Time to Plan!!!

Are you finishing up this year and starting to think about what you're teaching next year? Do you already have some idea of how next year will look and are purchasing materials? Are you nowhere near finishing this year and wondering how you will even begin to plan next year? I can help!

Last year, I did a series of webinars for homeschooling families via Homeschool Connections titled Prayerfully Reflecting on Last Year and Prayerfully Planning for Next Year. Those webinars are still available for viewing for FREE!

I believe these webinars were graced by the Holy Spirit and are an excellent way to prepare yourself spiritually for choosing curriculum and making homeschooling plans for each of your children. The best part is you can watch them anytime you wish! So, go check them out.

While you're there, check out the Homeschool Connections course catalogs for junior high and high school classes! These are outstanding Catholic instructors, many of whom I know personally. The classes are interactive and online, and I guarantee your students will benefit from participating. You can even purchase a subscription to view previous courses and have the flexibility for your children to do the lessons at your own pace!

Anyway, here is what I wrote on Heart of a Mother about those webinars and how they came about if you want an explanation before watching. The process is based on the following document, which is extremely helpful even if you don't watch the webinars!


Personal Reflection Survey

Watch My Latest Webinar!

On Thursday evening, we held our Meet & Greet for moms to learn more about the online, interactive Bible study I am co-hosting for Homeschool Connections. If you want to watch the recording and learn more about our plans, click here (it's about an hour).

There are still a few spaces left for the study! Here are the details on that. Go here to sign up now! (If you try to sign up and get directed to the waiting list, please sign up, we are considering opening up more spaces!) The basic information is...

We will meet every other Thursday evening,

September 3 through November 12 at 8:30-10:00PM Eastern.

We are studying Chosen and Cherished: Biblical Wisdom for Your Marriage

by Kimberly Hahn (moms read two chapters to prepare for each meeting).
The cost is $10 to go towards a scholarship fund.

All you need are the book, an Internet connection,

speakers or earphones, and a microphone.

Let me know if you have questions!

Homeschool Moms Bible Study Online Update!

If you have not already heard about our upcoming Bible Study for moms online, go check it out on my previous post or on the Homeschool Connections website! We are VERY excited about this opportunity for mothers to enjoy fellowship and study in a super-convenient format over the Internet!

The update is that my dear co-leader, Emily, had a baby on Wednesday (hooray! praise God! Mom and baby are doing great!), so we have postponed our Meet & Greet webinar scheduled for last night (since she was a bit busy) to next Thursday, August 20. So, there is still time to sign up to join us and learn more about the study and ask any questions you might have!

The basic plan is to meet every other Thursday evening from September 3 through November 12. The cost is a $10 donation, and you have to buy your own copy of the book, Chosen and Cherished: Biblical Wisdom for Your Marriage by Kimberly Han.

Go here to sign up for the Meet & Greet webinar if you haven't already! We already have some women signed up for the actual study, too, so you can head right on over there if you know you don't want to miss this opportunity!

Attention All Super-Busy Homeschooling Moms!

So much going on over here, little time to blog - caught the bug going around and rearranged the entire house, switching rooms to accommodate moving our lessons downstairs, still living in piles of stuff that needs to be organized! I had to take time to share, though...


I am SO excited that I have been asked to co-lead a new online interactive homeschool mom Bible study --- Moms' Connections! You know how hard it is to get out of the house for a moms' group, prayer group, parish class, or Bible study to feed your soul, right?! Well, this one is designed to meet the needs of super-busy homeschooling moms!

Read more below...sign up now...and please send the link to this blog post to EVERY homeschool mom/group you know! (and if you need more information before joining, attend our free informational webinar on August 13th)


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Moms' Connections: Chosen and Cherished: Biblical Wisdom for Your Marriage by Kimberly Hahn (Proverbs 31: 10-12)


Is it a challenge for you to make it to your local Bible study or prayer group? Attend a mother’s study group in the comfort of your home! Join other homeschooling mothers for an online interactive webinar twice a month as we prayerfully reflect on and discuss a book selection designed to inspire us and challenge us in our vocations. Emily Crawford and Jenny Bales will be co-leading this exciting new group!


This fall’s selection is Chosen and Cherished: Biblical Wisdom for Your Marriage by Kimberly Hahn. This is the first in her series of Bible studies based on Proverbs 31. This particular book focuses specifically on verses 10-12. Her audio series on Proverbs 31, More Precious Than Jewels: How to Be a Godly Wife and Mother, has been extremely popular among Catholic and all Christian mothers for well over a decade! Our discussions on this book will be united by our common vocation as homeschooling mothers. In our busy days as mothers and teachers of our children, sometimes our husbands can be overlooked or unappreciated. It is our hope that this study group will inspire each of us to place a new priority on our marriage, giving our children one of the most valuable lessons we can, as we witness the beauty of a holy marriage.


Every other Thursday evening, September 3 through November 12, we will gather in prayer to discuss two chapters of the book, which mothers are asked to read before each meeting. The discussion questions at the back of the book will provide structure for our conversations. Mothers are asked to participate both in the online chat and audio components of the technology, so it is requested that each mother have a headset with microphone. A donation of $10.00 to a Scholarship Fund sponsored by Homeschool Connections will ensure committed participation by the mothers throughout the sessions. (This donation will be donated to a scholarship fund that will benefit Catholic homeschool students attending Catholic universities. Due to services rendered this is not tax deductible.)


You can sign up below for the study group now and/or sign up to attend a free informational Meet & Greet Webinar on Thursday, August 13 at 8:30PM ET to learn more about the technology and the group.


Register for Meet & Greet Webinar


Register for Bible Study for Homeschool Moms

Pray...Process...Prepare...and Pray!

