Great Offer on the e-book "How to Write"

How to Write The e-book version at $1.99 each!

"This is the most helpful book the beginning writer can buy," says William Safire (in the New York Times) of the book "How to Write." Written by Herbert E. and Jill M. Meyer, "How to Write" is considered among the world's best-selling writing handbooks. Now the authors have discovered a way to make the book available to anyone, anywhere, at a price everyone can afford -- just $1.99 for the ebook version.

Grab it -- for yourselves, for your children -- simply because no one has ever made such a highly-regarded book available so inexpensively. And it's about writing -- which is the hottest subject in education today.

This book would make an excellent addition to any home school curriculum. The writing process is broken down and explained in simple, easy-to-understand steps. Your elementary, junior, or senior high students would benefit from this communication instruction manual.

Until we meet in the teachers' lounge again,

Linda W. Kelley

www.Christian-Parenting-Source.com

Review of The Old Schoolhouse

Summer 2005 issue

Wouldn’t you just love to have access to a set of encyclopedias where every volume was dedicated to the topic of homeschooling? In a sense, that is exactly what The Old Schoolhouse (TOS) magazine provides. The summer 2005 issue, for example, delivers 200 voluminous pages stuffed with resources to address almost every home school need.

Wondering how to teach sign language? Check out “’Signs’ of the Times” by Melonie K. Murrray on pages 110-111 or Christine Field’s article “Teaching Sign Language” (pages 112-115).

Desiring to spice up your curriculum with storytelling? Jim Weiss illustrates how to tap into “The Storyteller Within” (pages 143-144).

Can’t get the kiddos to recite scripture or a poem? Chris Jeub has some ideas for “Teaching Memorization and Speaking Skills to Your Children” (pages 140-142).

Need a quick pre-school lesson? Valerie Bendt shares her ideas in “The Pleasures of Preschoolers” (pages 78-80).

Educating a gifted child? Helene Barker Kiser identifies characteristics of giftedness as well as resources in “So You Think Your Child May Be Gifted?” (pages 116-117).

There’s more! TOS, summer edition also tackles the following topics:

Down Syndrome
Autism
Special Needs Homeschooling
Early Readers
Living History
Homeschooling in other countries

United Kingdom
Japan
Switzerland

One of my favorite features of TOS is the many resources (such as websites, curriculum companies, videos, books, etc.) that are listed throughout every article in bold-type for easy reference. Here are a few that I’ve earmarked to spend time with later:

Websites to visit:

Computer Science Pure and Simple curriculum.
History Through the Ages Historical Timeline Figures.
Marmees Kitchen: teaches women/girls to serve with a smile from the heart of their homes.

Websites to revisit:

Donna Young offers lots of free printables and resources for the classroom!

Books to read:

For Instruction in Righteousness

Complete Tightwad Gazette

The Cross Centered Life

Future Grace

Even though my duty as a home school teacher is to ensure my children learn, I am constantly educating myself as well. Check out a tiny sampling of information I collected from this issue of TOS:

New Insight Gained:

Sonlight offers a four-day schedule – for those who attend a co-op or have other activities (art, gym, dance, field trips, etc.) one day a week.

New Word Acquired:

Lairish = to sink in mire, to wallow
“It’s a dog-eat-dog world where a lairish attitude comes as a standard.” From HS in the UK pg. 35

Fabulous Quote for the Bulletin Board:

“The playground is not the ‘social feast’ people make it out to be.” Jane Bullivant told TOS (HS in the UK, pg. 35)

The Old School House Magazine – Summer Edition has just about everything you need to know about homeschooling from A to Z. I’ve cleared a spot on my bookshelf to store my encyclopedic TOS collection. Every time I receive a new issue, it will be placed next to the others for easy reference -- after reading it from cover to cover of course!

Disclaimer: This magazine was provided free of charge from Mind and Media in exchange for my honest review. If you are interested in reviewing Christian products, please contact Stacy Harp at Mind and Media.

