So here we are. The last weeks of summer already! The months sped past, and now there’s a chill in the air, it gets darker a little earlier in the evening, and there are other signs that fall is on the way.
With it comes a new school year for the neighbors as well as for us. Soon you’ll watch the neighbor kids line up for the school bus while your kids are still in their pj’s, and maybe still in bed. Will you think, “We are so lucky to have this freedom.”? Or will you think, “Oh dear God, help me, I’m not sure I can do this after all!” ....read more
Motivating Fitness: Tip #2
by Pennie Sempell, JD ACMT
Do you wish your child were spending more time playing outdoors or becoming involved in a physical sport? With childhood obesity on the rise, ask yourself honestly, Does my child’s weight fit within the pediatrician’s recommendations for his or her age and height? Am I making excuses for excess weight? Are we physically active enough as a family? ...read more
Is the Digital Age to blame for academic dishonesty? by Bruce Friend
I suspect that your e-mail inbox is like mine: news stories with catchy titles show up every day, and in a split second you make a decision to read the article or move on. Today this headline grabbed my attention: “Is the digital age to blame for student plagiarism?”
No one debates the importance of teaching students (young and old) to credit the work of others, whether it be from the Internet, a scholarly journal, or a musty tome from the library stacks. However, to blame the “the digital age” for plagiarism is to ignore the past and to sentimentalize human nature.....read more
Military Scholarships May Hold the Key to Your Future by Elizabeth Hartley
With our recent activity in hostile areas, people have been less inclined to look at military scholarships as an option for funding college. While these scholarships are generous, they come with a serious commitment and should not be approached lightly. However, these scholarships may be a perfect opportunity for some students. Here are a few lesser-known options than the typical ROTC scholarships.
Undergraduate Options:
Traditional ROTC and National Guard scholarships are two of the best options for students who need college funding and who are willing to commit to some amount of military service....read more
Back to School, Making lunchtime cool!
byYvette Garfield
It’s that time of year again for the back-to-school routine that includes daily lunches.
Here are some tips for how to make lunch time healthier and more fun:
KEEPING IT FRESH
Lunch should be colorful, playful and fun. Kids like cool shapes so try using a cookie cutter for sandwiches. Kids love to dip their food so dress up veggies with dips to get kids excited about finishing their vegetables. Have a minimum of 3 different color fruits and veggies in a lunch (ex: broccoli and carrots for dip, strawberries for part of dessert). ...read more
In a normal and healthy society, a child grows up interacting regularly with all different kinds of people throughout all age groups. A young person spends time most days with infants, old folks, and everyone in-between. Most people in human history lived their lives in some sort of community, both with extended family and in a village context. When those relationships are healthy and right, the child draws a wholesome and balanced outlook on life, seeing a variety of people’s needs and concerns, joys and sorrows, skills and callings.
More than any other factor, modern education has shattered that entire way of life. One of the worst elements in modern education is to isolate the child from normal healthy relationships and place him or her in a social laboratory surrounded only by kids the exact same age. My purpose is not to explore the terrible impact this experiment has on children, but to show how the opposite, the normal human way of life is integrated all through Project-Led Learning....read more
When we first became a homeschooling family many years ago, my husband was in graduate school and I worked a couple of part-time jobs just to scrape up grocery money. Frugal living wasn’t a choice, it was a necessity. I learned quickly that it is indeed possible to create a rich, wide-ranging homeschooling curricula while spending very little money.
That was many years ago, when there were few homeschool publishers and certainly no online or DVD options. Today, with so many homeschooling products advertised everywhere, it is easy to waste money chasing the perfect program....read more
A few years back when I was teaching Title 1 students (children who were failing in the regular classroom, but did not qualify for special education), many of them were truly confused by the fact that spelling patterns didn’t always sound the same from word to word. Take AI for instance. We teach kids that AI sounds like long A (the name of the letter), since often it does ("pail," for example). So imagine what happens when they encounter the word “certain.” AI suddenly doesn’t sound like long a, but rather like short i. In the word “said” ai sounds like short e. Following are some other inconsistencies in spelling that many of my students found to be confusing:
Sevenstar (www.sevenstaracademy.org) offers an inventory of online courses with a Christian worldview and Christian teachers(if needed) to supplement your academic plan.
