Draw, Write, Now

This school year we are trying something new.  I saw this at the curriculum fair this year and I just couldn’t resist.  For my younger children we will be using this three days a week.  It is a basic handwriting (manuscript) program combined with a drawing (art) program.  It is colorful and fun.  There are also book lists and thematic study suggestions if you want to expand you study.

I bought the entire boxed set but you can purchase each book individually.  I also purchased the workbooks to go along with it.  It is just easier for me to keep everything organized that way.

We have not begun yet but I have all three of my little girls asking when, when, when we can start on it.  I think it may be a highlight this year!

If you are interested take a moment to visit their website, HERE.  They also have sample lessons so you have a first hand look at the curriculum.  You could even try it out with your children before purchasing.

Have any of you used this curriculum before?  If so, what do you think?  Did your children enjoy it?  Did it improve their drawing skills?  I would love your input!

What a Steal!

I am not one for yard sales but I do love a great deal!  This past week the Lord provided overly abundantly for us!    I went into Anchorage to go to the homeschool bookstore.  This is a great little bookstore and it is run by a wonderful lady.  I make several trips there.  I usually go to see if there is anything I need that they have on the shelves USED.  I have turned in several things that we no longer need for her to resell.  She is pretty picky about what to resell so you can always be sure that even if it is used it is a current item and in good condition.  For any item that she can resell she will give us a small percentage of the original price as credit to put toward the purchase of other USED items.  So I had a substantial amount of credit piling up and I occasionally go in and see it there is an item I am in need of in used condition.

The other day when before I ventured in I began praying in the car for a particular item to be there in used condition.  I had checked several trips before and there has never been any used.  Still, I prayed for that item to be there.  I walked into the store and went straight to the science shelves.  Guess what I found???  Exactly what I was looking for and praying for and it was a used copy!!

Apologia’s Marine Biology SET!  This sells for $85 new!  With a little bit of a lower price and  my in-store credit I paid a whopping $1.50 out of pocket!  I told the lady that I ALMOST felt too guilty to leave having only paid $1.50!  Almost being the key word!  So, there you have it, the Lord’s great and abundant provision!  Thank you Lord!

Meeting Politicians

As I mentioned a couple of days ago my two eldest daughters are attending TeenPact this year.  If you missed that post then scroll down or go here.  The two girls have been coming home each evening very excited but last night tipped the scale.  They were bursting at the seams with excitement.

They have been listening to different representatives speak this week and putting questions to them.  But yesterday……

One daughter was able to meet the Representative Stoltz.  This was a neat experience.  This was the representative that she wrote to before TeenPact began.  She introduced herself and he paused and said, ” You live in “town name” on “our street name” and you have a sister named “sister’s name.”  She was stunned.  She told him yes sir.  He thanked her for her letter and told her that he had just sent her a letter in return.  She came home to find it on the table waiting for her.  There are approximately 90 students at TeenPact this year and she felt honored that he recognized her name and knew who she was.

The other daughter was taken with her class into a conference room.  They were trying to determine which chair was the Governor’s chair.  One girl (not my daughter) sat in it with permission.  They told her it was fine because he would not be in attendance.  A few minutes later the Governor walked in the room.  Went over to the chair and told the girl she had the best seat in the room, the Governor’s chair.  He was gracious and let her remain there.  I think that probably made her day.  So, my daughter was able to meet Governor Parnell.  That made her day!

So there was great excitement!  There is talk of wanting to be a page, volunteer to help staff TeenPact in the future, and to go for political science majors!  There are having a great time, learning so much, and learning how they can make difference!  I am sure they are planning on attending again next year.

TeenPact

My two oldest girls are walking around looking much older than I like this morning.  They are dressed nicely in business attire (skirts and blazers).  They look rather professional.  They are attending a special class in downtown Anchorage this week.  They have been working on homework for weeks now.  They have been busy reading, writing, and analyzing bills, writing to their state representatives, as well as several other things.  Here is their homework list to be completed before the start of classes. Attending this class is for their government credit.  If you have never heard of TeenPact it truly is something to check into.  It is a great opportunity for your children.

Let me share a bit about the class with excerpts directly from their website.

TeenPact trains young people to be leaders who will impact the nation and world for Jesus Christ. This is a comprehensive leadership experience that challenges students to grow both personally and spiritually. During the week, students will enjoy meeting and interacting with other Christian young people and leaders from across their state. Students will come away from TeenPact with a realization of their spiritual capacity as young people and a desire to change America for Christ.

Here is a bit more…

TeenPact is a comprehensive leadership experience that brings kids closer to Jesus Christ, makes them better leaders, and positions them to impact public policy in their state. During the week, students meet important officials, interact with other like-minded students, and have more fun at the capitol than they could have ever imagined. Students leave inspired and challenged with an intensive desire to change America for Christ.

