Fall Art Gallery 2010

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Have You Heard of a Jesse Tree? Deepening the Roots of Christmas

In the days leading up to December, the soft whispers of Advent began to prod my heart through the words of others who have gone before me.  For me, there was nothing else to do, but to prepare a Jesse Tree, not knowing exactly what to do, but knowing for certain that it needed to be done.  The thought of preparing for His coming in stillness and quietness and prayer, seemed all too inviting as the hustle and bustle of the twelfth month drew nearer.

And so, we began to grow our Jesse Tree.  Not knowing how deep it's roots would go.

As the last bites of dinner are being downed, I bring out The Jesus Storybook Bible, the candle lighter and the flute.  At first it felt awkward leading the children and the fine husband through a somewhat ceremonious event. But now, halfway through Advent, the quietness and meditation is expected, and today could not turn into tomorrow without the hanging of the symbol and the saying of The Lord's Prayer. 

Do you do a Jesse Tree?  I would be so blessed to hear of your traditions.  I pray that you will be blessed by ours...

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We start out by reading aloud,

"Jesus Christ, You are the Light of the world that no darkness can overcome; for darkness is as light with You. Keep us from sin and straighten our path, so that we may be prepared for Your coming. Amen."

Then the candle is lit.  Each week of Advent another candle is lit so that there are 4 candles by Christmas.  As the coming of Christ draws nearer, the light gets brighter, for He is the Light of the world!

A story is read from The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every story whispers his name.  This book is filled with  the stories of the Bible with each story ending with a small passage pointing to Jesus the Saviour.  This book is perfect for the young ages of my children.

The Jesse Tree symbol is then hung on a smaller tree that rests on the dining table.  After six symbols are hung, they are transferred to the grand Christmas tree.  The symbols were drawn and painted by myself and my girls and then coloured photocopied to create a finished look.

The Lord's Prayer is spoken.

A carol is played on the flute and then sung.

The candle is blown out while the anticipation of His coming fills our hearts.

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Some helpful Jesse Tree links:

What is a Jesse Tree?  - Some history about the Jesse Tree.


Making a Jesse Tree - There are printable ornaments available at this site with corresponding scripture readings.


        

Teaching Tip Tuesday - Writing Ideas for the Reluctant Writer

A reposting from the archive for those who have a reluctant writer in their family. These ideas work wonderful with fluent writers too!

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The following encouragement was taken from a Marilyn Hahn workshop on "Awesome Writing Strategies for the Reluctant Student". Enjoy!


P – Purpose
When was the last time we as adults wrote without a purpose? Probably when we were in school! As adults we usually write with a purpose. We write grocery lists, e-mails, journals, letters or cards, “To do” lists, reminder notes, stories or poetry if we’re feeling creative, blogs, etc. These are the reasons that Marilyn suggested why we all write:

T – to Tell something
R – to Request something
I – to Inform about something
P – to Persuade about something
E – to Explain something or to Encourage someone

All of these reasons to write require another person’s interaction.


P – People who care about kid’s writing
Find an audience. Marilyn suggests that 80% of your child’s writing should have some sort of audience – meaning that it should be sent outside of the home. Even a spelling test can have purpose if you have your child write at the top: “Dear Grandma, I’m writing this spelling test for YOU!” Then mark it, put it in an envelope, and mail it to Grandma.

When your child has an audience, editing starts to matter. Your child will want to write neatly, spell words correctly and reread and revise his/her own work.

Audiences can include: family members (make sure you train them to praise your kid’s writing and NOT point out the spelling errors) (smile), people who work in the church or the community, a friend or cousin or Sunday School teacher, the fireman, the police officer, the doctor, a favourite author or illustrator, the Prime Minister or the Queen (she always writes back!)

Use the yellow pages and let you child find people that he/she would like to write too. The people to write to are ENDLESS!

