DoodleBlog

By January, the anticipation of a new school year has become a distant memory and the remaining months of homeschooling loom either as mountains of drudgery or peaks of delight. While using a relevant curriculum is paramount, I suspect that there is another key element at play here, one that most homeschooling parents would do well to consider.

Whatever your reason for undertaking a task of this great magnitude, the relevant question to consider is how you see your decision to homeschool altering with time? In your wildest dreams, do you think that in years to come government schools will adopt a curriculum that teaches core subjects without promoting hedonistic lifestyles? Do you think it will be as acceptable to have a nine-year-old who does not read as it will be to have an eighteen-month-old who does? Or do you think that private school tuition costs will actually drop? If you share our view that public education is on a downward spiral, then one of your obligations as homeschooling parents is to ensure that your children will know how to teach their children.

The easiest way to accomplish this is to surround your children with teaching opportunities. Because it is easy for children to confuse teaching with bossiness, initially it is helpful to formalize the course of action. Just like you, your teaching children need to see that what they are teaching has value; they need to know that there is a need to know. And your children need a method of accountability, which is best realized by measurable goals. Whether it is teaching the new puppy to come when called or teaching a younger sibling multiplication, be alert to both natural and created opportunities that demand more instructive effort on the part of your children. As your children’s teaching abilities increase, they will discover that teaching others can be a natural part of daily life.

So why not make 2010 the year of learning to teach? Set some concrete goals and enjoy the exciting adventure of raising young teachers!

Timberdoodle Co
Dan, Deb, Joy, Hope, Grace, Abel, and Pearl

P.S. As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts. How are you cultivating your childrens’ teaching abilities? Join the discussion on Facebook here.

Dear Friends,
This year we are taking a slight departure from our annual bashing of secular Christmas, to urge you to take inventory on the condition of your children’s hearts.

What if you discovered, quite by accident, that your married daughter was flirting with the UPS man? Would you not beg her to remember the vows she made before God and man? And wouldn’t you feel sick if she laughed and continued to engage in such destructive behavior?

Paul, in his second letter to the Corinthians implored “…I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.” If your children are to spend eternity with Christ, as a godly parent, don’t you see a need to train your children to treasure Him above everything else?

For all the warmth and joy that the Christmas season can bring, it can also become a cesspool of impulsive passions. Or it can be a season of opportunities, uniquely designed to sanctify your family. The caroling missed because of the flu, the must-have toy not purchased because of a scaled back budget, the annual Christmas pie tossed because the cat sampled it, are all occasions to take a peek into where your child’s affections are. For all the hoopla surrounding Christmas, there is disturbingly little emphasis placed on pleasing the One whose birth we are celebrating, and wholly too much importance placed on making ourselves happy

Samuel Rutherford, a Scottish Presbyterian theologian (1600-1661), wrote “… if you see a man shut up in a closed room, idolizing a set of lamps and rejoicing in their light, and you wish to make him truly happy, you would begin by blowing out all his lamps; and then throw open the shutters to let in the light of heaven.”

This Christmas, may we all remember to whom we are betrothed and set our affections fully on Him,

Enjoying Timberdoodle products in a whole new way,
Dan, Deb, Joy, Hope, Grace, Abel, and Pearl
www.timberdoodle.com

P.S. Throughout December we plan to be posting old family Christmas videos, details on our favorite Christmas traditions (including camel bags!) and even a Christmas recipe on our Facebook/blog. If that interests you, become Facebook fans and follow Doodleblog to stay in the loop!

Dear Friends,

Moving out at eighteen is a fairly recent, definitely cultural idea, one which regardless of the spiritual implications makes no economic or ecological sense. Does every eighteen-year-old need his own stove and refrigerator? How many square feet of housing are wasted on a solitary individual when the more prudent solution is to share? Why are some people getting their knickers in a knot over the emissions of cows while ignoring the massive impact this exodus of young people has on carbon footprints?

There seems to be a campaign afoot among relatives and friends to boot our adult children out of our home. Apparently living at home makes them half child, half adult. Forget that these same “quasi-adults” have been working for Timberdoodle since they were old enough to toddle down the aisle and stock the shelves. With those Timberdoodle paychecks, they have engaged in some very adult-like behavior, such as purchasing all their clothes, sports equipment, and gifts. They have managed a mini-farm and funded the construction of several outbuildings and the installation of chain-link fencing. They have paid their share of every family vacation, bought their own furniture, contributed to numerous family projects, financed the building of fresh water wells overseas, and purchased and given us over five acres of timbered land. They have bought cars, managed their own cell phones, invested in CDs and stocks, and even bankrolled the family food budget. Aside from their jobs at Timberdoodle they are also trained EMTs and respond to over 400 emergency calls a year, ranging from false alarms and fall injuries to amputations and gunshot wounds. These are not coddled kids.

