Rosetta Stone Homeschool
Version, or Passport Learning, Free Shipping
Year Round.
(270) 378-5251
cyndamoore@yahoo.com
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
__________________________________
Ed Resource Online
Online blog listing/review of FREE online
educational resources for educators,
including our popular Homeschool and Ed
Resource toolbars. Download FREE!
www.edresourcesonline.com
__________________________________
Erika Bragg - Homeworks by Precept
consultant
Independent homeschool consultant
selling Bob Jones, Rosetta Stone, Passport
Learning, etc. Always FREE shipping!!
Serving Savannah and the Coastal Empire.
(912) 754-5890
www.homeworksbyprecept.com
__________________________________
Higher Path Print & Production
Producing Christian educational DVDs,
a children’s health course designed for
homeschoolers, bookmarkers, and more.
Plus, visit our homeschool website: www.
CharacterHomeSchool.com.
(877) 597-3883
www.HigherPath.ca
__________________________________
Home School Book Sale
Buy and sell new or used curriculum,
books, and educational resources in a
safe and effective venue of like-minded
homeschoolers.
www.HomeSchoolBookSale.com
__________________________________
Home Education Resource Emporium
Home Education Resource Emporium—
where Education + Fun = #1. Online
educational thrift store . . . and more!
hedremp@yahoo.ca
www.educationfun1.com
__________________________________
Homeschool Life Situations.com
This is a Christian site for homeschooling for
grades K–12. The site has tips for teaching
children who struggle.
www.homeschool-life-situations.com
__________________________________
HomeWorks by Precept, Karen Weger
Independent consultant representing BJU
Press, Rosetta Stone, Passport Learning,
Bridgeway Academy, Logos Science. FREE
SHIPPING in the US anytime!
(269) 685-8050
joshua2415wegers@jasnetworks.net
__________________________________
Imparting Wisdom
Consignment and sales of new and used
homeschool curriculum and learning
materials.
www.impartingwisdom.com
__________________________________

__________________________________
IOZion Homeschool Resources
Let us help you design your homeschool
planner. Check out our Spelling and
Vocabulary Workbook to complement your
spelling program.
(931) 952-0901
www.yourhomeschoolplanner.com
__________________________________
Katie’s Homeschool Cottage
Curriculum for you, using an eclectic mix of
unit study and Charlotte Mason methods.
(603) 608-2208
charlottemasonhomeschooling.
wordpress.com
__________________________________
Landry Academy
Christ-centered online classes for all the
standard subject areas plus numerous
unique classes that students love. We
also offer academic summer camps.
Greg@LandryAcademy.com
www.LandryAcademy.com
__________________________________
Layers of Learning
Lesson ideas and printables all for free and
constantly updated at our website. Look for
our products for sale soon.
www.layers-of-learning.com
__________________________________
Legacy Academic Consulting
Quality discipleship and social studies
curriculum from a biblical worldview. We
strive to equip Christians with tools for
effective citizenship.
(269) 599-3544
www.legacyacademic.com
__________________________________
Lighthouse Homeschool Resources
We are a homeschool family serving the
homeschool community. Shop and save
on curriculum, books, toys, games, & purity
jewelry.
info@LHRstore.com
www.LHRstore.com
__________________________________
Parson Place Press, LLC
Offering a fair deal to Christian authors and
readers. Deeply discounted curriculum for
teachers in public, private, or home schools.
(251) 643-6985
www.parsonplacepress.com/
store#resource
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
__________________________________
Second Harvest Curriculum
We buy and sell used homeschool
books. Homeschool family-run business
established to help families save money.
And still doing so.
www.UsedHomeschoolBooks.com
__________________________________
Sonbeams
Looking for encouragement to raise up
a Godly generation? At Sonbeams, we’re
excited to offer Bible-based materials
not only for children, but for parents and
families as well! Join us as we share how
God’s Word is truly the foundation for
learning ALL things.
Candace@Sonbeams.com
www.Sonbeams.com
__________________________________
Spirited Education
Experience the world and everything
in it through our downloadable series,
Stationery Adventures™. A new twist on
notebooking pages.
Susan25@spiritededucation.com
www.SpiritedEducation.com
__________________________________
Virginia Wallace, Ed.D. & Whitney
Husid, Psy.D.
Educators and information specialists:
V(ery) W(ell): How Students Learn. Inquiry
Learning: Let’s Teach It VERY WELL.
Providing workshops and consultations.
(864) 850-9128
(706) 868-9829
__________________________________
Homeschooling
Encouragement &
How-To
__________________________________
The Balanced Homeschooler
The BH manual helps new AND veteran
homeschooling moms understand, balance,
and enjoy the priorities of homeschooling
and home life.
(623) 217-1249
www.thebalancedhomeschooler.com
__________________________________
©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
Homeschooling
Coastal Home Educators
Conference CHEC 2011
June 9–11 Beaufort, SC. Speaker: David
Hazell of My Father’s World.
Intro to Homeschool Seminar. Vendors,
Workshops, Childcare. Book Blast (HUGE
used curriculum sale).
Want to sell your books at the Book Blast?
Register Online $12 & Receive Selling
Instructions. (Save the Date! CHEC 2012
June 7–9, 2012)
CHEConference@gmail.com
www.GoCHEC.org
__________________________________
HoMe – Homeschool Mentoring,
Resources and More
Help in starting, continuing, and finishing
your family’s homeschool journey.
Mentoring service, resources for family life,
Homeschool-Friendly Entrepreneurs
homeschool, parenting, and blog.
(717) 921-8589
HoMeresourcesandmore.wordpress.
com
__________________________________
Homeschool Group Leader
Free mini course: “Discover 4 Proven Ways
to Successfully Avoid the Top Traps That Trip
Up Homeschool Group Leaders Every Time.”
hgleaderblog.blogspot.com
www.homeschoolgroupleader.com
__________________________________
Homeschool Horizons Magazine
Canada’s only homeschool
encouragement magazine. Written by
and for home educators just like you!
Come see what inspiration awaits you!
(613) 362-9591
www.homeschoolhorizons.ca
Homeschool How-To
Free homeschool resources, ideas,
E-Books, advice, articles, and curriculum
suggestions for new and veteran
homeschoolers. Heidi Johnson is a
veteran homeschool mom of 4 who
enjoys helping people and sharing her
favorite tips and encouragement for
homeschooling. Homeschool How-To
is your one-stop homeschool resource
center!
www.homeschool-how-to.com
133
 homescho oling
HOPE Homeschool Consulting
H.O.P.E. educates parents on how
to homeschool and assists current
homeschoolers trying to get back
on track with the Educate the Home
Educator Course. A consultant is
available to answer your questions and
help you to make informed decisions
so you can homeschool in the manner
best for your family.
(574) 971-0114
www.hopehomeschoolconsulting.com
__________________________________
How To Homeschool Today
Provides resources for “out of the box”
Homeschool-Friendly Entrepreneurs
homeschooling based on your child’s
interests and abilities.
Cindy@me.com
www.howtohomeschooltoday.com
__________________________________
iamhomeschooling.com
Considering homeschooling? New to
homeschooling? A seasoned homeschooler?
We are your portal to homeschooling
resources. Have questions? We can help!
www.iamhomeschooling.com
__________________________________
Jolene Engle, Author
FREE Christ-centered homeschooling
resources and encouragement for women,
wives, and mothers.
(909) 981-1873
joleneengle.org
__________________________________
The Prosperous Teacher
An online resource to empower, encourage,
and support public, private school teachers,
home educators, and parents.
(256) 348-0354
antoinemccoy.com
__________________________________
Homeschooling -
Full Curriculum
__________________________________
Living Books Curriculum
Complete, K–8 Christian homeschooling
solution, inspired by visionary educator
Charlotte Mason. Ready-to-go curriculum
packages, teaching guides, and high-quality
literature. Guaranteed.
(888) 331-3481
www.livingbookscurriculum.com
__________________________________
134 ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
Homeschooling
- High School &
Beyond
__________________________________
Homeschooling TEEN
Free online magazine featuring
Homeschooling Teen Profiles, Homeschool-
Friendly Colleges, Career-of-the-Month,
high school advice, reviews, articles, and
more! Submit YOUR work!
www.HomeschoolingTEEN.com
__________________________________
School Success
COLLEGE SKILLS
Equip your student for college! Online
program: study skills, time management,
tailoring and applying college to one’s
calling. Discounts.
(803) 760-6859
www.school-success.net
Homeschooling -
History
__________________________________
CPR Publishing, LLC
We write and publish the Draw and Write
Through History series. A great supplement
to ANY history curriculum.
(608) 822-7787
drawandwrite.com
__________________________________
George Laidlaw – Author
Incredible Smalls: Historically Accurate
Mysteries series used by schools and
homeschoolers to encourage reading and
learning history. $16 plus postage.
(613) 831-2505
www.georgelaidlaw.ca
__________________________________
Jim Hodges Audio Books
Jim Hodges has the most (and best!)
unabridged recordings of the G.A. Henty
historical novels. Kids will enjoy learning
history!
(405) 391-5762
JimHodgesAudioBooks.com
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
State History From a Christian
Perspective
Complete state history courses, all 50
states available, age 3 through grade
12, from Christian perspective (teach all
ages together). Students make notebook
using textbook we provide. Compatible
with A Beka My State Notebook. Or
study all 50 states in statehood order,
or learn U.S. geography correlated with
statehood order.
statehistory@statehistory.net
www.statehistory.net
Homeschooling -
Language Arts
ABC The Key
ABC The Key uses multi-sensory learning
to teach phonetic reading, writing,
spelling, and pronunciation of the
English language. Engage your visual,
auditory, and kinesthetic learners and
enable them to master literacy skills.
sales@abcthekeyathome.com
www.abcthekeyathome.com
Assistive Writing Solutions
Handwriting Solutions
Just the Write Size Structured Writing
Paper helps children who are confused,
frustrated, or have difficulty writing
neatly on regular notebook paper. Check
our website for additional information
and samples.
www.AssistiveWritingSolutions.com
__________________________________
Bogart Family Resources
Join our website mailing list for $5 worth of
free copywork (ZB, DN, HWT, GDI), weekly
free lessons, and discounts!
bogartfamilyresources.com
__________________________________

__________________________________
Portico Books (Hands-On English)
Strengthen communication skills. Grades 4–8.
Easy-to-use curriculum: English handbook,
practice pages, card game. Grammar made
visual. Free online writing class.
(888) 641-5353
GrammarAndMore.com
__________________________________
Proverbs 22:6 Academy
Quality copybooks and more! Our E-Books
provide an opportunity to go beyond the
words and bring them to life.
proverbs22-6academy.com
__________________________________
Ring Around the Phonics
Homeschooling
__________________________________
UberSmart Software Online Education Made Easy
Developers of UberSmart Math Facts, a
proven system for mastering math facts.
Download a FREE 30-day trial today.
(817) 886-0780
UberSmartSoftware.com OnlineEducationMadeEasy.com offers
__________________________________ interactive courses presented in a small-
group, online format. Classes are taught
by a team of teachers with 40 years of
Homeschooling - experience. Connie teaches English,
Andrea math, and both teach SAT prep.
Music Our rates are extremely affordable, up to
75% less than the tutoring companies.
__________________________________ Convenient. Affordable. Professional.
Miles Music – Cindy Miles (703) 861-2154
Learn to play the fiddle! Curriculum features www.onlineeducationmadeeasy.com
tablature, standard music notation, split-
track CD. Downloads available! Teaching

Homeschool
traditional tunes since 1983.
(208) 435-4600

Ring Around The Phonics teaches
phonics, reading, blending, Spanish,
spelling, language arts, and teaches up to
4 children (different ages) at one time. It
saves money (several curriculums in one)
and time. Children literally beg to play/
learn. Based on scientific research.
(904) 317-5330
www.read-phonics.com
__________________________________
Totally Tailored Reading
Totally Tailored Reading creates a personalized,
36-week reading schedule for your child based
on his likes, interests, and reading capabilities.
www.Ttailoredreading.com
__________________________________
Homeschooling -
Mathematics
Subtraction A Better Way
Finally, strategies that build number
concepts while unlocking the 100
www.MilesMusicOnline.com
__________________________________
Natural Notes ONLINE Piano School
ONLINE piano classes—the incredible
Simply Music method in your home! A fully
structured curriculum. Great results from
the beginning!
(219) 662-1537
naturalnotespianoschool.
musicteachershelper.com
__________________________________
Homeschooling -
Online Courses
__________________________________
Abacus Educational Services
Homeschooling family helping homeschoolers
— online classes and tutoring in math, English
and music—all levels. Homeschool books/
resources. Qualified teachers.
(626) 798-9657
abacus-es.com
__________________________________
e ss & Entr
s in
TOS
u
Homeschool-Friendly Entrepreneurs
- Planning &
Organization
__________________________________
Homeschool CPA.com
Helping homeschool leaders start and run
their organizations. Apply for tax-exempt
status. Professional help from homeschool
parent and CPA.
(513) 290-4730
HomeschoolCPA.com
__________________________________
Mission Mama
Simply Planned, a beautifully illustrated,
practical homeschool planner with free
student planners. Also recipes for basic
household supplies and lapbooks.
Sherry@missionmama.com
www.MissionMama.com
__________________________________
Purposeful Planning With Sather
Homeschool
This time-tested method of planning will
give your family new direction for the
future. Home of Dan’s Doodles.
(320) 356-1114
ep Phyllis-Sather.com
__________________________________
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subtraction facts. Program includes

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Teacher’s Manual, Student Book,

four songs, and twelve interactive
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PowerPoints. Books, PowerPoints, and

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and Orientation PowerPoint shipped
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www.subtractionabetterway.com 2011

www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine 135

 homescho oling - household
Student Solutions
Affordable, K–12, laminated study charts,
book marks, chore charts, and games.
Also, homeschool essentials: report cards,
transcripts, student IDs, organizational
and record-keeping forms.
Serving homeschool families since 1984.
(210) 416-3307
www.mystudentsolutions.weebly.
com
Homeschooling -
Writing
Homeschool-Friendly Entrepreneurs
A–Z Word Services
A Specializing in frameless, framed, semi-
Z mirrors, insulated windows, glass tabletops.
Experienced English teachers at
connieschenkelberg.com will evaluate
your 6th-grade to 12th-grade students’
paragraphs and essays. Students email
their drafts; we evaluate and make
suggestions for improvements. The
process is repeated for the final drafts.
Your students’ writing will improve, and
your teachings/corrections are validated.
Excellent service, reasonable rates.
(703) 861-2154
www.connieschenkelberg.com
__________________________________
The Grannie Annie Family Story
Celebration
Free writing contest for students 9–14. Write
stories from your family’s history. Deadline
February 1 for possible publication in
annual anthology.
(888) 641-5353
TheGrannieAnnie.org
__________________________________
Writing Coach – Danielle Olander
Writing coaching via email. Paper editing
and grading. Email classes using Excellence
in Writing (IEW) methods & materials.
(616) 897-6928
www.rocksatmyfeet.blogspot.com
__________________________________
136 ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
Young Voices Foundation –
Mentoring Young Writers
Providing creative kids with a practice
field of their own. Programs open to
students in grades K–12. Continuous,
no-fee writing contests. Free program for
teachers. See your students published.
Online writing workshops for kids/teens.
Programs developed and led by team of
writers, editors, publishers, and teachers.
(540) 903-6831
www.youngvoicesfoundation.org
Household
__________________________________
Agur Glass and Mirror, LLC
frameless shower enclosures, custom
Servicing Central NJ and Lehigh Valley, PA.
(908) 213-9200
www.agurglass.com
__________________________________
Atlanta Gold & Coin Buyers
We buy gold, coins, sterling silverware, and
more. Visit us in Atlanta, or mail your items
from anywhere.
(404) 236-9744
www.atlantagoldandcoin.com
__________________________________
CA Energy Savers
Residents and businesses SAVE on gas &
electricity. Support Christian values; NO
connection fees. Call Angela, your Tiger
independent consultant.
(916) 837-0813
CAenergysavers@gmail.com
__________________________________
Consignment Mamas
Full-service consignment sales ~ We
liquidate estates, stores, and personal
collections. We buy! We sell! Economical
pricing.
(530) 624-8449
www.ChicoConsignments.com
__________________________________
Families in Faith
Want to GO Green? Natural products.
Want to SAVE Green? Wholesale prices.
Want to MAKE Green? Work 100% from
home.
(940) 682-6772
www.familiesinfaith.com/kshadden
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
__________________________________
Homestead Originals
Prepare and Care for your Homestead!
Learn homestead skills via our FREE Blog &
our selection of DVDs and books. We offer
handcrafted wares to grain mills to healing
oils!
Lisa@HomesteadOriginals.com
www.HomesteadOriginals.com
__________________________________
Jewelry Cares – Cash for Gold
Turn your old jewelry into quick cash for
both you and the charity/organization
of your choice! Send us your old gold
and we’ll send you a check plus make
a 10% percent donation to the charity/
organization you designate. Or contract us
about hosting an on-site fundraising event.
Homeschool family owned/operated.
(866) 493-4941
www.jewelrycares.com/bbmailin
__________________________________
SendOutCards – Maribeth Gardella
Get creative–upload photos, change fonts
and colors, then let SOC print, address, and
mail your cards for you. megsoc@live.com
(224) 338-0011
www.sendoutcards.com/megscards
__________________________________
Send Out Cards – Bonnie Manthey
Send cards by the click of a button. The
company prints, stuffs, and mails for you.
Plus, potential moneymaking opportunities.
(715) 851-3522
www.sendoutcards.com/
peac4ustoday
__________________________________
Send Out Cards – Teresa Baine, Ind.
Sales Rep #121370
Online greeting card system. From your
computer to their mailbox. We print, stuff,
stamp, & send. Wholesale $1.06, including
postage!
(803) 684-0502
www.MailCardsToday.com
__________________________________
Thirty-One Gifts – Stephanie Ziemba,
Independent Consultant
A faith-based company that provides a
variety of products from stylish purses and
totes to home organization. ziembafamily@
gmail.com
(620) 639-1209
www.mythirtyone.com/
stephanieziemba
__________________________________

