Bright Ideas Press

We are approaching that time of year!

A lot of you are counting down the days until summer – evaluating what has been successful and making a list of changes for next.

In making your lists and checking them twice, many of you are planning curriculum for fall.

Bright Ideas Press wants to help you with just that!

One lucky winner will win his/her volume of choice of The Mystery of History.

The Mystery of History series is everything a family needs for teaching history with a strong Biblical worldview. Multi-age activities, book and video lists, memory helps, timeline suggestions, quizzes, and map work included.

Volume 1 – Creation to the Resurrection
This is everything you need for teaching Ancient Civilizations through the time of Christ, all in one book. Chronological, Classical, Complete. This is a truly unique and remarkable new product! Written for 4th – 8th graders but adaptable for the whole family.

Volume 2 -The Early Church and the Middle Ages
From AD 30 to 1460. Your students will discover how God continually reveals himself in this big-picture look at world events from Pentecost to the printing press. User-friendly format features lively text, quizzes and tests, reviews, projects and activities, timeline and mapping assignments, answer keys, reproducible student pages, and more.

Volume 3 – Renaissance, Reformation, and Exploration
The Mystery of History Volume III continues the spectacular and provocative study of world history from the viewpoint of a Christian author. Spanning the Renaissance, Reformation, Exploration, and some early American history, this volume explores the backdrop to and the significance surrounding the time-honored contributions found in art, music, literature, science, and philosophy of this rich era. Though it is recommended that Volumes I and II be studied prior to this volume, it is not necessary. Volume III can stand alone as a full course of Renaissance/Reformation history.

 

Chronological, Classical, Complete.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please refer to the disclosure policy.

Warmer temperatures. Green grass. Shining sun.

Spring fever is in the air.

Join homeschool friends April 12-14 for the annual online Heart of the Matter conference .

Our very own, Maggie Hogan will be speaking on Friday, April 13 at Noon.

Maggie will bless you with plenty of laughs and encouragement as she shares all (well, not quite all) about her homeschool survival tactics. Yes, it can feel like a battle. But truly, it’s a battle of doing the right thing for the Lord, NOT a battle with our kids.

Maggie will give tips, hints, and plenty of true confessions. Per Maggie, YOU will feel like Super Mom after listening!

This time of year can be the hardest to stay focused. These ladies are lined up to encourage you to follow through, and have fun while you are doing it.

Other speakers:

• Amy Bayliss
• Lee Binz
• Belinda Bullard
• Karen DeBeus
• Lori Lane
• Jenny Penton
• Jamerill Stewart
• Debbie Strayer
• Cindy West

View the full schedule of the conference and be ready to be blessed!

Register now for only $9.95 for all three days.

This is one event you don’t want to miss!

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please refer to the disclosure policy.

It’s all about work.  Every day.  All day.

Sun up, children up.  Sun down, children up.

That may work for whistling friends of a snowy white, apple-eater, but for human children, it can create more grumpies than happies.

There are plenty of hours in the day to get the work done so there is time to play.  We just have to keep in mind that what is play for one is work for another.  Even siblings differ in their versions of play.

My son, for example, plays by writing.  (Wonder where he gets that from?)  And my daughter plays with art. (I love art, too!)  However, if I try to get them to have a little downtime by doing something I -  solely – consider enjoyable (like algebra) they may think it’s work!  Algebra?  Work?  No way!  Bring on those x’s and y’s!

But the children see things in a different light.

In my past attempts to plan my children’s daylight to dark-light hours, I needed to learn to leave plenty of room for what they enjoy, too.  After the necessary work is done, of course!

The crazy part?  If they are having fun doing their fun, we parents gain some time for our own fun!

 

Fluttering by for now,

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please refer to the disclosure policy.

photo credit: Sterlic

For many of us, the countdown has begun to the end of our homeschool year! We’re wrapping up subjects, polishing off projects, maybe testing, definitely thinking…and moving into planning for next year. Even if we continue on with summer activities and ongoing academic work, the upcoming months offer time for reflection before moving on.

You know, homeschool Mamas can really beat themselves up.

