"Get
Math Relief" is the subject line
of the e-mail accompanying and sponsoring this newsletter.
The Teaching Home E-Mail Newsletter #79
Information, Inspiration, and Encouragement
June 1, 2004 / Cindy Short and Sue Welch, editors
You are welcome to forward this newsletter in its entirety.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
D-Day
60th Anniversary, June 6
Summer Options
Year-Round School
Summer School
Summer Reading
Recommended Resources
"Unlocking The Mysteries of Creation"
Alpha Omega Publications: Power-Glide
Grand Connect for Grandparents and Grandchildren
Computer Science Pure and Simple
Sunnyside Up:
Humorous Anecdote
Greetings!
Summer. Does that bring visions of "vacation"
and "time
off" for three months?
But wait a minute, the three summer months
are one fourth of
the year, so your summers add up to one fourth of our life, and
God tells us to make the most of our time (Ephesians 5:15-17).
No, we don't have to give up the change of
pace that summer
brings with its relaxation, renewal, and special joys. But let's
also
explore how this season can be used to its best advantage for our
families and for the Lord.
Service Opportunities
Besides the activities suggested below, you
might consider
service opportunities such as volunteer work; visiting shut-ins;
lawn care for seniors; manning Christian, pro-life, or home-school
booths; or teaching or assisting in a vacation Bible school or
5-day neighborhood Bible club.
Summer Schedule
Many home-school families have found that
it is beneficial
to keep a structured, if more relaxed, schedule during the summer
in order to make good use of their time and to make it easier to
get back to a school schedule in the fall.
You might want to make up a summer schedule
and broad
outline of objectives after reading and praying about the
following suggestions.
Summer Newsletters
During the months of June, July, and August
we will bring
you suggestions on how to made good use of these three months
that the Lord has given us with our families -- and how to enjoy
the time as well!
We have divided these summer activities into
three general
categories.
1. Continuing Academics (in this issue)
* Year Round Schedules
* Summer Studies
* Basic Skills Review
* Summer Reading
2. Enriching Activities and Electives
* Travel (outings, nature studies, collections)
* Fathers' Role in Home Schooling (plus family relations,
discipline)
* Life Skills (chores, cooking, sewing, home, bicycle, and car
maintenance, driving lessons, etc.)
* Character, Etiquette, and Discipline
* Health Care and Habits (safety training, exercise, diet,
grooming)
* The Arts (art, music, writing, photography, crafts)
3. Preparing for Your Fall School Session
* Choosing Curriculum (worldview, methods and materials, goals
and objectives
* Post High School Options (college, apprenticeship, CLEP, other)
* Household Organization (clutter, cleaning, selling)
* Helping New Home Schoolers Get Started
* School Supplies and Home Library
* School Scheduling (plus how to plan and present a lesson)
* Support Groups (starting, planning, participating)
* Back to School (checklist, encouragement, kick-off activities)
May the Lord richly bless you and your family
this summer.
Cordially,
Pat, Sue, Heather, Holly, and Brian Welch
The Teaching Home is a 23-year-old, home-school family business.
Home School Families
Love
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Mysteries
of Creation"
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* Comprehensive study for Homeschoolers.
* Kids will pick it up again and again.
* THE book on Dinosaurs, Early Earth and Original Man.
* 240 Beautifully illustrated pages.
* Interwoven Scripture builds confidence in God's Word.
* Sample pages at: http://www.creationresource.org.
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First 100 orders get amazing 700-page bonus book Free!
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Home-School Conventions
Unique benefits await you at your local, regional,
or state
home-school convention, conference, or book fair. We urge
you to attend!
For information about your state convention,
go to The Teaching
Home's website (link below) and link directly to the state organization's
website. http://www.teachinghome.com/states/index.cfm.