Household -
Frugal Living
__________________________________
The Coupon Kat
Save up to 60% on your grocery bill! Book
a workshop, learn to coupon or let us shop
for you!
thecouponkat@gmail.com
www.thecouponkat.com
__________________________________
Shopping-Bargains.com
When making an online order, have you
seen a coupon code box during checkout
and wondered where to get one?
Shopping-Bargains® publishes thousands
of coupon codes as well as free shipping
discounts and other deals for nearly
3,000 online retailers. Owned by 2nd
generation homeschoolers. Established
1999. Totally free!
www.shopping-bargains.com
__________________________________
Totally Temberton (Blog)
Frugal living & homeschooling; bargains,
coupons, freebies, giveaways, reviews, sales,
Frugalista Fridays meme/blog hop, + more
hosted hops.
totallytemberton.net
__________________________________
Household - Home
Décor
__________________________________
Blessings Unlimited
Bringing God’s Word and creative beauty
into your home!
(843) 597-3173
monicaw.blessingsdirect.com
__________________________________
Erika Bragg - Celebrating Home—
formerly Home Interiors
Independent consultant since 2001 offering
home decor, mirrors, candles, GREAT
fundraiser for nonprofits. Serving Savannah
and the Coastal Empire.
(912) 754-5890
www.celebratinghome.com
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
__________________________________
Gold Canyon® – Angela Winters,
Independent Demonstrator
*Buy or Sell* Experience our full line of home
fragrance, including scented candles, Scent
Pod® warmers, home décor, and more!
(870) 723-6095
www.mygc.com/awinters
__________________________________
Rachel Ramm Fine Art
Fine art impressionistic oil paintings:
originals, giclées, and prints. Home, family,
and vintage style. Custom work and
portraits upon request.
rachel@rammnation.com
www.rachelramm.com
__________________________________
Scentsy Wickless Candles –
Kelly Brown
Safely fill your HOME-school with
refreshing, warm, and comforting scents
the safe way. We use bulbs not flames!
(704) 248-0507
www.kbrown.scentsy.us
__________________________________
Scentsy Wickless Candles –
Gena Gommer
No soot, no fire, no mess! I’m a stay-at-
home, homeschooling mom of three
who has a great-smelling home! Scentsy
is a wickless candle with over 80 scents.
Please browse my web page and discover
the world of SCENTSY! Read my story!
Join my team!
(843) 441-5137
genagommer.scentsy.us/home
Household -
Keepsakes, Gifts &
Awards
__________________________________
Caedy’s Corner: Custom-Drawn
Pencil Portraits of Pets and People
Turn your favorite photo into a beautiful,
unique work of art. Makes a perfect gift or
treasured keepsake.
(248) 462-0848
www.caedyscorner.etsy.com
__________________________________
©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
household
__________________________________
Celebrating Home
Celebrating Home has products that bring
families together, including entertaining,
fragrance, and décor items. Fundraising and
other income opportunities available.
(405) 330-1396
www.celebratinghome.com/sites/
carolgrieb
__________________________________
Christian Engravers
Laser engraved picture frames, plaques,
awards, and more. Customized and
personalized for promotions, weddings,
holidays, birthdays, or any gift-giving occasion!
(256) 443-7850
www.christianengravers.com
__________________________________
Designs by U
Homeschool-Friendly Entrepreneurs
I sell anything imprintable: mugs, hats,
shirts, signs, awards, trophies, etc. You pick
the design and I print it.
(641) 858-3776
mandjr@heartofiowa.net
__________________________________
Personalized Athletic Keepsakes
Uniquely Personalized, Affordable Gifts!
Gymnastics - Dance - Equestrian - Musicians
– Sports
Note Cards, Calling Cards, Luggage Tags,
Posters, Scorebooks
Amy@Leo-Cards.com
Leo-Cards.com
__________________________________
Household -
Kitchen Items
__________________________________
Pampered Chef – Kristina Bailey
Join my team to get out of debt, learn new
recipes, and earn amazing free products &
rewards while homeschooling!
(210) 383-3482
www.pamperedchef.biz/
kristinabailey
__________________________________
Tupperware – Judith Martinez,
Authorized Consultant
Tupperware, to save you time and money.
Kitchen organization services. In home, and
E-party options with free gifts for hosts.
(303) 274-6890
my2.tupperware.com
__________________________________
137
 household - Liter ature & book s
Household -
Organization &
Storage
__________________________________
Clever Colleen Garcia
Organizing Just Got Fun! Clever
Container—a new direct sales business (and
business opportunity!) marketing awesome,
affordable organizing product solutions!
(773) 759-4675
www.CleverColleen.com
__________________________________
Homemaking Organized
Homeschool-Friendly Entrepreneurs
Tips, articles, and printables to plan
and order your homemaking days. We
believe that homemaking is infinitely
easier when you’re organized. Schedule
your days, plan your meals, organize your
home. Find more time for the people
you love. Make this the year you get it
together.
miamadre@
homemakingorganized.com
www.homemakingorganized.com
__________________________________
Thirty-One Gifts – Amy Horton
Need help organizing your school or
household supplies? I can help. Keep
yourself and your house organized in style.
(404) 933-5411
www.mythirtyone.com/amyhorton
__________________________________
Traut Incorporated
Traut Incorporated manufactures a line
of furniture to help you organize your
home, office, or school. We have several
choices in design and color. Our cubby
benches are great for shoes or papers,
and our storage chests are good for
storing things out of the way. Furniture
made in USA.
(320) 842-4397
www.trautinc.com
138 ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
Insurance
__________________________________
A-Tex Insurance
A proud homeschool dad available to help
you with all of your insurance needs. (940)
320-2277 Servicing ALL of TEXAS!
(866) 484-2839
www.atexinsurance.com
__________________________________
Literature & Books
__________________________________
Barefoot Books Ambassador –
Diane Farrug
Celebrate art and story with multicultural,
award-winning Barefoot Books. Join my
mailing list for discounts. Great work-at-
home opportunity too!
barefootinrochester.blogspot.com
__________________________________
BooksBloom
Workshop/convention speakers, vintage
and out-of-print booksellers, author of
reference books about wholesome books.
(320) 761-6378
www.booksbloom.com
__________________________________
Clean Teen Reads
Know what’s in books before your teen/
tween reads them. Find detailed reviews
with specific information about offensive
language and more.
cleanbooksforteens.com
__________________________________
Firmly Rooted Homeschool
Resources
Selling books we love at prices you can
afford!
(834) 304-4283
www.FirmlyRootedBooks.com
__________________________________
Golden Garden Publishing
Dedicated to producing literature that
glorifies the name of our Lord and Savior
and King, Jesus Christ of Nazareth!
info@goldengardenbooks.com
www.goldengardenbooks.com
__________________________________
Goso Books (Knowledge is lasting...)
We are pioneering the idea of home
education and reading aloud in Nigeria and
sub-Saharan Africa at large.
gosobooks@gmail.com
www.gosobooks.com
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
__________________________________
Great Books for Children
We proudly sell Barefoot Books. These
beautiful books can help you educate
through literature. Also offers family home-
business opportunity.
(817) 874-1658
www.GreatBooks4Children.com
__________________________________
Jessica Lynn Campos, Author
Imaginative writer shares stories and
writing ideas. Check out book review
by The Old Schoolhouse® at http://
thehomeschoolmagazine.com/
Homeschool_Reviews/3139.php.
Buy at Amazon.
www.jessicalynncampos.com
__________________________________
MomsKidsBooks
Best books for kids! Find great books for
kids recommended by moms. Find books,
recommend books, join the conversation.
(307) 509-0037
www.momskidsbooks.com
__________________________________
Nordskog Publishing, Inc.
Books for learning and sheer joy! Meaty,
tasty, and easily digestible biblical treasures:
American history, current issues, doctrine,
Christian novels.
(805) 642-2070
www.NordskogPublishing.com
__________________________________
Simmons Olivegrove Publishing
The Haven and The Leviathan are the
first two books in The Orphans of
Mordecai’s Castle series that glorifies
Christ and helps build character. These
exciting books are a must-read for the
entire family. Full of adventure and fun,
presented in a clean, Godly manner.
$14.00 each, plus shipping.
(203) 284-9691
www.carasimmons.com
The Storytellers
A fantasy adventure novel by homeschooled
19-year-old Rebecca McKinsey. Storytellers
Hannah and Aaron find their way to
Anterria and there learn how to use their
imaginations to fight the Shadow. Can they
stop him from completing his ancient crime?
Free reading guide on website. Preview
chapters at BookLocker.com.
(703) 249-8260
thestorytellersonline.com

__________________________________
Usborne Books and More –
Jocelyn Cadiz
Wonderfully illustrated Usborne and Kane
Miller books available through my website.
Available for home shows in the Heidelberg,
Germany area.
(503) 742-3012 (US phone #)
www.myubam.com/f3129
__________________________________
Natural Foods &
Farms
__________________________________
Double R Cattle Services, Inc.
We are a family-owned farm in
Hillsborough, North Carolina. We offer 100%
grass-fed beef and U-pick strawberries.
(919) 949-8157
www.doublercattleservices.com
__________________________________
Foundations Farm, LLC
We specialize in all-natural granola and
homemade, liquid laundry soap. The best
from our farm to your home.
info@foundationsfarm.com
www.FoundationsFarm.com
__________________________________
Live Springs Farm
Biodynamic and organic agriculture,
producing and selling 100% grass-fed,
grass-finished beef, pastured/woodland
pork, pasture-raised chickens and eggs.
(217) 942-5060
www.livespringsfarm.com
__________________________________
Our Father’s Farm
Raw milk through herd shares, grass-fed
beef, pasture-raised eggs and poultry.
Better than organic products. A farming
family with integrity.
(434) 656-1188
www.ourfathersfarmva.com
__________________________________
Preschoolers
__________________________________
Formative Foundations
Resources and products to help you
lay a healthy foundation during the
formative years.
www.formativefoundations.com
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
liter ature & Book s - re al es tate
__________________________________
Hands on Homeschooling
Play with a purpose! Add a bit of structure
to preschool playtime to get some hands-
on, educational, fun.
handsonhomeschooling.com
__________________________________
Pam Ball Unlimited –
Early Learning
Pam Ball Unlimited offers early learning
printables, including a FREE daily activity.
Join my mailing list to receive special
offers and to be notified of new products.
Specializing in infants, toddlers, and
preschoolers.
Mention this ad and receive an additional
25% off your first purchase! Coupon
code: homeschool
(866) PAM-8015
www.pam-ball.com
Photography
__________________________________
Amy R. Weber Photography
Double degree in photography/graphic arts.
Experienced in many areas—specialties are
sports and children. Serving Pennsylvania,
New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland.
(856) 678-3653
amy@website29.com
__________________________________
BNHoskins, Photographer
We specialize in portraits, weddings, events,
and homeschool groups (Chicagoland area).
We photograph commercial products for
local and national businesses.
(708) 308-9609
www.bnhoskins.com
__________________________________
Sparkle Photography
Specializes in natural light, studio
portraiture, and event photography. Our
photo-journalistic style tells a story you can
leave future generations.
(727) 781-2950
www.sparkle-photo.com
__________________________________
Toni Riggs Photography
Nature and landscape photography,
Christian art, note cards, and photo gift
items.
toniriggsphotography@live.com
www.toniriggsphotography.com
__________________________________
©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
Publishing &
Recording
__________________________________
Healthy Life Press
Small Christian publisher seeks original
manuscripts on homeschooling,
homesteading, family, and health-related
topics. Cooperative & collaborative effort.
All proposals considered.
DBBV1@aol.com
www.healthylifepress.com
__________________________________
Ohana Music Group
We’re able to meet all of your music
recording needs, from radio ready to a
simple vocal. Call for quotes.
(615) 631-0934
www.ohanamusicgroup.com
Homeschool-Friendly Entrepreneurs
__________________________________
Open Door Publishers, Inc.
Open Door Publishers, Inc. is a family-based
book publishing company that is dedicated
to helping authors get published.
(518) 899-2097
www.opendoorpublishers.com
__________________________________
YourStudentNews.com
Start your own online, homeschool
newspaper! Includes friendly interface,
customized graphics, and great customer
support. Great for clubs or co-ops!
(423) 727-5107
www.YourStudentNews.com
__________________________________
Real Estate
Anderson Real Estate Team
We are a homeschooling family with
9+ years experience in real estate,
both buying and selling. Call us today
for expert, professional, friendly, and
integrity-filled service. Call or email us at
eric@andersonrealestateteam.com with
further questions. We look forward to
helping you find your dream home!
(253) 985-0955
www.andersonrealestateteam.
com
139
 re al es tate - Tr av el & hospitalit y
Bob & Joyce Glover,
Broker Associates
Real Estate Brokers in Homeschool-
Friendly South Carolina. Hilton Head
Island, Bluffton, Beaufort. Located on the
Intra-Coastal Waterway, Beaufort County
is rich in History, has beautiful Beaches,
miles of Bike Trails, challenging Golf
courses, is Family-Oriented and ranks as
SC’s Healthiest County. Come visit and
you’ll want to stay! (843)384-7148 Direct
Bob@RickTurnerand
Associates.com
www.RickTurnerandAssociates.com
Larry Cole Communities –
Build Your Home in Texas
Homeschool-Friendly Entrepreneurs
Master planned, gated subdivision
Highland Oaks features country estate
living in park-like setting among rolling
hills with full city services (water, sewer,
natural gas), high-speed Internet.
Amenities: pools, cabana, trails, ponds,
sport fields. Located in homeschooling-
friendly Texas, NW Dallas-Fort Worth
area. Realtor/developer, homeschooler.
(214) 340-1244
www.larrycolecommunities.com
__________________________________
The Property Boutique
Homeschool mom/real estate specialist.
“Turning Dreams Into Homes”
(951) 283-9191
www.propboutique.com
__________________________________
Vinson Home Team
Buying? Selling? We can help. Ohio licensed,
international specialists. Accredited buyer
agency. Vinson Home Team—where clients
are family.
(513) 405-2696
www.vinsonhometeam.com
__________________________________
Science & Nature
__________________________________
M-ZAN Solutions, Inc
Free science fair projects, ideas, topics, and
resources. Science experiment kits. Free
online Science Fair Olympiad. Teacher and
parent resources.
(800) 296-3650
www.super-science-fair-projects.com
__________________________________
140 ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
__________________________________
Shining Dawn Books
Home to the popular NaturExplorers
creation-based nature studies. We offer other
fun & creative curriculum choices as well!
(859) 484-3599
ShiningDawnBooks.com
__________________________________
Northwest Treasures
Exceptional, reasonably priced Creation
Geology kits and curricula. Generous
mineral, fossil and rock specimens. Field
trips. Visit us at Facebook.
(425) 488-6848
NorthwestRockAndFossil.com
__________________________________
Screen Printing
__________________________________
The Ordinary Store, Inc.
Screen Printing, Heat-Applied Graphics,
Sublimation, Custom Artwork and
more. Only our name is Ordinary,
TheOrdinaryStore.com.
(812) 967-5082
www.theordinarystore.com
__________________________________
Special Needs
__________________________________
The Cardboard Schoolhouse
Learning about the world one craft at a time.
My blog focuses on crafts, homeschooling,
mild cerebral palsy, and BRE.
craftedlcs@
thecardboardschoolhouse.com
www.thecardboardschoolhouse.com
__________________________________
Glavach and Associates
Instructional programs for struggling
readers, grades K–adult. Most E-programs
$10. $90 in FREE PROGRAMS. Free
consultation.
(707) 894-5047
www.StrugglingReaders.com
__________________________________
Learn Differently
Helping parents teach exceptional children:
learning disabilities or just differences,
gifted, ADD/ADHD, ASD. Planning,
resources, support. Free 20-minute
consultation.
info@LearnDifferently.com
learndifferently.com
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
Travel &
Hospitality
__________________________________
Athelas Outdoor Ministry, Inc
Challenge, Growth and Renewal through
Adventure! The wonders of God’s creation
provide a place for spiritual, physical, and
mental refreshment.
(866) 862-8382
www.athelasoutdoor.org
__________________________________
A Candle in the Window
Hospitality Network
A growing network of Christian
households delighting in hospitality!
Meet new people. Make lifelong
friends. Great conversational dinners.
Stay free when traveling. Practice
hospitality! (Romans 12:13) Join today
and experience the joy of Christian
hospitality. “Christianity was, and still
should be, the religion of the open door.”
~William Barclay
(904) 589-0287
www.acandleinthewindow.com
__________________________________
Detroit Greenfield RV Park
Southeast Michigan’s finest family-
oriented destination camping resort
in a scenic wilderness, close to all the
attractions of the area.
(877) 562-7601
www.detroitgreenfield.com
__________________________________
The Gatlinburg Lodge at
SmokyMountainViews.com
Vacation in luxury Gatlinburg cabin rental.
Smoky Mountain views. Game room. Hot
tub. National park, aquarium, Dollywood,
Titanic. Facebook: GatlinburgCabinRentals
(877) HIS-GRACE (447-4722)
SmokyMountainViews.com
__________________________________
Gilgal Bed and Breakfast
Welcome, homeschoolers! A very affordable
retreat house ministry for those looking to
reconnect with God or just visiting the area.
(301) 872-5005
www.gilgalbandb.com
__________________________________

__________________________________
Reformation Tours, LLC
We specialize in quality Christian Tours to
Europe, including learning about Christian
heritage, fellowship and fun.
(800) 303-5534
www.ReformationTours.com
__________________________________
Travel Learner
A travel website/blog for the learning
family. Plan economical, educational trips.
Historical sites, reenactments, museums,
nature reserves, music, theater, etc.
www.TravelLearner.com
__________________________________
Virtual Assistants
__________________________________
“Anita, I need a . . . ” Virtual Assisting
Virtual assisting for: bookkeeping, website
maintenance, webinars, customer service,
sales, advertising/marketing, document
preparation, data entry, transcription
services at great rates.
anitaineeda@mail.com
www.anitaineeda.webs.com
__________________________________
Connie’s Virtual Assistant/
Bookkeeping Services
Excellent administrative, bookkeeping, and
specialized services to meet your needs. 20
years experience. References available.
(919) 550-1644
Conniekh1956@yahoo.com
__________________________________
Guiding Light Virtual Assistance
I have the experience to help your company
with administrative tasks while you focus on
the important stuff—your clients.
glva@juno.com
guidinglightva.weebly.com
__________________________________
Katzz The VA
As a virtual assistant, I am able to help you
with all of your office tasks to promote your
business.
(707) 834-3442
www.katzztheva.com
__________________________________
Virtual Secretary – Pam McCormick
Need a virtual assistant? I can help with
word processing, customer service,
desktop publishing, marketing support,
bookkeeping, and data entry.
(620) 755-3741
Pamala1218@gmail.com
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
tr avel & hospitalit y - work from home oppor tunities
Work from Home
Opportunities
__________________________________
AdvoCare – Gail Speis, Independent
AdvoCare Distributor
World-class nutrition. Coach people to
lose weight, gain energy, and improve
performance. Business where you get paid
5 ways.
(636) 544-1631
www.winwithadvocare.info
__________________________________
Avon-Ind. Sales Rep/Unit Leader
*Buy or Sell AVON* Just $10/$20 investment.
No inventory required or minimum orders!
Contact me today!
(828) 759-7135
www.youravon.com/lrichardson9713
__________________________________
Biltmore Inspirations – Lani
Rodriguez, Independent Consultant
Exclusive, chef-inspired foods and home
decor, all inspired by the beauty of Biltmore.
Amazing hostess rewards and ground-floor
opportunity!!
(832) 482-8781
www.inspiredtocelebrate.com
__________________________________
©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
__________________________________
Christian Home Business Connection
Looking to work from home? Find legitimate
resources and home business coaching. Get
started quickly and avoid the scams!
(585) 334-0306
www.
christianhomebusinessconnection.com
__________________________________
Essential Vitamins and Energy
Life-essential vitamin drink for your brain,
health, energy, and good sleep. Best
company and career if you want time/
money/freedom.
+358 50 5425806
jljungars.vemma.com
__________________________________
Health Wise Worldwide
Would an extra $100–$500 per month help?
Homeschool-Friendly Entrepreneurs
Free DVD describes part-time, home-based,
health-oriented, family-friendly business
anyone can do.
DBBV1@aol.com
__________________________________
Homeschool Entrepreneur—
Teaching Entrepreneurship by
Doing!
Home school curriculum and business
resources for teens and their families.
Integrate a home business while learning
Christian entrepreneurship principles.
(615) 374-3176
HomeschoolEnt.com
__________________________________
Melaleuca Independent Marketing
Executive – Wendy & Neil Schaan
Have balance, freedom to fit your family
schedule. Save money and earn residual
income. Best of all? No parties, orders,
deliveries, or inventory. Not MLM;
25-year A+ BBB green company. This is
brilliant--have you heard about it? You
bring the motivation, I’ll help you every
step of the way!
(877) 936-6272
www.wendy.familiesearningmore.
com
141
 work from home oppor tunities -
Mobile Drug Testing, LLC
Join our company as an independent
contractor with all the benefits of a
franchise for 1/10th the investment;
proven business model; a business that
is in high demand in an industry that
is growing exponentially; complete
package with training, marketing, full
support, and inventory. Contact us for an
information packet.
(801) 577-9411
www.mdtesting.com/request.html
__________________________________
Poppy’s
Work from home. Fast-growing business
Homeschool-Friendly Entrepreneurs
perfect for busy families. Make money while
saving friends money.
(678) 378-4874
www.dakin.igniteinc.biz
__________________________________
Reliv International—
Paul & Kristen Fagala
The energy drink market is $560 MILLION
per year. Now you can tap into that
market with Reliv’s all-new exclusive
energy shot 24k. Enjoy real energy and
focus with no caffeine or sugar and only
5 calories. Create personal wealth and
have fun doing it as an independent Reliv
distributor!
(281) 573-2120
paulandkristen.reliv.com
__________________________________
Scent-Sations – Mia Bella Candles,
Dermal Renu, and Bella Beauty
Do you burn gourmet candles, use anti-
aging skin care products or cosmetics?
Business opportunity working from home
in U.S./Canada!
(519) 522-1269
www.candlesandsuccess.com
__________________________________
142 ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
Scentsy Wickless Candles –
Renewing Strength
We carry all things Scentsy; from
warmers and wax to Buddies with Paks!
We would love for other homeschooling
families to join our team in this hands-
on business, tailor-made for teaching
the basics of entrepreneurship—and
smell great doing it! Renew your
strength—Isaiah 40:31.
(480) 382-6698
www.RenewingStrength.com
__________________________________
Tupperware – Misty Kearns,
Independent Director
Start a rewarding home business for free!
Earn free Tupperware: host a home, catalog,
or online party! Fundraisers also available!
(336) 309-1084
www.twmisty.com
__________________________________
Wiseworld.Zurvita.biz
Save on health services including dental
and vision, or start your own business for
about $50.00 with a BizPak.
nlweaver@wiseworld.biz
wiseworld.zurvita.biz
__________________________________
Writing & Editing
__________________________________
From Pen to Page
Great writing brings ideas to life. Over ten
years experience writing and editing Web
content, articles, and E-Books. Free quotes.
CindyHorton@
pentopagewriting.com
www.pentopagewriting.com
__________________________________
Hawkeye Proofreading
Proofreading of documents and websites.
We preview for errors, clarity, and website
accessibility. Prevent embarrassment and
costly mistakes.
(520) 591-0898
www.HawkeyeProofreading.com
__________________________________
KAFE, LLC
We specialize in words! Let us help promote
your business through social media, writing,
proofreading, editing, transcription, and more.
(570) 431-9593
www.kafellc.com
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
__________________________________
Kind Corrections Editing Service
Experienced editor of fiction and non-
fiction, who can handle both large and
small projects. Reasonable fees and friendly
help.
(320) 356-1114
kindcorrections@gmail.com
__________________________________
LeBedz Publishing
Freelance and professional writer, editor, and
speaker. Veteran organizer and homeschool
consultant. Phone, email, and video
consultations available. Reasonable rates.
(704) 701-3088
www.bethanylebedz.com
__________________________________
Liz Koon
Professional writing and editing services.
20 years experience. Name it—I’ll write it or
edit it.
LizKoonWritingandEditing
Svcs@gmail.com
__________________________________
Mary Jo Tate, Professional Writer &
Editor since 1986
I help entrepreneurs and speakers author a
business-building book . . . whether or not
you can write. Ghostwriting, editing, book
coaching.
www.WriteAGreatBook.com
__________________________________
Rogene Hingston
Problems with grammar, spelling,
punctuation, sentence structure? Produce a
professional manuscript or document with my
proofreading, editing, and critiquing skills.
(360) 755-0191
rogene@fidalgo.net
__________________________________
SureProof
Quality proofreading, editing, and typing
services. 20+ years experience. USA only
please.
(816) 523-7060
sureproofhome@yahoo.com
__________________________________
The Word Surgeon
Professional writing, proofreading, and
editing by published writer, former
classroom teacher, and homeschool mom.
All ages and projects.
(404) 895-6955
www.TheWordSurgeon.net
__________________________________
 C ategory

