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Dear friends, In my 7th-8th grade English class in our Providence Home Educators co-op, we've been doing a unit on Medieval Legends.  I've been sending home handouts with the legends in them, as well as comprehension questions and related writing assignments.  The two main source books I've been using are: Medieval Legends (Imitation in Writing series) by Matt Whitling , where I found the legends of Roland and of St. George and the Dragon.  I did not use the writing component of this book, which I found at a used curriculum sale. Medieval History-Based Writing Lessons   by Lori Verstegen, which is published by the Institute for Excellence in Writing ( www.excellenceinwriting.com/ ).  In the this book, I found the story of "Genghis Khan and His Hawk" as well as instruction on sentence starters and descriptive writing.  (This is a $35 book, but I found it at a used curriculum sale for about $1.) I also pulled my vintage copy of Hero Tales from History ...

Sentence Style Variety for Writing by Virginia Knowles These handouts, which I have used in my 7th-8th grade English class in our home school co-op, are loosely based on concepts from materials published by Institute for Excellence in Writing ( www.excellenceinwriting.com ).   Using a variety of sentence styles in each paragraph makes your writing more interesting. Very Short Sentence: Very Short Sentences contain only 1-5 words. Use them to contrast with longer sentences, or put two or three in a row for effect. • You won! Congratulations! • Your mother is gorgeous. • God loves you. I do too. Begins with Subject These tend to be boring if there are too many of them strung together in a row, so don’t use them all the time. • Kate couldn’t believe what she saw in the box. • The red kite dipped and swooped on the strong breeze. Begins with Prepositional Phrase: The prepositional phrase lacks either a subject or a predicate, so it is not a clause. • In the house, we found a complet...

The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare Literature Study Guide The Bronze Bow is set in Israel at the time of Christ. The main character, Daniel, is a runaway apprentice who lives in the mountains with a band of zealots determined to drive out the Roman oppressors. The Book 1. In what year was The Bronze Bow published? 2. What award did it win the following year? 3. Name two other books written by Elizabeth George Speare. Chapter 1 Notice the very descriptive language in this chapter. Copy a sentence that gives a vivid description of a person, place or thing. Why is Daniel living in the mountains, and why did he make himself known to Joel and Malthace? Compare Daniel’s appearance and habits with those of Joel and Malthace. Write in complete sentences! If you know that “bar” means “son of” and that “Daniel bar Jamin” means “Daniel son of Jamin,” then what was the name of Joel’s father? Look at the following recipe for honey cakes, which they ate for lunch. What do the abbreviation...

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