There are a couple reasons I realized I wasn’t called to homeschool, although I gave it a go for 3-year-old preschool and failed miserably once I started blogging and Paul was four.

As a former teacher with a mean streak of perfectionism, I was never satisfied with the curriculum. I knew I would forever be supplementing, looking for “the best” activities and probably making up my own worksheets for any given topic, spending hours on the computer wandering through the endless resources out there.

If I did homeschool, and if we made it all the way to high school, however, it would have been such a relief when this course came out.

Real Food Nutrition & Health

Kristen Michaelis of Food Renegade is offering a “Real Food Nutrition & Health eCourse” for kids ages 12 and up (and non-kids ages 18 and up who are lifelong learners, too!). It’s based on Weston A. Price principles of nutrition that you’ll never bump into in a traditional curriculum:

• Saturated fats are good for you
• Traditional cultures knew how to eat
• God designed food and us, and He knew what He was doing – we don’t need chemists to tell us how to eat
• Americans eat too much corn and vegetable oils
• Vitamin D, a necessary nutrient, can’t be properly obtained by fortified milk and cereal
• Whole foods, not “vitamins and minerals,” are what people need to eat for good health
• Nutrient density, enzymes, and Real Farming
• And so, SO much more!

Kristen employs video files, “living book” style texts, audio lectures (don’t let the word “lecture” lead you astray – she knows how to speak to her chosen audience, and she’s so very passionate about her topic that one can’t help but be drawn in!), group discussion questions and hands-on/minds-on projects.

I can tell from reading Kristen’s work at Food Renegade over the years that she is one of those gals who is academically brilliant, and definitely someone I’d trust to teach my kids. Here’s a little from the good teacher herself:

As a homeschooling mother, I know what makes a good class — a passionate teacher. It’s not multiple-choice quizzes, boring homework assignments, or essay tests. It’s a teacher who loves what she’s teaching, who thinks up creative projects or experiments, who can turn life itself into memorable lessons.

When you enroll, you and your kids will read first-hand accounts from inside the Real Food Revolution, watch video footage of the leading thinkers behind the sustainable food movement, and engage the course materials in a critical, thoughtful way while participating in an online community learning experience.

You’ll get to do experiments at the grocery store, in your kitchen, and (if possible) local farms.

We’ll have fun. Scouts honor.

Here’s her first “sneak peek” video from class number one. Keep in mind that this is only a small portion of the class, but it’s enough to whet your whistle:

Lesson 1:1 Food, Not Nutrients from FoodRenegade on Vimeo.

The Paperwork Details

Although I would encourage you to visit the Real Food Nutrition & Health eCourse information page, here are a few of the background facts you should know:

• Registration closes on September 24th. Classes begin October 1st.
• There are discounts for multiple people in the same family
• The work is GRADED, if you chose (what homeschooling parent doesn’t appreciate that!?)
• If graded, you need to keep up with the work. If not, you can move at your own pace. Everyone will have access to all the information for the duration of the course.
• The required reading for the course uses mainly Kristen’s textbook, Real Food Nutrition & Health, which is $5 off if you buy it with the course.

In case you’re not yet convinced, here’s one more sneak peek video:

RFNH Corn Corn Everywhere Corn from FoodRenegade on Vimeo.

What you’ll see:

• A Food Scientist bragging about how we “engineer” foods today in laboratories!
• The shocking level of corn in today’s supermarket (it’s hiding where you least expect it!)
• The link between corn and unnaturally high Omega 6 fatty acids in our diet

One more thing I love? The music in that video is Rich Mullins, perhaps the best Christian singer ever, who went to be with the Lord at a very early age. It’s nice to know that the teacher is coming from a Christian worldview, especially with all the genetic modification and other weird stuff going on in the world of food today.

The course is $100, but I will be offering a coupon code for $20 off to everyone who enters the giveaway today! Remember, registration ends Friday, so this giveaway for one full eCourse plus the textbook of Real Food Nutrition & Health, ends Thursday, September 23rd.

Enter Here!

If you’d like to win the Real Food Nutrition & Health eCourse, which can be graded or taken as an entire family, plus the eTextbook ($115 value), follow the directions below to enter. Giveaways at Kitchen Stewardship are run via a survey, which means comments on this post do not count (and will be deleted). In the long run, this is quicker for you if you go for extra entries.

CLICK HERE TO ENTER GIVEAWAY CONTEST. THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED; THANKS FOR ENTERING!

There are 9 possible entries! Don’t forget that everyone who enters will receive a $20 off coupon code! Here’s what you can do to win:

1. Mandatory Entry: Visit the eCourse description, find the class schedule, and tell me the most intriguing lesson in your opinion.
   Mandatory: Click HERE to enter your email address for Kristen. She won’t spam you, I promise!
2. Subscribe in a reader or via email to Kitchen Stewardship (or tell me if you already do).
3. Subscribe to Food Renegade in a reader or by e-mail.
4. Follow @kitchenstew and @foodrenegade on Twitter AND tweet this:
   I’m entered to win @foodrenegade ’s eCourse on #realfood nutrition & health @kitchenstew http://bit.ly/8X6al3 ($115 value) #homeschool
5. “Like” Kitchen Stewardship on Facebook.
6. Email 5 friends about this giveaway along with the link to it. (Email subscribers can forward their message.)
7. Stumble or Digg your favorite post or recipe at Kitchen Stewardship (you can use the Share This icon at the bottom of the post). What is Stumble?
8. If you have a blog or website, post about this giveaway linking back to this post.
9. Enter another giveaway at Kitchen Stewardship this week, either HERE or HERE, or HERE for another homeschool giveaway.

I will use random.org’s integer generator to choose the winner.  The giveaway is open to anyone, anywhere.  Entries will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. EST on Thursday, September 23rd, and I’ll post the winners the very next day. Everyone who enters will receive an email with a $20 off coupon code for the course!

If you missed the last Monday Mission, click here.

Kitchen Stewardship is dedicated to balancing God’s gifts of time, health, earth and money.  If you feel called to such a mission, read more at Mission, Method, and Mary and Martha Moments.

Disclosure:  I did not receive anything to run this giveaway.  I am an affiliate of Food Renegade’s eCourse, which means I receive a commission if you purchase the course starting here at KS. That’s just lovely, by the way – thank you. See my full advertising disclosure here.