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m e

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stand out from the rest. You can order
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Mari Almon, today at Malmon@
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©2011, beOld
released in April
Schoolhouse® 2012.
Magazine 143
 al abama - c alifornia
In this section, you’ll discover
which businesses are located
near you! We hope that
this section encourages
homeschooling families to
do business with one another
whenever possible and that
new friendships will grow
as a result. Of course, keep
in mind that many of the
businesses listed in these
pages operate nationally or
even internationally and their
“home base” is by no means
a limitation.
Alabama
Listings by Region
__________________________________
Christian Engravers
Laser engraved picture frames, plaques,
awards, and more. Customized and
personalized for promotions, weddings,
holidays, birthdays, or any gift-giving
occasion!
(256) 443-7850
www.christianengravers.com
__________________________________
Creative Learning Connection
Educational resources developed by
a homeschool mom: Shakespeare,
Leonardo da Vinci, Lewis & Clark, American
Revolution, Math Game, and more . . .
(256) 325-3305
www.CreativeLearningConnection.
com
__________________________________
Educating for Success
See our display ad on page 105.
www.educatingforsuccess.com
__________________________________
Parson Place Press, LLC
Offering a fair deal to Christian authors and
readers. Deeply discounted curriculum for
teachers in public, private, or home schools.
(251) 643-6985
www.parsonplacepress.com
__________________________________
144 ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
__________________________________
The Prosperous Teacher
An online resource to empower, encourage,
and support public, private school teachers,
home educators, and parents.
(256) 348-0354
antoinemccoy.com
__________________________________
Sew Blessed Designs by Cindy
Johnson
Modest and classic sewing patterns for
today’s active children. Patterns include
multiple sizes and clear, concise directions
with illustrations.
(256) 425-1668
www.sewblesseddesigns.net
__________________________________
Sonbeams
Looking for encouragement to raise up
a Godly generation? At Sonbeams, we’re
excited to offer Bible-based materials
not only for children, but for parents and
families as well! Join us as we share how
God’s Word is truly the foundation for
learning ALL things.
Candace@Sonbeams.com
www.Sonbeams.com
TeenBizTalk.com
Teen Biz Talk provides a safe place for
homeschool teen entrepreneurs and
their families to create, build, and grow
their business. Membership includes a
learning center and forums to exchange
ideas, find joint ventures, outsource to
each other, and find new ways to grow
their business.
(251) 456-7581
www.teenbiztalk.com
Alaska
__________________________________
Alaska Bible College (Colleges &
Universities)
Through biblical study, academic
excellence, and hands-on ministry, Alaska
Bible College can equip you to be a leader
in missions and ministry.
www.akbible.edu
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
Arizona
__________________________________
The Balanced Homeschooler
The BH manual helps new AND veteran
homeschooling moms understand, balance,
and enjoy the priorities of homeschooling
and home life.
(623) 217-1249
www.thebalancedhomeschooler.
com
__________________________________
Carmenta Online Latin School
An online live audio/video Latin course
stressing grammar and the use of Latin in
conversation.
www.CarmentaLatin.com
__________________________________
Cleocat Books
Well-written and artistically designed,
Cleocat Books provide exciting, enjoyable,
and educational reading. The Cleocat Books
library includes rhyming, ABCs, counting,
shapes, colors, and more. Learning can be
fun.
(386) 760-5434
www.CleoCatBooks.com
__________________________________
Hawkeye Proofreading
Proofreading of documents and websites.
We preview for errors, clarity, and website
accessibility. Prevent embarrassment and
costly mistakes.
(520) 591-0898
www.HawkeyeProofreading.com
__________________________________
Healthy Mommies
Need energy, motivation, weight loss or
muscle gain? I’ll show you how to do it the
healthy way!
(623) 936-9984
screspin@msn.com
__________________________________
Homeschooling TEEN
Free online magazine featuring
Homeschooling Teen Profiles, Homeschool-
Friendly Colleges, Career-of-the-Month,
high school advice, reviews, articles, and
more! Submit YOUR work!
www.HomeschoolingTEEN.com
__________________________________
Leotard City
High-quality, children’s gymnastics
leotards, shorts, and unitards. Made in the
USA by homeschoolers at an affordable,
everyday price!
(480) 993-6858
www.leotardcity.com
__________________________________

__________________________________
Spalding Education International
Teach children the lifelong skills of reading,
writing, and spelling with The Writing Road
to Reading. Diagnostic and instructionally
sound, this comprehensive K-6 Program will
meet your child’s individual needs.
(877) 866-7451
www.Spalding.org
__________________________________
Travel Learner
A travel website/blog for the learning
family. Plan economical, educational trips.
Historical sites, reenactments, museums,
nature reserves, music, theater, etc.
www.TravelLearner.com
__________________________________
Arkansas
__________________________________
A Beginning Advantage /
A Reason For
New homeschool distributor provides
parent resources and K–8th curricula,
always featuring scriptural values,
hands-on activities, and differentiated
instruction options. They carry all A Reason
For . . . curricula.
(877) 481-1122
www.ABeginningAdvantage.com
__________________________________
Britches ‘N Stitches
We are a family-owned custom embroidery
business. We have unique items for all your
gift needs.
(866) 588-0305
www.britchesnstitches.com
__________________________________
The Cardboard Schoolhouse
Learning about the world one craft
at a time. My blog focuses on crafts,
homeschooling, mild cerebral palsy, and
BRE.
craftedlcs@
thecardboardschoolhouse.com
www.thecardboardschoolhouse.com
__________________________________
Ecclesia College
On campus or online, Ecclesia College
offers private, affordable, Christ-centered
higher education with Christian service and
international travel opportunities and real-
world work experience for life after college.
(479) 248-7236
www.ecollege.edu
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
__________________________________
Gold Canyon® – Angela Winters,
Independent Demonstrator
*Buy or Sell* Experience our full line of home
fragrance, including scented candles, Scent
Pod® warmers, home décor, and more!
(870) 723-6095
www.mygc.com/awinters
__________________________________
ReformationKidz
ReformationKidz provides parents with
character-building resources that include
solid theology and historical significance.
Free downloadable colorsheets,
biographies, and games.
www.reformationkidz.com
__________________________________
Terherst Enterprises, LLC
Trouble getting your kids to eat well? We
can help. Ask for free DVD, samples, or kids’
free product program.
(866) 588-0305
info@terherstenterprises.com
__________________________________
California
__________________________________
Abacus Educational Services
Homeschooling family helping
homeschoolers—online classes and
tutoring in math, English and music—all
levels. Homeschool books/resources.
Qualified teachers.
(626) 798-9657
abacus-es.com
__________________________________
AIMS Education Foundation
AIMS Education Foundation develops
engaging, hands-on activities that build
students’ conceptual understanding of
math and science. We make learning fun,
instill curiosity, and motivate thinking.
(888) 733-2467
www.aimsedu.org
__________________________________
Ann Kania Design
Need a professional look? Work with a
mom who understands homeschooling.
Logos, ads, websites, brochures,
magazines, books, packaging, print
liaison. 25 years experience in Graphic
Design & Art Direction. Looking to
collaborate. Located near Sacramento/
Folsom/Jackson in Northern CA.
(916) 316-3224
artsi-ann@live.com
©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
al abama - c alifornia
Annyssa
Fun rainy day fitness solutions; bringing
the outdoors in with inspired children’s
exercise videos. Annyssa is committed to
growing family unity through fun family-
time activities, kid approved recipes, and
backyard farming.
“Healthy bodies. Well fed souls.”
kristina@annyssa.com
Annyssa.com
__________________________________
AreYouGame.com
AreYouGame.com boasts a wonderfully
wide selection of educational games,
science kits, brainteasers, jigsaw puzzles,
craft kits and more! Free Shipping on
orders over $75; enter Promo Code:
OSMFREESHIP75 at checkout.
www.AreYouGame.com
__________________________________
B.E.E. – Bixby Educational Events,
Inc.
B.E.E. is making educational events more
accessible, available, and affordable, as
well as appropriate for diverse spectrum of
Listings by Region
educational styles.
(714) 642-6482
www.bix-bee.com
__________________________________
Beautiful Feet Books
See our display ad on page 17.
www.bfbooks.com
__________________________________
CA Energy Savers
Residents and businesses SAVE on gas &
electricity. Support Christian values; NO
connection fees. Call Angela, your Tiger
independent consultant.
(916) 837-0813
CAenergysavers@gmail.com
__________________________________
The Confetti Company, A Division of
Sandcastle Publishing, LLC
At the Confetti Company, you’ll find
our products educational, entertaining,
and alive with the voices of children,
while promoting kids’ literacy, character
education, positive behavior, family
relationships, and self-awareness.
(800) 891-4204
www.JustForKidsBookstore.com
__________________________________
Consignment Mamas
Full-service consignment sales ~ We
liquidate estates, stores, and personal
collections. We buy! We sell! Economical
pricing.
(530) 624-8449
www.ChicoConsignments.com
__________________________________
145
 c alifornia - color ad o
__________________________________
The Critical Thinking Co.
Award-winning homeschool curriculum!
We guarantee our critical thinking infused
educational books and software will
produce better grades and higher test
scores—or your money back!
(800) 458-4849
www.CriticalThinking.com
__________________________________
Dyslexia Training Institute
Providing online courses & webinars in
dyslexia and related learning disabilities,
and training in the proper remediation.
These courses are appropriate for parents,
teachers, reading specialists, administrators,
and educational service providers.
(619) 517-0683
www.dyslexiatraininginstitute.org
__________________________________
Family Financial Coaching
A one-on-one, personalized, no-gimmick
approach for getting your family out of debt,
saving money, and living financially free.
(209) 622-3299
Listings by Region
www.Household-Budget-Made-Easy.
com
__________________________________
Founders Academy
You’ve got a challenge. We’ve got a
solution! Get your student to graduate with
our homeschool courses online. Featuring
Economics, U.S. Government, and History
courses for middle and high school.
FoundersAcademy@ymail.com
www.FoundersAcademy.net
__________________________________
Frogmama
Great Baby Carriers and More! Helping you
find the best baby carrier for you and your
child. A huge selection of baby and toddler
carriers.
(530) 921-8855
www.frogmama.com
__________________________________
Glavach and Associates
Instructional programs for struggling
readers, grades K–adult. Most E-programs
$10. $90 in FREE PROGRAMS. Free
consultation.
(707) 894-5047
www.StrugglingReaders.com
__________________________________
HCG To My Rescue!
Lost hope in your weight loss journey? The
HCG diet can help you lose weight, reshape
your body, improve health.
info@hcgtomyrescue.com
www.hcgtomyrescue.com
__________________________________
146 ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
__________________________________
iHomeEducator
Award-winning iPad, iTouch, & iPhone
Educational Apps. K7 Math, Language Arts,
Science and more with automated testing
& grading.
(916) 939-9588
www.iHomeEducator.com
__________________________________
Images Press
Images Press publishes children’s books
with songs and read-alongs, Readers’
Theater scripts, and YouTube demos. Turn
reading into acting.
(650) 948-8251
www.images-press.com
__________________________________
Jolene Engle, Author
FREE Christ-centered homeschooling
resources and encouragement for women,
wives, and mothers.
(909) 981-1873
joleneengle.org
__________________________________
Juice Plus Wholefood Nutrition in a
Capsule
Most don’t eat 7–13 servings of fruits and
vegetables every day. Juice Plus helps
bridge the gap! Free child’s products.
(209) 604-5458
www.JPJuiceForHealth.com
__________________________________
Kabongo
Kindergarten games! Get children
thinking—and reading—with exciting
online games they love to play! Kabongo’s
brain-boosting activities are fun and help
kids become more confident readers.
(866) 420-9149
www.kabongo.com/our-approach/
cognitive-development
__________________________________
Kid Scoop
Kid Scoop believes learning is fun! We
create interdisciplinary learning packets
on fascinating topics. Students enjoy the
illuminating puzzles and games while they
absorb the knowledge.
(707) 996-6077
www.kidscoop.com
__________________________________
Katzz The VA
As a virtual assistant, I am able to help you
with all of your office tasks to promote your
business.
(707) 834-3442
www.katzztheva.com
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
__________________________________
Latin Road/Phonics Road
Providing complete language arts curricula
especially for homeschool parents/
teachers, integrating the subjects of
spelling, handwriting, reading, grammar,
composition, and Latin, all taught in a multi-
sensory approach with DVD training. www.
thephonicsroad.com
(530) 275-2064
www.thelatinroad.com
__________________________________
Little Passports
This award-winning subscription service
for kids is your child’s ticket to global
adventure. Inspire a love of the world
as your child learns about a country’s
geography, history, and culture.
info@littlepassports.com
www.littlepassports.com
__________________________________
Mad Dog Math
Mad Dog Math—a system to help your
child master his all-important math facts in
a fun, organized, motivating way. Software
or paper/pencil drills; flash cards; great
confidence-builder; easy implementation.
(562) 533-5772
www.MadDogMath.com
__________________________________
Montessori Services
Thousands of child-size items for ages 3–9.
Every item selected to support success and
guaranteed to stand up to everyday use.
Cooking, sewing, gardening, woodworking,
art, music, geography, science, language.
(877) 975-3003
www.montessoriservices.com
__________________________________
My Tiny Planets
Learning is fun in the Tiny Planet’s Universe
with Bing and Bong. We engage young
children as they explore math, science, and
personal development with books, videos,
and online games.
Contact@MyTinyPlanets.com
www.TinyPlanets.com
__________________________________
Noodle Head, Inc.
Noodle Head is dedicated to creating toys
that foster imagination, creativity and fun.
Our Pawparazzi® pets, Jelly Flyers® flying
discs, and Creative Kits encourage kids to
get out and play!
(866) 892-7311
www.noodleheadfun.com
__________________________________

__________________________________
Nordskog Publishing, Inc.
Books for learning and sheer joy! Meaty,
tasty, and easily digestible biblical treasures:
American history, current issues, doctrine,
Christian novels.
(805) 642-2070
www.NordskogPublishing.com
__________________________________
Pre K Scholars
Specializing in high-quality, interactive,
fun kindergarten readiness kits for
homeschoolers, teachers, and preschools.
Kits meet or exceed state standards
and cover phonics, math, early reading,
handwriting, science, and fine motor skills.
(949) 300-6971
www.PreKScholars.com
__________________________________
The Property Boutique
Homeschool mom/real estate specialist.
“Turning Dreams Into Homes”
(951) 283-9191
www.propboutique.com
__________________________________
Renee Neace Design
I’ll make your website look great! From
graphics to html. Marketing, design,
consultation. Logos, company branding.
Web help? Just ask.
reneeneace@gmail.com
www.brandnewsong.com/rndesign
__________________________________
Robotics and Things
Manufacturer, distributor, and developer
of hands-on/battery-operated ROBOTIX
educational learning toy sets, kits,
and parts integrally involved in the
creation of curriculum development
opportunities for elementary, middle, &
junior high school aged homeschoolers
based on STEM (science, technology,
engineering, & math) with the use of
National Science Standards. robot@
roboticsandthings.com
(888) 222-1809
www.roboticsandthings.com
__________________________________
A Snip and a Stitch
eBay’s largest sewing pattern store offering
vintage and new sewing patterns. Over
10,000 in stock.
(530) 532-1815
stores.ebay.com/A-Snip-and-a-Stitch
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
__________________________________
Steps4Kids, LLC
Award-winning instructional DVDs to
teach printing, cursive, math and more!
Awards include: Classroom “Media of the
Year,” “DVD of the Year,” “Double Star”
endorsement and more! Made in USA.
(800) 757-1702, x10
www.Steps4Kids.com
__________________________________
Southern California Juice Plus
17 fruits, vegetables, and whole grains in a
capsule—Fruits/vegetables aren’t just good
for you; they might save your life.
(626) 791-0421
www.southerncaliforniajuiceplus.com
__________________________________
Talking Fingers
Talking Fingers software is based on a
simple idea: text is speech made visible—
and writing is a great route to reading.
E-mail: contact@talkingfingers.com
www.talkingfingers.com
__________________________________
Toni Riggs Photography
Nature and landscape photography, Christian
art, note cards, and photo gift items.
toniriggsphotography@live.com
www.toniriggsphotography.com
__________________________________
Total Reading
Total Reading is a complete reading/
language arts program that uses sequential,
explicit, phonetic, multi-sensory decoding
with a special emphasis on comprehension,
creative writing, correct spelling and other
basic writing skills.
info@totalreading.com
totalreading.com
__________________________________
WriteShop
Award-winning WriteShop offers quality,
parent-approved writing resources for K-12,
helping new and veteran homeschoolers
alike teach writing with confidence.
Engaging, step-by-step lessons present
students with the building blocks of the
writing process—prewriting, brainstorming,
writing, and revising—and help you edit
and evaluate their work. Teaching writing
has never been easier!®
info@WriteShop.com
www.WriteShop.com
__________________________________
©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
c alifornia - color ad o
__________________________________
Yardmonkeys
Yardmonkeys specializes in boutique
clothing and accessories for little girls at
very affordable prices. Our products make
great gifts too!
customerservice@
theyardmonkeys.com
www.theyardmonkeys.com
__________________________________
Young Living Essential Oils –
Jennifer Southern
Enhancing health with pure, authentic,
therapeutic-grade essential oils. Southern
California workshops available. Website and
phone calls open to all.
(661) 317-6709
www.youngliving.org/jsouthern93
__________________________________
Colorado
__________________________________
AngelArts, A Creative Arts Agency
& Publishing House
Listings by Region
Reach new heights in homeschooling and
beyond through Bible studies, devotionals,
language arts, graphic design, and
entrepreneurial curriculum. FREE resources!
(719) 785-4814
www.angelarts.biz
__________________________________
Building Tomorrow’s Generation –
Homemade Convenience Foods
Prepare great meals in 10–15 minutes
with this revolutionary system. No all-day
cooking marathons. Recipes included.
(970) 842-4776
www.marciawashburn.com
__________________________________
Dane’s Leather Craft
Handcrafted leather products. Wristbands,
wallets, dog collars, gun slings, belts, guitar
straps, and more.
(719) 469-7831
danesleathercraft@gmail.com
__________________________________
Dianne Craft, MA, CNHP
Dianne Craft, president of the educational
consulting firm, Child Diagnostics, Inc.,
teaches parents to help their child learn
faster and easier, using effective, yet
inexpensive therapies and strategies.
www.DianneCraft.org
__________________________________
147
 color ado - flor ida
__________________________________
Dragon’s Trove by Jenbug122
Providing handmade gifts and supplies
worldwide. Specialize in digital design,
graphics, crochet, ceramics, and foodstuffs
(southern Colorado only).
(719) 646-3195
www.jenbug122.artfire.com
__________________________________
Estes Rockets
Get young people excited about learning
with Estes rockets! Free lesson plans for
grades 3–12 with links to resource materials
at our Estes Educator website. Special
educator bulk packs available.
(800) 820-0202 x270
www.esteseducator.com
__________________________________
Faithful Workouts
The ultimate fitness DVDs that combine
expert instruction, inspirational Christian
music, fun routines, & nutritional advice.
Challenging workouts for adults with separate
DVDs for kids to get their P.E. credits.
(866) 566-0668
Listings by Region
www.faithfulworkouts.com
__________________________________
Fire Station Buddies, Inc.
There is a secret at Station 2. Do you know
what it is? Start your training today with the
Fire Station Buddies and learn about safety,
problem solving, and more.
Firebuddies@att.net
www.FirestationBuddies.com
__________________________________
Jafra by Chelly
Jafra Cosmetics offers a full line of
amazing skin care products. Jafra offers
a great opportunity for moms to earn
some extra income and still enjoy time
with their families. Call me; I’d love to talk
with you about it, or you can check out
my website first.
(303) 644-5587
www.myjafra.com/cjames
__________________________________
Sonlight Curriculum
Give your children a lifelong love of
learning and explore the world together
as a family. Sonlight Curriculum provides
literature-rich Christian homeschool
curriculum for PreK–12.
(303) 730-6292
www.sonlight.com
__________________________________
148 ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
__________________________________
Tupperware – Judith Martinez,
Authorized Consultant
Tupperware, to save you time and money.
Kitchen organization services in home, and
E-party options with free gifts for hosts.
(303) 274-6890
my2.tupperware.com
__________________________________
Wholesome Plays
Bring creativity, enthusiasm to your
students while strengthening skills and
self-confidence! Fun, easy-to-stage plays
and theatrical textbooks. On stage or in the
audience, everyone benefits from putting
on a show!
(866) 333-8215
WholesomePlays.com
__________________________________
Connecticut
Ambassador Crochet
Reaching Out, One Stitch At A Time.
Crochet patterns for all skill levels,
including beginner. I carry patterns
for boutique style hats, scarves, cowls,
baby cocoons, mittens, hair clips and
accessories, and more. I take custom
orders and can create almost anything
you have in mind.
ambassadorcrochet@gmail.
com
www.ambassadorcrochet.
bigcartel.com
__________________________________
Carol Barnier
Friend to distractible minds everywhere.
Popular speaker on ADHD, learning styles,
and putting the fun in teaching. See Carol’s
resources and join her free online coaching
community.
carol@carolbarnier.com
www.SizzleBop.com
__________________________________
Simmons Olivegrove Publishing
The Haven and The Leviathan are the
first two books in The Orphans of
Mordecai’s Castle series that glorifies
Christ and helps build character. These
exciting books are a must-read for the
entire family. Full of adventure and fun,
presented in a clean, Godly manner.
$14.00 each, plus shipping.
(203) 284-9691
www.carasimmons.com
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
Delaware
__________________________________
Bright Ideas Press
Bright Ideas Press provides practical,
fun, and affordable curriculum covering
geography, history, science, and literature.
We publish such titles as The Mystery of
History and Christian Kids Explore Science.
(877) 492-8081
BrightIdeasPress.com
__________________________________
Design-A-Study!
Affordable, award-winning, K–12 materials
that equip parents to teach effectively while
allowing the flexibility to meet each child’s
learning needs.
kathryn@designastudy.com
www.designastudy.com
__________________________________
Florida
__________________________________
Academy of Science for Kids
Complete science kits for the whole
family to enjoy. Everything included–all
you add is water. Tests, degrees, diplomas,
and technology online. No textbook,
hands-on FUN!
info@
AcademyofScienceforKids.com
www.AcademyofScienceforKids.com
__________________________________
A Balanced Life, Inc.
Young Living Essential Oils Independent
Distributor, #970784 Potent, natural
solutions for everyday problems—for
home, family, and pets. Distributors needed.
(407) 388-9803
abalancedlife.younglivingworld.com
__________________________________
Buzzing the Day Away
Family-friendly product reviews and
giveaways with tips on parenting,
homeschooling, going green, and more!
busybuzzer@yahoo.com
www.buzzingthedayaway.com
__________________________________
e ss & Entre p
s in
TOS
re
e s ch o o l B u
neu
r Direct
om
or
A
P S y
H O S
S S E
E A D
2011