Like the grading system we all experienced, our year is marked with red ink; we calculate deductions, then stare regretfully at our final score. We think of the should-haves, the could-haves, the why-didn’t-I put-more-efforts? Oh, what a self-defeating approach!

While I’m not suggesting we simply pat ourselves on the back, ignoring a need for honest evaluation…I am strongly suggesting we remember this today:

You are doing a beautiful thing.

Yes, you. This sacrificial road you’ve chosen in laboring with Christ by nurturing, training and teaching your children is glorious to Him. Beautiful.

God absolutely delights in receiving our precious sacrifice, and I’m a firm believer that He also thinks we should celebrate it! So, how to end this homeschooling year? Ask questions that lead you to celebrate, and not just evaluate the year:

Did we step out and try anything new? Maybe it didn’t work out quite like you thought, that’s okay. You took the risk for the benefit of your family. Congratulations!

What area am I more confident in than when we started? Take a minute to think back on how this year has grown you. Name a way in which your footing is more sure, your steps more solid.

How has Child A (then B, C, D…) grown in character and confidence this year? Ditto for each child in your family – just think of one word, one subject, one way marking growth.

How did we offer God our best? Again, instead of red-inking the entire content of your year, pause to think of 2-3 ways you know-that-you-know God was honored and praised in your year.

Then comes the fun part — CELEBRATE! Whether big or simple, be intentional about recording answers to these questions (or others you might think of) and finding a way to give a shout out.

Include your children in the thinking and planning :: a special lunch or evening party as a family? perhaps a field trip or outing? Scripture is filled with God-ordained feasts and celebrations of remembrance, of giving praise for things gone well.

Shouldn’t our lives reflect this?

Celebrate the beauty of your homeschool year…

www.domesticserenity.org
twitter: @danieatdomestic

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please refer to the disclosure policy.

Are you thinking ahead to the next school year or re-evaluating the current one? Here are a few tips and techniques to help you to include a hands–on component in your homeschool.

Just so you know, I’m not a “projects” kind of person. (I even failed arts and crafts at summer camp!) I love to read! When my boys were younger, I always read history aloud to them. We discussed what we read, made notes, and then read some more. I naturally tend toward a “book and field trip” approach. But one thing I discovered early on in homeschooling was that as much as we love reading and talking, the doing of things made a significant impact. Like the old adage goes: “What we perform, we remember.”

You can do this! Easy-peasy.

photo credit: Homeschool CreationsFirst, decide how much hands-on activity you can realistically do. Using a current calendar and your own schedule, figure out ahead of time what you can reasonably do in one year. Consider the following:

1. Are you planning lots of hands-on activities in a variety of subjects, like history, science, or art?

2. Which times of the year naturally work well for hands-on learning? For us, winter was a great time for more involved indoor projects, while summer was ideal for field trips, performing plays, building models, and nature studies. If you are doing both hands-on science and hands-on history you may want to alternate projects. Work on a science project one week (or month) and a history project the next week (or month).

3. Remember that smaller, less time-consuming hands-on activities are as valuable and memorable as more complicated efforts. Mapping, illustrating, making models, and acting out historic events are short, fun, and valuable.

4. Now, on your calendar, cross out dates when you know it would be difficult to complete hands-on projects. For example, the end of August and beginning of September was always very busy for us with birthdays, anniversaries, travel, school & co-op start-ups, etc. I tried to not schedule anything extra during those weeks. For you it might be canning season, spring housecleaning, Christmas, or the week of Vacation Bible School.

5. Take the ages of your children into consideration. Gear some projects older and some younger. When the little ones have an activity, train the older ones in the art of helping/teaching. By learning to help younger siblings with projects patiently, your older ones are learning valuable life skills, thus benefiting everyone in the long run.

