In This Issue: More Summer Activities
1.  Take Walks Together
2.  Learn with Summer Short Courses
3.  Don't Miss Daily Devotions
4.  Consider the Benefits and Goals of Home Schooling

Recommended Resources
•  Oxford Tutorial Service
•  AVKO Multi-Sensory Language Arts
•  Reading Made Easy by Valerie Bendt
•  NorthStar Academy and NorthStar HomeSchool


Greetings,

     In this issue we bring you more suggestions to help you make your summer fun and productive!

     May the Lord bless you and your family for His glory.

Cordially,
The Pat Welch Family, Publishers
Pat, Sue, Heather, Holly, and Brian

The Teaching Home is a home-school, family-run business operated in our home since 1980.

____________________________________________ Study the Classics Online! Weekly Tutorials with a Ph.D. Classic Christian Worldview College Prep for High School      Oxford Tutorials offers college preparation classes over the Internet in Latin, Great Books, Shakespeare, Classic Literature, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Logic, and Rhetoric. • Follows a classical, Christian worldview and approach. • Teaches the history of ideas which shaped our culture.    425-402-9624   www.oxfordtutorials.com ____________________________________________ 1. Take Walks Together Benefit from Daily Walks      Walking out-of-doors with your children is a wonderful daily habit with many benefits, such as the following:  •   An invigorating change of pace, fresh perspective, and stress reduction.  •   Health benefits include breathing deeply of fresh, oxygen-rich air and getting much-needed, absorbable vitamin D from the sunlight (avoid the brightest time of the day).  •   An excellent form of low-impact exercise.  •   A walk is a great time to visit with and teach your children in a more relaxed atmosphere away from other distractions.  You might discuss suggested topics or upcoming events, or ask questions to draw out your children's thinking.  •   Perform community service by occasionally taking a heavy-duty trash bag and protective gloves to clean up along the road or trail where you are walking.  •   An opportunity to observe and appreciate nature. You can notice and comment on things in nature from time to time as you walk along, or you can plan a nature walk (see below). Plan a Nature Walk      By word and example, you can teach your children to be aware of their surroundings and see the beauty of God's creation all around them.  Following are some suggestions. Be Courteous and Safe      Wherever you go, be sure you know and observe posted rules, common courtesy, and safety.  Stay on the paths; no loud talking or running around other people; no picking plants or removing wildlife; avoid poisonous plants or snakes, etc.  See safety pointers at www.fs.fed.us/safety. What To Take Along      Be prepared to observe nature and make your longer walks safe and comfortable by bringing:  •   Your curiosity. On the way, talk about things you might see and raise questions about them.  •   Snacks and water.  •   First aid kit.  •   Magnifying glass for a closer look at details. A large size is handier for small things like bugs.  •   Binoculars for long-distance items like birds.  See information for selecting binoculars and smaller kid-friendly and lower priced binoculars.  •   Camera to capture images of nature.  •   Plastic jar with mesh lid for insects.  •   Plastic bag to collect items such as small rocks, shells, leaves, pine cones, or sticks.  •   Sketch book or small notebook for notes.  •   Regular No. 2 pencil and/or good quality colored pencils and a good eraser.  (See information about keeping a nature notebook and doing nature art in Newsletter #115.)  •   Nature field guides of birds, insects, mammals, trees, plants, wildflowers, rocks, shells, etc.  Look for those that specialize in species found in your state or region. Fun Walks      You can add variety to your nature walks and learn more by trying some of the following:  •   Penny Walk.  Flip a penny at each corner, and turn right with heads and left with tails.  •   A to Z Walk.  Look for an item in nature for every letter of the alphabet.  •   Rainbow Walk.  Try to find items of every color of the rainbow.  •   Leave-It-Where-You-Find-It Scavenger Hunt Walk."      Find more ideas and print worksheets.      Your family may find that they want to make a serious hobby (at least for the summer) of one of the following: Bird Watching      Start a bird list and see how many different birds you can see during the summer.      Get lots of information:  Free Online Bird Guide for bird species identifications and in-depth information, including sounds, video, and distribution maps.  Cornell Lab of Ornithology; National Audubon Society. Entomology      Gather, study, and display insects or photos of insects.  Collections can be entered in state fairs.      Get information:  Beautiful photos and information on many insects; Teaching Tips on Insect Observation and Collection, Introduction to Insects, and Keeping a Bug Zoo. A Collection      See more information in the sidebar about making a collection of something like shells, stones, pressed flowers or leaves, etc.  Then learn all you can about each specimen. ____________________________________________ AVKO (Audio, Visual, Kinesthetic, and Oral) Offers a Multi-Sensory Approach to Language Arts through Phonics and Word Families.  •   Individualized Keyboarding teaches reading and spelling skills as your child masters the keyboard.  •   Let's Write Right teaches reading/spelling as the alphabet is learned.  •   Sequential Spelling builds self-esteem.  •   To Teach a Dyslexic is the readable and enjoyable autobiography of Don McCabe, a dyslexic who has become a widely recognized expert on dyslexia and head of AVKO.      To try it before you buy it, or for information on dyslexia, visit our website. Complimentary samples and downloads. www.spelling.org/homeschooling.htm / 1-866-285-612 ____________________________________________ 2. Learn with Summer Short Courses      Summer provides more time to spend in areas of study that may get crowded out by the basics during the regular school year.      