Moms' Time Notes - April 26, 2013

Christine R.

·       Thinking about Faith as our new name, we all need to keep the faith especially at this time of year. II Timothy 6:12, I Timothy 1:5, II Timothy4:7.  We choose a different lifestyle when we home school. It’s hard and a sacrifice but one that comes with many benefits.  It is so important to attend moms’ time, so that you may be encouraged that you aren’t alone in your struggles, and can persevere. 

·       Enrollment and re-enrollment for PSP for the 2013-2014 school year will close on June 15.  Tell your friends.

Advancement Night

Char M.

o   Char displayed the graduation gift, which was a lovely frame picture collage of all the 6^th, 8^th, and 12^th grade graduates. The cost of this gift is $15.  This gift is presented to the graduate on advancement night from his/her parents.  Please pay Char this week or next, $15 per graduate in your family.

o   Also, for everyone, there will be notes available to write to the graduates.  If you know a graduate, ever were their cubbie leader, awana, Sunday School teacher, etc.  please consider jotting down a note of encouragement on one of the papers on the moms’ table, near the mailboxes. Let’s fill their bags with fun!

Christine R.

o   Advancement night is not only for the graduates.

o   All students will participate in advancement night.  Students in every grade will be receiving a certificate and in the slide show. Many kids’ work will be exhibited and everyone will get to eat!

o   Moms need to be here at 9 a.m. on the morning of advancement night to help set up.

o   If you have not yet paid Lisa Aghishian for advancement night food, please do so ASAP.

Field Trips—Susan O.

·       Next week is the last week to sign up for Descanso Gardens. This field trip is free and will be Tuesday, May 14. (Note: Susan said Tuesday, May 16, and wanted to clarify the date of that Tuesday is actually May 14.)

Used Curriculum Sale—Christine R.

·       There is no charge for PSP families who wish to sell curriculum at the sale, but you must register in order to be able to sell.

·       PSP families will have registration priority until May 10. After that, PSP families will fall in line with other families waiting to sell at the fair.  Once it is full, there will be no more sellers.

·       You should have received a form to register as a seller in your mailbox. If you are interested in registering, place your registration in Christine’s  mailbox.

·       Sellers will set up at 8 a.m. the morning of the sale.

·       Sellers will need to purchase removable, white labels to put in the upper right hand corner of your sale items.

·       If you would like to volunteer to work the sale, you will get first dibs on the purchase of curriculum. You will have 45 minutes to purchase before the sale opens.

·       If you do work the sale, you cannot have your children with you.  For 7^th grade and older students, it may be possible to have some of them serve. However, any students who work the sale should be responsible and hard-working. See Christine for details.

·       If you commit to serve, you will need to here on Friday, 6/14 (you may bring your children) from 5-8 and on Saturday, 6/15 from 8-4 (without your children at any time before, during or after the sale). There will be a sign up sheet next week. If you sign up, remember you will need to stay until 4 on Saturday and may not leave early. You must have permission from your husband and child care arranged before signing up to help. 

Class Schedule for next year—Christine R.

·       We discussed a tentative class schedule for next year. This can always change. Classes are listed in no particular order:

K/1	2/3	4-6	7-8
Library	History Pockets	IEW Writing	IEW
50 states	Pre-Writing	Missions/Latin Roots	Worldview
PE	PE	Literature Co-op	Photography (1 sem.)
(Sibling Class)	Apologia	Gracious Girls	Gracious Girls
		Other (TBD)	Other (TBD)
			Other (TBD)

·       Older grades still really want PE, and we are brainstorming a way to possibly do this.

·       Cory G.’s husband is a computer professor and is willing to teach a computer class after lunch. This class would be offered opposite Gracious Girls. Ideally, everyone would have a laptop for this class.  Surveys will be mailed out this week to see if there is interest.

Other Announcements

·       Congratulations to the Laura E and family, who is expecting a new little one!  Laura Elias is requesting maternity clothes. Please let her know if you can help in this way.

·       Lorraine Z. is offering a free microwave. See her for details.

·       HSLDA—The PSP will be registering as a new group for HSLDA, in order for everyone to get a discount on her membership. There were forms in your mailbox to tag yourself as a member of this new group, so that Kristen can start the process and get the new ID number for Faith Christian School. Please turn your forms into Kristen’s box this week.  There is no fee to transfer your membership to FCS, and no charge now, just the form.

