The spiral-bound manual tells you everything you need to know to make your lapbook. It includes

a supplies list,

detailed instructions for the pack,

and the spiral binding allows you to fold the pages back for easy copying of the reproducible graphics.

The Research Guide contains the actual lessons to teach. It is laid out in a chapter-style format and incorporates vocabulary lists and review questions. Also included are:

bibliography,

a list of related books,

a list of websites you can use with the study

Topics covered include:

plant classification,

the anatomy and structure of plants,

plant reproduction,

the life cycle of plants,

photosynthesis,

and more.

The Activities and Instructions page has all you need to complete the projects for the shutter-style lapbooks.

As you use this method of learning, your children will be doing hands-on activities, which will increase their retention of the material because they are having so much fun! In this study, your children will learn to classify plants properly, identify the basic parts of plants and leaves, complete an experiment (in a question, hypothesis, prediction format), look inside a seed, make an accordion poster of how seeds travel, and much more. The studies are interesting, creative, and fun.

For those who have never assembled a lapbooking project, the author has included full-color pictures of completed projects in the manual. The graphics accompanying the activities are very well done, and there are concise and clear instructions for assembling and affixing the various parts of the project. Prep work involves cutting out all of the materials to affix to the folders. This could be viewed as a bothersome task or a great learning experience. If you have never created a shutter-style lapbook in your home school before, you will love the many different ways to fold and affix the individual projects to the folders. There is so much packed into the study, and I am excited about all of the fun we will have putting it together and learning about plants.

I had this scheduled last year to use as part of our science curriculum, but we didn’t get to it. We will definitely be using it this year. I can’t wait to write more and post some pictures! It should be a great addition to our Workbox Method this year!

blessings~

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In the Hands of a Child Project Pack: Plants

By Katie Kubesh, Niki McNeil, and Kimm Belloto
In the Hands of a Child
www.handsofachild.com

3271 Kerlikowske Road
Coloma, MI 49038
866-426-3701

Bible and Hebraic Scriptures

I am starting with Bible first, because the Word of God is the most important thing we can teach our children. God’s commandments and Words are life to us. It really is that simple. If the Creator of the universe made a binding covenant with his people that he will be their God and they will be his people, and gave his commands to them, then sent his son, the Messiah, to live out those commandments as an example to them, who then gave himself to die on a stake for their salvation, what better place to teach about life and our purpose and how to live than with the Word of God? It is a plan for our good and the everlasting salvation of all who believe, and His Words are life.

We have been Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ for over twenty years. We have always searched the Scriptures and talked about God and his instruction daily, including it in our learning. BUT… for the past few months, we have so enjoyed learning the Bible new and afresh. There is so much more to our faith than we have ever been taught. The phrases and situations and responses in the Bible have such deep meanings we don’t know of due to our culture differences. The overlooked feasts and holidays and definitions of mere English words are not enough to fully give life and meaning to what God has prepared for us and how he has revealed himself through his Word and His People. I am thankful beyond words that God has allowed us to see these things revealed to us and given us the desire to study them.

For daily Bible time, the readers each have a personal Bible time to themselves. Except to read the Torah scriptures together on Saturdays/or Sunday as time allows, we do not have a particular Bible study time. We study it as it comes up. Life is the lesson. What we do and how we live requires the Word put into action, and there is always a time to bring the Word into life. Sometimes one of us will read something and share it, and we all will talk about it and discuss it and search deeper. God reveals himself to us all day, in our lives, through his Word and as we work and play together.

*I am now recommending the Complete Jewish Bible as our choice for the written WORD.

Math, Science, Life Skills and Preparation

Speaking of work, we have been so busy here, it is unbelievable. Home School. Home Learning.

In the beginning of the month, we put up over 800 feet of Tposts and fencing for our goats. That’s a lot of measuring, counting, figuring and accuracy to be kept and learned. A couple of weeks ago, Eric and I tore down a wooden fence and put up some wire fencing in it so that the chickens will also be kept inside the enclosure. I will be glad for no more chicken poo and dusting holes. All. Over. The yard! No matter; they have plenty of space to range now.

In this time we discovered that we are going to have a bad summer for ticks. Ugh! We did a bit of research on ticks for a couple of days too.

Our addition is still going…. going…. Do you know about our addition? We started it in July 2002. Yep, count it, 7 years. That’s ok, 7 is God’s number. But, we are finally down to the nitty-gritty and so close, I am getting impatient! I just can’t wait to get it done and get into it! I imagine that Matt will feel like a huge burden has been lifted when we get that final nail or that final piece of furniture in. He and Eric and the girls have been putting in bathroom vents, re-wiring electrical, re-doing drywall, hanging siding on the out building that Mom is living in. The girls and Eric have been putting on coats of primer and painting the ceilings in the past couple of weeks. We just found out a couple of weeks ago that we have 5 more things to do for the final inspection to pass, and if we had picked a better contractor to start with, we would only have 3 things… no, don’t ask. At least we have an actual deadline to get it done and all our furniture moved in. That is coming up soon, because we are having friends over, so I am hoping this all gets worked out fast!

