Safe Haven News – February

Hey Safe Haven Family!

I hope this newsletter finds you well, unlike my family this week. We seem to be having a repeat of whatever terrible plague struck us in November. Lots of coughing and congestion, headache, sore throat, and fatigue. But we will get through this, too. Please pray for us!

The Lord has been answering some of my prayers lately in very specific ways, and I’m so thankful. I can’t share any details because they are prayers I’ve prayed for dear friends. Not my story to tell. But seeing God answer these prayers in miraculous ways has boosted my faith immensely. It feels like everything is about to get better for all of us. God is on the move, and there is a fresh wave of the Spirit. Be on the lookout for answers to prayers that you have been praying for a long time!

Please reply to this email and share answers you are seeing to your prayers. I would love to hear your testimonies.

And share with me any prayer requests so I can help you pray them in.

As we move into February, the season of love❤️, let’s focus on loving each other and receiving the love of God for each one of us personally. Let’s determine to plumb the depths of God’s love for us. “To grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ”. Eph. 3:18

This video helps us to draw closer to God through meditation and visualizing His many characteristics and ways that He loves us.  I edited it for Carrie Rebecca Jones who led the meditation. You can find more videos like this at Organic Life by Divine Design on YouTube.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Have you ever thought about this?

It takes great faith to homeschool. 

What do I mean by that? Well, let me share a story about how our faith was refined by fire, and how that has bolstered my faith that I can homeschool through any adverse circumstances and that God will provide everything I need for homeschooling. These are His kids, and God provides for them all that they need when we pray and believe that He will do it.

Here’s what happened:

~ We had lost everything. Homeless and defeated, we found ourselves at my parents’ house. My father reluctantly let us stay, his disappointment palpable. When I say us, I mean my husband, me, and our eight children, including 1-year-old twins. The judgment from others was unbearable.

We turned to God, pleading for direction, but heaven seemed silent. One night, sitting in my childhood bedroom, I felt hopeless. Then came an unexpected call. A man we barely knew invited my husband, Gary, to lunch and delivered a startling message: we were supposed to leave Ohio. I was skeptical. “How?” I asked. The man’s advice was bold: announce our departure and trust God to provide.

Desperation drove us to act. We told everyone we were leaving, set a date, and prayed. Then, the miraculous happened. Money came from unlikely sources, even from those who had judged us. We left Ohio and headed for Arizona, not knowing what the future held.

That step of faith changed everything. Each subsequent challenge strengthened our trust in God.

Homeschooling requires the same kind of faith—believing that you can provide both education and spiritual grounding for your children. And that God will help you with this impossible mission – to provide a better education than any school could give your children. Let me help you develop the faith to homeschool fearlessly, trusting His guidance every step of the way. ~

To sign up for my coaching program go to The Basics of Learning and Homeschooling.

To read more of our story, get my book Refined By Fire on Amazon.

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Infusing Hope, Inspiring Action Gratitude Journal by Janita Pavelka is a very helpful tool for journaling and daily prayer. The entries are short, but they provide all of the benefits of journaling, such as being more relaxed and optimistic, more productive, and more likely to attain your goals of reading God’s Word first thing in the morning and last thing before you go to bed.

If you would like to have the spiral bound version instead of the version on Amazon, get in touch with Janita personally. I prefer that one because it’s easier to write in.

Just reply to this email with “I want Janita’s journal!” and I’ll send you her contact information.

She is also the one who teaches Praise Moves, a biblical alternative to traditional yoga. You can find the website here: www.praisemoves.com.

I would be happy to put you in touch with Janita if any of these things interest you.

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One way to enrich your homeschool is to sign up your kids for online classes on Outschool.com.

You can find my book clubs on Outschool here. And be sure to check out all of the classes on  Outschool.com. There are hundreds of them to choose from about any topic you could imagine!

There are lots of Freebie printables for Valentine’s Day available on the internet.

Here are some of my favorites:

Love Theme Kindergarten No-Prep Printable Activity Pack from 1+1+1=1

Valentine’s Tea Party Set from theartkitblog.com

Valentine’s Worksheets – and don’t forget to scroll down to check out the multitude of links to other Valentines worksheets and activities from 123Homeschool4me.com.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I have exciting news for those who like to find teacher-created curriculum at Teachers Pay Teachers.

TPT will be having a sitewide sale Feb 4 and 5. The stores that participate will have everything 20% off. This includes my Safe Haven Homeschooling Store. Everything will be 20% off those two days.

