Fresh Joy . . . Stay

The Home Field Advantage!

Offering you Hope   .    For a Joyful Journey

Laughter and Love .  Parents and Kids .  Together

Face to Face Time  .  Voice to Voice Time  .   Seeing Joy

Even in the Tough Stuff  .  Even Today

Stay

We love it when they stay!

and confide

and tell [...]

Fresh Joy. . . Helping Kids Succeed

The Home Field Advantage!

Offering you Hope   .   And a Joyful Journey

Parents and Kids  .   Together  .  Finding Joy   .   Even in the Tough Stuff  .  Even Today

Fresh Joy . . . Helping Our Kids Succeed

Do you know your child’s dreams?

What does your child like to do?

Or think [...]

Fresh Joy . . . The Homeschool-In-My-Head!?

I have a homeschool-in-my-head.

Do you?

If you don’t homeschool, maybe you have a picture in your mind of what homeschool looks like?

Funny – yet true – those of us who do homeschool also have a picture in our minds of what it looks like.

Here’s mine!

In my homeschool-in-my-head, [...]

Fresh Joy . . . For This Child

For This Child Have I Prayed

By Christine Field

For this child have I prayed

She came to us bathed in prayer, wrapped in love – an unexpected, much-loved gift

Smiles so bright – can rival the sun

A voice so sweet like a river runs

Brought so much joy, happiness and light

Never [...]

Fresh Joy . . . With Tears ! ?

So, this week at my church,

(Yes, it’’s a mega-church.  A wonderful one!  Why do I feel the need to defend my mega-church?  Maybe because we never hear disparaging remarks about small or medium-sized churches?   But, why would anyone think a large church isn’’t a good church? And anyway, descriptors like “small” “medium” [...]

Fresh Joy . . . Accidentally!?

Accidental learning !?!

Q.  What’s accidental learning?

A.   One of the ways kids learn.  But it flies under the radar.  As parents we can encourage more accidental learning.

Q.   Examples?

A.  Think about the first words your child learned to read (not say, but read.)

The first two words [...]

Fresh Joy. . .Heart Help for April Edginess

April feels light and bright.

Flowers and warmer weather lift us up.

Yet April can bring pressure and its own “edginess.”

Yard work looms and a slew of upcoming “calendar jammers” such as graduations, recitals,        showers, weddings, game days, prize days all feel like extra pressure. [...]

For Everyday Parents

The Home Field Advantage!

Because we’re all Every Day Parents . . .

Who need a More Joyful Journey . . .

because so often we . . . [...]

Staying Close, While Letting Go

Staying Close, While Letting Go
How to parent our college students and our grown-up “kids”

By Virginia Vagt

We want to do both, don’t we?

Yes.  We want to let go and let our children grow up.  And we want to stay close.

No matter our philosophy of family life, parenting young children and teens looks different than [...]

Fresh Joy . . . Getting Together in Peoria

How did it play in Peoria? Perfectly!

Across the country convention season is ahead! During the past month we’ve been to three. In-Home in St. Charles, Illinois, APACHE in Peoria, and the Midwest Homeschool Convention in Cincinnati!  So glad!

If you’ve not enjoyed a homeschool convention, or it’s [...]