Home Learning Connection

Welcome to the HLC blog!

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Home Learning Connection has been providing a venue for Omaha parents to receive and provide encouragement & guidance in their endeavor to home educate their children for over fifteen years.

Home Learning Connection consists of more than 50 homeschooling families from around the Omaha area.

Monthly mom's support meetings provide fellowship, support, advice and dessert!

Home Learning Connection families are encouraged to participate in community outreach, educational opportunities and local field trips throughout the year.

Please click on the links to the right for more information.

Detailed Information About HLC

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HLC Mission Statement
Monthly meetings of the Home Learning Connection provide a time for homeschool parents to receive encouragement and guidance in their endeavor to home educate their children.

HLC Meeting Format
Our monthly meetings include refreshments, fellowship, support, announcements, prayer, discussion and education.

We meet in the homes of HLC families, and the location changes each month. For information on the next mom's night out, contact Andrea Zink.

jazink5@cox.net

Girls of Faith
Girls of Faith offers girls, ages 4 and older, the opportunity to develop special friendships with other Christian girls. Monthly meetings include making a craft, sharing a Bible topic, practicing a skill for use in the home, enjoying refreshments and having fun. For information about Girls of Faith, contact Stacy Simones.

stacyc@cox.net

Visitation Policy

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Since we meet in private homes, an RSVP to each monthly meeting is required. For more information about our next meeting location, please contact Andrea Zink.

jazink5@cox.net

Field Trip Information

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There are not currently any HLC field trips planned.

Please check back for updates.

Special Event Information

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Please check back regularly for updates. As new events are planned, they will be added to our blog!

"What Works for Me"

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Every year, HLC members come to our last meeting with techniques and tools to share with each other. Here are a few of the things that were discussed at previous meetings:

* Note: Before you order something from an individual website, you might want to check the price at Rainbow Resource or Christian Bookstore . These sites often have discounted prices on many home school materials, and they often have helpful reviews of the books online.

April, 2009:

“Themes to Remember” – Book + CD of 30+ classical music themes w/words
Apologia Science (especially elementary age series)
Live and Learn also sells lapbooks & other accessories for curricula
Donna Young has ready-made lesson plans & printables for many curricula
Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons
“Five in a Row” – curriculum based on 5 books/weeks
Think it Through tiles – great for preschoolers – logic puzzles, shapes, other subjects, from Discovery Toys
Beautiful Girlhood – Girls’ Bible Study (8-14 yrs) w/ study guide & journal
Shurley English – good for auditory learners – what you teach is well scripted (grades 1-6 work w/teacher, Jr. High student does independent work)
Charlotte Mason – The Gentle Art of Learning – very instructional book for parent (vision for educating our children)
KONOS & Sonlight – literature-based curricula (KONOS uses unit studies)
Explode the Code phonics – fun way to learn phonics & reading (funny pictures)
Teaching Textbooks for math – they have very good advanced math and are adding elementary math texts. DVDs also available to give instruction, but the DVDs aren’t necessary if the child learns well from a text. DVD also has solutions of every practice and exam question.
Apologia “Jump In” writing program (7-8 grade) for eager and reluctant writers. Very user-friendly. Parent manual not necessary, but it includes what to look for in grading, etc.
First Language Lessons – helps kids learn to appreciate literature & writing before they are immersed in it.
Lap clip-boards for each child (available at WalMart) to store materials, pencils, books, and provide a writing surface for work done in the car. Keeps everything together well.
Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp
The Way They Learn by Cynthia Ulrich Tobias For Instruction in Righteousness by Pam Forster First Readers Series by Mercer Mayer at McGraw-Hill Children's Publishing – very engaging “critter” stories for an active child
Keeping Dad involved in the children’s education (suggestions: have the child write a paragraph telling dad what he/she learned today, and have the student ask dad to help review something)
Story of the World series by Susan Wise Bauer – story-based history (not boring); CDs also available to listen in car; activity book also available to accompany series
Use a checklist to help each child keep track of daily assignments
“My Father’s World” curriculum – scripted, easy to follow
Hymns for a Kid’s Heart series by Focus on the Family – CDs help reinforce hymns, and this series can be used as a devotional in addition to teaching older hymns to kids
Miller book series – character training messages – read-alongs with excellent messages
Christian Worldview for Children from Worldview Weekend Publishing
Rod & Staff publishing – cute readers w/workbooks
Language Lessons for the Very Young by Sandi Queen – available thru Timberdoodle
“Unjournaling” writing prompts – creative way to encourage kids to write
Teaching Textbooks
Artistic Pursuits – art education (K-3, 4-6, Jr. High & High School)
Institute for Excellence in Writing – by Andrew Pudewa – video series to help improve writing style
Write Shop series to teach writing (elementary thru high school)
“Truth Project” by Focus on the Family – Jr. High or High School – to build biblical worldview
Organizational tip – use a vinyl folder w/8 divided sections to organize all the kids’ assignment sheets or organizations you’re involved with.
Science experiments – Bright Minds – critical thinking
Wordly Wise – vocabulary building workbooks
Latina Cristiana – Latin lessons
Come Look at Me – art
“Tapestry of Grace” curriculum
Sign for His Glory – video series teaches character and sign language
Have kids stand to read
Junior Speech Club (ages 8-11) – learning public speaking
Speech Club (ages 12-18) – public speaking and competition
Homeschool Band – for music performances (and instruction?)
Answers in Genesis - Creation Science website (they also operate the Creation Museum in Kentucky)
“Reasons to Believe” books; Creation Research Organization
“Origins” video (how the world came to be) – Moody Science Videos
Behemoth - something like a Christian Itunes store, operated by Vision Forum
Tapestry of Grace curriculum
Math-U-See
Sonlight curriculum – literature-based history & geography (works well for students who love to read; excellent reading list)
Adventures in Learning – comprehensive curriculum based on literature and hands-on projects. Includes science as well as history, literature, grammar, vocabulary, spelling. Very inexpensive
Omaha Knights Speech & Debate – for Jr. High-High School – teaches argumentation and debate skills, as well as public speaking, and gives an opportunity to compete with other home-schooled children in the Midwest (competition season is January-May)
Teaching Textbooks. DVDs not necessary if child learns well from a book or if you remember enough high-school math to help with questions.

