~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE HOPE CHEST: Ideas and Inspiration for Home Education
Issue #31 / June 2000
Just for Fun
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WELCOME TO THE HOPE CHEST!

The Hope Chest Home School News is a free monthly e-mail newsletter
with encouragement, practical teaching tips, and unit study ideas. The
editor is Virginia Knowles, wife of Thad, and mother of seven children,
who are ages baby to teen. Virginia is also the author of the new book,
The Real Life Home School Mom. (Ordering information is at the end of
the newsletter for those who are interested in this.) Visit our web
page
at: http://www.homestead.com/hopechest/welcome.html
To subscribe, send a message to HopeChest-Subscribe@eGroups.com
Other contact information is at the end of the newsletter. If you would
like back issues, just let me know.

If you like this newsletter, please forward it to your friends! THANKS!!

This month’s issue is “Just for Fun”! My daughter Mary says she hopes
that those who are getting the Hope Chest for the first time this month
know that we’re not always this silly in the newsletter! Honest, we do
talk about serious academics most of the time! I think you’ll enjoy the

interviews, product reviews, glimpses of days in the lives of other home
school moms, web sites, and even some creative writing from two of my
own daughters.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FROM MY HEART TO YOURS: Confessions of a Fun-Impaired Mom
by Virginia Knowles
A TREAT FOR THE FEET by Mary Knowles
THE POET’S PEN: Basket to Basket by Julia Knowles
MEET THE AUTHOR: Christine Field
MEET A HOME SCHOOL SUPPLIER: Timberdoodle has the Fun Stuff
THIS MOM’S A REAL CLOWN! by Lisa Williams
YOU KNOW YOU’RE A HOME SCHOOLER by Anita Watkins
HOW DOES A HOME SCHOOLER CHANGE A LIGHT BULB?
A DAY IN OUR LIFE (OR PART OF IT) by Marya M.
SWAP WEEK SURVIVOR by Rebecca Farrer
REVIEW OF INSECTLOPEDIA Book by Douglas Florian
Review by LeDawn Baker
REVIEW OF TONKA CD-ROMS by Virginia Knowles
WHY TEACHERS WEEP
A HOME SCHOOLED HIGH SCHOOLER TALKS ABOUT:
A Big Advantage of Home Schooling by Sam Halloran
IN THE JOLLY JOLLY MONTH OF JUNE
DIGGING DEEPER: How Can We KNOW We Have Eternal Life?
WHAT’S UP IN THE NEXT ISSUES?
WEB SITES AND OTHER CONTACT INFORMATION
ON OUR HOMEFRONT: When Life ISN’T Fun!
ORDERING INFORMATION: THE REAL LIFE HOME SCHOOL MOM
SUBSCRIPTIONS, REPRINTS, FLORIDA LISTS, ETC.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FROM MY HEART TO YOURS: Confessions of a Fun-Impaired Mom
by Virginia Knowles
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have a confession to make. I am a Fun-Impaired Mom. Oh, I know that
as a home school mom I am supposed to make learning a thrilling
adventure for my children. I’m supposed to concoct fascinating projects
and experiments, take them on exciting weekly field trips, ensure that
every last paper-and-pencil assignment sparks their innate creativity,
and enter fully into all of their fun. But a Perpetual Playmate I am
not.
To my credit, I OCCASIONALLY buy supplies to do projects related to a
unit study -- like all of the craft sticks, dowels and straws I bought
for our
construction unit to make model building cranes and such -- but
somehow the idea gets lost in the shuffle of getting The Basics covered.


When I try to have fun with my children, I’m an accident waiting to
happen. On Mother’s Day we went to my mother-in-law’s pool. One of
the girls did a cannonball off the diving board. I thought I could do it
better and decided to show my stuff. Big mistake. It WAS funny if you
like tidal waves and rain showers. What WASN’T so amusing was the
way my chin bounced off the water and gave me whiplash! Oh well, at
least we were going out to dinner that night with my Dad, who was in
town on a business trip. Just to be safe, I changed into a dark red
shirt
in case I spilled any food on me. (I may be a confirmed klutz, but I
least
I’m prepared!) Then we headed off to the Sweet Tomatoes buffet. I
went through the salad bar line without a flaw, then took my tray,
wedged it firmly on top of Micah’s stroller, and wheeled toward the
table.
That was my second big mistake! The tray slid off underneath the
stroller handle and crashed to the floor, splattering food in all
directions
and shattering the glass plate right in the high traffic area. As you
can
see, the only fun I provided that day was a bit of slapstick humor, if
you
can even call it that.

Well, be that as it may, I do have a few suggestions for how to make
things a teensy bit interesting...

1. Stock up on odds-and-ends and craft supplies that your children can
use to make things by themselves. (Of course, this is a prime time to
learn to clean up after themselves too! If only this was as easy to
teach
them as it is to write about it!) We have paints and brushes, glitter,
glue,
rubber stamps with pads, glue guns, scrap cardboard, safe scissors,
tape, construction paper, markers, colored pencils, stencils and so
forth.
While they sometimes need some pointers or a “show me how”
demonstration, you don’t ALWAYS need to hover over them with a list of
instructions. It’s a blast to just get to create something on your own.
Or,
if they do want to try an organized project, there are lots of creative
library books that they can check out by themselves. Remember the
dowels and straws I bought for our Building unit? We never did get
around to building that crane, but Julia figured out how to turn the
dowels into fishing poles and the plastic straws into fish for a party
game
on Andrew’s third birthday. Just a little home school creativity at
work...

