Newsletter 188

For 27 Years The Teaching Home Has Been Providing Families
Information, Inspiration, and Encouragement from a Distinctively Christian Perspective.
Cindy Short and Sue Welch, Co-Editors
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Sidebar Contents

• Tonight: Eclipse of the Moon
• Star Gaze with Your Family
• TTH Back Issues
• Sunnyside Up
• Free Reprints

Tonight: August 28
Eclipse of the Moon

A total eclipse of the Moon is visible before or during dawn from the Central and Western U.S. and Canada.

Easterners can watch the Moon sliding into eclipse while dawn is brightening and the Moon is dropping low in the west.

Details: partial eclipse begins at 3:51 a.m. CDT, total eclipse begins at 4:52, totality ends at 6:23, and partial eclipse ends at 7:24.

Star Gaze with Your Family

Wonder together as a family at God's mighty universe!

"When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained; . . . O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!" (Psalms 8:3, 9)

• Begin with a good daily or weekly skywatching guide or star map so that you know what to look for.

• Pick a good viewing spot: your back yard or out away from city lights.

• View on a night without moonlight, so you can see meteors, the Milky Way, and more stars.

• Start with just your eyes to appreciate the expansive beauty of the entire night sky.

• Add a quality pair of binoculars. They are inexpensive, portable, and enable you to find your target better.

• Learn about the differences in telescope features before selecting a telescope.

• Use a reclining chair or lie on a sleeping bag.

Resources

• Get lots more tips for becoming a stargazer and look for an observatory with public access in your area.

• If your family gets really interested in the stars, consider using a unit study based on astronomy from Living Books Curriculum.

• See the many links to more information at Astronomy Education Resources and the U.S. Naval Observatory's Astronomical Applications Department.

• A new, free online program, Google Sky, lets users explore space and see photos of the precise star formation overhead based on their locale. Overlays outline constellations, illustrate phases of the moon, and show how the planets visible from Earth orbit over two months.

You will also be intrigued and educated by Google's free online Earth program with satellite imagery, maps, terrain and 3-D buildings that put the world's geographic information at your fingertips.

Tell a Friend!

• If you find this free newsletter to be helpful, please recommend it to a friend - or your entire support group!

• Use the link at the end of this e-mail to forward this issue to a friend.

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Thank you!

Newsletter Archives

Visit our newsletter archives and read more than 180 previous issues filled with:

• In-depth information on all aspects of home education.

• Practical ideas to use with your children.

• Dozens of Internet links for more information!

Some of our subscribers have printed out past issues and filed them in a notebook for future reference!

The Teaching Home
Back Issues

"I cannot tell you how far I have come as a result of the encouragement I have received from The Teaching Home.

"I have gone from surviving to thriving; from enduring to enjoying." – Karen, Missouri

Always-Relevant
Teaching Home Back Issues

Many home schoolers have found information, inspiration, and support from the writers who have contributed to The Teaching Home magazine over the last 23 years.

Fifty-one back issues are offered online or by mail order.

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Sunnyside Up

He May Suspect a "Field Trip"!

One evening I decided to take my son to see the overflowing Stillhouse Lake after our area of Texas experienced critical flooding from all of God's wonderful rain during the months of June and July.

When I asked my son to hop in the car because I was going to take him on a surprise adventure, while he was buckling up, he said "Is this going to educational?"

Submitted by Peggi H., Texas

Send your humorous anecdote to publisher@teachinghome.com.

God Loves You.

Because we have been separated from God by sin, Jesus Christ died in our place, then rose to life again. If we trust Him as our Savior and Lord, He will forgive our sin and give us eternal life.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

FREE Reprints

We want to help as many families as possible to teach and train their children for the Lord's glory.

Please help us to help other families by sharing this entire newsletter, or individual articles.

• Forward to your friends and support group.

• Reprint in an e-mail or print publication.

• Post online.

Please observe our copyright:

1. Do not change the wording.

2. Include "by Cindy Short and Sue Welch" (or other author).

Back to Home School, Part 2
1. Establish Child Discipline
2. Set Up Daily Chores
3. Make Legal Arrangements To Homeschool

Recommended Resources
• Beyond Phonics (Revolutionary Language Learning)
• Goop Tales (Manners and Polite Behavior)
• Christian Liberty Academy (K-12 Home School Program)

Greetings,

Here are a few more reminders for your preparations
to go back to home school. These are taken from our "Checklist for Starting a School Year" — equally applicable for the first-time or veteran home educator! You can see the complete list online.

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.

