| In This Issue |
Counteract Cabin Fever
FREE Pre-Easter Activity Book
Fun with Mnemonics
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Have you just hit those upper math facts and encountered a road-block? Times Tales is the answer. Save yourself hours of time and frustration! |
Grocery Cart math is a fun way to help your children practice math while learning how to spend effectively in the grocery store. This inexpensive hands-on book is well worth the price if your child can learn these important lessons! |
Now is the time
to train your kids
to help you keep
the house company
ship-shape.
choretime simple and ensures that
everything gets done! |
If you're looking to save money (and who isn't these days?!) you'll want to check out the Econobusters.com blog and get to know Molly Green. I have it from good sources that if you sign up for their newsletter now, you'll be receiving a link to a FREE Menu Planning E-book, complete with forms and recipes in the coming week! Enjoy!
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Are We There Yet?
Warm weather is just around the corner, right? I sure hope so!
In this issue we give you some fun ways to fight Cabin Fever, a FREE e-book of neat ways to celebrate the days leading up to Easter, a mnemonic tip and more!
Happy Homeschooling!
~Dena
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Cabin Fever?
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Cabin Fever: "A condition of increased tension, boredom, blahs,
etc. caused by living for some time in a confined space or an isolated area,
especially in winter."
Here are some ideas to help break up the monotony until than Spring weather finally kicks in and you can get outdoors.
First, you'll find all kinds of great links at the 111th Carnival of Homeschooling: Cabin Fever Edition. My personal favorite is Sprittibee's, My Big Fat Homeschool Links List.You'll need a cup of coffee and some spare time to get through all of these!
Scroll down a bit in this article to get a plentiful list of Cabin Fever Remedies. We've been doing several of the ideas mentioned, including bringing out those educational board games I have a tendency to pick up at yard sales and thrift stores and then never get around to playing. My kids are loving it! My daughter has been baking more and we're taking advantage of a neighbor who has offered to teach us to knit. (I can do a basic knit stitch, but that's it). I love the idea of having your child plan a "pretend trip" using the internet, then having them keep a travel diary and write letters home.
When Cabin Fever strikes, it's the ideal time to bring in some less conventional, more hands-on learning methods. While we play board games we own, my kids learn a TON (and have fun) while using our blank game kits to create their OWN game about whatever subject we're currently studying. Our blank comic books are also a fun and easy way to reinforce learning. And we LOVE Grocery Cart Math, not only for it's practical application, but the fact that it's fun AND keeps your child busy while you're grocery shopping!
If you've been putting off art projects or science experiments, this is the time to fit them in. If you don't have resources of your own the library has scads of books filled with craft and science experiment ideas!
Enjoy!
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Free "Lenten Tree" Activity Book
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Miiko Gibson has graciously agreed to share her Lenten Tree Activity Book for FREE to our newsletter readers. To download your copy, click HERE. But hurry! Activities begin on Ash Wednesday, which is February 24th.
Do you have questions about Lent? (I did) Here is an excerpt from Miiko's introduction.
Should we observe Lent?
Like the observation of the Advent, Lent is more a tradition of the Roman Catholic and other liturgical churches. There is no command, inference or example in Scripture that institutes such a practice. Most Protestant and non-liturgical churches celebrate Easter but they don't observe Lent. What about you? Should you?
For many of us, Easter, unlike Christmas, just sneaks upon us. Good Friday is now not a public holiday here in the States. Even if our church observes Palm Sunday, the next time the church meets is Easter Sunday. Good Friday is almost glossed over if the family doesn't make an effort to think about it!
My Family
My home church does not observe Lent or even Palm Sunday. But in our family, we like to use Lent for spiritual reflection and contemplation. It is also a great time to take out all our Easter-related tapes, videos, books and DVDs and enjoy them individually or as a family. We do fun 'almost spring' activities, engage in discussion points and sing passion hymns. We might do an Easter Unit/Integrated Study, an Easter Lapbook,
prepare Resurrection Eggs, or whatever catches my (the homeschool mom) fancy for that particular year. We have regular devotions in the evening but during the Holy Week (the last week Jesus was on earth), my husband always does some kind of Easter devotions with us.
To ensure that my children are as excited about Easter as Christmas, I've come up with a Lenten Tree Chart (see last page) for them to countdown the days leading to Easter.
For myself, I want to use Lent to focus less on my physical needs and more on my spiritual needs. My own observation of Lent is is not based on any hard and fast rules or traditions of men. It is just a personal decision to examine more closely my own heart and life, something I should do periodically anyway but what better time than Lent. |
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Mnemonic of the Month - The Great Lakes
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Since Times Tales is based on mnemonics, we always like to share a good mnemonic when we can.
The most common for the Great Lakes is probably the acronym HOMES, with the first standing for Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior.
However, I recently came across one I like even better.
SHO
ME
As in, "show me". I prefer this because the letters actually help you recall the position of the lakes. Superior, Huron and Ontario (SHO) are on top, with Michigan and Erie (ME) underneath.
Do you have a favorite mnemonic you'd be willing to let us share with readers? If so, email me at triggermemory@charter.net with "mnemonic" in the subject line.
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We wish you the best in your homeschooling journey!
Sincerely,
Dena, Jennie & Marillee
Trigger Memory Systems |
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