2. Allow your children to spend time with well-chosen friends. I find
that
the older my children get, the more they appreciate some extra
independence and social opportunities. As a balance, Delwyn McAlister,
publisher Keepers at Home in Australia, reminds us all to be aware of
their interactions with others and to be sure they have wholesome
companions so that the Devil won’t snatch the seed we have carefully
planted in their hearts. That’s especially appropriate as we approach
the summer socializing season! Most of my children like playing
outside, usually in our yard. Fortunately our young neighbors are all
pretty nice playmates. When trying to keep the fun in my earshot, it
helps to have plenty of sports equipment, comfortable couches in the
garage, lots of sidewalk chalk, and a backyard play fort! Oh, and a
pitcher full of icy lemonade on a hot day!

3. Tap into the benefits of hobbies and organized extracurricular
activities. These can provide beautiful balance to a home education
program. Hobbies offer brain-enriching opportunities to plan projects,
select materials, follow patterns and instructions, develop skills, care
for
equipment and supplies, make useful items, and nurture creativity.
Julia, who is 11, doesn’t really prefer traditional academics.
Fortunately,
she has learned so much through her ever changing hobbies, which in
the past few years have included such diverse interests as butterflies,
gardening, piano, woodworking and basketball. These have been her
“fuel for school” as she has researched, written about, and done
hands-on projects related to these topics. For music, she read
biographies of famous composers, and took a year of piano lessons.
She has also read several sports biographies, and I bought her a book
about the science of sports. Grandma bought her a Basketball Math
workbook for her birthday, so even the basic skills can be enhanced.
She loves to go to the park with Dad to shoot hoops, and she is
particularly excited about attending a week long basketball day camp
with a friend. Mary, who will be a teenager this month, loved her ten
weeks of botanical drawing classes, even though she was the only
non-adult student. She has also had the privilege of joining various
groups of home schooled friends for chaperoned activities (beach trip,
game night, bowling, sewing classes, etc.) Julia and Rachel and I have
been in a mother-daughter monthly social club. By opening up to these
opportunities, we communicate trust to our children, and we allow them
to learn things from other people that we could probably never teach
them as well. I call it reaping the talents and friendships of other
people
whom God has placed in our path!

5. Keep fun in its proper place. All work and no play may make Jack a
dull boy, but all play and no work makes Jake a lazy boy who won’t find
any TRUE sense of accomplishment and God-given satisfaction in life.
Fun is especially fun if it is a treat that is well-earned. If they are
always
complaining about being bored, do they have too much idle time on their
hands that should be spent more productively? Are they becoming
jaded, requiring more and more stimulation to hold their attention? I
recently realized that I wasting too much time playing certain addictive
computer games, so I finally removed them from our computer. I have
no regrets! When I find that the children are spending too many
afternoons glued to the TV, I put it on “parental lockout mode”. When I
was a young child, our TV “mysteriously” broke and wasn’t replaced for
six years. I think that had so much to do with us growing up creative.
Thanks, Mom and Dad!

6. Do what you do best! I don’t have an athletic bone in my body and
my attempts at group projects have been nothing short of abysmal, BUT
I can play Scrabble, Rummikub, chess, backgammon, Yahtzee and a
host of other great board games! I can sing and play the piano a little,
and make up ditties. I gave up oil painting when the girls were born (too
many chemicals) but I can still draw. I can read picture books with
silly
accents to fit the story, and make up my own stories on the spot. And
I’m always ready to cuddle and tickle my sweetie pies! Instead of
focusing on what I can’t do, I’ll be content with what I can. That’s how
God made me.

Well, Mother’s Day didn’t turn out too bad after all because Mary is
interested in a new hobby: MASSAGE! She gave me the full foot
treatment that evening, and I was so impressed, I asked her to write
about it for those who would like to try this! Here goes:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A TREAT FOR THE FEET by Mary Knowles, age 13 (well almost!)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Foot massages are relaxing, can be energizing, and are a great way to
have a “servant heart” toward your parents, or butter them up when
you’re ready to ask them a question Ü (just don’t tell them which reason
you’re using and it will work). They’re even pleasant for the person
doing them, since they get their hands smooth and nice smelling, and
are a good exercise for the hand muscles. You can do a foot massage in
ten minutes, or you can do a whole routine of foot soak, smoothing, and
massage, which will take about five minutes to set up and 30 to perform.
So, let’s get started!

First, you need to gather the following materials:
* A BASIN of warm water
* Some kind of SOAK for the basin of water, or a couple of drops of
essential oil such as cypress or citrus.
* FOOT SCRUB - this is definitely not optional!
* Soft FOOT BRUSH (this is optional)
* PUMICE, to smooth all over the foot
* FOOT FILE, to sand away calluses
* FOOT LOTION (any lotion will work well, but lotion just for feet works
even better) or an aromatic oil blend such as the following which is
great
for feet:
3 drops cypress oil (this and the citrus are both essential oils)
2 drops citrus oil
10 ml carrier oil, such as apricot kernel, grapeseed, wheat-germ, or
soy

There are some great massage books at the library with more recipes for
oil blends. Because I have a space limit here, I can’t list a lot of
recipes.
One book I recommend is Clare Maxwell-Hudson’s Aromatherapy
Massage by Dorling Kindersley.

Anyway, once you have all the stuff....

1. The first step is soaking the feet. Have your friend (or parent) sit
on a
chair, and lay a towel underneath their feet to catch spills and drips.
Then bring a bowl of warm water, mix a little SOAK into it, and ask them
(this won’t be hard...) to stick their feet into the bowl.

2. After about 5 minutes, take the feet out and rub SCRUB onto them.
The scrub will take off dead skin and stimulate the new skin.

3. When you’re done rinsing the scrub off, brush the feet lightly with
the
FOOT BRUSH. The brush feels good and gets off the last traces of dirt
(not that the purpose of the whole soak is washing, but sometimes dirt
will get embedded in the foot ridges).

