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Dear Leaders,

Welcome to the New Year and our first 2007 edition of the Leader Letter! This is often the time of year support group leaders re-group and make plans for the rest of the year. As you work to provide encouragement and activities for your group, HEAV's goal is to share information that will help and encourage you as a leader!

I may be sending the Leader Letter to only one contact in your group, so if you're that person, please pass it on! It would be a great help if you would forward the Leader Letter to all those in your group's leadership. Let me know if you're receiving this second-hand, and you would like to receive the LL directly. Send your request and e-mail address to support@heav.org, and I'll add you to the list. You can also choose the information you feel is important and include it in your e-letters or newsletters. (We appreciate you mentioning the information came from HEAV.)

Community Church
Ashburn, VA
May 18 and 19, 2007

Have your children ever asked if dinosaurs were real or what happened to them? With the seeds of evolution being presented as fact all around us, Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis will show you and your children how to defend your faith from the book of Genesis. You won't want to miss this opportunity to strengthen your children's faith!

On May 18, Answers in Genesis will be holding two FREE Student Meetings:
• "Dinosaurs, Genesis, and the Gospel" for grades K-6 from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m.
• "Teaching Students to Defend the Christian Faith Beginning with Genesis" for grades 7-12 from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m.

Although groups of any size are encouraged to come, groups of 25 or more have the opportunity to register for assigned seating. Having a group more than 25 will ensure you and your children have a seat. You may register by calling toll free at 1-866-552-1936. Follow the options for the Student Meeting prompts.

In addition to the FREE Student Meetings, Answers in Genesis will be holding a faith-building conference Friday night and all day Saturday for the entire family. The cost for the family is only $35 You can find more information about the Answers in Genesis conference (individual rates, speaker topics and schedules, etc.) by contacting Cris Loop at looptroop4@cox.net or calling Cris at 703-352-0681.

www.answersingenesis.org

"But having public school employees overseeing your homeschool dramatically alters the spiritual dynamic of the home," say Charles and Kathy Lowers, founders of Considering Homeschooling. And we agree. For a better understanding of the pitfall of virtual schools, read the Lowers' article, " Reasons to Avoid Government Homeschooling Like the Plague and Why Believers Need to Create Christ-Centered, Private Homeschools."

Helping Parents Who Take Their Children Out of Traditional School
by Dr. Fred Worth, Henderson State University

Any time I talk to new homeschoolers, especially ones pulling their kids out of government school, I am careful to tell them that trying to recreate a government school classroom, with its 5-7 subjects a day every day, is a recipe for disaster.

1. The children have to get used to mom as teacher, which can be hard.
2. If they are pulling their child out, there are presumably some problems in the educational process. There needs to be some evaluation time, figuring out what the child can do and cannot do, what the problems are, etc.
3. It's a lot of work for mom to teach 5-7 subjects a day. I usually suggest focusing on language arts and mathematics (yes, I'm biased) at the start and working into other subjects slowly. My reason for these two subjects is their incredibly background-dependent nature. I suggest starting off by carefully figuring out what they do and do not know. I point out it may be necessary, especially in mathematics, to back up from where the child was to where they NEED to be in order to fill in gaps in learning.
4. Lastly, I suggest working into the other subjects mom wants to cover by starting off with just going to the library and having the child read some books on the subject—nothing real intense.

All of this gives the child a slight break and time to catch his breath. It helps the mom not feel overwhelmed and discouraged.

~:~ ~:~ ~:~ ~:~ ~:~ ~:~ ~:~ ~:~
The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Offers Free E-Letter

A new free e-letter called The Homeschool Minute features freebie offers every issue. Each week you'll receive tips on homeschooling and home keeping. You'll also be given leads on totally free learning items. The Homeschool Minute is created by the makers of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Subscribe here.

When you sign up for The Homeschool Minute, you'll also receive a FREE e-book by Lorrie Flem. The "Neat & Tidy E-Manual" will help you "Tame the Paper Monster," reveal "The 5 Biggest Organizing Mistakes," challenge you with "9 Tips to Maximum Productivity," and much more! E-mail publisher@theoldschoolhousemagazine.com or phone 1-888-718-HOME.

You can reach your representatives in Richmond and/or Washington to lobby for pro-life or pro-family legislation with a free local call from any of the areas listed below. (NOTE: You don't even need to know the names of your representatives—just provide your address and the operator will forward your opinion to the right office!)

Call any of these numbers, free of charge:
• Charlottesville - 434-326-4413 (extension 5)
• Lynchburg - 434-846-0500 (extension 5)
• Richmond - 804-419-4483 (extension 5)
• Northern VA and Washington, D.C . - 202-470-5095 (extension 5)

An automated menu will give you the option of being transferred directly to the "comment line" of Governor Tim Kaine's office, your state Senator or Delegate's office, the office of your U.S. Congressman or Senator, or the White House.
—Marnie Deaton, http://familypolicy.net%2Fva%2F

You're invited to the Mariners' Museum's free Homeschool Open House on April 24 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The Mariners' Museum, America's national maritime museum in Newport News, has designed an exciting series of dynamic programs to enhance your homeschool curriculum, including an exhibit of the technological marvel of the Civil War—the ironclad USS Monitor! You can tour the new USS Monitor Center depicting the battle of the Monitor and the Merrimac and view the actual turret of the Monitor retrieved from the Chesapeake Bay! To register for a free sneak preview of these special homeschool programs and a tour of the Monitor Center, call 757-591-7751 or e-mail homeschool@MarinersMuseum.org.

With warm regards,

Yvonne Bunn, HEAV Director of Homeschool Support