Pajama School Blog

Pajama School, Stories from the Life of a Homeschool Graduate

Win a Free Copy of the DVD Come What May!

by natalie

As I mentioned yesterday, I’m giving away several copies of the DVD Come What May. All you have to do is leave a comment in the comment section below and I’ll enter your name in the drawing. And just in case you’re competitive like me and want to increase your chances of winning, here are a list of ways that you can earn additional entries in the drawing: 🙂

1. Post about this giveaway on your blog or website, with a link back to this post. (1 entry)

2. Add this button to the sidebar of your blog or website. (1 entry)
come what may

3. Add a web banner for the movie to your blog or website. (1 entry)

4. Buy a copy of the movie (then if you win, you’ll have one extra to give away!), and just let me know in the comments which store you ordered from. (2 entries)

So…you could potentially get up to 6 entries in the giveaway! The drawing will take place next Friday, March 27 at noon, so that you have plenty of time to generate all these extra entries. Let the fun begin!

40 Homeschool Grads, a Handful of Professionals, and Numerous Volunteers Collaborate to Produce Come What May

by natalie

Tuesday, March 17 is the big day – the much-anticipated release of the DVD Come What May! Several months ago, our family gathered around a tiny window displayed on my laptop and strained to hear the audio as we sat mesmerized, watching a free streaming video of this captivating film. Now, I am thrilled that it has been picked up by Provident Films (the same group that distributed Facing the Giants and Fireproof) and will be available nationwide!

In honor of this momentous occasion, all week long I’ll be doing a series of posts on this film. You’ll have a chance to enter a giveaway for your own copy of the Come What May DVD, “sit in” on interviews with some of the key people behind the film, and find out about the latest opportunities for aspiring filmmakers. This is such an exciting time for homeschoolers to be stepping up to the plate and taking a bigger role in influencing our culture for Jesus Christ!

Travel A Million Miles with the Pent Family!

by natalie

Ten P's in a PodSome friends gave me the book Ten P’s in a Pod for Christmas several years ago. I’ve been wanting to read it ever since, and finally pulled it off the shelf to read last year. The Pent family has been described as the “first modern home school family.” I could definitely relate to certain stories shared by the author!

More than anything, I was inspired by the large amount of Scripture reading that was required in the Pent family – several hours a day for most of the family members. Because of such consistency in God’s Word, many of the children, by default, had memorized large portions of Scripture, which they regularly recited during their family programs. This book challenged me to make a more conscientious effort to spend time reading Scripture.

Through the month of March, you can download the entire audio version of Ten P’s in a Pod from Behemoth.com for free! Also, the author – Mr. Arnold Pent has this to say, “To encourage you, we are offering this book at basically cost, to encourage your family in your faith, and your walk with Jesus.” Through the month of March, you can also purchase a hard copy of Ten P’s in a Pod through Vision Forum at 60% off the retail price. A great deal on an entertaining and inspiring read!

How Many Years Are in a Generation?

by natalie

harrison tylerMy little brother, Joey, loves to tell people that his grandpa was born 100 years before him. My Dad’s dad was born in 1897, and Joey was born in 1997. Sadly, Grandpa died 14 years before Joey was born, so he never had a chance to get to know him. I’ve always teased Joey that he has a rather skewed concept of what a “normal” generation is as a result of the large age differences between Grandpa, Dad, and Joey. However, I discovered today that he is in good company!

Harrison Tyler, former homeschooler and grandson of President John Tyler, was born 138 years after his grandpa! And his grandpa died 66 years before he was born. I had to get all this written out in detail to see if it was for real 🙂 :

  • John Tyler was born in 1790.
  • He and his wife, Julia, had Lyon Gardiner Tyler in 1853, making John 63 at the time of his birth (Julia was 33).
  • Lyon Gardiner Tyler and his wife, Sue, had Harrison Ruffin in 1928, making Lyon 75 at the time of his birth (Sue was 39).