4. The PUMICE is next. Gently rubbing it all over the foot will smooth
the
surface of the skin.

5. The last step before the massage is the FOOT FILE. This will look like
a big oval of sandpaper on a handle; use it to take off calluses and
rough spots.

6. Now, for the massage...pour a little lotion or oil into your hands and
warm it up. Then smear some onto the foot and:

a. Stroke your thumbs from the base of the toes down to the ankle.
Use your left hand (vice versa if you’re a lefty, like me! Ü) to support
the
foot while you use the other to squeeze between the joints of each toe.
b. Massage each toe individually, gently rolling, rubbing, and squeezing
it all over, including the nail tip. Then carefully pull each toe toward
you,
slowly stretching it.
c. Rest your right hand (vice versa, again if you’re lefty) on top of the
foot while you press the knuckles of your other hand into the ball of the
foot. Repeat this three times.
d. Keep resting your right hand on top of the foot and stroke the heel of
your left hand firmly down from the ball of the foot into the arch and
down to the heel. Do this a few times, too.
e. Supporting the foot with your fingers, stroke both thumbs firmly up
the
sole. At the ball of the foot, branch out in a T-shape, glide back down
toward the heel, and repeat six times.
f. Sandwich the foot between your hands and stroke several times up
toward the body, then slowly draw your hands away. Repeat the whole
sequence on the other foot.

Have fun!!!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE POET’S PEN: Basket to Basket by Julia Knowles
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BASKET TO BASKET
by Julia Knowles, age 11

Basketball is a great sport,
That you play on a court.
Back and forth, basket to basket,
Points here, points there
There are rules to make the game fair.
Back and forth, basket to basket,
To get to the pros,
You have to be taught from someone who knows.
Basketball is a mystery,
It goes back in time through history.
There was a guy named James,
Who had to think up some indoor games.
Back and forth, basket to basket,
It all started with a peach basket
And a soccer ball
And soon became basketball.
Back and forth, basket to basket
Basketball is a fun game,
And brings good players lots of fame.

Basketball was invented in the winter of 1891. James Naismith, an
instructor at the YMCA training school, had to think up an indoor game.
It was winter and it was too cold to play other sports outside. James
Naismith asked for a bucket but all they had were peach baskets. They
used a soccer ball. The basketball wasn’t invented till later.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WHAT AN AWESOME CONVENTION!
by Virginia Knowles
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Last weekend I attended the Florida Parent-Educators Association state
convention. Ranked in the top 5 home school conventions in the United
States, we certainly had our share of the best speakers and exhibitors.
That was good enough, but I had some other great surprises awaiting
me that took it straight into the Awesome Zone. I’ll tell you more about
the convention workshops and some of the books I bought in future
issues, but I wanted to share with you two of the best parts.

On Friday, the big news was that when I stopped by the Lifetime Books
and Gifts booth, Bob and Tina Farewell told me that my book, The Real
Life Home School Mom, will appear in their catalog next month! I was so
delighted to hear this! I had been in contact by e-mail with them about
this, but hadn’t gotten the final word until then. They also sold some
copies at the convention, and I was able to give review copies to a few
of the other vendors. (P.S. You'll find Lifetime's contact information in
the web section of this newsletter, and information on ordering my book
at the end of the newsletter.)

On Saturday morning I attended a world history workshop presented by
Rob Shearer, the Greenleaf Press guy. Several of us were standing
around talking with him after the lecture when one of the ladies came
over and said, "You look really familiar. Where do I know you from?"
During the course of the conversation, we discovered two neat things.
First, Joyce McPherson is an author who writes for Greenleaf Press. In
April, my sister Barb and I stopped in at Lifetime’s store and she bought
one of Joyce’s books, A Piece of the Mountain, a children’s biography of
17th century French mathmetician, scientist and evangelical theologian
Blaise Pascal. (Yes, he's the one that the computer language is named
after.) I borrowed it from Barb then and loved it! It was so nice to be
able to tell the author in person how much I enjoyed her book. Now
comes the really good part! Joyce and I also determined that 20 years
ago, we were in the same history class in our junior year at W.T.
Woodson High School (Fairfax, Virginia), and we attended the campus
prayer meetings. Both of us left high school during our senior year to go
to college, eventually ended up in Florida, have seven children each,
home school, and are authors. Now is this a mere coincidence or a
divine appointment? I don’t know about you, but I see this old-new
friendship as a gracious gift of God!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MEET THE AUTHOR: Christine Field
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[This month we are privileged to have an interview with home school and
adoption author, Christine Field!]

I am the grateful mother of four blessings! We were an infertile
career
couple (I was an attorney and my husband a police administrator) when
we adopted Clare, now 10. Seventeen months later, we had Caitlin
biologically, now 9. Grace is 5 and was born in South Korea, as was our
son, Daniel, now 2. My husband is a great guy who is involved in our
home on every level. He changes diapers, teaches, cleans, cooks, etc.
Most importantly, he holds us up in prayer and encourages us in our
efforts. He is the police chief here where we live in Wheaton, IL.

After struggling with infertility and miscarriages, I really doubted
that
children were in God's plan for us. When He miraculously began to
arrange circumstances for us to be a family (any adoptive family will
tell
you wonderful stories of large and small miracles!), I knew that I had to
do what was best for my blessings - to be a full-time committed mom.

This whole part of being home is such a surprise for me! I started
writing little articles for ladies papers, then I wrote my first book,
Coming
Home to Raise Your Children (Fleming Revell, 1995). To my surprise, a
publisher actually published it! It was written to ease my own
transition
from the workforce and has turned out to encourage many.

