Sorry for the lack of posting. I have a new interview to post. I have been running like crazy since last Thursday. I had a conference, tax-free week-end, and a computer issue. It seems I am never bored.
August is the busy month for me, since there are a lot of homeschoolers who buy books in August. So, feel free to join in. I don't mind staying busy. You can find my website at www.dhss.com, in case you didn't know.
An Interview with JoJo Tabares of Communication Comedy Network
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
In recent weeks, I have had the opportunity to interview several Christian publishers. Today, I have the opportunity to introduce you to JoJoTabares of Art of Eloquenceand Communication Comedy Network.
Many of you may know her from Grace Talk Soup and Communication FUNdamentals. She is starting a new program called Communication Comedy Network. I listened to her podcast last week, and I plan on working it into my schedule each week. I love that I can listen live, or I can listen later in the day as time permits. The regular scheduled programming is on Thursday mornings.
JoJo, please tell my readers what made you so passionate about communication.
I was a painfully shy child who was always the new kid on the block because every time my father's company needed a volunteer to uproot his family and take them on a new adventure, my dad's hand went up! And it was an advanture, too! But as a shy child, I often had trouble making friends. As the new kid, I didn't even have a history in common with my new friends. I was also kind of a nerd and what they used to call a "goody two shoes." I really didn't fit in with many of my new friends. Those factors combined made for an incredibly lonely young lady. I just thought shyness was part of my personality. I was wrong. Through a series of fortunate events in college, I discovered that I was merely untrained in the art of eloquence when it came to social situations. Once I began taking communication classes, I realized that shyness was NOT part of my personality and that I was actually a gregarious goofball who enjoyed socializing and storytelling. I realized that what the 'beautiful people' or the popular kids had that I didn't in high school wasn't a magic formula or charisma. It was the confidence and knowledge in social situations. That prompted me to want to help others avoid the pain and loneliness I felt as a child.
I raised my children to understand social communication from a very young age. I watched in amazement at the things my children were able to accomplish at such a young age because they had these skills I didn't until I was an adult.
After I began homeschooling a fellow mom asked me to teach a communication course out of my home that would help her painfully shy daughter. I remembered back to my days as a shy child and knew that a traditional speech course would intimidate the begeebers outta her! It would me at that age! So I began to search for a speech curricula that was creative and fun and taught from a Christian perspective. I found some that were Christian based, but they looked like something that would send those begeebers running for cover! I had been writing since I was 9 years old so I figured I could write my own curricula making it fun and thereby taking the begeeber scaring factor away. Before the books were back from the printer, my class was full and I had parents literally waiting on my doorstep to see if the book was ready for purchase!
I hadn't thought about selling it, but God opened a door and there seemed a huge need! I started with one general study on basic communication skills, which is now called Say What You Mean for Teens. I soon was asked to create all sorts of communication studies for various ages and situations. Art of Eloquence has studies for all ages including adults. We have studies on speech, conversational topics, defending the faith, leadership and even online audio classes!
I enjoyed reading all the quotes along the side of your blog. Where do you find these gems?
I have collected them for years. I find many of them as I read through God's Word. I subscribe to various internet newsletters and sites. Some of them come from my podcast listeners or my blog readers or my customers!
Foot-in-Mouth Man (FIMM) is one of my favorite characters. What was your inspiration for him?
Everyone has stuck their foot firmly in their mouth at some time in their lives. FIMM is all of us rolled into one misunderstood character. FIMM sticks his foot in his mouth so often he has Athlete's Tongue! He makes communication mistakes so you don't have to. He's fun to laugh at because he's not a real person. Ooops! Did I write that out loud? LOL
Please tell my readers what is new at Art of Eloquence?
Well, my podcast is brand new! My co host left the show and I heard the Lord direct met to recreate it in a really fun way. It's going to be called CCN: The Communication Comedy Network. The network will feature various shows that teach real communication issues in a really funny way. I'll play all of the characters that host each of about 3 shows per week on the network. I'm going to have a news show with various reporters who report obscure news items that reveal some communication insight. There will be a cable show with a professor who teaches words and grammar. And there will be the main part of each week which will mainly be a talk show. The Talk Talk Show where I play myself as the host. I'll ask a question of my audience and have an open discussion about experiences as I share tips for better communication in that area. Sometimes the Talk Show will be preempted by an infomercial or a Game Show like a Spelling Bee. Each show is designed to share some insights in a humorous way about communication skills that will be engaging for all ages!
JoJo, thank you for taking the time for this interview. I have enjoyed getting to know you better. And I am sure my readers have enjoyed learning more about you. And I encourage them to tune in tomorrow for your podcast. I know I will be tuning in!
