View this email in your browser Get Started HERE! History of Homeschooling in Michigan Donate Galatians 5.13: You my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. I hope your celebration of our country's independence was a good one. When we think of the 4th of July, we think of freedom. We are privileged to live in the freest country in the world and homeschool in one of the freest states in the union. At MiCHN, we believe God kickstarted the homeschool movement anew in the 1980s because the public education system was leading His children into the bondage of sin and death because they ignored His commands and taught His Word was untrue. Homeschooling was His means for returning the children's hearts to Himself through parents teaching Biblical truth at home and encouraging obedience to His commands. Our responsibility is to take advantage of our freedom to teach our children His ways. Our obedience with His gift is our best hope for keeping His protection of its continuance. Despite our government leaders' antagonism toward homeschooling, nothing has changed in our laws over the past two years. We can give God thanks and praise. The main things we have done for our part to keep this freedom are praying to God for mercy, attending our legislative coffee hours to build our relationship with our state leaders, and informing them of our desire to stay unregulated and work with protectMIchildren. This c4 lobbying organization has kept a lobbyist working on the inside for our freedom. I invite you to keep working for freedom by continuing to disciple your children, pray for our freedom, meet with your legislators, and give to our friends at protectMIchildren so they can continue lobbying. You can make your donations HERE. Blessings. Mike Winter President, MiCHN How do you learn best? How do your children learn best? If you aren't ready to start talking about school yet...that's okay! But we can talk about learning, right? Life is learning. Your child has been learning since before he was born. And YOU have been teaching him the whole time!:) So even if you are new to Homeschooling, you are not new to teaching. As a result, you know your child best. Knowing and utilizing your child’s learning style will help you engage and individualize his learning. Remember that he might be heavy in one learning style or a mixture of a few.  Here is a common breakdown of those styles.    Visual Learners "I See"  Raise your hand if you have a child that loves to doodle in a margins of his worksheets! Yup, then you might have a Visual learner. Often, he learns best by his many observations. Think illustrated books, flash card, maps, YouTube videos, and colorful anything. He is a note takers, highlighters, and will remember where something is on a specific page in a book! Reading, vocabulary, and spelling come easily to this visual learner.   Auditory Learners "I Hear"  Auditory learners learn best through, well, hearing/listening. He is your talker! (Or maybe even your singer?!) He enjoys music, all parts of it, the lyrics, rhythms, and the patterns. Poetry can also be a highlight for him. And he can memorize both with ease. You will not find this child taking notes, but that doesn't mean he isn't paying attention. He will sound out words and tend to spell VERY phonetically. Keep the audiobooks, Spotify, podcasts, sermons, read alouds, and oral narration/ recitation flowing! (And be ready for a lot of discussion afterwards!) Kinesthetic Learners "I Do" Kinesthetic learners learn best by doing and movement plays a huge role in this. Building, manipulatives, experiments, nature, "acting out" what he has just learned, hands-on activities, and any type active learning. Which child takes your broken vacuum apart? Or is volunteering to build that 10th bookshelf? (I'm a Homeschool mom, I need a lot of books). Keep this wiggly one engaged by, letting him standing while writing, playing Lego while listening to a read aloud, breaks to be outside, hand motions for memorization, and short lessons.  Overall, whether you have 1 child or 15, God created each one as a unique masterpiece (Eph 2:10) and gifted in a way to make a contribution to His Kingdom. So continue to pray and seek the Lord for His direction concerning all things, learning styles included.    Find the Benefits HERE! Sign up today and help us continue our work of protecting and expanding homeschool freedoms in Michigan and providing important resources for families. Get fantastic benefits and perks for your family, including up to 25% off upcoming events! (Check out some past events HERE) Fight With Us HERE!   These are quite uncertain times. Right now, MICHN would advise you to make sure your account is up to date and accurate with Homeschool Legal Defense Association. Be sure to visit their website, and if you have not done so already, BECOME A MEMBER today. What's happening at MICHN   Copyright © 2022 MICHN, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: 4407 W St. Joseph Hwy Lansing, MI 48917

