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The Classics Curriculum
Ordering Information
The
Helping Hand
Linda Hurst
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Welcome to our web page! The
Helping Hand was formed in 1989 by Linda Hurst, a former teacher and a
home schooling mom.
After becoming involved with her local home schooling support group Linda recognized
the need for testing services and educational counseling for parents. The
moms in her local support group often got together while their children were
busy roller skating (their Thursday physical education class!) and discussed
problems they were having educating their children with their chosen
curriculum. Some of these home school moms had grown beyond the use of
textbook or workbook curricula and had ventured out, either on their own or
with the help of a commercial curriculum, to use thematic unit studies.
They were serious about taking advantage of the opportunities and freedoms
they had as home schoolers to make their home school learning environment
rich and challenging for their youngsters. Together they voiced a common
complaint, regardless of whether they chose to use a commercial unit study or
created their own--all experienced burn-out by Christmas. Regardless
of how strongly they felt about the value of thematic unit studies they all
confessed to resorting back to more traditional forms of curriculum by the
middle of the school year. Each had her own way of dealing with the
"guilt" that accompanied this decision. All regarded their action
as tragic for their children, but admitted that they did not have any
alternative. Invariably, they agreed that what was needed was a curriculum
that would meet their needs (that is, be completely organized, leaving them
free to teach) as well as meet the needs of their children (which meant this
material would be interesting, multi-sensory, and appropriate for all of the
children in their families, regardless of age or ability).
In the back of her mind Linda was taking notes. She could not help thinking,
"I could do this--I could develop materials that would solve the
problems I am hearing. This is what I have been doing in my classroom and
with my children for years! Perhaps this is why I have spent so many years in
the field of education. Maybe God was preparing me to serve Him by
ministering to the needs of my home schooling friends." So, she set off
to develop The Classics with the help of a couple of teacher
friends and the aid of her home schooling peers.
Within a few months the first unit of The Classics was
published. Meanwhile, Linda offered her services to the entire Metroplex area
as a standardized test administrator and educational consultant. Realizing
that her efforts were developing into her life's work, Linda created The
Helping Hand Educational Services and Supplies (dba The Helping
Hand) with the idea of truly being a "helping hand" to those home
schoolers in need. As the years progressed, the company grew into a business
that serves home schoolers nationwide, offering a variety of products and
services.
Today, The Helping Hand is still a family-owned business that is dedicated to
providing quality products and services for the home schooling community. Our
products include a unit-study curriculum, The Classics, as well
as a large selection of supplemental materials chosen to make your home
schooling experience a pleasant and productive one.
It has always been our desire to be of service to the home schooling families
we come into contact with, whether or not they use our particular curriculum.
We realize that persons involved in home schooling often have questions about
what materials are best suited for a particular learning style, how to teach
more than one child at a time, how much material to cover, etc. For the first
several years we offered free telephone consultation and low cost testing
services. Due to the increase in our business it is now virtually impossible
for us to consult with everyone via the telephone or offer testing services;
however, we would be delighted to freely answer questions and offer our
suggestions and support via e-mail.
We believe that The Helping Hand has a lot to offer. Although we do
advertise in several home school magazines with nationwide coverage, we still
depend upon our customers to "get the word out" about our company,
our products and our services. If you like our products and would like to have
FREE BROCHURES to share with your friends or home school support
group, please contact us. Linda has a limited number of openings for speaking
engagements in the fall, spring and summer. If your support group or bookfair
is interested in engaging Linda for a workshop or conference,please
contact us.
Please click on the links to the left to review our products or e-mail us.
And thanks for stopping by!
The Helping Hand
P.O. Box 496316
Garland, TX 75049
Phone ..... 214-356-3659
E-mail .... classics1@tx.rr.com
(click on the "mail" image
below)
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