Until we meet in the teachers' lounge again,

Linda W. Kelley

www.Christian-Parenting-Source.com

Home School Thoughts (Part 2)

Rambling on about our home school experience:

My public school teaching background?

I taught 5th and 6th grade in the public school. A home school setting has one huge advantage over a public school setting. At home the teacher is able to work with the student one-on-one for extended periods of time. At school, I had 29-32 students. Rarely was I able to give the kind of one-on-one tutoring or acceleration many of them might have prospered with. At home, the curriculum is totally suited to each child’s needs and gifts.

My favorite subject to teach is English. I love to read books aloud to the children. And, we write all the time. Each of the children has published an enormous amount of books in virtually every subject area.

My husband is a pharmacist and very gifted in math and science so he is their first resource if the children have questions in that area. However, I have an undergraduate degree in business so can help in those subjects as needed as well.

How do you teach subjects you don’t know well?

You use an online or video curriculum. I talked about this extensively on my web site here: Home School Spanish

This year my son is taking Latin and Biology via The Potters School (live-internet feed). He is taking an online AP World History class (through the Pennsylvania Homeschoolers. Another option is for the student to take classes at local universities/community colleges. My son is taking English and Acts of the Apostles at a local University.

When do you go to lectures and extra classes?

Every year I choose one class to take the children to that is in a subject area where we desire enhancement. I discussed the 3-day art seminar we participated in one year here: Home School Art Curriculum

We have also attended writer’s seminars and conferences. We have participated in a Drama Camp. For a couple of years we participated in an area Home School Co-op. This group of home school families met one day a week during the school year. Classes were offered in a variety of subjects from Karate and Algebra to Yearbook and Chemistry. Parents were required to teach a class and students could attend a full-day of classes or a half-day. We no longer do this as it took too much time out of our schedule and limited our ability to fit online classes in etc.

Who decides about educational field trips?

I’m usually the instigator when it comes to great field trip ideas. Since I enjoy reading, I’ll often organize field trips that correlate with what we’re studying or reading. That’s how we came to visit Hannibal, Missouri for example. We had just read Mark Twain’s books and wanted to visit his home town.

But, we can’t always go far away due to time and money constraints. There are great field trip opportunities nearby as well. We’ve visited pumpkin patches, the air force museum, the site of the soon to be opened creation museum, and Indian mounds in the area for example.

Until we meet in the teachers' lounge again,

Linda W. Kelley

www.Christian-Parenting-Source.com

Home School Thoughts (Part 1)

Here are some random thoughts on homeschooling (more to follow in subsequent days):

When does housekeeping get done?

I’ll admit this is one of my weaknesses. Between homeschooling, and running a home business, cleaning usually gets done last. My husband helps a lot with chores. He’s a terrific cook so he helps with meals most days. He also helps with laundry a great deal. Our goal for this year is to get more organized and to involve the children in chores more.

Should homeschooling be funded by the government?

I believe in the “voucher system.” We pay for the public school system in our area (through our property taxes). However, we don’t receive any benefit from those taxes. For example, my oldest (sixteen) is attending college as part of their PSEO (Post Secondary Education Opportunity) program. If he were in the public school, these classes would be paid for by the school system. Since we home school, we paid approximately $1700 for two 3 credit classes. With the voucher system, parents would be given back their taxes to spend in any “educational setting” they wanted – public, private, or home school. This would allow poorer families the opportunity to go to better schools as well as allowing more families to home school.

Should older children work?

I do think it is good for those children (maybe starting about age seventeen) who are old enough to work part-time to reinforce a hard work ethic. I would especially allow them to work in the summer. Working during the school year might be difficult because of school schedules, sport team responsibilities, and church activities.

How do you measure the grade level?

