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My Favorite Living Books and Authors

 

I love to read Living Books to children. 

Charlotte Mason gave us some clues about how to identify Living Books. If you want to ascertain if a book is a Living Book or not, ask these questions about it.

  1. Is the writing of excellent quality?
    2. Does it contain living ideas and knowledge suitable for the child?
    3. Does the child react with delight caused by the spark of ideas?
    4. Does it make an impact on the reader’s mind (shown by his narrations)?

I have read so many books that I feel meet these requirements.

Below is a list that I put together of some of my favorites, along with authors that have written excellent stories that have stood the test of time. I consider most of the books they have written Living Books. I suppose you could call them Living Authors!

Enjoy this LIST of LIVING BOOKS Selected by Penney Douglas

Safe Haven Newsletter for July

Hello Safe Haven Family,

I want to welcome my new subscribers. Thank you for joining us on this homeschool journey. You are called and chosen to make a difference in this world! Thank you for answering the call to live a life separate from the ways of the world and to raise your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. We protect their innocence when they’re young, and we help direct them into their calling as they get older. We support their efforts to step out into the world to do the thing that God has gifted and called them to while we are their safety net until they are established on their own.

Some of my readers are not homeschooling, but I know that you raised your children with godly values, so you are also making a difference in culture. And you have fought the good fight to keep your marriage strong. You have kept your children close to your hearts and taught them how to build healthy relationships.

The family is the building block of society. As the family unit has been weakened by society’s changing views toward marriage, divorce, living together, and the value of having children, society is losing all semblance of sanity and wholesomeness. One of the big purposes of marriage and family is to protect children. As marriage has lost its credibility in the eyes of the younger generations, children are coming into this world with no stability or security.

That’s why I encourage people to do Familyschooling. As homeschoolers, we can do this easily. All we need to do is focus on building a strong foundation by teaching our values, views, and habits and reinforcing them as we live our lives with our children. We can create a family culture that will make our children proud to be a part of our family and give them a sense of belonging to something bigger than themselves. We can develop a Family Mission Statement so that our children know what our family stands for.

As a homeschool mom or a mom who is intentionally raising godly, caring children, you are making a difference in the world. You may feel hidden and unnoticed, but what you’re doing is building people of good character and values to carry on your legacy and to be salt and light in this dark world.

For more information about these ideas, check out 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families by Stephen Covey and The Successful Homeschool Family Handbook by Dr. Raymond Moore.

I also have a couple of blog posts you might want to check out about Familyschooling and writing a Family Mission Statement.

We had a wonderful Intentional Homeschool Planning Conference! During the conference we talked about Familyschooling and Lifeschooling and Relaxed Homeschooling. Plus a whole lot more. Everything you need to know about homeschooling high school was covered in our 28 workshops. If you missed it live, you can still get the whole conference with the replays of all the speakers and the bonuses. But get it soon. Some of the bonuses have expiration dates. And the videos will be available until the last day of December. The price will also be going up soon, so act fast! Get it here:
Intentional Homeschool Planning Conference

Here’s a great unit study about the 4th of July which is full of wonderful ideas for books to read and activities to do to learn more about this holiday and why we celebrate it.

FamilyFaithLegacy.etsy.com
4th of July Unit Study for K-3

And the book we will be reading this month for our Christian Moms Book Club is Wait and See by Wendy Pope. The description on Amazon says this: “In Wait and See, Wendy Pope guides readers to focus on the Person of their faith rather than the object of their wait. Pope draws on the story of King David, who was anointed king nearly twenty years before he took his throne. This hands-on guidebook invites readers to record their own waiting discoveries.”

Please join us this month, July 19, for our Book Club.

Have you heard about the movie about global child trafficking that will be in theaters starting on the 4th of July called Sound of Freedom? Find out where it will be showing near you, and try to go on the first day, July 4th. 

Thank you for reading, and as always, please let me know if you have any prayer requests. Just hit reply and tell me how you’re doing. I would love to hear from you!

Love,

Penney Douglas, B.S. in Ed.

Safe Haven Homeschooling

Safe Haven Homeschooling blog
linktr.ee/penneydouglas
Amazon.com/author/penneydouglas
Homeschooling Can Be Fun Facebook Group
My Pinterest
Kingdom Homeschool Mom Facebook Page
Safe Haven Homeschooling Facebook Page
Instagram
E-course called The Basics of Learning and Homeschooling
Changed by Love blog

Copyright © 2023 Safe Haven Homeschooling, All rights reserved.

