Join us as we talk with the queen of Charlotte Mason homeschooling, Cindy Rushton. You will laugh and learn during this one hour coffee break.

Southern Baptist Mom and founder of Southern Baptist Church and Home Education Association talks about the exit strategy and the Kingdom Education Workshop on June 15th in Greensboro, NC

Science Friday is a live news/talk show about science that is broadcast every Friday on National Public Radio (NPR) stations nationwide. NPR has made new video-based science lessons available to complement the show free of charge on their Web site.

This contest has ended.Family Time Fun is one of my new favorite companies!Anyone who knows me well knows that my family is always at the top of my priority list. Our schedules are insane between me and all my ventures, my amazingly hard-working husband, and my 4 kiddos and their activities! But I have always made it a point to make dinners a family affair. We may eat at 10:00pm, but we ALWAYS eat together! :)All too often however, while we are all gathered around the table the TV is on, or everyone is talking at the same time! So although we are physically "spending time together," it is not actually quality time!Family Time Fun has created some incredible solutions to this problem!They are the creators of The Restaurant Game... And The Dinner Game!I wish I could say I have a favorite, but I just love them both! We played The Dinner Game the moment it arrived (because my kids couldn't WAIT until dinner!), and we loved it. We played it again that night at dinner, and now it is a staple on my table- it has a home just beside the napkins!And although we haven't been out to eat since The Restaurant Game arrived, you can rest assured it is already in my car awaiting a trip out with the family!Both games have questions such as, "Everyone at the table should guess your favorite song" and "Hum the tune to a song while everyone else tries to guess it." The Restaurant Game also has cards that say, "Guess how many sugar packets are in the caddy at the table" and "Guess your server's favorite color." The Restaurant Game makes no noise, so it will not disrupt any surrounding tables.These games are sure to bring new life to your family dinners, no matter what the ages of your kids are. My 2 year old got a kick out of hitting the "start" button on The Dinner Game.Family Time Fun is offering The Restaurant Game to YOUR family, as well!To enter to win this competition...To enter, please do any or all of the following:1. Comment below, with your email address, telling me how this game could change your "family time" at dinner.2. Visit the "Family Time Fun Games" site by clicking HERE, and leave a comment telling me what you think you will love about their games!3. Subscribe to this blog (enter your email address in upper right corner), and comment that you do.4. Follow this blog (in right hand column), and comment that you do.5. Become a fan of this blog on Facebook by clicking HERE, and comment that you do.6. Email this contest out to your friends, and copy me on it at vaagen@bellsouth.net7. Follow me on Twitter (vaagen) and ReTweet this contest on Twitter: http://twitter.com/vaagen/status/2765236593. Comment below that you did.8. Favorite this blog on Technorati by clicking HEREThe winner will be chosen by random drawing on http://www.random.org/integers/ on Friday, July 31th at 6pm. Good luck!Thank you for coming to Mingle Over Mocha with Anna!

GIVEAWAY!! A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald “Blue Like Jazz” Miller is a thought-provoking look at what our lives could be like if we were to try to turn it into movie material.  As Miller shares his experience with us, the result less than exciting for him.  But his life begins to take shape as he goes through it step by step.  What would a conversation about your life be like… if you were talking with God? This and many other questions will make you think… and just might change your life! A Million Miles In A Thousand Years by Donald Miller '>Excerpt from his book Book Description Full of beautiful, heart-wrenching, and hilarious stories, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years details one man's opportunity to edit his life as if he were a character in a movie. Years after writing a best-selling memoir, Donald Miller went into a funk and spent months sleeping in and avoiding his publisher. One story had ended, and Don was unsure how to start another. But he gets rescued by two movie producers who want to make a movie based on his memoir. When they start fictionalizing Don's life for film--changing a meandering memoir into a structured narrative--the real-life Don starts a journey to edit his actual life into a better story. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years details that journey and challenges readers to reconsider what they strive for in life. It shows how to get a second chance at life the first time around. Click this link to see where Donald will appear on his book tour! To enter, please do any or all of the following: 1. Comment below, with your email address 2. Visit the A Million Miles site on Amazon, and let me know your thoughts! 3. Subscribe to this blog (enter your email address in upper right corner), and comment that you do. 4. Follow this blog (in right hand column), and comment that you do. 5. Become a fan of this blog on Facebook by clicking HERE, and comment that you do. 6. Email this contest out to your friends, and copy me on it at vaagen@bellsouth.net 7. Follow me on Twitter (vaagen) and ReTweet this contest on Twitter: http://twitter.com/vaagen/statuses/4694322348. Comment below that you did. 8. Favorite this blog on Technorati by clicking HERE The winner will be chosen by random drawing on http://www.random.org/integers/ on Wednesday, October 14th at 6pm. Good luck! Thank you to Thomas Nelson for donating the free copy of "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years" for my review. I was not compensated monetarily for this review, or for any on my blog site. All reviews are provided after I receive a free/donated product from the publisher, manufacturer, or PR company. Reviews are written from an unbiased point of view. Only business relationships exist with those who provide products for review. Thank you for coming to Mingle Over Mocha with Anna!