In our state (Ohio) home school students must be evaluated every year either through a 1) academic achievement test (i.e Iowa Basic or Stanford Acievement tests) or 2) by an independent certified teacher. My children have always taken the achievement test. These tests give us a percentile rank (compared to other students’ nation-wide) in every subject. The percentile rank tells us whether they are below grade, at grade, or above grade level for every single subject. My children are very bright. Although they each have areas where they do better and others that need work, their percentile ranks have always been way above grade level. This information then helps me decide whether I need to advance the curriculum in certain subjects for each child (or review more).

Until we meet in the teachers' lounge again,

Linda W. Kelley

www.Christian-Parenting-Source.com

Our "Typical" Day

What's a "typical" day like for us?

My husband and/or I arise about 6:00 am and wake-up Scott (age fourteen, 9th grade). He takes a shower and gets ready for his day at a private, Christian, high school.

Either my husband or I take Scott to school. On the way we often study for any tests he has that day. After school Scott has diving practice four days a week (and also on Sat. and Sun). He attends church with the rest of the family on Wednesday. The rest of his evenings are spent completing homework for the next day and the week ahead.

Sean and Sarah get up about 8, have breakfast, and begin their school day. We have a family devotion and prayer time and then begin our home school day.

Sarah (eleven, 6th grade) is using the Abeka DVD curriculum. She has her own laptop and headphones at her desk. The entire school day (every subject) is on video and she participates with the class. She sings when they sing, answers math drills with them, etc. The teacher often addressed the students at home and asks them to answer questions before the video class does. Sarah has seatwork, homework, quizzes, and/or tests to do after every subject. I review her seatwork/homework to see if she understands the material covered. I also help her study for tests as needed.

Sarah attends a sports practice five days a week as well. Her practices are split between the three sports she participates in (diving, dance, and trampoline and tumbling). She also takes voice lessons once a week.

We eat lunch anywhere from 11:30 – 12:30 depending on the daily schedule. I read aloud from a book while the children eat (although Sean isn’t there every day because of his schedule). We’re currently reading “The Thinking Toolbox” by Nathaniel and Hans Bluedorn.

Sean’s (sixteen, 11th grade) schedule is different every day—

Monday – The morning is spent reading/doing homework for his classes. He takes an Advanced Placement World History class online through the PA Homeschoolers This class involves a great deal of reading each week as well as a written essay. The class has an interactive website that students check daily that keeps them up to date on what they’re studying as well as continuous communication with the online teacher.

In the afternoon, Sean takes a Latin class from The Potter’s School via live-internet feed. Sean can hear the teacher and the other students in the class. The students can also respond to the teacher. The teacher will put up assignments, web sites, or graphics on the computer screen during class as well.

In the evening, Sean attends a class in “Acts” at Cincinnati Christian University (CCU). He had to take the SAT college entrance exam to be admitted to CCU. He is given no break for being a high school student. He must complete the assignments and participate in class just the same as the college students taking the class.

Tuesday – Both Sarah and Sean have piano lessons in the morning. Immediately after this I drop Sean at CCU where he attends Chapel, then his English class, and then goes to lunch. He arrives home about 1:30 and works on homework for his other classes into the evening.

Wednesday – This is a day to read, complete homework, and write essays, for all of his classes. Every day Sean and I complete a section of Geometry together. We use the McDougal Littell curriculum.

Thursday – Sean goes to CCU for Chapel, English class, and lunch. When he comes home, he works on homework for all classes.

Friday – Sean works on homework until about 11:15. Then he has a Biology (apologia) class that he takes from The Potter’s School via live-internet feed. After class he has experiments, reading, and study guides to complete for this class.

Our school day does not end on Friday. We typically review, complete homework, catch up on any lessons where we are behind, and prepare for upcoming projects over the weekend. We do take time out for a family movie or game on Saturday evening. Of course we attend church on Sunday morning as well. The children also manage to fit in church, school, and friend related activities occasionally throughout the week and on weekends as time permits.

That's our day in a nutshell. It may sound a little hectic. But, the day flies, we have a great time, and lots of learning takes place. Plus, we get closer as a family as every year passes. Why not post and tell me where I can read about your "typical" day.

