Family

FPEA Florida Homeschool Convention in Orlando Supports and Guides Families

There are currently about 2.2 million homeschoolers in the United States. It is growing incredibly and is more and more visible locally, according to Sue Puchferran, a member of the Home Education Foundation Board of Directors. Still for parents and students who are new to homeschooling, it can be intimidating. Newcomers may wonder where to start, how to get involved, how to purchase curriculum and many other concerning questions. Fortunately, the Florida Parent Educators Association comes along side new and veteran homeschool families to help them make the best decisions possible for their children’s education. This is partially achieved through […]

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Mothers in a Multi-Cultural Family

Mothers in a multi-cultural family are heroes. These moms cherish the wealth that cultural diversity can bring and bravely face the inevitable clash of beliefs, values, attitudes and behaviors. They intimately know it can be exasperating in a different way. As one multi-cultural family mother said, “Most of the people in the world who drive me nuts… are in my family.”Another mother called it, “Genuine blind love.” Different research studies estimate that within 20 years white-Caucasian people will no longer be a majority in America. Even more stunning, EthniFacts Research claims this was already the case in August 2014. How […]

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Responding to Poor Grades

School is about to come to an end. Summer break is just around the corner, and sandwiched in between school and summer are the end of the year report cards. This can be the greatest day of your child’s life, or it can be the end of the world for some children. Everything that they have learned comes down to one of five letters of the alphabet. Ten months of their time and effort is reflected by one piece of paper stuffed into a yellow envelope. And what does this report tell parents? Pass or fail? Academic success or failure? […]

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Memorial Day: It’s Not Just About the Barbecue and the Beach

I love Christmas and Easter. I am grateful for the birth and earthly sacrifice our Heavenly Father rendered that we may spend eternity with Him. But daily there are sacrifices our countrymen are giving that have bought our freedom nationally, and rarely if ever do I see it celebrated in the fashion it deserves. Memorial Day is one of my favorite holidays. It’s not about the barbecue. It’s not even about the beach or the beer or just another Monday off. Memorial Day is about those who paid the price for our freedom, those precious men and women who served […]

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Life Lessons Learned While Camping

Family vacations are always a great opportunity to learn and grow together. During a Spring Break Family Getaway with other families to Camp Kulaqua in April, I learned three important lessons about life.   Working together is necessary and rewarding When doing things together or with other families, we call our family Team Blackstone. This last camping trip we got to do one thing we love doing a lot, canoeing with large squirt guns and other families we know, or kind of know. With a family of six, you have to have two canoes, which is great for flanking other […]

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Tokens of Love on Mother’s Day

As Mother’s Day approaches, offspring often fear finding the perfect gift to fit the perfect mom. Every year many ask themselves, what could I possibly get the woman who did so much for me? Never fear, there are gifts for all mothers whether they already have it all, are super picky or refuse to even hint at what they would like. For over one hundred years people have thought long and hard about what to get the most important woman in their lives.   History Many people believe that Mother’s day was devised by Hallmark and other retail companies as […]

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Parents Should Take an Offensive Stance for Drug and Alcohol Prevention

Raising teenagers in South Florida is challenging. Pressure for teenagers to smoke cigarettes, do drugs and drink alcohol are prevalent in society. The problem can be found in our schools, neighborhoods and parks . My neighborhood is a family neighborhood, which backs up to a large church. And yet, my teenage boys have been offered drugs while shooting hoops in the park. Church kids skip out on church to smoke pot in the park. Most public schools have accepted teen drug and alcohol use, and Christian schools are facing the challenge of binge drinking parties and marijuana use. The problem […]

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Helping Your Kids… When You Can’t Be There!

When our children come home from school depressed and crying, wailing and sobbing, we hurt with them! We were not there to help them. Sometimes they acted out of a raging emotional storm in a not-so-positive way, and then were sent to the principal’s office. With that news, we hurt some more. We couldn’t be there. Kids face problems alone. Some issues include mistakes and embarrassment in class, teasing, name calling, mockery, fears and anxieties. What can we do to help them? Is there a good answer? Oh, yes! There’s a strong, proven, researched method to significantly help our kids […]

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Pretty Little Liars

At one point or another, as a parent there is a certainty that your child will lie to you. Guaranteed. If you haven’t caught junior in a whopper yet then either you’re blind to it or he’s not yet old enough to be speaking.   I remember telling fibs and outright tall tales to my parents. My dad had a nose for truth, and I never really got by with much. But the worst part of having told a lie was the inevitable “Now you have lost our trust and have to earn it back” speech. I’ve heard that scenario […]

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Why I Don’t Want To Raise an Obedient Child

It’s funny the things people will ask me when they discover I have 15 children. Most times, the questions are a barrage of “How do you do it?” and “Don’t you know what causes that?” Sometimes the questions are heartfelt: “How did you get to adopt four children?” or “Why have so many?” But one of the most important questions that rarely gets asked is “What’s the most important thing I can teach my children?” Of course the most vital thing to teach any child is the redemptive power that faith in Jesus gives us. But past this, most parents just tend […]

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