When we began our homeschool journey 9 years ago, one of the first items I purchased was one of the Five in a Row manuals. It did not take long for me to purchase all of their manuals. They were written by Jane Claire Lambert and her daughter Becky Jane Lambert Schoeppner. One of the highlights in my homeschool journey was meeting Steve and Jane Lambert at a homeschool convention in Cincinnati, OH a few years ago. You can see their love for the Lord and homeschool families in person and in their writing. I am very honored to have had a chance recently to ask the Lamberts some questions, so you can get to know them better.
Steve, thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.
Can you tell us a bit about your family. You have been in the homeschool market a long time, and you have touched many lives in the process.
We began homeschooling in 1982. Both of our daughters are married to wonderful men. Becky and Troy have been married 11 years and have four great children. Becky handles Five in a Row operations, shipping, etc. in addition to being a full-time stay-at-home-mom, wife, homeschool mother and church leader. Carrie and Michael have been married 7 years and have one adorable daughter. Carrie and Michael are both involved with Five in a Row as website designers, product designers and more in addition to their own freelance work as graphic artists, website designers and professional photographers.
Can you tell us how God is using you to minister to homeschoolers today?
We continue to travel and speak at state conventions as keynote speakers. In addition we're actively involved on our website forums each day offering encouragement and advice. We serve on the national board of directors of First Class Homeschool Ministries, and together with Jay & Heidi St. John we do a homeschool marriage retreats called "Real Life Marriage" workshops for Christian homeschool couples.
When did you hold your first marriage encounter weekend, and what led you to hold it?
We began in 2007. We've actually only done a total of 5 events because we can't afford to do them very often. The logistics of getting the St. Johns from Washington State and us from Missouri to where ever we're invited are complicated with travel and hotel costs what they are these days. However, we are committed to do what we can, because we have seen such an outright attack on marriages in recent years.
You recently had a marriage encounter weekend. Would you like to tell us about it? From what I read, it is not your typical weekend.
No, it's really not "typical" of marriage weekends. We lay our own lives open in a very vulnerable way. Then we challenge couples to get real with one another and get real with God. The sad truth is that there are few places where it's less comfortable to "be real" than churches and homeschooling circles. We're supposed to have all of our ducks in a row at all times and look good. But any hope of healing broken and hurting marriages begins with getting real; taking an honest look at our own lives and the condition of our marriage. First we have to get real with ourselves- then with God and with our partner. We can't heal broken marriages in 24 hours, but we can put hurting couples on a path that will lead to healing if they have the courage to walk down that path.
I (Steve) was the keynote speaker at the WATCH conference seveal years ago. (Washington Association of Teaching Christian Homes) Jay and Heidi St. John served as president of the state organization at that time. As we dialogued before, during and after the conference we discovered that we both had a heart for connecting homeschoolers and local churches into a life-giving, mutually supportive community. The more we talked the more we felt connected and eventually Jay & Heidi asked us to serve on their Board of Directors for FCHM. It's been a tremendously rewarding relationship.
What's new with Five in a Row? I have noticed that you have branched out a bit in recent years.
The homeschool market has changed dramatically since we began homeschooling nearly 30 years ago. Five in a Row has won countless awards and been recognized in so many gratifying ways, but we're wanting to stay connected to the new generation of homeschoolers today. To continue our vision of effective, great academics acquired through lessons that promote a deep love of learning, and that are presented in a way that cause families to grow strong together, we need a more interactive internet experience for parents, and more ancillary products that can help fill niche needs for each unique homeschool family, etc. We are working on all of these. It also means, in many cases, helping nurture young couples in the area of life skills: Marriage, Christian discipleship, parenting, etc. So many young couples today that grew up in the 80's really don't have any known, working model for what marriage and parenting should look like.
We're also very proud of a new product called "small talk" which is a professionally developed set of diagnostic tools and parent-directed therapies for the more than 10% of children who suffer from speech and language delays. Author Cari Ebert is a professional pediatric speech pathologist and she has offered homeschool parents a complete program for about what one diagnostic testing session would normally cost.
Remind us of your websites, and where we can find more information about your ministries.
Gosh. There are so many these days. Thank you for letting us share them.
Our primary website is www.fiveinarow.comwhich is where readers will find 10 forums for daily support and much more
Thank you, Steve, for taking the time to tell us about the ministries you and Jane are involved with. May God richly bless you for the time you have both taken to minister and mentor homeschool families across the world.
Name: Tami Home: North Carolina, United States About Me: I am a homeschool mom of six children with varied interests. I love my family, and I love to read and write for fun. I also have a homeschool bookstore at http://www.dhss.com.
Copyright 2005-2010 Tami Fox See my complete profile