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 find out how to learn more about their interests through supervised Internet searches and/or library hunts.      Your children can master a lot of material in a 4-week short course this summer.  Choose from:  •   Finishing an unfinished subject.  •   Working on basics mastery and/or review.  •   Getting a head start on a future subject.  •   Selecting a topic of interest or an elective such as music, art, or a foreign language.  •   A unit study, perhaps based on a book (Progeny Press literature study guides; the Frances series; classics).  •   Present oral reports or speech and drama projects; do an art project together. See "100+ Creative Book Reports and Unit Study Activities" in Newsletter #26. ____________________________________________ Free: Frances Series Study Guide ($16) when ordering Reading Made Easy. ( E-mail mentioning this ad for online orders.) Reading Made Easy: A Guide To Teach Your Child To Read by Valerie Bendt Complete Phonics Curriculum: • 108 lessons (30 mins. ea., 3 days/week) • Christian content • Instructions and dialog to read to your child • Writing, drawing, and hands-on activities Read more and see samples at www.ValerieBendt.com. Free Shipping in USA. 813-758-6793 Also: Unit Studies Made Easy, Making Most of the Preschool Years ____________________________________________ 3. Don't Miss Daily Devotions Spend Time Together as a Family with the Lord Every Day!      Be sure your family's summer schedule includes daily time with the Lord.  Family Bible Time, or Devotions, do not need to be long or complicated.  Just do it!  •   Set aside a time each day, perhaps while everyone is still at the breakfast or dinner table or before going to bed at night.  •   Let God talk to you by reading His Word.  You can read through the Bible each year in only about 15 minutes a day — and you can start at any time (not only Jan. 1!).  (See schedules).  •   Take a few minutes to discuss what you've read.  Recall facts, test comprehension by paraphrasing, and make applications.  (See Newsletter #29.)  •   Pray, sing a song, or review a memory verse.      If you don't do anything else this summer, bring your family together to meet with the Lord each day! Help Your Children with Their Personal Devotions      Teach your children how to have their own daily quiet times with God, following these principles.  •   Read God's Word      Choose a book of the Bible or a section such as the four Gospels and read some each day.  •   Meditate      Think about what you have read. Consider writing notes in a journal.  You might look for attributes of God, instructions or good examples to follow, sins to avoid, etc.  •   Apply      Determine to do something about what you have read, such as share the truth with someone or change something in your life.  •   Pray      Thank the Lord for what He has done for you; ask God for forgiveness; ask Him for what you need and to show you what He wants you to do. Tips  •   Set aside a regular time each day (e.g., before breakfast).  •   Choose a quiet location where you won't be interrupted.  •   Keep your devotional materials all together, easy to find.  •   Don't do your devotions in bed.      Sharing with your children what you have learned in your own personal devotions will encourage them as well! ____________________________________________ NorthStar Academy and NorthStar HomeSchool      Two options enable homeschool students to study at their own pace.      NorthStar Academy is a teacher-led, nationally accredited, online school.      NorthStar HomeSchool is a parent-led, homeschool and independent study program.      See NorthStar's website or the accompanying e-mail to learn more about these two programs! ____________________________________________ 4. Consider the Benefits and Goals of Home Schooling The Benefits      Whether you are reaffirming or reevaluating your decision to educate your children at home or are considering this option for the first time, reviewing the unique benefits of home education will provide the conviction, confidence, and commitment that you will need in order to persevere.      For a Christian, the decision to home school should be based on a determination that this is how you can best fulfill God's mandate to teach and train your children.      Teaching and training your children at home can provide the optimum environment for your children's spiritual training and character development as well as their social and academic welfare.  (Read more specifics of the benefits of home schooling in Newsletter #122.) Your Goals      It is easy to get caught up in the nitty-gritty of homeschooling and lose sight of what is most important.      One way to focus on your family's goals is to consider the question:  When our children leave our home to begin their own families:  •   What kind of people do we want them to be?  •   What values do we want them to embrace?  •   What knowledge and skills do we want them to possess?  •   How do we want them to behave?      As you prayerfully consider all aspects of your children's teaching and training, write out a family mission statement and long-range goals for your children.  This will give purpose, direction, and balance to your efforts.  (For more information on writing your family mission statement and goals, see Newsletters #80 and #81.)      Your goals may include the following:  •   Spiritual:  Know God's Word, come to salvation, grow spiritually in faith and obedience to God's Word, minister to others, and spread the Gospel.  •   Character:  Development of characteristics of love, integrity, responsibility, and joy; manners; and discipline.  (See more information on character development in Newsletters #87 and #88.)  •   Social:  Family unity and social skills.  •   Academic:  A Christian worldview in all areas, a solid foundation in basic skills (reading, writing, math), an excellent, well-rounded education, and the ability to find information and keep learning throughout life.  •   Life Skills:  Practical preparation for adult life.      As you plan for the next school year, you can use these life goals to schedule specific goals and objectives for each of your children.

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