Save with the Narration and Copywork Journals for The Green Ember Writing Bundle!

All 3 products for only $7.20!

And check out my most recent products.

Exploring Our Learning Adventures: First Grade Curriculum Guide and Weekly Review Pages

Exploring Our Learning Adventures: Second Grade Curriculum Guide and Weekly Review Pages

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A homeschool mom that I have been mentoring for several years is now mentoring others. You can find her at Your Homeschool Companion. Elisabeth has a heart for homeschoolers who are struggling with homeschooling because they’re trying to do it the school way. She gives lots of tips and ideas for ways to make learning fun and active and as un-school-like as possible. She calls it de-schooling. She has a great Winter Bucket List you can find HERE.

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Thank you for being a part of our Safe Haven Family. I pray that you are encouraged and inspired by the things I share here. I’m here to serve, so if there’s anything you would like to see more of, please let me know. I want to be a beacon to light the way for you to homeschool successfully all the way through high school.

Wishing you love and peace,

Penney Douglas, B. S. in Elem. Ed.

Safe Haven Homeschooling

My books on Amazon

Curriculum I’ve created with a Charlotte Mason twist plus other conventional types of curriculum

E-course I created – The Basics of Learning and Homeschooling

Coaching Course I created – Also called The Basics of Learning and Homeschooling – I take you through the course and do a coaching call with you each month

My shop for homeschool merch, t-shirts, mugs, notebooks, phone covers, and much more!

linktr.ee/penneydouglas – All the places you can find me!

Changed By Love – My original Blog about Homeschooling, Family, Faith, and Alternative News

My YouTube Channel  – Safe Haven Homeschooling Channel – Homeschool Encouragement for Newbies and Burnt-out veterans, Family projects, Relationship Building, and Interviews with Homeschool Experts

Copyright © 2025 Safe Haven Homeschooling, All rights reserved.

You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website.

Our mailing address is:

Safe Haven Homeschooling

3101 Bromley Place

Apt. 23

Dayton, Ohio 45420

Add us to your address book

Safe Haven News – January

Winter greetings, Safe Haven Family!

In today’s email, I’m sharing some great resources for your homeschool for January and the New Year. I’ll also share some coaching opportunities that will help you to actually keep your New Year’s resolutions. If you have some homeschool or health goals, I’ve got you covered! It’s so much easier to stay focused and consistent when you have some accountability.

For your Homeschool:

❄️Meet my friend, Dachelle, at a live virtual poetry teatime. She is so much fun! Your kids will love her. If you love all things Winnie the Pooh, this is the poetry teatime for you! You will be meeting online on Jan. 14 at 10 AM Central.

Here’s the link to sign up:

A. A. Milne Poetry Teatime

❄️Her website Literary Adventures for Kids has MANY online Book Clubs that will add sparkle and enchantment to your Language Arts program. She says they add some fairy dust to lessons and go down rabbit trails to make Language Arts much more interesting and exciting!

❄️Get this FREE Winter Bucket List from Your Homeschool Companion. It has lots of great free or cheap ideas for activities you can do at home to ring in the New Year.

❄️Here are some fun and easy Preschool New Year crafts  from Living Life and Learning.

❄️Here are some fun winter activities for Kindergarten packed full of lots of learning from 1+1+1=1.net. For more Winter activities and printables check out the full Winter webpage HERE!

❄️If you’re not sure how to teach writing to your kids, this is a great resource that will help. In this bundle you get:  “How to Write a Sentence”, “How to Write a Paragraph”, and “How to Write Poetry”. This is from Crafty Classroom which has excellent products that are always colorful and engaging.

I have a question for you…

❄️Is your homeschooling going as well as you would like? 

If not, you may want to get a homeschool life coach. That’s me!

I can help you clarify what’s working and what’s not and how you can make some small changes that will transform frustration to success. Small tweaks lead to giant peaks!

You don’t need to do this all alone!

I can help you:

Create no-cry, no-meltdown homeschool days!

Yell less, smile more, in your homeschool.

Transform your homeschool mindset.

📚Is your curriculum not working for you? I can help with curriculum choices.

🫂Are you having relationship issues? I can give you some helpful tips about that.

📔I can also help you develop a plan that is realistic for your family.

Just sign up for Coaching here on Teachable and we can get started. I’ll take you through “The Basics of Learning and Homeschooling” course (you can check that out here), and we will have 30 minute one-on-one calls up to twice a month. The course is set up for 10 months. The one-on-one calls will be personalized according to whatever questions or issues you are dealing with.

