Hope Chest #46, part 3: A Cross-Cultural Christmas
Posted by: homenews <homenews@...>
THE HOPE CHEST: Ideas and Inspiration for Home Education
Issue #46 part 3
November/December 2001
A Cross-Cultural Christmas
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WELCOME TO THE HOPE CHEST!
The Hope Chest Home School News is a free bi-monthly e-mail newsletter
with encouragement and practical teaching tips.
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This is part 3 of 4 for this issue. In it, you will find:
Alphabet Books for All Ages and Vocabulary Bingo
by Bonnie Bonnette
Mancala, A Game from Africa by Virginia Knowles
Resource Recommendations by Wanda Carlton
Practical Errand Tips by Virginia Knowles
Ten Tips for Memorizing Bible Passages
by Virginia Knowles
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Alphabet Books for All Ages
and Vocabulary Bingo
by Bonnie Bonnette
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I am having so much fun making books this year with all our studies and
wanted to share them with you. There are so many different ways to make
them it's incredible. Like for instance with Africa, we are making an ABC
book. This is so fun and teaching the children so much. It doesn't matter
if you have a preschooler or highschooler, ABC books are GREAT! Just have
them take each letter and pick something from what you're studying. For
Africa, they put an ape for A. They could draw a picture, cut one out,
find one on the computer, whatever. Then, depending on their age, they
could write just the word ape or a sentence to go with it or a paragraph
about apes. As for older students, they can even pick out things like
Arab and get more detailed. They can look in the back of books in the
index for words starting with that letter or they use my vocab words in
my Konos curriculum. These are a lot of fun to make and great for review.
What I do is after they are all done with their book they do a speech
with it and are not allowed to read off the pages, just show pictures and
explain.
Another fun thing that is WORKING great for vocabulary is playing bingo.
I take out this game I bought for $1.00 at a yardsale that has vocab
words on it and the meanings. I make up bingo boards out of vanilla
folders and put say 10 words to start with on the board. I give them the
cards and the dictionary. I give them time to memorize the meanings and
look up the words for pronunciation and then we play. All the other
spaces they get to automatically put a chip on. Each day I add more words
until we fill up the whole board. I give out a quarter for a bingo. The
first day I give a quarter for one bingo, then two, then three, etc. as I
see them knowing them so well. When I finish a board I keep it and we
review it in a week or so. This only takes out 15 minutes of our day and
I can't believe how much vocab they are learning.
Enjoy!
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Mancala, A Game from Africa
by Virginia Knowles
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When my daughter Mary came home from visiting her friend Sheila in New
Jersey this summer, she brought me a mancala game as a gift from the
hostess mom, Cindi Mulhern. Its been so fun to play with my children!
Its easy enough for a kindergartner to learn, but challenging enough for
adults at the same time. There are elements of skill and strategy, but
just enough "luck" to keep the game unpredictable. There are many
variations of the mancala game and name around the world, and I cant
quite find the words to describe even the most common one, but you are
basically moving small playing pieces around a board, while trying to
accumulate the most in your own pot. It will be a lot easier for you to
understand if you either go to the store and BUY a mancala game, or if
you visit one of the web sites below. This is one gift that the whole
family could enjoy. You can get a mancala game in a nice tin at Wal-Mart
for about $5.
http://www.centralconnector.com/GAMES/mancala.html
http://www.cmi.k12.il.us/Urbana/projects/AncientCiv/africa/Mancala.html
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Resource Recommendations
by Wanda Carlton
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Hi Friends!! May I tell you about some neat resources we have found this
year to help augment our homeschool day?? One is called Building BIG! I
happened upon it one day while looking for something that would interest
my two boys. The whole family has enjoyed it. This is a five part video
series based on the book by the same title and featuring it's author
David Macaulay. The BIG topics are bridges, dams, tunnels, skyscrapers,
and domes. These aren't just videos featuring the greatest manmade
wonders of the world. It also includes an in depth look at the history
and geography behind them. We have checked them out from our public
library. To date we have viewed domes, tunnels, and skyscrapers. The last
was especially interesting, since they talk about the World Trade Center
as it existed! There is also a bonus building activity included,
featuring those amazing kids from the PBS television series zoom. Check
them out!
Another real gem is YOUR STORY HOUR audiocassettes. They are dramatic
tellings of stories about great people in history. I found them in a
review from CBD, Christian Book Ditributors, catalog. We have almost
completed listening to all twelve thirty - minute cassettes in the
"Heritage Of Our Country" Series. During our lunch we sit and listen to
one story. We have laughed, cried and pondered each story and how it
applies to us and how we are to live. Imagine four children, ages three
to eleven sitting transfixed, ears tuned to the cassette player as the
story of the flag of the United States played one day following the
terrorist attacks on our country. I tell you what... it makes you proud
of our heritage as Americans. Not only that, but it helps you enjoy
learning about history. We are looking forward to the next set of tapes
we have ordered called "Patterns of Destiny". For a YOUR STORY HOUR
catalog, you can call or write YOUR STORY HOUR recordings at P.O. Box
511, Medina, Ohio 44258, 1-330-725-5767. or visit CBD's website at
http://www.christianbook.com
If you do not let the CBD catalog, ask for it. I use it for much more
than ordering books! It is my resource for information on homeschool
helps and curriculum. I like the MANY product reviews and author
interviews.