My second book is called Should You Adopt (Fleming Revell, 1997).
Anyone who has adopted is an advocate for adoption. As an adoptive
parent (as well as an attorney) I would often hear discouraging stores
from people about their perception that there were no children available
to adopt, or it was too difficult, too expensive, etc. I wanted to write
a
book to give people solid information about the process of adoption and
how to find children to adopt.

My third book is about home schooling. It's called A Field Guide to
Home Schooling (Fleming Revell, 1998). It's a book of information and
encouragement for parents who are considering home schooling.

My latest project is called Life Skills for Kids (Harold Shaw /
WaterBrook, 2000). This is the new "baby" and so I'm pretty excited
about it. As our kids our growing, I became increasingly concerned
about what they will need for the world of relationships and work. I
began to brainstorm what skills I wanted them to take to their first job
or
apartment, and to marriage. I came up with fourteen Maxims of Maturity
which I talk about in the book, along with strategies for teaching and
equipping our kids with life skills.
My books are in many Christian book stores, or at Amazon, or can be
ordered by any book store.

My very amateurish web site is at:
http://members.aol.com/MField7842
This is the first summer in years that I don't have a big writing project

looming, so I hope to spiff it up over the summer. My goal is to post
articles to encourage parents who are struggling with being home, home
schooling, adoption and family life.

I truly believe we are doing the most important job in the world -
raising sons and daughters for Christ. Our task is complicated by the
fact that our culture is full of distractions and downright evil things
which
seek to undermine the family. We need to be strong, to keep ourselves
encouraged, and to stay focused. Cherish the blessings the Lord has
sent you!

Christine Field
May 2000

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MEET A HOME SCHOOL SUPPLIER:
TIMBERDOODLE SUPPLIES THE FUN STUFF!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Timberdoodle is a home school mail order business owned by the
Definbaugh family in Washington State. I am so impressed with this
company. I love their fascinating product selection, and even more I
appreciate their product descriptions which are personal, warm-hearted
and candid. They actually tell you what you might NOT like about each
item! Ever since my first order about nine years ago, I've enjoyed their
great customer service and the free book they usually send (right now
it’s Captive Treasure). Especially in this “Just for Fun” issue, I
wanted to
let you know about all the FUN stuff they carry! Here goes: games
(GoGetter, Set, Elemento, etc.), Fischertechnik engineering sets, K’NEX
building sets, Lego Action Contraption, Laurie foam puzzles, hands-on
science kits (Wild Goose, Loose in the Lab, and Science Snacks), Piano
Discovery System, Cuisenaire math manipulatives, blocks and marbles,
Foxtail, Sculpey clay, acid-free stickers, Design-A-Mug kits, Prismacolor
art pencils, drawing books and more. And that’s not even mentioning all
of the other great books/videos/software with phonics, wholesome
stories, Italic handwriting, foreign language, sign language, Creation,
history, geography, courtship, homemaking, health, consumer math -- I
could go on, but you get the picture! If you saw a review of The Young
Peacemaker in The Teaching Home magazine recently, here is where
you can buy it. Please do your family a big favor and check out
Timberdoodle! You can even request a catalog via e-mail at:
mailbag@...

Timberdoodle Company
1510 E Spencer Lake Rd, Shelton WA 98584
phone (360)426-0672 / fax (800)478-0672
http://www.timberdoodle.com

I thought you all might like a behind-the-scenes peek into the family
behind Timberdoodle, so I’ve asked Joy Definbaugh, the oldest
daughter, to give us the scoop.

THE FAMILY

Dan & Deb Definbaugh, otherwise known as Dad & Mom, Joy 18, (Me!)
Hope 16, Grace 15, Abel, who is 12 this month, and Pearl 6. We live on
about 20 acres 8 miles out of Shelton, Washington.

THE BUSINESS

Before I was born, Mom and Dad had a dream of breeding Golden
Retrievers. They used the name Timberdoodle, a small game bird, for
our kennel name when they registered for a business license with WA
State. Our Golden did not cooperate with their plans and so the dreams
of a kennel were scrapped. About that time we became interested in
selling the home education supplies that we were using. Being long on
dreams, but short on money, they decided not to pay for an additional
license and kept the name Timberdoodle. It was a good decision for us
as it is "odd" enough that nearly everyone remembers it.

Mom and Dad decided before they were married that they would home
school their children and by the time I was 3, they had seen that
whatever products they liked and recommended at the home school
group, many people went out and bought. Originally Mom and Dad
thought that they could supplement their income by selling to other home
educators materials that they found worked for them. But before they
knew it, the business mushroomed into a full-time job for Dad. I don't
remember much about those early days, but I do remember have the
back porch full of different items that we were selling, then later using
Grandpa's basement for storage. It was thrilling when the UPS truck
came to pick up packages, and we had fun keeping track of the different
states we received orders from. Five years after starting this 'sideline
business' Dad was able to come home full time! It was a scary time for
my parents, and they have many stories about how God met their needs.
What I have heard them repeatedly tell others is how important it was
that they established Timberdoodle without going into any debt. For the
first 5 years, every bit of profit was plowed back into the business.
That
enabled them to build both warehouses debt free and has allowed them
to keep their prices low. While Dad and Mom did a lot of conventions in
the early days, after Abel's birth they slowed down, and since we now
have a farm as well, we haven't been at a convention in years.

We have all been involved in the business from the beginning, and our
jobs tend to fluctuate according to the current needs at the
Timberdoodle. With the exception of Pearl, we all work about 20 hours a
week. Right now Pearl puts in about 10 hours a week helping with the
mail. Abel also helps with the mail, and assists Grace with janitorial,
maintenance and landscaping chores. Grace also helps Grandma once
a week with getting checks ready for the bank and filing the invoices.
This is mostly to keep her skills sharp in case Grandma needs time off.
Hope primarily handles the returns department, in addition to filling in
as
needed for any employee who is sick or unable to come in. I input the
catalog requests, and answer most e-mail questions. I really enjoy this

job, and have learned so much! I get many questions I can't answer, but
mom is always available for the harder questions. (Just because I sign
my name doesn't make it my answer, it just means I typed it in!)