My two-part webinar series is now completed, and what a joy it was to share time and thoughts with such amazing homeschooling mothers! Prayerfully Reflecting on Last Year is already posted if you care to watch all or part of the discussion (you can watch at any time), and Prayerfully Planning for Next Year should be posted soon!

I think I am hooked on the webinar thing, as I am planning to co-lead a book/Bible study for homeschooling mothers via this technology in the fall and possibly teach some junior high writing and/or literature courses! Can you imagine enjoying the fellowship and wisdom of other homeschooling mothers on a regular basis in the privacy of your own home?! Watch this space for more details on that.

But, the main reason I am posting this morning is to share a quote with you that sums up the method presented in both of my webinars. Yesterday, Ann at A Holy Experience shared her husband's wisdom in a typically beautiful post, and I was inspired to share it last night on the webinar and today with you. This is a quote to post in your planner!

In response to this question:

“So how did you guys do the impossible? How did you make the moving of a four ton bin a ten minute job?”

Farmer Husband replied:

"Pray, process all the steps through in your mind, and prepare.... and don't stop praying.”

A true way of accomplishing any task efficiently and successfully!

This Tuesday - Come to My First Live Webinar!

Attention homeschooling mothers! Please sign up for my very first live webinar:

Prayerfully Reflecting on Last Year

THIS Tuesday, July 7, 8:30-10:00PM Eastern

Go here to sign up now!

Thanks to Homeschool Connections you will be able to see and hear me via live video feed and share comments and questions with all of the participants via live chat, as we discuss Prayerfully Reflecting on Last Year. (all you need is an internet connection) This is a chance for you to learn about the inspiring process our local homeschooling group went through the last few months in order to individually evaluate our homeschooling year, and I'll teach you how to enjoy this reflection process on your own at home!

You can also sign up for the second of my two-part series, Prayerfully Planning for Next Year, to be held one week later on Tuesday, July 14, 8:30PM Eastern. Go here to sign up for that one! (but you can attend one and not the other with no problems!)

Finally, if you cannot make it to either webinar, both will be available online free at Homeschool Connections for you to experience at your leisure (although you cannot, obviously, participate in the live chat if you watch it later).

Thanks for supporting me and Homeschool Connections!

Please come see me online in July!

It is official! Yikes! In early July, I am presenting two free webinars through Homeschool Connections! Go here to register now! Invite lots of friends to join us! And, please begin praying immediately that these sessions lead mothers to a more deeply Christ-centered homeschooling way of life.


When I first posted here at Heart of a Mother about our homeschooling group's very successful Day of Reflection for Homeschooling Mothers, I was contacted by Maureen Wittmann, co-owner of Homeschool Connections and Catholic homeschooling mother and author, asking if I might be interested in presenting a webinar on this topic. (It helped that I knew the other owner, Walter Crawford, from college.) It took us about a month to discern this use of my time, see if my computer could handle the technology, finalize the topic, and choose dates (one webinar somehow became a two-part series!), but we are finally ready to roll these out.


Both sessions will include my live presentation and a simultaneous group discussion through live chat. All you need is a computer with Internet connection (I'm the only one who needs a webcam and headset). And, if you miss it (or don't get in because space is limited), the recording is also free, usually posted within a few days of the webinar. Check out their awesome, amazing previously recorded webinars free! The topics range from homeschool organization to family relationships to living books.


During these webinars, using the process our local group began with our Day of Reflection, we will focus on ensuring God is at the center of all of our homeschooling choices and planning, prayerfully evaluating last year and getting ready for next year. Here are the detailed descriptions for official publication...


Prayerfully Reflecting on Last Year ~ Tuesday, July 7, 2009, 8:30-10:00PM Eastern

Here is a chance to really step back from the busy-ness of family life and pause to reflect on the previous academic year's highs and lows. The focus will be to take some time to ponder our personal spiritual growth and our successes and challenges from the past year of homeschooling with a goal to prayerfully discern what, if anything, needs to change for next year. Participants will be provided with a thorough self-evaluation survey at the close of the webinar to complete on their own time, which has been an inspiring process for all who have done it, so far! This webinar is part one of a two part series, continuing with Prayerfully Planning for Next Year on July 15, but one can be attended without the other, if desired.


Prayerfully Preparing for Next Year ~ Tuesday, July 14, 2009, 8:30-10:00PM Eastern

Regardless of what stage of planning for next year moms have completed, this will be an opportunity to consider our plans in light of God's will through prayerful discernment. Having evaluated the previous academic year in the webinar Prayerfully Reflecting on Last Year on July 7, our goals for this discussion will be asking the Lord for guidance in choosing materials and preparing lessons for next year and setting some goals for ourselves, our family, and each individual child that truly reflect our priorities. This webinar is part two of a two part series but one can be attended without the other, if desired.


So, please come sign up! I will feel less anxious if I have some familiar names on the list, and I would absolutely love to virtually meet so many of my readers whom I do not yet know personally. Thank you for supporting this great company, trying to bring excellent information to homeschooling mothers AT HOME! If you have not yet attended one of their previous webinars, you will soon learn what a blessing it is to have your own homeschooling conference online at anytime!


And, last but not least, please pray for me as I prepare for these. I am extremely humbled to be included in a list of such presenters as John Jansen, Maureen Wittman, Fr. Mitch Pacwa, Alicia Van Hecke, Michele Quigley, Kris Correira, Dr. Mary Kay Clark, Deacon Gene McGuirk, Danielle Bean, and others. Okay, seriously, putting my name in with these people is ridiculous! They have SO much more experience and talent than me! But, since I am a firm believer in sharing what I have been blessed to receive, I guess I have to step out in faith on this and trust the Holy Spirit to do the rest. Thank you for your Hail Marys on my behalf!