  •  Learn to discipline so you can accomplish more in your homeschool.

  •  I will help you choose curriculum so you can know that you’re matching your curriculum with the needs of your children and family.

  •  Learn to control anger and manage expectations so you can be “Gentle Mommy”.  Sometimes we care too much or we need to deal with pride.

  •  I will help you to set priorities in your schedule so you can make sure you cover the  most important things.

  • You will also get discounts on the books that I’ve written about homeschooling.

  • And more!

Join me now to transform your homeschool mindset!

For Your Health:

I have been trying to get healthier. I’m doing several different things to work on my physical fitness and my mental, spiritual, and emotional well-being. These are things that I’ve been able to stick with because of great coaches!

For the physical fitness, I’m doing Praise Moves with Janita Walker. It’s like Yoga, but it’s not. The moves we make are based on Hebrew letters, and we recite Scripture the whole time we’re doing the moves. We usually work our way through a passage of Scripture during our sessions. It is an intense workout. I do a lot of sweating each time! But it’s not aerobics or anything high-impact. It’s just stretching in ways that you may not have ever stretched before. That’s how it was for me. I feel a lot stronger since I’ve been doing it for about a year. I have better balance, too. If you want to join us, reply to this email, and I’ll send you her contact information.

I have a coach for my mental, emotional, and spiritual growth. Her name is Carrie Rebecca Jones. She has training in IBRT (Integrated Bioenergetic Restoration Therapy), and she studies many techniques to help people get free of past traumas and trapped emotions.

She describes what she does here:

“I am a trauma informed transformational coach.

Quantum Bioenergetic release of trapped emotions,

restructuring of emotional energy with core truths,

creating new structures of belief with higher vibrational emotions

enabling your entire being to resonate as a life you love, and loving the life you live, and living the life you love while experiencing  joy, peace, love, abundance, and health.

I incorporate other tools such as heart brain coherence, Sozo, Courts of Heaven, Magnetic Mind Superconscious Healing and Transformation, EFT (Emotional freedom technique – tapping to move emotional energy), and Emotion Codes.”

Here is her website. Check it out and book a session with her to help you get beyond fear and trauma from the past and experience God’s love for you in a way that you never have before. Carrie’s heart and demeanor is so loving and gentle that you feel the Father’s love through her.

Have you tried deep breathing and meditation? This is not a Yoga or New Age thing. This is a practice that has lots of scientific evidence that shows that it has amazing health benefits.

Here are some YouTube videos by Carrie Rebecca that you can use to help you meditate and do some deep breathing to get more oxygen to your brain and help to calm and center yourself. This is all Christ-centered and based on Scripture. Her YouTube channel is called Organic Life by Divine Design.

Here’s a free tip: For a detox bath for parasites, Carrie recommends using Hydrogen Peroxide, Borax, Baking Soda, Epsom Salt, and Vinegar. If you want to know the amounts, let me know, and I’ll find out from her and send it to you.

Here’s to making changes that will bring transformation to every part of our lives – starting now!

Love,

Penney Douglas, B. S. in Elem. Ed.

Safe Haven Homeschooling

My books on Amazon

Curriculum I’ve created with a Charlotte Mason twist plus other conventional types of curriculum

E-course I created – The Basics of Learning and Homeschooling

Coaching Course I created – Also called The Basics of Learning and Homeschooling – I take you through the course and do a coaching call with you each month

My shop for homeschool merch, t-shirts, mugs, notebooks, phone covers, and much more!

linktr.ee/penneydouglas – All the places you can find me!

Changed By Love – My original Blog about Homeschooling, Family, Faith, and Alternative News

Copyright © 2025 Safe Haven Homeschooling, All rights reserved.

You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website.

Our mailing address is:

Safe Haven Homeschooling

3101 Bromley Place

Apt. 23

Dayton, Ohio 45420

Add us to your address book

Safe Haven News – December

Hey Safe Haven Family!

I just wanted to share some of my favorite ideas for celebrating Christmas with an eye toward keeping the learning going surreptitiously.

🎄Christmas word searches like this:

From Homeschool of 1.com

🎄Or this bundle of lots of Christmas activities:

Great Big Christmas Activities Bundle | Christmas Unit Study

🎄Here’s a great idea! Buy books for the days leading up to Christmas and wrap them in Christmas wrapping paper. Let a child open a new book each day and then read it to them.

🎄 Thrill of Hope Advent Study for the whole family

🎄Here’s a big list of free Advent activities.