You CAN Homeschool High School!

Some people think of homeschooling as something that is only for young children, and then at some point you need to put them in “school”.

I disagree. I think the best thing we can do for our kids is to homeschool them all the way through high school.
If you desire to keep that warm, close relationship that you’ve been building with your teen instead of sending him or her away just because you’re afraid you can’t do a good job of covering the high school years, I’ve got good news for you. It’s not hard to homeschool high school. By the time they’re in high school, they can do everything independently. All you have to do is find out what they’re interested in and let them major in that. You can find curriculum for the basic subjects like English, Math, Science, and Social Studies and let them work through it on their own.
Just think about what high school was like for you. Did the teachers really teach you by their lectures, or did you learn by reading the books? Or did you really learn at all? Or did you just do whatever you had to do to pass the tests and make good grades.
Homeschooling your child through high school is your best chance to let them learn what they really need to learn in life. And to keep them from losing all of the values and ideals you worked so hard to instill in them. To me, putting them in school is tantamount to undoing all the work you did up to that point. That’s how I feel about it.
So to help you feel more confident about homeschooling them through high school, I’ll give you a few tips.
  1. Making a transcript is not hard. I have made transcripts for many people. I have a template I use that makes it very easy.
  2. You don’t even have to keep grades in the different subjects unless you want to. I estimate grades for the transcript based on the student’s effort and their interest in the subject. The grades given by teachers in schools are often subjective and don’t always reflect the level of knowledge of the student. You may need to think differently about grades and how important they really are. Give your student a grade that reflects how well they learned the subject, not how well they did on tests.
  3. Let your teen help plan what they want to study. Give them the chance to take the reins and make their education their own. This is their education, not yours. All you need to do is facilitate. Help them get whatever supplies, courses, or opportunities they need to dig deeper into the things that they are interested in and may want to do as a future career. You can even help them with hobbies they enjoy and give them time to enjoy them.
  4. There are ways to get your kids into sports if they are great athletes, and it means a lot to them. There are some schools that allow homeschoolers to play, some Christian schools. You just have to research and find a way to make it happen. It may not be easy, but God will guide you and help you find everything you need for your children.
  5. They can get a job, and their employers will love them, because they are available at times other students are not available to work.
  6. You can find a group that has a nice graduation ceremony if that’s important to you. Again, just research and find out what’s available in your area.
  7. And you can get a nice diploma for your student. I like to use Homeschooldiploma.com. I have used them many times, and their diplomas look very professional and authentic. You don’t need to feel like you aren’t qualified to give your child a diploma. You are more qualified than the teachers who would have barely known your child and could only assess them based on a few hours in their class. You know your child. You know the time and effort they put into their studies. You know their interests and their hopes and dreams. You are the most qualified to pronounce that they are ready to move on to the next stage of life. 
        So I hope this helps you to feel better about your ability to homeschool your child all the way through high school. It may take more work to find some of the things that schools provide, but, in the end, it will be a much better experience for you and for your child.

Here’s the Transcript I like to use. 

If you have any questions, email me and I would be glad to help you! penneymaried@yahoo.com – Use the subject heading “Homeschooling High School”

June Newsletter from Safe Haven Homeschooling

Hello Safe Haven Family,

I hope this season is going well for you and your family. Are you busy with weddings, picnics, graduations, and gardening?

I looked at the Almanac and saw that there are some fun days that we can celebrate in June besides the main ones that may not be something we would want to celebrate, if you get my drift.

Just for fun you could celebrate:June 1: Say Something Nice Day
June 3: Chimborazo Day
June 6: National Yo-Yo Day
June 8: Upsy Daisy Day
June 21: Go Skateboarding Day
June 30: Asteroid Day

I had never heard of Chimborazo Day, but here’s what it is:
Chimborazo Day is celebrated on June 3rd every year to honor the highest point on Earth, Chimborazo mountain, located in the Cordillera Occidental range of the Andes in Ecuador. The mountain measures 20,000 feet, which is less than Mount Everest, which is more than 29,000 feet. It is also a day for hiking enthusiasts to hit the closest trail.

