2010 Gratitude Challenge

TOS Crew-What it has meant to me
     I know the crew is all about curriculum, right? But that is just one of the perks. I have joined forums in the past, but the crew forum (kind of our behind the scenes meeting place where we get our assignments and more) is the first one that felt so close. We share prayer requests, and answers. Through the crew I have made many friends, some that I may never ever meet in real life, but if I were to get the chance I think it might be more like a reunion than a first meeting. And some “in real life” friendships have actually come from this experience, too.

     The real reason for the TOS homeschool review crew- the reviews, have also blessed me. Our family has had the opportunity to try so many things I had never even heard of before. At the end of the crew last year, one of the other reviewers shared that she had her son, for a fun math project, go through her reviews and calculate the value of the review items. I was shocked by the number he came up with. See, this isn’t about money to me, we are not paid, but the monetary value of these items is also huge. The real value, though, has been the educational value.
     One wonderful blessing was how the reviews helped change Emily’s attitude about math. Before I even knew about the crew opportunity, I was praying about teaching Emily math in a way that she could learn without crying. We had experienced many math related tears. I had already purchased a new math curriculum, and that helped too, but last year we reviewed a lot of math programs. I had Emily try them all. And she learned that math can be fun! That was the highlight of my first year on the crew. She still uses three of the math programs we reviewed last year- willingly!
     As a returning crew mate, I have the new privilege this year of being a First Mate. This has given me a whole new appreciation of all that goes on “behind the scenes.” Our Crew leaders work with companies, some big, and others small, even some homeschool family businesses, to share great resources that will help homeschoolers. First Mate also means I have my own mini-crew, and this has been another blessing to get to know this small group of homeschooling Moms.
     In this month of Thanksgiving, the crew is on my list of things I am thankful for.

    Add your own link to Brenda's 2010 Gratitude challenge at Garden of Learning.