HOME SCHOOLING

We have all really enjoyed being home schooled, and wouldn't want to
change it for anything. I think of all the things I have been able to
pursue
because of the extra time I have, and feel so blessed! Because we have
worked 20 hours a week for years, we can afford to farm, which has also
been a great learning experience for us children. We have learned
everything from proper diets for the animals, how to help in a difficult
foaling, how to administer shots, and what is involved in advertising.

Hope and Grace and I also volunteer one morning a week at the local
hospital, another thing we couldn't have done in a typical school
setting.
I feel that this has been a very valuable experience for me, since it
encouraged me to make an effort to talk to strangers, and I have learned
a lot about witnessing to others about God.

All in all, I am so glad for the decision my parents made to home
school me, and I know that it will influence my life forever.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THIS MOM’S A REAL CLOWN! by Lisa Williams
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I fell into clowning about 5 years ago. The clown for my daughter's
birthday party didn't show I went out and bought a bag of balloons that
had directions on the bag and a balloon book with a small hand pump
and instructions. I volunteered to do balloons for the local Headstart
and
a fall festival when my oldest was in kindergarten (we didn't start
homeschooling full time till she started 2nd grade although I taught
her to read at home and I tutored homeschool kids a year before I
started with my own kids). Anyway, I kept buying balloons from a local
Costume World store and at Halloween they were swamped and needed
an extra clown for a party. They offered to pay me $20 for 30 minutes in
clown. Well, I was hooked and I just worked every once in a while till
last
May when a local restaurant called me wanting a clown for their kids
night. I said yes and I started really concentrating on building my
business with better equipment and presentation. Then I got online and
since then all I've done is learn and learn some more. I got my first
official clown training seminar on May 3rd in Biloxi from 3 expert
clowns,
and I'm trying to improve my skills as much as I can. My business now
consists of birthday and youth parties, magic shows, singing telegrams,
sculptured balloon bouquet design and delivery, gospel clown skits
either in clown or out, promotionals for businesses and kid's night at
one
local restaurant. I built my web site to give myself a sort of showcase
for
who Jingles is and what she does. I added the Birthday Club to get
traffic to my site and because I thought it was a neat to have a place
for
people to get their friends and loved ones on the web in a family
friendly
place. I figured radio stations do it and I love it when I hear my name

announced in the birthdays so I thought I'd try it. I did my site myself
so
I'm changing or improving it as I learn. I tried to make it as fun and
interesting as possible with my newly acquired computer skills. I've only
been online about 7 months and am totally self taught so I'm sort of
learning as I go.

I love clowning and seeing peoples faces when I'm in clown. I missed it
when I had to take a 2 week break for gall bladder surgery in April. It's
a
great stress reliever to go play at being silly for a few hours but it's
also alot of hard work too. I will work any day someone will hire me to
come out, which right now is at least one day a week at the restaurant
and maybe a few hours on the weekend. My oldest went with me at
bigger events to help with the face painting and crowd control when she
was well but not now. MY family sometimes think I've lost my mind.
Today I asked the kids if they had any silly string left so I could put
it into
a clear container and make a tick or a brain. The kids like learning
about
the magic tricks, and seeing what we can come up with as far as new
designs for face painting and balloons.

My web site is at: http://www.angelfire.com/ms2/Jinglestheclown

Other useful clown & clown supply web sites are:
http://www.sillyfarm.com
http://www.proknows.com
http://www.clowncostumes.com
http://www.tmyers.com
http://www.balloonhq.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
YOU KNOW YOU’RE A HOME SCHOOLER by Anita Watkins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yesterday morning we observed a squirrel eating from our bird feeder.
As we watched, we saw many birds and got out our binoculars. We
watched from inside the house so the children wouldn't scare away our
specimens. While my husband focused in the binoculars, I cleaned the
window so we could see better. I laughed to myself: You know you're a
homeschooler when the only time you clean your windows is to bird
watch!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HOW DOES A HOME SCHOOLER CHANGE A LIGHT BULB?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Thanks to all of the people who sent this to me!]

Q: How does a home schooler change a light bulb?

A: First, mom checks three books on electricity out of the library, then
the kids make models of light bulbs, read a biography of Thomas Edison
and do a skit based on his life. Next, everyone studies the history of
lighting methods, wrapping up with dipping their own candles. Next,
everyone takes a trip to the store where they compare types of light
bulbs as well as prices and figure out how much change they'll get if
they buy two bulbs for $1.99 and pay with a five dollar bill. On the way
home, a discussion develops over the history of money and also
Abraham Lincoln, as his picture is on the five dollar bill. Finally,
after
building a homemade ladder out of branches dragged from the woods,
the light bulb is installed. And there is light.

Author Unknown

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A DAY IN OUR LIFE (OR PART OF IT!) by Marya M.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I dropped off our oldest daughter at an enrichment class she's taking,
then headed for Target with my almost 4 year old son and baby
daughter. I have had quite a time getting him potty trained, especially
#2. While I was "ruminating" on storage containers (for decluttering my
house) AND feeding the baby in the infant carrier, Lucas asked me, "Got
any training pants?" and then "Got any wipes?" Stupidly, I said yes, and
then I realized what he was going to do....yes, he proceeded to relieve
himself in the storage container aisle (he was wearing training pants).