Here is the link with the queen’s address and some sample letters:
Writing to the Queen


P – Process and the Product
It is easy to get caught up in the rut of presenting children with a piece of 8 1/2” by 11” lined paper and asking them to write something. Marilyn says “Boring!”. Here are some of her ideas on how to spur writing on:

- Write on brown paper bags. Hole punch and then tie them together with a ribbon to create a paper bag book.
- Make the paper smaller. A post-it note looks a lot less intimidating than a piece of binder paper.
- For young writers use a piece of blank white paper rather than lined paper.
- Create an Author’s Gear Box - This is an investment but well worth it. Buy a compartment kit with the little drawers and shelves etc. Take your child shopping to Staples or Wal-Mart or the Dollar Store and let him/ her choose writing items to put in their Author’s Gear Box. Items may include: erasers, gel pens, colored pencils, stickers, binder rings, paper clips, paint, scissors, sticky notes, rad tacks, etc. The materials in the Author’s Gear Box are ONLY to be used when your child is writing.
- Use “Roget’s College Thesaurus” – (Grade 3 and onward) – Let your child look through the thesaurus and find words to create a really cool sentence, This can gradually increase to paragraphs and stories.
- Writing Poetry – Use “Scholastic Rhyming Dictionary” and use Shift F7 on the keyboard to provide a thesaurus. Look through old National Geographic magazines. Pull out a great picture. Have your child highlight up to 50 phrases (max. 4 words in length) in the written text about the picture. Cut the phrases out, arrange in a poetic order, glue onto the picture from the magazine – this is called a Found poem.
- Store your child’s writing in a plastic sheet protector. Immediately, the writing looks polished!


P- Passion
Capitalize on your child’s passion. Write about personal interests.


P – Partnership
This “P” is one of the most important but also one of the hardest. Marilyn suggests sitting shoulder to shoulder with your child and doing a similar writing assignment at the same time. In order to find time to do this, you can schedule “family writing time” into your week.

Life Journaling

Journal Entry #6

A few of "My Favourite Things" is the theme for this journal writing entry. You may want to start your journal writing time by sharing this classic song:



Make a list, cut out pictures, draw a picture representing some of your favourite things. Favourite colour, food, activity, animal ... are all a great way to start your "favourite things" theme. But why not stretch this journal topic out over several journal writing sessions by copying a favourite scripture verse, a favourite recipe, a favourite song, a favourite poem...

Other "favourite" topics may include:
My favourite day of my life ...

My favourite way to spend time with my grandma ...

My favourite way to show __________ that I love him/her.

My favourite way to show God that I love Him.

A Parenting Manifesto of Joy - Another Gift for You

1. Today, I will make our home a house of prayer. I will pray at set times. And I will invite our children to come move into an interior space that lives with God.

2. Today, I will transfigure all things into beauty, and I will refuse to see anything else.

3. Today, I will not have any emergencies. There are no emergencies! Only amateurs hurry.

4. Today, when stress mounts, I pray to dismount it with gratitude. My stress management plan will be intervention with verbal thanks. I can only feel one feeling at a time, and I choose to give thanks at all times. Fight feeling with feeling!

5. Today, I will pray to speak words that are only STRONG words, words that make these children feel strong. Grace words.

The rest of "A Parenting Manifesto of Joy" can be printed off from Ann Voskamp's blog. Take time to read her parenting post here:10 Point Manifesto of Joyful Parenting

Teaching Tip Tuesday - Scripture Memory

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. ~ Joshua 1: 8

And how shall I meditate day and night on this Book, unless the words are hidden in my heart, scratched upon my mind? How shall His words not depart from my mouth unless they have been spoken to my heart over and over again? Unless they have been heard by my ears one more time? And read one more time, again?

Won't you join myself and others in hiding God's word in our hearts? So that we may mediate day and night on His truth and on His promises. So that we may reap what is sown in our hearts. So that we may come to know His word, and more deeply, The Word.

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Anchor Academy's scripture memory contests are available for all students and parents to participate in. Scripture verses for Grades K-3 and more contest information can be found here: Scripture Memory Contests

For parents and students in Grades 2 or 3, you may find this verse card maker useful. Type in the scripture reference and the passage will get divided into business card sizes of sections. You can print the passage off and then cut along the lines to make memory verse cards: Verse Card Maker

This memorization tool will take the first letter of each word in the passage and convert it in sequence for you to print off: First Letter Tool

Charlotte Mason's scripture memory learning and review system can be read about here: Scripture Memory System

Some more memorization tips to use with your kids:Memorization Tips for Kids

If scripture memory lays heavy on your heart, please take time to visit Ann Voskamp's posts on how she and her family hide God's words away: Returning to Your First Love and Why Memorize Scripture?

