Take Family Photos

     What better way to create family memories than to take lots of photos to preserve and display!

Taking a Better Photo
     Improve your photos by studying about the technical aspects and composition of photography.
 •  Check out a library book on photography.
 •  Explore Kodak's mega website with pages of illustrated tips and how-tos for beginners to advanced photographers, including "Top 10 Tips for Great Pictures,"as well as illustrated articles on Canon's website.

What To Take
 •  Regular photos to show your family's growth.
 •  Ordinary, everyday settings and activities you will appreciate seeing in the future.
 •  Special occasions and friends.

Educational
 •  Study the history of photography.
 •  Learn how cameras work and about digital cameras.

Preserving and Displaying Photos
 •   Make a family photo album -- actually several photo-safe albums or scrapbook albums!
 •  Compile a heritage album of old family photos. Ask your older relatives to identify people and tell you stories about them that you can tape record or write down.
 •   Slides or digital photos can be composed into a digital photo album or put onto a CD and copied for each of your children and other relatives.

Save the Berries!

     Summer berries (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, etc.) are too good to enjoy for only a few months.
     Start with high quality berries, gently wash (don't soak), and preserve all you can:

 •  Freeze whole berries by spreading on trays in your freezer. Transfer to airtight freezer bags when frozen and remove air before closing. (Placing the bag in water just below top of bag, squeezes out air.) Frozen berries are perfect to add to a blender drink all year long!

 •  Make freezer jam (our family's favorite!). Try the low-sugar or honey recipes.

 •  Dry berries to use in cereal, trail mix, or scones.

     Don't forget to savor plenty of these delicious gifts from God, fresh, while they last!

Offer To Do Yard Work

     One of the nicest things you and/or your children can do to help neighbors or church members who are elderly, busy, or physically challenged, is to mow their lawns.

 •  Learn or review "How to Mow, Edge and Trim a Lawn" and "Garden and Lawn Care."

 •  Read "Tips to Keep Kids Safe from Lawn Mower Injuries"

 •  Your family or older child might also want to start a lawn care business (more information).

Learn Hymns and Sing Together

     Music is a powerful influence in the spiritual life of our families. Both the words and the style of hymns carry a message that honors the Lord and displays His attributes.

 •   Learn and sing hymns together when you read God's Word or before meals. Start by memorizing "Amazing Grace" and learn a new hymn each month.

 •   Explore the online Cyber Hymnal with 5,700 Christian hymns and Gospel songs, including lyrics, scores, pictures, history, and more.

 •  Read verses about singing in the Bible.

     John Wesley’s singing rules concludes with, "Above all, sing spiritually. Have an eye to God in every word you sing. Aim at pleasing Him!"

Must You Finish Your Leftovers?

     The relative importance of any unfinished studies from last year — determined by the level of competence needed — will help you decide if and how you need to finish up anything this summer.

Level 1: Acquaintance
     Some subject matter requires only an acquaintance, especially if it will be repeated at a higher level another year (e.g. elementary science or history books)
 •   Read the material together like you would a storybook.

Level 2: Understanding
     Some information needs to be more thoroughly understood before the next level is studied or in order to relate it to other subjects.
 •   Read and discuss the material together, referring to a globe, map, or timeline, but skipping assignments and tests.

Level 3: Mastery
     Some essential and basic information requires instant recall to continue to higher levels. Examples: math facts and operations; rules of phonics, spelling, and grammar; definitions, processes, and formulas; major eras and events on a timeline.
 •  Review and Drill. Buy or make your own fact sheets or flash cards which contain the kernels of information to be remembered in a subject.
     Print Out Free Triangular Math Facts Cards.
     Softbasics offers free math facts and concepts software.
     See "Games for Memory Work, Drill, and Review."

     Remember "school teachers" don't finish everything each year, and information is repeated at a higher level every few years in most curriculum's scope and sequence.
     So . . . decide if and how you need to finish anything, and then don't worry about the rest!

Select Good Books

     To help your children enjoy reading and to benefit their character and education, select their reading materials carefully.

1. Determine Reading Level
     You can read aloud to your child at a higher reading level than his own, but select a more comfortable reading level for him to read independently so he does not become frustrated, skip over words, or have low comprehension.

2. Identify Moral Elements
     A standard that can be applied to selecting literature is found in Phillippians 4:8:
 •   True. Story is based on truth and reality.
 •   Honorable. Christian character is reinforced.
 •   Just. Appropriate consequences are meted out.
 •  Pure. Characters and story are pure. Sin is not described, admired, laughed at, or rewarded. Language is clean.
 •  Lovely. Beauty is portrayed (in illustrations as well).
 •  Of Good Repute. Emphasizes what is good about things.
 •  Excellent or of Virtue. The material is moral and edifying as well as of high quality.
 •  Praiseworthy. We can praise God for what we are reading.

     Read more about negative moral elements and options in Newsletter #23 and article "A Biblical Approach to Objectionable Elements."

3. Consider Variety and Other Criteria
 •  Select or read to your child books that meet his needs and interests and also stretch his horizons.
 •  Select a variety of literature: historical fiction, biography (including missionaries and great Christians), nonfiction (even textbooks), poetry, drama, and books set in different time periods and geographic locations.
 •  Look for books in a series.
 •  Unabridged books are usually best.

     Watch your child grow by reading good books this summer!

Get a Creation Science Viewpoint

    If your family visits a national park, geological feature, or zoo, you will encounter evolutionary explanations.
     Be prepared with a creation-science view of God's awesome works which show that real science confirms the biblical account of creation and a global Flood.

 •   See Creation Road Trip Resources in left column.

 •   Read "Explore God's Creation as a Family Vacation" by Dave and Mary Jo Nutting with information on Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Dinosaur National Monument, Grand Canyon, Mount St. Helens, Mammoth Cave and Carlsbad Caverns, and Niagara Falls.

     Even if you are not visiting these places this year, your family will enjoy studying about God's creation — and perhaps plan a future trip!

Welcome Dad Home

     Welcoming Dad home can become a lovely family tradition — one that he will look forward to during what can be a long and stressful work day.

 •  Stop what you are doing and warmly greet Dad with a smile, hug, and "Welcome home!"

 •  Offer a cool drink of water or fruit juice, or even a small snack if it will be a while before dinner.

 •   Hold off on your daily debriefing (discipline issues, problems, needs) until later.

 •   Ask Dad what he would like built into this routine — some may want to talk about their day; some may not, etc.

     And remember to show your sincere appreciation of Dad's work by saying, "Thank you!"

Review the Benefits of Home Schooling

     Your decision to home school should be based on a determination that this is the best way to fulfill God's mandate to teach and train your children.
     A review of the benefits of home schooling also makes a good foundation for next year's preparations.

Academic Benefits
     Dr. Brian Ray, president of the National Home Education Research Institute, reports that research shows home educated students typically score 15 to 30 points above public-school students on standardized achievement tests. (For learning-disabled students, there are also greater academic gains.) Academic advantages can include:
 •  A Solid Foundation in the Basics
 •  An Excellent, Well-Rounded Education
 •  A Christian World View

Social Benefits
     Your home and family provide the first and best context for your children to learn effective and godly ways of relating to others in these areas:
 •  Family Unity
 •  Social Skills
 •  Life Skills
 •  Confidence and Independent Thinking

Spiritual Benefits
     Your children's spiritual welfare and training can be optimized at home, including:
 •  Bible Teaching
 •  Salvation and Spiritual Growth
 •  Character Development

     Read more about the benefits of home schooling in Newsletter #122.