Category: Preschool-Grade 12

The Civil War Trust – A US History Resource

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Between middle school and high school,  many homeschoolers cover  US history twice and US Government once.   That means a need for wide variety of Civil War resources.  Fortunately, the Civil War Trust website has it all.  Click on the Education link and you will discover primary source documents, animated maps, photographs, videos, quizzes- more than enough material for either a survey of the Civil War period or an in-depth study.  The teacher lesson plans are categorized by grade level from elementary to high school.  There are even gifted and talented level lesson plans for the student that needs a challenge.  The printable and downloadable lesson plans are organized by themes and include links to worksheets and media supplements.

If you prefer to use only non-fiction materials in your history studies, you will find everything you need on this site.  Your Civil War study can focus on reading and analyzing primary sources with a wealth of newspaper opinion pieces, letters, speeches and other historic  documents available.  If you happen to own a pair of 3-D glasses, you will find the stereoview photographs- the 19th century version of 3-D photography to be especially intriguing.

The Civil War Trust is more than just an amazing history resource.  The Trust also has a goal of reclaiming and preserving important Civil War sites throughout America.  So far, they have saved more than 40,000 acres. Impressive.  This is a must-bookmark website.

 

Ideas and Inspiration – AHE Pinterest Boards

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Need help with a lesson or looking for new ideas for next school year? Check out our Pinterest boards!

Curriculum Review: Messages to Young People- A Study Guide

Ann4 Comments

 

As Seventh-day Adventist parents, we are blessed with a wealth of inspired material to aid us in helping each of our children grow in their walk with God. Ellen G. White’s Messages to Young People is an especially beloved resource for guiding our youth as they grow up into christian manhood/womanhood.

It helps to have a study guide to use along with reading the book to aid in the comprehension of this book. E.J. Dold’s  Messages to Young People- A Study Guide is an extremely helpful resource perfect for guiding a student thoughtfully through the book.

What I appreciate most about the study guide is that is not solely a list of questions requiring rote answers. There are many questions where it is appropriate to lift the answer directly from the reading. However a large percentage of the questions require the student to use higher level thinking skills for summarizing passages or making a personal application of the principle discussed. The student may also be asked to make connections with Bible characters or stories. The variety of ways the student is required to interact with the material keeps the study guide interesting.

The book Messages to Young People is divided into fifteen main sections, and the study guide organizes the questions into several smaller sub-sections for each main section, making it easy to assign manageable portions of reading for the student. Interspersed within the sections are inspirational stories and readings that further reinforce the theme of that particular sub-section.

This study guide is appropriate for personal study for a high school aged student. Upper elementary and middle school students can also benefit from this guide, but may need occasional assistance with some of the vocabulary. Taking the time to work through any unfamiliar vocabulary can easily add a cross-curricular component to the study with English/Language Arts. Some students may find the space for writing answers to be a bit small for legible responses, however that can be easily remedied by having the student complete their work on a separate sheet of paper.

Although the study guide was largely intended as a resource for individual learning, I can attest that it also works very well in a group setting. I am currently ‘teaching’ the book to a group of adults and youth as a Wednesday prayer meeting study which includes my own children. The study guide questions have generated valuable discussions among our group of both new and seasoned believers.

Currently Messages to Young People – A Study Guide is available for purchase online through the following links:

Laymen’s Ministries Resource Materials- MYP Study Guide

and

Amazing Facts Bookstore- MYP Study Guide

Beyond Your Four Walls: Ideas to Expand Learning Opportunities for your Children

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Looking to move beyond worksheets at your kitchen table? Perhaps there is no homeschool co-op in your area or the co-op does not meet your needs. On the hunt for interesting and different learning opportunities for your children but can’t think of anything? Here are a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing. Use this list to help you search for what is available in your local area.

Zoos/Animal Preserves
-Zoology classes/tours
-Day/Summer camps
-Volunteer opportunities/Internships

Cultural Associations
-Language/culture classes
– Cooking lessons/demonstrations

Sewing/Crafting classes
– Sewing /quilting stores
– Craft stores

Orchestras/Symphonies/Music Associations
-Music lessons
-Mentoring
-Job Shadowing/Internships

Construction
-Building supply stores
-Building trade association internships/shadowing

Jr. Master Gardener classes
-Community gardens
-Botany classes
-Beekeeping classes
-Wild edible plant classes

Jr. Master Naturalist classes
-Nature preservation projects
-Hiking clubs

National or State Parks/ Nature Preserves
-Outdoor skills
-Lecture series
-Canoeing/Boating tours/courses
-Bird watching trips
-Jr. Ranger program

4-H Club
-Everything from sewing to livestock showing to Lego robotics

Interest Club Activities
-Astronomy club sky watching outings
-Science shows/demonstrations
-Kite flying outings
-Photography groups
-Blacksmithing lessons
-Engineering clubs
-Running/5K clubs

Living History
-Reenactment groups
-Living history days at museums/historic sites

Science or Art Museums
-Day camps
-Internships
-STEM classes
-Maker spaces

Local Libraries
-Craft days
-Book/Author talks
-Volunteer opportunities

Local Trade Associations
-Job Shadowing
-Internships

Community/Jr. Colleges
-Dual enrollment
-Certificate courses
-Summer day camps
-Exercise classes/Open Swim
-Language classes
-Cooking classes
-Music or Art classes

Hospitals/Medical Centers
-Volunteer opportunities
-Job Shadowing
-Internships
-Training courses

High Schoolers – Weimar Insititute wants to hear from you!

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Weimar Institute, a self supporting Seventh-day Adventist college in California, is in the process of evaluating new degree program options for strategic planning purposes.  Weimar Institute would like to survey Adventist homeschool high school students to find out if any of the programs they are considering would be of interest to them.

weimar Adventist homeschool high school students are of particular importance to Weimar because a very large percentage of our college students were homeschooled for much or all of their education before coming to college at Weimar.

All Adventist homeschoolers in grades 9-12 are invited to participate in Weimar’s online survey found HERE: https://www.surveymonkey.com/ r/T9H9B2M   The questionnaire takes 5-7 minutes to complete and is confidential.

online-survey-icon-or-logoThis is an excellent opportunity for high schoolers to let their voice be heard!  Please share with the Adventist homeschool high schoolers you know and encourage them to participate.

 

 

Tell the World – The Full Film

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“Tell the World” shares the compelling story of a small group of farmers from the northeast region of the United States who would go on to set the foundation of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Since the 19th century, the Church has been at the forefront of matters relating to health, education, communication and Biblical interpretation. 

You can learn more about the film at Tell the World

The 154 minute film can be viewed for free on You Tube.

Free Online Math Manipulative Apps

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Manipulatives make math more accessible for children, especially for hands-on and visual learners.   Often an abstract concept becomes more concrete for a child when they have the opportunity to build their number sense with tangible items.

base-10-blocks

These free math manipulative apps from The Math Learning Center are handy tools for a variety of math applications.  Ten different apps are available, from pattern shapes, to an interactive number line , ten frames and more. The apps are not only available for Apple/Windows and Chrome, they are also available as web apps for those not using a tablet or smartphone.  You can find the manipulatives HERE.