On the other hand, choosing paint colours was about to drive me bonkers! I can pick out colours. I’m just afraid we are going to colour 10 gallons of paint different colours, and then I am going to regret the colour choices! Really, I guess that won’t bother me so much because all the furniture will be moved! And I will have an actual bedroom!! That in itself is worth it. It will be so very nice to get everything and everybody situated. I am just so proud of my husband and my family for all the work they have done. We literally have been going, going, going on getting everything done around here.

Nature Study and Science

We also got 3 new bunnies last month, and six ducklings and five Silver-Laced Wyandotte chicks a couple of weeks ago. We also found that a Momma hen had hatched 14 chicks on her own a few weeks back when Eric stumbled upon them looking for kittens! The hatched chicks and the ducklings are a big hit. The Wyandotte chicks I got for me, because I could’t get that kind when we first got chicks a couple of years ago.The rabbits all had girl names until we realized the the helpful people at TSC don’t know how to s*x rabbits. Now they all have boy names…

We just put the ducks and chicks outside for the first time last week. Matt gets good deals from Lowe’s, and was able to get us another 10×10 dog pen last year that I attached chicken wire to the bottom of. While I did the wire-attaching, Matt et al. had chin-up contests on the bar above the door. I am so glad that the weather has been inthe 80′ for the past few days. I hope to get the cage covered and leave them out there all night! They do love it outside in the sunshine though.

Writing, Research, History, Home Ec and Management

In addition to all of that, I finally found time to squeeze out the article list to the Growing in Grace Magazine authors and contributors. We will start to wrap up and ready for June 09 *gulp* this week?

I am also trying to maintain the Training Children blogs. It is hard, though! Training Sons To Be Men is moving so very slowly. Eric just doesn’t have as much time on the computers as I would like him to so that he can research and write with and for me. Training Daughters, Teaching Wives has plenty of writings on it, and Rachel is helping me add to it.

Amanda, Jocelyn, Rachel and Hannah write and research for GGM, so those articles are theirs and on their blogs or TDTW too. Amanda is blogging and designing blogs at TDP Designs. Jocelyn is still designing blogs at A Ponderingheart Boutique and managing Feelin’ Feminine. They can both design Wordpress, Blogger and Homeschoolblogger.com themes.

The usual delicious meals continue at our home and we are beginning to love preparing the house for Shabbat each week! I dare ya’ to show me some better cooks than my girls. Our Littles are always included in the cooking and baking too. Don’t want them to miss out on a love of learning and life.

Gleaning the Harvest

God gave us Gleaning the Harvest as a blessing for his people and a mission for widows and fatherless home school families. It is not a business, but some aspects of it have to be run as one. It is a learning experience and a blessing. We have seen God touch his people and move them and expect him to do a lot more in it as we have more moments to put into it. God commands his people to care for the widows, the fatherless and strangers. May he bless that families on it, those waiting to be a part of it, and the givers who remember this command.

HOME School, Living Learning Moments

This is our life. We HOME school. It is what we do. Yes, our children get out a few workbooks and put it down on paper, but for the most part, application is what works best. I tried the textbook, sit in the desk for hours method for the first seven years of home school. Home schooling life has brought us together as a family and brought out a love of learning and willingness in our children.

There is so much to learn. I love our lives and what God has given us. I know he has given us all this for his purpose, and it is really exciting living it and expecting his plan to come from it.

May the LORD bless you and keep you and give you his peace.

Shalom~

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Isaac has always been nicknamed Einstein around here. Not really because he is a genius (though sometimes we wonder), but rather because he is always deep in thought and knows things. He listens and remembers and can tell you things you wouldn’t expect him to know.

It was no surprise last week when I looked out from the porch and found him outside by himself in the rain. We have tried over and over to fill in that hole. It is a mess right next to the sidewalk when it is wet, and we have to go around it to get to the garage. I finally gave up and let them dig in it.

Now, to the average person, it looks like he is just playing in the mud puddle, making a mess, likely expecting nothing to come out of his play but a load of laundry.

But, to the trained eye, to the mother who knows that every thing we experience is a chance to learn and remember,

I see him moving the mud around, watching the water paths, and making barriers to contain the water

and filling them to see where the water would go from there.

I am so thankful that the LORD has blessed us with the freedom and desire to train our children up in the way He has created them to go.

You know that feeling you get as a mom when you just watch them and wonder what they are thinking? What they will be?

I love homeschooling!

blessings,

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Most of our learning will consist of our normal, everyday life, which is the best learning. Home Keeping, Cooking, taking care of our blessings, lawn care, animal husbandry, organizing, the list goes on and on…. I have a term for this: Living Learning Moments. That is our basis for our homeschool. Obviously, it is an ‘eclectic’ learning method!