Friendship For Grown-Ups:? What I Missed & Learned Along the Way, by Lisa WelchelLisa Whelchel is a Christian Actress, Author, speaker for Women of Faith, and fellow homeschooling mom.? She was the child star "Blair" in Facts of Life.? ? Her experiences, beginning in the filming of Facts of Life, pwere what began her journey that is described among the? pages of Friendships for Grown? Ups.? As an independant individual most of her life, she had a hard time understanding what real friendship is.Lisa is a bit of an open book.? Her no-holds-barred style welcomes you in,? and makes you feel like you're talking to a friend.? I would recommend this book to anyone who has the "loner" mentality.? I have tendancies to need personal space often, and there were many parts of this book I could easily relate to!I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers,? a.k.a. "Book Sneeze"? as part of their book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.Thank you for coming to Mingle Over Mocha with Anna!

This Friday through Sunday! The 2020 Library of Congress National Book Festival is VirtualThe 2020 Library of Congress National Book Festival is celebrating its 20th birthday this year! Join us this weekend at loc.gov/bookfest for an interactive, online celebration of American Ingenuity featuring more than loc120 authors, poets and illustrators at the first virtual event in the festival’s history. Connect with your favorite writers across all genres at our virtual “stages” including, Children, Teens, Family, Food & Field, Fiction, Genre Fiction, History & Biography sponsored by Wells Fargo, Poetry & Prose sponsored by National Endowment for the Arts, Science, and Understanding Our World.View the full author lineup:? loc.gov/events/2020-national-book-festival/authors/?loclr=ealnComplete Your FREE Registration and Sign In NowCreate your FREE account now at loc.gov/bookfest to access on-demand videos, live author chats and discussions during the Festival weekend, Sept. 25 – 27. You’ll have options to personalize your own festival journey with timely topics, and to explore book buying possibilities through the festival’s official bookseller, Politics & Prose.Today! A Day of Programming for Schools, Children & Teens at HomeVideo interviews with popular authors of books for children and young adults,? as well as? two? 1-hour video specials, are available for on-demand viewing starting today at 9 a.m. ET on the festival platform under the “Stages” tab. Log on at loc.gov/bookfest or view on the Library’s YouTube channel at? youtube.com/loc/.Young people can also check out the Roadmap to Reading, which features a list of? “Great Reads from Great Places” – 53 books that reflect the literary heritage of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.Don't miss live Q&As with some of today's most popular children and young adult authors? – including Chelsea Clinton and Veronica Chambers. Visit loc.gov/bookfest for a complete schedule.Download this Learning Guide for tips and suggestions on experiencing the virtual festival all weekend long with the kids and teens in your life:? loc.gov/static/events/2020-national-book-festival/documents/NBF2020-Learning-Guide.pdf The Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction and Literacy Awards to be given at FestivalEach year we take the opportunity of the Library of Congress National Book Festival to award a series of important prizes that celebrate and honor literature and literacy. This year, Colson Whitehead, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novels “The Nickel Boys” and “The Underground Railroad,” will receive the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction during the festival. The author will take part in a live Q&A event and talk about his life and work at this year’s National Book Festival, Saturday, Sept. 26 at 11 a.m. Also, five organizations working to expand literacy and promote reading will be awarded the 2020 Library of Congress Literacy Awards.Read more:? blogs.loc.gov/national-book-festival/2020/09/our-award-winners-colson-whitehead-literacy-honorees/Watch the PBS Television Special on SundayAlso a first in the festival’s history, the festivities will culminate with a PBS television special! Watch “The Library of Congress National Book Festival: Celebrating American Ingenuity,” hosted by Hoda Kotb on Sunday, Sept. 27, 6-8 p.m. ET/PT (check local listings and PBS streaming info).? ? Festival ShopThe National Book Festival may be virtual, but you can still receive actual merchandise to help capture the memories this year. Purchase swag at our on-line shop where you can also order a FREE commemorative tote bag courtesy of our media partner, C-SPAN.? SHOP:? library-of-congress-shop.myshopify.com/collections/national-book-festivalOrder books by featured authors from the Festival’s official bookseller – Politics & Prose – within the online platform at loc.gov/bookfest. A limited number of signed copies are available.The 2020 National Book Festival poster is available for download at loc.gov/programs/national-book-festival/about-this-program/poster-gallery/. Also, a printed version of the poster will be shipped to you with a donation of $25 or more to support the National Book Festival from either our official bookseller, Politics & Prose, at this location politics-prose.com/national-book-festival-donation or the Library of Congress website at loc.gov/donate/ (select "National Book Festival").#NatBookFest - Follow & Share on Social MediaFollow our social media accounts, re-post festival info, and share your own posts about the event and your favorite presenting authors using the hashtag #NatBookFest. We’ve even created a fun Facebook frame for your profile picture to let friend know you’ll be there! (While logged into Facebook, select your profile picture > select Add Frame > search for National Book Festival Badge 2020 > select then save.) Twitter @librarycongress:? twitter.com/librarycongress Instagram @librarycongress:? instagram.com/librarycongress Facebook @libraryofcongress:? facebook.com/libraryofcongressFestival Facebook event:? facebook.com/events/492391091592698/Thank You to Our National Book Festival SupportersThe festival is free to the public with support from our sponsors and donors including National Book? Festival Co-Chair, David M. Rubenstein, Charter Sponsor, The Washington Post, Patrons, Institute of Museum and Library Services, National Endowment for the Arts, Wells Fargo, Women's Suffrage Centennial Commission, and many Friends and Media Partners. The full list can be found at? loc.gov/events/2020-national-book-festival/sponsors/.Our partners have even transformed their traditional Festival booths and are bringing you read-alongs, fun videos, author features, activities to download and giveaways — all online. Take a look at the schedule of those activities here, then log in to the platform to access them today. More:? blogs.loc.gov/national-book-festival/2020/09/festival-partners-family-friendly-activities-are-back/Please join us in thanking all of our supporters and consider making your gift to the Library of Congress at loc.gov/donate.?

