Over The Top Leadership

LIVING LIFE DIFFERENTLY

My kids have been blessed to live life a bit differently than some of the other kids in our community just because they are home-schooled; but also because of some tough choices that their daddy and I have made over the years. We decided to emulate leadership for them… radical leadership. When we started homeschooling, we hardly knew anyone that was doing it. Now we know lots of families who choose to school at home.

RADICAL PARENTING

Over the years, we have come to know awesome parents who are also doing things differently, even if they are not schooling from home. I applaud all of the parents out there who are stepping up to teach and show their kids how to be leaders, instead of just being led by peer pressure.

One of these parents is Magaline Harvey, whose oldest daughter is Kiersten. She has befriended our oldest, Justine, and it is awesome to watch my oldest girl’s friendship with this beautiful bright girl grow. It makes me remember when I was young and started becoming close friends with one of my schoolmates. I know how important that is for youth to have like-minded friends with families that have similar values in their lives.

OVER THE TOP LEADERSHIP

We want to just give a shout out to Kiersten on the leadership role she has taken to pursue a singing career from a young age. Bravo Sweetie! She has been blessed by supportive parents who are allowing her to follow her dream and become a BOSS Kid (Donna’s translation = an Over the Top Radical Leader). Check her out in this newly released video from the singing group that she is a part of, L.O.U.D.

Video – BOSS Kid – Single by L.O.U.D. (Link Opens Our Playlist Page)

(‘Live Out Ur Dreams’ – Group founded by AGI)  Congrats to my friend, Mom Magaline Harvey, and

to the Founder and Pro Team from AGI: Brandin Jay, Natarsha Kinder-Garcia and everyone involved.

MY OPINION ON RADICAL LEADERSHIP AS PARENTS

Support your young folks who are pursuing their dreams – who are seeking to be radical leaders by doing so. Teach them how to lead and then leave room for their gifts to come forth in whatever way God chooses to use them. Guide them and give them the proper foundation in God’s Word. Then let them emerge and soar – without coddling, judging or shunning them. Us older folks don’t always understand the creativity of the younger generations, but we need to move out of the way and let God do His Thing through them.

WHAT OUR KIDS THOUGHT OF THE VIDEO

Charity (8) said that she liked the music and outfits. Justine and Samuel (12 and 10) said that they liked to hear them talking about being leaders and being responsible.

PLEASE SHARE

If you liked the video and the message these kids are spreading, please use the sharing buttons on this page to pass this on.

~Donna Marie, The Mommy of #ButterflyHomeschool

Fall Update and How To Stay Safe From Fire

#ButterflyHomeschool is now in the Fall phase for 2013, and focused on learning how to stay safe from fire, after having started our season with an awesome Stay-Cation last week.

2013 Staycation with Grandmommy Val with Johnson Kids

ZOO TRIP WITH GRANDMOMMY

We have been enjoying this totally awesome weather in Atlanta. Temperatures are in the low 80’s and high 70’s in the day and drop into the 60’s (50’s sometimes) at night. We are so happy that GrandMommy Butterfly Val visited with us and went on our zoo field trip with us and enjoyed this heavenly weather, too. She is from Chicago, so she really enjoyed the warmer weather.

Mommy Butterfly’s Heart Was Stolen By This Clever Creature Who Loves the Limelight

We’ll share more about that zoo field trip later this Fall, too. For now, we want to let you know that, if you are a Fulton County resident and library card holder in good standing, you can check out a complimentary zoo pass once each year at the library. When we share about our trip, we’ll let you know more details about that free pass from the library, too.

Click To See Our Video Playlist of the NFPA Video Series with Sparky The Fire Dog

HOW TO STAY SAFE FROM FIRE

Okay, so the first #ButterflyHomeschool Team Fall Project is centered around Fire Safety because it is National Fire Prevention Week. So, the kids have received individual jobs that they each have to do as part of their group project (jobs are: illustrator, researcher and recorder). The overall project includes all of the main subjects including: math, science, geography, reading and writing all rolled up into that one project. We love integrating our learning this way. It really helps us to use what we are learning right away so that our learning sticks with us for the long-term.

National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) National Fire Prevention Week

link: http://www.nfpa.org/safety-information/fire-prevention-week

Also, of course helping to prevent fires and teach your kids to be safe is extremely important, especially for homeschoolers because, unlike in the public school system, no one is there to do it for us. This is our responsibility to step up and incorporate this into our schooling at home.

The main tips that you’ll learn from the video and website talk about kids being safe in the kitchen, but there is a lot more information way beyond just that. We strongly recommend that you watch our playlist (see video pic and link above), and that you visit the website at the link above. Also, specifically for the kids, check out: Sparky.org for info, games and fun all centered around kids learning about being fire safe.

Question For You:

How are you all spending National Fire Prevention week with your kids?

~Donna Marie, Mommy Butterfly