In This Issue: Get a Great Start to Summer
1.  Show Dad Your Love and Appreciation
2.  Keep Learning a Little Each Day
3.  Be a Good Neighbor
4.  Read Aloud Together

Recommended Resources
•  Birch Court Books
•  NorthStar Academy and NorthStar HomeSchool
•  Reading Made Easy by Valerie Bendt
•  Oxford Tutorials: Classic Christian College Prep Online


Greetings,

     In this issue we offer you four ways to get a good start
to a summer that you will look back on with fondness and satisfactions!

     May the Lord bless you and your family for His glory.

Cordially,
The Pat Welch Family, Publishers
Pat, Sue, Heather, Holly, and Brian

The Teaching Home is a home-school, family-run business operated in our home since 1980.

For good summer reading with character-building stories, check out the Miller series! Create a Curriculum or Enhance Your Own Packaged Curriculum.      Complete lines of Common Sense Press, Beautiful Feet Books, Draw-Write- Now, Key to... Workbooks, CalcuLadder, Learning Magnets, and much more!      Free Media Mail shipping with online order of $20. www.BirchCourtBooks.com Free catalog: 800-655-1811 / BirchCourtBooks@aol.com. ____________________________________________ Show Dad Your Love and Appreciation      Often the deepest feelings of our hearts are not expressed in words.  This applies to spouses, parents, and children as well as others.      Help your family learn to communicate their love and appreciation to each other by writing frequent letters or notes to each other. Father's Day is a good time to start!      Whether you buy a ready-made Father's Day card or make your own, add a personal note or enclose a letter that tells Dad exactly how you appreciate and love him.      Be specific in telling Dad what you admire about his character and actions, with examples such as:      "I like the way you show interest in me and what I do.  When you ask me what I did today, I feel that you care for me."      "It was great that you helped our neighbors when their car wouldn't start!  You are a good example of loving others."      We are all apt to take Dad for granted.  The list below may help you realize how much you have to say to him (even if every item does not apply). Things You Can Thank Dad for:  •   Supporting your family's home education efforts.  •   Being a good leader.  •   Seeking wisdom from the Lord.  •   Listening to the children and to Mom's concerns.  •   Praying with and for the family.  •   Spending one-on-one time with each one in the family.  •   Letting children help him work around the house.  •   Taking children with him on errands.  •   His smile, good humor, and encouragement. Things a Wife Can Say to Her Husband: 1.  Express your purpose to follow the Lord and to be a good wife to him. 2.  Tell him of your love, gratitude, and admiration (be specific). 3.  Tell him that you want to help your children love and honor him. 4.  Tell him that you are praying for him and all the issues that you know he faces. 5.  Thank him for his faithfulness to your family. 6.  Tell him that you want to keep your home in order and thank him for his patience when other priorities (like your children) prevent that from happening.      You may have heard stories of people whose dearest possession is a letter from a departed parent or a note of too-often-neglected thanks.  You can be sure that Dad will treasure your words of love and appreciation!      Read practical suggestions on "How To Make Every Day Father's Day" in Newsletter #8. ____________________________________________ NorthStar Academy and NorthStar HomeSchool      Two options enable homeschool students to study at their own pace.      NorthStar Academy is a teacher-led, nationally accredited, online school.      NorthStar HomeSchool is a parent-led, homeschool and independent study program.      See NorthStar's website or the accompanying e-mail to learn more about these two programs! ____________________________________________ Keep Learning a Little Each Day      These regularly repeated activities can help your child review or retain the skills learned during the past school year and even gain some new ones, giving him a big boost for the coming year.  Each of the following academic habits can be done in a few minutes per day.      The secret is to use the power of habit and tie short learning activities to other regularly scheduled events.  Small amounts done regularly add up to quite a bonus.      You can do each activity each day or alternate and do just one or two each day.      These are just a few examples.  The goal is to make it simple, fast, and fun. 1.  Reading  •   Encourage your child to read a variety of good books during a quiet time set aside each day for personal reading.  •   Read together as a family (see below). 2.  Writing  •   Ask your child to write a sentence, paragraph, or journal entry every day.  •   Have him write a brief report of something interesting he has learned which he could read to Father at dinner.  •   For teaching tips on writing see Newsletters #36 and#37. 3.  Spelling and Vocabulary      Learn a vocabulary and/or spelling word each day.  You can use the same word for both or learn two different words. Spelling      Choose spelling words from your child's misspelled words or from the following:  •   Lists in a spelling book you are using.  •   "300 Most Commonly Used Words" (making up 65% of written material)  •   1,000 Most Commonly Used Words.  •   Most Often Misspelled Words (for older students) with a mnemonic help to remember each.  •   See spelling teaching tips and a list of 100 most commonly used words in Newsletter #32. Vocabulary      Choose words from your reading or from the following lists for your older students:  •   Vocabulary List from the SAT practice test.  •   5000 Collegiate Words with Brief Definitions.  •   See vocabulary teaching tips and a list of common prefixes and suffixes in Newsletter #21. Learning Procedure  •   Read the word, then pronounce and spell it together.  •   Write it out and place it where everyone can see it.  •   Define the word and use it in a sentence.  •   Review the words often.      You can adapt this procedure to the learning of a foreign language or sign language. 4.  Basic Math Facts      Success and speed in mathematics depends on instant recall of the basic math facts and operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division).      Frequent repetition (drill) is the key to learning them thoroughly and retaining them.  •   Buy or make standard math flash cards or download and print Triangular Math Facts Cards.  •   Use the power of music (at home or in the car) by listening to Classical Music Math or Audio Memory Math.      You can also review last year's math by doing one problem from the workbook each day. 5.  Globe, Map, or Time-Line Study      Keep a globe, map, and time-line in a central location and do one of these activities.  •   Have a 5- or 10-minute map search and check off a list of objectives (continents, oceans, countries, major cities, rivers, lakes, mountains; see Newsletter #146 or one of your textbooks).  •   Locate times and places that you encounter in your reading, in the news, in missionary prayer letters, etc. or methodically work through a list of geographical or historical items from one of your school books.  •   Do the above activity with a time-line and list of events or people. 6.  Bible Memory  •   Take a minute or two before each meal to say a Bible memory verse together. ____________________________________________ Free: Frances Series Study Guide ($16) when ordering Reading Made Easy. ( E-mail mentioning this ad for online orders.) Reading Made Easy: A Guide To Teach Your Child To Read by Valerie Bendt Complete Phonics Curriculum: • 108 lessons (30 mins. ea., 3 days/week) • Christian content • Instructions and dialog to read to your child • Writing, drawing, and hands-on activities Read more and see samples at www.ValerieBendt.com. Free Shipping in USA. 813-758-6793 Also: Unit Studies Made Easy, Making Most of the Preschool Years ____________________________________________ Be a Good Neighbor      As light in this dark world, our first assignment (after our own family) is the area nearest us — our neighborhood!  ("You shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." Acts 1:8)      How can you be a witness to your neighbors and still protect your children from harmful influences? 1.  Schedule and limit playtime with neighbors so that everyone will know what to expect.  State this as an invitation to children and their parents (e.g., "You are welcome to come play from 2:00 to 4:00, Monday through Thursday.) 2.  Discuss your house rules in simple terms (e.g., no bad language or attitudes, be kind and considerate to all).  Appropriate consequences might be time out or end of playtime. 3.  Add some activities to your children's free play, such as old fashioned games like those in the left-hand column, marbles, jacks, or hopscotch or an art project. 4.  Ask your neighbor if it is OK to include her child in your family's read-aloud time (Bible or Christian stories) or light academic studies (see above).  She might appreciate some help for her child in a needed area. 5.  Supervise (by sight and hearing) all interaction between children so that you can correct attitudes and maintain the standards of your family. 6.  Invite your neighbors to dinner or maybe a 4th of July barbecue or picnic.  Prepare by praying for them, and being ready to share the Gospel with them.      Your neighbors might ask about why you are home schooling.  This is an excellent opportunity to share the Gospel.      You will probably have to go outside your comfort zone to be a light in your community, but that is, after all, why we are teaching and training our children for the Lord. 7.  You might also organize a block party for later in the summer and set up a neighborhood watch. ____________________________________________ Study the Classics Online! Weekly Tutorials with a Ph.D. Classic Christian Worldview College Prep for High School      Oxford Tutorials offers college preparation classes over the Internet in Latin, Great Books, Shakespeare, Classic Literature, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Logic, and Rhetoric. • Follows a classical, Christian worldview and approach. • Teaches the history of ideas which shaped our culture.    425-402-9624   www.oxfordtutorials.com ____________________________________________ Read Aloud Together      Reading is a pleasurable summer activity with many benefits.  Reading aloud together as a family makes it that much better!  •   Bible Reading.  In just 5 minutes per day your family can read the entire New Testament through in a year (See a Bible reading schedule).  •   Select a worthwhile book that will keep the interest of all family members.  If your family has not read the all-time greatest Christian classic, Pilgrim's Progress, start with that or the "Little House" series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, or an exciting historical fiction book by G.A. Henty, such as The Cat of Bubastes, set in ancient Egypt (a study guide is also available).  •   Make this time relaxed and enjoyable, but stop to explain or discuss items that come up.  •   Read with expression and at a slightly slower pace.  •   Read together before or after a family activity, such as a meal, Bible reading, or bed time.  •   Read at the table, sitting together on the couch, or outside.  •   An alternative is to listen together (at home or in the car) to an audio recording of good literature, such as those from your local library or Sing 'n Learn.

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