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Dear friends, I love the Holy Experience blog by Canadian Ann Voskamp. Today her post is full of links for web sites that post daily educational goodies like spelling quizzes, geography facts, poems, writing prompts, bird pictures, classical musical, today in history, Biblical art and so much more. She notes that this was her kids' "go-to" list when she was busy with another child. How to Feed a Brain Every Day (Daily Links for Hungry Minds) http://www.aholyexperience.com/2009/08/how-to-feed-brain-everyday-daily-links.html While we're at it, you may as well feast on a foundational home schooling piece she posted last year, Seven Daily Rungs. I need to reread it myself! http://www.aholyexperience.com/2008/01/seven-daily-rungs.html Blessings, Virginia Knowles

Dear friends, If you're linking in from Lisa Stump's Wildflower Academy blog and looking for the article "Do It Well, But Keep It Humble" you can find it on my main blog here: http://virginiaknowles.blogspot.com/2009/08/do-it-well-but-keep-it-humble.html Blessings, Virginia

Our family belongs to the Providence Home Educators co-op , which has been a huge blessing to us for the past three years. One of the benefits is that I only need to plan lessons for 78th-8th grade English, and not all of the other subjects and grades. That's a trade-off, of course, because that means I have a less control over what curriculum my children will be using all year long. Fortunately, we've been pretty much pleased with what the other teachers have picked for their classes. This is what our 7th and 8th graders are doing this year. Please note that for history and English, these two grade levels are in the same classes. They are in separate math classes, and can choose science classes based on what is being offered that year. Please note that the web links I have provided here are mostly for Christian Book Distributors. You can see the book cover, table of contents, and sample chapters at this web site. However, you may also wish to check http://www.rainbowresource.c...

The Entire Object of True Education by John Ruskin The entire object of true education is to make people not merely to do the right things, but to enjoy them; not merely industrious, but to love industry; not merely learned, but to love knowledge; not merely pure, but to love purity; not merely just, but to hunger and thirst after justice. John Ruskin, 1819-1900 English writer, art critic, professor, reformer

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Learn to Discern: To Know and Do What is Right and True by Virginia Knowles ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This article is part of a chapter from The Real Life Home School Mom: It’s a Life in ReVision . Learn to Discern: To Know and Do What is Right and True One reason we home school our children is to teach them discernment: to know and do what is right and true! We want to pass along our faith and family values, and not leave them vulnerable to everything else out there. We realize that discernment is not just about making isolated moral choices (like what movies are appropriate to see) or following rules to avoid negatives. It is also living by positive principles set down in Scripture and being able to listen to the Lord for specific life direction in fulfilling the destinies to which he has called us. We each have to discern not only right from wrong, but the “priority best” for us from among many “good” opportunities. Here are several wa...

Justice & Mercy by Virginia Knowles from The Real Life Home School Mom “ He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8 One of the greatest privileges of educating my own children is the opportunity to teach them about the themes of justice and mercy. Whether we are studying classic literature, history, geography, current events, careers, science & technology, health, home economics, and even math applications, these concepts can be woven through our curriculum. Take a few moments and think of how you can do this. Human nature being what it is, the drama of conflict and suffering unfolds down through the ages and across the world. I want my children to be able to respond not just with their heads, but with their hearts. I want them to evaluate ideas and actions in light of the truth of Scripture. Here are ideas for incorporating the concepts of justice and mercy into al...

Johnny Tremain Book by Esther Forbes Study Guide by Virginia Knowles Johnny Tremain , by Esther Forbes, is a Newbery Medal (1944) novel set during the time just before the Revolutionary War. Johnny is an proud young apprentice to a silversmith when a workroom accident costs him the use of his right hand. The themes of humility and courage are woven throughout this excellent book! This study guide also contains extension activities of poetry using Longfellow's "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere."  For additional activities on oratory and patriotism using Patrick Henry's "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" speech, click here: Great American Communicators: Patrick Henry . I use selected pages from the publisher's free downloadable study guide .  Literature Study Guide Questions Please note that each full chapter is marked with a Roman numeral (I, II, III, and IV). Sections within each chapter are marked with Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, 4…) so make sure you rea...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Witch of Blackbird Pond Book by Elizabeth George Speare Study Guide Questions by Virginia Knowles ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Witch of Blackbird Pond is the first novel we studied last year in our 7th-8th grade English class at co-op. My students (and their parents) have really enjoyed this book the two years we have done it. The book is set in Puritan times during the era of the Salem witch hunts. Kit, the main character, befriends Hannah, an elderly Quaker widow who is accused of witchcraft. I used selected pages from a publisher’s free PDF study guide (click here to download it) to introduce the novel and its author, Elizabeth George Speare, but I mainly use my own study guide. I have included it below. Even if you don’t use it, it will give you an idea of the kinds of things you can discuss with your children when they read books independently or when you read them aloud. The questions are not all mere recall because I ...