Homeschool Movie Club Homeschool Day

We are just a few days away from the first Homeschool Day at the Movies, which is Friday, September 23rd. This family-friendly movement was created by Sydney and JT Taylor who are homeschooling parents and the creators of Homeschool Movie Club. With the support of homeschooling families across the country, they are encouraging others to support family friendly films at the movie theaters to let the studios know that there is an audience who wants to see these types of movies.

On Homeschool Day, fellow homeschoolers and others who support this effort will attend a showing of Dolphin Tale, which is the first in a series of family-friendly movies people are encouraged to see, at their local movie theatre. This is a public event, but if you are planning to go see the movie, then register with Homeschool Movie Club, which is FREE, to receive notices about coupons, special discounts, or offers for this feature as well as future movies.

To make this an even more educational event, curriculum has been created by Sherri Seligson (Apologia author – I love their publications) and other helpful resources have been put together to enhance the movie going experience. You must be a register member of Homeschool Movie Club to access.

Find a theatre near you: Memphis, Jackson, other areas

View the trailer for Dolphin Tale:

The Home School Foundation – Financial Support for Homeschoolers

For many homeschool families, the school bell signaling the beginning of a new school year has already sounded and children are flipping the pages through new (or used) textbooks and eagerly soaking up the knowledge promised by a brand new school year. There are also many families who have prayed to continue homeschooling their children and for various reasons – expense, death of a parent, etc. – see that dream slowly fading away, but despite that remain committed in prayer to continue educating their children as they believe they have been called by God.

The Home School Foundation, created in 1994 by the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) as a non-profit 501(c)(3), has stepped up to fulfill the need of “giving…the heart of homeschooling” with a vision to be used by God to address the financial challenges that homeschooling families experience as well as being a blessing to the homeschool community a a whole. Their mission is to be a blessing to homeschoolers and to support the cause of homeschooling.

With the help of donors, The Home School Foundation is able to support a variety of funds that were established for families who desire to continue homeschooling and are threatened to have to stop as a result of situations their family has experienced. There are several funds available to families which include the following:

Widows/Widowers Fund
Assistance is available to parents who want to continue homeschooling their children after the death of a spouse. Financial support is offered towards emergency help and curriculum scholarships so that homeschooling may continue in the home.

Children of Single Parents Fund
Assistance is available to Christian single parents who are “training their children in the Lord” and are committed to homeschooling. Financial support is for a temporary period, but if granted after a very selective review process, can be of great assistance for a parent trying to do it all themselves.

Special Needs Children’s Fund
Assistance is available to HSLDA families that have been members of HSLDA for at least six months. Financial support is offered toward equipment, special therapies, specialized material, and testing.

Curriculum Relief Fund
Assistance is available to HSLDA families who have been members of HSLDA for at least six months and are currently homeschooling their children. Financial support is for purchasing basic and needed curriculum for the school year. If you have a need for this support, but are not currently an HSLDA member, then contact HSLDA to learn of how you may benefit from this fund.

You can learn more about all of the offered funds through The Home School Foundation.

If your family is experiencing a difficult financial time and would like to continue home educationing, then you may apply to receive assistance through one of the funds.

YOU TOO CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
September 1 through September 30, Homeschool Roster is encouraging its readers to support The Home School Foundation. If you feel led to donate to this foundation that offers support to homeschool families as well as supports the opportunity we have to homeschool, then you may make an online donation and help today!

Connect w/The Home School Foundation:
Visit the Web site
Like on Facebook
Follow on Twitter

Soles4Souls {Mission of the Month}

The privilege of affording a new pair of shoes is probably not something you think about everyday. Our shoes become worn and pushed to the back of the closet to make room for their shiny, new replacements. If you donate your no longer used or “gently used” shoes, then that is great. If not, then consider this a lesson in sustainability and an opportunity to help others who would not mind “walking in your shoes.”

The mission of Nashville-based Soles4Souls is simple, “to impact as many lives as possible with the gift of shoes.” They are “Shoe People Helping the World™.” In less than six years, Wayne Elsey’s Soles4Souls has managed to provide more than three million shoes to victims of natural disasters like the 2004 Asian tsunami (the event that was the seed for this charitable organization) and just people in need. For many young children, owning a pair of shoes is a requirement for them to attend school and your shoe donation is like a “golden ticket” for them to acquire an education.

Shoe donations are received from “footwear companies, retailers, churches, non-profit ministries, civic groups, schools, and individuals” of “gently used” shoes. Last year, Soles4Souls was actively involved in assisting Nashville flood victims by collecting more than 85,000 pair of shoes which were distributed to people in that area. So far this year, they have also supplied shoes to the recent earthquake victims in Japan and the tornado victims in Alabama.

One of the many reasons Homeschool Roster supports this organization is because Soles4Souls not only aides people abroad, but does not forget about the people in need here at home in America. Our family has been involved with collecting shoes for Soles4Souls for a few years and our recent shoe drive during the month of April received over 500 pair of shoes.

YOU TOO CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
August 1 through August 31, Homeschool Roster is encouraging its readers to “STEP UP and Clean Out” and recycle their gently used shoes. You can start at home by collecting shoes that are no longer used by your family. There are several local drop-off locations (find one) that will collect your shoes and ship them to Soles4Souls. You may also make a one-time or reoccurring monetary donation that provides the needed funds to deliver shoes to recipients.

Learn more about Souls4Soles.