Until we meet in the teachers' lounge again,

Linda W. Kelley

www.Christian-Parenting-Source.com

Friday Feast

Found another meme site through Shades of Pink. Yesterday I discovered Thursday Threesome courtesty of said site. And, today Shades of Pink has posted a meme I wasn't familiar with called Friday Feast. It's theme is food for the brain and weekly questions are meant to be thinking inducers. The questions for today are:

Appetizer
Do your closer friends tend to be male or female? Why do you think that is?

Soup
If you could wake up tomorrow with a new talent, what would it be?

Salad
Name a household cleaning item that you would recommend to others.

Main Course
What do you strive for in life?

Dessert
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how funny do you consider yourself?

Here are my answers:

Appetizer
At the moment male as that includes my husband (especially) and two sons (usually). Although my daughter (most days) and mom (almost always) are my best friends as well. So, as of now, the score stands at 3 to 2. As far as friends outside the family – who has time for that! Unless you count my online pals—then the girls definitely win.

Soup
Playing the piano or singing beautifully.

Salad
Wipes that can be used and thrown away. You know like the Pledge furniture polish ones, or the Chlorox bleach-treated ones. They’re a little pricey, but oh-so handy.


Main Course
I strive to be a deeper Christian—more honest, less hypocritical, better role model, more committed—by taking time every day for prayer, Bible study, and family devotions.

Dessert
I’ll say a 7. I can be quite witty in my writing and in talking with others. I’d score higher except I sometimes take life way too seriously. I need to laugh more at the silly, goofy events that are dished out daily.

Have a great Friday!

Until we meet in the teachers' lounge again,

Linda W. Kelley

www.Christian-Parenting-Source.com

Thursday Threesome

Here's a fun trio of questions from the gang over at The Back Porch. You can play along too. There's a new set of questions every Thursday. And, they're quick so you don't have to feel too guilty about what you should be doing instead of this.

This week's theme is Daily, Dilly, Dally. The questions are:

Onesome: Daily -- What part of your daily routine could you simply not do without?
Twosome: Dilly -- What is the latest really good one you've pulled?
Threesome: Dally -- What do you do to dally away your time?

My answers:

Daily -- I love coffee and every single morning starts with a steaming hot cup of java with flavored cream. Coffee has been banned as an answer since it's such an automatic for most people. After my caffeine fix comes my internet habit. I head to the basement, coffee cup in hand, to check my e-mail, review my web site stats, and read the blog posts of all my online friends.

Dilly -- The latest "dilly" I pulled (today anyway) was speeding past the entrance to my daughter's dance class location (AGAIN!) even though I've driven there twice a week for four months straight. Brain on autopilot while driving a car should be against the law.

Dally -- This one is pretty simple. Let's see cruise the internet, shop the mall, surf TV channels, flip through magazines -- and I have quite an enjoyable time in any of these pursuits.

Until we meet in the teachers' lounge again,

Linda W. Kelley

www.Christian-Parenting-Source.com

Remembering 911

Here is a beautiful video with music entitled "Can't Cry Hard Enough"which helps us remember 911 and those who perished that fateful day.


We pray for the families of 911. We pray for the soldiers (and their families) fighting the war on terror.

Until we meet in the teachers' lounge again,

Linda W. Kelley

www.Christian-Parenting-Source.com

Free Art Lessons

Need any FREE art lessons for your home school curriculum. Well, I've just discovered a wonderful resource. If you go to my Home School Art Curriculum page you will find a thorough description of Teach Art at Home -- a wonderful web site that offers an art curriculum as well as a lot of other resources.

My Home School Curriculum Fair page takes you to another section of the Teach Art at Home web site where many FREE sample lessons are offered by artist/teacher Karine Bauch.

Be sure to look around my site as new information is added daily. If you have a favorite resource for free curriculum, post it and I'll add it to my Curriculum Fair page.

Until we meet in the teachers' lounge again,

Linda W. Kelley

www.Christian-Parenting-Source.com

Tag You're It!

