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For 27 Years The Teaching Home Has Been Providing Families
Information, Inspiration, and Encouragement from a Distinctively Christian Perspective.
Cindy Short and Sue Welch, Co-Editors
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 First of all, then,
I urge that entreaties and prayers,
petitions and thanksgivings,
be made on behalf of all men,
For kings and all who are in authority, so
that we may lead a tranquil and quiet
life in all godliness and dignity.
This is good and acceptable in the sight
of God our Savior,
Who desires all men to be saved and to come
to the knowledge of the truth.
1 Timothy 2:1-4
Do you like Special Offers and
learning about new and useful resources for
your home school? Then you will want to check out the
Resource E-Mails that come to your mail box! And if you miss one, you can visit our
online Resource
Exhibit Hall, where we archive these
Resource E-mails, and consider if the
products and services can benefit your
family. These free newsletters are made possible
by the fine suppliers who advertise in them
and the Resource E-Mails.
Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully, and shout for joy.
(Psalm 33:3)  Jean Welles, Worship Guitar Class,
announced her annual Worship
Contest for 2008. The theme this
year is the works or character of God. The age categories are 17 and younger, 18
and older, or a family with parents and kids
of any age. • The
deadline for the songs is October 15th.
• Voting
online will begin a week later.
• Songs
need to be in an mp3 format. Three First Place winners can choose from
two options: 1. A Guitar, case, tuner and a set
of the first three volumes of Jean Welles
Worship Guitar Class DVDs. 2. A set of all four volumes of Jean
Welles Worship Guitar Class DVDs, a web cam,
and an hour web cam guitar lesson. Jean says, "There is no 'best' song.
God is pleased with every worshipping
heart. He is the One who rewards us
beyond what man can give. "We are told to encourage each other in
our faith, and I pray that writing and
sharing these songs will be a wonderful
blessing to all who participate and listen." • Read
online article, "How To Write a Worship Song.
" • Request
entrance forms and more instructions.
worshipguitarclass.com/contest
We trust that you find this newsletter
informative and encouraging. Some of our readers print it out and keep
copies in a notebook. You will find our archive
of 200 past newsletters online. • To change your
e-mail address, follow the “Update
Profile / E-mail Address” link at the
end of this e-mail. • Add our e-mail
address publisher@teachinghome.com to your
address book, contact list, or safe
list. Please Tell a Friend• Please
encourage your friends or support group to sign
up to receive this newsletter online. • Use the link at
the end of this e-mail to forward this issue
to a friend. • If this issue
has been forwarded to you, you can sign
up to receive your own free newsletter
subscription. Thank you! HSLDA offers homeschooling families
a low-cost method of obtaining quality legal
defense that gives them the freedom to
homeschool without having to face legal
threats alone. (Use discount
group number 299142 for $20 off your
membership fee.) The Teaching Home
Back Issues |
Always-Relevant
Teaching Home Back IssuesFifty-one back issues are offered online
or by mail order. The information, inspiration, and
encouragement packed into each back issue
never goes out of date. They are always
relevant, applicable to your needs today. Order securely online. Dental Patience
I have recently been trying to teach our
4-year-old Nathan to wait quietly while I
finish various tasks. At the dentist's office, Nathan did a very
nice job of waiting while I had some
impressions made of my teeth. On the way out, Nathan spied a gumball
machine with trinkets that the dentist gives
to children after a visit. Thinking
that he would need an incentive to return for
his own first appointment, I told him, "You
can have one of those the next time we come
– when you are the patient." He stopped and protested, "But, Mommy, I
have been patient!" Submitted by Lisa T., Alaska Send your humorous anecdote to publisher@teachinghome.com.
24/7 Christian Music Online!Listen to beautiful traditional, sacred,
and inspirational conservative Christian
music (commercial free!) when you tune in to
Abiding Radio at www.abidingradio.com.
Because we have been separated from God by
sin, Jesus Christ died in our place, then
rose to life again. If we trust Him as our
Savior and Lord, He will forgive our sin and
give us eternal life. "For God so loved the world, that He gave
His only begotten Son, that whoever believes
in Him shall not perish, but have eternal
life." (John 3:16) "For all have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God." (Romans 3:23) "For
the wages of sin is death." (Romans
6:23) "He (Jesus Christ) was delivered over to
death for our sins and was raised to life for
our justification." (Romans 4:25) "But as many as received Him, to them He
gave the right to become children of God,
even to those who believe in His name."
