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Homeschool Ideas & Tips >
Homeschool Ideas & Tips Newsletter February 2005
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*** Hello from Charmaine ***
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Dearest Reader,
February – the month we celebrate love. Valentine’s Day is
the perfect holiday to teach your family about speaking to
one another with kind words of encouragement and
affirmation - as well as serving one another in love. I
hope you’ll try at least one of the ideas presented in this
month’s article (below) and that February will be filled
with relationship - building fun activities.
Blessings on your day,
Charmaine
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*** In This Issue ***
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1. Ideas & Tips: Family Friendly Ways to
Celebrate Valentine's Day
2. What's New with Victory Coaching?
3. About Charmaine
4. Quote of the Month
5. Funny of the Month
6. The Small Print
7. In Our Next Issue
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*** Ideas & Tips ***
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Valentine’s Day offers a great opportunity to teach your
family about love, kindness and relationships. Read on for
some fun ideas that will not only help you celebrate
Valentine’s Day but also promote goodwill and love among
family members.
But first, a short history lesson: What we call
Valentine's Day was at one time the Feast of St. Valentine.
It was a religious holiday. For Christians in the past,
this holiday was a day to remember and celebrate the life
and death of a Christian martyr. To help your children
understand the Christian roots of this now very secular
holiday copy and paste the following link into your
browser:
http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~maggieoh/Holidays/V/v1.html
Here are three fun Valentine’s Day ideas sent in by members
of a homeschooling discussion group that I belong to. Feel
free to add to or change these ideas to fit your family.
"Bottle of Kisses"
Idea from Roberta Anderson & daughter Rachel
My daughter (age 18) labeled a canning jar with "Bottle of
Kisses" and decorated it with a lipstick kiss on the top.
The front label reads:
Uses: to temporarily relieve low spirits and bring a smile
to a sad face.
Directions: Read 1-5 depending on severity of symptoms
Bottle will be refilled as needed.
Then there is a side label which reads:
Warning: Should be taken with a hug, but in the absence of
a hugger, try a warm corn bag, or a few chocolate chips.
Side Affects: May become addictive. Results will vary from
use to use.
The inside of the jar is filled with slips of paper with a
variety of loving statements. For example:
* I love your cooking abilities!
* I'm glad you grow a garden for us to eat from.
* Thank you for loving Christmas!
* Thanks for falling in love with Daddy!
* I'm so glad you love History.
My jar is packed full of little notes, and I can hardly
wait to read them all. They do indeed bring a smile to my
face, and my heart!
“Secret Post Office”
Idea from Teresa J
Our family spends February playing an exciting game of
Secret Post Office. At the beginning of the month, each
person makes a paper mailbox to hang on their bedroom door.
We use a piece of 8 1/2 x 11 colored cardstock, folded in
half and taped shut on the sides to make a "pocket" with
the top open. (Manila folders work well also.)
Everyone decorates the mailboxes with markers and stickers.
I put a basket filled with heart die-cuts, valentine
stationery, paper, valentine stickers, markers, and gel
pens on the counter by our desk.
Throughout the month we write notes, love letters, and
letters of thanks and appreciation to each other and
secretly sneak them in to each other's mailbox when no one
is looking.
When we first started this tradition, our children were
young and my husband and I had to offer a lot of
assistance. But as our children have grown, it has become a
great tradition and a fun reminder that despite the
quarrels and squabbles of everyday life, we really do love
each other.
I love to save my valentines and look back at how my
children have grown. And I have to admit that I can't wait
to get home and check my mail!
“What I Love About You - Spin the Bottle”
Idea by Heather T.
Play a family-friendly variation of spin the bottle, where
the person who spins the bottle has to say one thing they
love about the person the bottle "lands on."
And, just for good measure, here are a few more ideas I
found on the web:
Scavenger Hunt: You can prepare this one for your spouse
or for your children to enjoy. Write up little notes about
how you feel and what they mean to you and place them
around the house along with a candy heart or other treat.
Add a riddle at the end of each note about where to find
the next note. At the last note, have something special
waiting there. For example, you can be waiting for your
hubby in a candle-lit bubble bath. For your children, they
can find a teddy bear or other toy or treat.
