New Services
For You!
In January, 2003, after serious discussion and prayer we took a bold step and announced to our homeschooling friends that we are now committed to this homeschooling ministry as our full-time work.
As the weeks unfolded, the idea of providing CLEP Classes and Parents' Workshops began to take shape. It all began in Lansing, Michigan when we taught 43 homeschooling students at Verity Education. We also did a parents' workshop the same week up the road about 40 miles.
This became the springboard into the development of our CLEP Prep classes in not only Natural Science and Biology, but also U.S. History 1, College Algebra, Introductory Psychology, Introductory Sociology, and Freshman College Composition.
We have since then taught CLEP classes and presented parents' workshops in Virginia, Indiana, Kentucky, Colorado, Texas, as well as here in New York, too.
Students have been passing the CLEPs and getting both high school and college credit, too. You can read about some of their stories on the results page of our new website, www.clepclasses.com.
We are now scheduling to teach and speak throughout the U.S. and Canada in the months ahead.
But we are finding during our travels
that parents are still asking for lots of help in putting together
their "Grand Plan" for their kids, as well as dealing with
practical questions in the secondary school years. We are
more than glad to be a "sounding board" and share what we know. We
constantly receive emails asking us for suggestions and "guidance"
for their children. This includes questions about double
crediting, taking CLEP exams, putting together or
selecting curricula, and many other issues. The questions range
from the needs of very young students to those getting ready for
college and career.
This led us a few weeks ago to send out a survey to a select group
of parents asking what other services homeschooling families may
want from us. We have compiled the responses. As a result, we
are excited to offer some additional ways to be of help. This is
beyond the help that we provide through our well-known homeschooling
book, The Guidance Manual for the Christian Homeschool:
If you don't have a copy, why not order the "The Guidance Manual" today!
This one-of-a-kind reference book may answer most of your unanswered
questions.
We have now spoken at over thirty home school conventions, workshops,
and seminars throughout the U.S., from Maine to Hawaii, Michigan to
Texas, and even into Canada where people everywhere are thanking us
for what we have put together in this one-stop resource. Click
here to find out what parents are
saying about our book and our workshops!
As we have said, we are encouraged and humbled that people are being
blessed by our ideas and experiences. When we began with our own
children, there were only a very few who had accomplished
homeschooling through high school. We had to learn through "the
school of hard knocks." But now there are easier ways, and what you
learn from us is not the end of new ideas and opportunities; it is
the springboard for you to think of even better ways to teach your
children!
We have also mentioned that we see our job as a ministry. Our
desire is to bless families. As we surveyed many of you, we learned
that most of you are making great sacrifices to homeschool your
children. We understand this because we too have struggled through
the challenges of a single-income family and other issues to
give our children the best possible home education experience.
The vast majority of those who responded to our survey were interested in a number of additional services from us:
Many were interested in on-line phone support for preparing their "Grand Plan" or "College Plan" for their children. Several parents expressed interest in on-line forums. Many want regular e-mail support. There is a strong interest in assistance in helping to set up and track CLEP test progress. And we also have learned that many parents want to find ways to pursue home-based college options, including using distance learning, but they would like someone to manage this for them.
Many parents are willing to pay for these kinds of services. But the range of abilities to pay is quite broad. We asked what kind of fees we should charge for this? The numbers were across a wide scale, as we said.
After careful consideration and several days of prayer, we have come to a conclusion about what we should do.
Those of you who know us well, know that we are committed to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. We took a step in January, 2003 to pursue this homeschooling ministry. The Lord has provided enough to keep going until now. We expect He will continue to do so.
We believe that it would be consistent with our calling to offer some new services because of the strong needs that are being expressed for them.
However, we also see our ministry is not just a job, or a business, but a true ministry to the homeschooling community. It is obviously a "full-time" ministry which means we must make a living through it. Additionally, many of you are looking for support of your efforts to homeschool your children from birth through college and career. New ideas in accelerated learning, home-based colleges, and special career needs are surfacing for many homeschoolers. And the opportunities are ever-increasing! In light of all of this, we are now offering the following new services to you:
1. On-line phone support for parents and CLEP Prep students.
2. On-line email support for parents and students.
3. Hourly phone sessions to assist in designing your "Grand Plan" and/or "College Plan" for any of the student(s) in your home.
4. A means for tracking and holding your student(s) accountable for keeping to their Plan.
5. On-line forums.
6. When possible, we will also provide live on-site sessions for parents and students to discuss your needs and concerns. This will be possible at homeschool conferences and curriculum fairs, as well as where we will be teaching CLEP Prep classes and doing parents' workshops. We will arrange them by appointment on a first-come, first-served basis.
Paying for Services . . .
We are working on some other services as well, and hope to offer
them soon. However, we have decided that offering these services will
not be based upon a demanded set fee. Rather, we are going
to continue to work from the position that this is a ministry
to the homeschooling community. Therefore, we will only state a
suggested "value" for our services. We will then let
YOU determine what you think it is worth or what
you can afford to pay. Then give us a donation, if you are so
inclined. That's right. We are offering these services to you based upon
what you need; but we will determine your costs based upon
what YOU can afford, and what YOU believe our
services are worth to YOU. That way, no one must go without because they cannot afford it.
And those who are able, may pay us based on what they
believe we have provided, and its worth. If our services were
"valued" at $20, but you only thought they were worth $5, then we ask
you to make a donation to us of $5. Or if that is all you can afford,
we will be glad for being able to bless you. If you can afford
what we believe our value is for a particular service, then
contribute that much to us. And if you can give a bit more
for those who are not able, that will be great too. But we will
leave all of it between the Lord and you. We really believe at this time that this is the right thing to
do. It is consistent with our life and calling to the
homeschooling community. It allows the homeschooling community to
also bless one another. We will step out in this way and continue to
do so as long as the Lord provides for us to survive in this way. We will obviously let you know if it isn't working. But we fully
believe at this time that it will. So if you need any of the above services, please
click here to go to our page of expanded
offerings. Or you can go directly to
www.davidandlaurie.com/services.html. Each service will be
explained there, and contact information is included. Let us help
you prepare for the next step in your homeschooling plans. We will
all trust the Lord for the results. Together, we will see the Lord
work in your children, and in all of us. Learn about our new and
exciting CLEP Classes and Parents' Workshops by clicking here.
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