Get Started HERE! History of Homeschooling in Michigan Donate A Most Urgent but Quite Brief Message to Homeschool Dads (from Someone Who Doesn’t Do It Anymore) Here’s the reason I’m not a dad of homeschoolers anymore: They’re adults now. We’re done. We fought the good fight, ran the race—all that. Really, in our case, it’s true that my wife did almost all of it. But I made some sacrifices, too. Education was an all-in family thing until they went to college. At the time, when we first started, I thought, on balance, it was the right move. But given that’s it all said and done, in light of all the struggles and doubts and self-questioning through those long homeschooling years, I’ve now reached this conclusion: It was TOTALLY the right move. It was all worth it. All of it. We have no regrets, whatsoever. I’m not kidding. Normally, I’m Mr. Nuance, Mr. See-Both- Sides, and Mr. Measured. But seriously: I honestly am so very, very, very glad we went the route we did. So thankful to God. So thankful for my wife. The years go by, and you don’t get them back, man. I have regrets in life, and made some judgment errors. But the homeschool ride? Wow, was that was the right call for us. Keep going. -Brant Hansen (Featured INCH Speaker)    Support Homeschool Freedom & Enjoy Benefits! Have you joined MiCHN as a Supporting Member yet? Sign up today and help us continue our work of protecting and expanding homeschool freedoms in Michigan and providing important resources for families.  PLUS, you'll get fantastic benefits and perks for your family, including up to 25% off the upcoming Homeschool Conference!  Pssst... You Can Register For the Conference HERE   Still Taking Nominations  for The Marcia Holmes Memorial Award  September 2022, MiCHN lost a very dear member of our leadership team-- our conference coordinator for many years, a close friend and sister in the Lord, Marcia Holmes. While we miss her dearly, her life was an inspiration to so many of us, and it is our hope and prayer that her contributions and legacy will live on in the heart of our conference and the state homeschool community as a whole. In remembrance of Marcia, we would like to honor one outstanding Michigan homeschool leader at the INCH Conference annually, with the Marcia Holmes Memorial Award.  We are asking for your help to choose a worthy recipient of this award. Our MiCHN leadership team is currently accepting nominations from across the state. To choose the recipient of this year's Marcia Holmes Memorial Award, we are looking for a leader who best represents a faithful and persevering servant going through hard times, yet still dedicated to serving the homeschool community-- just like Marcia did!   When reading these verses from Hebrews 12 and Galatians 6, what homeschool leader do you know who has endured hardship and struggles, yet continued to serve and be a blessing to others in your homeschool community? Who comes to your mind that best exemplifies the following:   "... let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, focusing our eyes on Jesus, who is the Author and Perfecter of our faith..."  (Heb. 12:1b-2a)   "Let us not become weary in doing good,  for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." (Gal. 6:9) Please submit the name of your nominee and share their story, by emailing our office at: Email: [email protected] Subject Line: The Marcia Holmes Memorial Award **Nominations are due by Monday, May 6th, 2024 at NOON. ** The honoree will be recognized and presented with a special plaque during a Keynote Address at the INCH Conference.  Did you see our newest update on S.B. 285 (the Mandatory Kindergarten bill)? S.B. 285 has passed the Michigan Senate (on April 16, 2024) , but it will need to pass the Michigan House before it can be sent to the Governor to become law. Here is who voted for it:  Yeas—21: Anthony, Cherry, Klinefelt, Polehanki, Bayer, Geiss. McCann, Santana, Brinks, Hertel, McDonald, Rivet, Shink, Camilleri, Irwin McMorrow, Singh, Cavanagh, Johnson, Moss, Wojno, Chang  Nays—15: Albert, Hauck, Lindsey, Theis, Bellino, Hoitenga, Nesbitt, Victory, Daley, Huizenga, Outman, Webber, Damoose, Lauwers, Runestad  Excused—2: Bumstead, McBroom  ****View the bill here. We have received many questions asking for clarity on what the bill means for homeschoolers. See the Answers to the Questions HERE!   These are quite uncertain times. Right now, MICHN would advise you to make sure your account is up to date and accurate with Homeschool Legal Defense Association. Be sure to visit their website, and if you have not done so already, BECOME A MEMBER today. What's happening at MICHN