Choosing Gratitude, chapter 8—Lisa A.

Chapter 8 was full of stories about trials. As Christians, what is the difference in our lives about how we are responding to trials?

Lisa A. shared from John Piper’s Don’t Waste Your Cancer. There is a list of ten ways to test and see if you are using your trial to glorify God.

1.     You will waste your trial if you do not believe it is designed for you by God.

2.     You will waste your trial if you believe it is a curse and not a gift.

3.     You will waste your trial if you seek comfort from your odds rather than from God.

4.     You will waste your trial if you refuse to think about death.

5.     You will waste your suffering if you think that “beating” the trial means staying alive rather than cherishing Christ.

6.     You will waste your trial if you spend too much time reading about your trial and not enough time reading about God.

7.     You will waste your trial if you let it drive you into solitude instead of deepen your relationships with manifest affection.

8.     You will waste your trial if you grieve as those who have no hope.

9.     You will waste your trial if you treat sin as casually as before.

10.  You will waste your cancer if you fail to use it as a means of witness to the truth and glory of Christ.

Moms' Time Notes - February 8, 2013

Christine R.

·       For the speech meet next week

                  Everyone is in regular uniforms.  There is no nursery care.

o   Plan on being in the chapel and seated by 8:30. It will be a busy day.

o   The presidential candidates in the government class will be giving their speeches.  The business students will be giving their “commercials” to promote their products.

o   Bring money to purchase students’ products.

o   After all the students are done with the speech meet, everyone will be able to tour the home school fair.

o   After touring the home school fair, everyone can go to the business students’ trade show next door.

o   After the home school fair and business displays are finished, clean up your projects. Everything needs to be cleaned up and removed by 12:30.

o   Pack a lunch if you are going to Scooter’s Jungle. There will be no Grace Grill.

·       Remember if you volunteer to teach or run a class for next year that you should check with your husband before your name is put on a survey.

Kristen H.

·       Set up for the home school fair will be on Thursday from 4-6.

·       If you need to bring your project on Wednesday evening, please email Kristen.

·       If you want to help out with the home school fair judging, plan on staying after 6 on Thursday evening for judging and a pizza dinner.

Brenda S.

·       Brenda will be sending out an e-mail with your group assignment for the speech meet.

·       Let Brenda know if you plan on bringing extra people (i.e. dads, grandparents, aunts, uncles) so she can have enough chairs set up.

Susan O.

·       The Sacramento field trip is coming up!

·       Research where you will be eating your meals and spending your free time.

·       Susan prepared a final itinerary and put them in your mailboxes. There were a few changes.

·       For the train, you can check in your luggage if you would like or carry it on the train. If you want to check your bags, you need to be there one hour early.

·       Bring a lunch to take with you on the train.

·       Char M. has planned scavenger hunt of Old Sacramento for after the capitol tour. It is optional but should be a lot of fun.

·       Susan needs the cell phone numbers for all the adults going on the trip.

·       Please review the Amtrak baggage policy.

Speaker Jocelyn Devaney

Jocelyn shared that she was at PSP for 11 years.  When she started in 1996, there were 35 children, and she saw it grow to 140 children.

Perseverance involves prevailing through changes and struggles. James 1:2-3, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”

February can be a difficult month as you home school. We need to press on when our children are difficult.

 Sometimes we need to experience difficulty/struggle to develop perseverance. To develop means to become more advanced and to mature. Perseverance is steadfastness in doing something despite the difficulty or the delay in achieving success.  It is continuance in a state of grace to a state of glory.

Sometimes as women, we resist change.  We need to persevere through change. Changes will come, and it is difficult to let go of our children. Our children will not be with us forever. Women have a much harder time with this than men. We often do not allow our children to “fly” early enough.  We can start in little things like allowing them to fail more and not giving so many helps.

Sometimes as home school moms, we put all of the focus on our children. Put your husband first. We need to invest in our husbands now, not later. Plan a date night. Enjoy each other’s company. Your relationship with your husband is your primary relationship.

We will all get to the point that we have to let go of our children. Letting go requires change. As much as we invest now, we must not be result driven.

A book dealing with women’s life changes (particularly in mid-life) is The Afternoon of Life by Elyse Fitzpatrick