Life Journaling

Journal Entry #5

The focus of this journal entry is to think about three goals that you want to work towards. You may choose a physical goal (an activity that you can learn to do better), a relational goal (an activity that you can do to build a relationship with someone)and a spiritual goal (an activity that you can do to build your relationship with God). Some ideas that may be included in this journal entry are:

~ a list of three goals
~ drawn pictures to correspond with each goal
~ a date by which you would like to accomplish each goal
~ a prayer asking God to help you to achieve your goals

Resources Used By You

Whenever I meet another homeschooling parent, the inevitable question, "What curriculum do you use?" always seems to make itself to the forefront of our conversation.

I thought that it would be fun to share some of what your fellow homeschooling families are using for curriculum during this learning year. Click on the curriculum name to link to its corresponding website.

All-in-One Curriculums:
Bob Jones

A Beka

Christian Light Publications

Monarch - Alpha/Omega ~ starts at Grade 3

My Father's World


Math Curriculums:

Math U See

Jump Math

Singapore Math

Teaching Textbooks ~ starts at Grade 3


Social Studies Curriculums:

Northwood Press - Donna Ward's Canadian Curriculum

Primary - Across Canada Bundle; Canada My Country

Grade 4 - Canada's Native Bundle; Canada's Natives Long Ago


Other Tidbits:

Christian Heroes from YWAM Publishing

Bible Story Feltboard

First Language Lessons

Edcon Classics to Life Literature Units

Early Reader Series - Apologetics Press

Teaching Tip Tuesday - Adding and Subtracting

Learning Expectations:

Grade 1 - Students are expected to understand the concept of adding and subtracting up to 20 using pictures or concrete representations (i.e. counters, number line). Memorization of addition and subtraction facts to 18 is not intended.

Grade 2 - Students are expected to use mental mathematics strategies to determine addition and subtraction facts to 18. (Mental strategies include: using doubles, making 10, one more/one less, two more/two less, building on a known double, addition for subtraction.)

Grade 3 - Students are expected to use mental mathematics strategies and number properties to recall basic addition and subtraction facts to 18. (Mental strategies are similar to Grade 2. Number properties include understanding the quality of zero and understanding that numbers added in a different order will still equal that same sum i.e. 4 + 8 = 8 + 4.)

Below is a practical order for teaching kids addition and subtraction facts:
1. Facts up to 10 adding 1 and subtracting 1
2. Facts up to 10 adding 2 and subtracting 2
3. Facts that equal 10(0+10, 1+9, 2+8, 3+7, 4+6, 5+5, 6+4, 7+3, 8+2, 9+1, 10+0)
4. All the facts up to 10 that haven't been covered(3+4, 3+5, 3+6, 4+3, 4+5, 5+4, 6+3)
5. Doubles (1+1, 2+2, 3+3, 4+4, 5+5, 6+6, 7+7, 8+8, 9+9, 10+10)

***Once the above facts are quite familiar with your child, she is ready to start using mental mathematics strategies to determine the facts to 18. Below are examples of how to use various mental mathematics strategies:

Grade 2 Strategies:- doubles (i.e. for 6+8, think 7+7)
- doubles plus one (i.e. for 6+7, think 6+6+1)
- doubles take away one (i.e. for 6+7, think 7+7-1)
- doubles plus two (i.e. for 6+8, think 6+6+2)
- doubles take away two (i.e. for 6+8, think 8+8-2)
- making 10 (i.e. for 7+5, think 7+3+2)
- building on a known double (i.e. 6+6=12, so 6+7=12+1=13)
- addition to subtraction (i.e. 11-6, think 6+?=11)

Grade 3 Strategies - same as Grade 2 strategies, as well as:
- commutative property (i.e. for 3+9, think 9+3)
- provide a rule for determining answers for adding and subtracting zero


Do you have multi link cubes? Multi link cubes are an excellent math manipulative that is ideal for "seeing" adding and subtracting and for making 10s. School Specialty Canada has packages of 100 available here: Multi link cubes





Peggy Kaye's Games for Math is always a hit with my own kids. It's "drill and practice" in disguise. Chapters Indigo has it available here: Games for Math

Making a World of Difference

They're five and seven with narrow perceptions of the world.