Not long ago, I was discussing with our think tank some of the challenges with all this new technology and all the information known to mankind literally in the palm of every student lucky enough to have a parent who bought them a smartphone. When holding all this knowledge in their hands - it's no wonder they feel it a wasteful effort to memorize anything - "why bother, I can just look it up!" Well, they are right, even if we know there are something they do need to know (memorize) and think about to survive in this world. Let's talk.

In this tech-savvy generation, eLearning is the next big thing, engaging learners with eBooks, tutorials, videos, and group forums. This article talks about the real potential of eLearning promoted through apps and how to make one such app targeting eager learners.

This Friday through Sunday! The 2020 Library of Congress National Book Festival is VirtualThe 2020 Library of Congress National Book Festival is celebrating its 20th birthday this year! Join us this weekend at loc.gov/bookfest for an interactive, online celebration of American Ingenuity featuring more than loc120 authors, poets and illustrators at the first virtual event in the festival’s history. Connect with your favorite writers across all genres at our virtual “stages” including, Children, Teens, Family, Food & Field, Fiction, Genre Fiction, History & Biography sponsored by Wells Fargo, Poetry & Prose sponsored by National Endowment for the Arts, Science, and Understanding Our World.View the full author lineup:? loc.gov/events/2020-national-book-festival/authors/?loclr=ealnComplete Your FREE Registration and Sign In NowCreate your FREE account now at loc.gov/bookfest to access on-demand videos, live author chats and discussions during the Festival weekend, Sept. 25 – 27. You’ll have options to personalize your own festival journey with timely topics, and to explore book buying possibilities through the festival’s official bookseller, Politics & Prose.Today! A Day of Programming for Schools, Children & Teens at HomeVideo interviews with popular authors of books for children and young adults,? as well as? two? 1-hour video specials, are available for on-demand viewing starting today at 9 a.m. ET on the festival platform under the “Stages” tab. Log on at loc.gov/bookfest or view on the Library’s YouTube channel at? youtube.com/loc/.Young people can also check out the Roadmap to Reading, which features a list of? “Great Reads from Great Places” – 53 books that reflect the literary heritage of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.Don't miss live Q&As with some of today's most popular children and young adult authors? – including Chelsea Clinton and Veronica Chambers. Visit loc.gov/bookfest for a complete schedule.Download this Learning Guide for tips and suggestions on experiencing the virtual festival all weekend long with the kids and teens in your life:? loc.gov/static/events/2020-national-book-festival/documents/NBF2020-Learning-Guide.pdf The Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction and Literacy Awards to be given at FestivalEach year we take the opportunity of the Library of Congress National Book Festival to award a series of important prizes that celebrate and honor literature and literacy. This year, Colson Whitehead, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novels “The Nickel Boys” and “The Underground Railroad,” will receive the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction during the festival. The author will take part in a live Q&A event and talk about his life and work at this year’s National Book Festival, Saturday, Sept. 26 at 11 a.m. Also, five organizations working to expand literacy and promote reading will be awarded the 2020 Library of Congress Literacy Awards.Read more:? blogs.loc.gov/national-book-festival/2020/09/our-award-winners-colson-whitehead-literacy-honorees/Watch the PBS Television Special on SundayAlso a first in the festival’s history, the festivities will culminate with a PBS television special! Watch “The Library of Congress National Book Festival: Celebrating American Ingenuity,” hosted by Hoda Kotb on Sunday, Sept. 27, 6-8 p.m. ET/PT (check local listings and PBS streaming info).? ? Festival ShopThe National Book Festival may be virtual, but you can still receive actual merchandise to help capture the memories this year. Purchase swag at our on-line shop where you can also order a FREE commemorative tote bag courtesy of our media