Coupon Treats: Each person can create individual notes, say
4 or 6 each, to describe a special surprise such as a back
rub, a special meal, doing chores for one day, a movie or
video treat. Fold up the notes and toss them into a jar.
You can take turns having fun plucking a coupon from the
jar and doing what it says.
Love cookies: Mix up a batch of fortune cookies (see
http://www.whimsies-online.com/valentine.htm for recipe!)
and add your own little words of love.
If you’d like more ideas and tips about celebrating
Valentine’s Day, here are some websites that might interest
you. Copy and paste these links into your browser:
Children’s Bible study on Love:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pointe/7623/devotion7.html
Annie’s Valentine Page Just for Kids
http://www.annieshomepage.com/valentineskids.html
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*** What’s New with Victory Coaching? ***
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Thank you to everyone who sent in ideas for my Frequently
Asked Questions page. The questions were very helpful and
I will soon be adding them to my website. And
congratulations to the winner of the 3 fr*ee coaching
sessions.
I am currently preparing a workshop for the March 2005
C.O.R.E Homeschooling Conference in Duluth, Minnesota. The
workshop is called: How to Create a Family Vision Statement
& Homeschool Mission Statement.
I would be willing to also give this workshop as a fr*ee
Teleclass at the end of March. If you are interested in
participating in this Teleclass just send me an email
telling me so and I will contact you when it’s scheduled.
Charmaine@victorycoaching.citymax.com
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*** About Charmaine ***
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Charmaine Wistad has successfully homeschooled her two
children from pre-school through high school. Now she is
turning her attention toward helping other homeschooling
moms.
Through regularly scheduled telephone coaching sessions,
Charmaine helps homeschool moms identify and define their
ideal homeschooling lifestyle, then make a plan and set the
realistic goals to achieve it. She also provides the
accountability necessary to carry through and have true
victory. Charmaine helps homeschool moms THRIVE…not just
survive.
Be sure to visit her website:
www.victorycoaching.citymax.com and sign up for her
Free* Homeschool Ideas & Tips Newsletter.
You are also invited to try a free* no-obligation telephone
coaching session. You'll be amazed at how much can be
accomplished in just one session!
Email to request your fr*ee sample session at:
Charmaine@victorycoaching.citymax.com.
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*** Quote of the Month ***
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“Love is the most important thing in the world,
but baseball is pretty good too. “
~Attributed to Greg, age 8~
"Love is the thing that enables a woman to sing
while she mops up the floor after her husband
has walked across it in his barn boots."
~Hoosier Farmer ~
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*** Funny of the Month ***
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Some barely funny Valentine's jokes:
What do you call two birds in love?
Tweethearts!
What do you call a very small valentine?
A valentiny!
What did one oar say to the other?
"Can I interest you in a little row-mance?"
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***The Small Print ***
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If you enjoyed this newsletter, please forward it to
everyone you know. Thanks!
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Not signed up to receive this newsletter?
Just go to www.victorycoaching.citymax.com and look for:
"Fr*ee Ideas & Tips Ezine ".
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Honoring Your Privacy:
Your privacy is completely and utterly protected.
I will not sell or give away your name or email. You have
my word on it!
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If you no longer wish to receive this Newsletter:
please send an email with the word 'unsubscribe'
in the subject line to:
Charmaine@victorycoaching.citymax.com
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I would love to hear from you! But please do not reply to
this newsletter. It is sent out automatically and I will
not receive your reply. Instead, send your comments and
ideas for future issues to:
Charmaine@victorycoaching.citymax.com
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Homeschooling Ideas and Tips Copyright 2005,
Victory Coaching
www.victorycoaching.citymax.com
All rights in all media reserved.
The content of Homeschooling Ideas and Tips
may be forwarded in full without special permission
provided it is used for nonprofit purposes and full
attribution and copyright notice are given. For other
purposes, please contact:
Charmaine Wistad
P.O. Box 343
Spooner, WI 54801
Charmaine@victorycoaching.citymax.com
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*** In Our Next Issue ***
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A special article on effective parenting from Scott
Turansky & Joann Miller
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