🎄The sale on TPT is still going on until the end of today. You can find some great things there for Christmas at bargain prices.

🎄Here is a list of some of my favorite Christmas picture books that talk about the Real Meaning of Christmas.

🎄FREEBIE: Fun Ways to Homeschool through December

🎄Here’s a post about Studying History at Christmas Time in a Charlotte Mason Way.

Enjoy the holidays with your family and enjoy learning together, too!

Love,

Penney Douglas, B. S. in Elem. Ed.

Safe Haven Homeschooling

My books on Amazon

Curriculum I’ve created with a Charlotte Mason twist plus other conventional types of curriculum

E-course I created – The Basics of Learning and Homeschooling

Coaching Course I created – Also called The Basics of Learning and Homeschooling – I take you through the course and do a coaching call with you each month

My shop for homeschool merch, t-shirts, mugs, notebooks, phone covers, and much more!

linktr.ee/penneydouglas – All the places you can find me!

Changed By Love – My original Blog about Homeschooling, Family, Faith, and Alternative News

Copyright © 2025 Safe Haven Homeschooling, All rights reserved.

You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website.

Our mailing address is:

Safe Haven Homeschooling

3101 Bromley Place

Apt. 23

Dayton, Ohio 45420

Hey Safe Haven Family!

I just wanted to share some of my favorite ideas for celebrating Christmas with an eye toward keeping the learning going surreptitiously.

🎄Christmas word searches like this:

From Homeschool of 1.com

🎄Or this bundle of lots of Christmas activities:

Great Big Christmas Activities Bundle | Christmas Unit Study

🎄Here’s a great idea! Buy books for the days leading up to Christmas and wrap them in Christmas wrapping paper. Let a child open a new book each day and then read it to them.

🎄 Thrill of Hope Advent Study for the whole family

🎄Here’s a big list of free Advent activities.

🎄The sale on TPT is still going on until the end of today. You can find some great things there for Christmas at bargain prices.

🎄Here is a list of some of my favorite Christmas picture books that talk about the Real Meaning of Christmas.

🎄FREEBIE: Fun Ways to Homeschool through December

🎄Here’s a post about Studying History at Christmas Time in a Charlotte Mason Way.

Enjoy the holidays with your family and enjoy learning together, too!

Love,

Penney Douglas, B. S. in Elem. Ed.

Safe Haven Homeschooling

My books on Amazon

Curriculum I’ve created with a Charlotte Mason twist plus other conventional types of curriculum

E-course I created – The Basics of Learning and Homeschooling

Coaching Course I created – Also called The Basics of Learning and Homeschooling – I take you through the course and do a coaching call with you each month

My shop for homeschool merch, t-shirts, mugs, notebooks, phone covers, and much more!

linktr.ee/penneydouglas – All the places you can find me!

Changed By Love – My original Blog about Homeschooling, Family, Faith, and Alternative News

Copyright © 2025 Safe Haven Homeschooling, All rights reserved.

You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website.

Our mailing address is:

Safe Haven Homeschooling

3101 Bromley Place

Apt. 23

Dayton, Ohio 45420

Safe Haven News – October

Greetings Safe Haven Family!

We  finally got rain!!!

Even though it was windy and made life a little more difficult, I was still very thankful for the rain. The grass is happy, too. It’s already so much greener. It has continued to rain off and on, but we haven’t had any flooding or anything, Thank the Lord!

I feel so bad for the people affected by the hurricane, though. I’m praying for them as they try to recover from all of the damage. If you’re one of those, please let me know how you’re doing, and how I can pray for you.

If you would like to donate to the town of Erwin, TN while also getting a wonderful poetry tea time guide from Everyday Graces, here’s a link to the page where you can do just that. Her hometown, Erwin, is where the hospital staff was rescued from the roof of the hospital. I got this resource and was happy to have a way to donate. It is beautiful, just like everything Lara makes.

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A Word from the Lord for You

I wanted to share with you all this word written by Joanna Immanuel.

She sits with the Lord and listens to Him and writes what she hears.

She encourages us to do the same.

And from this word, we can see that God encourages us to do it, too.

“My Beloved,

My plans for you have always been filled with Hope. I have come to live inside of you with My love, My joy, My peace and My strength.

My plans for you have always been filled with HOPE!

My plans for you have always been to see you live in My abundance, in perfect unity with Me.

My plans for you have always been for you to live in deep fellowship and intimacy with Me.

