Homeschool Ideas & Tips >
Homeschool Ideas & Tips Newsletter Nov. 2003

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*** Hello from Charmaine ***  
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Dearest Reader,  
I’m sure you’ve noticed how children love traditions.  
Do a little something fun and different and the kids 
quickly turn it into a tradition. I bet you’ve heard your 
children say: “We did it that way last year so we HAVE to 
do it again this year!” At our house, one year of making 
waffles for breakfast on Christmas morning quickly became 
the traditional Christmas morning faire. Some traditions 
stick for years while others fall by the wayside or are 
replaced by better ones.  
In the Ideas Section of this newsletter, you’ll learn about 
some great traditions that our readers sent in last month 
as their entry for the Free Coaching Sessions Contest. I’m 
sure these ideas will inspire you to start a new tradition 
or two or continue with the ones you already have going.  
Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving! 
 
Blessings on your day,  
Charmaine  
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In this issue: 
1. Ideas: Thanksgiving Traditions 
2. Tips: Traveling with Kids 
3. What’s New? 
4. Fr*ee Telegroup! 
5. About Charmaine 
6. Testimony 
7. Quote of the Month 
8. The Small Print 
9. In Our Next Issue 
 
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*** Ideas ***  
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Here’s a wonderful idea for a Thanksgiving tradition sent 
in by our contest w*nner for November.  
 
Each year a few weeks before Thanksgiving, I get a  
package of paper leaves at the dollar store. The boys  
gather round the table with markers and write things  
they are thankful for on the leaves. Then we tape them  
to the inside of our front door as a fall decoration.  
 
Besides the usual things like love, the stove, warm 
clothes, our roof, friends, music, family, good food, and 
rainbows, I also read leaves with children's thanksgiving 
for the beauty of nature, God's grace, redemption, God's 
Word, and liberty. One child even declared his 
thankfulness for hydrogen bonding as he explained to his 
brothers its importance and how awesome God is to have 
thought of such a thing. 
 
My boys are growing up. Two are in college and only one is 
homeschooling. So I wait until they come home for the 
Thanksgiving holidays and do the same project with these 
"grown chillun." Also a girlfriend is thrown into the 
mix for more fun. Times change, but we can still find ways  
to incorporate our favorite traditions and relive happy 
memories. 
 
God bless, 
Sherry Kelly 
 
Another reader’s ideas: 
For Thanksgiving 2 years ago, I made a huge turkey body & 
made construction paper feathers. For the whole month of 
November, we each wrote something that we were thankful for 
each night on a feather. By the time Thanksgiving rolled 
around we had a HUGE turkey. 
 
God Bless, 
Sue Barnes 
 
For lots more Thanksgiving tradition ideas look at these 
websites: 
http://www.bhg.com/home/Thanksgiving-Family-Fun.html 
http://www.familygrowth.org/tips/thanksgiving_traditions.htm 
 
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*** Tips ***  
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Many families hit the road and travel for the Thanksgiving 
holiday. Here are some tips for traveling with children. 
 
*Travel in comfortable clothes and bring extra underwear 
and socks (always the first things that run out). 
 
*Be aware of what travel times work best for your kids.  
Some kids will do better traveling at night so they can 
sleep. Don’t travel at peak hours if any other options 
exist. 
 
*If it is a long trip, break it into small segments and 
take breaks between each segment. Plan some fun 
educational 
stops along the way. 
 
*Plan and pack activities for the children to play at 
during the trip. This would be a perfect time to pop a 
great audio book into the tape player as well.  
 
*Agree on a few basic behavior rules ahead of time and 
stick to them on your trip. This includes deciding what you 
plan to do to minimize sibling fights. 
 
For more tips on traveling with children see this website: 
http://www.freetraveltips.com/Kids/ 
 
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*** What’s New? ***  
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The Holidays can be a time of great stress for Mom.  
There’s SO much to get done and the planning can be 
overwhelming. A great stress reliever is a good plan that 
includes what’s really important and eliminates what is 
not. 
 
To help you get organized and ready for the holidays, I am 
offering a special on coaching sessions. Get 3 coaching 
sessions for the price of one! (a $150.00 value for 
$50.00!)  
 
What can you accomplish with these coaching sessions? 
 
*Discover what holiday events and traditions are really 
important to you and your family. 
 
*Weed out the unnecessary ‘clutter’ of the holiday season 
and make room for what really matters to YOU. 
 
*Set goals and make specific plans to meet them 
(accountability provided if you want it!) 
 
Email me to set up your three coaching sessions for the 
price of one. You’ll be really glad you did! 
Charmaine@victorycoaching.citymax.com 
 
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***Fr*ee Telegroup!*** 
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Please join us for:  
 
Fr*ee Homeschool Moms Support Telegroup:  
Join us to discuss your homeschooling challenges, ask  
question*s, give and get support and encouragement from  
other like-minded homeschooling moms.  
 
We will meet by telephone for a 45 minute session on:  
The first Tues. night of each month  
(next meeting is Tues., November 4)  
8:00 p.m. Eastern time (7:00 p.m. CT, 6:00 p.m. MT, 5:00  
p.m. PT)  
 
If you’ve not been on a conference call, the idea may seem  
a little strange and intimidating. Don’t let it scare you!  
I have taken many classes and been involved in several  
tele-groups and it’s actually easy and quite fun and you 
can even show up in your ‘jammies!’ Join us!  
 
You must register for this fr*ee telegroup. Please email  
me with your request to register at:  
 
Charmaine@victorycoaching.citymax.com  
 
I will then email you back with all necessary information.  
The only cost to you will be the long distance charges for  
the call. 
 
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*** About Charmaine ***  
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Charmaine Wistad has homeschooled her own two children  
since birth. As they work through their 12th year of  
homeschooling, Charmaine is currently turning her attention 
to helping other homeschool moms.  
 
Through personal coaching, Charmaine helps homeschooling  
moms find real solutions to the everyday challenges of the 
homeschooling family. 
 
You are invited to try a complimentary no-obligation  
telephone coaching session.  
You'll be pleasantly surprised at how much can be  
accomplished in just one session!  
 
Simply send an email to:  
Charmaine@victorycoaching.citymax.com and ask for a  
Fr*ee Sample Coaching Session.  
 
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*** Testimony ***  
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“I am a homeschooling mother of two - a 12 yr old daughter 
and a 7 yr old son. This is my third full year of 
homeschooling. I just recently had three sessions of 
coaching with Charmaine Wistad. I found Charmaine to be an 
excellent listener, but more importantly she knew the right 
questions to ask; ones that helped me see where I was going 
(or where I wanted to go) and what was stopping me from 
getting there.  
She really helped me learn to develop goals and the process 
of how to develop goals. Charmaine encouraged me and gave 
me a lot of useful websites and information. The 
information she gave assisted me in formulating my goals 
and it aided me in actually achieving them. I have been 
successful in small things and I know that I will be 
successful in big things as well. Charmaine is good at 
what she does and she is quick to give cr*dit to Jesus 
Christ for that ability and for the success people are able 
to garner with her help.” 
 
Jan Ford 
Braselton, GA 
 
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*** Quote of the Month ***  
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“Sooner or later we all quote our mothers.” 
Bern Williams 
 
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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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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 2003, 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@victorycoaching.citymax.com  
 
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*** In Our Next Issue ***  
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Ideas and Tips for Christmas!