We want to create a place where parents can get help with questions and encouragement. We want to provide an online opportunity for kids to meet other homeschool students in a controlled environment. We want allow isolated homeschools the connectivity available through the Internet. We want to enable technically challenged homeschools to gain the skills and confidence to be responsible and fully capable Internet citizens. We also want to build relationships and share our collective journey with one another.

We plan to make Barnabas Way all those things, and also to hear ideas and suggestion brought forward and see what we can do about that as well. Sound good? Well what can you do? Here are a couple of suggestions:

1. You can comment on a blog post. Just click the link at the bottom of the post that says “Comments” and fill in the message box with your thought, ideas, suggestions, reactions, or questions. A blog is a great way to interact with people through the comments. You can put your input up on the web attached to our blog post.

2. You can sign up for community updates by filling out the form at the top of the page with your name and e-mail address. We will then be able to get in touch with you and let you know when new blog posts come out or when something exciting is happening.

3. You can keep coming back to see what’s being talked about in the blog. We keep adding new information all the time. That’s the beauty of a blog, it’s always being updated by new articles, thoughts, and tidbits. So be sure to mark this site as a favorite and stay informed.

4. If you are real savvy and know what an RSS feed is all about, you could click on the RSS icon and subscribe to our feed. If you don’t know what that’s all about. You really need to do one of the other options, because it’s stuff like that and how they can be used by you and your homeschool that we’ll be all over here at Barnabas Way.

So consider loading up your U-haul and moving to our virtual neighborhood…

(Comments are just below here. Yes, right here.)

]]> http://barnabasway.com/blog/barnabas-way-is-getting-ready-to-pre-debut/feed/ 0 http://barnabasway.com/blog/how-did-you-find-your-way-to-the-first-barnabas-way-post/ http://barnabasway.com/blog/how-did-you-find-your-way-to-the-first-barnabas-way-post/#comments Thu, 01 Jan 2009 16:20:35 +0000 Michael http://barnabasway.com/blog/?p=3 You’ve found yourself at the inaugural post on the Barnabas Way blog. How did you find yourself in such a place as this? You’ve obviously wanted to see how this whole community got started. But the question is, why? What caused you to wander here?

Maybe you’re a treasure hunter

You are searching for all the gems of wisdom you can collect with regard to old posts. It seems that you’ve dug to the bottom of the shaft and if there are any jewels here it is in the starting. If this post wasn’t made – nothing would’ve occurred and we wouldn’t have the community we are growing now.

An ideal thing to do would be to leave a comment here.  That way you can be a part of the treasure as others follow your path.  They will be able to see what was discovered by those that traveled before them.  You can be a part of the treasure by leaving your thoughts here with us.

Maybe you’re a historian

You are interested in how things come into being. What were the forces that came into play to bring about the things we see and experience around us?

The best way to satisfy you is to tell you a little story of our creation. Once upon a time there were a few homeschooling families who were active on the Internet. And for various reasons there was a desire to use the tools of the Internet to help our own homeschools and to be able to connect with other homeschools that are out there. The Internet is a brilliant way to connect with people. It eliminates the impediment of distance.

The original idea was that if a number of homeschools were physically located together on a street someplace, what could they do together? Why not see if we could bring together the same advantages and synergies with a virtual community?

So in some ways this is an experimental community. We’ve expected it to grow and expand in ways that are surprising and wonderful. But the only way to know how that will go is to get after it. So with that in mind, at the beginning of 2009 we decided to get things going.

We are starting with a simple blog.  But if the idea catches on, we’ll collect the wisdom of other homeschoolers with an interest in connecting in a virtual community and implement something that we can all share in together.  The idea is to start small and consistently and build a place on the Internet where homeschools can find resources, help, encouragement and a safe place to branch out using this tool of connectivity and communication that has been so thoughtfully installed around our little world.

Maybe you’re family

You have become a part of our family and you have a genealogical streak in you that makes you want to know how we came to be. There were just a few of us starting out. We had no idea what we would end up with. But we had some ideas that we wanted to try out.

We wanted to have a place where homeschoolers could come together to share ideas and be inspired to carry on. We knew that putting our collective heads together could make our own homeschools much better. We also recognized that in the homeschool world there is no such thing as an expert. Each of us has only been involved in one homeschool (OK, maybe two if we were homeschooled as a child and now we have our own – but isn’t that really just an extension of the original?). So we all have something valuable to share. We just need a place where we can share it and it will be available for those who want to take advantage of the collected wisdom.

Frankly, it really doesn’t matter why you’ve come.  We are very glad to have you here whether you are just checking us out or have been a long time member.  We hope you will interact with us and decide to help contribute along with us.

Welcome and enjoy your visit to Barnabas Way!