Upcoming
state conventions:
June: CA, CO, CT, ID, IA, MO, MT, NJ, NY, OH, OK, VA
July: AL, AZ, CA, KY, SD / August: NV, OR,
TX
September: England / Various Dates: TN, TX, NZ
Never Out of Date:
Teaching Home Magazine Back Issues
Many home schoolers have found information,
inspiration,
and support from the writers who have contributed to The
Teaching Home magazine over the last 23 years. Fifty-one
back issues are offered for sale online.
These back issues never go out of date.
They are relevant
and applicable to your needs today.
http://theteachinghomen.goemerchant7.com/
In each issue an average of 58 home schoolers
contribute
practical how-to articles, encouraging letters, and ready-to-use
teaching tips.
"The Teaching
Home has been a part of my
continuing education since I started home schooling,
and I have kept every issue.
"I often go back to
old issues to find creative,
helpful hints or inspiration." Meredith C., Florida
D-Day, June 6
This year marks the 60th anniversary of D-Day,
the allied
invasion of Normandy which began on June 6, 1944 and is credited
with turning the tide of World War II.
In Normandy, France, many events are enabling
young people
to hear first-hand accounts of D-Day because ". . . the time
will soon come when there will no longer be anyone alive who
stormed these beaches or recalls just what it felt like to be
liberated." See report at
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/05/31/dday.torch/
D-Day on the Web includes 200 sites for you to investigate.
http://www.isidore-of-seville.com/d-day/
Normandy (Britannica.com, "the premiere D-Day site on the web")
http://search.eb.com/normandy/
National D-Day Museum in New Orleans
http://www.ddaymuseum.org
D-Day: American Experience
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/dday/
The National D-Day Memorial Foundation, Bedford, Virginia.
http://www.dday.org
D-Day (a UK site)
http://www.dday.co.uk
Maps of D-Day
http://deanusmaedu.notlong.com
Historical Atlas of the Twentieth Century
http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/20centry.htm
Colorful and Fun
Foreign Language
Flashcards
for the Whole Family!
This powerful vocabulary
resource
provides over 200 nouns in 22 different
categories. Use them as simple flash
cards for quick and easy learning, or play games with others
learning one or all 6 languages. The complete pack includes
audio CDs and flashcards containing bright, colorful pictures
that teach as well as entertain. For more foreign language
products visit us at http://www.aop.com.
Year-Round School
Most home-school families continue learning
during the
summer, either formally or informally. Many families have
chosen a regular schedule of study throughout the entire
year with variously timed breaks.
Sample Schedules
1. A four-day school week with three days off.
2. Three, four, or six weeks of school, then one week off.
3. Eight or ten weeks of school, then two weeks off.
Depending on the number of school days required
by your
state's home-school law (if any), all these schedules would
allow several weeks of vacation time each year.
Vacation days can be spaced out evenly, reserved
for
holidays or family vacations, or taken all at once in the
summer or whatever season is preferred.
Benefits
* Continuity of knowledge acquired; retention of basic skills.
* More time to thoroughly cover a year's program and include
enrichment activities.
* Consistency of disciplined habits and productive use of
time year-round.
* More flexibility for other activities with a shorter
school day or week.
* A more relaxed, but steady, pace during the whole year
that reduces stress for student and teacher.
Summer School
The home-school lifestyle of learning in the
context of
everyday home life will ensure that your family will continue
learning throughout the summer, whether you decide to adopt a
year-round school schedule or not.
You can take a very casual approach to your
summer studies
or make a class out of them. To create your own summer school
course:
* Do some research.
* Get material (some is available free on the web).
* List your learning objectives.
* Assign levels of competence to be checked off for each student.
* Dive right in!
For more information, see article on course
design at
http://www.teachinghome.com/supplement/janfeb00/coursedesign.cfm
Here are some suggestions for you to choose
from to
make the most of your summer time and studies.
1. Get a Head Start on
Next Year
Select one subject from next year's courses,
for instance
history, and study it using your textbooks and/or a unit study
with your whole family. Whatever method or combination of
methods you choose, include related reading, activities, and
field trips. You may be able to do this in just one hour a day
or one day a week.