6. By now you should have a clearer picture of how much you can reasonably do. Let’s say you’ve come up with twelve weeks in the next year when it would be feasible for you to tackle hands-on projects. Look through your upcoming studies and gather ideas from your resources that would be beneficial and appealing. Pick out your favorites, and then ask for feedback from your kids. Studying the Middle Ages? Give them choices: Would they rather make a coat of arms, build a medieval castle, make costumes, or perform a simple play? Knowing that any of those projects would suit your students’ needs allows you to safely let them choose which they’d prefer doing. Bonus: Now they have bought into the idea because they had some choice in the matter.

7. Planning ahead makes hands-on projects easier to implement. In your planner, list what materials/resources you’ll need to complete each project. Begin saving detergent bottle caps, buy craft materials on sale, collect pictures of cells or planets to build, etc. Even if you don’t know which specific projects you’re going to do for the entire year, planning and preparing for at least a few activities makes it easier to start.

 

Keys to Success:

A. Be realistic about available time.

B. Make a plan.

C. Follow the plan!

D. Give kids choices.

E. Small but frequent hands-on activities are effective.

F. Utilize older students’ talents.

G. Don’t obsess over the mess.

H. See A!

 

May God bless you and give you wisdom as you spend this time with your children.

What was your best and/or worst hands-on activity??

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please refer to the disclosure policy.

photo credit: jimmiehomeschoolmom

1. Be Chronological

Use history as your cornerstone and proceed chronologically. Start where you are in this school year and work forward, or go back to ancient civilizations and progress onward. It’s easy to tie in literature and geography with history; art and music can often be tied in as well.

2. Invest in Quality

Select interesting resources that both you and the kids will enjoy. Buy kits, games, costumes, etc. for Christmas and birthday presents. Give the grandparents a wish list. Choose items that have tremendous appeal and/or long-term value. Don’t overlook thrift shops, Craigslist, and just putting the word out to your friends for what you are looking for. We received a free piano, free Spanish lessons, free tennis lessons, and more just by praying and spreading the requests.

3. Catch Up

Overwhelmed? Falling behind? Use an entire day (or more) to catch up in one subject. You can cover an amazing amount of territory in a single day. Have a special “Pizza & School Night” if you and your kids work well in the evening hours.

4. Delegate

Plan ongoing jobs your children can do independently. Use non-school time to train them properly in their chores or take a week for home economics to get the training solidified.

5. See the Big Picture

Keep an ongoing map and timeline visible for a constant reminder of the “where and when” of your lessons.

6. Keep a Notebook

Have students document what they are learning in a notebook. There are many great websites and online resources devoted to notebooking or “Wow Books!”

7. Get Ahead

Grab an hour or more when you and the kids are feeling on top of things and intentionally get ahead in something. It provides a great source of accomplishment and is like putting money in a savings account. You’ll really appreciate it when you need to draw on the time you saved.

8. Declare a Holiday

Take a break for a week or two when needed. Teacher planning days are allowed–even recommended! Make your own special family holidays and keep them. Is something really and truly not working? It’s ok to jump ship on occasion. Call do-overs. Claim Grace!

9. Seek Wise Counsel

Enlist the support of your husband, a friend, an online group, or a senior at church who will encourage you and/or to be a resource for information and ideas. (Tip: Be sure to pick a person with a positive attitude!)

10. Reality Check

Periodically look up from the books and ask questions about your homeschool: Are we learning anything? Are we enjoying the process or getting burned out? Are we displaying Christ-like attitudes? Stop, pray, re-evaluate!

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please refer to the disclosure policy.

A cell? I’m supposed to teach my children about a cell?

And all the little itty bitty parts that make it go? Yah, right. I’m no scientist. I’m not even a semi-scientist. I didn’t even really like science. Unless it was pretty. Or fun.

 

Fun?   Isn’t science, like history, supposed to be boring? Isn’t it, like the back of a washing machine supposed to be so complex the standard homemaker can’t understand it and must call in an expert?

Taking on the washer challenge, I didn’t mind dismantling the fearfully complicated machine, fixing the guts, and reattaching the nutted, bolted, and what’s-a-hoozed back.

I only had one piece leftover.

Chemistry would be a similar homeschool test for me; I didn’t mind a gap or two, but a whole bucket of unclaimed knowledge bolts ?  Scary thought.