partner, C-SPAN.? SHOP:? library-of-congress-shop.myshopify.com/collections/national-book-festivalOrder books by featured authors from the Festival’s official bookseller – Politics & Prose – within the online platform at loc.gov/bookfest. A limited number of signed copies are available.The 2020 National Book Festival poster is available for download at loc.gov/programs/national-book-festival/about-this-program/poster-gallery/. Also, a printed version of the poster will be shipped to you with a donation of $25 or more to support the National Book Festival from either our official bookseller, Politics & Prose, at this location politics-prose.com/national-book-festival-donation or the Library of Congress website at loc.gov/donate/ (select "National Book Festival").#NatBookFest - Follow & Share on Social MediaFollow our social media accounts, re-post festival info, and share your own posts about the event and your favorite presenting authors using the hashtag #NatBookFest. We’ve even created a fun Facebook frame for your profile picture to let friend know you’ll be there! (While logged into Facebook, select your profile picture > select Add Frame > search for National Book Festival Badge 2020 > select then save.) Twitter @librarycongress:? twitter.com/librarycongress Instagram @librarycongress:? instagram.com/librarycongress Facebook @libraryofcongress:? facebook.com/libraryofcongressFestival Facebook event:? facebook.com/events/492391091592698/Thank You to Our National Book Festival SupportersThe festival is free to the public with support from our sponsors and donors including National Book? Festival Co-Chair, David M. Rubenstein, Charter Sponsor, The Washington Post, Patrons, Institute of Museum and Library Services, National Endowment for the Arts, Wells Fargo, Women's Suffrage Centennial Commission, and many Friends and Media Partners. The full list can be found at? loc.gov/events/2020-national-book-festival/sponsors/.Our partners have even transformed their traditional Festival booths and are bringing you read-alongs, fun videos, author features, activities to download and giveaways — all online. Take a look at the schedule of those activities here, then log in to the platform to access them today. More:? blogs.loc.gov/national-book-festival/2020/09/festival-partners-family-friendly-activities-are-back/Please join us in thanking all of our supporters and consider making your gift to the Library of Congress at loc.gov/donate.?

The webinar recording for "Using Chronicling America for Historical Research: The Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War" is now available.Join the Library of Congress in exploring historical events, such as those in the American Civil War, using Chronicling America, a free digital collection of over 20 million pages from American newspapers published between 1770 and 1963. The talk demonstrates search strategies for names, places, and events in this vast collection. The methods can also be used to research general military history and other events.Click here for more information.Â

The National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress and invites you to attend the webinar on September 20, 2023 at 4:00PM ET "Can Historical Newspapers be an Antidote to the Environmental Crisis?" in which author Kerri Arsenault considers how our environmental crisis is tethered to an aesthetic and rhetorical crisis. So many institutions grant the public “free” access to archives, but what if—as an ordinary citizen—you can’t even find the door? This talk will consider barriers to information, how such obstacles may exacerbate the environmental crisis, and what newspapers can do that many resources cannot to help unlock knowledge for those who need it most.Kerri Arsenault is a literary critic, co-director of The Environmental Storytelling Studio at Brown University, contributing editor at Orion magazine, and author of Mill Town: Reckoning with What Remains (2020), which won the Rachel Carson Environmental Book Award (2021) and the Maine Literary Award for Nonfiction (2021) and was a finalist for the Connecticut Humanities Book Award for Nonfiction (2021). Recently, she was a Democracy Fellow at Harvard’s Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History and a fellow at the Science History Institute. Her writing has been published in the Boston Globe, the Paris Review, the New York Review of Books, the Washington Post, and the New York Times.Click to register for the event.