With one less subject to study for next school
year, you can
have a more relaxed schedule this fall; you might be able to have
shorter days or an extra day off each week. This, plus the joy
of learning together at a slower pace, could provide incentive
for your family's learning all year.
Even if you don't finish the complete course
this summer,
you will still have a head start for fall!
2. Shore Up Weak Areas
with Daily Learning Habits
A little extra boost in a weak area during
the summer can
make the difference between being even further behind when school
starts this fall or experiencing a breakthrough in a hard
subject.
These regularly repeated activities can help
your child
gain, review, or retain the skills gained during the past school
year and give him a big boost for the coming year. Each of the
following academic habits can be done in a few minutes per day.
Basic Math Facts and Problem Solving
* Drill and review the basic math facts to learn them thoroughly.
* Solve one or more story or mental math problems each day that
require application of math knowledge and concepts.
* Practice sheets. http://www.superkids.com/aweb/tools/math
* Triangular Math Facts Cards.
http://donnayoung.org/math/tricards.htm
* Math challenge. http://www.figurethis.org.
Vocabulary & Spelling
* Learn a vocabulary and/or spelling word every day (choose one
from your reading or writing or from the websites below).
* Read the word, pronounce it, and spell it together. Then
define it and use it in a sentence.
* Write the word on a small flashcard and place it where everyone
can see it. Then review the words often using your
flashcards.
* For vocabulary words see:
http://www.uoregon.edu/~osmirnov/gre/list.html
http://www.freevocabulary.com
http://www.teachinghome.com/newsletters/vol_2-no_21.cfm
* For spelling words see:
http://www.rdale.k12.mn.us/ple/instant_words.htm
http://www.johnsesl.com/templates/vocab/1000words.php
http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/misspelled_words.htm.
http://www.teachinghome.com/newsletters/vol_2-no_32.cfm
Writing
* Ask your child to write a sentence, paragraph, or journal entry
every day.
* Have him write a brief report of something interesting he has
learned which he could read to Father at dinner.
http://www.teachinghome.com/newsletters/vol_2-no_36.cfm
http://www.teachinghome.com/newsletters/vol_2-no_37.cfm
Globe, Map, and Time-Line Study
* Have a globe, map, and time-line available in a central
location.
* Locate times and places that you encounter in your reading or
methodically work through a list of geographical or historical
items from one of your school books.
3. Explore New or Favorite
Interests.
Do you have a student that wants to explore
a subject or
area of interest more deeply than time allows during the school
year? This is a good time to help your children learn how to
learn more about their interests through supervised internet
searches and/or library hunts.
4. Add Electives.
Summer is an ideal opportunity to spend more
time in areas
that may get crowded out by the basics during the regular school
year. You may notice that many electives are named for the
chores or activities that you will be doing anyway (see list of
topics in upcoming summer issues of this newsletter above).
Or you might take this time to learn a foreign language.
* Do a government and election-year unit study.
http://www.teachinghome.com/newsletters/vol_2-no_66.cfm
http://www.teachinghome.com/newsletters/vol_2-no_67.cfm
http://www.teachinghome.com/newsletters/vol_2-no_68.cfm
http://www.teachinghome.com/newsletters/vol_2-no_69.cfm
http://www.teachinghome.com/newsletters/vol_2-no_70.cfm
* Learn more computer skills.
http://www.teachinghome.com/newsletters/vol_2-no_58.cfm
http://www.teachinghome.com/newsletters/vol_2-no_59.cfm
http://www.teachinghome.com/newsletters/vol_2-no_61.cfm
* Locate and prepare to enter a contest.
http://www.teachinghome.com/newsletters/vol_2-no_51.cfm
5. Outdoor School.
* Enjoy God's wonderful outdoors and visit educational sites --
with just your family or together with another family.