Thankfully, I would purchase something for chemistry that I didn’t have for the laundry room:  a manufacturer’s manual.  I had wiggled out of the subject in high school, convincing my teachers I didn’t really need the subject and I would be much more pleased in physics. I used my math grades to prove my point, and they let me get away with it. But what we don’t sow, we don’t reap.

When my elementary-aged children became interested in the basics of chemistry, I knew my past had caught up with me … again.  What relief when Christian Kids Explore Chemistry sent me crawling around on the floor with my children on an oval rag rug, learning about nuclei and pili.

 

We had fun (yes, science fun!) while they learned enough to later complete high school courses with the basics already under their Bunsen burners.

It’s amazing how enjoyable a subject can be when knees are planted not only in prayer, but also on vacuumable vacuoles.

I fixed the machine and Bright Ideas Press fixed the science.  And to God be the glory for the great things He has done!

 

Note:  Yes, I know the rug isn’t rag … and it’s not oval.  (For full disclosure, the weed tree pic of a previous post wasn’t my weed tree, but a pic I took elsewhere in Florida.  I’ve saving my WT pics for the autumn when he really lets loose his personality!)

So … Where’s the good ol’ chem-rug now?  It went the way of the owl pellet remnants.  Some things we just can’t hang onto forever.  The new rug (pictured),  still growing stitch by crocheted stitch,  is  for new memories with new little ones … in Sunday School.  God and little children, now that’s chemistry.

Fluttering by for now,

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please refer to the disclosure policy.

Don’t you hate it when the tops of your feet itch? It’s fungi-mentally better than when the bottoms do (can anyone say, It’s time to bleach the bathtub?) yet, to have my foot roofs beg for a scratch. Ugh.

Indeed, who wants to yank the ol’ digits to hip height to scratch the itch? Then we’d have to wash our hands. Better to use the other foot’s toes to do the job. But how ineffective, really.

Top-of-the-foot itchies do indicate who is in my house, however. Or what. I can pretty much guarantee, here in Florida, it’s a skeeter. Or a herd of them. Yes, I know it’s wintertime and they shouldn’t run in herds, but who listens to me?

Run in herd they do, and bite they definitely do. Swell.  No, not as in “Woohoo!” but as in puff up.  I swell and I itch. Reminds me of history classes in school. Welts of brain inflammation and an itch I couldn’t rid. Unfortunately, not the kind of itch as in, “I am itchin’ to do this.”  I was itchin’ to get out of it, not into it.

Textbook history with a droning master teacher was like scratching feet with toes; it sort of helps, but doesn’t really meet the foot-felt need. My high school American history teacher, of all my historical helpers, tried to bring joy to the world of facts, dates, and faces. We played Q&A baseball and held a mock trial. It helped, but for the most part, history was a yawn-er for me.

Aware of generational hand-me-downs, I didn’t want to pass on my lack of enthusiasm to my children, but I didn’t feel I had much choice as I perused one history textbook after another. Then my itch, historical if not venom-al, was cured. Mystery of History was like calamine lotion to my chronological soul. It took the sting out of dates and facts, offering a pink sheen of curiosity to my children’s faces, especially when we made history happen in our very own bathtub!

Sometimes it’s not the bite that’s painful, it’s the way we scratch it that makes the difference.

Fluttering by for now,

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please refer to the disclosure policy.

photo credit: sprittibee

In Missionary Geography part 1, we learned what Captain James Cook and William Carey had in common, and we explored four important aspects of geography in relationship to these men and their times. Today I will present five more questions to dig into. Pull out your reference materials and challenge yourself and your kids to research and answer the following:

6. Languages

A. What is the predominant language in England?

B. What are some of the languages spoken in India?

C. How are these languages the same or different?

D. Why is it important for a missionary to learn the local language?

7. Population

We don’t know the population of the tiny town of Paulerspury, England, of Carey’s time, but a survey in the mid-18th century showed that the much bigger town of nearby Northampton had a population of about 5,000 people. Kolkata (called Calcutta then) had a population of approximately 100,000 during that time period.