Well, I got out to the car and realized I was now late picking up my
daughter, but I had to change Lucas first. I popped the trunk (and then
forgot I did) finished changing Lucas, strapped Rebekah in the car seat,
and tore off to pick up Samantha. While I was driving, the trunk opened
up because I forgot I had popped it! I pulled into a turning lane,
jumped
out and shut the back. I am very thankful nothing happened and that we
didn't lose the stroller!

When we got home, Lucas had two more accidents in his training pants.
I was completely exasperated at this point, and afterward laid down for a
rest. In a very loving mood, Lucas asked if I would marry him. I snapped
"When you poop on the potty, THEN I'll marry you!!" A while later, I
found him all by himself on the toilet seat...doing what he was supposed
to do. And afterward he said, "Now you can marry me!” If I had only
known it was that simple....

Marya

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SWAP WEEK SURVIVOR by Rebecca Farrer
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[In this post which appeared on the Time for Tea list
(TimeForTea-subscribe@egroups.com), Rebecca is describing the week
that the Charlotte Mason e-mail list (CMason-subscribe@egroups.com)
was having its Swap Week for list members to buy and sell their used
books. It’s a frenzy, I can assure you! By the way, kudos are due to
Rebecca since her daughter just graduated from college (get this!)
summa cum laude with departmental honors in computer science! Way
to go! But I digress... On to the fun stuff!]

Well, my first Swap Week is over, and I must tell you I'm a changed
person. My body has been reshaped to fit perfectly the molded contour
of my computer chair....even while walking. The children follow me
around in this stooping position, bending down to peer in to my eyes
saying worriedly, "Mom?! Do you need someone to massage your back
into an upright position?.........Mom?!" I look somewhat like Groucho
Marx, and it's scaring them.

My fingers will twitch, spasmodically typing out the words "Still
Available??" while my index finger flexes wildly, trying to find the
mouse
button. I awake in the night in a cold sweat mumbling, "Send! Send!".
My eyes have "Eye-Crosserosis" as did Hank the Cowdog's. They blur
unpredictably, causing me to walk into bookshelves straight on.
Evidently they now cannot focus on anything larger than a computer
monitor.

How to describe the experience of Swap Week? Well, it's like the Super
Bowl of World Series Marathon, if you know what I mean. At one point, I
made a touchdown and held up my arms in the traditional touchdown
victory position, yelling, "Yesssss! I got 'A Case of Red Herrings'!!!!"

"Do you need them?!" asked my husband weakly. I'm sure he was
envisioning a Once-A-Month cooking spree featuring fish.

My hearing has been affected as well. My husband, upon reading this
last paragraph, informs me that his actual words were, "Can you EAT
them?" In a way, we will be eating them, as we now have no money left
for groceries. I'll just have to remind my family of that quote, "Some
books are to be tasted; others swallowed; and some few to be chewed
and digested." ~~Bacon. Interesting last name, that, (Bacon)
considering his quote.

Yes, next week, I'm really going to have to make an effort to cook. I
was
going to say "cook nutritious meals", but at this point, my family would
be
gratified just to see me in the kitchen punching in numbers on the
microwave for something more than a cup of coffee.

This was a week for child training, too. My children are now trained to
exit whatever computer program they're on when I step into the room. I
don't even have to say anything. They just say, "Oh, okay", hit the X
button, stand up and go do something else, turning over control of the
computer to me. I'm not sure if this is what Charlotte Mason had in
mind, or if it's more like Pavlov's dogs.

And speaking of dogs, my little dachshund, Casper, who can never
leave my side for a minute, has given up on me ever going to bed at a
decent hour. He now knows to just drag the sleeping bag into the office
and curl up in it. He was really grouchy the first couple of days
because
he had to sleep on the hard floor by the computer instead of the bed.
Even now, he's inside the sleeping bag, resignedly putting in his
computer time.

Now, I must sign off, for I must address a few envelopes, pack a few
boxes, put the books that are on the floor back on the bookshelves, dust
the bookshelves while I'm at it, cook lunch, put away the sleeping bag,
check to see how much the kids have grown since last I saw them and
somehow fight the urge to check e-mail. It all sounds insufferably
tedious. We will, however, pause sometime today "in memory of mom's
sanity" as someone on this list said.

There is one thing I am looking forward to.....actually reading some
books! It's an addiction. What can I say?

"When I get a little money, I buy books; and if any is left, I buy food
and
clothes." ~~Erasmus

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
REVIEW OF INSECTLOPEDIA
Book by Douglas Florian
Review by LeDawn Baker
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I recently bought this book of poetry by Douglas Florian. The book is
made up of 21 witty spider and insect poems illustrated with water-color
paintings on primed brown paper bags. We have one other Florian
book, On the Wing, a book of poetry and paintings of interesting birds.
His books are ideal living science books for young children. I use them
for copywork for my 71/2 year old boy and 6 year old girl. My son
already has a favorite poem he wants to memorize and he has asked if
he can copy some of the poems into one of his notebooks! My
daughter's recent artwork reflects some of the details found in the
water-color paintings. These two books are great for learning about
insects and birds or even water-color painting -- and they are also lots
of
fun as well!

LeDawn Baker

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
REVIEW OF TONKA CD-ROMS by Virginia Knowles
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I was in Sam’s Club a few weeks ago, this Hasbro Interactive
CD-ROM set caught my eye. For about $15, it includes 3 discs:
Construction, Search & Rescue, and Garage. I initially bought it for my
son’s 3rd birthday, but since it’s labeled for ages 4 and up, and we were
in the middle of a unit study on Building, I figured my daughters would
enjoy it too. Andrew needs to sit on my lap and have me guide his
hands, but three of the girls have spent several hours each on the
Construction disc. We are saving the other discs for later.