I just received an e-mail from a journalist in China. How cool is that to think I'm reaching people all over the world. The correspondent is doing an article on homeschooling and wanted some information. I know some of the answers (at least the ones that ask for my personal perspective), but could use some help on the others. Plus, I thought he'd appreciate a collective view rather than just my own personal experience. Therefore, I'm reaching out to my fellow bloggers who home school. How about a little game of tag?!

Okay, when I started blogging, I had no idea what a meme was. What does a teacher do when he/she doesn't know something? Why look it up, silly. The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines a meme as "an idea, behavior, style, or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture." What happens in Blogosphere-land is someone writes a series of questions on a topic and then lists several other bloggers to tag. Those people write answers to the questions (as does the original author of the questions) and tags other bloggers and so it goes until it doesn't go any more.

Here are the questions:

1. How many Homeschoolers are there according to the government?
2. How many by your estimate?
3. Why do you see the growth?
4. Is there any age group trend?
5. What is the biggest challenge from a “homeschool expert” perspective?
6. What is the biggest challenge from a parent perspective?
7. Have these perspectives changed over the last three years?
8. Is there any income correlation to the changes?

Make sure you list (or e-mail me privately through my contact page on my web site)www.Christian-Parenting-Source.com your full name and title as applicable.

My answers:

1. 850,000 according to the US Department of Education, figures released summer 2001.


From the National Home Education Network web site NHEN and I quote:

“Q. How many homeschoolers are there?
A. Nobody really knows. Several government agencies and homeschooling organizations have made educated guesses, but because not all states count homeschoolers, and because homeschools in some states are indistinguishable from other private schools, there are no hard numbers. Researchers currently estimate that there are 1.5 to 2 million homeschoolers in the U.S., representing 3 to 4 percent of the school age population.”

And, from the U.S. Census Bureau: “According to widely-repeated estimates, as many as two million American children are schooled at home, with the number growing at 15 to 20 percent per year (McDowell & Ray 2000, Lines 2000).”

I’m not really sure why there is a disparity among these figures other than the fact that the count is not exact as stated above.



2. I would tend to believe the U.S. Census and NHEN figures over the U.S. Dept. of Education.

3. More and more people are dissatisfied with the job the public schools are doing teaching their children. Conversely, home schools are producing students who are scoring very well on college-entrance exams, winning spelling and geography bees, etc. Also, parents want greater control over their child’s curriculum. Perhaps they don’t want evolution taught without the balance of a Creation or Intelligent Design point of view, for example. Or, they might want more of an emphasis placed on a Christian curriculum.



4. I don’t have official figures on this. I don’t really think there is an age group trend. Some parents do send their child to school when they reach high school age because they feel they can’t teach more advanced subjects adequately. Others, however, begin homeschooling in high school because of the many negative elements they see in the public school which are often more prevalent for this age group (i.e. drugs, gangs, etc.) As homeschooling increases in popularity, there are more and more options available to help parents teach at home. This may facilitate an increasing trend for homeschooling older (high school) students.



5. I’d have to say the biggest challenge to the homeschool movement is government encroachment via regulation. Public schools don’t want to lose students and so they push for more legislation, overview power, etc. in order to keep students coming back.



6. From a parent perspective the biggest challenge I face is keeping up with the ever-changing curriculum/technology my child needs to know to perform well on a college entrance exam or to succeed in college. My children are 16, 14, and 11 so I’m thinking about how to best prepare them for college these days. Many public/private schools are advancing students at faster rates than previous generations. Often students will take Spanish 1, let’s say, in Junior High and enter High School ready to take Spanish 2. Similarly, many students are taking Algebra 1 and sometimes even Geometry in Junior High. Then they take Algebra 2 in the 9th grade and that sets them up to take several advanced honors or AP classes while still in high school. Also, many high school students are proficient in technology such as power point and graphing calculators.