Guess I shouldn’t give Dad such a hard time anymore about how old he was when Joey was born. These ages make him look like a young pup!

Additional Resources:
Virginia Tech Article about Harrison Tyler and his business success
Vision Forum tribute to the Tyler family legacy
Genealogy of John Tyler and his descendants

HT: Between Two Worlds

Stories for the Whole Family

by natalie

Lamplighter Publishing has just launched a new, beautiful website!

Lamplighter Publishing Website

If you are looking for inspiring, captivating stories to read with your family, I highly recommend the Lamplighter books. Years ago, I read Titus: A Comrade of the Cross, and absolutely loved it. So about a year and a half ago, I started reading it to my three youngest siblings. They were likewise riveted to every word of the story, and found their hearts drawn closer to Jesus through it.

Our family also loves listening to radio dramas, so I’m especially excited about the new Audio Drama, Sir Malcolm and the Missing Prince, that is in the works. You can sign up for the Lamplighter E-Newsletter on their home page to keep up with the latest developments on this project, and on new releases that become available.

Giveaway of What He Must Be by Voddie Baucham

by natalie

Voddie Baucham

Homeschool grad Jasmine Baucham is hosting a giveaway on her blog for her Dad’s latest book – What He Must Be…If He Wants to Marry My Daughter. (Just go leave a comment on her post to be entered in the drawing.) Our family has enjoyed listening to Voddie Baucham speak several times, and we are always blessed and encouraged by his faithful preaching of the Word of God. Last summer we attended an apologetics conference in Branson where Mr. Baucham was one of the three main speakers. He told us a little bit about this book and I have been eagerly waiting for its release ever since!

Just for fun, here’s a picture of my little brother Joey with Mr. Baucham. Isn’t that cute?! 🙂

Joey with Voddie Baucham

History of the World Review

by natalie

History of the World DVD SetOne of the things I’m hoping to do here on the Pajama School Blog is post reviews of some of the items I have listed under the Recommended Resources in the sidebar. This morning I came across an excellently written overview of one of the History of the World messages. Fellow homeschooler Nathan Hayden recently watched this series and has posted a comprehensive overview of The Message of the Mayas and the Correlation to America.

Our family watched this set of 10 DVDs last year and found them to be very interesting. Nathan’s post will give you a taste of some of the insights you can gain if you watch these lectures.

Getting to Know You

by natalie

Getting to Know You!Lynnette Kraft, homeschool momblogger and author of the newly released book, In Faithfulness, He Afflicted Me, is hosting a fun Getting to Know You idea over on her blog. It’s shaping up to be a great way to find out about other blogs! If you have a blog, you can join in on the fun – just leave a comment on her post telling about your blog(s) and five of your favorite blogs. Here are the five favorites that I listed:

1. Naomi Anne – my little sis’ blog.

2. A World of Buildings – my little bro’s blog.

3. Renewed Day by Day – Lydia’s blog.

4. Biblical Womanhood – Crystal’s blog.

5. Life in a Shoe – Kim’s blog.

Custom-Designed Guess Who? Game

by natalie

Josh Harris has a fabulous post about how he custom-designed for his children a Narnia version of the popular Guess Who? game. This is such a creative idea! And I could see doing something similar to tie in to other areas – Early Church History, Reformers, Presidents, Composers, etc. I may just have to go pick up a Guess Who? game so I can try this out!

A Real Life Love Story

by natalie

Fellow homeschool grad, and dear friend of mine, Kelsie Steele is now living in the far-off country of Ukraine. Although it was no surprise to anyone who knew Kelsie that she married a missionary, the story of how she and her husband Joshua met and married is an incredible account of God’s providence. Now, for the first time ever, they are retelling (in written form) their Love Story in a series of posts on their family blog.

In addition to being captivated by their superb writing, I can guarantee that your heart will be blessed as you catch a glimpse into how God supernaturally orchestrated the events that led them together.