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If you are in California this summer, or looking for a field trip, vacation idea or a creation science class for your homeschool group, the World's Biggest Dinosaur Museum and Dinosaur trail is open.  You will have an opportunity to visit an attraction promoting a Genesis 1 account on the origins of man and dinosaurs.  You can pan for gemstones, see robotic dinosaurs (kids can even ride one), and browse science books and materials.  To schedule a Creation science class, field trip or group, click here.

Offer Expires: August 31, 2008

This is a GREAT place! Our family visited the Creation Museum on our way back home last summer, after adopting Trey and Jake! Great place...highly recommended!

~ Lisa

Our family does not take part in Halloween celebrations for many reasons, but we do take part in Reformation Day, which we hold on the 31st! Here are some websites that will help you plan your own Reformation Day activities!

Philippians 4:8 ~ Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

Lisa

Reformation Day  A history of Reformation Day

Print and Color a Picture of Martin Luther

Reformation Day Word Search Find the Reformers in the puzzle

Reformation Day Activities A number of interesting ideas here for celebrating Reformation Day

Reformation Skit (best for older students, probably grades 5 - 12)

A Short Biography of Martin Luther

A Unit Study on the Reformation This is from Core Knowledge and is for grade 5

The Reformation Begins A unit plan about the reformation with Student Activities for grades 5+

Questions and Answers about Reformation Day

A Mighty Fortress is Our God The words and music are here

Reformation Day This is from sundayschoollessons.com

Luther's 95 Theses

The Life of Martin Luther

John Calvin

Reformation Day October 31st or December 10? An interesting article

Martin Luther: A Man Who Changed the World By Paul L. Maier, illustrated by Greg Copeland / Concordia Publishing House

Halloween Alternatives

Christianity Today Halloween Alternatives

• Book: Halloween, Is It for Re by Harold Myra al?
• Book: The Pumpkin Patch Parable by Liz Curtis Higgs
• Book: Mommy, Why Don't We Celebrate Halloween? by Linda Hacon Winwood
• Book: Let's Shine Jesus' Light on Halloween by Diane Stortz
    

Devotional/Sermon/Teaching Ideas

• Article: Halloween in Light of the Scriptures
• Article: What Does the Bible Say About. . .?
• Article: When Good People Disagree - uses Halloween as a case study in conflict
    

Evangelism Ideas for Halloween Outreach

• Article: Pumpkin Evangelism
• Book: The Pumpkin Gospel by Mary Manz Simon (for ages 3 and up)
• Book: The Pumpkin Patch Parable by Liz Curtis Higgs (for children)
• Idea: The Pumpkin Gospel
• Leaflet: Halloween Leaflet - Light-Up-the-Night
• Leaflet: Halloween Leaflet - Buried Treasure
• Tracts: Halloween Tracts
• Tracts: Chick Tracts: Turn Halloween Into a Night of Evangelism (ideas could be used with their tracts or other tracts)
   

Halloween Alternatives

Leaf Detectives - An activity for younger homeschoolers
   By Steve Walden

Leaves come in all shapes, sizes, and colors in fall. Each leaf is like a fingerprint, indicating the identity of the tree that dropped it. Time to break out the magnifying glass and hunt down the clues! You will need:    • A notepad    • 5 to 10 sandwich bags    • Tape and a marker for labeling the bags    • A magnifying glass    • A book or online resource for tree identification (Your local library should have      at least one book on dendrology, the study of identifying trees.)

Photo courtesy pdphoto.org

If you want to get into it, you can even improvise a Sherlock Holmes "deer hunter" cap by taking two baseball caps and putting one on backwards and the other straight. Going all out means getting a cape and pipe, but it's not required for your leaf sleuthing.

Next, head out with the kids and explore areas of your neighborhood as leaves begin changing color. Search high and low for good clues and collect them in your evidence bags. Be sure to note the location of each tree on your pad and number the bag with a 1 for the first tree, and so on. Note also anything about the tree's characteristics, such as whether the leaves are staggered or opposite each other on the branch. After you have at least three to five bags with leaf samples, it's time to head back to the "leaf lab" at home to find out the true identity of the trees.

