Home School Read-A-Thon

Blythe, Keziah, and Fisher are participating in the First Annual Idaho Home School Read-A-Thon. They have been challenged to read 300 minutes in the next two weeks. They are searching for sponsors for their Read-A-Thon and have created a plan to raise $1000. They are trying to find 100 people to donate $10 to their cause. If they read for at least 300 minutes, they will be able to buy books – 50% for their personal use and 50% for children who live at F.A.I.T.H. – Families in Transitional Housing. These are families that used to be homeless who are now in a program learning job skills, taking classes, and working towards purchasing their own homes. There is a library at F.A.I.T.H. for the children who live there to check out books from. They are in great need of books and are very excited that the home schoolers of Idaho have adopted them for their Read-A-Thon project. There are over 100 children from all over the state of Idaho participating in the Read-A-Thon and reading books to earn books for needy children.

If you would like to become a sponsor, please paypal your donation of any amount, large or small, to mom2bmw@aol.com or you can mail a check to our home (email me and I will give you the address):

Thank you so much for considering this cause!

With much gratitude from,
Blythe, Keziah, and Fisher

Blessings to each of you!

thankful thursdays 2/4

* A yummy jar of salsa given to us by Tasha – it saved the day while I went to yet another doctor’s appointment for my elbow and kidney.
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* Turbo Tax. Taxes are done and filed. Woo-hoo!
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* My wonderful community of home schoolers. Ten years ago when we moved to this area there were people who home schooled, but I wouldn’t say there was a strong community feeling. Now, there are strong friendships among children, moms, and family groups. There is a thriving network of clubs, classes, and activities to join. There are phone calls to friends in distress, meals shared with other families, book discussion groups, play dates, game nights, swim days at Lava, camp-outs, hikes, read-a-thons, and much more. We are so blessed to have a community of friends, peer support for my children, wonderful classes to participate in and learn from (Blythe’s Shakespeare and writing classes this year have completely changed her life!), and the sense of belonging that comes when a real community is born. We know we are not alone. We know there are people who understand the excitement and challenges of home schooling and are willing to walk down this road with us. Thank you to everyone who is part of my home schooling world!
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* The book Influencer: The Power to Change Anything. This was our book for our adult colloquium group this month and I loved it. I am going to be doing an evaluation of my physical environment this month and change it to more effectively meet our needs. I think everyone would benefit from a careful reading of this book – and its companions, Crucial Conversations and Crucial Conversations.
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* Gymnastics. Have I said lately how much l love being part of so many childrens’ lives. I love helping children learn how to use their bodies, build strength and flexibility, overcome fears, develop courage, and try new things. I love that they trust me. I love when they are proud of themselves. I love when they encourage others in their class. I love when they develop a friendship with someone they otherwise would not have known. I love it and I am blessed by these precious children every week.
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* Family read-aloud time. I love reading to my children and they love being read to. I use all sorts of strange voices and they say they prefer my reading to the myriad of audio books they check out from the library! Right now we are reading Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. If you are thinking of reading this book, get the version illustrated by Robert Ingpen. The illustrations are beautiful, full-color, double-page spreads that add oodles to the story.
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* A friendly blog reader who gifted me a copy of a Helping and Healing Our Families after she read about it on a post. What a wonderful friend and fabulous book! I can’t wait to devour it!
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* Vacuums, cleaners, towels, and washing machines. They have all been in high demand this week as Annesley has been throwing up and having diarrhea for days. Imagine only having a few rags to clean all this mess up with!
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That’s all for now, my Annesley is finally asleep and out of my arms and Fisher is wanting me to read him How Big is A Million, another book about his favorite penguin Pipkin.