Knowledge House Newsletter
Homeschool Information... Ideas... and Inspiration |
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Dear Readers,
I'm featuring a bunch of items related to the New Year in this issue, but before we get started I'd just like to tie up some loose ends from last year. You may recall my son's community service project, collecting footwear for the homeless. Thanks to so many generous people (you know who you are!), he not only met but exceeded his goal. He collected a total of 698 pairs of shoes and 1125 pairs of socks!
The new socks were individually wrapped in holiday paper and distributed to the homeless through Shoebox Ministry. He learned that the socks they give out are sometimes the only Christmas presents the recipients receive.
He and his friends took the rest of the shoes and socks to an event called Cover the Homeless. The organizers of this event had gathered only about 300 pairs of shoes and slightly more socks, so our contribution more than doubled their supply. Hundreds of homeless men, women, and children came from nearby shelters, and the teens were able to give the shoes and socks directly to the people who needed them.
You can view a few photos of the final results at http://soles.xboltz.net/photos.html
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Freebie(s) of the Month*
Start the New Year off Right!
Download a replica of Ben Franklin’s virtue chart. Every evening, review your day and give yourself a mark if you transgressed the week's virtue. The goal is to live your days without having to place any marks on your chart.
See Also: a completely blank template, with only days of the week. You can print this out and write in your own virtues and descriptions or use it for tracking daily exercises, etc.
Franklin also created what may have been the original Day-Timer. Download a replica of Franklin's Order of the Day chart based on his scheme of employment for the twenty-four hours of a natural day. Print this out and use it to organize your own day.
(*Requires Adobe Reader: click here for free download.) |
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Featured Article
Happy New Year! Well, are you glad the 00’s are over? Technically, of course, December 31, 2009 was not the last day of the decade. December 31, 2010 is! That’s because there is no year “0.” Therefore, the first day of the first decade on our calendar was January 1st in the year “1.” So the last day of that decade is actually December 31st, year “10.” Just like the last day of the last decade was really December 31, 2000, although everyone was already celebrating the arrival of a New Millennium at midnight on December 31, 1999. Having readied ourselves for the Y2K Bug to cause world chaos (and either feeling a sense of relief or saying “I told you so” when nothing happened), the tragedy that actually did materialize on 9/11 came as a complete shock to everyone. Click here for a 2000-2009 Timeline. My personal family timeline goes as follows:
April 4, 2000 - Our third child, Joshua Paul, is born. Talk about ups and downs! Time Magazine called the last ten years the “decade of sorrows” and said it was “one heart-breaking disaster after another.” How true, and that was certainly the case for me and my family. If I was a superstitious person, I would have sworn I’d broken a mirror and been cursed with seven years of bad luck. Except that the bad luck didn’t stop after the seventh year! Kind of ironic when we were so excited about a new millennium, to have it start out like this. And yet... We have to remember that even if bad times do last a long time, they won’t last forever. For everything there is a season. Good times and bad times come and go, like drought cycles or the ebb and flow of ocean tides. No matter what, there is always hope for a better tomorrow. That’s one thing that can never be taken away. After all, the Bible says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11) Of course, He doesn't say it will happen overnight! While we're waiting, we must do our best to enjoy the life that God has given us at this moment in time and have faith that our luck will change one of these days. Blessings to you all and best wishes for a happy, healthy new year!
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E-book(s) of the Month
*I've seen a 15-page e-book of Ben Franklin's Proverbs on sale elsewhere for $3.99, so I think this one is a great deal considering it's 36 pages and includes supplemental lessons!
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Quote of the Month
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us, we had nothing before us; we were all going directly to Heaven, we were all going the other way.” ~Charles Dickens |
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Famous Homeschoolers
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Verse of the Month
“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.” ~Ecclesiastes 3:1-4 |
Reading Between the Lines
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Learning Links
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My Products
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My Websites
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A Note From Teri...
May the year ahead bring Happy Homeschooling!
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