So you could go hiking on June 3 and say that you’re celebrating Chimborazo Day. Just for fun!

National Upsy Daisy Day is a sweet one.
National Upsy Daisy Day is celebrated on June 8 every year to encourage people to face the day positively and wake up each morning feeling grateful, glorious, and gleeful. It was created in 2003 by Stephanie West Allen to remind people that every day is a gift and it is important to start our day with a good attitude and a smile on our faces.

These are much better things to celebrate than what the culture is telling us we are supposed to celebrate in June. Of course, Flag Day is good. And Summer Solstice is nice since it’s the day with the most hours of daylight. We don’t have to go along with the woke holidays that the media tries to push on us.

My family went to a circus in our little town of Farmersville. We really enjoyed it! Those circus performers are in great shape!

No, this is not a picture of the circus performers! It’s my family.

Have you noticed that I haven’t said anything about current events yet in this newsletter? I thought I would give you a break from the serious stuff.
——–😇😇😇———–

Okay, break’s over!

Well, there’s some good news. The Durham Report finally came out! It’s full of evidence that the Clinton campaign and all of the Russia, Russia, Russia conspirators made up the whole thing to interfere with an election and to try to unseat a sitting President.

And Marjorie Taylor Green is going to impeach them all!

Have you thought about what the word “conspiracy” means? It means “a secret plan for accomplishing evil or unlawful ends”. Is there anything in that definition that says a conspiracy is automatically FALSE?  No, there isn’t. In fact, there are evil people that have been conspiring together all throughout history. It’s not a theory. It’s a proven fact.

This transgender movement is a conspiracy between some people who have been planning this for years. This is part of their plan for depopulation. Protect your children as much as you can from all of the propaganda. It is insidious. It’s treacherous. It’s everywhere!

One thing you can do to help shield your kids is to affirm their identity in Christ. Tell them they are fearfully and wonderfully made, and that God made them just the way they are. Read Psalm 139:13-18 from The Passion Translation to your children.

I’m about to boycott the library. I can’t believe the flood of “pride” books and activities they are promoting. Here again is that flood of dissipation! It makes me sad (and MAD) because the library used to be one of my favorite places to go.

These terrible things that are happening in our nation and around the world are all related and come from those conspiracy folks – the ones who have truly been conspiring to carry out evil plans. The prostitution, pornography, human trafficking, child trafficking, pedophilia, transgender, and homosexual agenda are all linked. Their next goal is to decriminalize pedophilia. All are a perversion of God’s gift of sexuality. And all are meant to keep people from living the life God has called them to.

The enemy has captured a lot of victims through these methods. It’s time for us to take these victims back for the Kingdom.

1. We can decree and declare that those who have been taken into this bondage are delivered and set free.
2. Pray for individuals that you know who are in bondage to pornography to be delivered.
3. Pray for a spirit of repentance over this nation and the world.
4. Pray for the children who have been kidnapped and forced into slavery. Pray for their escape and their rescue.

Well, I couldn’t keep from talking about this issue since it’s in all of our faces every day. I pray that you and your families will be protected from this evil agenda. I have friends who have been affected by it, and it’s heartbreaking. Let’s all pray for our children and the children of the world.

Let’s not allow this younger generation to be lost to the woke agenda and the absolutely twisted view of right and wrong. Homeschool your kids or find the best possible alternative to public school. It won’t guarantee that your kids will escape this crazy world’s entrapment, but it increases their odds.

