I have been working through dates for the fall and trying to make sure that we have planned the most important dates first.  I have added any significant dates that I could find below so that we can work around the public school schedule (as I know that many of you follow that schedule) as well as holidays and conferences.  If I don’t hear from you then I will assume that I haven’t planned meetings for all of your children’s birthdays or your 15^th wedding anniversary when you had wanted to have perfect attendance this year.

Starting to (yikes!) look forward to the fall.

Blessings,

Cori

Charlotte Mason Support Group Dates 2012-2013

September 20

(5-6 weeks)

November 1

(5-6 weeks)

December 6

(5 weeks)

January 10

(6 weeks)

February 21 (curriculum chapter – last-ish chapter)

(6 weeks)

April 4

(5 weeks)

May 9

(5 weeks)

June 13

School and Conference Dates

First day of School – September 4, 2012

Christmas Holidays – December 24, 2012 – January 4, 2013

March Break – March 11-15, 2013

Good Friday – March 29, 2013

Easter Monday – April 1, 2013

Kitchener – KWCHEA – April 6, 2013, 8-5 @Rockway Mennonite Collegiate

Ottawa – RVHEA – (April 13, 2013?, 8-5) @

Hamilton – OCHEC – May 3-4, 2013 @ Redeemer

Barrie – May 25, 2013 – 8:30-3:30 @ BFMC

Toronto – (June 1 or 8, 2013?)

Brantford – (June 7 or 14, 2013?)

Last Day of School – June 27, 2013

Maple Tree Publications

www.mapletreepublications.ca

mapletreepublications@sympatico.ca

Dear Homeschooled Teen (14-18) 

 “If you want to change the world, focus on leaders. If you want to change leaders, focus on them while they're young.” Alan Nelson, Founder, KidLead.

The Calling & Opportunity

This is an invitation for Christian teen leaders (14-18), particularly homeschooled young men, but also young ladies, to really develop their organizational leadership skills this summer by taking advantage of a very unique and effective leadership development program called LeadWell. We believe that young people, homeschoolers in particular, are very important and have a huge part to play in God’s plan for the future of Canada, the Church, and the Kingdom of God. In fact, you are the future, and a big part of the present too. This is about your future and the future of your children – you are the Joshua generation. We must equip you to rebuild Christian civilization in every sphere, in every area. We need Christian cultural leaders - entrepreneurs, artists, scientists, engineers, movie makers, writers, musicians, architects, dancers, lawyers, physicians, farmers, butchers, bakers, and candlestick makers who are not only Christian in these callings, but actually make these callings Christian!   So, let’s cut to the chase. I am writing to you young men and women to tell you that the world is in a mess and it’s your job to change it, beginning with your own family, friends, church, and local community. Young men! It is your job to lead your families, lead in the church, lead in the culture, and lead the nation!  Young ladies! It is your job to help your future husbands do this!  If you don’t do it, nobody will.    

The Offer

Now, just as some people are gifted and have aptitudes for athletics, or music, or art, some of you have been gifted in the area of organizational leadership.  While all Christians are commanded to lead personally, through Godly character, conduct, and speech, some Christians in particular have been gifted with and have an aptitude towards leading others in a group or team environment.  For our purposes, we define leadership as the process by which people accomplish together, what they could not as individuals. Organizational leaders are those who spur on this process.

If you believe you are one of those people with organizational leadership aptitude, able to influence and mobilize others, we invite you to consider whether you qualify for our summer day camp for teens called LeadWell, August 13-17, in Brantford, Ontario.  This is a pilot camp being run for the first time in Canada!  We are looking for enthusiastic young leaders, 14-18, who would like to build their leadership skills through an extensive leadership development program that is rooted in Biblical principles and modeled after corporate leadership training. This will not be a series of lectures on how to lead – it is experiential learning which gives you the opportunity to practice leading and getting immediate feedback from experienced, certified trainers and coaches.  LeadWell is not a teen program emphasizing leadership, but rather a leadership program targeting leaders when they are still moldable. Most leaders do not begin formal leadership training or gain experience until after college, between the ages of 25-35. Imagine what it would be like for you as a next gen leader, the Joshua Generation, to start your adult life with 10-20 years of leadership experience already.  

If you believe this might be a fit to you, I invite you to please email me at lvaivada@rogers.com for three attachments I can send to you via email: 1) the full invitation which outlines more details about the importance of leadership skills, the LeadWell program this August, and how to apply; 2) the attached LeadYoung brochure; 3) an article on LeadWell by Dr. Alan Nelson.

NOTE: I will be on vacation from June 18 to July 1 with limited access to email.  If you could during this period email instead Cynthia Bultje at cbultje@explornet.com requesting the attachments, she will do this on my behalf while I am away. 

Looking forward to hearing from you and hopefully seeing some of you at the camp. 

God bless

Mr. and Mrs. Vaivada
Newmarket, Ontario

CHEN Curriculum Sale!

Come on out Monday evening to our curriculum sale. If you have stuff to unload put a price on it and bring it out. If you are looking for anything, come out and see if someone else needs to unload it. Now is a good time since we are getting closer to the OCHEC Conference, where you can buy it new if you cannot find it used.

Monday, April 2, 2012, 7pm
Newmarket Gospel Hall, 736 Davis Drive, Newmarket.

I hope to see you there. Cynthia

OCHEC Conference Coming!

As you may be aware, the public education system has been under intense pressure to conform to sinful practices.  A provincial organization, P.E.A.C.E., has shown how the education system has changed in the last years, and the current pressures it is under to relabel what the Bible calls sinful to be normal, and even celebrated.

As Christians, our goal is to raise our children to be God-fearing champions of Christ.  A careful reading of scripture indicates that this can be normative, but it seems to be a problem in our society with all its pressures.  A look at statistics also shows it is possible.