The beauty of homeschooling is advancing our children at the rate that suits their abilities has always been possible and even encouraged. It does take effort on the part of the parent to get plugged into local home school groups, visit online home school web sites regularly, utilize online and live-internet feed classes for areas where the parent doesn’t have expertise, and so forth. My personal observation has been that home school parents are extremely dedicated teachers and do seek suitable resources diligently. However, it is a challenge and must be tackled as such.



7. I would have said acceptance of homeschooling (by others) was the biggest problem I faced three years ago. There are still some who have their negative comments. But, for the most part I get more positive remarks now such as: "Your children are very lucky to be homeschooled," and "What great students."



8. Most Homeschoolers come from two parent families where one parent can afford to stay at home and teach the children. While this isn’t always the case, it probably is the norm.



Linda Wakefield Kelley, Bachelor of Science-Business Administration, Masters in Education

I'm going to tag

(1)Scott Sommerville, attorney for the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) bacause I know he will have great insight,
(2)Sprittibee --even though I know she's recently been tagged. She's one of the hardest working bloggers I know and I don't doubt she'll answer these questions comprehensively, and
(3)Spunky who is on vacation until Monday, but I'm tagging her anyway because I know her answers will be worth the wait.

Anybody else that wants to jump on the meme, feel free. Leave me a comment so I know to include you when I send the results to the journalist.

"Where are the Christians?"

I've never watched The West Wing on TV, but some seem to like it despite it's pretty obvious liberal bias. Today I was listening to the Laura Ingraham show and she played a clip of a comment Bradley Whitford, one of the West Wing cast members, made about the relief effort on the gulf coast. He basically questioned, "Where are the Christians?" Was this slam meant for the President alone or the entire group collectively? Has this guy been paying attention -- at all?

Many of my fellow bloggers spent the long weekend raising money for hurricane victims. Thanks to N.Z. at The Truth Laid Bear, Glenn Reynolds, and Hugh Hewitt for getting the effort off the ground. The total amount raised is currently $1,244,634 in contributions, with 1,826 blogs participating, and pledged to 300 charities. That's over one million dollars! Many of those dollars came from Christian individuals, through Christian blogs, and passed on to Christian charities. No, not all. But, Christians can be proud of their efforts in this fundraising campaign from what I've seen personally.

There are stories everywhere of Christian people helping in so many ways. Hugh Hewitt has posted a letter from Jim Anderson, a former American League baseball player with the Angels, Mariners, and Rangers. He's a conservative Christian who wants to use his talents to help the displaced kids in the gulf by offering them free baseball clinics. This is but one of many such stories that can be found on just about every blog right now.

My church (like most every church in America I would venture to say) will be sending money to the relief effort (in our case via the Red Cross). Are Christians the only ones helping? No, but we are not absent from the area as Mr. Whitford suggests. Far from it.

Whether Mr. Whitford gives us credit for it or not, the fact is Christians are responding to the hurricane relief effort in absolutely enormous ways. Just click on any blog listed in my sidebar and you will read personal stories that will bring you to tears -- Tales of Americans (of all persuasions) helping one another.

Until we meet in the teachers' lounge again,

Linda W. Kelley

www.Christian-Parenting-Source.com

Aftermath Images

Yesterday I stopped by Bryan Preston's Junkyard Blog. Wow, fascinating reading as the finger-pointing continues regarding who to blame for the problems in New Orleans. All you get from the mainstream media is how slow Bush was to react. Sounds to me like a few others failed to act quickly. Mayor of New orleans Ray Nagin and Terry Ebbert (head of New Orleans' emergency operations) have ripped President Bush as though they share no part in creating the problems there. As usual, President Bush has not acted in kind. His focus is on the solution of the problem --rescuing people.

The truth is the local government in New Orleans messed up --- BIG. Their own contingency plan in case of emergency evacuation states:

5. The primary means of hurricane evacuation will be personal vehicles. School and municipal buses, government-owned vehicles and vehicles provided by volunteer agencies may be used to provide transportation for individuals who lack transportation and require assistance in evacuating.

