Voyage of the Dawn Treader - New Free Narnia Unit!
By Heather Idoni
Added Thursday, December 09, 2010
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Vol. 11 No. 73, December 9, 2010, ISSN: 1536-2035
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© 2010, Heather Idoni - www.FamilyClassroom.net
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Welcome to The Homeschooler's Notebook!
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 The Keystone School is an accredited and licensed private school that offers teacher-supported distance learning courses for grades 6 – 12. We have partnered with homeschool families for over three decades in educating children at home through middle and high school. At Keystone you can enroll your child in a full course load, or supplement another homeschool curriculum with one or two Keystone courses. Whether your child's goal is to become conversational in Mandarin, get a head start on earning college credit by taking AP courses or brush up on English grammar, Keystone can help. Call us at 800-255-4937 or visit keystoneschoolonline.com to learn more. |
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IN THIS ISSUE:
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Notes from Heather
-- Voyage of the Dawn Treader!
Winning Website
-- Kids Know It Network
Helpful Tip
-- Paper Snowflake Fun
Reader Question
-- Moving from Germany to Texas
Additional Notes
-- Newsletter Archives
-- Sponsorship Information
-- Reprint Information
-- Subscriber Information
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Notes from Heather
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The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - Free Unit Study!
Our new student-created mini-unit for the book and newly released C.S. Lewis Chronicles of Narnia movie - The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - is available now at www.EasyFunSchool.com! It has vocabulary words, comprehension questions and suggested activities for each of the 16 chapters in the book.
You can check out the intro for the free 16-part unit study here (on the front page of EFS):
http://www.EasyFunSchool.com
I'll be publishing the webpage for each chapter one-by-one over the weekend... please let me know if you make use of it with your children! :-)
-- Heather
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Your feedback is always welcome! -- mailto:heather@familyclassroom.net
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The Perfect Christmas Gift for Homeschool Kids Ages 2-10
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Stretch-A-Book starts with reading a book and then adds singing, dancing, drawing and acting activities. Your kids will be enhancing their reading, communication, and team building skills while they play. They won't even realize they are learning... but within a few weeks you will notice some very positive changes in your children. |
| Watch videos of homeschool kids interacting with Stretch-A-Book » |
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Winning Website
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"From its humble beginnings as an elementary teacher's classroom website, on through the present, the KidsKnowIt Network has always had one goal, and that is to make learning free. Founded in 1998 in order to provide student's with a fun and educational way to spend their free time, a teacher's classroom project has grown into a worldwide platform attracting several million visitors every single month.
Every website developed is pain stakingly researched for accuracy, and appropriateness. This process begins with the planning and development of materials, activities, and articles by parents and educators, and ends with the final editing and approval of experts in the field being explored.
Please come along with us, and enjoy exploring our universe."
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Helpful Tip
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Paper Snowflake Fun
Here is a fun site with free printable paper snowflake patterns for making *very fancy*, fun flake designs to hang in your windows! :-)
http://www.marcels-kid-crafts.com/snowflake-pattern.html
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Last Issue's Reader Question
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"My kids and I will be moving to Texas for a year, while we wait for my Air Force hubby to finish out his year in Korea. We've never lived there before and I'm wondering what there is for homeschoolers to do , as far as feild trips and what not. We'll be living in Corpus Christi, couple hours from San Antonio, so I know there's the Alamo. The beach in Corpus Christi.... buuuuut..... what else? Any helpful tips and ideas will be GREATLY appreciated." -- Sheri in Germany
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Our Readers' Responses
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"Texas has a vast number of field trips that you can take advantage of while living here (not to mention the best homeschool laws). Here is a web site that lists the trips by category:
http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/trips/TexasTrips.htm
Texas has a huge number of homeschoolers, so look up a homeschool support group in Corpus once you arrive.
Welcome!
-- Tari in TX
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"Sheri, Never fear! There is MUCH to do in Texas for homeschoolers! There is the Barrington Living History Museum, the Children's Museum of Houston (and many other major cities), Natural Bridge Caverns, NASA Space Center, the Blue Bell ice cream factory, Moody Gardens, numerous zoos, the OIL Ranch (has nothing to do with oil, by the way), numerous museums in the museum district of Houston (and any other major city), the beach, the Alamo, the Sam Houston statue, and a huge selection of fantastic campgrounds -- excellent for hands-on nature studies. Plus, this is a big-time friendly state for homeschoolers! :-) Can't beat that!" -- Christina H.
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"Sheri -- We have lived in California, Michigan and now Texas -- and the really great news in that Texas is very homeschool friendly.
We are members of the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi, even though we live outside of Houston. They have homeschool days and a lot of educational programs to offer. Here is their website: http://www.texasstateaquarium.org/
Corpus is a beach town, so it is kind of 'touristy' with many attractions. If you google the city's visitor's guide, you can come up with a whole host of things to do. As for support groups, I am sure they exist there as well. Hopefully you will get some responses from folks that live closer than we do. Best of luck and let me be the first to welcome you to Texas!" -- Ruthanne S.
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Answer our NEW Question
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"My oldest child, 12, is non-verbal and lacks gross and fine motor capabilities. She is ambulatory and incontinent. She is severely physically disabled (Cerebral Palsy) but has shown over and over that she understands everything spoken or read to her by smiling or swinging a wild arm to slap a button. She attended public school through 3rd grade and had an aide at her side the entire 7-hour day. I, on the other hand, have 2 other younger students (2nd and 4th grades) and next year we'll add a kindergartner and a newborn! I simply don't have the time to spend with my special needs child that I know she deserves and desires. I don't have the time (nor the patience) to do hand-over-hand cutting, writing, pasting, etc. that she did in public school. All I have been doing with her at this point is reading to her. We've read a variety of subjects and for the most part she is patient and attentive. Is there anyone else out there that has a student that is severely physically disabled and is homeschooling other children at the same time? I know I'm not the first person to experience this and I'd like any input I can get as to best meet the needs of my special needs student. If nothing else, I'd just like affirmation that I'm doing the right thing by reading to her. PS - I have her younger siblings read to her as well... good for her as well as them!" -- Becky in Tennessee
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Do you have words of encouragement, advice and/or your own experience to share with Becky?
Please send your response by email to: hn-answers@familyclassroom.net
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Ask YOUR Question
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Do you have a question for our readers?
Send it to mailto:HN-questions@familyclassroom.net and we'll answer it in an upcoming issue!
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ADDITIONAL NOTES
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All contributed articles are printed with the author's prior consent. It is assumed that any questions, tips or replies to questions may be reprinted. All letters become the property of the "Homeschooler's Notebook". [Occasionally your contribution may have to be edited for space.]
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