Announcing the newest FCHM Co-ops:
United States:
Lake Newman, WA
Mount Juliet, TN
Mount Olive, IL
Welcome!
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Why are we so passionate about homeschooling? Because it works. Homeschooling is a tremendous tool for building up tomorrow's leaders, and for strengthening the family. When Christian parents homeschool their children, they have the opportunity to be the primary influence in their child's life - and to change a generation for the glory of God.
How many times have you been asked "why" you chose to homeschool? For many of us, the reasons vary from academic excellence to social influences.
FCHM gives a compelling answer to some of the "whys" of homeschooling in their newest project, "RaisingOurLeaders.com.
There has never been a more important time to support FCHM in it's mission of supporting and encouraging homeschooling families.
Visit
www.RaisingOurLeaders.com
and see how you can get involved!
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We grow through your giving.
Every gift you make to FCHM helps us plant homeschool co-ops around the world.
Thank you for supporting the ministry of FCHM.
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You can personally help FCHM Grow!
Spread the word by forwarding this ezine to your homeschooling friends and help our First Class network grow!
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Merry Christmas
from FCHM:
We're thankful for the leaders and members of First Class across the United States and Canada:
British Columbia
Chilliwack, BC Canada
United States:
California
Folsom/EDH, CA - For His Children
San Bernardino, CA
Idaho
Sandpoint, ID
Illinois
Mt.Olive, IL
Indiana
Central Indiana
Louisiana
CENLA, LA
Maryland
Dorchester County, MD
Frederick, MD
North Carolina
Gaston, NC
Oregon
Central Portland, OR
Gresham, OR
Happy Valley, OR
South Carolina
Wagener, SC
Tennessee
Johnson City, TN
Mount Juliet, TN
Texas
Cedar Park, TX
Lake Livingston, TX
Virginia
Accomack, VA
Washington
Battle Ground, WA
Cowlitz County, WA
Clark County, WA: West
Clark County, WA: East
South King County, WA
Kitsap County, WA
Lake Stevens, WA
Lewis County, WA
Newman Lake, WA
Skagit County, WA
Spokane, WA
Wisconsin
Fox Valley, WI
Thank you for your heart to minister to homeschooling families through becoming part of FCHM's network of homeschool cooperatives.
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This Christmas,
Give More "Presence"
The countdown has begun... only three more days to go! Here in Vancouver, over a foot of snow has fallen in the past 48 hours... clogging up the roadways and creating quite a mess for holiday travelers in the Portland/Seattle area. The news is broadcasting 24/7 about road and airport conditions, and the malls are closing early when they normally stay open late. Yes, it's different... but you won't hear me complain! Why? Because the record snowfall has given us it's own gift: Time. I had almost forgotten what it was like to sit by the fire without any place to be ~ it seems we are always busy with one thing or another!
Can you relate? There are always things that need to be done- calls to make, schoolwork to grade, bills to pay, emails to read. The lists never end. It's remarkable just how easy it is to be at home and not really be home at all. The homeschooling years are over so quickly... and when we look into the eyes of the beautiful young lady that we brought home from the hospital 17 short years ago, we know instinctively that it won't be long before our family begins to transition into what my mom called "the leaving years". We're excited for each new phase in the lives of our children - but this phase has us thinking about the impressions our children will take with them when they leave our home. What will they remember about Christmas at our house?
 As we entered the Christmas season this year, we decided to forgo the usual hustle and hurry of the malls in favor of giving our children the gift of our time. On Thanksgiving, we told the kids that our gift this year would come in the form of a designated night each week that was set aside just for them, all year long!
We decided to trade the customary big Christmas day gift exhange n for a weekly celebration of our family. Each week in December, the children have opened a gift that would help us implement this new tradition - a game or two - going to see the Christmas lights in downtown Portland, a surprise run for hot doughnuts at bedtime, sledding instead of schooling, fresh baked monkey bread and family movie night. Time is the gift for 2009.
Last night, our seven-year old son said this was the "best Christmas ever" and it really hasn't cost us much at all. How precious time is! Time is a gift we can give... and it's also something we can never get back.
This year, we want to encourage you to give your kids the gift of time with you. Give more "presence" ...
and see if it's not the best present of all.
Jay and Heidi St. John have been married for 19 years and are the homeschooling parents of six children who range in age from seventeen to three. Heidi speaks to mothers with humor and grace on many subjects dealing with homeschooling. If you are interested in having the St. Johns speak at your event, please contact them through FCHM. Merry Christmas! Click HERE to read the St. John family Christmas letter!
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 FCHM Leaders RetreatSave the date!First annual FCHM Leader's Retreat!March 6 & 7, 2009
Who: Anyone who is involved in a leadership position with your co-op or anyone who wants to start a co-op with First Class! Board members, co-op leaders, worship leaders, staffing coordinators, etc.
Why: Leaders need support too!
*Come get fed, get ideas and get support.
*Spend time hearing from the heart of FCHM
with the St. Johns and the Board of Directors at FCHM
*Meet others who know how to get your co-op ticking! *Experience first-hand the extent of FCHM's homeschool leadership network!
Where:The Courtyard Marriott in Tigard, Oregon
Cost:
$139.00 for ONE night and two days of great ideas, encouragement,
vision and relationship building! (Feel free to team up with your
friends or spouse and share a room for an extra $45 per person.