I try to get them to see beyond themselves, beyond the walls built up around them of protection, comfort and luxury.

I try to get them to see that we are the rich. Always rich in the temporal, but not always in the eternal.

I show them the picture of Imara and where she lives in South America. And then a picture of Uwizeyimana who lives on the other side of the world in Africa. I show them pictures of poverty, of children without food, without clean water, without a bed, without a home. I see their eyes darken with understanding, at least for a moment.

I pray for their hearts to be filled with compassion for those broken and needy. And so, I bring out the shoebox and we choose to fill it with blessings.

And miraculously the blessings are shared. For as the shoebox gets filled, so do our hearts.

And the walls begin to break down.

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Links to Operation Christmas Child, World Vision and Compassion Canada have been added to the lefthand sidebar.

Collection week for Operation Christmas Child is November 15th to 21st. There's still time to make a difference.

World Vision's website has difference making lessons plans that can be used throughout the learning year.

Compassion Canada has online letter writing to place blessing a sponsor child at your fingertips.

Blessings as you and your family make a world of difference.

Life Journaling

Journal Entry #4


Scripture verse to include:

Philippians 4:13 ~ I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

"I am good at doing a bridge [in gymnastics]."

The focus of this journal entry is to think upon the talents, giftings and strengths that God has given to you. Some ideas that may be included in this journal entry are:

~ a photo or drawn picture representing what you are good at doing or being.
~ a list of words describing your talents or strengths.
~ a prayer to thank God for providing strength and ability.

"I am good at taking care of dogs and swimming."

Monday is here. I know what to do and how to do it. I've done it many Mondays before.

But first, I choose to pause.

Before going through the motions of preparing breakfast for four hungry tummies, before putting on the coffee pot and gathering the daily laundry, before enforcing the morning task lists, I choose to pause.

To spend an eternal moment with Him.

To be thankful.

To remember grace.

I utter a silent prayer and meditate on His words that I have hidden in my heart.

I give Him my Monday.

Will you give Him yours?

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is in the law of the LORD and in His law he meditates day and night. ~ Psalm 1: 1-2

May your Monday be filled with much encouragement and grace.



PS ~ A Gift for You:

A beautiful collection of scriptures that can be printed and posted at your favourite "post-it spot", to read and to be encouraged every day of the week: Encouragement Along the Way

10 Top Reasons to Homeschool Your Children

Sonlight curriculum had these words of encouragement tucked away on their website. I thought that I'd share ...

10 top Reasons to Homeschool Your Children:

1. Instill your values and beliefs in your children.

2. Meet your children's unique, individual needs.

3. Instill in your children a life-long love for learning - learning is fun!

4. Build intimate and meaningful relationships with your children.

5. Share with your children the common, everyday joys of life.

6. Help your children wrestle with the hard questions they face.

7. Show your children daily how much you love them.

8. Be there when your children need you most.

9. Be your children's mentor, spiritual leader, role model, friend and teacher.

10. Protect your children from the negative influences they may encounter outside the home.

Life Journaling

Journal Entry #3




Scripture verses to include:

Proverbs 17:17 ~ A friend loves at all times.

John 15:13 ~ Greater love has no one than this,
that he lay down his life for his friends.

Some ideas that may be included in this journal entry are:

~ a photo or drawn picture of one or two close friends
~ a list of qualities that make a good friend
~ a thankful prayer for friends/friendship

Contest Central - updated with book suggestions

EcoKids is a Canadian environmental website for kids that is currently holding a drawing contest for students in Kindergarten to Grade 8. The deadline for the contest is November 12, 2010. More details can be viewed here: EcoKids Drawing Contest

Below are a couple of books that would work well to introduce and to discuss environmental topics with your child. Click on the title of the book to link to more information about the book.

