Opportunities Not To Be Missed
By Sandra Devera & Angel Alderson

A new year of homeschooling looms before you in the form of a pristine September to June lesson-planning calendar. We're drawn to calendars like moths to a bug-zapper. We love to fill in the opportunities, commitments, deadlines, and other calendar memorandum until we suddenly realize with panic "There's not enough time to do everything!" At that moment the August copy of the Encourager usually arrives. It lists yet more dates and activities and it's easy to think, "With what I'm facing I shouldn't even consider leaving the house." We understand exactly how you feel. But bear with us a few moments while we explain what we've learned in nine years of homeschooling about "opportunities not to be missed."

September Park Day BBQ and Used Curriculum Sale
"I've only been homeschooling for a week and I'm already a month behind! I don't have time to spend a Friday at a potluck picnic!" We think the same thing ourselves every year but we gather up the lawn chairs and some offering for the feast and go to the CHECK BBQ because we know it is a unique annual event. You will meet homeschoolers there that you may not see any other time of the year. You will be amazed at the diversity of people who home educate and the variety of extra-curricular activities available. Your children will realzie as they meet and play with the other children that homeschooling isn't some crazy idea you've come up with on your own. We have met people at the BBQ that ended up playing pivitol roles in our homeschooling endeavors. The Used Curriculum Sale may provide a missing link in your library. Talking to poeple at the sale about their curricular choices will aid you in choosing what's best for you family. The food is great and the line for hotdogs usually moves quickly. And yes, we've come home hot and messy byt we've never regretted attending.

2nd and 4th Friday Park Play Days
"The weather is too (hot, cold, windy, still, dry, wet, etc.) and I'm so fed up with my children that I'm in no mood to pack a lunch and go sit at the park." When you don't want to go is probably when you and your children most need to go. There have been many Friday play days at the park that have kept us from drop-kicking our children through the goal posts of life. Your children need to run around and be goofy with other children in a safe, outdoor setting. Didn't you choose homeschooling so they could have the time and freedom to be kids? Our children have met some of their closest friends at park play days. Home education does not have built-in "breaks" like institutional education. You need to give yourself time to sit and breathe and get some personal space. It's very reassuring to do so in the company of other parents who understand that you love your children enough not the drop them off and drive away but that you'd still prefer they throw the ball to one another "over there a ways."

Circle of Friends
"I'd have to get a sitter, drive at night, and my homeschooling week's been a fiasco so what could I possibly share with a bunch of moms who have no problems with their children?" Our answer: laughter. You'll never find two women less interested in gossip and chit-chat that us and the only thing we do well with tea and cookies is spill them down our fronts. It took extraordinary willpower to force ourselves to go to a "Circle of Friends" meeting because we were so sure the truth about our sinful children and our sinful selves would leak out. Then somebody esle said, "You'll never believe what happened this week..." and the stories started popping out and there we exclamations of agreement, recognition, giggles, guffaws and the kind of laughter that comes from someone understanding where you've been and what you've been through. Sure, it's like extricating yourself from an octopus to get out of the house, but the comment we hear when we return is, "You sure look more relaxed."

Homeschool Fair
"I hated school fairs when I was a kid and I'm not going to put my child through the hassle of entering an exhibit when there's already so much going on in April." Well, there always is a lot going on in April, but the Homeschool Fair is a charming event that benefits both children and parents. It's non-competitive nature makes it different from the school events and recitals of our childhoods. The full spectrum of child production, from the sublime to the ridiculous, is represented and children are encouraged not only by their own parents but by the respect and appreciation of other people. It is worth the effort to see siblings help each other in the talent shoow or spelling bee competitors urging their opponents to get the word right and stay in the round. The key to keeping your sanity is to plan ahead and put aside nifty projects your child completes through September to March so YOU aren't trying to get them to finish up stuff the night before the fair.

Be sure to check your Encourager for other activities offered throughout the year by CHECK. we've chosen just a few that we can write about from personal experience. Homeschooling is an educational opportunity that demands a lot from everyone involved. Choose to take some of the time God gives you and spend it in ways that encourage you and allow you to encourage others.

More words of encouragement by Sandy and Angel can be found at their recently revamped webiste:
http://www.hometown.aol.com/sandyangelpro