A Candle in the Window
Hospitality Network
A growing network of Christian
households delighting in hospitality! Meet
new people. Make lifelong friends. Great
conversational dinners. Stay free when
traveling. Practice hospitality! (Romans
12:13) Join today and experience the joy of
Christian hospitality. “Christianity was, and
still should be, the religion of the open
door.” ~William Barclay
(904) 589-0287
www.acandleinthewindow.com
__________________________________
Christian Business Owners
Association
Free Book: Bible Based Businesses—Biblical
Principles for Success in Business and Life
to biblebasedbusinesses.com/bible-based-
businesses-book
(352) 217-5880
www.christian-business-owners-
association.com
__________________________________
Deeper Roots
Our exciting junior and senior high Bible
curriculum can move your student from
Bible knowledge to spiritual APPLICATION!
Download FREE sample portions of these
practical studies to help your student grow
spiritually.
(407) 797-8557
www.DeeperRoots.com
__________________________________
Discovery Toys
Discovery Toys—Teach.Play.Inspire. Lifetime
guaranteed, replacement program, award-
winning, income opportunity. Reps needed
today, monthly specials. Contact me.
(850) 292-7530
www.toynana.com
__________________________________
Ed Resource Online
Online blog listing/review of FREE online
educational resources for educators,
including our popular Homeschool and Ed
Resource toolbars. Download FREE!
www.edresourcesonline.com
__________________________________
Healthy Life Press
Small Christian publisher seeks original
manuscripts on homeschooling,
homesteading, family, and health-related
topics. Cooperative & collaborative effort.
All proposals considered.
DBBV1@aol.com
www.healthylifepress.com
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
__________________________________
Health Wise Worldwide
Would an extra $100–$500 per month help?
Free DVD describes part-time, home-based,
health-oriented, family-friendly business
anyone can do.
DBBV1@aol.com
__________________________________
Homeschool Legal Advantage (HLA)
A new approach to legal services for
homeschoolers. Full homeschool legal
representation, a free Last Will & Testament
and the first year is completely free. Use
coupon code TOS at our website. Join today!
(727) 399-8300
www.HomeschoolLegalAdvantage.
com
__________________________________
iamhomeschooling.com
Considering homeschooling? New
to homeschooling? A seasoned
homeschooler? We are your portal to
homeschooling resources. Have questions?
We can help!
www.iamhomeschooling.com
__________________________________
Intellectual Baby
Entertaining and educational products
created to help parents teach their babies
to read. MonkiSee DVDs, flash cards, books
and more are designed for children from 3
months–3 years old.
(877) 505-5079
www.intellbaby.com
__________________________________
JRC Consulting
Our grant consulting services, business
writing, and books are crafted with
attention to detail—and an insatiable
appetite for accuracy.
(561) 748-9429
www.jrcbooks.com
__________________________________
LifeFx Nutritional Supplements
Close nutritional gaps for whole family,
whole body health improvement, including
children with ADHD/other focus/learning
challenges. Clinically proven.
302-5ENZOFX
www.lifefx123.com/kwg4610
__________________________________
Mrs. Pinkelmeyer, LLC
Meet Mrs. Pinkelmeyer™, Silliest,
Warmest Know-It-All™, and her lovable
dog, Moopus McGlinden™. They inspire
self-esteem in children through their love,
warmth, and silliness.
(561) 368-1783
www.MrsPinkelmeyer.com
__________________________________
©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
color ado - florida
__________________________________
NFC Academy
NFC Academy combines over 40 years
of experience in education with today’s
technology to offer a complete program of
virtual Christian education to students in a
homeschool environment.
paulalee@nflchurch.com
www.nflcacademy.com
__________________________________
Penny and Rio Award-Winning Books
Ingenious dog detectives are the stars
of these imaginative and interactive
books that provide exceptional learning
opportunities for young children. Great for
children just transitioning to chapter books.
www.PennyandRio.com
__________________________________
R&R Games, Inc.
Publishers of an extensive line of award-
winning games and toys that are great for
families and friends of all ages.
(888) 874-3353
www.rnrgames.com
__________________________________
Listings by Region
Ring Around the Phonics
Ring Around The Phonics teaches
phonics, reading, blending, Spanish,
spelling, language arts, and teaches up to
4 children (different ages) at one time. It
saves money (several curriculums in one)
and time. Children literally beg to play/
learn. Based on scientific research.
(904) 317-5330
www.read-phonics.com
__________________________________
Sparkle Photography
Specializes in natural light, studio
portraiture, and event photography. Our
photo-journalistic style tells a story you can
leave future generations.
(727) 781-2950
www.sparkle-photo.com
__________________________________
TreeHouse Puppets & Treasures
Treehouse Puppets offers a wide variety
of quality puppets and marionettes as
well as other creative toys and games. If
you don’t see what you are looking for on
the website, please call or email and I will
be happy to help you.
(727) 397-2446
www.treehousepuppets.com
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Georgia
__________________________________
“Anita, I need a . . . ” Virtual Assisting
Virtual assisting for: bookkeeping, website
maintenance, webinars, customer service,
sales, advertising/marketing, document
preparation, data entry, transcription
services at great rates.
anitaineeda@mail.com
www.anitaineeda.webs.com
__________________________________
ASC Accounting & Bookkeeping
Specializing in small business accounting/
bookkeeping, payroll, accounts payable/
receivable, taxes with over 20 years
experience with quick, reliable, valuable
service.
ascaccountingandbookkeeping
@mail.com
ascaccountingandbookkeeping.
webs.com
__________________________________
ARCHERS for the Lord, Inc.
The Association of Relaxed Christian
Listings by Region
Home Educators is a national, non-profit
organization that promotes family-based
education through educational programs,
speaking, and product development.
mary.e.hood@gmail.com
www.archersforthelord.org
__________________________________
Atlanta Gold & Coin Buyers
We buy gold, coins, sterling silverware, and
more. Visit us in Atlanta, or mail your items
from anywhere.
(404) 236-9744
www.atlantagoldandcoin.com
__________________________________
Erika Bragg - Celebrating Home—
formerly Home Interiors
Independent consultant since 2001 offering
home decor, mirrors, candles, GREAT
fundraiser for nonprofits. Serving Savannah
and the Coastal Empire.
(912) 754-5890
www.celebratinghome.com
__________________________________
Erika Bragg - Homeworks by Precept
consultant
Independent homeschool consultant
selling Bob Jones, Rosetta Stone, Passport
Learning, etc. Always FREE shipping!!
Serving Savannah and the Coastal Empire.
(912) 754-5890
www.homeworksbyprecept.com
__________________________________
150 ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
__________________________________
Golden Garden Publishing
Dedicated to producing literature that
glorifies the name of our Lord and Savior
and King, Jesus Christ of Nazareth!
info@goldengardenbooks.com
www.goldengardenbooks.com
__________________________________
Homemade Lye Soap – Stewart’s
Crafts
Pure soap with NO perfumes or dyes.
For shower, shampoo, shaving, lotion,
clothes, dishes, the floor, or the dog!
Remove stains, scents, and odors. Helpful
for acne, eczema, psoriasis, poison ivy,
scrapes or burns, bug bites. Made in the
USA! “Create in me a clean heart, O God.”
(770) 887-6988
www.lyesoap.com
__________________________________
Homeschool Psych: Preparing
Christian Homeschool Students for
Psychology 101
Psych 101 is required in college. It will
challenge your child’s worldview. Many walk
away from their faith in college. Prepare
your students before they leave home.
HomeschoolPsych.com
__________________________________
Homeschool Travel Network
Travel enriches every family! Are you an
adventurous family longing to travel?
YOU CAN afford this “real life education,”
networking with others—we’ll show you
how! (Promo Code: TOSD)
Amy@HSNeighbor.com
HSNeighbor.com
__________________________________
Knight’s Book Knook
Knight’s Book Knook is a home-based,
homeschooling-family business.
Check out our great prices on creation-
based curriculum, including: Apologia
Educational Ministries, Considering God’s
Creation, models, dissection specimens
and tools, microscopes & lab equipment,
experiments, botany, biology, chemistry,
geology, general science, physical
science, physics, zoology, and more . . .
(229) 776-8823
www.knightsbookknook.net
__________________________________
The Master’s Academy of Fine Arts
The Master’s Academy of Fine Arts is the
pioneer and leader in fine arts education
from a historical perspective, with a 20-year
history in the homeschool community.
vivian@mafa.net
www.reclaimrestorerelease.com
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
__________________________________
Personalized Athletic Keepsakes
Uniquely Personalized, Affordable Gifts!
Gymnastics - Dance - Equestrian - Musicians
– Sports
Note Cards, Calling Cards, Luggage Tags,
Posters, Scorebooks
Amy@Leo-Cards.com
Leo-Cards.com
__________________________________
Poppy’s
Work from home. Fast-growing business
perfect for busy families. Make money while
saving friends money.
(678) 378-4874
www.dakin.igniteinc.biz
__________________________________
The Praise Dance Life with Jocelyn
Richard
The Praise Dance Life: Online resource
center for worship leaders, homeschool co-
ops, and missions: E-Books, virtual classes,
and videos.
jocelyn@thepraisedancelife.com
www.thepraisedancelife.com
__________________________________
Promos And Logos
Promotional Items. Imprinted promotional
items, screen printed T-shirts, and printing
services. Call or email for a FREE catalog.
(877) 221-2160
www.PromosAndLogos.com
__________________________________
Terrestria Chronicles
The Terrestria Chronicles—a medieval
allegory series written to challenge young
people to serve the King of Kings. Excellent
read-alouds for family devotions or
individual reading. Study guide available.
www.TalesOfCastles.com
__________________________________
Thirty-One Gifts – Amy Horton
Need help organizing your school or
household supplies? I can help. Keep
yourself and your house organized in style.
(404) 933-5411
www.mythirtyone.com/amyhorton
__________________________________
Travel Gingie’s Way
To travel is an education. Contact TGW for
tailor-made travel programs worldwide to a
destination of your choice.
travelgway@aol.com
www.travelgway.com
__________________________________

__________________________________
The Word Surgeon
Professional writing, proofreading, and
editing by published writer, former
classroom teacher, and homeschool mom.
All ages and projects.
(404) 895-6955
www.TheWordSurgeon.net
__________________________________
Hawaii
Hawaii businesses,
come join us next year!
Idaho
__________________________________
Be Vibrant with Kayla Howard
Inspiring women to lose weight and gain
energy from home. 15 minutes is all you
need to get results!
(208) 596-0142
www.kaylahoward.com
__________________________________
Layers of Learning
Lesson ideas and printables all for free and
constantly updated at our website. Look for
our products for sale soon.
www.layers-of-learning.com
__________________________________
Miles Music – Cindy Miles
Learn to play the fiddle! Curriculum features
tablature, standard music notation, split-
track CD. Downloads available! Teaching
traditional tunes since 1983.
(208) 435-4600
www.MilesMusicOnline.com
__________________________________
Nature’s Sunshine Products –
Christa Farmer
Get instant access to an extensive selection
of supplements and an herb specialist
guiding you along the path to wellness.
(208) 308-1850
www.mynsp.com/christa
__________________________________
Pure Modesty
Created with beauty, distinguished by virtue!
Resources for cultivating biblical femininity.
Modest clothing, books, blogs, and more!
(208) 670-4923
www.puremodesty.com
__________________________________
Start a Preschool
Learn how to make an extra $500, $1,000,
even $4,000/month while teaching
preschool with your  children. Business
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
training materials & pre-made activity-rich
curriculum help homeschooling families
start teaching preschool right away!
joy@startapreschool.com
www.startapreschool.com/
homeschool
__________________________________
Tech Auto Body
Tech Auto Body is a family-owned
business since 1989. Homeschooling since
2003. Located in downtown Mountain
Home, Idaho.
(208) 587-7443
__________________________________
Illinois
Alpha USA – Youth Alpha
Youth Alpha is a dynamic, practical
introduction to the Christian faith for
11- to 18-year-olds. The course runs
over 10 weeks in all main Christian
denominations (Catholic to Protestant).
Fifteen sessions cover topics, including
these: “Who is Jesus?” and “How can we
have faith?” and “How does God guide
us?” Email: youthalpha@alphausa.org.
(800) DO ALPHA (362 5742)
www.alphausa.org/youthalpha
Assistive Writing Solutions
Handwriting Solutions
Just the Write Size Structured Writing
Paper helps children who are confused,
frustrated, or have difficulty writing
neatly on regular notebook paper. Check
our website for additional information
and samples.
www.AssistiveWritingSolutions.com
__________________________________
Blossom’s Barn
Handcrafted, all-natural, milk-based soaps
and lip balms. Natural products using
wholesome, good-for-you ingredients from
God’s creation.
(217) 379-7633
www.blossomsbarn.com
__________________________________
BNHoskins, Photographer
We specialize in portraits, weddings, events,
and homeschool groups (Chicagoland area).
We photograph commercial products for
local and national businesses.
(708) 308-9609
www.bnhoskins.com
__________________________________
©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
georgia - illinois
__________________________________
Clever Colleen Garcia
Organizing Just Got Fun! Clever
Container—a new direct sales business (and
business opportunity!) marketing awesome,
affordable organizing product solutions!
(773) 759-4675
www.CleverColleen.com
__________________________________
Firebrand Designs
Our mission is helping families to start a
business website at a reduced rate so they
can begin their journey.
(309) 393-1004
www.firebranddesigns.net
__________________________________
Greek ‘n’ Stuff
Learn a Greek letter, Greek word, and Latin
word monthly. Hey, Andrew! Teach Me
Some Greek!—biblical Greek. Latin’s Not
So Tough!—classical Latin. Alone With God
Bible studies.
karen@greeknstuff.com
www.greeknstuff.com
__________________________________
Listings by Region
Guiding Light Virtual Assistance
I have the experience to help your company
with administrative tasks while you focus on
the important stuff—your clients.
glva@juno.com
guidinglightva.weebly.com
__________________________________
Household Helps
Our mission is helping families to gain
wisdom and skills in finances, homeschool,
& spiritual walk from a biblical perspective.
(309) 393-1004
www.householdhelps.com
__________________________________
Live Springs Farm
Biodynamic and organic agriculture,
producing and selling 100% grass-fed,
grass-finished beef, pastured/woodland
pork, pasture-raised chickens and eggs.
(217) 942-5060
www.livespringsfarm.com
__________________________________
M-ZAN Solutions, Inc
Free science fair projects, ideas, topics, and
resources. Science experiment kits. Free
online Science Fair Olympiad. Teacher and
parent resources.
(800) 296-3650
www.super-science-fair-projects.com
__________________________________
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Natural Family Planning
NFP: safe, healthy, highly effective. It’s
family planning God’s way. Visit the website
to find a teaching couple near you.
(800) 745-8252
www.ccli.org
__________________________________
Rainbow Resource Center, Inc.
We offer over 40,000 homeschooling
and educational products, most at
discount prices.  Have questions?  Contact
one of our homeschool consultants,
available to help you at no charge. info@
RainbowResource.com
(888) 841-3456
www.RainbowResource.com
__________________________________
Reformation Tours, LLC
We specialize in quality Christian Tours to
Europe, including learning about Christian
heritage, fellowship and fun.
(800) 303-5534
www.ReformationTours.com
__________________________________
Listings by Region
Roweclan Haversack
Civil War Resource Packet. Using 22 Union
and Confederate reproduction patriotic
envelopes, study questions, teacher’s
guide, and writing projects, explore politics,
culture, and personalities for hands-on
learning. $30 postpaid. cwstationeryjournal.
blogspot.com
(630) 517-4079
www.roweclanhaversack.com
__________________________________
SO TELL ME . . . Personal Health
Organizers
Easily organize your child’s health
information on paper or computer. Keep
track of medical histories, appointments,
prescriptions, test results, and more with the
SO TELL ME . . . Personal Health Organizers.
contact@sotellmeorganizer.com
www.sotellmeorganizer.com
__________________________________
Totally Tailored Reading
Totally Tailored Reading creates a
personalized, 36-week reading schedule for
your child based on his likes, interests, and
reading capabilities.
www.Ttailoredreading.com
__________________________________
Tri-Media Marketing Services
Rent mailing lists, email lists of homeschool
families. Advertise in Christian Family
HomeSchool Shopper card pack quarterly
to 75,000 families.
(800) 874-0338
www.TriMediaOnline.com
__________________________________
152 ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
__________________________________
Typeset Design
Typeset Design is a professional design
service providing quality graphics and
layout for print and the web.
contact@typesetdesign.com
www.typesetdesign.com
__________________________________
What Is Communion?
A children’s book about “The Lord’s Supper”
(an Evangelical Protestant view). Includes
a simple explanation and the meaning
behind it.
(618) 783-3699
whatiscommunion.blogspot.com
__________________________________
Indiana
__________________________________
3Strands Communications
Affordable design; print publications
(banners, brochures, signs), electronic
media (Web, email), logos. Writing & editing
services. Homeschool ID cards.
(765) 513-8315
www.3strandscommunications.com
__________________________________
Apologia Educational Ministries, Inc.
Products, resources, and services that help
homeschool families learn, live, and defend
the Christian faith. We publish Christian
worldview & science curriculum, including
the award-winning, creation-based science
curriculum for grades K–12.
(888) 524-4724
www.Apologia.com
__________________________________
DaisyHead Creations Knitwear
Design
Homeschooling mom providing wool
soakers, longies, bloomers, hats, stitch
markers, baby and accessory items. Also
original knitting and crochet patterns!
thedaisygirl@daisyhead.net
daisyheadcreations.etsy.com
__________________________________
HOPE Homeschool Consulting
H.O.P.E. educates parents on how to
homeschool and assists current
homeschoolers trying to get back on track
with the Educate the Home Educator
Course. A consultant is available to answer
your questions and help you to make
informed decisions so you can homeschool
in the manner best for your family.
(574) 971-0114
www.hopehomeschoolconsulting.
com
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
__________________________________
Inside and Out Wellness
Nutritional supplements: real help for
health challenges; address the problem,
not just the symptoms. Become healthier—
Inside and Out!
(765) 642-4450
www.insideandoutwellness.com
__________________________________
IOZion Homeschool Resources
Let us help you design your homeschool
planner. Check out our Spelling and
Vocabulary Workbook to complement your
spelling program.
(931) 952-0901
www.yourhomeschoolplanner.com
__________________________________
Natural Notes ONLINE Piano School
ONLINE piano classes—the incredible
Simply Music method in your home! A fully
structured curriculum. Great results from
the beginning!
(219) 662-1537
naturalnotespianoschool.
musicteachershelper.com
The Ordinary Store, Inc.
Screen Printing, Heat-Applied Graphics,
Sublimation, Custom Artwork and
more. Only our name is Ordinary,
TheOrdinaryStore.com.
(812) 967-5082
www.theordinarystore.com
__________________________________
Subtraction A Better Way
Finally, strategies that build number
concepts while unlocking the 100
subtraction facts. Program includes
Teacher’s Manual, Student Book,
four songs, and twelve interactive
PowerPoints. Books, PowerPoints, and
songs delivered via email. Manipulatives
and Orientation PowerPoint shipped
separately. Offers unlimited use by
members of your household. Order
online $39.95.
(765) 490-9998
www.subtractionabetterway.com
__________________________________
Taylor University Online
Taylor University Online extends the
mission—advancing lifelong learning and
ministering Christ’s love—from the campus
located in Upland, Indiana. The online
courses and programs are Christ-centered,
academically excellent, and flexible.
online@taylor.edu
www.taylor.edu/online
__________________________________