Another beneficial resource catalog is God's World Book Club. They list
books to read by grade level and I take it to the library with me when I
go or keep it by the computer to help me in finding good reads for the
kids. (http://www.gwbc.com)
A great website called Book Adventure quizzes your kids on many books and
gives them points to redeem for prizes. Check them out (and tell them I
sent you!): http://www.bookadventure.com
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Practical Errand Tips by Virginia Knowles
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Buy an extra large hip pack and wear it on your shopping trips. This
takes stress off your shoulder (if you usually wear a purse) or reduces
risk of theft (if you usually leave it in your cart or on your stroller).
I like the hip pack because it keeps my hands free for dealing with
purchases, packages and children. In my main pocket I keep my check
books, other "paper" sorts of things, change purse, etc. In the front
pocket I keep my "car things": keys (two sets), garage door opener and
sunglasses. In the back pocket, safe against my waist, I keep a small
wallet with insurance cards, debit card, and other things I dont want to
lose, as well as a very small first aid kit. I got my navy blue Eastport
brand hip pack at Wal-Mart for under $10. On Sundays when I dont want to
wear it to church, I drop it into a large purse along with my Bible, and
off I go.
Use a flat purse-size photo album (roughly 4" by 6") to organize purse
papers such as coupons, receipts, shopping lists, stamps, address labels,
medical information, library lists, business cards, et al. Label the edge
of each page.
If your children are old enough to go off alone at stores, try taking
along a set of inexpensive two-way radios. You can get a pair for about
$30 at Wal-Mart. Mine say they have a 2 mile radius, but they really
dont, especially if all of the channels are busy. Maybe a more expensive
set would do the trick. But mine are fine within a smaller area like a
store.
Plan your trip ahead of time. Make a list of what you need to do or buy
at each place. Call ahead to make sure that they have the items you need.
Plan your route for efficiency, grouping destinations which are close to
each other. Obviously, if you are buying cold foods, youll go to the
grocery store last or take an ice chest! This can be a great thinking
skills activity for children. Get out a map, point out the places you
will go and what you will do at each, and let them come up with the drive
plan! (I remember learning about routing and scheduling in my Service
Operations Management class at UCF, so this is definitely educational!)
Take tidy snacks and drinks with you in the car so you will be less
likely to succumb to fast foods. I buy juice packs when they are on sale.
Of course, its a battle to make sure my children dont drink them all up
at home!
Many moms use car time to listen to educational tapes with their
children. Our children frequently bring along interesting books and even
their math books.
Do you know where you are going? You can get maps and driving directions
on-line at http://www.mapquest.com
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Ten Tips for Memorizing Bible Passages
by Virginia Knowles
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"I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you."
Psalm 119:11
When I was on Teen Missions summer teams in Scotland and Israel over 20
years ago, we had to memorize a Bible verse every day. (No verse, no mail
from home!) I still have the little card packets, and the words still
bobble around in my brain and pop up at opportune moments. I can even
tell which verses I learned those summers because they were in the King
James version, and I usually use NIV. Ive also tucked away lots of
verses listening to Scripture memory song tapes by Integrity Music and
the Hide Em in Your Heart childrens tapes by Steve Green.
Since then, Ive tried to concentrate in learning longer passages. (Im
currently working on Psalm 145, which I had done several years ago.) This
gives me a better feel for the context and flow of Scripture. Id like to
offer you several simple tips of memorizing these bigger sections, even
up to a chapter.
1. Pick a section -- either a chapter or a portion of one -- which
communicates key truths or which meets a present need in your life. Some
suggestions: Romans 8 (Christian victory), Ephesians 2:1-10 (great for
sharing your faith!), Colossians 3 (guidelines for Christian living),
Titus 3 (Gods grace), Psalm 23 (comfort), Psalm 84 (dependence on God),
Psalm 145 (a life of worship).
2. Read the whole passage aloud each day.
3. Divide the passage into smaller sections of one to three verses. Make
a goal to learn one of these sections each day, repeating from memory all
of the verses you know up to and including that part.
4. As you work on each section, copy it down in your notebook. Do a word
by word study and meditate on it. Use a dictionary or concordance if you
need to find out what something means. Write one clause or part of the
verse on each line.
5. Notice the sentence structure and flow, along with transition words
such as "therefore." Like a news reporter, take note of WHO, WHAT, WHEN,
WHERE, WHY and HOW.
6. Think about a practical application -- what can you do to live out
this verse?
7. Work out a rhythm or a tune that will help you remember the verse.
8. Write the verses from memory or say them aloud while someone checks
you from the Bible. (This is good accountability.)
9. Recite the passage out loud throughout the day. You can post them in
the kitchen so you can see them as you work.
10. Commit to being accurate! Gods word deserves our best attention and
reverence!
"But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become
convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how
from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make
you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is
God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and
training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly
equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:14-17