A. What is the approximate population of Kolkata today?

B. How does Kolkata’s population today compare to your hometown?

C. Do you think it is easier to be a missionary in a small town or in a large city? Why?

8. Places in Time

A. Draw a simple timeline beginning with 1750 and ending with 1834.

B. Add the following to your timeline: William Carey; James Cook; Carl Linnaeus; Mozart; American War of Independence; Pitt’s India Act; Shaka, King of the Zulus.

C. If you have access to a historical map, check out the world during the time of Carey. This was certainly an age of revolutions! How do you think this might have affected his ministry? [Need LINK here to one of our WonderMaps or a web site]

9. Religion

A. What was the predominant religion in England during Carey’s lifetime?

B. What are the predominant religions of India?

C. Make a chart or Venn diagram comparing and contrasting Christianity, Hindu, and Islam.

10. Missionaries Today

A. Do you or your church support missionaries?

B. Who are they and where do they serve?

C. What does the Bible tell us about being missionaries?

D. What has the Lord taught you during this study of William Carey?

It’s natural to tie geography into almost any subject. When we recognize that geography is about both God’s people and His world, it’s easy to make the connections. Pull out your maps, your Bible, and your reference materials and make missionary geography a part of your life.

What is your family doing with geography this month? We’d love to hear from you!

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please refer to the disclosure policy.

[Note: You can easily adapt this study to any missionary or other person of interest.]

photo credit: Dawn Camp

What did Captain James Cook and William Carey have in common? Carey, a noted linguist and missionary, was highly interested in plant, animal, and insect life, as was the famous adventurer, Cook. Carey was an avid reader. A book that greatly influenced him as a youth was The Voyages of Captain Cook. One of young William’s joys was collecting and categorizing plants and insects; he crowded his room with specimens of both. He was intrigued by the natural world and later become a botanist of considerable reputation.

As a young man he continued to pore over Cook’s travels, as well as the best-selling book Guthrie’s Geographical Grammar (published in 1770) and the Bible. He drew a crude map of the world, noting places where the gospel had not yet been preached. He prayed that the Lord would send His laborers to the many untouched parts of the world. It’s exciting to see how God used Carey’s early interests and gifts in such powerful ways.

Perhaps you’re wondering what this has to do with geography. Well, check out this partial definition of geography from The Living Webster Encyclopedic Dictionary of the English Language:

Geography: “The science which treats the surface of the earth, dealing especially with such aspects as topology, climate, the ocean, and plant and animal life…”

Knowing more about a missionary’s world helps us to better appreciate their ministry–so let’s dive into Carey’s world! Using reference materials, and based on your student’s age and interest, answer/complete the following 5 sections.

1. Climate

A. What is the climate like in England?

B. What is the climate like in Calcutta (now called Kolkata), India? (Serampore, where Carey spent much of his time in India, is approximately 14 miles north of Kolkata.)

C. What is the temperature today in London? What is it in Kolkata, India?

D. Do you think it would have been hard for William Carey and his family to adjust to the weather in India? Why or why not?

2. Location

A. Look at a world map. Find London and Kolkata. How did Carey travel to India? What might have been some of the difficulties? How long do you think it took to get there?

B. How would you travel to India today? How long would it take you?

3. Using an atlas, label the 7 continents on the downloadable outline map of the world:

Asia
Africa
North America
South America
Antarctica
Europe
Australia/Oceania

4. Using an atlas, label the following on the downloadable outline map of Asia:

A. Countries: India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, China, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, Afghanistan

B. Cities: New Delhi, Kolkata, Bombay (now called Mumbai), Bangalore

C. Bodies of water: Arabian Sea, Gulf of Mannar, Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean, Indus River, Ganges River

5. Flora and Fauna

A. What types of plants, animals, and insects might Carey have found in his native England?

B. What are some types that can be found in India?

C. Compare and contrast these two different environments.

D. Draw one plant or animal that would live in each place. Have you ever seen these before? Where?

In my next post, we’ll look at five more aspects of geography in relationship to Cook, Carey, and their times.

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please refer to the disclosure policy.