by Brenda Conyne

​My youngest daughter started homeschooling in 6th grade. We were totally clueless how to start or what to do. We wound up basing our entire curriculum on a recommendation for a math book.

We heard that the BJU Press math curriculum was wonderful, so we decided to do that. After reading the BJU Press catalog, we liked their philosophy for 2 other classes which made it cheaper just to buy the entire curriculum. We thought we would try that the first year and supplement if we did not like some of the classes.

By Nancy Lauser

If we haven’t learned to let our children speak for themselves by the time they are say, 4-5 years of age, the habit will be even more of a problem to break later. As moms, it is extremely challenging to stand back and let our students do their own talking. What if they don’t say the right thing? What if they use bad grammar? What if they say something embarrassing? 

By Maclaren Keffer

​So your child is ready for sports? Naturally, you begin to investigate different options only to discover you’re required to spend 5 nights per week and hundreds of dollars to launch your child into athletics. As a parent, you value physical pursuits AND having a life outside of sports. And maybe, just maybe, you’d like to get some exercise yourself. Is there no middle ground? 

Yes! Meet Running Medicine, a running club organized around the idea that movement is medicine. Running Medicine was founded in 2016 as a part of the Native Health Initiative (NHI), which was designed to “create a culture of wellness through a supportive, loving community.” 

By Felisa Palfery

Community.  The word itself often invokes a human response. We were made for community. Yes – even those of us that are introverted. We desire community. Yes-even though it might be uncomfortable. We thrive in community. Yes – even though it stretches us. When you think about your own community, how would you describe it?  For my husband and I, community is a place of belonging.  A place of learning and growing.  Over the course of our marriage, our community has changed often. Frequent moves and job demands have fostered a flexible yet necessary desire for community in our home.  As the Lord has blessed us with two lovely daughters, our community has once again changed.  Amidst the changes, one aspect of our community remains the same – the “why” behind the need for community.

By RoseAnne Gallegos

​The most beautiful month in New Mexico is October... no question.  Most of us home-educating families, after about two months, being back to the homeschool grindstone, need some reprieve (reprieve - verb, re-prēve: to give relief or deliverance to for a time). 

We started attending the CAPE Family Fall Retreat 13 years ago!  Every March or April, when we sit down to enter our calendar items for the rest of the year, we always write 'CAPE Retreat' in the October 20 something days.  My youngest son enthusiastically asks months in advance if we're going to the CAPE retreat!

By Suzanne Lawrence

​As if homeschooling through the high school years is not daunting enough, now your student wants to try out for a public high school athletic team! The numerous reasons for homeschooling are varied and complex with each family, many citing the poor public educational system, special needs, religious instruction as well as distancing our students from the bullying, drugs, worldly influences, political correctness and mean kids wandering the classrooms and hallways.

Why on earth would you want your homeschool student to participate in public school sports activities?
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You have come to the conclusion that athletics are great for your student and your student wants to participate in a competitive environment.  What are your options in the state of New Mexico?  Can homeschoolers participate in public school athletics? What are the pros and cons? Are there other options for my sport instead of public school athletics?

By Isabel McCabe

I started taking classes advertised by PLANT, Inc. when I was in the seventh grade. The first class I took was a speech class. I was not too excited for the speech class because public speaking to me was one of the worst things someone could make me do, but as the weeks went by I started to enjoy it! I learned about the steps required to form a good speech and how to actually give the speech.
      
​After this speech class I took a finance class and a second speech class called Always be Ready. In the finance class, I learned the right way to handle money, and I also learned how important saving truly is. In this class, I had the opportunity to run for president, treasurer, or secretary; I ran for president, which is something I never would have done without this class. In the second speech class, I learned more about speeches, and I even learned a little bit about debate. 

By Karen McCabe

I put my daughter in a speech class advertised through PLANT, Inc. which was being offered on the west side. She didn’t really want to be in this class…what kid really wants to get in front of their peers and give a speech? I knew it was important since my experience in high school was one of getting out of giving an oral report in any way I could.

Sheer terror!!
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It’s been said that public speaking is one of the top five fears we all have.
When I took over our co-op it was my number ONE fear. By the Grace of God I eventually got over it. There were times others had to come on stage and speak and I could feel and see the anxiousness as they made their way to the microphone. 
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By Edie Downs

​I am not an early adopter. I did not ever envision myself homeschooling despite several friends having chosen that lifestyle. I belonged to the “I could never do that” club. Yet I longed for more time with my children, the opportunity to influence their character development, and additional control over our schedule. My older two girls were well ensconced in the neighborhood elementary school when the seed of homeschooling began to take root in my mind. We reluctantly made the leap when DD #1 was about to enter middle school.
 
Initially uncertain, I began to feel the Lord moving in my heart as I turned 180 degrees to embrace this adventure. Playing teacher was my favorite game as a child, and I now couldn’t wait to set up my “classroom”, thumb through curriculum, plan, and teach my little darlings. Reality struck quickly as I realized the difficulty in scheduling and executing work for four children aged 3-11.

By Beverly Williams

Want your children to enjoy “school” more?  Want to bond as a family better?  Want to avoid tears when your child hits a concept s/he can’t understand?  Play games!
 
I’m Beverly Williams, the Brainiac Baroness, also known as the Math Games Mom.  As a homeschooling mother of four, birth to the end of high school, with two of them struggling learners, my husband and I have played a lot of games, math and otherwise, with our children. 
 
I developed the Math Games curriculum to give my extremely intuitive (read, “no logic”) daughter* success when she hit an arithmetic wall.  Generally, the game would not address the wall at all, but review fundamentals or reinforce logic flow.  In this way, the game made it clear to her that she was good at math and gave her brain a break, which allowed some time for her brain to develop to understand the new concept.  This is to say, we often played a variety of games for several weeks before getting back to the problem concept.