 - 94% of adult children that have been home educated agree with the statement that they maintain the faith of their parents according to a US study (NHERI study).  A Canadian study confirms this.

 - 88% of churched children that have left home and gone to post secondary education have quit attending church within 2 years of leaving home. (Southern Baptist Study)

We encourage you to explore the option of educating your child within the family God has given you .  The reward is the primary relationships for your children will be with you as the parents.  This family closeness will help your child to excel in academics and, more importantly, point them to their relationship with God as they see you hold fast to God in all the circumstances of life. 

To equip parents for this option, OCHEC has planned a home education conference for April 27 & 28.  We offer a reduced rate of $25/couple if you have never homeschooled or been to our convention before.  Come see what resources are available from home school vendors and listen to speakers that will encourage you in your adventure of raising champions for Christ.

Please forward this email to your pastor to encourage other members of your congregation to explore this alternative.

A bulletin announcement is available here.

A bulletin insert is available here.                          

Teen Outings

These are the dates to put on your callendars for the upcoming teen social. Details to be provided closer to each event.

Feb 11 Outdoor Skate @ Ricmondhill skate track, timmies after.

March 10 "Hang out" @ McLaughlins

April 14 Bowling

May 26 Sports and games

June 9 final event TBD.

Mentoring Course

The mentoring course will be run on Thursday evenings on the following dates from 7:30-9:30pm at my house:
Feb. 16, March 1, 8, 29, April 5, 12, 19, 26.
This will be based on Vicki Bentley's book, Home Education 101, and will require the purchase of the Parent Workbook, for $32, which will be due the first meeting. This just covers the cost of the book, nothing more.
This program is for any new home educating family interested in more personal mentoring from an experienced veteran – that’s “experienced” not “expert”.

This program may be for you IF:
- you are brand new this year with young children
- you are on the edge of a decision to home educate but want to know more about practical aspects
- you have been at this for a couple of years but still feel you require more of the basic information to go forward more comfortably
- you have older children recently removed from the public or private school system
- you are a veteran and would like to sit in on a session in order to become a mentor with CHEN 
Please email me if you are interested. cbultje@xplornet.com
Blessings. Cynthia
 

Mentoring Course

I had mentioned in the summer or September that I would like to do a mentoring course. However, due to technical glitches, it took me quite a while to get the book I wanted but I now have it and would like to again offer that opportunity to those interested. Several of you did respond, and I apologize that it took so long. It is 8 weeks and I think I would like to do it either every week or perhaps 2 weeks on and 1 week off. I am looking to do it on a Wednesday evening, hopefully starting February 1 and it would run from 7:30 to 9:30pm. I would like to keep that ending time especially, not because I don't like to talk with others, but maybe because of the opposite, :-)) and everyone, myself included, has a house to run the next day and a good amount of sleep is always good for that. It will also require a monetary commitment for the Parent Workbook of $31.

This program is for any new home educating family interested in more personal mentoring from an experienced veteran – that’s “experienced” not “expert”. This is a detailed mentoring program developed by Vicky Bentley in Virginia based on her years of experience as a home educator and support group member and leader with a group of 300+ member families.

This program may be for you IF:
- you are brand new this year with young children
- you are on the edge of a decision to home educate but want to know more about practical aspects
- you have been at this for a couple of years but still feel you require more of the basic information to go forward more comfortably
- you have older children recently removed from the public or private school system
- you are a veteran and would like to sit in on a session in order to become a mentor with Cornerstone
 
Topics to be covered are:
Beginning the Incredible Journey
Choosing Curriculum
Organizing Your Time
Home Education with Style
Getting Dinner on the Table (The Same Day You Homeschool)
Testing and Evaluation
Teaching Tips
Organizing Your Home
Lessons Learned

You will notice that these topics are not all strictly home educating how-tos but deal with the general flow of your household. I believe that choosing to home educate your children is not about making an education choice. It is truly a lifestyle choice. How you organize (or don't organize) your home and household tasks can and do directly affect your "school" time. Please let me know if you are interested.

 

Blessings. Cynthia

January 23rd meeting cancelled.

Due to the facilities not being available on January 23rd, I will be cancelling the meeting for that date.

The one after will be on February 27, and will be on co-ops, as there has been some request for that. So if you have any questions or things you would like dealt with in that meeting, then feel free to let me know and I will try and address them. The info will not just be from me, but also from other sources that I have gleaned from.

I hope to see a lot of you there.

Blessings. Cynthia

Wishing you a blessed new year.

I have no posts since September, so I thought I really should post something. I hope you all had a blessed Christmas season, as we celebrated the birth of our Lord and Saviour, who came down from heaven to be incarnate man, so He could then suffer and die on the cross for all of our sins. I wish you the Lord's blessing on your upcoming year as you seek to raise your children in the ways of the Lord, that you and they might be lights reflecting God power and glory to the world around. In line of that thought, take some time to read 1 Kings 10:1-9, and note how Solomon shone that glory of the Lord in his kingdom to the world around. He didn't run around to the nations and giving them the gospel (not that that is wrong), but rather lived it in word and deed making a great impact on the nation of Israel and the world around. Word of this unique nation, which served the living God (not dumb images) and followed a unique set of laws, that allowed the worship of only one God which resulted in wisdom and justice and righteousness. The Queen of Sheba came to seek out this king as the light of the Lord shone forth from his kingdom. Sometimes we busy ourselves with this that and the other thing, when we really should pay more attention to how we are actually living. May we too shine to the world around that they might see something different and desirable about our lives and how we live, speak and act, how we train our children up, that they too might come and ask us, just as the queen of Sheba came to Solomon. We can only do this if we rely totalling on our God.
Blessings to you all.