Over 70 Core courses and over 100 Dual Credit courses available
• 6th-12th grade academic courses (Course List)
• Bible courses for grades 6th -12th.
• Electives (foreign languages, specialty Science, Health and PE)
• Advanced Placement and Dual Credit (college credit while in high school) (Course List)
Flexibility for your home school
• Choose a single course or up to six to meet your needs
• Start any time (free from traditional school calendars)
• Customize the pace to match your child’s learning style
• Teach courses yourself or use our Christian teachers
• Constructed to develop skills critical for college admission
Connect with local Christian schools
Many home school families find value in connecting with the local Christian school for chapel, lab facilities, fine arts, athletics and other programs. Sevenstar partners with local Christian schools to allow them to offer our online courses to homeschool families like yours (Partner List). Let us know if your local Christian school is not on the list.
Get a head start on college!
Many home school families are taking advantage of our Advanced Placement (AP) courses and Dual Credit (college credit while in high school) to get a head start on college. When the home school student completes AP and/or dual credit courses, admission to colleges/universities is much easier because they have proven their preparedness for college. Plus, the home school family saves money because college credits are cheaper with this program.
Engage your students
with an animated, interactive curriculum from Kinetic Books
"As a parent, I have been happy to see that Kinetic Books encourages the students to be independent learners, and that they can proceed at their own speed. I have seen my daughter's confidence soar, and her knowledge increase dramatically. Kinetic Books is challenging, and holds her interest." "My daughter has really enjoyed the varied ways in which the topics are presented. She likes to see and hear the "step by step" explanations."
First 2000 who purchase GET OVER 1/3 OFF!
Limited time special of $49.95, over 1/3 off the regular price of $79.95.
"My son enjoys the variety of applications, interactive problems and games. He has often remarked that the games are his favorite feature because "it feels like I am playing, but I am really learning." We have recommended this program to many people, and look forward to moving on to Algebra 1 and 2."
And now you can try it risk free with our 30 day, money back, guarantee.
The Kinetic Books digital curriculum is complete and comprehensive. Its interactive approach engages students in the
learning process. To learn more about the deep content, hundreds of activities and whiteboards, thousands of interactive
problems, built-in scoring, videos, pacing guide and more, try the sample lessons for any of our home school products on our new home school web site.
With this purchase, you will receive:
Pacing Guide: provides predefined lessons for you to follow at your own pace. Each lesson is set up to take 1 to 2 hours depending on your student.
Video Lessons: give the student an overview of each lesson and the Activities they will encounter. Each video has a table of contents, so your student can pick the part of the video that help them the most.
Thousands of problems with help: Quick Checks and Kinetic Homework assist students with hints and one-click access to relevant examples as they work through thousands of problems.
Whiteboards: introduce students to the fundamental ideas of Algebra. Hundreds of sample problems provide clear step-by-step explanations with animation and audio narration.
Activities: demonstrate to students how to apply algebra skills to solve problems presented in hundreds of real-life simulations. Examples include: writing an equation for a give-and-go soccer play, using quadratic equations to create art, and solving equations to play a collaborative game.
Scoring: helps students in tracking their progress, with real-time feedback on attempted problems and the overall rate of success.
Quizzes and tests: contain predefined problems to test your student's mastery of the material.
Proof of completion: provides easy access to printable scores from both the work done by your student within each lesson as well as for all the quizzes and tests.
This purchase allows users to access the product over the Internet for a period of 12 months from the date of purchase. You must be connected to the Internet to use this product.
"Kinetic Books is a great program for my students to use. The sound, visuals, and games made the material more engaging, and sometimes even fun! There were plenty of examples and built in support when students got stuck on a problem, as well as immediate feedback to let them know if they were right."
Want to experience our products for yourself, or find out more about Kinetic Books? Visit our new home school web site.
Motivating Fitness: Tip #2