On each disc, a child can select different kinds of on-screen vehicles
(bulldozers, front end loaders, pavers, helicopters, dump trucks, cranes)
to accomplish some important mission, such as building a skyscraper,
clearing snow from a mountain road, fixing trucks, digging in a quarry,
and much more. When each job is done, a fancy certificate pops up on
the screen. In the process the child learns about the vehicles they can
choose, as well as the steps needed to do a particular project. These
selection and sequencing skills can be a bit frustrating to a young child
or someone new to Tonka Land, so be prepared to sit nearby with the
user pamphlet in hand until they get the hang of it. The positive side
to
this is that it makes the child THINK, so it’s a more interesting
challenge.
If you have a child who is fascinated with trucks (or even one who
isn’t),
I think this CD-ROM set is a good buy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WHY TEACHERS WEEP
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[I don’t know who wrote this, but it was sent in by Nancy Metzger.]

Then Jesus took his disciples up on the mountain and gathered them
around Him. And then He taught them, saying:
Blessed are the poor in spirit,
Blessed are the meek,
Blessed are the merciful,
Blessed are those who thirst for justice,
Blessed are those who are persecuted,
Blessed are the peacemakers.

And Simon Peter said, "Do we have to write this stuff down?"
And Philip said, "Will this be on the test?"
And Andrew said, "John the Baptist's disciples don't have to learn this
stuff."
And Matthew said, "Huh?"
And Judas said, "When am I ever going to use this in real life?"

Then one of the Pharisees, an expert in law said, "I don't see any of
this
in the syllabus. Do you really follow a lesson plan? Where is the study
guide? Will extra study sessions be provided for those who need help?
How about extra credit so that those who do not meet the minimum
class requirements can still graduate?"

And Thomas, who had missed the sermon, came to Jesus privately and
asked, "Did we do anything important today? Did I miss anything?"

AND JESUS WEPT.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A HOME SCHOOLED HIGH SCHOOLER TALKS ABOUT:
A Big Advantage of Home Schooling
by Sam Halloran
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One of the biggest advantages of home schooling, an advantage that
allows us to follow one of the most important biblical principles more
easily than most, is the fact that we can better separate ourselves from
the often low moral standards of the greater part of society. When I say
this, I in no way mean that we should cut ourselves off socially from the
"outside" world, I just mean that we as home schooling children are
better and more easily able to hold a higher moral standard than the
majority of our peers because we are not constantly exposed to negative
pressure.

As people, we are IN this world, but as Christians we are not to be OF
this world. James 4:4 says "Do you not know that friendship with the
world is hostility toward God?" Also, 1 John 2:15 says "Do not love the
world, or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of
the Father is not in him." These are just a few of many verses in the
Bible that make it clear that we are to morally and spiritually separate
ourselves from the world. And the reason that we are better able to do
this is because we lack many the more worldly influences that we would
receive from our peers in most public schools.

1 Cor. 15:33 says "Do not be deceived: bad company corrupts good
morals." In contrast, when we replace the negative influences with the
more positive teaching of our parents, we will more easily be able to
separate ourselves from the world and hold closer to God. And in
schools the teaching of parents is all too often drowned out by the
influence of those around us.

So the bottom line is this: we should make every effort to hold a higher
moral standard than that of the world, and in doing this we will glorify
God through our words and actions. And in order to do this we must
choose our friends carefully, which we are better able to do when we are
taught at home.

[If you’ve been enjoying Sam’s articles in the past several issues,
please
send your comments to him at phalloran@... He has a portfolio
review on June 4, and some reader feedback would make a very nice
addition to it!]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IN THE JOLLY JOLLY MONTH OF JUNE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Flag Day (USA) -- Wednesday, June 14
Father’s Day -- Sunday, June 18

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DIGGING DEEPER: How Can We KNOW We Have Eternal Life?
by Virginia Knowles
Scriptures taken from the New International Version of the Bible
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I’m especially excited about Father’s Day this year since my daughter
Rachel is being baptized that evening! During her time of preparation
for this momentous occasion, she had some questions. One of them is
how we can be certain that we will go to heaven, since she knows of
many people who have professed faith as children but then turned away
as adults. Many times I assume my children have already mastered a
Scriptural concept because I read the Bible to them so often, but then I
find that some of the very foundational truths have been missed or
forgotten. So early the next morning I went to the computer, pulled up
Bible Source and did a topical study on the following themes, which I am
including here as an encouragement to you. Last September when I
sent out Scriptures about Yom Kippur (the Jewish high holy Day of
Atonement), one of my friends from church read them to her sons, and
they made a profession of faith. They are being baptized along with
Rachel! God’s word does not return void, but accomplishes the purpose
for which he sent it (Isaiah 55:11). In light of that, perhaps now would
be
a good time for us all to review some essential verses on salvation and
security!

HE HAS SAVED US BY HIS MERCY AND GRACE: John 3:16-18 / John
5:24 / John 17:3 / Ephesians 2:4-10 / Titus 3:3-7 / 1 John 5:1-13

HE IS ABLE TO KEEP US: John 6:37-40 / John 10:28-30 / Ephesians
1:11-14 / 2 Timothy 1:8-14 / 1 Peter 1:3-9 / Jude 1:20-24

HE WANTS US TO ACKNOWLEDGE HIM BEFORE OTHERS: Romans
10:8-15 / 1 John 4:13-16

HE WANTS US TO OBEY HIM AND TO PERSEVERE IN THE FAITH:
Matthew 16:24-25 / Luke 6:46-48 / Philippians 2:12-13 / Titus 2:11-14 /
Hebrews 10:19-36 / 1 John 2:3-6 / 1 John 3:14-20