Where Does the Garbage Go ~ Paul Showers

The 3 R's: Reuse, Reduce, Recycle ~ Nuria Roca




Please note: Contest links will be posted under "Contest Central" in the lefthand column of this blog throughout the school year. If your child is motivated to learn through contests, then keep an eye on this!

Life Journaling

Life Journal Entry #2

Have your child think about words that describe him/herself. Then have him/her write the words on a smaller piece of paper or directly into his/her journal. Encourage your child to "decorate" the words with fun designs bordering the letters. Extend this journal entry by choosing a scripture to correspond with one or all of the descriptive words. Add these scriptures to your child's journal page entry.

Remember, journaling is a great activity to do alongside your child. As you work together - writing, cutting, creating - conversation starts to happen and relationship tends to grow. Blessings.

Fire Prevention Week 2010 - October 3rd - 9th

Participating in Fire Prevention Week is a great opportunity for your family to review and practice your home fire escape plan. It also helps to cover some Health and Career learning. Below are some website links that may prove useful to you and your children during this upcoming week!

Sparky the Fire Dog - Family Fun
Fire Prevention Week Kit (This is an informational resource that you can use as a discussion guideline. Near the end of the resource you will find some kid's worksheets.)
My Fire Inspection Checklist
Home Fire Escape Plan
Five Steps to Fire Safety (colouring page)

Teaching Tip Tuesday

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1

Last week an emailed invitation was sent out to write an Autumn poem. Already my inbox has received some heart-warming, poetic words.

My own girls were encouraged to write an autumn poem too, and we decided to take it to a more artsy level.

Teaching Tip: It's always rewarding to encourage your child to take their creative writing to the next level. The level that exclaims, "This is my best work!", "I worked hard on this!", "This took some perseverance!".

With my girls, we decided to copy their poems onto cereal box cardboard, add some appropriate images and create finishing touches with painted leaf printing.





Last weekend we enjoyed a visit with Nana and Papa, whose refrigerator now adorns two poetic masterpieces. :)

Following are the guidelines for Mrs. Holder's Autumn Poetry Contest. Please join your fellow students in this writing activity.


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Because Autumn is a most amazing season, there is a need to celebrate!

A poetry contest is being held for Mrs. Holder's students in Kindergarten to Grade 4. The contest is open until Friday, October 8, 2010. Students are asked to write a poem with an Autumn theme. Below are some links to examples of various forms of poetry – just click on the form of poem and you will connect to the corresponding website. Students can choose to write their Autumn poem in the form of poetry that they prefer.

Acrostic

Haiku

Cinquain

Limerick

ABAB quatrain

AABB quatrain

Students are encouraged to email their poem to me prior to the contest deadline so that I can provide feedback to help them improve their poem. This editing and revising process may occur several times.

The winner of the poetry contest will be determined by a draw. All students who submit a poem will have their name entered into a draw for Douglas Florian’s book of autumn poems called, Autumnblings.

Also, I will be publishing Autumn poems for my “Teacher Feature” page in the November Anchor Log. If there happens to be too many poems submitted to fit onto my “Teacher Feature”, then I will use smaller font, or have to choose poems on a “first come, first serve” basis.

May your autumn days be filled with many poetic moments.

Blessings ~ Jessica

Life Journaling

We sit gathered around the kitchen table. Spiral ringed journals, coloured pencils, expired Martha Stewart magazines, scissors and glue sticks surround us, inspiring our creative juices to flow. I choose the focus and we journal - a reflection of who we are, at this time, in this moment, today.

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During the summer I was inspired by these journaling experiences here: Journaling Inspirations. The idea to tear or carefully cut images from magazine photos to embellish journal pages was new to me, and one that was ideal for all those beautiful, unread Martha Stewart magazines that were waiting on the shelf ...

During this learning year, my girls and I are finding time to gather around the kitchen table, once every week or maybe every two, to nestle a glimpse of our lives onto a journal page. Our glimpses will be shared during "Journal Writing Wednesdays" throughout the upcoming year. May you join us and journal a little legacy too.