But unlike many of their peers who are living away from home, these adults are kept accountable. Our opinion is that young adults who spend huge amounts of time living alone tend to cater to the flesh, and those who cut off family accountability will have a harder time serving a spouse when the time comes. On the other hand, those adults who choose to remain in the home will always have more than enough opportunities for sanctification.

Because we are so clearly made for community, David, in Psalm 68, celebrates that “God settles the solitary in a home.” We love our kids and know that our responsibility before God does not end when they turn eighteen. As we rub shoulders at the warehouse and share laughter at the office, we know we are blessed to have the opportunity to enjoy each other every day. This Thanksgiving, may your family enjoy the richness of a community life that is unique to families.

Dan, Deb, Joy, Hope, Grace, Abel, and Pearl

P.S. Not surprisingly, this is an issue that can raise a very good discussion. For instance, we all know adults who live at home simply to avoid responsibility and sponge off Mom and Dad. (I hope it’s obvious that we are not advocating that!) But what do you think? What is your family’s approach? If you haven’t faced this situation yet, what are your plans? We encourage you to comment below and join the discussion!

Dear Friends,

When we embarked on our homeschooling adventure over twenty-five years ago, we knew we wanted to invest in products that would stand the test of time, not only for our burgeoning family, but also perhaps for the generation to come. We didn’t even consider that the next generation to employ these products would be the generation that preceded us.

Six weeks ago, Dan’s eighty-eight-year-old dad suffered a stroke following minor surgery. After he was stabilized, he was transferred to an excellent rehabilitation center for follow-up treatment. As a family, we were privileged to sit in on a number of his therapy sessions and found it a great relief to see that much of this specialized care is nothing more than homeschooling for the elderly. The tools they use are the same or similar to what we used with our children, and the program is indistinguishable from what we have utilized for over twenty years.

Just like we have done for our children from the time they could crawl to the day they graduated from home school, these therapists determined what goals would be appropriate for Byron and then used his natural interests to make the work involved as palatable as possible. In one instance they used a golf club, tennis ball, and therapy dog to strengthen Byron’s weak side, which was much more fun than just lifting weights!

As we watched the therapists begin re-teaching Byron to read and write, saw them probing different options for speech development, and observed them working with him to regain both gross- and fine-motor skills, our minds raced. With our tools, experience, and great love for Byron, we feel well-prepared for this place to which God has brought our family. Over the years, Byron, a former public school teacher and principal, has progressed from tolerating homeschooling to being a faithful supporter of it. I’m sure he never dreamed that one day he would become a homeschool student himself.

Byron is home now and has made tremendous physical gains. To address the lingering mental and language difficulties, we have already deployed favorites such as Mighty Mind, Wedgits and Geopuzzles. Recently we added Rosetta Stone English to our routine and are excited to see how well it is working for him.

Is there someone in your own family or church that has suffered a stroke? If so, dust off your home school supplies and employ them with a whole new generation; you will be blessed beyond measure!

Enjoying Timberdoodle products in a whole new way,

Dan and Deb, Joy, Hope, Grace, Abel and Pearl

Dear Friends,

There is more to being vendors at a homeschool conference than loading trailers, matching shirts and sore feet. For Timberdoodle there is also the quirky ritual of choosing a theme song. The chosen song must wake us up for some very early commutes, and underscore the reason we do what we do.

This year’s selection, (Wherever We Go by Newsboys)  is a bit edgier than previous choices, but the words are a wake-up call to all Christ-followers. If we are indeed spreading a message of life to the dead, if we are joyously revealing the gospel wherever we go, then everywhere we go should reflect our festivity.

No, our family is not living in La La land. We have tightened our belts like nearly every other American family, and we have anguished over the unrelenting physical deterioration of loved ones. But we have a hope that does not disappoint and that is why we believe that wherever we go we should invite others to join us in our celebration of salvation.

America’s unemployment is nearing record highs but no matter what your earthly employment is, be it as a business executive or dishwasher, in God’s economy there is no such thing as unemployment. From the moment you become His, He has a unique, specific job that does not require a W2 form and will never result in pink slip. And when your heart explodes with the knowledge of what He has done for you, you can’t help but love your job!

If your family is adverse to contemporary music, Wherever We Go will never be your family’s anthem, but with the black cloud that hovers over much of our nation, its rousing lyrics never failed to put smiles on our faces.

Partying on – with eternity in mind,
Dan, Deb, Joy, Hope, Grace, Abel and Pearl

P.S.

If you have not heard Wherever We Go by Newsboys before here are the lyrics in video format (a bit cheesy but gives you the content).

If you would like to watch the Newsboys perform it live, here it is.