In This Issue:

1. Understanding Your Sons

Check out these great resources for raising sons:

That's My Son: How Moms Can Influence Boys to Become Men of Character By Rick Johnson / Baker Why are boys so different? Why would a trip to the dumb garbage be such a highlight in a boy's life? What do boys need to learn in order to become good men? A mother's influence on her sons is unique and valuable, but sometimes moms don't understand what makes their boys tick. They want to help their sons grow up to become men of honor and integrity, but that's a tremendous challenge. With refreshing honesty and a man's insight, author Rick Johnson offers the advice, understanding, and support every mom is looking for when it comes to raising godly sons. Using extensive research and humorous personal experiences, he addresses tough issues such as communication, discipline, sexuality, and respect.

Bringing Up Boys By Dr. James Dobson / Tyndale House With so much confusion about the role of men in our society, it's no wonder so many parents and teachers are a loss about how to bring up boys. Our culture has vilified masculinity and, as a result, boys are suffering. Parents, teachers and others involved in shaping the character of boys have lots of questions. In Bringing Up Boys, Dr. James Dobson, America's most trusted expert on family issues, tackles these questions - and offers advice and encouragement based on a firm foundation of Biblical principles. A must-read book for parents, teachers, social workers, youth leaders, counselors - anyone involved in the challenge of turning boys into good men.

2. Chores for Kids

Many other parents are so busy with their own activities that they don’t have the desire or the energy to do much at all with their kids – so they sit them down in front of the TV and hope for the best. Either way, Americans aren’t left with much time for just being a family.

As homeschooling parents, we have the unique opportunity to try to carve more family time out of our day. We can organize our days to get the schoolwork done before Dad gets home at night. We can also schedule a few extracurricular activities into the afternoons leaving more nights free for family time. More family time means dinner together around the table, family game night, reading books together, etc. But more time at home also means the kids can get involved with helping out around the house doing chores.

Younger kids love to get involved if they feel they are helping you as opposed to having to do it themselves. For some practical ideas, check out this book:

I Love Chores! By Joyce Menashe / Coffeehouse Publishing Can your children really learn to "love" chores? They can if they're taught just how valuable they--and their contributions--are to your family. Help them develop a positive attitude about responsibilities, themselves, and family unity using the motivating tools in this kit. Here's what you'll find: Instructional book for parents 50 visual chore cards ("Pick Up Toys," "Set Table," and many others) 12 custom chore cards Family chore chart Chore tokens It's an easy and fun away to keep track of chores on a daily basis! Recommended for ages 4 and up.

We hope these resources will be helpful! Thank-you for taking the time to read this newsletter and we'll see you next month.

Michelle Caskey