Resources

I've had a post here explaining the lack of posting for the past couple of weeks.

I know this blog is geared toward women keeping their homes, but
last night, we were asked to compile a resource list for some old friends. I thought I would share the list with all you out there in Cyberspace too because some of these resources have greatly influenced my thinking on being a keeper at home. Honestly, these resources have been so invaluable to us, but if both of us had to pick only one resource which has influenced us both more than any one other, it would be Vision Forum. We have ordered approximately 100 CD’s from them as well as downloaded more from Behemoth.com (their site to download their resources).

www.visionforum.com – especially the CD’s for parents from there. The one’s that Steve mentioned by name are “The 200 Year Plan – a Vision for Multi-generational Faithfulness”; “A Homeschooling Vision of Victory”; “The Centrality of the Home in Evangelism and Discipleship”; “Hollywood’s Most Despised Villain”; “The Promise – The Beauty and Glory of the 5th Commandment”; “The Return of the Daughter’s”. The Children’s resources are second to none, but the CD’s are what have shaped our thinking of how we raise our children drastically. I would highly recommend the Jonathan Park creation CD adventures. If you sign up for the mailing list, you'll receive e-mails about really awesome sales on CD bundles. The only thing I would say about it is to stay away from the S.M. Davis CD’s. They don’t only leave a lot to be desired, but also really take things out of context on numerous occasions. I cannot listen to them with the kids in the car unless I've listened to them first because I've had to correct him to the kids on numerous occasions.

http://www.behemoth.com – This is Vision Forum’s downloadable warehouse for much of their audio and video pieces, but it also has tons more!

www.franklinsprings.com – These DVD’s have been such a blessing to us because they are not just entertainment, but encouragement in our Christian and Spiritual walks. Last Christmas we purchased the 10 pack which we have watched over and over and over again!

http://solmusic.ca/ - Jamie Soles is our favorite musician for the kids. They absolutely eat it up! He has both adult and Children’s CD’s. The adult music is very good also.

http://www.titustwo.com – These resources on keeping our children’s hearts, on homeschooling, on scheduling and so much more. We have purchased almost all of their resources.

http://www.amazon.com/Golden-Childrens-Bible-Books/dp/0307165205 - Steve said you asked about our Children’s Bible. It is The Golden Children’s Bible published by A Golden Book, New York. It is good over all. I’ve noticed several things that I wouldn’t have left out even in a children’s Bible, but overall a great resource.

http://www.rodandstaffbooks.com We absolutely adore the readers! Ian and Jordan both enjoy reading them. They are wholesome and about life lived on a farm.

http://www.thefamilyvision.org – This is a free Christian lending library here in St. Louis, but they have just begun a new program where people outside of the area can pay a one-time yearly fee and borrow as many books as they want. This is an INCREDIBLE library. I think you visited it with us the last time you were here. Their books are second to none. They are all strongly focused on what a family should be like and growing Godly families.

http://www.majestymusic.com – While we don’t agree with everything in each of their kids CD’s ( for example - they have one whose theme is the evils of alcohol), they are wholesome, entertaining, teach Christian principles, and the songs are so fun that the kids ask for them a lot.

http://www.parentalrights.org – This has very important information on the Parental Right’s Amendment and preserving our ability as parents to direct our child’s lives.

http://www.moneysavingmom.com – This site has fundamentally changed the way I shop for my family. I pay about half what I used to pay on groceries and I am able to bring more home and donate a TON which I’ve never done before.

http://www.thewordofpromise.com/ - This is the audio Bible of preference for the New Testament. It is dramatized and we really enjoy it. My only beef with it is that it is a Bible reading done by almost exclusively non-Christian’s, but it is done well. They are coming out with an Old – Testament one as well in time. Here is the link to the OT one at Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Word-Promise-Testament-Audio-Bible/dp/1418541931/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243228527&sr=8-2

http://generationswithvision.com/ - Kevin Swanson was at the last homeschool convention here in STL, and he really impressed us with his message. The book “The Second Mayflower” is one that we’d highly recommend as well as “Upgrade”.

http://www.chef-missouri.com/ - While this is a Missouri homeschool site, the group has been invaluable to us.

http://www.theresnoplacelikehome-summers.com/ - This link is not currently working, but I’m hoping it is fixed soon. I bought Candy Summer’s book There’s No Place Like Home when I first started homeschooling. It had a profound influence on my thinking about what a homeschool life looks like. It also didn’t hurt when I found out that we are practically neighbors!

http://www.hslda.org – This stands for Home School Legal Defense Association. We became members this past year. When you join, if there’s ever a problem with a social worker, allegations of neglect, questions about homeschool laws in your state, or the state decides to take legal action against you homeschooling your children, HSLDA will represent you. They also fight to keep homeschooling legal by watching laws that are going through the government at all levels. Just last week, we received an e-mail about a last minute change in law language which would affect Missouri homeschooling. They asked as many as could to show up in Jefferson City (Missouri’s capitol) the following afternoon. 2,500 of us showed up, but only because they are watching things for us. Membership is VERY reasonable at $10 a month or $100/yr., less if you sign on for more years or are in full-time Christian Work.

http://www.veritaspress.com – We use almost all of their recommendations for curriculum, but we have ordered it through the next link because it’s cheaper for almost every item. I would highly, highly recommend you to check out their Phonics Museum reading program. We absolutely loved it! I also highly recommend their History and Bible programs. The only big change I would make to their suggestions is to us Math-U-See instead of Saxon Math.

http://www.rainbowresource.com – If you want to buy anything homeschool wise for the girls, I use other catalogs (as above) for suggestions of what to buy, but order it through here. You have to be careful what you pick out though, because they don’t check their resources to make sure they are evolution free or that they present evolution as a false theory for the beginning of the world.

http://www.naturesworkshop.com – Great resource for nature and exploration ideas!

http://www.exodusbooks.com/category.aspx?id=7320 – Steve said that though Bob and Theresa are Baptist, this is a great way to get theology into their girls. These are the Westminster Shorter Catechism questions put to song. Even Ethan and Shannen sing along with these. All four love them and we have, as a family, memorized up through question number #40 using them.

http://www.nlpg.com/store/NLP.htm - I’ve appreciated this resource because their slogan is “Always Creation – All the Time”. I never have to worry about evolutionary stuff from them. I would stick to the Science books from them though as having ordered one of their other books, it wasn’t at all one that I would recommend for the last days alarmism in a financial book.