My plans for you have always been for you to abide in Me, to live your life from the place of being seated here with Me, here in the high place, from where your daily worries and sorrows will always look so small.

It is here with Me that you understand how powerful I truly am.

It is here with Me that you understand who I am and who you are in Me.

It is here with Me that you adopt My perspective and learn to see things with My eyes, learn to see yourself with My eyes!

It is here with Me that you are transformed in My likeness.

It is here with Me that you receive more of My Love, more of My Joy, more of My Peace, more of My Strength, and more of My Wisdom.

Let them sweep deeply over your soul, so that every part of you is at rest in Me! Feel My delight over you as I envelop you in My presence! Experience My compassion over you, My Beloved!

You are called to release My healing and My miracles to others as you touch them. Here with Me I give you just the right words to share, to minister My love to them.

Always remember: It is here with Me that I anoint and empower you. You will not be shaken! You can do all things through Me who strengthens you!

It is here with Me that I inspire you and release your creativity inside of you.

It is here with Me that your gift of faith arises in you!

You are seated here with Me, and it is from staying rested here with Me that you go out in strength, knowing that I do all things well.

I order your steps and make the crooked places straight before you.

I always watch out for you, and I have you covered.

You go forth in unity with me, never alone!

Remember: You carry My love and My presence into the world today, and you have been given plenty to share!”

www.rewritten.life

Come and sit with Me for a while

You can hear her read it in a video here.

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What I’ve Been Up To

I’ve been busy writing a first grade curriculum guide and weekly review packet to sell in my Teachers Pay Teachers shop. I’m going to call it First Grade Weekly Review – Exploring Our Learning Adventures. It has been fun to put on my teacher hat and put together a curriculum that I think will be perfect for first grade. I’ll let you know when it’s finished and ready for you!

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Financial Literacy Worksheets

Financial literacy refers to the knowledge, skills, and understanding of various financial concepts and tools that enable individuals to make informed and effective decisions about their personal finances. It involves being knowledgeable about managing money, budgeting, investing, saving, borrowing, and planning for the future.

We all want our children to be financially literate, don’t we?

Get these financial literacy worksheets for FREE!

https://www.homeschoolof1.com/financial-literacy-worksheets/

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Autumn Unit Study

Embrace seasonal learning with the Autumn Unit Study + Journal! This printable unit study has everything you need to create a wonderful seasonal learning experience with guided prompts, study ideas, a book list, and more. This is 50% off.

https://www.hopeinthechaos.com/product/autumn-unit-study-journal/

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Nature Study Resources

If you have been thinking about adding more nature study to your homeschool, I’ve found some great resources

Nature School by Lauren Giordano https://www.quarto.com/books/9780760378359/nature-school?ref=heartandsoulhomeschooling and the Science Through Nature Notebook Companion by Daily Skill Building.com.

The Nature Connection: An Outdoor Workbook for Kids, Families, and Classrooms by Clare Walker Leslie

Here’s a GREAT list of Science picture books!

https://ourjourneywestward.com/100-science-picture-books/

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Favorite Products from my stores

Check out this weekender bag at my Etsy store here:

https://safehavenbypenney.etsy.com/

And in my Printify shop:

Tumbler with Pink  Wildflowers and Butterflies

Homeschool T-shirt – We Pray in School on the back Homeschoolers of America

Thank you for sharing this time with me. I pray that it has been a blessing to you.

As always, I would love to hear from you. Let me know how I can pray and what’s going on in your life. If anything here has helped you in your homeschooling or in your life, please share with me so I can rejoice with you.

I would love to share your stories in this newsletter if you have something that would encourage others in homeschooling, their spiritual life, or just life in general. Hit reply, and tell me what’s on your heart.

Grace and Peace,

Penney Douglas, B. S. in Elem. Ed.

Safe Haven Homeschooling

My books on Amazon

Curriculum I’ve created with a Charlotte Mason twist plus other conventional types of curriculum

E-course I created – The Basics of Learning and Homeschooling

Coaching Course I created – Also called The Basics of Learning and Homeschooling – I take you through the course and do a coaching call with you each month

My shop for homeschool merch, t-shirts, mugs, notebooks, phone covers, and much more!

linktr.ee/penneydouglas – All the places you can find me!

My original blog at Changed By Love – chock full of content about homeschooling, family, spiritual life, and alternative news.

Safe Haven Newsletter – November

Happy Fall, Safe Haven Family!

