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Having learned to knit and crochet as a child, I have had a decades-long love of the fiberarts!

Naturally, I wanted to pass along this love of knitting to my own children, but it served a threefold purpose: 1) a relaxing, sensory-related craft for personal enjoyment; 2) a way to give back to our community, as we will discuss here; and 3) as a way to help develop the fine-motor skills needed for writing.

Given that boys generally do well with gross motor skills early on, I wanted to help prepare their fine-motor skills, and I will say both of my sons have lovely writing, so it worked!

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When we were in the process of adopting our two youngest children from the foster care system, we heard of a wonderful effort called the Red Scarf Project. At the time, I was managing a small upscale knitting boutique, so the store threw its weight behind my oldest son’s desire to participate, and we held a 24-hour “Scarf-a-Thon,” that was later written up in the local paper. We came close to donating 300 scarves!

Later on, all three kids established the Knitting Project through our local 4-H chapter, and served as Teen Leader and Jr. Leader.

As we head into cooler weather, a number of organizations are seeking crafters to donate their skills to worthy projects. Here are just a few (click on the purple title hyperlink), with guidelines. Note that many have very specific guidelines and deadlines.

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Also included are ideas (without a hyperlink) for follow-up in your local community.

Warm-Up America: This effort helps to create blankets for a variety of organizations. Crafters can donate squares to be joined into blankets, or full blankets.

Project Linus: This organization, broken down into local chapters, provides blankets to children in crisis or as part of disaster relief efforts.

Operation Gratitude: This effort creates care packages for deployed military personnel, including scarves, socks, and hats.

Binky Patrol: This effort creates blankets for children in need of comfort.

Wildlife Rehabilitation: A number of organizations need nests for birds. My youngest son spearheaded an effort for the local wildlife center where he interned. Check with your local wildlife organization.

Stump Covers/Residual Limb Covers: Many veterans organizations are in need of covers for amputees.

Animal Shelters: Some animal shelters need toys or blankets for shelter animals. We did a toy drive for our local humane society and it was a blast. We had a homeschool day there and got to participate in a class and tour.

Homeless Shelters/Women’s Shelters: Check in your local area to see what needs they may have.

Red Scarf Project: Another pitch for this worthwhile organization that sends care packages to college students who have aged out of the foster care system and often do not have the support others have during their educational journey.

Tell us how your efforts go! Are there others you know of? Comment below!

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First of all, thank you for being here!

As a veteran homeschooling mom with over 20 years of experience homeschooling my three children in a faith-based environment, I am hoping to “pay it forward” by serving as a resource for other parents.

My original major in college was Child Psychology, then I moved to Child Development and Early Childhood Education. I ran a call center for parents looking for quality childcare. I developed a series of handouts for them, and created a workshop based on these materials.

However, I already knew once I had children of my own, I wanted to homeschool.

I believe our education began in the womb, because our son came out knowing our voices! We built a completely Christ-centered preschool routine, and when it came time for elementary school, I devoted myself to a interest-based whole-child approach. What does that mean? When my oldest was six, he said he wanted to build robots. I understood him to mean actual working robots, so I contacted a man who taught older kids. He adapted his curriculum to meet the needs of first and second graders, and it became something my son followed through high school. Robotics and Botball had group research projects, oral presentations, geometry, science, reading and following rubrics, a dash of history, as well as inter-personal dynamics. To me, this met most of our subject areas.

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Another example would be the course we followed with my youngest son. He studied the Afro-Brazilian martial art of Capoeira. Thus we covered PE, music, foreign language (Brazilian Portuguese), and history.

My daughter knew at six years old that she wanted to work with animals. At 12, we found an organization that let her volunteer directly with animals. Later, during her years at a community college, she did her externship at a clinic that hired her the day after she graduated with her Veterinary Assisting certification.

All of these were areas of interest for my children, and all of them encompassed almost all the subjects needed while fueling life-long learning goals.

All three were raised in a faithful Christian household, where we attended services three times per week, in addition to things like gospel meetings, VBS/camp, and other activities.

Here are a few things you can expect from this site:

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• Unvarnished reviews: We kissed a lot of frogs to find the various curricula used. With three kids — all with different learning styles and body clocks — we cobbled together some pretty amazing subject matter. Though I will use affiliate links to support the work here, I will give you my honest opinion of the books and companies used. Further, I will clearly mark what we used specifically, versus other products listed when I share these links.

• Understanding and support: Been there, done that. The good, bad, and ugly. The days you feel like the worst parent ever, and the days you see those “lightbulb moments” where it all clicks for your child and you know every sacrifice has been worth it. I get it, and I’m here to help you when you hit that half-marathon wall, as well as when you crest the peak of the mountain. Chime in on our discussion threads to find others who “get it” as well.

• Answers: Answering the endless “what about socialization” questions, advice from well-meaning (and not-so-well-meaning) family and friends, and those comments from family members who do not support your journey. Further, I hope to do a number of “Ask Me Anything (AMA)” threads.

• Scriptural encouragement: I hope to post things to boost your faith, and ideas to help your children grow in the “grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).

• Developmental tidbits: I hope to draw from my background in education, as well as my own experience as a homeschool veteran. Additionally, I have some experience with gifted, Twice Exceptional (2E), and special education.

Let’s hear from you! As a homeschooler, what would help support you on your journey?

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