Iowa
__________________________________
Cards by Lynelle
Handcrafted, all-occasion greeting cards,
uniquely designed with FABRIC and
embellished with decorative edging,
ribbon, buttons, flowers, clip-art, brads,
punched shapes.
(641) 489-2138
www.CardsByLynelle.etsy.com
__________________________________
Designs by U
I sell anything imprintable: mugs, hats,
shirts, signs, awards, trophies, etc. You pick
the design and I print it.
(641) 858-3776
mandjr@heartofiowa.net
__________________________________
Formative Foundations
Resources and products to help you lay a
healthy foundation during the formative years.
www.formativefoundations.com
__________________________________
Great American Homeschool
Conferences
Come to a Christ-centered homeschool
conference near you for the
encouragement, support, and vision you
need to keep going.
www.GreatAmericanHomeschool
Conference.org
__________________________________
Liz Koon
Professional writing and editing services. 20
years experience. Name it—I’ll write it or edit it.
LizKoonWritingandEditing
Svcs@gmail.com
__________________________________
Schaben Ventures LLC
Healing ministry. Using the Bible as a
roadmap to health and wellness. Health,
healing, and nutrition the way God
intended.
(515) 999-2186
__________________________________
Kansas
__________________________________
Baker University
Baker University is a small, private, liberal
arts school in Baldwin City, Kansas. Baker
prides itself on its excellent faculty-student
collaboration and ability to prepare
students for the workforce.
admission@bakeru.edu
www.BakerU.edu
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
__________________________________
Classical Composition
Good writers are good thinkers, and good
compositions must be driven by both the
intellect and the imagination. Classical
Composition teaches students to think
compositionally.
(913) 541-1789
www.classicalcomposition.com
__________________________________
Cole Creek Herbs
Provides in-depth, scientific information
about herbs, vitamins, and other natural
supplements. You can do much with the
herbal foods the Creator has provided!
Please contact us if you have any
questions about our products or would
like information about improving your
health and wellness. Sign up for free
newsletter!
(316) 655-9969
www.colecreekherbs.com
Eternity Vendors
EternityVendors.com makes it easy to
find Christian-owned stores and the
great deals they are offering! Search
through our listings of trusted websites
or follow our blog for the latest sales and
special offers. Have a business? We offer
FREE advertising to qualifying sites!
www.EternityVendors.com
__________________________________
The Homeschooling Mother’s Bible
Study
Written specifically to encourage the
homeschooling moms, this 6-week study is
available as an E-Book or softcover edition.
(316) 681-2605
www.HomeschoolingMothersBible
Study.com
__________________________________
Sarah Books - Jim Baumgardner,
Author
Read the Sarah books and step into Sarah
Smith’s nineteenth-century America. You
will discover why Sarah has become a
favorite of homeschoolers in the twenty-
first century.
www.sarahbooks.net
__________________________________
Thirty-One Gifts – Stephanie Ziemba,
Independent Consultant
A faith-based company that provides a
variety of products from stylish purses and
totes to home organization. ziembafamily@
gmail.com
(620) 639-1209
www.mythirtyone.com/stephanieziemba
__________________________________
©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
illinois - k entuck y
__________________________________
Virtual Secretary – Pam McCormick
Need a virtual assistant? I can help with
word processing, customer service,
desktop publishing, marketing support,
bookkeeping, and data entry.
(620) 755-3741
Pamala1218@gmail.com
__________________________________
Kentucky
__________________________________
Cross Business Tools, LLC
Website hosting, web page creation,
shopping cart creation (Zen Cart and
Magento), and website changes and
support.
CrossBusinessTools@gmail.com
www.CrossBusinessTools.com
__________________________________
Cynda Moore, Homeworks
Consultant
Call to order any Bob Jones University
Press materials, Rosetta Stone Homeschool
Listings by Region
Version, or Passport Learning, Free Shipping
Year Round.
(270) 378-5251
cyndamoore@yahoo.com
__________________________________
Diggles Family Ministries, Inc.
A full-time Southern Gospel singing
ministry that travels throughout the entire
USA and Canada singing at churches and
events.
(859) 552-9989
www.digglesfamily.com
__________________________________
Homemaking 911
Equipping women in many aspects of home
management and education, being a godly
wife and mother, and becoming the type of
woman God is calling you to be.
Homemaking911@gmail.com
www.Homemaking911.com
__________________________________
Homeschooling Gifted Children
Can you homeschool your gifted children?
Find out for sure in this info-packed ebook,
full of references and practical help. Know
what your next steps should be.
(270) 838-7060
homeschoolinggiftedchildren.com
__________________________________
Imparting Wisdom
Consignment and sales of new and used
homeschool curriculum and learning
materials.
www.impartingwisdom.com
__________________________________
153
 k entuck y - minnesota
__________________________________
IW Christian Web Services
Christian website hosting and website
design services.
webservices.impartingwisdom.com
__________________________________
Memoria Press
The place to come for your classical/
Christian curriculum. Home of Latina
Christiana, Traditional Logic, Famous Men
history books, and much more! Check out
our K-2nd curriculum packages; 3rd-6th
coming soon!
(877) 862-1097
www.MemoriaPress.com
__________________________________
Shining Dawn Books
Home to the popular NaturExplorers
creation-based nature studies. We offer other
fun & creative curriculum choices as well!
(859) 484-3599
ShiningDawnBooks.com
__________________________________
Wheat-N-Things
Provides home bakers with great quality
Listings by Region
organic and GMO-free grains, bread making
supplies, Nutrimills, and Bosch mixers.
(502) 437-9396
www.Wheat-N-Things.com
__________________________________
Louisiana
__________________________________
eLearningK12
eLearningK12 is a personalized, guided,
web-based education system for
homeschool students in grades K–12.
Core curriculum aligned to national/state
standards with assistance from professional
educators. Learning for the way you live!
(866) 477-9444
www.elearningk12.com
__________________________________
Elloree Guitars
Elloree Guitars offers completely
handmade guitars, mandolins, dulcimers,
banjos, and lap steels made entirely
from straight grain woods. Choose from
a variety of woods, styles, and other
options.
(318) 388-2635
www.elloreeguitars.com
154 ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
__________________________________
A Journey Through Learning
We create lapbooks for Apologia science,
Prairie Primer, TruthQuest History, and
Geography Matters. We also have lapbooks
for history, science, Bible, holidays, and early
learning.
www.ajourneythroughlearning.com
__________________________________
Maine
__________________________________
Angelsong Creations, LLC
Want to give your baby or toddler an
advanced foundation for future learning?
Check out MommyJingles.com—a new
kind of baby music class. Use Coupon Code
“OldSchool” and save $100.
MommyJingles.com
__________________________________
Maryland
__________________________________
AMN BOOKS
Gently used curriculum and children’s
books. My inventory exceeds my Amazon
listings; call with inquiries. Visit my blog,
too! (homeschoolblogger.com/amnbooks)
(410) 857-5580
www.amazon.com/shops/amnbooks
__________________________________
Barchowsky Fluent Handwriting
Homeschoolers choose Barchowsky Fluent
Handwriting. The choice: logical, easy-to-
teach, child appealing! Playful, pre-writing
activities prepare children for well-formed
letters that evolve into fluent legibility.
info@bfhandwriting.com
(410) 272-0836
www.bfhhandwriting.com
__________________________________
Gilgal Bed and Breakfast
Welcome, homeschoolers! A very affordable
retreat house ministry for those looking to
reconnect with God or just visiting the area.
(301) 872-5005
www.gilgalbandb.com
__________________________________
The Learning Expressway (Cross-
Curricular Products CORP)
Educational resources to supplement
language arts and mathematics for grades
PreK–8. Use code hs15 for 15% off of total
price at checkout.
www.thelearningexpressway.com
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
Massachusetts
__________________________________
Eastern Nazarene College
Christian community passionately
committed to academic rigor, personal
growth, and spiritual development.
Students represent 30 denominations, 26
states, and 29 nations. Located minutes
from Boston & blocks from the beach.
Admissions@enc.edu
(800) 88ENC88
www.enc.edu
__________________________________
FamilyTimeFun
FamilyTimeFun offers a collection of
educational dinner games for families to
play while they eat. These games open up
lively conversation and add lots of fun to
family meals.
(508) 346-3844
www.FTFGames.com
__________________________________
Worldwide Center of Mathematics
Digital mathematics textbook publisher
that incorporates interactive videos, graphs,
and hyperlinking right in the text with PDFs
for only $15 and hard copies for only $30.
(617) 245-0171
www.CenterofMath.com
__________________________________
Michigan
__________________________________
Absolute Web Site Design
Custom website development, search
engine optimization services, website
hosting, photo and graphic optimization,
social media marketing.
(586) 255-1812
www.absolutewebsitedesign.com
__________________________________
Arts & Letters Design and
Communications
David & Sallie Borrink. He draws. She writes.
You shine. Creative, quality graphic design,
Web & blog design, writing, editing.
(616) 866-1659
www.artsandletters.biz
__________________________________
Barefoot Books Ambassador –
Diane Farrug
Celebrate art and story with multicultural,
award-winning Barefoot Books. Join my
mailing list for discounts. Great work-at-
home opportunity too!
barefootinrochester.blogspot.com
__________________________________

__________________________________
Caedy’s Corner: Custom-Drawn
Pencil Portraits of Pets and People
Turn your favorite photo into a beautiful,
unique work of art. Makes a perfect gift or
treasured keepsake.
(248) 462-0848
www.caedyscorner.etsy.com
__________________________________
CBH Ministries (AKA Children’s
Bible Hour)
An international Christian ministry based on
the Gospel of Jesus Christ, CBH Ministries
produces and distributes excellent media
resources to evangelize and disciple kids
and their families.
(616) 647-4500
www.CBHMinistries.org
__________________________________
Detroit Greenfield RV Park
Southeast Michigan’s finest family-oriented
destination camping resort in a scenic
wilderness, close to all the attractions of the
area.
(877) 562-7601
www.detroitgreenfield.com
__________________________________
Handsome Woods
Fine pens, handmade from domestic and
exotic woods. Perfect for gifts. Prices start at
about $15.
(616) 454-4984
www.handsomewoods.etsy.com
__________________________________
Handwriting Problem Solutions, LLC
Specialists in teaching & implementing “Low-
and High-Tech” equipment and software for
kids with serious handwriting challenges.
This can allow them to complete schoolwork
as similar to their peers’ as possible!
(269) 749-9374
www.handwriting-solutions.com
__________________________________
Herbalife International –
Sarah Stoddard
High-quality, low-cost nutritional products
sent to your home. Success or refund. I
lost 50 pounds and you can too! www.
loseweightnow.com/sstoddard
(734) 338-3027
www.shopherbalife.com/sstoddard
__________________________________
HomeWorks by Precept,
Karen Weger
Independent consultant representing BJU
Press, Rosetta Stone, Passport Learning,
Bridgeway Academy, Logos Science. FREE
SHIPPING in the US anytime!
(269) 685-8050
joshua2415wegers@jasnetworks.net
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
__________________________________
HOPE Refined
Helping One another Prepare for Eternity
(HOPE) with encouraging articles, uplifting
poems, gifts, and a fast, effective Bible
memory system.
ChristinaJoy@HopeRefined.com
www.HopeRefined.com
__________________________________
Kregel Publications
A Christian publisher dedicated to
developing trusted, biblically based
resources that lead individuals to know
and serve Jesus Christ. Book categories
include nonfiction, fiction, early reader, and
children’s activity books.
kregelbooks@kregel.com
www.kregel.com/homeschool
__________________________________
Legacy Academic Consulting
Quality discipleship and social studies
curriculum from a biblical worldview. We
strive to equip Christians with tools for
effective citizenship.
(269) 599-3544
www.legacyacademic.com
__________________________________
little folksters
Nurture family relationships, share
hugs and special moments. Music, play,
literature, dance, drama, and art affect
total development and spiritual growth,
all intertwined in the young child’s life.
Over 300 resources and activities for
infants–8s and the grown-ups who love
them. Includes Are We There Yet? —
a travel CD.
(734) 741-1510
www.little-folks-music.com
__________________________________
Living Books Curriculum
Complete, K–8 Christian homeschooling
solution, inspired by visionary educator
Charlotte Mason. Ready-to-go curriculum
packages, teaching guides, and high-quality
literature. Guaranteed.
(888) 331-3481
www.livingbookscurriculum.com
__________________________________
Parker Publishing
Self-teaching English Grammar
Workbooklet. Thirty-six lessons, including
exercises and answer key. Unique building-
block presentation. Fun and rewarding.
(616) 884-0539
www.englishgrammar.com
__________________________________
©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
k entuck y - minnesota
PotterVilla Applied Technology
Making technology a tool instead of
a frustration, we offer comprehensive
instruction and old-fashioned service.
Our full spectrum of computer training
is tailored especially for homeschoolers
by a homeschool graduate. Additionally,
we offer website development for your
family business or school. We can help
you take command of technology.
(517) 588-3030
www.pottervilla.com
__________________________________
Writing Coach – Danielle Olander
Writing coaching via email. Paper editing
and grading. Email classes using Excellence
in Writing (IEW) methods & materials.
(616) 897-6928
www.rocksatmyfeet.blogspot.com
__________________________________
Minnesota
__________________________________
Listings by Region
Dora & Diego Homeschool Spanish
The most comprehensive missions-minded,
Biblically based Spanish curriculum for
Preschool through 12th grade; complete
packages starting at $25 plus s&h.
(218) 234-3264
www.DoraHomeSchoolSpanish.com
__________________________________
Graphics by Becky
Custom graphics and ad layouts done at an
affordable price. Will work flexible hours to
fit with your schedule.
(320) 356-1114
a.busy.muse@gmail.com
__________________________________
Kind Corrections Editing Service
Experienced editor of fiction and non-
fiction, who can handle both large and small
projects. Reasonable fees and friendly help.
(320) 356-1114
kindcorrections@gmail.com
__________________________________
Loving the Lord Ministries for Girls
and Young Women
LTL Ministries offers biblical, spiritual
growth material, online resources, and
conferences geared towards encouraging
girls and young women in Christ.
info@lovingthelordministries.
org
www.lovingthelordministries.org
__________________________________
155
 minnesota - ne w me xico
__________________________________
Purposeful Planning With Sather
Homeschool
This time-tested method of planning will
give your family new direction for the
future. Home of Dan’s Doodles.
(320) 356-1114
Phyllis-Sather.com
__________________________________
Shirley’s Prepackaged Crafts
Unique monthly craft subscription for
preschoolers. Everything needed to
complete crafts comes delivered to your
door in a box. Monthly, quarterly and school
year subscriptions.
(763) 682-4894
www.ShirleysPrepackagedCrafts.com
__________________________________
Traut Incorporated
Traut Incorporated manufactures a line
of furniture to help you organize your
home, office, or school. We have several
choices in design and color. Our cubby
benches are great for shoes or papers,
and our storage chests are good for
Listings by Region
storing things out of the way. Furniture
made in USA.
(320) 842-4397
www.trautinc.com
Mississippi
__________________________________
Mary Jo Tate, Professional Writer &
Editor since 1986
I help entrepreneurs and speakers author a
business-building book . . . whether or not
you can write. Ghostwriting, editing, book
coaching.
www.WriteAGreatBook.com
__________________________________
How Do You Do It All? Balance Family
Life and Home Business
Mary Jo Tate, entrepreneur and single
homeschooling mom of four sons, helps
you move past the juggling act and find
balance so you, your family, and your
business can flourish.
www.HowDoYouDoItAll.com
__________________________________
Shopping-Bargains.com
When making an online order, have you
seen a coupon code box during checkout
and wondered where to get one? Shopping-
Bargains® publishes thousands of coupon
codes as well as free shipping discounts and
other deals for nearly 3,000 online retailers.
Owned by 2nd generation homeschoolers.
Established 1999. Totally free!
www.shopping-bargains.com
156 ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
Missouri
__________________________________
AdvoCare – Gail Speis, Independent
AdvoCare Distributor
World-class nutrition. Coach people to
lose weight, gain energy, and improve
performance. Business where you get paid
5 ways.
(636) 544-1631
www.winwithadvocare.info
__________________________________
Around the Table Games
Award-winning portable conversation
games designed to connect today’s
busy families and youth through fun,
enlightening verbal conversation! NO TECH
. . . JUST TALK!
(314) 374-4878
www.AroundTheTableGames.com
__________________________________
BooksBloom
Workshop/convention speakers, vintage
and out-of-print booksellers, author of
reference books about wholesome books.
(320) 761-6378
www.booksbloom.com
__________________________________
Christian Technologies, Inc.
Looking for the Noah Webster 1828
dictionary?
We have it in an inexpensive, easy-to-use,
searchable, printable CD! The hardcover
dictionary is also available below most
website prices! Find gifts from Jerusalem,
classic books, children’s computer
learning games, and more at great prices.
(800) 366-8320
www.ChristianSoup.com
__________________________________
Collyott Farms
Handmade shelves and signs; gourmet, all-
natural dips and spices; country décor and
farm produce.
(660) 848-9988
www.collyottfarms.com
__________________________________
Gluten-Free Life
Dedicated gluten-free bakery, homeschool
family owned and operated. We make
delicious cookies, muffins, breads, and
mixes without rice.
(816) 449-1371
www.gflife.com
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
__________________________________
The Grannie Annie Family Story
Celebration
Free writing contest for students 9–14. Write
stories from your family’s history. Deadline
February 1 for possible publication in
annual anthology.
(888) 641-5353
TheGrannieAnnie.org
__________________________________
The Modest Mom
Beautiful, affordable, custom-made
maternity & women’s skirts. Fashionably
modest designs for sizes XS–XXL.
(816) 616-0320
www.themodestmom.com
__________________________________
Portico Books (Hands-On English)
Strengthen communication skills. Grades 4–8.
Easy-to-use curriculum: English handbook,
practice pages, card game. Grammar made
visual. Free online writing class.
(888) 641-5353
GrammarAndMore.com
__________________________________
SureProof
Quality proofreading, editing, and typing
services. 20+ years experience. USA only please.
(816) 523-7060
sureproofhome@yahoo.com
__________________________________
Montana
__________________________________
Athelas Outdoor Ministry, Inc
Challenge, Growth and Renewal through
Adventure! The wonders of God’s creation
provide a place for spiritual, physical, and
mental refreshment.
(866) 862-8382
www.athelasoutdoor.org
__________________________________
Climbinghigher.org
Climbinghigher.org travels with you on
your spiritual journey providing “The Story
of the Day,” Bible Studies and inspirational
messages.
(406) 889-3969
www.climbinghigher.org
__________________________________
Discovery Toys – Rachel Uttecht
Educational toys that help parents teach
children through play. Great for children ages
infant, preschool, and early school years.
(406) 544-2937
www.discoverytoyslink.com/
racheluttecht
__________________________________
 minnesota - ne w me xico

New Hampshire
__________________________________
Spontuneous™ Games, Inc.
Say a word and see if anyone can sing a __________________________________
song with your word in it. Spontuneous™ is Bunker Hill Publishing
the hottest new family party game on the Learning should be rewarding, educational,
market! Visit www.spontuneous.com today! and fun. In creating beautifully designed,
(406) 380-0096 high quality, illustrated books at very
affordable prices, we at Bunker Hill
www.spontuneous.com
__________________________________ Publishing strive to achieve these goals.
ckitchel@bunkerhillpublishing.com
(603) 272-9221
Nebraska www.bunkerhillpublishing.com
__________________________________
__________________________________
Christian Work at Home Moms CALCampus High School and
CWAHM provides job listings, business
Postsecondary Division
Affordable, accredited online school.
information, spiritual encouragement, and
thousands of other resources for Christians CALCampus offers high school courses,
who desire to work from home. college courses, and our high school
diploma program. Earn dual credits for
contact@CWAHM.com high school and college. Since 1986.
CWAHM.com Homeschooler discount. homeschool@
__________________________________ calcampus.com
Second Harvest Curriculum (603) 899-2388
We buy and sell used homeschool hs.calcampus.com
books. Homeschool family-run business __________________________________
established to help families save money.
And still doing so. TryOut Toys Entertainment
__________________________________
Professor in a Box, LLC
Professor in a Box markets business
courses (Financial Accounting, Principles
of Marketing, Entrepreneurship)
featuring lectures by college professors
to homeschooled students, students
preparing for CLEP exams, and small-
business owners.
www.professorinabox.com
__________________________________
Pearson Homeschool
Flexible, affordable curriculum programs
to provide your child the rich, rounded
education you want for him (from the
publisher of Sing, Spell, Read, & Write; Plaid
Phonics; MCP Math).
Gary.Taylor@Pearson.com
www.PearsonHomeschool.com
__________________________________
R&R Games, Inc.
Publishers of an extensive line of award-
winning games and toys that are great for
families and friends of all ages.
(888) 874-3353
www.rnrgames.com