(From the southeast Louisiana evac plan supplement, most recently revised in 2000. Go to page 13, read paragraph 5. Courtesy of the Drudge Report)

In light of the PLAN, these photos posted on the Junkyard BlogJunkyard Blog (and on Drudge) are puzzling:

Within a mile of the dome sat dozens (about 146) of municipally-owned NORTA buses. (photo from Google Earth) that could have carried approximately 9,000 people out of New Orleans BEFORE the levees broke:

Not far away. . .more busses. Drudge asks: Why didn't you deploy the buses during the mandatory evacuation, Mayor? That's a great question. One many of us would like an answer to.

Continue to watch the development of these stories, once again, brought to light by bloggers first.

These images tell one story. Michelle Malkin has a page of pictures that tell quite another. You must go to her blog and read about the lost children of New Orleans.

Michelle, also has a memo to President Bush -- "Fire FEMA Director Michael Brown" that is extremely on point (just so no one escapes blame here).

Today is Sunday and preachers around the U.S. focused on the tragedy. Here are a couple links to their thoughts:

(courtesy of Hugh Hewitt) "Over at One Hand Clapping, Donald Sensing posts his sermon for this Sunday, 'Moral Levees.'""Moral Levees"

Rick Warren also has free downloads on his site including Rick's weekend message, Rebuilding Your Life When You've Lost Everything,and more!

What is the bottom line . . . People are hurting. God will help us. Americans have tremendous compassion and grit. Reach out with genuine love and help in any way you can. Donate today. See my posts from Thursday through Monday for how to help.

Pray for our nation!

Until we meet in the teachers' lounge again,

Linda W. Kelley

www.Christian-Parenting-Source.com

Survivor Stories

It's the season kick-off for college football this weekend, but this year is terribly different. As we watched Ohio State on TV, our thoughts went to Tulane, Old Miss, LSU and other universities affected by Hurricane Katrina. How long will it be before life there gets back to normal? Tim Ellsworth has posted an e-mail on his blog that came from an LSU student. Here's an excerpt:

"A man lying down on a cot asked me to come see him. He said,”I just need someone to talk to, to tell my story because I have nobody and nothing left. He turned out to be a retired military veteran. His story was what everybody was saying. He thought he survived the worst, woke up this morning and the levees broke. Within minutes water rushed into his house. He climbed to the attic, smashed his way through the roof and sat there for hours. He was completely sunburned and exhausted. Nearly 12 hours later a chopper rescued him and here he was."

Read the rest of this incredibly touching, and yet typical, story here.

Most colleges around the country are donating a portion of their profit from weekend football ticket/program sales to Hurricane victims.

Spunky points to another story on Doug Phillips blog which relates a tragic tale of a wife widowed and six children left fatherless in Mississippi.

Just when you start to get really down by all the sadness coming out of the Gulf Coast area--news of joy, heroism, and the miraculous comes to light.

Michelle Malkin references several truly inspiring stories (please go to her blog and read all the stories. It will truly bless you). Here are my favorites:

Miracle Reunion: This is How Awesome God Is
New Orleans Couple Reunited with Baby

Bloggers continue to blog for the victims through Monday. the truth laid bear records the following totals (6:30 pm Sat.): $662,837 in contributions, 1,622 blogs participating, and 160 charities represented. Information for how to donate is given in Thursday's post below. Please consider giving today, won't you!

Until we meet in the teachers' lounge again,

Linda W. Kelley

www.christian-parenting-source.com

Blog-a-thon-ing On!

This just in from Spunky:

"Homeschooler Lori Seaborg lives in the area hit by the hurricane and she has started a blog called Hurricane Katrina to inform others about what is going on and what we can do to help. Take a minute to visit and encourage Lori and if there is anything you can to help I know she would appreciate it tremendously."