Life Journal Entry #1:

~ Scripture verse:

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
Psalm 139: 14-1

~ Photograph or self-drawn portrait of self.

~ Magazine photos of beautiful things.

Thoughts from Mrs. Holder

Sitting on the brink of a new learning year, pondering, dreaming, praying. Praying for the Greater Plan to be a part of my home. Praying that I can get out of the way often enough so as not to hinder the Greater Plan from taking place. Praying that peace will pave the way. Complicated, the plan is not. Difficult, definitely. Threads of moments, ideas, thoughts, memories, purposes, intentions, failures interwoven into a tapestry of learning, loving and living. A tapestry designed by One greater than I.

Learning. Loving. Living.

Learning from the books, the experiences, the deeper conversations. And learning from the failures. Failures that He turns into unexpected triumphs. Learning to read the written word and to pen the learned language onto paper. Learning to play with numbers and patterns and discovering a divine mathematical wisdom scattered throughout creation and the world around. Learning to know the facts and the stories behind them. Learning to decide and to reason and to discern. Learning about the One who created us to learn. And learning to trust and fully rest in Him. Learning to love like Him …

To love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul and mind – there is no greater calling, no greater plan. To daily fall in love with Him, to lay sacrifices for Him, to worship Him, to love more and more like He does - daily. And what an excellent plan it is to grow in our love for Him, to grow in our love for each other. Is that not what Jesus spoke of when he shared the two greatest commandments? To love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul and mind and to love our neighbour, child, spouse, stranger as ourselves? The loves are intertwined. Without one it’s hard to possess the other. Teach us to love, fill us with love, let our very beings breathe love – your love - daily as we live …

Living to learn, living to love, but also just living. Living the life of abundance, not of goods, but an abundance of Him. An abundance of Him in our every day. In the daily tasks, in the growth of the children, in the answer to a whispered prayer, in the rainbow promises. Wasn’t there a glimpse of Him in that conversation, in that priority set, in the reflection in the dew, in that cloud picture? Living to celebrate today because it is the day that He has made and I will rejoice. We will rejoice. I will lead the children to rejoice. Because He has given us life. And we will live that life in fullness of grace.

Simple really, but intriguingly intricate. A glimpse of the divine in the everyday? Could this learning year be filled with many every day moments threaded with His incredible love and abundant life?

May His hand be the tailor of my home’s tapestry.

Teaching Reading Outside of the Box

At the homschooling convention in Kelowna, I attended an interesting workshop put on by Liz Sweet from Little Giant Steps: Neurodevelopmental Innovations. She presented a little "formula" on teaching kids how to read. She suggested that until a child is able to remember 5 pieces of information in a row i.e. 5 numbers in a row (3-6-2-1-9) or 5 colours (red-blue-yellow-blue-green), he/she is not ready for phonics instruction. The process that she suggested for teaching reading involved the following five steps:

Step 1: Sight Words - Use interesting sight words to start your child reading. Write a sight word on a flashcard (with no picture helps), and tell your child what the word says. Teach two sight words at a time until your child has learned up to 6. Then take two sight words out of the collection and put them into a "review pile" and add two new sight words to the collection. Continue removing and adding 2 sight words each week until your child has been exposed to about 100 sight words. Continue to review the sight words regularly.

Step 2: Experience Books - Take photos of interesting experiences that your child participates in i.e. visiting a farm, going to the park, etc. Then make a book using these personal experience photos. Write sentences to describe the photos using as many of the known sight words from Step 1 as possible. Encourage your child to read through these personal books, helping as necessary.

Step 3: Highlighting Words - Use books that you feel comfortable taking a hightlighter to and highlight words that you know that your child can read. Then read these books together with your child allowing him/her to read the highlighted words while you read all of the other words.

Step 4: Reading very simple readers i.e. Dick and Jane style books.

Step 5: Introduce a phonics program such as Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. (Check to see if your child is able to remember 5 pieces of information by this step.) Step 5 introduces reading using a phonics approach, but this approach is only begun once your child has a very strong concept of reading due to Steps 1-4.

