Don’t miss a great opportunity!!! Thanks SHEM for sharing!

Hi Friends!

This just in from my friend, Felice Gerwitz. She is “delighted” about her Ultimate Special Needs Expo resource library.  Actually, she is so “excited” that she has just shared a sneak peek into her Membership Site.

You see one of the great things about the Ultimate Special Needs Expo is that it is a one of a kind event. Everything is ONLINE as more than a convention–it is the ULTIMATE special needs resource library.

With every online event that Felice plans, she builds a private, exclusive Membership Site that includes everything from the event in one place–it has audios (from all of the sessions and from the bonus gifts that her speakers give to us), ebooks, articles, handouts and special discounts… and on and on. I can’t believe all of the things that we receive for only $19.95. It is truly ULTIMATE!

The Best Laid Plans: My Special Needs Child Part II
By Felice Gerwitz

How hard that was for me! How come they got a gifted child? Then I heard a voice in my heart, that family would not have been able to handle a special needs child, but I could. The Lord told me I could! I shared this with my husband who already knew this and was delighted I had decided to rejoin life! How I had wasted that year in mourning for a life I thought my son deserved, and a life I had crafted in my mind for him those first months. The death of a dream, our dream is hard for most. For me it was almost unbearably hard because I had always been in control (or so I thought) and this was totally not in my plans!

As if the Lord had not prepared me for just this moment. Did I share that while I had an education degree I had specialization in Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) and Early Childhood Education! The Lord knows what He is doing. My degree dealt with children that learn differently that are “normal” in IQ and have some issues (processing) of why they can’t learn. I did have Neal’s IQ retested when he became more verbal and it was within the “normal” range as I had known. My husband had been a Physical Education Major and was a baseball player in college. Who better to work with our son, teach him the fine motor coordination he needed and help to excel.

I am not one of those people who was grateful immediately that the Lord had allowed a special needs child in my life. But I know the why behind the Lord allowing this to happen in my life. I was going along on my own steam; full of my own ideas, remembering Him on Sunday but rarely as I should during the week. It was not a punishment, it was a blessing and perhaps someday I will truly be grateful with my whole being, in my heart as well in my head.

My son is now 30. He drives, he talks well, and there isn’t anyone who is a stranger to him. Did I say he is a talker? He has worked with my husband on the construction crews and when tired of that, he decided he would rather have a furniture delivery job. He asked his sister to help him write a resume, which she did and he applied. He was hired as a helper on a delivery truck and in the warehouse! We were so delighted. He purchased a nice almost new pick-up truck and worked at this job for almost two years until the buying frenzy for furniture tapered off due to the housing market decline. Neal has lived by himself for a period of time, worked at a horse ranch locally in charge of some very expensive horses and night watch at times, and when the economy took a down turn he asked to come home. I know that he is very self-sufficient. He can balance a checkbook, pay bills, write and reads very well. His housekeeping skills leave much to be desired, but it is very typical of a man. His gift is shopping. He chooses the best birthday or Christmas presents bar-none. I keep telling him he should be a personal shopper (he is mine!) and he says that is too “girly” of a job.

Do things take him longer? Yes. Does he sometimes frustrate the family because he likes to tell people what to do? Yes. (He loves to catch his younger siblings forgetting to turn off their bedroom lights, leaving their towels on the bathroom floor and any other thing they forget to do.) He loves Christian music (loud) and hates to go to bed. He sometimes appears to be frozen in his late teen years and yet he resides in a man’s body. He is a handful at times, but he is our handful. What does the future hold for my special son? Only the Lord knows. What I do know is HIS hand is on our lives all of the time and when things get difficult I can rest assured that the Lord is in control and I do know where my strength comes from. Praise God for his perfect providence for my life, for this I will always rejoice.

Felice Gerwitz has a BA degree in Education, and Certification in Specific Learning Disabilities and Early Childhood Education. She and her husband Jeff, have home-educated their five children since 1986, with two graduates and three more she is currently schooling. Felice is a public speaker, author and publisher, (Media Angels, Inc). She began writing science curriculum because her son absolutely loved science and learned tremendously using this method. Felice is the host of the Ultimate Special Needs Expo  and decided to host the event because of other parents who suffer in silence. She is the owner of the Ultimate Homeschool Expo a totally online webinar that has world-wide appeal.

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You know the saying that a picture captures a thousand words,well…what about a a gift like this???  And, just think…this is only ONE of the awesome gifts included on the Membership Site. There are so many more!

Take my word for it, you will WANT a ticket to this event and access to all of the wonderful resources. Grab your ticket here: http://pwc2.com/cX

Saturday, February 26, 2011 – 9am-6pm- Enjoy the entire museum plus the new traveling exhibit, Every Body Eats. Each person over 2 will be admitted into Discovery Center at our group rate of $5.00 per person (2 & under free).  MATCH Group will be able to purchase HighWire Bike tickets at the group rate of $2.00 per person.  The HighWire Bike Schedule is 11-12, 1-2, 3-4 and 5-6.

Homeschoolers in the area won’t want to miss this great day of learning and fun!  They have given us a great discount.

Pre-register at 417-862-9910 and check them out at http://www.discoverycenter.org.

See you there!

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine is an awesome magazine full of helpful articles for every part of homeschooling.  I have personally found encouragement as a mom, homeschooler and a homeschool director.  You will find reviews, helps for each age group, how to homeschool when things are tight and so much more.  It is a magazine that I hold high on my list and a must have.

The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine is extending an extraordinary subscription offer to homeschool families. U.S. and Canadian residents can receive a one-year print subscription and a FREE Homeschooling with Heat tote bag, FREE Schoolhouse Planner of your choice, and FREE E-Book: Cranberry Christmas for just $19.95. One-year subscriptions start with the winter issue. It makes a perfect gift for yourself and a friend. There are a limited number of tote bags available from November 24 through midnight on November 29-once they’re gone, they’re gone! Hurry and grab this tremendous value today! It’s over $80 in free gifts–one of them the gorgeous Cranberries & Cream tote bag.

Remember that this is only a 5 day sale, don’t miss out!!!  Go to http://www.theoldschoolhousestore.com/homeschool/BlackFriday2010.htm and get your subscription and your free ebook!! This is a bargin and you will find encouragement!

Buckles & Bobbins A Beginning Sewing Book for Boys

By: JoAnn Gagnon & Corrie Gagnon

Boys, sew??!! Yes, they do and some of them turn out to be the best and do beautiful work. This book will help start them down the path of knowledge!

They will learning all about the sewing machine, what supplies they need to keep on hand, all about the fabric that is available. They will also learning the different looks of a pattern and what the different markings mean and how to lay the pattern out and pin it on the fabric. The the practice sheets are made available to practice how to sew the different stitches they will be sewing. They will learn how to quilt, hand sew, topstitch, install zippers, and make pockets.

By the end of this book your son will have sewn a pillowcase, Bible/book cover, cabin potholder, strip quilted pillow, patchwork quilt, work apron, bound fleece blanket, end wrench roll-up case, pajama bottoms/shorts, pajama top, duffel bag, bike bag/toiletry bag, lined sportsman’s vest, cargo pants and back pack.

This book also has what they call “Life Skills” in it. In this section your son will learn to sew on a button, mend holes and rips and how to iron a shirt. Then guess what moms, you can start having them help you with there clothes more!

You can purchase this wonderful book at http://www.bunckhousesewing.com for only $24.95. This a spiral bound book with the patterns at the back. The patterns are for boys sizes 8-16.