We are planning to use several In the Hands of A Child Project Packs (lapbooks) for everyone to work together.

The ones we will be using are: Plants (science), Cowboys (history and FUN!), and American Government (history and to coincide with the Elections). I was happy a friend reminded me that I have Anna Comstock’s Handbook of Nature Study that I can use with the Plants study. I also saw a Flower Drier Rack that Jocelyn made hanging in her room last night that will be fun to make and go out and get some wildflowers (which are in abundance, because our weeds are so tall!).

I also have a Knowledge Box Central EBook: Presidential Election Process, that will go great with that, as well as another product I got to review from Learning with Weblinks: America’s 50 States. Other books we will be using are the Uncle Eric books: Whatever Happened To Penny Candy?, Whatever Happened To Justice?, and Economics.

One thing I am really excited about is Spanish! We have learned some Latin together before, but most of the kids were too young to participate, so this is going to be fun! Those 6 years of High School and college Spanish classes will really come in handy! Of course, some of my fondest memories are of our family sitting around the table when I was younger, quizzing on the Spanish numbers, weeks of the days, etc. That was also how I learned my states and capitals!

For their individual workbooks, I am reviewing some Kumon workbooks, and I plan to have Hannah and Isaac start with those. Other than that, we are using A Beka for Handwriting, Math and Language for Hannah (8) and Isaac(5 -who will not officially be ‘in school’, but learning all the same!). Eric and Rachel will be doing review together so that I can see where they really are. I do have A Beka Arithmetic/Mathematics books for them to work out of.

Amanda, Jocelyn, Rachel, Eric, and Hannah will also be blogging assignments for Growing in Grace Magazine and/or their personal blogs. It is a great experience in research and writing, presenting a topic to the public, and dealing with comments and criticism.

I also have two shelves of Reading List Books, one for High School and one for everyone else. They are welcome to get a book and read it and mark it off the list when they are through.

So, as you plan, what do you already have planned or in the works for your 2008-2009 school year? What are some of your favorite group studies and individual curriculum? Did you post about it on your blog?

blessings!

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Educators

Frank Vandiver (President – Texas A&M)
Fred Terman (President – Stanford)
William Samuel Johnson (President Columbia)
John Witherspoon (President of Princeton)

Generals

Stonewall Jackson
Robert E. Lee
Douglas MacArthur
George Patton

Inventors

Alexander Graham Bell
Thomas Edison
Cyrus McCormick
Orville Wright & Wilbur Wright

Artists

Claude Monet
Leonardo da Vinci
Jamie Wyeth
Andrew Wyeth
John Singleton Copley

Presidents

George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
John Quincy Adams
James Madison
William Henry Harrison
John Tyler
Abraham Lincoln
Theordore Roosevelt
Woodrow Wilson
Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Scientists

George Washington Carver
Pierre Curie
Albert Einstein
Booker T. Washington
Blaise Pascal

Statesmen

Konrad Adenauer
Winston Churchill
Benjamin Franklin
Patrick Henry
William Penn
Henry Clay

United States Supreme Court Judges

John Jay
John Marshall
John Rutledge

Composers

Irving Berlin
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Anton Bruckner
Felix Mendelssohn
Francis Poulenc

Writers

Hans Christian Anderson
Charles Dickens
Brett Harte
Mark Twain
Sean O’Casey
Phillis Wheatley
Mercy Warren
Pearl S. Buck
Agatha Christie
C.S. Lewis
George Bernard Shaw

Religious leaders

Joan of Arc
Brigham Young
John & Charles Wesley
Jonathan Edwards
John Owen
William Cary
Dwight L. Moody
John Newton

Others

Charles Chaplin – Actor
George Rogers Clark – Explorer
Andrew Carnegie – Industrialist
Noel Coward – Playwright
John Burroughs – Naturalist
Bill Ridell – Newspaperman
Will Rogers – Humorist
Albert Schweitzer – Physician
Tamara McKinney – World Cup Skier
Jim Ryan – World Runner
Ansel Adams – Photographer
Charles Louis Montesquieu – philosopher
John Stuart Mill – Economist
John Paul Jones – father of the American Navy
Florence Nightingale – nurse
Clara Barton – started the Red Cross
Abigail Adams – wife of John Adams
Martha Washington – wife of George W.
Constitutional Convention Delegates
George Washington – 1st President of the U.S.
James Madison – 4th President of the U.S.
John Witherspoon – President of Princeton U.
Benjamin Franklin – inventor and statesman
William S. Johnson – President of Columbia C.
George Clymer – U.S. Representative
Charles Pickney III – Governor of S. Carolina
John Francis Mercer – U.S. Representative
George Wythe – Justice of Virginia High Court
William Blount – U.S. Senator
Richard D. Spaight – Governor of N. Carolina
John Rutledge – Chief Justice U.S. Supr Court
William Livingston – Governor of New Jersey
Richard Basset – Governor of Delaware
William Houston – lawyer
William Few – U.S. Senator
George Mason