It’s finally feeling like Fall here. I went out without a sweater this evening and realized that sweater weather is here! I’m loving the colors of the leaves on the beautiful Ohio maple trees. I was sick for a week and missed some of the transformation, but I’m getting back out there and staring at them as hard as I can before the beauty disappears and the poor trees look like desolate, barren collections of sticks again.

So how is homeschooling going for all of you?

What good book are you reading with your kids right now? Are you taking advantage of the cooler weather and cuddling up by the fire and reading a cozy family story or an exciting adventure story to your family?

Speaking of adventure stories, are you planning to read The Green Ember to your kids this year? Or is it on the reading list for one of your kids? Head on over to Teachers Pay Teachers and grab The Green Ember Copywork Journal .

This copywork journal can be printed out so that you can keep all of your copywork for The Green Ember in one place. The selections are chosen for their advanced vocabulary, figurative language, and important parts of the story. If your child reads all of the copywork selections, they will get a review of the main parts of the story. It could be used to help with narrations to give hints of what happened next. Important themes and lessons are included in the copywork selections, too. You can let the child choose which ones to copy each day, or you can assign them. They are arranged by chapter and are chronological. There’s even a crossword puzzle to give more practice with vocabulary.

(Keep reading all the way down to the fire emojis to get a great deal on my copywork journal.)

If you don’t know what The Green Ember series is about, check this out:

“Heather and Picket are extraordinary rabbits with ordinary lives until calamitous events overtake them, spilling them into a cauldron of misadventures. They discover that their own story is bound up in the tumult threatening to overwhelm the wider world.

Kings fall and kingdoms totter. Tyrants ascend and terrors threaten. Betrayal beckons, and loyalty is a broken road with peril around every bend.

Where will Heather and Picket land? How will they make their stand?”

I have read this whole series. Even the in-between books. Check out this post to find out what I mean by that. This series is so good that I read it all to myself, not even with kids. You can get these books free on Kindle Unlimited. Don’t miss out on this wonderful series that has been compared to Redwall and Narnia. If you like epic adventures featuring unlikely heroic animals, you will love this series. Some good lessons are taught while your kids aren’t looking. Such as…

And if you need to be reminded of the Benefits of Copywork, check out this post.

🔥If you want a REAL bargain, order The Green Ember Copywork Journal during my Black Friday Sale Nov. 29-Dec. 2! 🔥

My whole TPT store will be 15% off for those 4 days.

Come to Safe Haven Homeschooling on Teachers Pay Teachers during the Black Friday sale and get some great deals on curriculum you can sink your teeth into.

Here’s a Freebie full of all the Fun Ways you can Homeschool in November.

And another Freebie of Wonderful books to read with your children to help them learn about Gratitude.

Gratitude.

Are you finding it hard to be grateful these days?

Times are tough for all of us. Almost everybody I know is struggling financially and emotionally. And some are struggling physically. Is God listening to our prayers? Sometimes we wonder when hard things last a long time.

I have some ideas to help you focus on the good things in your life even when it’s hard.

I have a gratitude journal that forces me to write something down each day that I’m grateful for. Sometimes it takes a while. I can always be thankful for my health (now that I have it back!) and my kids’ health and safety and my husband (He’s my default blessing I’m grateful for when I can’t think of anything else).

But there are other things like the colors of the leaves and the cooler weather that stir feelings of gratitude. And little kindnesses that people invariably do to make life a little more cheerful. And when I do hear of an answered prayer, it causes gratitude to bubble up.

Another thing I’m grateful for is hope. I have hope that it’s not always going to be like this. I really believe that the best is yet to come. I don’t believe the gloom and doom scenarios. I think we’ve already been through the gloom and doom. I believe we’re headed into something glorious! I have reasons for what I believe, so I’m not just irrationally hoping that things will turn out different than what has been foretold. We were foretold incorrect information, misinterpreted verses from the Bible, and a mistaken eschatology. For more on this, watch Johnny Enlow Unfiltered Episode 55 on Elijah Streams.

But I have to give a note of caution. Everywhere I look I see people warning us to buckle up because things are going to get a bit rocky. Like for the next 6 months. What? Haven’t we been through enough? Isn’t the election going to solve everything? From what I hear, the battle is not over quite yet. As they have told us over and over again, it’s good to stock up and stay prepared as much as possible.

God will get us through this final stretch. He does hear our prayers, and the answers have caused all of this havoc. The corruption had to be exposed. That’s what many of us prayed for. The system had to be changed. Many things are being dismantled and will have to be rebuilt from the ground up.