Jude 1 [20] But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy
faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. [21] Keep yourselves in God's love as
you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal
life. [22] Be merciful to those who doubt; [23] snatch others from the
fire
and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear--hating even the
clothing stained by corrupted flesh. [24] To him who is able to keep you
from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without
fault
and with great joy-- [25] to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty,
power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now
and forevermore! Amen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WHAT’S UP IN THE NEXT ISSUES?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

July: Government and reviews of books about home schooling

August: Olympics, Australia & New Zealand

How do you teach? What works? What doesn’t? What’s on your heart?
Write it down! It doesn’t have to be about these topics. Just send me
your stuff!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WEB SITES AND OTHER CONTACT INFORMATION
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lifetime Books and Gifts -- great home school books on all subjects. Of
course they have a special spot in my heart as the first supplier of my
new book! http://www.lifetimeonline.com

Lifetime now has two new e-mail lists:
1. Lifetime’s Book Treasures will Bob and Tina Farewell’s favorite
living resources to encourage you as you nurture your family and touch
the lives of others. Meet new authors, many of whom are homeschooling
mothers who are bursting to share what they've learned, as well as
authors from the past, such as Charlotte Mason. Occasionally you'll be
offered used treasures or items that have been slightly damaged from
traveling. To subscribe, send a message to:
LifetimeTreasures-Subscribe@egroups.com
2. Living Books, a brand new e-mail discussion group, is open for
all
homeschool mothers who want to learn more about living books and how
to use them. In a discussion groups, moms can post questions and
comments and receive replies from other members. If you want to join,
send a message to: LivingBooks-subscribe@egroups.com

Greenleaf Press -- history resources and more
http://www.greenleafpress.com

Timberdoodle Company
http://www.timberdoodle.com

Kathryn Stout's Teaching Help Column
http://www.designastudy.com/teaching/

Creation -- an animated site with all seven days in full color
http://www.theartmill.com/creation.htm

The Homework Doctor
http://www.tagnet.org/homework/

Daily Grammar -- sign up for the free daily e-mail lessons
http://www.dailygrammar.com/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ON OUR HOMEFRONT by Virginia Knowles
When Life ISN’T Fun!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OK, so this has been sort of a lighthearted issue, but life isn’t always
fun! This past month we were cheated out of several hundred dollars by
an unscrupulous painting contractor (maybe in next month’s issue about
Government you’ll hear about our upcoming adventure in Small Claims
Court), we had to replace a broken refrigerator (at last!), my nine year
old daughter Rachel weathered a bout of the stomach flu (it felt fatal
but
only lasted a few hours before she was raiding that old refrigerator
again), and we got through well, you know, just the plain old daily stuff
like hunting for pencils and calculating how many double lessons of
math certain offspring of mine need to cram in before annual
evaluations. (How’s that for a run-on sentence, all you home school
English teachers out there!) Yep, life ain’t always fun, but just when
I’m
tempted to start moaning like *I* have the tummy flu, I remember a few
choice morsels from Proverbs:

“A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the
spirit.” Proverbs 15:13

“All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a
continual feast.” Proverbs 15:15

“A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to
the bones.” Proverbs 15:30

“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the
bones.” Proverbs 17:22

There is “a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time
to dance” (Ecclesiastes 3:4). When my heart is weary and my hope runs
low, what a mercy it is when God sends healing laughter in the midst of
pain. “For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a
lifetime;
weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning”
(Psalm 30:5).

I’ll close off with a little story that Rachel forwarded to my e-mail
address: A mother was teaching her 3-year-old the Lord's prayer. For
several evenings at bedtime she repeated it after her mother. One night
she said she was ready to solo. The mother listened with pride as she
carefully enunciated each word, right up to the end of the prayer.
"Lead us not into temptation," she prayed, "but deliver us some E-mail,
Amen."

I hope you’ve enjoyed THIS e-mail! And I love to get e-mail from you
too!

Blessings,
Virginia Knowles

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ORDERING INFORMATION FOR
THE REAL LIFE HOME SCHOOL MOM: A BOOK OF HELP AND HOPE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Have you heard about my new book yet? The Real Life Home School
Mom was a labor of love, written to minister to moms who are facing the
emotional, spiritual and practical challenges of educating their own
children. So far, I’ve been delighted to hear that it is fulfilling that
goal.

The Real Life Home School Mom has 15 chapters in 141 full-size 8-1/2”
x 11” pages. It sports a jelly-proof cover and is comb-bound, so it will
lie
flat for you when your hands are busy doing other Real Life Mommy
things! If you’d like more information on the book before ordering, let
me
know, and I will gladly e-mail you the introduction and the chapter
summaries.

The price of The Real Life Home School Mom is $16. Florida residents
pay 7% sales tax after computing shipping. Shipping to USA addresses
is $2.50 for one copy and 10% for more than one. Contact me for
foreign shipping rates, rush shipping rates, quantity pricing, or e-mail
payment.

Mail your check, order and e-mail address to:
Virginia Knowles
1925 Blossom Lane
Maitland, FL 32751

If you have a home school newsletter or web site, or if you are on any
e-mail loops, could you please do me a favor and spread the word?
THANKS!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SUBSCRIPTIONS, REPRINTS, FLORIDA LISTS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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REPRINT POLICY: You may freely copy material from this newsletter in
other non-profit publications (unless otherwise marked in the article),
but
you MUST include the author’s name (not necessarily mine) and this
entire notice: “Reprinted with permission of Virginia Knowles from the
Hope Chest Home School E-Magazine. For a free subscription, send an
e-mail message to HopeChest-Subscribe@eGroups.com or visit
http://www.homestead/hopechest/welcome.html”

Please send me a copy of the publication which includes the material.
My address is: 1925 Blossom Lane, Maitland, FL 32751 USA.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~