April, 2008:

Tapestry of Grace (Curriculum)
The Well Trained Mind
Excellence in Writing - for grades 3-12
Learning Language Arts Through Literature
Boyhood & Beyond (Bob Schultz)
Created for Work (Bob Schultz)
Apologia Science
Miriam Segura - High school spanish
Switched on Schoolhouse
ACT Advantage - video rental for homeschoolers
God's World Magazine - keeps children current on issues frm God's perspective
One Year Book of Christian History - daily readings (Michael & Sharon Rusten)
The Mystery of History (Linda Hombar)
Sidetracked Home Executives - Help with managing our homes (by Pam Young & Peggy Jones)
The War Between the States - "America's Uncivil War" (John Dwyer)
The Real Lincoln (T. Dilorenzo)
The Bible Experience - audio of Bibe read in dramatic intersting format
First Language Lessons for the well trained mind (Jesse Wise)
Jump In - a notebok for reluctant writers (Sharon Watson)
Lamp Lighter Books - character building boks
Helen's Temper & It's Consequences
Making Brothers & Sisters Best Friends (Mallory)
homeschooletree.com - area homeschoolers
donnayoung.com
Managers of the Home (Terri Maxwell)
titus2.com
cnnstudentnews.com - daily news for students
rainforestmath.com - math activities
funbrain.com - search engine (fact monster)
glubber - limited search engine to set up for kids (Firefox)

Service Opportunities Within HLC

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For information about service opportunities within HLC, please contact Andrea Zink.

jazink5@cox.net

Girls of Faith

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Dear Girls of Faith Parents,

It’s that time of year again when we start planning for the school year to begin while still enjoying the last weeks of summer! I hope you all have been able to endure the heat during these last few weeks, it’s been steamy!

This year Girls of Faith will be organized a little differently than it has been in years past. Rather than creating group assignments myself, I am going to ask parents to self-organize into groups for the coming school year.

I have sent out a list of girls who were involved in Girls of Faith last year. Please take an afternoon or a morning and make a few phone calls to create your daughter’s group, assign hosting months, and determine any other planning needs for your group.

If you did not get my letter in the mail and wish to place your daughter in a Girls of Faith group this year, please contact me before the school year starts and I will put you in touch with the right people. (stacyc@cox.net)

If you know of girls who would like to join Girls of Faith for the first time this year, please make an attempt to integrate them before the school year begins. It’s much easier to keep a group going when there aren’t changes made mid-year.

Also included with the letter I sent out are a few Girls of Faith documents for you to look over. It’s nice to start the new school year when we’re all on the same page, as far as the Girls of Faith mission statement goes.

My girls and I are looking forward to another great year of Girls of Faith meetings and the friendships that blossom from spending time together in God’s Word!

Hope the rest of your summer is a good one!

Sincerely yours,

Stacy Simones

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