Speaking of which…

~~~~~~~~~~~~Homeschool Corner~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sign up for the waitlist for The Intentional Homeschool Planning Conference 2023!

Jessica Anderson is the founder and host of this conference. This is the third year we’ve done this conference, and this will be the best one yet!

This year’s conference is focused on providing parents and students with a Christ-centered approach to homeschooling that emphasizes the importance of identity and purpose. We believe that by unlocking their potential through a personalized homeschooling plan, students can thrive academically and spiritually.

I have been privileged to help Jessica with these conferences, and I can tell you that Jessica has a pure heart and a burning desire to help homeschool families and children. We both want to bless the homeschool community and to bring the best speakers and the best experience for those who are committed to homeschooling their children all the way through high school.

You don’t want to miss The Intentional Homeschool Planning Conference if you are planning to homeschool all the way to graduation (and beyond)! You will learn the nuts and bolts of homeschooling high school and be encouraged, inspired, and fired up to carry on with this homeschool adventure and to finish well. We can give our children the best possible education with God’s help and His wisdom.

Come and catch the spirit and enthusiasm of homeschool experts who will pass on their knowledge and settle your doubts and fears about homeschooling high school.

Come and join us for an exciting time of learning and fellowship!

And now let’s talk about BOOKS!

A Book Club, that is!

Another great opportunity for learning and fellowship is our Christian Mom’s Book Club. We have such a good time discussing some great books about homeschooling, parenting, and discipleship. We have even been blessed to have some of the authors come and visit us when we talk about their books! Keep yourself refreshed and motivated by joining us for our Christian Mom’s Book Club.

Mom’s Book Club

And here’s a freebie for you! My Copywork Journal that gives you a place to keep your child’s copywork and also provides some ideas for finding good selections to copy!

Thanks for reading! Have a Blessed June and a Glorious Summer!

If you have any prayer requests, hit reply and let me know.

If you have any questions, hit reply and I’ll give you more details about the conference or the book club or whatever else.

Don’t forget to check out my books on Amazon and my curriculum on Teachers Pay Teachers!

Love,

Penney Douglas, B.S. in Ed.
Safe Haven Homeschooling

Changed By Love – my personal blog
linktr.ee/penneydouglas
Homeschool Books I’ve written – on Amazon (other books I’ve written too!)
Homeschool Curriculum I’ve written – on Teachers Pay Teachers
Homeschooling Can Be Fun Facebook Group

Copyright © 2023 Safe Haven Homeschooling, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website.

The Best is Yet to Come!

Dear Safe Haven Family,

How is your faith doing? Is it growing or shrinking? Check your faith level, and report back to me. (Just kidding). These times are testing our faith, but that’s good. How can our faith grow unless we use it? Our faith is getting stronger as we’re working it just like our muscles get stronger as we work them.

Our faith pleases God. The Bible tells us that it’s impossible to please God without faith. The Lord showed me that our faith is precious to Him. When we trust Him, we show Him that we really love Him.

I recently watched a video by JP Sears called “I Changed My Mind about God and Here’s Why”. In it he tells about how the whole plandemic and the things that happened around it caused him to become more Christian without even trying!

I think that has happened for a lot of people. I see more people praying when disaster strikes, even newscasters on mainstream media. And there just seems to be an atmosphere in the public square of accepted belief in God and prayer. Things seem so bleak in the natural that many people are turning their hearts to spiritual things.

I’m sure the revivals are making an impact, too.

At the same time, the assault on our youth is escalating exponentially. They are stealing the innocence of our children. Drag Queen Story Hours are happening everywhere. I can’t understand parents who would take their child to something like that. And some people are talking about starting Gender Affirming Care that entails hormone therapy and cutting off body parts for children under 16.

Watch a video about people who are detransitioning after the nightmare of trying to live a false life.

And here’s a video about a Navy Seal who transitioned to a woman, then regretted it, and has detransitioned back to a man.

A Swedish study found that “Death for sex-reassigned persons was higher than for controls of same birth sex, particularly death from suicide. They also had increased risk for suicide attempts and psychiatric inpatient care.”

And child trafficking is being exposed by a whistleblower who was working for the government.

In spite of these trends, I still believe that the best is yet to come. One reason I believe this is that these terrible things are being exposed, and people are standing up against them. Many of these atrocities have been happening for decades, but they were hidden. Now they are being exposed to the light, and we know that light defeats darkness.

We are all going through a test of faith. Unfortunately, many have fallen to the enemy and have believed the media, Hollywood, the schools, and the government. They handed over their freedom and pushed others to do the same. But there are also many that have been awakened.  Many have realized that this planet needs God. We all need Him. We need Him to help us recognize the truth from lies.

We need His healing power and signs and wonders and miracles. We need His protection. We need the comfort and hope that He gives us through His Holy Spirit. And we need to know that He loves us and is with us through all of this. He has a plan to deliver us from the evil governments that have been running almost every nation. And He is carrying out His plan through people. It is very covert. They don’t reveal what they’re up to, because they don’t want the enemy to know their plans.

They are working to take back all of the mountains of influence – government, arts and entertainment, media, education, family, religion, and business. You see all the shake-ups among the banks? Why is that happening? Because these heroes are taking the dirty money away from them, which they have been gaining by usury and extortion for decades or centuries. You see the exposure of child trafficking? It has been happening all over the world for a long time. Why are we just now hearing about it? Because it is being dealt with – by our military and others who are involved in rescuing children.

You hear about Hunter’s laptop? That is exposing the illegal and immoral activities our highest “elected” officials have been involved in for a long, long time. Don’t forget Anthony Weiner’s laptop. It exposes the elites that he worked closely with. (I won’t mention her name here.) The criminal acts of the FBI, the DOJ, and the CIA are being uncovered. There are some good people who work at these agencies, and some of them are whistle blowers, but the ones at the top are corrupt.

Many of the emergencies and disasters that have happened or seem likely to happen soon are caused by the cabal panicking and fighting to protect their assets or find other ways to make more money. They also find new ways to destroy our lives any chance they get. They consider us chattel – property. They think they are better than us. So their goal is to kill most of us, so they can have everything to themselves. Look up the Georgia Guidestones and read about their plan to reduce the population of the world to 500 million. Just think of how many people they would have to kill!

That’s why they treated patients the way they did during the plandemic. They used a protocol in every hospital that caused many deaths and would not allow doctors to use any other treatments like ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine. They knew that these medicines work and are safe, but they told everyone the opposite. But it’s all coming out now. Many countries and industries are taking down the mandates and giving people their jobs back with back pay. The FDA says the monovalent Moderna and Pfizer covid vaccines are no longer authorized in the US.

And if you want to hear proof that there really is a plan in operation to take the world back from the evil rulers, listen to Derek Johnson lay it all out for you.

So be of good cheer! I’m not kidding when I say “The best is yet to come”. I have faith, and I have proof. I see signs that the systems that have kept us in bondage are being dismantled before our eyes. And don’t worry about the failure of the fiat dollar. We are getting a new currency soon that is gold-backed.

God is with us. And God wins!