* Plant a garden (or at least a couple of zucchini plants!).
Start small and learn as you go. Get advice from
others.
* Learn about, as well as do, yard care.
Life Stories (History), Letters
(Writing and Reading), Legacy
Keepsake. Year-long
adventure for grandparents and grandchildren to
share includes monthly topics, stationery. http://www.GrandConnect.com
Computer Science Pure and Simple.
Teach this critical skill
to your kids, grade 5 and up. "An excellent introduction . .
. The
instructional detail is just right." http://www.MotherboardBooks.com
Summer Reading
Is there ever enough time to do all the reading
you want to
do with your family?
A more relaxed summer schedule can provide
extra time to
engage in this pleasurable and educational pastime and perhaps
form a habit that will continue all year.
1. Read God's Word First
of All!
* Read the Bible or the New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs
through in a couple of months this summer.
* Divide the number of pages you want to read by the number
of days you will be reading; then read that number of
pages
each day.
* Take turns reading aloud as a family or follow along while
listening to a recorded tape or CD of the Bible.
http://www.TeachingHome.com/supplement/Bible/index.cfm
http://www.kingdom.com/short-desc.asp?go=52
2. Read Together as a Family.
* Read aloud with expression and at a slightly slower pace.
* Read before or after a meal or your family's Bible reading.
* Read before bedtime or rest time.
* Read while you work or travel by taking turns reading or by
listening to an audio tape.
* Read at the table, sitting together on the couch, or outside.
* Read instead of watching videos or TV or playing electronic
games. Turn them all off for a while this summer
-- for a
month or a week, or for certain days each week.
3. Read a Variety of Books.
* Uplifting books that contain worthy characters to emulate.
* Poetry. Find an old hymnal and read the words as poetry.
* Plays. Assign characters; double up if necessary.
* Christian and missionary biographies.
* Accurate historical fiction.
* Nonfiction on a subject of interest or a topic related to a
book of fiction you are reading.
* See "Selection of Reading Materials in Newsletter #23
http://www.teachinghome.com/newsletters/vol_2-no_23.cfm.
4. Add an Enriching, Related
Study to Your Reading.
This is a good time to show your children
that research
and study can be fun.
* Have a dictionary nearby to look up an unfamiliar word or
pronunciation.
* Find a location mentioned in your reading on a map or globe.
* Locate the time period of a book on a timeline.
* Research a topic or question raised by your reading.
* Use a literature or unit study guide for the book you are
reading or the 100+ creative book reports and unit study
activities at
http://www.teachinghome.com/newsletters/vol_2-no_26.cfm.
* Ask questions that test your child's recall, understanding, and
application of the materials being read.
http://www.teachinghome.com/newsletters/vol_2-no_23.cfm
http://www.teachinghome.com/newsletters/vol_2-no_25.cfm
http://www.teachinghome.com/newsletters/vol_2-no_26.cfm
http://www.teachinghome.com/newsletters/vol_2-no_28.cfm
http://www.teachinghome.com/newsletters/vol_2-no_29.cfm
http://www.teachinghome.com/newsletters/vol_2-no_30.cfm
Please
Thank and Support Our Sponsoring Advertisers!
These free newsletters
are made possible financially by
the fine suppliers who advertise in them and
the accompanying
e-mail. Please consider those that have
advertised in our last
issue (below) as well as the ones in this
issue.
Master Books: Your Homeschool Creation Science
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I Want To Be a Work at Home Mom
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Learning Through History Magazine
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Homeschool Cookbook
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Bechtel Books: Speedy Spanish
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Alpha Omega Publications: Power-Glide
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Sunnyside Up: Babies Are Forever
When I was pregnant with our third child,
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God Loves You.
Because we were separated from God by sin,
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"For by grace you have been saved through
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not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of
works, that no one should boast" (Ephesians 2:8, 9).
http://www.TeachingHome.com/about/salvation.cfm
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