A Little Art, First Start French, Kids and Politics
By Heather Idoni
Added Monday, November 10, 2008
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The Homeschooler's Notebook
Encouragement and Advice for Homeschool Families
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Vol. 9 No 89 November 10, 2008
ISSN: 1536-2035
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Copyright (c) 2008 - Heather Idoni, FamilyClassroom.net
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Welcome to the Homeschooler's Notebook!
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IN THIS ISSUE:
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Notes from Heather
-- A Little Art?
Helpful Tip
-- American Girl Movies
Resource Review
-- First Start French
Reader Question
-- Kids' Views on Politics
Additional Notes
-- Newsletter Archives
-- Sponsorship Information
-- Reprint Information
-- Subscriber Information
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Notes from Heather
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A Fun Art Project Website
Want to add some simple art projects to your school week?
This website/blog by Kathy Barbro offers simplified instruction
and unique ideas for 'art time' in your home. I'm going to get
some black paper and try out some pictures drawn with glue and
pastels... maybe you'll want to give the turkey pinchpot a try!
http://www.artprojectsforkids.org/
Enjoy!
-- Heather
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Do you have comments to share? Please do!
Send your emails to: mailto:heather@familyclassroom.net
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Helpful Tip
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American Girl Series Movies
"We don't rent a lot of movies since it seems like there are less
and less family-friendly ones made nowadays. We rented 'Kit Kitridge'
last night and I have to say it was a very good, clean family movie
worth watching.
It's based on the American Girl series but isn't an overly girly
movie. It's set in 1934 during the depression and deals with families
being affected by job and home loss, ways that people coped and made
it through and with prejudices that people had towards people who had
less than others and those who were considered hobos. It's very
educational and would be a great springboard to discuss this era as
well as the similarities with our present day situation. It ends
with a celebration at Thanksgiving so that would be a great way to
start the holiday season.
We've seen several of the 'American Girl' movies and read some of
the books. They are all worth checking out." -- Chastidy
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Do you have an idea, experience, or tip to share? Please write!
Send to: mailto:HN-ideas@familyclassroom.net
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Resource Review
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First Start French
Published by Memoria Press
For more information or to order - www.memoriapress.com
First Start French gives students in grades 3 to 8 a gentle, yet
thorough start to learning a new language. Patterned after their
Latin program, Latina Christiana, First Start French teaches over
200 vocabulary words, basic grammar and more.
The set includes a Teacher Manual with tips for teaching each
lesson, a Student Book and an audio CD, which features a native
French speaker pronouncing all the words in each lesson. There
are also several beautiful songs performed with guitar accompani-
ment to give the student more practice with the language.
Each lesson in the student book begins with either a song or a
saying/proverb. This is followed by basic grammar, vocabulary,
and dialogue. Lessons are short and build on skills presented in
previous lessons. There is a worksheet to be completed for each
lesson, giving the student practice with grammar and translation.
Every fifth lesson is review, along with presenting interesting
facts about French culture.
First Start French does not assume the parent knows the language,
so everything is spelled out clearly in the teacher manual. That
being said, it might be helpful to have some background, as one
can get stumped occasionally with the grammar of any foreign
language. In addition to the teaching instruction for each lesson,
there is a helpful appendix which features suggestions for other
resources, and an English/French glossary.
First Start French is a well-written, easy to use curriculum.
Parents will appreciate the systematic approach and students will
enjoy the tone and pace of instruction. As with any foreign
language, it is best to learn French *with* your child. By the
end of the course, you and your child will know enough basic
grammar and vocabulary to enjoy a conversation while making some
of those famous French pastries - yum!
-- Cindy Prechtel - http://www.HomeschoolingFromTheHeart.com
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Last Issue's Reader Question
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"How has the current election season affected your children's
interest in government and the political process? The mudslinging
this year has very much discouraged my children (14 & 11). My son
has said that all the politicians should have nice soft skin as a
result (ie facials)." -- Anne P.
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Our Readers' Responses
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"The presidential election affect on our children is that we need
to be praying MORE for our country and be watching carefully with
open eyes. God is in control and He still sits on the throne!
Praise His name!" -- Charity in NY
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"Well, it has been mixed. Our oldest is taking the Constitutional
Law course offered by HSLDA right now. He now wants to go into
both law and politics! Our 13 year old was convinced by all of
this that voting is useless because no current-day politicians
really care about how real families live or what their opinions
are. Needless to say, it has been interesting.
We have had, and will continue to have, many interesting discussions
about politics, our Constitution, media, and responsibilities. My
oldest sees the negative parts and wants to change them, another
sees negativity and wants to ignore it, another sees corruption and
negative ads and wants to know how it can exist among individuals
who are supposed to be upright and role models, and another is happy
the elections are over so the commercials end.
All in all, it is another learning experience." -- Lucinda in MN
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"Ha! Mud-slinging/facials, that's funny! My 11 year old twins
are very aware of the political arena as we live in the inner city
and we've seen Obama splashed everywhere. TV commercials slam
their opponents and the kids have asked a lot of questions about
who we are voting for, what we believe, etc. It has lead to
discussions, so I decided to get a book out of the library and
start teaching about the presidents. We are going through them
one by one, talking about our country, democracy verses kings,
etc. I am also more conscious of what my husband and I have
discussed together, because ears are listening! They become
biased from what they hear from us, but it is not always in a
mature, understanding way. We are reading the book of James,
especially on taming the tongue and our conduct. One of the
writers of a few measures in our state has been particularly
slammed by the media, and we know him and his family personally,
so it has given us the opportunity to show the children that not
everything you hear or read is truth. You have to know all the
facts before you can make an intelligent decision -- that's my
husband's favorite saying." -- Nona
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Answer our NEW Question
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"I am homeschooling my 14 year old daughter who has been
homeschooled her whole life with the exception of first grade.
I am really struggling with trying to teach her on a limited
income. Even though I have homeschooled all of my children,
I am running out of ideas for curriculum and I have lost much
of my own desire to homeschool. We have considered an internet
public school where she would be taught online, but I hesitate
to do that. I am not using a particular curriculum, but I am
wondering if anyone else has any ideas for curriculum that
might work for her that is reasonable cost wise. I know that
I am pretty burned out but reluctant to put her in public
school. Does anyone have any ideas that might help me?" -- Lori
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Do you have some encouragement or advice for Lori?
Please send your answer to: mailto:HN-answers@familyclassroom.net
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Ask YOUR Question
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Do you have a question you would like our readers to answer?
Send it to mailto:HN-questions@familyclassroom.net and we'll see
if we can help you out in a future issue!
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