~~~~~~~~~~~Homeschool Corner~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What is copywork and why should we use it in our homeschool?

In a nutshell, copywork is just copying written text. But it is a really good way to give your children practice in writing and interacting with great literature. There are so many benefits of using copywork in your homeschooling. Handwriting practice is just one of them. They also learn grammar rules, syntax of composition, vocabulary, spelling, and the beauty of written words. Copywork allows the reader time to digest the thoughts, ideas, and words of great authors and of Scripture. It causes them to pay attention to words and to focus on details. The more they interact with great writing, the more they will start to think the same way and write the same way. The very act of writing something helps us to remember it better. So copywork is a very good practice to include in your Language Arts program.

I made a journal that you can use to keep your child’s copywork all together in one place. I included some writing prompts and guidance for what kind of writing to choose to copy.

You can get my FREE Copywork Journal at Teachers Pay Teachers.

Read my blog post about “The Benefits of Copywork”.

Here are some free notebook pages for copywork from a site that I really like.
If you are looking for a God-centered Mom’s Book Club for moms who desire support, prayer, and building friendships, look no further!

This unique Christian Mom’s Book Club is entirely focused on equipping you to have the tools you need so you can continue to grow in your relationship with Christ and be intentional with your life.

We will help you take action to implement a task/strategy that you learned in each book and share it with the group so you can receive feedback and we can cheer you on.

Join us here at Christian Moms Book Club

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Sign up for the waitlist today for the Intentional Homeschool Planning Conference so you can gain early access to registration and receive updates as they become available. Stay tuned, as I’ll be sharing more about this exciting event in the coming weeks!

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And, as always, please consider joining us at our Intentional Homeschool Planning Community where you will get coaching, support, encouragement, and fellowship with homeschool moms who are in the trenches with you and love to share this homeschool life together.

Thanks for reading!

Any questions or prayer requests, hit reply and let me know.

Love,
Penney Douglas
Safe Haven Homeschooling

Changed By Love Blog
linktr.ee/penneydouglas
Amazon Books by Penney
Curriculum by Penney -Narration Journals and other Journals
E-course – The Basics of Learning and Homeschooling

Copyright © 2023 Safe Haven Homeschooling, All rights reserved.