National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Invites Families for One-on-One Conversations at the LibraryNational Ambassador for Young People's Literature Meg Medina is launching a news series to engage with local children, tenns and families beginning on Oct. 7.Meet Meg Medina: Family Office Hours with the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature is an opportunity for families to engage directly with Medina in person at the Library of Congress. In each 20-minute Meet Meg Medina session, children, teens and their loved ones can expect to talk about their favorite books, ask questions about writing and the writing process, and hear a master “book talker” suggest ways to connect young readers’ passions to books they may enjoy. Families may also discuss how books they love help create and strengthen their chosen communities.Due to high demand, and in an effort to create equitable access, tickets are required and will be selected by lottery. The lottery is open for registration between 12 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 14, and 12 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 21. If selected, guests will receive an e-mail on Sept. 22 with notification that they have secured tickets. Register for the lottery here.Click here for more information. You are subscribed to Latest News from the Library of Congress.

Library of Congress Honors New Jersey and Michigan Libraries for Outstanding Service to Readers with DisabilitiesThe National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) at the Library of Congress today recognized two of its cooperating libraries in New Jersey and Michigan for their outstanding service to readers with visual, physical or print disabilities.The New Jersey State Library Talking Book and Braille Center in Trenton, New Jersey, received the 2023 Regional Library of the Year Award, while the Library for the Visually and Physically Disabled Branch of Muskegon Area District Library in Muskegon, Michigan, received the Sub-regional Library/Advisory and Outreach Center of the Year Award.Click here for more information. You are subscribed to Latest News from the Library of Congress.

Adam Sandler's new kids' movie is an entertaining musical with an unlikely lesson in intergenerational discipleship.

Actor Matthew Goode and director Matthew Brown talk about adapting a stage play, understanding C.S. Lewis, and disagreeing well.

Do you feel a little sad during the winter? Maybe you’re not even really sure how you feel. Maybe you just know that something isn’t quite right and you don’t even really know why or exactly what’s wrong. If so, keep reading! I’m going to talk a little bit about why this could be happening...

I know with such a busy life, taking care of yourself can often slip by the wayside. Believe it or not, there are some easy ways to do little things that will help improve your overall health and not break your time or money budget! So, let’s talk about simple and frugal ways to live...

In an effort to reduce truancy in Brown County, Wisconsin, police officers are enforcing the county's 1998 daytime curfew ordinance. You will find WPA's information helpful should you be approached by anyone asking questions.If a police officer questions you, WPA suggests you follow these general principles:• Stay calm and be polite.• Know and exercise your legal rights.• To protect your homeschooling freedoms, civil rights, and privacy, do only the minimum that is required to avoid having the situation become more serious.• Make sure any young people who will not be accompanied by an adult while they are out in public in the Green Bay area during conventional school hours are prepared to talk with police officers. Consider practicing with them.• For adults only: Explain that children who are accompanied by their parents are exempt from the Daytime Curfew ordinance. If necessary, show them a copy of the ordinance (see below).• For both adults and unaccompanied young people: Explain that you are a homeschooler and homeschoolers have the legal right to set their own calendars and schedules. If necessary, show the officer your PI-1206 form, including the information you have printed on the back (see below).• Don't volunteer any additional information. Don't outline the schedule your homeschool follows. Don't try to explain that whatever you were doing is part of your curriculum. Volunteering such information may lead the police officer to ask you more questions or report you to a school official or social service worker for more investigation.• In addition, WPA does not advise homeschooled parents to provide their children with written proof that their child has been excused from attending school at a particular time for two reasons. First, using the PI-1206 form to establish that the child is a homeschooler should be sufficient to prevent the child or parent from being arrested. Second, providing such excuses invites more questions.

Are you a boy mom? Raising and homeschooling boys in the culture of today is a challenge. In this podcast, I talk with Durenda Wilson, author of Raising Boys to Men about these challenges and how we can overcome them! Durenda is one of my favorite authors. She was on our team here at Hip...