Stacy Harp at Mind and Media references Working Smart, the blog of Michael Hyatt, President of Thomas Nelson. He writes about what his company is doing to help victims--starting with a donation of 100,000 Bibles which will be distributed through Samaritan Purse. Read the rest of the story on the Working Smart blog. Contribute today, please!

Until we meet again in the teacher's lounge,

Linda W. Kelley

www.Christian-Parenting-Source.com

Blog-a-thon!

Hugh Hewitt has suggested bloggers unite to raise money for Hurricane Katrina victims. Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit set today as the date for the fundraiser and he's keeping a running list of particpating charities. This is truly what Americans do best. Rise to any challenge with grit, compassion, and creativity.

If you are a blogger and want to participate visit N.Z. Bear at The Truth Laid Bear and sign his registration page, Hurricane Katrina Blog Relief Day Fundraiser.

Each blogger who participates in the fundraiser is to pick a charity that is helping to provide relief. I chose World Vision because they are a wonderful organization. Our family has sponsored a child through World Vision for many years. We've found them to be very ethical and they accomplish much. A note on their site explains they are currently gathering supplies from their warehouse to contribute. Please consider a financial contribution to them today! If you'd prefer to donate to another charity, check Glenn's Roundup. There are many to choose from--almost every denomination is represented.

Here are a couple of technorati tags with ongoing comments to keep you up to date on fundraiser progress:

flood aid

hurricane katrina

I truly hope you will join me in this effort to help those who are less fortunate. For there, by the grace of God, go I.

Until we meet in the teachers' lounge again,

Linda W. Kelley

www.Christian-Parenting-Source.com
-------------------------
*** Update ***
Here are some pictures of the devastation Hurricane Katrina caused--webshots of Hurricane Katrina
-------------------------
*** Update ***
Spunky points to more hurricane related news:

Scott Sommerville, attorney for HSLDA (the Home School Legal Defense Association) discusses on his blog what the Home School Foundation is doing to help home school families affected by the hurricane. Contact information is available on his very informative site.

Spunky also found, via The Common Room, Ambleside Online's emergency lesson plan for families who've lost their home school materials.

Project Noah is an organization that helps homeschool families in the wake of disasters like this hurricane. Once again, they're stepping up to the plate to help. This news comes via The Bee Hive throughSpunky.
-------------------------
*** Update ***
Matthew 25: Ministries is an international humanitarian relief organization helping the poorest of the poor. You can donate specific items (such as bottled water, cleaning supplies, personal hygiene products, canned food, blankets,diapers & wipes) or money. Check your local organization for drop-off hours and locations.

We became familiar with this ministry when they sponsored a Christian music concert we attended not long ago. My children all received a WHATAP (stands for 'With Him All Things Are Possible') wristband from Matthew 25: Ministries. I see lots of teens around town wearing the Heavenly reminder. Seems particularly appropriate as we think about the devastation in New Orleans and Mississippi. Even this can be overcome with God's help (and ours, dig deep . . . won't you?!)
-------------------------
*** Update ***
My oldest son, age sixteen, reads every issue of The National Review from cover to cover. One of his favorite columns is the "Happy Warrior" by Mark Steyn. Mark is weighing in with a fabulous offer to help hurricane victims. Until midnight Eastern time tonight, all proceeds from copies of Mark Steyn's From Head To Toe and The Face Of The Tiger sold through the steyneonline bookstore will go to hurricane relief. The full $19.95 book price is going to Mercy Corps for disaster relief. Mark is an unbelievable writer--just ask my son. Don't pass this offer up. Get a great book and help someone in the process.
-------------------------
*** Update ***
Stacy Harp of Mind and Media has interviewed Wayne Elsey, President of Kodiak Terra who is partnering with Two Ten Footwear foundation to give shoes to Hurricane Katrina victims. If you care to listen to the interview, it's only 7 minutes.
-------------------------
*** Update ***
Hugh Hewitt has just announced that N.Z. Bear will keep his donation page going through the weekend. Skip a meal and a movie this weekend and donate $50, won't you?!