That will be our job when we get to the other side of all of this. You are called and chosen to rebuild the ruined cities just like in Isaiah 61:4 —

“They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.”

So get your gratitude journal and write about the things that are coming that you can be grateful for if you’re struggling to find something to be grateful for right now.

I just so happen to have a Gratitude and Listening Prayer Journal in my TPT store. 😊

Buy it now or wait until the Black Friday Sale.

Speaking of Gratitude, do you need some ideas for ways to make Thanksgiving fun and exciting for your family? My friend, Shannon, has put together an amazing Plan for the Fam to help you celebrate Thanksgiving in a way that the whole family will enjoy. She has recipes, crafts, photo booth ideas, a fun game, and meaningful ways to help your family connect. She even shows us how to make it easier on mom so that she isn’t left with all the work.

Watch this video and this one to see what’s included in this fabulous activity book that she put together to ensure that your Thanksgiving is fun, easy, and meaningful. Here’s another video with a little more of a glimpse into the book.

 You can contact Shannon Leigh B.  here on Facebook and comment on this post to find out how to get  your Thanksgiving Book and why you need it.

You’ll find her at The Connected Family on Facebook at this post that also gives more info. about the book. I think you’ll really like it! And your family will love the activities!

Thank you for spending this time with me today.

I pray that you and your family are kept safe through this time of transition. And that all of your needs are met in Him.

Love,

Penney Douglas, B. S. in Elem. Ed.

Safe Haven Homeschooling

My books on Amazon

Curriculum I’ve created with a Charlotte Mason twist plus other conventional types of curriculum

E-course I created – The Basics of Learning and Homeschooling

Coaching Course I created – Also called The Basics of Learning and Homeschooling – I take you through the course and do a coaching call with you each month

My shop for homeschool merch, t-shirts, mugs, notebooks, phone covers, and much more!

linktr.ee/penneydouglas – All the places you can find me!

Changed By Love – My original Blog about Homeschooling, Family, Faith, and Alternative News

Copyright © 2025 Safe Haven Homeschooling, All rights reserved.

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Our mailing address is:

Safe Haven Homeschooling

3101 Bromley Place

Apt. 23

Dayton, Ohio 45420

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Happy Fall, Safe Haven Family!

It’s finally feeling like Fall here. I went out without a sweater this evening and realized that sweater weather is here! I’m loving the colors of the leaves on the beautiful Ohio maple trees. I was sick for a week and missed some of the transformation, but I’m getting back out there and staring at them as hard as I can before the beauty disappears and the poor trees look like desolate, barren collections of sticks again.

So how is homeschooling going for all of you?

What good book are you reading with your kids right now? Are you taking advantage of the cooler weather and cuddling up by the fire and reading a cozy family story or an exciting adventure story to your family?

Speaking of adventure stories, are you planning to read The Green Ember to your kids this year? Or is it on the reading list for one of your kids? Head on over to Teachers Pay Teachers and grab The Green Ember Copywork Journal .

This copywork journal can be printed out so that you can keep all of your copywork for The Green Ember in one place. The selections are chosen for their advanced vocabulary, figurative language, and important parts of the story. If your child reads all of the copywork selections, they will get a review of the main parts of the story. It could be used to help with narrations to give hints of what happened next. Important themes and lessons are included in the copywork selections, too. You can let the child choose which ones to copy each day, or you can assign them. They are arranged by chapter and are chronological. There’s even a crossword puzzle to give more practice with vocabulary.

(Keep reading all the way down to the fire emojis to get a great deal on my copywork journal.)

If you don’t know what The Green Ember series is about, check this out:

“Heather and Picket are extraordinary rabbits with ordinary lives until calamitous events overtake them, spilling them into a cauldron of misadventures. They discover that their own story is bound up in the tumult threatening to overwhelm the wider world.

Kings fall and kingdoms totter. Tyrants ascend and terrors threaten. Betrayal beckons, and loyalty is a broken road with peril around every bend.

Where will Heather and Picket land? How will they make their stand?”

I have read this whole series. Even the in-between books. Check out this post to find out what I mean by that. This series is so good that I read it all to myself, not even with kids. You can get these books free on Kindle Unlimited. Don’t miss out on this wonderful series that has been compared to Redwall and Narnia. If you like epic adventures featuring unlikely heroic animals, you will love this series. Some good lessons are taught while your kids aren’t looking. Such as…

And if you need to be reminded of the Benefits of Copywork, check out this post.