TeenPact offers a program for both teens and children at your state capitol. Students enjoy times of praise, worship and devotions, meet important officials, interview lobbyists, view campaign disclosures, improve their public speaking skills, write their own bills, and conduct their own TeenPact legislature. Students analyze public policy from a Biblical Worldview and learn to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).

Other activities include:

* Reading actual bills that are being worked through the Legislature
* Researching how political candidates spend their campaign money
* Analyzing media content with an emphasis on worldview
* Participate in student elections
* Learning about the structure and content of our nation’s Constitution

I know that here in Alaska there are even a few additional scheduled events. One being an ultimate frisbee game. That may sound strange but if you have a teen and are in the Alaska homeschooling community you would understand that life does not happen without ultimate frisbee. )  TeenPact even has their own ultimate frisbee discs for purchase! I hope my daughters don’t see this.  I think I will be buying MORE frisbees!

They are also having a dinner and a square dance. They have parent meetings for those interested in attending.

TeenPact is designed for highschoolers but they also offer a one day class for children ages 8-12 years.

The TeenPact One Day Class is an abbreviated version of the Four Day, designed specifically for ages 8-12. This class focuses on

• The biblical responsibility to pray for our leaders
• The principle of “higher authority”
• The “bill-to-law” legislative process
• Public speaking for young students

I would encourage you to check out TeenPact for your children.  They offer classes in 38 states and are still expanding. Children may also attend year after year if they would like.  There is a lot going on.  Get in on the fun!  There is a lot of information on the website.  They have listings of classes as well as sample class schedules.  This is a great way to aid you in teaching and training your children about the role and functioning of government from a godly perspective.

Be sure to check into it and come back here and let me know your thoughts.

Do you have a child who has already attended?  What are your thoughts on the experience?

Copywork & Handwriting

Image via Wikipedia

When teaching penmanship, basic grammar, spelling, literature, accuracy, punctuation, vocabulary, sentence structure, attention to detail, and memory skills copywork and handwriting books are a great resource.  There are many different curricula available for such things but you want to make sure they are books of substance?  We do not want to just have busy work. When trying to instill godly character in our children it is important to use a curriculum that addresses those needs as well.  I have several listed here that you may want to look into.  We have used several ourselves!

A Reason for Writing has been around for a long time.   They offer curriculum for grades K-6th.  All of the lessons are based on scripture verses.  Along with learning good penmanship children are memorizing and sharing the Word of God.

Memoria Press has a little bit of a different approach.  Their books not only contain scripture but also classic poetry, literature selections, Latin sayings, and hymns.  They also have a great explanation on their website of the benefits of copywork.  They offer a primary set consisting of three books, a cursive book, as well as a composition and sketch book.

Veritas Press has a handwriting series entitled Classically Cursive.  There are four books in this series.  These reproducible books originated by the folks at Logos School are all you need to teach cursive handwriting.  These books use scripture and the catechism.  The four books are entitled, “Bible Primer, Ten Commandments, Shorter Catechism, and The Attributes of God.”

Last but not least are the Journibles.  These are actually designed for older teens and adults.  Yes, we adults can benefit too!  I am very excited about these and am looking forward to investing in some for myself.  Here is a description from the website on these books.

Each book is organized so that you can write out your very own copy of Scripture. You will be writing the Bible text only on the right hand page of the book. This should make for easier writing and also allows ample space on the left page to write your own notes and comments. From time to time a question or word will be lightly printed on the left page; these questions are to aid in further study, but should not interfere with your own notes and comments.

So there you go!  Several great resources for meeting the needs of handwriting and copywork but also attending to our spiritual needs.  Do you have any other great resources for this?  Have you used any of these?  Which are your favorite?  I would love for you to share!

1,000th Post Giveaway

I cannot believe that I have hit the one thousand mark. To celebrate this milestone I am having a giveaway because what other way is there to celebrate, right? I will only be running the giveaway for 5 days and the opportunity for entering will end at midnight (Monday) December 7th, ALASKA time. The winner will be announced on December 8th. The giveaway includes 5 different titles. They are listed below with photos of exactly what you will receive.

Full package includes:

• Considering God’s Creation Set

• Children Just Like Me

• Missionary Stories with the Millers

• Heaven’s Heroes

• Marvels of Creation – Magnificent Mammals

Now the rules: There are several ways to enter.  You can have just one entry or up to four.

1. Leave a comment here mentioning what you like most about this blog (1 entry) if you do any of the following for additional entries please let me know in your comment.
2. Subscribe and become a follower of this blog (1 entry).
3. Blog about this contest and link our blog on it – and don’t forget to give us the link below in the comments! (1 entries)
4. Add a badge (found on the link buttons page) to your blog and post a link in the comments below (1 entries).
5. Existing followers and those who already display a badge count as entries, as long as you post a comment (with link if applicable) to let me know!

Not for additional entries but I would be thrilled if you would consider tweeting this giveaway and any other blog entries by using the tweet buttons at the bottom of each blog post!  Thank you and good luck on the giveaway!