Your Child Can Master Spelling, Fluent Reading and Vocabulary Quickly and Painlessly with Character-Building Word Family Stories.
    From Beyond Phonics. Examples:
    Silent T - "Our hearts soften and our eyes often moisten as we listen to the epistles of the apostles";
    -all - "We all called Mom when the ball hit the wall in the hall."
    BeyondPhonics.com

1. Establish Child Discipline

This back-to-home-school preparation will be one that will make your sailing go much easier!

Child discipline is not only one of your most important tasks as a parent, but also offers life-long benefits of peace and God's blessings to you and your children. Child discipline is an area where the father's involvement is especially valuable.

God tells parents: "Chasten your son while there is hope" (Prov. 19:18), and "Bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord" (Eph. 6:4).

God's word to children is: "Obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother." (Eph 6:1-2)

Parents who do not have their children's respect will have trouble getting their cooperation and obedience. Gaining their respect through proper relationships, discipline, training, and example should be the parents' top priority, whether or not they are home schooling. Home schooling can provide the incentive and optimum setting to accomplish this.

Eight Guidelines

1. Get your child's attention before giving him an instruction.

2. Your child should meet your eyes and answer, "Yes, Mother/Father."

3. Require instant, willing obedience.

4. Be consistent. Your children must know you mean what you say.

5. Affirmation should follow obedience; negative consequences are appropriate when a child disobeys or rebels.

6. Make clear rules and require your child to remember and obey them.

7. Use Scripture to show your child the principles behind your rules.

8. Lead your child to salvation. Only after he is born again can God's Spirit within produce true godly character.

Child Training Resources

• "What the Bible Says about Child Training" by J. Richard Fugate. Book and online excerpts.

• Videos, DVDs, and audio tapes by Dr. S.M. Davis deal with all types of family problems and biblical solutions.

• Doorposts offers sound and practical helps in applying Scripture to the discipline and training of your children.

New Book!
Goop Tales: Alphabetically Told
    Goops Unlimited is pleased to announce the most recent addition to their line of children's character building classics, Goop Tales: Alphabetically Told.
    Goops Unlimited founder, Barbara Ross, seeks to bring proper manners and polite behavior back into the lives of contemporary families with her line of family-friendly and whimsical titles.
    Introduce the Goops — and good manners — to your family! Nicholas@theGoops.com / www.TheGoops.com
Free Shipping in USA!

2. Set Up Daily Chores

This is another foundational back-to-home-school preparation that will pay dividends by making your home run smoothly during school months.

Each member of the family can and should have responsibilities that make a contribution to the success of the whole family.

We can use chores as double duty -- to keep our homes running efficiently and to teach our children responsibility and life skills.

Assignments

Assign chores. A chore chart on the refrigerator makes sure everyone knows what their duties are, and checking off the jobs that are done provides motivation.

For a simple list of chores, read "Magic Minimum: Cleaning Secret of Organized Families".

"Service Opportunities Chart" from Doorposts will help you simplify chore assignments and teach your children biblical principles of work.

Description

Describe chores. Write out a 3x5 card with the name of the chore, what it entails, check points to tell if the job is completed, the estimated time the job should take, and what supplies to use.

Cleaning Supplies

Consider homemade, nontoxic, and low-cost cleaning products. See recipes at www.OrganizedHome.com).

Also keep supplies close to the job, even if that means two sets of supplies (e.g., for the upstairs and downstairs bathrooms).

Training

Take time to train your children how to do each job to your standards and on time. Have your child watch you do the job as you explain it, then have him do the job while you watch and offer confirmation or correction.

Resources

• Read "Speed Cleaning Tips from Cleaning Pros."

• Read "7 Ways To Teach Responsibility through Chores" in Newsletter #45, "The Advantages of Habits" in Newsletter #89, and "17 Ways To Form Good Habits" in Newsletter #90.

    Since 1967, the Christian Liberty Academy has provided families like yours with a flexible, affordable K-12 home school program that emphasizes godly education and academic excellence.
    Our CLASS Plan includes achievement testing, a complete and personally designed curriculum, teacher manuals/keys, grading and transcript services, as well as a recognized diploma.
    Visit www.HomeSchools.org today!

3. Make Legal Arrangements To Homeschool

Avoid potential problems by making the following arrangements.

• Know your state's law.

• Contact your state home-school organization to learn how to comply with your state's law.

• Consider joining Home School Legal Defense Association.

Feedback: We need your help!

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we want it to be interactive.

Please let us know:

1. Your ideas and suggestions.

2. Comments on our content.

3. What we are doing correctly.

4. Where we need to improve.

5. Topics you would like addressed.

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Copyright 2007 The Teaching Home

Sent by publisher@teachinghome.com