Listings by Region
__________________________________
www.UsedHomeschoolBooks.com Skill toys—a fun way to improve physical
__________________________________ coordination, creativity, and self-esteem.
Scientifically proven to increase brain capacity.
(603) 996-1047
New Mexico
Nevada www.tryouttoys.com Algebra Survival Guide &
__________________________________ __________________________________
Workbook
mathGPS.com The Algebra Survival self-teaching
A handy math teaching and learning system
to pinpoint your current location (math
New Jersey program has a unique twist. It takes
real life situations and relates them
level), find the best route (easiest learning __________________________________ to algebraic concepts, making those
pathway), and guarantee to reach your concepts easy to understand. What’s
Amy R. Weber Photography more, ingenious cartoons bring algebra
destination (never lost again).
Double degree in photography/graphic arts. to life for visual learners. Step-by-step
(888) 628-3185 Experienced in many areas—specialties are instructions and loads of practice
mathGPS.com sports and children. Serving Pennsylvania, problems ensure success.
__________________________________ New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland.
(505) 690-2351
Patchwork in the Desert (856) 678-3653 www.SingingTurtle.com
Our family provides fun, hand-crafted fabric amy@website29.com
items, quilt kits, and penny wool kits! We’re __________________________________ __________________________________
on Etsy & eBay! Harvey Cedars Bible Conference Noah Webster College
(702) 524-7635 Consider Harvey Cedars for your family Noah Webster College is a liberal arts
www.etsy.com/shop/ vacation. We offer affordable rates, educational Christian leadership college located in
opportunities for kids and parents as well as Albuquerque, New Mexico.  Strengthen
patchworkinthedesert
__________________________________ a great environment to network and interact the defense of your faith and sharpen your
with homeschool families. Biblical worldview at Noah Webster College.
NWebsterCollege@msn.com
ss & Entr (609) 494-5689 __________________________________
in e ep www.HCBible.org
s
TOS
__________________________________
re
e s ch o o l B u

neu

Hygloss Products
From teaching supplies to craft supplies,
r Direct

Hygloss has been bringing you creative

products for art and education since 1950!
Check out our science, craft, and classroom kits!
om

or

(800) 444-9456
A

P S y
H O S
S S E
E A D
www.HyglossProducts.com
2011 __________________________________
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 ne w york - ohio
New York
__________________________________
Christian Home Business Connection
Looking to work from home? Find legitimate
resources and home business coaching. Get
started quickly and avoid the scams!
(585) 334-0306
www.christianhomebusiness
connection.com
__________________________________
Dan’s Affordable Web Design
Affordable and professional small business
websites that will be up and running quickly
and that you can update yourself.
(888) 240-9295
www.affordablewebdesignersonline.
com
__________________________________
HAPPYMATH – Division of Reinhard-
Bernard Enterprises
Memorize the multiplication facts with
pictures, rhymes, and rhythms! Introductory
stories, color-coded cards with pictures
and rhymes, CD with rhythms and rhymes,
Listings by Region
review games make memorizing EASY and
FUN! gail@happymath.com
(800) 961 4277
www.happymath.com
__________________________________
Homeschool in the Woods
History resources and studies to make
learning a hands-on experience! Quality
illustrated timelines, activity studies,
lapbooks, maps, and more encourage
your child to understand history
through hands-on projects! AmyPak@
HomeschoolintheWoods.com
(585) 964-8188
www.HomeschoolintheWoods.com
__________________________________
N.E.W. LIFE (Nutrition, Exercise,
Wellness for LIFE)
N.E.W. LIFE (Nutrition, Exercise, Wellness
for LIFE) nutrition education/behavior
modification programs assist people with
prevention of lifestyle disease, increased
energy, weight loss, freedom from
bondage to food/body image. Food diary
evaluations, nutrition counseling, diet
book reviews, audio bites, and registered
dietitian certifications—all from a
professional, Christian perspective.
newlife4health@aol.com
www.newlifeforhealth.com
158 ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
__________________________________
Open Door Publishers, Inc.
Open Door Publishers, Inc. is a family-based
book publishing company that is dedicated
to helping authors get published.
(518) 899-2097
www.opendoorpublishers.com
__________________________________
Professor Toto Language
Education Series
The Language Workshop for Children
Professor Toto is the award-winning
animation to teach French, Spanish,
German, Mandarin Chinese, or Italian to
kids 2-8 with The Language Workshop
for Children’s renowned method.
(877) 444-9595
www.ProfessorToto.com
__________________________________
North Carolina
__________________________________
Avon-Ind. Sales Rep/Unit Leader
*Buy or Sell AVON* Just $10/$20 investment.
No inventory required or minimum orders!
Contact me today!
(828) 759-7135
www.youravon.com/lrichardson9713
__________________________________
Baby Bible Board Books
This set of four, perfect-size board books
helps parents teach their infants and
toddlers to love Jesus.
(704) 277-7194
www.BabyBibleBoardBooks.com
__________________________________
Bonita Lillie Publishing
Who said writing can’t be fun? We provide
simple, easy-to-use writing curricula and
homeschool resources designed to make
learning a joyful adventure for the whole
family. bonita@bonitalillie.com
(704) 575-8467
www.handsonessays.com
__________________________________
Christian Book Videos
Featuring videos showcasing the latest
releases in Christian books for your family.
Viewing is free. Find new books to read.
(704) 995-6739
www.ChristianBookVideos.com
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
__________________________________
Classical Conversations
Classical Conversations exists to empower
homeschool families as they pursue
classical, Christian education. Families meet
weekly in communities around the country
to attend classes for students ages 4-18.
www.ClassicalConversations.com
__________________________________
Close to My Heart ™ – Phyllis Wagner,
Independent Consultant
Established company. Coordinated classic
scrapbooking supplies. Acrylic stamping.
Workshops. Studio J online scrapbooking.
Idea books. Entrepreneurial business
opportunity
(919) 454-9615
PhyllisW.myctmh.com
__________________________________
Connie’s Virtual Assistant/
Bookkeeping Services
Excellent administrative, bookkeeping, and
specialized services to meet your needs. 20
years experience. References available.
(919) 550-1644
Conniekh1956@yahoo.com
__________________________________
Cooking Traditional Foods
Traditional/whole foods Menu Mailer with
five dinners, one breakfast, one dessert per
week. As low as $1.50/week!
(828) 505-4376
www.cookingTF.com
__________________________________
The Coupon Kat
Save up to 60% on your grocery bill! Book
a workshop, learn to coupon or let us shop
for you!
thecouponkat@gmail.com
www.thecouponkat.com
__________________________________
Double R Cattle Services, Inc.
We are a family-owned farm in
Hillsborough, North Carolina. We offer 100%
grass-fed beef and U-pick strawberries.
(919) 949-8157
www.doublercattleservices.com
__________________________________
Easy Classical
Easy Classical provides resources for
homeschool families who desire to teach
classically. We offer schedules, writing
guides, copybooks, and geography
curriculum all integrated for ease of use and
increased retention.
www.easyclassical.com
__________________________________

__________________________________
Edward Jones – Brett Parkis
Helping you make sense of investing.
Personalized investment planning for
college savings, retirement, saving on taxes,
investments, and insurance.
(919) 553-7431
www.edwardjones.com
__________________________________
Foreign Language House
Instant digital downloads: teacher-created
worksheets, activity guides, and E-courses
to supplement PK–12 French and Spanish
learning.
(704) 737-4649
foreignlanguagehouse.com
__________________________________
Homeschool Mania
Show your homeschool pride with
the original homeschool company.
Professionally silkscreened and
embroidered products. Anvil, Bella,
Lat, Next Level, and other high-quality
products with fast shipping! Homeschool
Rocks, Homeschool mom, Extreme
homeschooler, Leave a Legacy, Pay it
Forward etc. Shirts, canvas bags, Nalgene
BPA-free water bottles, hats, magnets,
etc.
(704) 562-7130
www.homeschoolmania.com
__________________________________
Katie’s Homeschool Cottage
Curriculum for you, using an eclectic mix of
unit study and Charlotte Mason methods.
(603) 608-2208
charlottemasonhomeschooling.
wordpress.com
__________________________________
Landry Academy
Christ-centered online classes for all the
standard subject areas plus numerous
unique classes that students love. We also
offer academic summer camps.
Greg@LandryAcademy.com
www.LandryAcademy.com
__________________________________
LeBedz Publishing
Freelance and professional writer, editor, and
speaker. Veteran organizer and homeschool
consultant. Phone, email, and video
consultations available. Reasonable rates.
(704) 701-3088
www.bethanylebedz.com
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
__________________________________
Note-able Scraps
Custom scrapbooks by Note-able Scraps
make beautiful gifts or keepsakes! We also
design blogwear, stationery, and Christmas
or all-occasion cards.
(252) 876-6108
noteablescraps.blogspot.com
__________________________________
Mighty Fine Books
A powerful Christian spiritual and financial
wealth building system. Create financial
independence while sharing the gospel
message. Perfect for homeschoolers.
(828) 697-5013
answers.mightyfinebooks.com
__________________________________
Scentsy Wickless Candles –
Kelly Brown
Safely fill your HOME-school with
refreshing, warm, and comforting scents
the safe way. We use bulbs not flames!
(704) 248-0507
www.kbrown.scentsy.us
__________________________________
Shape the World, LLC
Imagination and simple shapes are
combined to create images of objects in
the world around us, providing economical,
customizable, intergenerational play, with
no drawing skills required. It’s more than a
game!
(919) 961-0020
www.shapetheworld.com
__________________________________
Triangle Education Assessments
We provide year-round achievement,
cognitive and career testing services,
including Iowa®, WJ III®, BASI ™, CogAT®,
career and practice tests. Simple ordering!
Great prices!
(877) 843-8837
www.TriangleEd.com
__________________________________
Tupperware – Misty Kearns,
Independent Director
Start a rewarding home business for free!
Earn free Tupperware: host a home, catalog,
or online party! Fundraisers also available!
(336) 309-1084
www.twmisty.com
__________________________________
©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
ne w york - ohio
North Dakota
__________________________________
Perfect Praise Publishing
Author Chuck Black presents The Kingdom
Series and Knights of Arrethtrae books, audios,
and other character-building products.
(701) 572-1700
www.KingdomSeries.com
__________________________________
Ohio
__________________________________
AdvoCare – Lisa Wohlwend
AdvoCare is a premier health and wellness
company offering nutritional products and
a business opportunity that empowers
individuals.
(330) 606-2304
www.advocare4u2.com
__________________________________
BCI – Professional Recruiting
BCI Recruiting assists employers seeking
outstanding employees. BCI also provides
Listings by Region
resume review service. 10+ years of
experience; contact Ted@bcioh.com.
(330) 686-2588
www.bcioh.com
__________________________________
Bizzy City
Bizzy City provides children ages 9–13 safe,
fun, family-friendly online education and
entertainment. Created by homeschoolers
for homeschoolers.
(614) 717-5912
www.bizzycity.com
__________________________________
Carol Topp, CPA
Starting a business? Get help from a
knowledgeable and friendly CPA. Business
plan evaluation and phone consultation.
Reasonable rates.
(513) 290-4730
CarolToppCPA.com
__________________________________
CrossTimber’s Name Meaning Gifts
Learn why your name is important to
God through the Christian meanings of
names. Personalize ANY NAME in our
color name meaning designs, complete
with carefully researched meaning,
Biblical Life Meaning™, and hand-picked
Scripture verse. CrossTimber offers
name meaning bookmarks, framed
NamePlaques™, and coffee mugs.
Mention “HOME10” for 10% off.
(877) 763-2646
www.Meaning.Name
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 ohio - pennsylvania
__________________________________
Homeschool CPA.com
Helping homeschool leaders start and run
their organizations. Apply for tax-exempt
status. Professional help from homeschool
parent and CPA.
(513) 290-4730
HomeschoolCPA.com
__________________________________
Homeschool How-To
Free homeschool resources, ideas,
E-Books, advice, articles, and curriculum
suggestions for new and veteran
homeschoolers. Heidi Johnson is a
veteran homeschool mom of 4 who
enjoys helping people and sharing her
favorite tips and encouragement for
homeschooling. Homeschool How-To
is your one-stop homeschool resource
center!
www.homeschool-how-to.com
__________________________________
Kandy’s Creations
Cute, quality clipart for personal and
commercial use. Wide variety of themes.
Listings by Region
JPEG, PNG, and vector formats. Affordable
and professional.
kandy@kandyscreation.com
www.KandysCreations.com
__________________________________
Lighthouse Christian Academy
Has been helping homeschool parents
successfully educate their children for
over 30 years. For a FREE information
packet, visit www.aceministries.com/
thisoldschoolhouse or call 1-866-308-2195.
(866) 308-2195
www.aceministries.com
__________________________________
Lighthouse Homeschool Resources
We are a homeschool family serving the
homeschool community. Shop and save
on curriculum, books, toys, games, &
purity jewelry.
info@LHRstore.com
www.LHRstore.com
__________________________________
Lilla Rose Independent Consultant –
Paula Ramm
Unique, comfortable, strong hair clips and
jewelry. Home of the elegant Flexi-Clip.
Beautiful hair in seconds!
paula@rammnation.com
www.lillarose.biz/BeautifulLife
__________________________________
160 ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
__________________________________
Micro Business for Teens
Start a micro business, a very small,
one-person business, with what you
already know or own and without debt!
Students learn about business, money, and
themselves.
Carol@MicroBusinessForTeens.com
MicroBusinessForTeens.com
__________________________________
Paul Osborne Design
Graphic design for brochures, catalogs,
logos, trade booth displays, point-of-
purchase, packaging, copywriting, Web.
Homeschooling entrepreneur since 1986.
(419) 757-2046
www.podesign.com/PO_Design.html
__________________________________
Rachel Ramm Fine Art
Fine art impressionistic oil paintings:
originals, giclées, and prints. Home, family,
and vintage style. Custom work and
portraits upon request.
rachel@rammnation.com
www.rachelramm.com
__________________________________
Spirited Education
Experience the world and everything
in it through our downloadable series,
Stationery Adventures™. A new twist on
notebooking pages.
Susan25@spiritededucation.com
www.SpiritedEducation.com
__________________________________
Vinson Home Team
Buying? Selling? We can help. Ohio licensed,
international specialists. Accredited buyer
agency. Vinson Home Team—where clients
are family.
(513) 405-2696
www.vinsonhometeam.com
__________________________________
Oklahoma
__________________________________
Celebrating Home
Celebrating Home has products that bring
families together, including entertaining,
fragrance, and décor items. Fundraising and
other income opportunities available.
(405) 330-1396
www.celebratinghome.com/sites/
carolgrieb
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
__________________________________
Foundations Farm, LLC
We specialize in all-natural granola and
homemade, liquid laundry soap. The best
from our farm to your home.
info@foundationsfarm.com
www.FoundationsFarm.com
__________________________________
Growing Healthy Homes LLC
We honor God by creating and distributing
products that educate and empower
His children to establish healthy, Christ-
centered homes.
(918) 841-2934
GrowingHealthyHomes.com
__________________________________
How To Homeschool Today
Provides resources for “out of the box”
homeschooling based on your child’s
interests and abilities.
Cindy@me.com
www.howtohomeschooltoday.com
__________________________________
Institute for Excellence in Writing
Learning to read, think, speak, and write can
be easy and enjoyable! IEW helps parents
and teachers transform their reluctant
students into confident and competent
leaders and communicators. Results
guaranteed!
(800) 865-5815
Excellenceinwriting.com
__________________________________
Jessica Lynn Campos, Author
Imaginative writer shares stories and
writing ideas. Check out book review
by The Old Schoolhouse® at http://
thehomeschoolmagazine.com/
Homeschool_Reviews/3139.php.
Buy at Amazon.
www.jessicalynncampos.com
__________________________________
Jim Hodges Audio Books
Your children will become mentally
engaged in history by listening to Jim
Hodges Audio Book’s unabridged
recordings of the George Alfred
Henty historical novels. The stories are
educational, entertaining, edifying, and
no preparation time is required from you!
Put on a CD, sit back, listen, and learn
history!
(405) 391-5762
jimhodgesaudiobooks.com

Oregon
__________________________________
Essentials of Life
Unlock your child’s highest potential with
God’s gift of therapeutic-grade essential
oils, and live life abundantly! Ask me how.
(541) 444-2428
www.essentialsoflife.net
__________________________________
Getty-Dubay Italic Handwriting
A comprehensive series for K–6 & beyond.
“I’m thrilled with the precision and easy-to-
read style my five children have learned!”
Wendy Shaw, homeschool parent/teacher
(800) 777-2844
www.handwritingsuccess.com
__________________________________
Knowledge Quest, Inc.
Publishers of history and geography
curricula for the homeschooling
community. Their new website (www.Apps-
School.com) is where parents can find, rate
and review the best mobile apps available
for educational use.
(210) 745-0203
www.KnowledgeQuestMaps.com
__________________________________
Little Crew Studios
An independent filmmaking company,
specializing in action/adventure children’s
films, using all-children casts, and built
around a Christ-centered message.
www.ravensheadmovie.com
__________________________________
Mission Mama
Simply Planned, a beautifully illustrated,
practical homeschool planner with free
student planners. Also recipes for basic
household supplies and lapbooks.
Sherry@missionmama.com
www.MissionMama.com
__________________________________
National Home Education Research
Institute (NHERI)
Conducts and publishes research on
homeschooling. Serves as a research
clearinghouse. Promotes understanding
of home education. Provides expert
witness testimony in court and legislative
hearings, consultation, speaker services,
and statistics.
mail@nheri.org
www.nheri.org
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
__________________________________
Ring of Fire Science
We have been providing homeschooling
families with award-winning science material
since 1998. Our science materials include
textbooks, activity books, rock kits, and video
lessons for students in PreK–12th grade.
(888) 785-5439
www.RingOfFireScience.com
__________________________________
Sound Bytes Reading
Does your child have READING PROBLEMS?
Now there’s HELP! Teach your child to
read easily in only four months! Complete
reading program that includes phonics,
spelling, and 90 entertaining stories.
(503) 363-5425
www.soundbytesreading.com
__________________________________
Sunday School Lady
Free Sunday school lessons, crafts, and
lapbooks. Solid, hands-on, preschool
through elementary. Bible survey that
makes kids laugh and learn.
sherry@sundayschoollady.com
www.SundaySchoolLady.com
__________________________________
Pennsylvania
__________________________________
Agur Glass and Mirror, LLC
Specializing in frameless, framed, semi-
frameless shower enclosures, custom
mirrors, insulated windows, glass tabletops.
Servicing Central NJ and Lehigh Valley, PA.
(908) 213-9200
www.agurglass.com
__________________________________
Classical Academic Press
Classical Subjects Creatively Taught: Latin,
logic, Spanish, Greek, and Bible taught
clearly and creatively with texts, DVDs,
games and more.
(866) 730-0711
www.ClassicalAcademicPress.com
__________________________________
Clean Teen Reads
Know what’s in books before your teen/
tween reads them. Find detailed reviews
with specific information about offensive
language and more.
cleanbooksforteens.com
__________________________________
©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
ohio - pennsylvania
__________________________________
Guiding Light Video
Come visit a Christian variety store for the
entire family. Musical plays, educational
and family DVDs, music CDs, games, and
much more. We can help you with your
homeschooling needs.
(610) 489-0746
www.GuidingLightVideo.com
__________________________________
HoMe – Homeschool Mentoring,
Resources and More
Help in starting, continuing, and finishing
your family’s homeschool journey.
Mentoring service, resources for family life,
homeschool, parenting, and blog.
(717) 921-8589
HoMeresourcesandmore.wordpress.
com
__________________________________
HomeschoolShirts.com
At HomeschoolShirts.com you will find a
varied selection of apparel and homeschool
resources for both parents and children.
homeschoolshirts.com
__________________________________
Listings by Region
Jewelry Cares – Cash for Gold
Turn your old jewelry into quick cash for
both you and the charity/organization
of your choice! Send us your old gold
and we’ll send you a check plus make
a 10% percent donation to the charity/
organization you designate. Or contract
us about hosting an on-site fundraising
event. Homeschool family owned/
operated.
(866) 493-4941
www.jewelrycares.com/bbmailin
__________________________________
KAFE, LLC
We specialize in words! Let us help promote
your business through social media, writing,
proofreading, editing, transcription, and more.
(570) 431-9593
www.kafellc.com
__________________________________
Keyboard Town Pals
Revolutionary method teaches kids to
type on a computer keyboard. One hour
interactive stand-alone video uses puppets,
humor, music, and stories. Enter coupon
code KINUS 12 for a $10.00 discount.
(866) 200-8881
www.KeyboardTownPals.com
__________________________________
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Legacy Leavers
Growing Godly character with the Bible and
creativity. A hands-on Bible study of people
with character worth learning about.
corideroza@gmail.com
www.legacyleavers.org
__________________________________
Peterson Directed Handwriting
Teaching handwriting fluency is easy
with our unique strategy and inexpensive
materials. Extensive training is provided
free online. Call for a free consultation with
a handwriting specialist.
(724) 837-4900
www.Peterson-Handwriting.com
__________________________________
Safran Publishing Company
EGUMPP (Electronic Grammar Usage
Mechanics Proficiency Program) is an
interactive online grammar learning system
that really works! Visit us and try our demo
at www.egumpp.com.
(800) 858-9937
www.egumpp.com
__________________________________
Listings by Region
Sweet Little Blessings
Cloth diapers and accessories. We
carry all your favorite brands, including
bumGenius, Thirsties, FuzziBunz,
Happy Heinys, Bottombumpers, GroVia,
Knickernappies, and more! Free shipping
on orders over $40! Use coupon code
HOMESCHOOL to save 5% off any order.
www.sweetlittleblessings.com
__________________________________
Vision Herbs
Natural, good-for-your-body skin care
products: lotions, creams, salves, lip
balms, soaps, hand sanitizer, teas. Mother/
daughter run.
(570) 325-8946
www.visionherbs.com
__________________________________
Rhode Island
Rhode Island businesses,
come join us next year!
e ss & Entre p
s in
TOS
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H S S
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2011
162 ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
South Carolina
__________________________________
Blessings Unlimited
Bringing God’s Word and creative beauty
into your home!
(843) 597-3173
monicaw.blessingsdirect.com
__________________________________
Bob & Joyce Glover, Broker
Associates
Real Estate Brokers in Homeschool-
Friendly South Carolina. Hilton Head
Island, Bluffton, Beaufort. Located on the
Intra-Coastal Waterway, Beaufort County
is rich in History, has beautiful Beaches,
miles of Bike Trails, challenging Golf
courses, is Family-Oriented and ranks as
SC’s Healthiest County. Come visit and
you’ll want to stay! (843)384-7148 Direct
Bob@RickTurnerandAssociates.com
www.RickTurnerandAssociates.com
Coastal Home Educators
Conference CHEC 2011
June 9–11 Beaufort, SC. Speaker: David
Hazell of My Father’s World.
Intro to Homeschool Seminar. Vendors,
Workshops, Childcare. Book Blast (HUGE
used curriculum sale).
Want to sell your books at the Book Blast?
Register Online $12 & Receive Selling
Instructions. (Save the Date! CHEC 2012
June 7–9, 2012)
CHEConference@gmail.com
www.GoCHEC.org
__________________________________
Firmly Rooted Homeschool
Resources
Selling books we love at prices you can
afford!
(834) 304-4283
www.FirmlyRootedBooks.com
__________________________________
Hope of My Heart Designs
Keepsake jewelry for miscarriage and child
loss, infertility, and adoption, and mothers’
jewelry too. Heirloom-quality jewelry
customized just for you.
mail@hopeofmyheart.com
www.HopeofMyHeart.com
__________________________________
Jordan Essentials – Kim Lewis
re
Kim Lewis, Jordan Essentials Consultant.
neu
Real skin care solutions for real families.
r Direct
Profitable business opportunity. Free
brochure and sample.
(803) 979-0331
or
y
www.myjestore.com/KimLewis
E
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
__________________________________
Proverbs 22:6 Academy
Quality copybooks and more! Our E-Books
provide an opportunity to go beyond the
words and bring them to life.
proverbs22-6academy.com
__________________________________
SCENTSY Wickless Candles – Gena
Gommer
No soot, no fire, no mess! I’m a stay-at-
home, homeschooling mom of three
who has a great-smelling home! Scentsy
is a wickless candle with over 80 scents.
Please browse my web page and discover
the world of SCENTSY!
GenaGommer.scentsy.us/home
School Success
COLLEGE SKILLS
Equip your student for college! Online
program: study skills, time management,
tailoring and applying college to one’s
calling. Discounts.
(803) 760-6859
www.school-success.net
__________________________________
Send Out Cards – Teresa Baine, Ind.
Sales Rep #121370
Online greeting card system. From your
computer to their mailbox. We print, stuff,
stamp, & send. Wholesale $1.06, including
postage!
(803) 684-0502
www.MailCardsToday.com
__________________________________
Scentsy Wickless Candles – Gena
Gommer
No soot, no fire, no mess! I’m a stay-at-
home, homeschooling mom of three
who has a great-smelling home! Scentsy
is a wickless candle with over 80 scents.
Please browse my web page and discover
the world of SCENTSY! Read my story!
Join my team!
(843) 441-5137
genagommer.scentsy.us/home
__________________________________
Truth Publishers
Home school bible study course, 25
lessons, fundamental, premillenial, baptist,
textbook, Path to Truth and Freedom,
teacher’s guide, student workbook. $25ppd.
Helpful resources.
(864) 268-5121
www.truthpublishers.com
__________________________________