Contact: Joyce at ajkvalvik@comcast.net with questions or to register. Rooms are filling up fast, so get your registration in today!
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Teaching Multi-Age Children
By Sonya Haskins
Before the introduction of institutionalized public schools
in the mid-1800s, parents taught their children at home. These families commonly had ten or more children
and they not only taught their children academics, but they also taught
agricultural, parenting and homemaking skills.
Today, many families are going back to teaching their children
at home. The big difference today is
that there are so many curricula choices on the market that it can be difficult
for parents to choose what's best for their large family.
There are ways to teach children of several different age
levels at once without losing your sanity.
Here are some suggestions.
Unit Studies
 Unit studies are one of the best ways to teach children in
different grade levels at the same time.
Fun, educational studies are designed around a particular topic like the
American Revolution, airplanes, weather, baseball, oceans, or just about
anything you can think of. Unit studies
incorporate various subjects into the schoolwork. For example, a unit study about kites might
include a biographical study of the Wright Brothers, a history of kite-flying,
a look at China on the map (where kite-flying probably originated), the
aerodynamics of kite flying, the science of why you shouldn't fly kites during
a lightning storm, a field trip to practice flying kites, etc. Unit studies revolve around the "topic" being
studied and lessons can include math, science, history, geography, and many other
subjects.
The great thing about unit studies with students of varying
ages is that you can present the unit study and allow each student to ask and
answer questions based on his own academic ability or grade level. This makes unit studies ideal for teaching
multi-grade levels.
Literature Based
Curriculum
With a literature based curriculum, your child's studies
include reading great literature or "living books." Living books are the opposite of
textbooks. Instead of snippets of information
scattered throughout a textbook, living books contain interesting, well-told
stories that stand the test of time.
Great literature from the 1800s is still great literature today.
Many families prefer a literature based curriculum because
children read great stories, learn life-lessons through the characters, and
study vocabulary, social concepts, and historical information that is not as
commonly taught today. As with unit
studies, a literature based homeschool is perfect for large families because you
can read aloud great literature to the younger children, allow older children
to read the books on their own, and then hold family discussions about the
story, characters, authors, values, etc.
Chronological Lessons
that cover several grade levels
 Many curricula with chronological lessons, such as The Mystery of History or The Story of the World, are designed to
cover material during a particular time period like "Creation to the
Resurrection" or "The Middle Ages." The
great thing about lessons in these types of books is that many of them are
created not for one grade level, but for grade spans - such as fourth through
eighth. It works quite well to teach
with a chronologically based book where all your children can participate in
lessons at their own age/grade level.
Also, even though the book may be geared toward grades four to eight,
for example, you can still include even younger children in the lessons as long
as you believe the content is appropriate for them.
Educational Movies
and Software
While I do not advocate children sitting in front of a
television or computer for long periods of time, if you use movies and computer
software appropriately, these can be a great way to supplement the subjects you
teach your child. Used appropriately,
educational software is like having a tutor work with one or two of your
children while you are working with another.
 Finally, when trying to figure out how to teach more than
one child at a time, remember that one of the blessings of home education is
that it involves freedom. Teach your
five- and seven-year-old to read at the same time. If your second grader wants to do a chemistry
project with your high school student, let him.
Learn Spanish as a family. Relax
and use the resources you have at your fingertips.
Homeschooling is fun! If what you are doing is too stressful, try switching
to one of the educational methods listed above.
The important thing to remember is to find something that works for your
large family!
Sonya Haskins is a
homeschool mom, author and advocate. She
lives in Northeast Tennessee with her husband and five children. You can reach Sonya via her website at www.sonyahaskins.com. (Portions of this article were originally
published as a branch of www.homeschoolstore.com. It is used with permission and may be
reprinted with the inclusion of this notice.)
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Homeschooling doesn't have to mean home alone!
Join the growing community FCHM members online and at
your local First Class!
*NEW* First Class on Facebook:
we're over 130 members now! Link to FCHM on Facebook
FCHM members who are also part of facebook can join this
group and post on the wall, get to know each other, write about their
group, post pictures.
*NEW* First Class "Causes" on
Facebook:
First Class "Causes" Link
You can support FCHM in our mission of planting homeschool co-ops
around the world through the local church. You can comment, and even
donate to FCHM here!
First Class Homeschool Ministries'
Message Boards
http://www.firstclasshomeschool.org/forum/index.php
Now this is a really cool thing - if we can get it to
get some more traffic. Hmm. Still thinking about how to do that.
There are 246 members on the message boards now, but they are
not very busy. We'd love to hear your thoughts on how to increase
visits and really use these boards to encourage homeschoolers!
First Class Homeschool
Chat on Google
http://groups.google.com/group/fchm-homeschoolchat?hl=en
This is the national "chat". Most co-ops also have local
chats as well. Subscribe to it, and you can share email back and forth
with the group. Members decide how they want their emails to come so
that they don't get a bunch of unwanted emails.
First Class Member Downloads
http://www.firstclasshomeschool.org/pages/members/member-downloads.html
Have you accessed your member
downloads at the FCHM website? All you need is your email and
password. FCHM is easy to contact if a password is lost or forgotten.
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