The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading ~ Wise and Buffington

Reading Made Easy ~ Bendt

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons ~ Engelmann

5 Great Homeschooling Scriptures

Deuteronomy 6:6-7 (also see Deuteronomy 4:9, 11:18-21)
And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.

II Corinthians 10:5
Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

Isaiah 54:13
All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children.

Romans 12:2
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Psalm 1:1-2
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the LORD and in His law he meditates day and night.

Online Summer Art Lessons

The Masterpiece Online Academy is offering an artsy Summer's Kid Club for students ages 7-14. Below is the information as provided on The Masterpiece Online Academy's website:

Here's what you get when you join:

1. SUPPLIES: A $10 e-gift certificate for Dick Blick Art Stores - redeemable online or at local Dick Blick stores. Get your supplies and get ready to draw!

2. INSTRUCTION: Three special e-magazines with projects, lessons, and creative ideas sent to you each month of the summer. Just choose 2 projects to complete per month to earn points. These will be emailed on the first of June, July, and August.

3. INTERACTION: Have your work critiqued by art teacher, Karine Bauch, each step of the way. Get advice and encouragement as you create.

4. FAME: Get your work featured online in the Kid's Gallery!

5. REWARDS: Get ANOTHER $10 e-gift certificate to Dick Blick Art Stores for finishing the entire program!

If interested, please email joy@ark.net The Masterpiece Online Academy website address and she can register your child for this course. This course can be paid for using your Course Credit Allocation (funding).

Click here: The Masterpiece Online Academy

Chore Chart Idea

A fellow homeschooling parent has been gracious enough to share a chore chart system that is working for her and her family. Below is an explanation of the chore chart system as described by this very organized mom!

We started a chore list some time ago, and now we have a routine. Everyone helps with everything - whether that's housecleaning, dishes, child-minding, food preparation, whatever - each day. And we've found that a clean and tidy house in the morning makes for more together-with-Mommy time the rest of the day! The benefits have been great, and as I was thinking about how I now, for some reason, have more time to spend one-on-one with [my kids] for school work than I did at the beginning of the year, it dawned on me that organization was the key! Even the independent school work is done more cheerfully when Mommy is sitting nearby rather than scurrying about.

I made the chore chart myself. I just used Excel to create a chart with each child's name, the chores they were required to do, and spaces behind each chore for check marks. Then I mac-tacked it [or laminated it] and hung it up with a dry erase pen (which I had to tie to the chart!). By now I just need to say "Please do your morning chores!" and [the kids] know what I mean. The girls do most of their chores first thing [in the morning], before they even come down for breakfast. They are dressed, they have usually prayed, their beds are made, and their room is reasonably tidy. Then after breakfast I send everyone to do their housework chores. I used to be met with resistance at this point (before the chart), but after the children realized there was going to be consistency (it was written down after all) and their chores would not change according to my needs, they got going quickly. Some days they still dawdle, but then they just miss out on some free time.

Fruit of the Spirit ~ May Journaling Ideas ~ Self-Control

During the month of May, your child may like to focus on "self-control" in his/her journal writing. Below are some journaling ideas that may prove useful:

Copy Work: Have you child copy one or more of the following scriptures into his/her journal. Encourage your child to embellish the copy work with a drawing.

[B]e hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. ~ Titus 1:8

The end of all things is near. Therefore, be clear-minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. ~ 1 Peter 4:7

Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control. ~ Proverbs 25:28


Lyric Response: Here is a link to some song lyrics about self-control: Once I Had a Knot in my Shoe. After sharing these lyrics with your child, discuss actions that show self-control and actions that show a lack of self-control. Have your child create two lists representing these contrary actions. You may also encourage your child to write about a time when he/she forgot to use self-control. If your child like to write poetry, then encourage him/her to write a "lyric" about self-control or the lack of it.

Prayer: Have your child record a prayer asking God to help him/her to remember to show self-control.

Journal Starters:
I can show self-control when my brother or sister makes me upset by ...
I can show self-control at the candy store by ...
I can show self-control when I get really excited by ...
I can show self-control when I feel angry by ...