__________________________________
Virginia Wallace, Ed.D. & Whitney
Husid, Psy.D.
Educators and information specialists:
V(ery) W(ell): How Students Learn. Inquiry
Learning: Let’s Teach It VERY WELL.
Providing workshops and consultations.
(864) 850-9128
(706) 868-9829
__________________________________
South Dakota
__________________________________
The Riggs Institute
Changing the way people think about
teaching writing, spelling, reading, and
thinking, The Riggs Institute is a self-
supporting, non-profit literacy agency
offering language arts curriculum for
teachers and parents.
(800) 200-4840
www.riggsinst.org
__________________________________
Your Virtual Services
Assists with your online presence by
utilizing webinars/teleseminars, audio/
video recordings, email marketing,
newsletter/E-zines, website maintenance,
HTML/Wordpress, shopping cart software.
(605) 691-3834
YourVirtualServices.com
__________________________________
Tennessee
__________________________________
Best Homeschool Buys
Drop by to save money on new and used
homeschool curriculum. Read reviews and
tips from 24-year homeschool veteran.
besthomeschoolbuys@gmail.com
besthomeschoolbuys.com
__________________________________
Bryan College
Bryan College is a Christian college in
Tennessee that offers nearly 40 different
fields of study. Bryan also offers accredited,
online, dual enrollment courses taught from
a Christian perspective.
www.Bryan.edu
__________________________________
Caldwell Global Communications,
Inc.
Homeschooler operated. Make Internet
activity part of your curriculum. CPanel and
WordPress webhosting. E-mail mailing lists.
Ask for homeschooler packages.
(888) 946-4638
sales@caldwellglobal.com
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
__________________________________
Dianna’s Sugar Plum Sundries
We carry quality oils, lyes, essential oils,
butters, fragrance oils, colorants, molds,
kits, herbs, soap bases, and much more!
info@diannassundries.com
www.DiannasSundries.com
__________________________________
Doorpost Wisdom
Putting Scripture into hands, homes, and
hearts. Handmade handkerchiefs, blankets,
totes, purses, pillows, gifts, and more.
Custom orders welcome.
(865) 414-6556
www.etsy.com/shop/
doorpostwisdom
__________________________________
Frontier General Store
Old-Fashioned Toys for Old-Fashioned Girls
and Boys. The One-Stop Cowboy Shop!
(615) 907-6993
www.frontiergeneralstore.com
__________________________________
The Gatlinburg Lodge at
SmokyMountainViews.com
Vacation in luxury Gatlinburg cabin rental.
Smoky Mountain views. Game room. Hot
tub. National park, aquarium, Dollywood,
Titanic. Facebook: GatlinburgCabinRentals
877-HIS-GRACE (447-4722)
SmokyMountainViews.com
__________________________________
GoTrybe
Leading-edge, physical activity and health
education tool for K–12. Build your own
workouts, learn with daily education
segments and have fun creating your own
avatar. So—get active and healthy!
info@gotrybe.com
www.gotrybe.com
__________________________________
Home School Book Sale
Buy and sell new or used curriculum,
books, and educational resources in a
safe and effective venue of like-minded
homeschoolers.
www.HomeSchoolBookSale.com
__________________________________
Homeschool Entrepreneur—Helping
Families Start a Home Business
Affordable hosting by Christian homeschool
family. We’ll set you up or do it yourself.
Includes easy tutorials—Websites,
Facebook, Twitter!
(615) 374-3176
AffordableChoiceMarketing.com
__________________________________
©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
pennsylvania - tennessee
__________________________________
Homeschool Entrepreneur—
Teaching Entrepreneurship by
Doing!
Home school curriculum and business
resources for teens and their families.
Integrate a home business while learning
Christian entrepreneurship principles.
(615) 374-3176
HomeschoolEnt.com
__________________________________
Lighthouse Christian Academy
Has been helping homeschool parents
successfully educate their children for
over 30 years. For a FREE information
packet, visit www.aceministries.com/
thisoldschoolhouse or call 1-866-308-2195.
(866) 308-2195
www.aceministries.com
__________________________________
Mishy Mee-Maw
Hand-made herbal salves, lip balms, and
hard lotion, using organic and natural
ingredients. I also have quilts for sale.
mrl@mishymeemaw.com
Listings by Region
www.mishymeemaw.com
__________________________________
Nature Labs
Poison ivy, oak, or sumac itches? Our anti-
itch jewelweed soap will provide soothing
relief (all-natural and wild-crafted). Student-
run business.
(423) 727-5107
www.thenaturelabs.com
__________________________________
No Greater Joy Ministries
See our display ad on page 112.
www.nogreaterjoy.org
__________________________________
Ohana Music Group
We’re able to meet all of your music
recording needs, from radio ready to a
simple vocal. Call for quotes.
(615) 631-0934
www.ohanamusicgroup.com
__________________________________
The Trinity Foundation
We offer quality Intellectual Ammunition
in theology, apologetics, philosophy,
education, economics, and logic. Hundreds
of articles and audio lectures available for
free download. Age group: high school and
college.
(423) 743-0199
www.trinityfoundation.org
__________________________________
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Unit Studies by Amanda Bennett
Countless homeschool families turn to
Amanda Bennett for carefully researched,
ready-to-use curriculum. Amanda’s Unit
Study Adventures and Download N Go™
series offer fun and adventure, as well as
long lasting learning.
CustomerService@UnitStudy.com
www.UnitStudy.com
__________________________________
YourStudentNews.com
Start your own online, homeschool
newspaper! Includes friendly interface,
customized graphics, and great customer
support. Great for clubs or co-ops!
(423) 727-5107
www.YourStudentNews.com
__________________________________
Texas
__________________________________
ABC The Key
ABC The Key uses multi-sensory learning
to teach phonetic reading, writing,
Listings by Region
spelling, and pronunciation of the English
language. Engage your visual, auditory, and
kinesthetic learners and enable them to
master literacy skills.
sales@abcthekeyathome.com
www.abcthekeyathome.com
__________________________________
All About Babies Birth Center
We build a community of strong, healthy
families one miraculous birth at a time. We
serve the DFW area.
(972) 653-2229
www.allaboutbabies.net
__________________________________
American Heritage Education
Foundation – Claudine Kamrath
FREE patriotic lesson plans emphasize
America’s great national characteristics:
FREEDOM, UNITY, PROGRESS, and
RESPONSIBILITY, teaching America’s
founding principles from source
documents including the Declaration
of Independence, Constitution, and
Federalist Papers.
ahef@americanheritage.org
www.americanheritage.org
__________________________________
A-Tex Insurance
A proud homeschool dad available to help
you with all of your insurance needs. (940)
320-2277 Servicing ALL of TEXAS!
(866) 484-2839
www.atexinsurance.com
__________________________________
164 ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
__________________________________
Avon—Misty Taylor
Meeting all your beauty needs. For $10 you,
too, can join Avon. Serving Spring, Texas,
area or direct-to-you online service.
(832) 472-7440
www.youravon.com/mtaylor1216
__________________________________
Biltmore Inspirations – Lani
Rodriguez, Independent Consultant
Exclusive, chef-inspired foods and home
decor, all inspired by the beauty of Biltmore.
Amazing hostess rewards and ground-floor
opportunity!!
(832) 482-8781
www.inspiredtocelebrate.com
__________________________________
Caedy’s Corner: Custom-Drawn
Pencil Portraits of Pets and People
Turn your favorite photo into a beautiful,
unique work of art. Makes a perfect gift or
treasured keepsake.
(248) 462-0848
www.caedyscorner.etsy.com
__________________________________
Career Coaching for Students™ by
Success Discoveries
Personal Leadership, Career and College
Planning Program provides clear steps a
student can take to identify and evaluate
career and educational options; includes
student binder, assessments, web resources
and much more.
(972) 346-2892
www.careercoachingforstudents.net
__________________________________
Christian Keyboarding
Are your students typing exercises
that don’t match your values? Christian
Keyboarding products teach valuable and
necessary computer skills while instilling
Christian values. No games. Real touch
typing techniques.
(800) 559-2154
www.ChristianKeyboarding.com
__________________________________
Coffeedogz Small Business and
Technology Services
Starting a new business or have an
existing business? How can technology
help or hurt? Boost your business with
the edge Coffeedogz provides. Avoid
costly mistakes with individualized
consulting. Navigate the techie world
with my easy-to-read and easy-to-
understand E-Book. Take the tech-ache
out of business with Coffeedogz!
georganne@coffeedogz.net
www.coffeedogz.net
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
__________________________________
College at Southwestern
The College at Southwestern provides
conservative theological programs in
the history of Western thought, missions,
education, homemaking, biblical studies,
and music.
(800) SWBTS-01
www.swbts.edu
__________________________________
College Prep Genius
Get FREE college, raise your SAT score as
much as 600 points, and go to the college
of your choice! Learn how thousands
of homeschoolers have earned huge
scholarships!
(817) 282-PREP (7737)
www.CollegePrepGenius.com
__________________________________
Families in Faith
Want to GO Green? Natural products. Want
to SAVE Green? Wholesale prices. Want to
MAKE Green? Work 100% from home.
(940) 682-6772
www.familiesinfaith.com/kshadden
__________________________________
The Five Fathers of Music
A complete music history program about
Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, and
Gershwin, using visual, auditory, and hands-
on learning. Perfect for reading age up to
8th grade. info@cntcreations.com
(972) 827-5333
www.cntcreations.com
__________________________________
Great Books for Children
We proudly sell Barefoot Books. These
beautiful books can help you educate
through literature. Also offers family home-
business opportunity.
(817) 874-1658
www.GreatBooks4Children.com
__________________________________
Hands on Homeschooling
Play with a purpose! Add a bit of structure
to preschool playtime to get some hands-
on, educational, fun.
handsonhomeschooling.com
__________________________________
Home Educator’s Resource
We sell new and used curriculum. Ship all
over the U.S. – $4.00 for up to 5 pounds
of books. We offer online classes to fit any
family budget.
(972) 956-8320
www.homeeducatorsresource.com
__________________________________

__________________________________
Homeschool Group Leader
Free mini course: “Discover 4 Proven Ways
to Successfully Avoid the Top Traps That Trip
Up Homeschool Group Leaders Every Time.”
hgleaderblog.blogspot.com
www.homeschoolgroupleader.com
__________________________________
Larry Cole Communities – Build
Your Home in Texas
Master planned, gated subdivision
Highland Oaks features country estate
living in park-like setting among rolling
hills with full city services (water, sewer,
natural gas), high-speed Internet.
Amenities: pools, cabana, trails, ponds,
sport fields. Located in homeschooling-
friendly Texas, NW Dallas-Fort Worth
area. Realtor/developer, homeschooler.
(214) 340-1244
www.larrycolecommunities.com
__________________________________
LeTourneau University
Did you know that almost one-fifth of
the current traditional student body at
LeTourneau University were home schooled
for their high school experience. Contact
Barnabas Bridgman at Admissions@Letu.
Edu.
(903) 233-4336
www.Letu.Edu
__________________________________
Lisle Violin Shop
Lisle Violin Shop specializes in stringed
instrument rentals, sales, repairs, and
restorations. We offer flexible and
affordable rental programs with free
shipping to you, anywhere in the U.S.
(800) 545-4753
www.Violins.com
__________________________________
Love Your Husband/Love Yourself
Don’t let homeschooling your kids cause
you to neglect their father. Attending to
your husband’s needs will benefit you both
in more ways than you ever imagined.
PrescottPublishing.org/Books/
Books-Love-Your-Husband
__________________________________
Lovely Hair Clips – Lilla Rose Hair
Designs
Full line of beautiful and comfortable hair
clips.
Monica@yourhealthsource.org
www.lillarose.biz/HairDesigns
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
__________________________________
Mu Eta Sigma National Math Honor
Society
Mu Eta Sigma National Math Honor Society
was founded to encourage mathematical
excellence specifically for home-educated
students and to promote community
service by MHS members within their
spheres of influence.
www.MathHonorSociety.com
__________________________________
New Beginnings Homeschool
Association
We are an interactive support program that
provides education, mentoring, and curriculum
counseling for the new or struggling
homeschool parent. When you don’t know
where to begin . . . join New Beginnings!
(832) 754-7927
www.New-BinTexas.webs.com
__________________________________
Ornament Publications
Products that help your family love the
Scriptures. Full-color illustrations of analogies
in Proverbs and verses about money.
(972) 278-5965
www.ornamentpublications.com
__________________________________
Pam Ball Unlimited – Early
Learning
Pam Ball Unlimited offers early learning
printables, including a FREE daily activity.
Join my mailing list to receive special
offers and to be notified of new products.
Specializing in infants, toddlers, and
preschoolers.
Mention this ad and receive an additional
25% off your first purchase! Coupon
code: homeschool
(866) PAM-8015
www.pam-ball.com
__________________________________
Pampered Chef – Kristina Bailey
Join my team to get out of debt, learn new
recipes, and earn amazing free products &
rewards while homeschooling!
(210) 383-3482
www.pamperedchef.biz/
kristinabailey
__________________________________
Punkydoodles – Die-Cut Paper
Shapes
Punkydoodles—colorful, die-cut paper
shapes—can make any lesson more exciting
or interesting! Use alone or with crayons,
stickers, glue, glitter, paint. Three sizes to
help meet your objectives!
(800) 428-8688
www.punkydoodles.com
__________________________________
©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
tennessee - te x as
QCharm, LLC
Your home for experience-based
solutions, ideas, products, and inspiration
to help you and your child make the most
of every moment. Use our wristband
with interchangeable charms that display
Boardmaker® images for schedules,
assignments, behavior, communication,
and emotion management. Share your
ideas on our blog!
www.qcharmforcaregivers.
blogspot.com
www.qcharm.com
__________________________________
Reliv International, Denise Hyde
Nutrition you can trust. Reliv’s patented
state-of-the-art supplements provide a
solid foundation for your business. Make a
difference with Reliv.
(281) 573-2272
www.hyde.reliv.com
__________________________________
Reliv International—
Paul & Kristen Fagala
Listings by Region
The energy drink market is $560 MILLION
per year. Now you can tap into that
market with Reliv’s all-new exclusive
energy shot 24k. Enjoy real energy and
focus with no caffeine or sugar and only
5 calories. Create personal wealth and
have fun doing it as an independent Reliv
distributor!
(281) 573-2120
paulandkristen.reliv.com
Scentsy Wickless Candles –
Renewing Strength
We carry all things Scentsy; from
warmers and wax to Buddies with Paks!
We would love for other homeschooling
families to join our team in this hands-
on business, tailor-made for teaching
the basics of entrepreneurship—and
smell great doing it! Renew your
strength—Isaiah 40:31.
(480) 382-6698
www.RenewingStrength.com
__________________________________
Sharing Great Health, Inc.
Dedicated to the health of your family
naturally. Biblical nutrition principles.
Nutrition 101: Choose Life! Gentle Babies—
natural help for pregnancy and children.
Herbs and essential oils for our medicine.
(936) 438-8829
__________________________________
165
 te x a s - wa shington
Spears Art Studio, Inc.
ART MAKES LEARNING FUN! Teach your
children art from a biblical worldview
with the Spears Art Studio K–8 teacher’s
manual and high school art survey (Art
1 equivalent) student manual. Covers
art/design elements, art principles;
rich in interdisciplinary, historical,
and contemporary art connections;
FREE ART LESSONS, and much more.
spearsartstudio@wildblue.net
(830) 612-2585
www.spearsartstudio.com/
curricintro.html
__________________________________
The Spirit of Elijah Ministries
International
The Spirit of Elijah Ministries International
was founded by Norm Wakefield with
the vision of equipping men to lead their
families by applying the gospel to life’s
situations and relationships.
(830) 980-5606
www.SpiritofElijah.com
__________________________________
Listings by Region
Student Solutions
Affordable, K–12, laminated study charts,
book marks, chore charts, and games.
Also, homeschool essentials: report cards,
transcripts, student IDs, organizational
and record-keeping forms.
Serving homeschool families since 1984.
(210) 416-3307
www.mystudentsolutions.weebly.
com
__________________________________
UberSmart Software
Developers of UberSmart Math Facts, a
proven system for mastering math facts.
Download a FREE 30-day trial today.
(817) 886-0780
UberSmartSoftware.com
__________________________________
Vibrant Scents / Young Living
World’s best essential oils for total
family wellness. Delivered to your door;
outstanding educational support; trusted
20-year company; thousand of years used.
Science proves their effectiveness. Home
business available.
(936) 438-8829
www.debra.vibrantscents.com
__________________________________
166 ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
__________________________________
Visual World Geography
Can you find Italy because it looks like a
boot? We help students see a world map as
landscapes of familiar objects—making all
countries easy to find and draw!
(866) VWG-7772
visualworldgeography.com
__________________________________
Writing Tales
For upper elementary students, Writing
Tales is a critically acclaimed classical
writing program that students and teachers
alike love!
www.writing-tales.com
__________________________________
Young Living Essential Oils –
Bonnie Kline
Would you like to have a “biblical
medicine cabinet”? Do you want your
cleaning products to be “natural” and
free of harmful chemicals?
Do you want to earn free products, make
money and spend precious time with
your family?
Young Living Essential Oils may be for
you . . .
(281) 460-7736
purplepansygal.younglivingworld.
com
Utah
__________________________________
Academic Success for All Learners
The Little Books empower your child to
explore phonics, experience 100% decode-
ability, and enjoy captivating characters
in delightful stories. Read reviews, see
program samples, and download free
support resources online.
(435) 755-7885
www.ISeeSam.com
__________________________________
Mobile Drug Testing, LLC
Parents need to protect their children
from the danger of drug use. It happens
in the very best families. We recommend
random testing before you suspect there
might be a problem, to help your child
say “No! My parents test me and would
find out!” when the time comes.
(801) 577-9411
www.mdtesting.com/hometest.
html
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
Mobile Drug Testing, LLC
Join our company as an independent
contractor with all the benefits of a
franchise for 1/10th the investment;
proven business model; a business that
is in high demand in an industry that
is growing exponentially; complete
package with training, marketing, full
support, and inventory. Contact us for an
information packet.
(801) 577-9411
www.mdtesting.com/request.html
__________________________________
SendOutCards – Maribeth Gardella
Get creative–upload photos, change fonts
and colors, then let SOC print, address, and
mail your cards for you. megsoc@live.com
(224) 338-0011
www.sendoutcards.com/megscards
__________________________________
Vermont
Vermont businesses,
come join us next year!
Virginia
A–Z Word Services
Experienced English teachers at
connieschenkelberg.com will evaluate
your 6th-grade to 12th-grade students’
paragraphs and essays. Students email
their drafts; we evaluate and make
suggestions for improvements. The
process is repeated for the final drafts.
Your students’ writing will improve, and
your teachings/corrections are validated.
Excellent service, reasonable rates.
(703) 861-2154
www.connieschenkelberg.com
__________________________________
Armfield Academic Press
Armfield Academic Press is the publisher
of user-friendly language books such as
Getting Started With Latin and Getting
Started With Spanish, which are designed
especially for homeschool families.
www.ArmfieldAcademicPress.com
__________________________________