Photo courtesy pdphoto.org

Compare the leaves and your notes with what you find in the book or resource. Is it a sugar maple or a red maple, a willow or a locust? Label the bags with the names for the ones you have correct. It may take a trip back to the scene of one or two trees to find out the tree's true identity. Once you have the right tree, congratulations! You've solved the identity of the mystery trees! Here are some resources for your leaf lab:    • University of Wisconsin LEAF    • Virginia Tech Dendrology

Sealing the Deal - Preserving your collection
   By Steve Walden

This may be done in conjunction with either of the two projects above or on its own. The goal is to find leaves that are pretty or interesting and preserve them. You will need:    • Leaves! All shapes, all colors.    • Wax paper    • Heavy books    • Contact paper    • Glue and construction paper (optional)    • Hole punch and string (optional) Begin by placing the leaves flat between two pieces of wax paper. Next, place them between two heavy books. (Encyclopedias are the best.) Press them by letting them sit there for a few days to a week. Collect the leaves. You can glue them onto construction paper for a firm backing or leave them alone for a solo performance. Cut the contact paper in squares to give a half inch to an inch of coverage beyond each edge of the leaf or its paper backing, 2 squares of equal size for each leaf. (Optional) If you have "leaf sleuthed" the tree identity using the activity above, you may want to make a label for that leaf. Peel one square of contact paper. Then carefully place the leaf, its paper backing, and/or its label on the sticky side of the contact paper. Peel the other square for that leaf and carefully lay it over the leaf and press it flat, avoiding wrinkles or bubbles if possible. (Optional) If you want to hang your collection up for a fall decoration, punch a hole in one or two of the corners and loop string through each hole. Hang it up proudly for all to see!

Autumn Colors   By Steve Walden

Photo courtesy pdphoto.org

One of the greatest wonders of the four seasons is the autumn colors. Depending on where you live, the changing colors of the leaves on the trees could start near Labor Day or more toward Thanksgiving. Here are a few questions to get your young minds going:    • How do trees know when to change color?    • Why do they change color?    • Why do some trees lose their leaves and some stay green all year?

These questions have many jumping-off points to new discoveries. What determines a leaf's color? What makes them green in the first place, and where does the green go? The possibilities of questions are endless. Science Made Simple has a small study on leaves for both your grade school ages as well as your younger learners, along with a couple of projects you can try. The questions don't just stop at grade school, either. Chemistry is involved in a big way. An article from About.com details the different molecular combinations at work. There are other factors at work, such as weather and altitude. Accuweather.com has an FAQ on leaves and weather. Let your quest for knowledge about leaves and colors guide you!

Sometimes kids just don't want to do sit-down work.  A perfect solution to this is Learning Centers.

I put mine in large dishpans or plastic boxes with lids in our dinginroom/schoolroom. When we don't want to do regular workbook type learning, we can just take out a center or two to use.

We have one for each subject.

Our "Writing Center" consists of unlined, white or colored typing paper, envelopes, stickers and stamps so the kids can make their own personalized stationary, pencils, pens, markers, write on/wipe off placemats for cursive and D'Nelean writing practice, a can of shaving cream for little kids to practice writing in their high chair or on the table (it makes the room smell wonderful afterwards too), a new cookie sheet and magnetic letters, a small dry erase board and markers, foam letters and paint, etc. I would LOVE to put together a small Calligraphy kit to put inside the center as well.

Our "Math Center" contains cuisenaire rods, addition/subtraction,  multiplication/division placemats and dry erase markers, an Abicus, any games that use math like "Uno", "Bingo", "Monopoly" or "Monopoly Jr", "Yatzee" and "Math It", Dominoes, a set of dice, flash cards, a cash register, play money and stickers to label prices on household or grocery items to play "Store", Dot to dot books for young kids, Math Sotry books like "How Much is a million?" by David M Swartz, a book on Mental Math and math tricks, Puzzle Mania and Math Mania activity books, etc.

Our "Science Center" has a Chemistry set, a telescope and books on star gazing and Astronomy, Magic School Bus books, bug jars, nature notebooks, experiment books, field guides to animals and birds, etc.

Our "History Center" at the moment has American History stuff in it. "Where In The USA is Carmen Sandiego?", a book of blank maps to label and color, States Flash cards, President flashcards, "Five State Rummy" cards,  story books on the Founding Fathers, a DVD on the "Constitutional Convention", a small, swivelling globe, etc.

Our "Reading Center" has age appropriate books, basal readers, "Dick and Jane", "Hooked on Phonics",  alphabet books for pre-school kids, Letter and Word "Bingo", colored word tiles (each part of speech is a different color), Phonics flash cards, etc.

We also have a "Listening Center" with books on tape that I borrow form the library, music and math tapes, a hand held tape recorder and ear phones.

We can pick a center or two up and take them wherever we want to conduct school that day. If we want to do more we can put those  away and pick another one or we can use them as incentives after regular schoolwork is done or as Friday activities in lue of fieldtrips. An "Unschooling" family could keep everything in a closet or cupboard and just open it up during your designated "School Time" and the kids can choose the centers they want to focus on that day.

Katharine Dodson