🔥If you want a REAL bargain, order The Green Ember Copywork Journal during my Black Friday Sale Nov. 29-Dec. 2! 🔥

My whole TPT store will be 15% off for those 4 days.

Come to Safe Haven Homeschooling on Teachers Pay Teachers during the Black Friday sale and get some great deals on curriculum you can sink your teeth into.

Here’s a Freebie full of all the Fun Ways you can Homeschool in November.

And another Freebie of Wonderful books to read with your children to help them learn about Gratitude.

Gratitude.

Are you finding it hard to be grateful these days?

Times are tough for all of us. Almost everybody I know is struggling financially and emotionally. And some are struggling physically. Is God listening to our prayers? Sometimes we wonder when hard things last a long time.

I have some ideas to help you focus on the good things in your life even when it’s hard.

I have a gratitude journal that forces me to write something down each day that I’m grateful for. Sometimes it takes a while. I can always be thankful for my health (now that I have it back!) and my kids’ health and safety and my husband (He’s my default blessing I’m grateful for when I can’t think of anything else).

But there are other things like the colors of the leaves and the cooler weather that stir feelings of gratitude. And little kindnesses that people invariably do to make life a little more cheerful. And when I do hear of an answered prayer, it causes gratitude to bubble up.

Another thing I’m grateful for is hope. I have hope that it’s not always going to be like this. I really believe that the best is yet to come. I don’t believe the gloom and doom scenarios. I think we’ve already been through the gloom and doom. I believe we’re headed into something glorious! I have reasons for what I believe, so I’m not just irrationally hoping that things will turn out different than what has been foretold. We were foretold incorrect information, misinterpreted verses from the Bible, and a mistaken eschatology. For more on this, watch Johnny Enlow Unfiltered Episode 55 on Elijah Streams.

But I have to give a note of caution. Everywhere I look I see people warning us to buckle up because things are going to get a bit rocky. Like for the next 6 months. What? Haven’t we been through enough? Isn’t the election going to solve everything? From what I hear, the battle is not over quite yet. As they have told us over and over again, it’s good to stock up and stay prepared as much as possible.

God will get us through this final stretch. He does hear our prayers, and the answers have caused all of this havoc. The corruption had to be exposed. That’s what many of us prayed for. The system had to be changed. Many things are being dismantled and will have to be rebuilt from the ground up.

That will be our job when we get to the other side of all of this. You are called and chosen to rebuild the ruined cities just like in Isaiah 61:4 —

“They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.”

So get your gratitude journal and write about the things that are coming that you can be grateful for if you’re struggling to find something to be grateful for right now.

I just so happen to have a Gratitude and Listening Prayer Journal in my TPT store. 😊
Buy it now or wait until the Black Friday Sale.

Speaking of Gratitude, do you need some ideas for ways to make Thanksgiving fun and exciting for your family? My friend, Shannon, has put together an amazing Plan for the Fam to help you celebrate Thanksgiving in a way that the whole family will enjoy. She has recipes, crafts, photo booth ideas, a fun game, and meaningful ways to help your family connect. She even shows us how to make it easier on mom so that she isn’t left with all the work.

Watch this video and this one to see what’s included in this fabulous activity book that she put together to ensure that your Thanksgiving is fun, easy, and meaningful. Here’s another video with a little more of a glimpse into the book.

You can contact Shannon Leigh B.  here on Facebook and comment on this post to find out how to get  your Thanksgiving Book and why you need it.

You’ll find her at The Connected Family on Facebook at this post that also gives more info. about the book. I think you’ll really like it! And your family will love the activities!

Thank you for spending this time with me today.

I pray that you and your family are kept safe through this time of transition. And that all of your needs are met in Him.

Love,

Penney Douglas, B. S. in Elem. Ed.

Safe Haven Homeschooling

My books on Amazon

Curriculum I’ve created with a Charlotte Mason twist plus other conventional types of curriculum

E-course I created – The Basics of Learning and Homeschooling

Coaching Course I created – Also called The Basics of Learning and Homeschooling – I take you through the course and do a coaching call with you each month

My shop for homeschool merch, t-shirts, mugs, notebooks, phone covers, and much more!

linktr.ee/penneydouglas – All the places you can find me!

Changed By Love – My original Blog about Homeschooling, Family, Faith, and Alternative News

Copyright © 2025 Safe Haven Homeschooling, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website.Our mailing address is:
Safe Haven Homeschooling3101 Bromley Place

Apt. 23

Dayton, Ohio 45420

Add us to your address book