__________________________________
Everyday Education, LLC/Excellence
in Literature
Visit Everyday-Education.com for articles and
resources for homeschooling through high
school (and beyond) with an emphasis on high
school literature, writing, lifestyle of learning,
non-traditional college, and home business.
jceved@comcast.net
www.Everyday-Education.com
__________________________________
The Foundation for American
Christian Education
Publishes classical Christian curriculum
and resources based on the Principle
Approach®–This method of learning
produces a Christian worldview through
reflective thinking and reasoning based on
biblical principles.
(800) 352-3223
www.Face.net
__________________________________
Greathall Productions/Jim Weiss
Audio
Award-Winning storytelling audio for the
entire family by Jim Weiss, featuring classical
literature, history, G. A. Henty, Story of the
World, and unabridged titles. “Intelligent
entertainment for the thinking family.”
Greathall@Greathall.com
__________________________________
Learn Differently
Helping parents teach exceptional children:
learning disabilities or just differences,
gifted, ADD/ADHD, ASD. Planning, resources,
support. Free 20-minute consultation.
info@LearnDifferently.com
learndifferently.com
__________________________________
My Homeschool Transcripts
My Homeschool Transcripts is a web
application that enables you to keep
track of high school classes, grades,
test scores, and achievements, and to
print official transcripts with different
formats and options. Customizable to
fit YOUR homeschool. GPA calculated
automatically, based on your grading
scale. Just one low lifetime license fee!
www.myhomeschooltranscripts.
com
__________________________________
Nature Friend Magazine
Explore the wonders of God’s creation.
Learn art, photography, creative writing.
Submit your work. Study Guides available.
We welcome you.
(877) 434-0765
www.naturefriendmagazine.com/
index.pl?linkid=57;class=gen
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
Online Education Made Easy
OnlineEducationMadeEasy.com offers
interactive courses presented in a small-
group, online format. Classes are taught
by a team of teachers with 40 years of
experience. Connie teaches English,
Andrea math, and both teach SAT prep.
Our rates are extremely affordable, up to
75% less than the tutoring companies.
Convenient. Affordable. Professional.
(703) 861-2154
www.onlineeducationmadeeasy.com
__________________________________
Our Father’s Farm
Raw milk through herd shares, grass-fed
beef, pasture-raised eggs and poultry.
Better than organic products. A farming
family with integrity.
(434) 656-1188
www.ourfathersfarmva.com
__________________________________
Peace Hill Press
We publish classically-oriented history and
language arts materials for parents, teachers,
and K-12 students. Our materials bring
traditional teaching methods up to date,
giving you the tools for excellent education.
(877) 322-34445
PeaceHillPress.com
__________________________________
The Storytellers
A fantasy adventure novel by
homeschooled 19-year-old Rebecca
McKinsey. Storytellers Hannah and Aaron
find their way to Anterria and there
learn how to use their imaginations to
fight the Shadow. Can they stop him
from completing his ancient crime?
Free reading guide on website. Preview
chapters at BookLocker.com.
(703) 249-8260
thestorytellersonline.com
__________________________________
Totally Temberton (Blog)
Frugal living & homeschooling; bargains,
coupons, freebies, giveaways, reviews, sales,
Frugalista Fridays meme/blog hop, + more
hosted hops.
totallytemberton.net
__________________________________
Troy University
Students earn high school and college
credit simultaneously with Troy University’s
online ACCELERATE program.  Be amazed
at what you can accomplish when put in
control of your own learning environment!
(334) 670-5876
www.Troy.edu/ecampus
__________________________________
©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
te x as - washington
__________________________________
WriteAtHome.com
WriteAtHome helps middle and high school
students of all abilities improve their writing
skills through personal, online coaching.
writeathome.com
__________________________________
Young Voices Foundation –
Mentoring Young Writers
Providing creative kids with a practice
field of their own. Programs open to
students in grades K–12. Continuous,
no-fee writing contests. Free program for
teachers. See your students published.
Online writing workshops for kids/teens.
Programs developed and led by team of
writers, editors, publishers, and teachers.
(540) 903-6831
www.youngvoicesfoundation.org
Washington
Anderson Real Estate Team
We are a homeschooling family with
Listings by Region
9+ years experience in real estate,
both buying and selling. Call us today
for expert, professional, friendly, and
integrity-filled service. Call or email us
with further questions. We look forward
to helping you find your dream home!
eric@andersonrealestateteam.com
(253) 985-0955
www.andersonrealestateteam.
com
__________________________________
Ballpark Classics
Ballpark Classics brings friends and
families together for great old-school
quality gameplay. Gravity, physics,
and fun combine to create an amazing
baseball experience. Needs no batteries or
electricity. Email: info@ballparkclassics.com
(877) WILD-PITCH
www.BallparkClassics.com
__________________________________
Denison Ridge – Weddings & Events
We specialize in outdoor events. A garden
setting with a beautiful view of the valley
below. Serving Washington State.
(509) 954-1928
denisonridge.com
__________________________________
167
 Wa shington - br itish columbia
__________________________________
Diana Waring Presents
Abundant-life homeschooling guides, world
history curriculum, and audio-recordings
for the Christian homeschooling market
based on a foundation of “Education That’s
Relational.”™ With this approach, learning
comes alive!
(425) 397-0631
Diana@DianaWaring.com
__________________________________
Eitech America
See our display ad on page 122.
www.eitechamerica.com
__________________________________
Family Discipleship Ministries, Inc.
Bradrick Family favorite resources for
understanding the God of the Bible,
discipling our children in His Word and
ways, family Bible study, homeschooling,
learning practical skills, etc. Books, CDs,
DVDs.
FamilyDiscipleshipMin@gmail.com
www.FamilyDiscipleshipMin.com
__________________________________
Gentle Shepherd
Listings by Region
A homeschool curriculum e-business with
a variety of unique materials: writing and
artwork pages, typing curriculum, special
preschool materials, and more! Easy to use,
creative, and fun!
(360) 798-6572
www.gentleshepherd.biz
__________________________________
A Gentler Birth
Christian, certified birth doula in Gig Harbor,
Washington. Homebirth, birth centers,
and hospitals in Western Washington.
AquaDoula birth tub rentals.
(253) 884-8088
www.agentlerbirth.com
__________________________________
Gling.com – Gluten-Free Living
Gling Gluten-Free Living is a great site
for gluten-free recipes, grocery products,
and seasonal articles written by real-
life gluten-free people. You’ll receive
product reviews on the latest gluten-free
products and new ideas to keep your
meals exciting and nutritional! Visit our
site today!
mike@gling.com
www.gling.com
168 ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
__________________________________
Homemaking Organized
Tips, articles, and printables to plan and
order your homemaking days. We believe
that homemaking is infinitely easier when
you’re organized. Schedule your days, plan
your meals, organize your home. Find more
time for the people you love. Make this the
year you get it together.
miamadre@
homemakingorganized.com
www.homemakingorganized.com
__________________________________
Homeschool Life Situations.com
This is a Christian site for homeschooling for
grades K–12. The site has tips for teaching
children who struggle.
www.homeschool-life-situations.com
__________________________________
MathFire
MathFire produces innovative math materials
that supplement any math curriculum. Our
materials are both self-motivating and self-
correcting and promote independence while
developing math mastery.
(509) 432-6332
www.mathfireonline.com
__________________________________
Northwest Treasures
Exceptional, reasonably priced Creation
Geology kits and curricula. Generous
mineral, fossil and rock specimens. Field
trips. Visit us at Facebook.
(425) 488-6848
NorthwestRockAndFossil.com
__________________________________
Ries Software
A Survey of Chemistry is a complete
chemistry course on a CD. This interactive,
multimedia computer program is perfect
for college, high school, or homeschool
students.
kries@riessoftware.com
www.riessoftware.com
__________________________________
Rogene Hingston
Problems with grammar, spelling,
punctuation, sentence structure? Produce a
professional manuscript or document with
my proofreading, editing, and critiquing
skills.
(360) 755-0191
rogene@fidalgo.net
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
__________________________________
Russell & Associates
“Christian Concepts Series” Junior
High through Adult. Timeless Truths /
Contemporary Perspectives -- Profound,
simple, & most importantly memorable.
Award-Winning Books.
(360) 834-1743
www.BOOKSrlr.com
__________________________________
Understanding Writing
Focused! Fun! Family Friendly! Flexible!
And it really works! Christ-centered,
mastery-oriented instruction beginning
at the beginning and integrating practical
grammar and composition—bit by bit. One
manual for Levels 1-12.
Info@UnderstandingWriting.
com
www.understandingwriting.com
__________________________________
Wiseworld.Zurvita.biz
Save on health services including dental
and vision, or start your own business for
about $50.00 with a BizPak.
nlweaver@wiseworld.biz
wiseworld.zurvita.biz
__________________________________
West Virginia
__________________________________
A Homemade Heritage
For all the ways you make a house your
home. Homemade soaps and candles in
delicious scents! Custom orders available.
www.ahomemadeheritage.com
__________________________________
From Pen to Page
Great writing brings ideas to life. Over ten
years experience writing and editing Web
content, articles, and E-Books. Free quotes.
CindyHorton@
pentopagewriting.com
www.pentopagewriting.com
__________________________________
Wisconsin
__________________________________
All About Reading
The first complete, phonics-based,
multisensory, “open-and-go” program that
also includes teaching preschoolers their
essential pre-reading skills. The program
is mastery based and come with lifetime
support.
(715) 477-1976
www.AllAboutReading.com
__________________________________

__________________________________
All About Spelling
All About Spelling takes the struggle
out of spelling with step-by-step
multisensory lessons, logical concepts,
and built-in review. It is mastery based and
customizable for every student.
(715) 477-1976
www.AllAboutSpelling.com
__________________________________
ArtiSands
ArtiSands sand art is fun for all ages and
abilities! All of our kits come with colorfast,
nontoxic sand in a beautiful array of colors
and a wide variety of patterns.
(866) 950-SAND
www.artisands.com
__________________________________
CPR Publishing, LLC
We write and publish the Draw and Write
Through History series. A great supplement
to ANY history curriculum.
(608) 822-7787
drawandwrite.com
__________________________________
Full Gospel Family Publications
Publishers of Character Building for
Families (elementary age) and River Life:
Entering into the Character of Jesus (teens
and adults)
(920) 734-6693
www.characterbuildingforfamilies.
com
__________________________________
Multi-Pure Drinking Water
Systems – Lee Johnson
Purified drinking water at your tap for
$.08/gallon. Free from concerns about
tap water or bottled water. Several
models, reasonably priced, with special
discounts. Tested and certified. Units
have lifetime warranty. Ideal home
business opportunity for people in need
of extra income. Enjoyed by 4,000,000
customers since 1970. Let’s discuss!
(262) 632-5401
www.multipureusa.com/ljohnson
__________________________________
Progeny Press
Progeny Press study guides concentrate
on teaching our children to think clearly,
understand literature from a Christian
perspective, and enjoy themselves while
they do it! Over 100 titles for K–12!
progeny@progenypress.com
www.progenypress.com
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
__________________________________
Send Out Cards – Bonnie Manthey
Send cards by the click of a button. The
company prints, stuffs, and mails for you.
Plus, potential moneymaking opportunities.
(715) 851-3522
www.sendoutcards.com/
peac4ustoday
__________________________________
Sing the Scriptures
Nine hour-long CDs of KJV verses in song,
written and sung by Jim Swanson. Excellent
memory and meditation aids.
(715) 852-0289
KJVBibleSongs.com
__________________________________
Wyoming
__________________________________
MomsKidsBooks
Best books for kids! Find great books for
kids recommended by moms. Find books,
recommend books, join the conversation.
(307) 509-0037
www.momskidsbooks.com
__________________________________
Successful Gardens
Helping you create a successful garden. We
offer gardening tips, information, advice,
and garden products to help beautify your
world.
info@successfulgardens.com
successfulgardens.com
__________________________________
Canada
Alberta
__________________________________
Bogart Family Resources
Join our website mailing list for $5 worth of
free copywork (ZB, DN, HWT, GDI), weekly
free lessons, and discounts!
bogartfamilyresources.com
__________________________________
Emily Berger Graphic Design
Custom graphic design, specializing in
brochures, newsletters, posters, and
magazines. Digital work samples available
upon request.
Ransomed2serve@gmail.com
__________________________________
©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
washington - C anada
Melaleuca Independent Marketing
Executive – Wendy & Neil Schaan
Have balance, freedom to fit your family
schedule. Save money and earn residual
income. Best of all? No parties, orders,
deliveries, or inventory. Not MLM; 25-year
A+ BBB green company. This is brilliant-
-have you heard about it? You bring the
motivation, I’ll help you every step of the
way!
(877) 936-6272
www.wendy.familiesearningmore.
com
__________________________________
Movie Makers / Entrusted With
Arrows
Award-winning producer of educational
videos and the documentary Entrusted
With Arrows: Entrepreneurial Homeschool
Fathers. Educational film topics include
math, maps, geography, history, and movie
making.
(403) 948-7475
www.MovieMakers.ca
__________________________________
Listings by Region
British Columbia
Dare to Lead!
An interactive board game that develops
leadership skills, critical thinking, and
problem solving. It’s never the same
game twice, lots of learning and tons
of fun! See students falling off tables,
singing, drawing or discussing—one’s
imagination is the only limiting factor to
this game. Ages 13–adult.
adkooy@telus.net
www.daretolead.ca
__________________________________
Higher Path Print & Production
Producing Christian educational DVDs,
a children’s health course designed for
homeschoolers, bookmarkers, and more.
Plus, visit our homeschool website: www.
CharacterHomeSchool.com.
(877) 597-3883
www.HigherPath.ca
__________________________________
Montessori Preschool Homeschool
Program
Three years of curriculum and material
included in one low fee. Help your child
discover a passion for lifelong learning.
(866) 531-6618
www.montessori-home-schooling.
com
__________________________________
169
 c anada - finl and - germany - nigeria - united k ingdom
Manitoba
__________________________________
Pure Anada Natural Cosmetics Inc
Handmade mineral cosmetics and
botanical skincare! Shop online: www.
ThePureBoutique.com. Use coupon code:
HOME10 to save 10% off your purchase!
(866) 569-2714
www.PureAnada.ca
__________________________________
New Brunswick
__________________________________
Crandall University
“Crandall University provides opportunities
for students and professors to have genuine
relationship as they pursue knowledge
and skills that can lead to flourishing and
transformed lives.” ~ Dr. Goodwin, History
laura.martin@crandallu.ca
(888) 968-6228
www.crandallu.ca
__________________________________
Listings by Region
Newfoundland &
Labrador
Newfoundland &
Labrador businesses,
come join us next year!
Northwest
Territories
Northwest Territories
businesses, come
join us next year!
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia businesses,
come join us next year!
170 ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
Ontario
Aggrand/Amsoil Lubricant,
Independent Dealer—John
Westendorp
Natural Liquid Fertilizer. Highly effective!
Grows larger, healthier, tastier produce.
Very affordable. No environmental
impacts. Builds topsoil. Helps resist
compaction, insects, heat and cold.
Excellent for farmers, gardeners. A
division of Amsoil, the original best
protecting and longest lasting synthetic
lubricants on the market. Access via the
“shop online” link.
jawsoil@jawsoil.com
www.lubedealer.com/jawsoil/
home.aspx
__________________________________
Augustine College
A one-year college in Ottawa, Ontario,
where the enduring questions of human
life can again be studied at the level they
deserve and against the background of the
Christian story.
(613) 237-9870
www.augustingcollege.org
__________________________________
Frillacious
Lacy/Frilly Scarves. Handknit with quality
100% acrylic, we create scarves in assorted
colours. 10% of pink color proceeds to CBCF.
(905) 892-8226
joyce@greenfieldgardens.ca
__________________________________
George Laidlaw – Author
Incredible Smalls: Historically Accurate
Mysteries series used by schools and
homeschoolers to encourage reading and
learning history. $16 plus postage.
(613) 831-2505
www.georgelaidlaw.ca
__________________________________
Hartwork Graphics
Hartwork Graphics specializes in small
business logo design, branding, and
imaging for print and Web.
www.hartworkgraphics.com
__________________________________
Home Education Resource Emporium
Home Education Resource Emporium—
where Education + Fun = #1. Online
educational thrift store . . . and more!
hedremp@yahoo.ca
www.educationfun1.com
__________________________________
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory
Homeschool Horizons Magazine
Canada’s only homeschool
encouragement magazine. Written by
and for home educators just like you!
Come see what inspiration awaits you!
(613) 362-9591
www.homeschoolhorizons.ca
__________________________________
Scent-Sations – Mia Bella Candles,
Dermal Renu, and Bella Beauty
Do you burn gourmet candles, use anti-
aging skin care products or cosmetics?
Business opportunity working from home
in U.S./Canada!
(519) 522-1269
www.candlesandsuccess.com
__________________________________
Owlkids
Owlkids publishes entertaining, unique,
high-quality, award-winning magazines
that nurture the potential of children
and instill in them a love of reading and
learning.
(800) 551-6957
www.owlkids.com
__________________________________
Tale2k
Heather Kendall’s nonfiction book, A Tale of
Two Kingdoms, traces the Christ-centered
storyline of the Bible. It includes maps,
index, timeline, and Points to Ponder.
Suitable for teenagers and adults.
(705) 456-7925
www.tale2k.com
__________________________________
Prince Edward
Island
Prince Edward Island
businesses, come join
us next year!
Quebec
__________________________________
SynHeme Inc.
Used in schools across the country, these
decks of playing cards offer up-to-date
information on a variety of subjects from
the Periodic Table of Elements to the human
skeleton & geometry.
www.synheme.com
__________________________________
 c anada - finl and - germany - nigeria - united k ingd om

Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan businesses,
come join us next year!
Yukon
Yukon businesses,
come join us next year!
Other Nations
Finland
__________________________________
Essential Vitamins and Energy
Life-essential vitamin drink for your brain,
health, energy, and good sleep. Best
company and career if you want time/
money/freedom.
Nigeria
__________________________________
Goso Books (Knowledge is lasting... )
We are pioneering the idea of home
education and reading aloud in Nigeria and
sub-Saharan Africa at large.
gosobooks@gmail.com
www.gosobooks.com
__________________________________
United Kingdom
PhonicBooks
Small, successful publishing company,
specialising in phonic reading books
for beginner and reluctant readers,
is looking for a distributor in the USA
for the home education and schools
market. Our books are used in 4,000
UK schools, approved by British
Department of Education, and selling in
23 countries worldwide.
www.phonicbooks.co.uk

+358 50 5425806

Listings by Region
jljungars.vemma.com
__________________________________

Germany
__________________________________
Usborne Books and More –
ss & Entr
Jocelyn Cadiz
in e ep
s
TOS
Wonderfully illustrated Usborne and Kane
re
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Miller books available through my website.

s ch o o l B

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Available for home shows in the Heidelberg,

Germany area.
r Direct

(503) 742-3012 (US #)

www.myubam.com/f3129
__________________________________
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2011

www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/BusinessEntrepreneurDirectory ©2011, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine 171