(John 1:12) "For by grace you have been saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the
gift of God; not as a result of works, that
no one should boast." (Ephesians 2:8,
9) We encourage you to share our e-mail
newsletters in the following ways: 1.
Newsletter. Forward the entire
newsletter to your friends and support group. 2.
Articles. Reprint articles in an
e-mail or print publication. 3. The
Internet. Articles may be posted on
the Internet by observing the copyright
policies below and including an active link
to our website: www.TeachingHome.com. Please observe the following copyright
policies when you reprint our material: •
Editing. Reprint articles
unedited and in their entirety. Otherwise,
edited articles that do not change the
author's meaning, may be submitted for
reprint approval. •
Byline. Include "by Cindy Short
and Sue Welch," unless another author is
listed. •
Copyright Notice and Link. Add:
"Copyright 2008 (or year published) by
www.TeachingHome.com. Reprinted by
permission." (Or "Adapted by permission.") Send Your Newsletter
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index.jsp?pn=teachinghome. Please help us make this newsletter better
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topics you would like addressed. E-mail
us today. Thank you! To advertise in this newsletter, request
information. Copyright 2008 The Teaching Home
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Constitution Week: September 17- 23
1. President's Comments on the
Constitution
2. Studying Our Constitution
3. Studying Our Government
4. Biblical Principles: Basis for
America's Laws
5. Resources
Recommended Resources
• Kids Wealth
• Systematic Mathematics
• Hewitt Homeschooling
Resources
Greetings,
Constitution Day commemorates the signing
of the U.S. Constitution on September 17,
1787. It is important to teach your children
about our nation's Constitution and how it
affects our lives. Constitution Week,
September 17-23, is also a great time to
study our government and our Christian
heritage with your family! May the Lord bless you and your family for
His glory.
Cordially,
The Pat Welch Family, Publishers
Pat, Sue, Heather, Holly, and Brian
The Teaching
Home is a home-school, family-run
business operated in our home since 1980.
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Will Your Kids Have Money Problems
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It takes only 60 seconds to reveal your
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KidsWealth
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children how to successfully manage money.
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1. President's Comments
on the Constitution
 by George W. Bush,
President
of the United States of America
The following are excepts from a former
Citizenship Day and Constitution Week
Proclamation. Today, we marvel at the wisdom of the
Framers who toiled through a long summer of
learned and contentious debates. Their work produced a document that
upholds high ideals, while answering the most
practical questions of governance. The
charter they crafted — with its separate
branches of Government, enumerated powers,
checks and balances, and later the specific
protections provided by our Bill of Rights
—
guides our Nation and inspires others around
the world.
Twin Foundations
As the delegates to the 1787
Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia
began working on what would become the United
States Constitution, they grasped that a
great democracy must be built on the twin
foundations of:
•
National consent to a Federal Government
•
Respect for individual rights.
Balance of Powers
In creating our Nation's Constitutional
framework, the Convention's delegates
recognized the dangers inherent in
concentrating too much power in one person,
branch, or institution. They wisely crafted a Government that
balanced the functions and authority of a
Federal system among three separate but equal
branches:
•
The Executive
•
The Legislative
•
The Judicial. As a further check on central power, the
Framers granted citizens the right to vote,
giving them the power to express their
political preferences peacefully and thereby
to effect change in the Government. The Convention delegates ratified the
Constitution on September 17, 1787, and
submitted it to the States for approval.
Bill of Rights
After much deliberation and discussion at
the State level, the following two concerns
emerged from among those who feared the
Constitution's proposed centralization of
Federal power:
•
The threat of tyranny
•
The loss of local control. To address these fears, our Founders
amended the Constitution by adding a Bill of
Rights. These ten amendments provided a series of
clear limits on Federal power and a litany of
protective rights to citizens. Today, our Nation celebrates the
longest-lived written Constitution in world
history.
All your children can succeed in math
with one nonconsumable DVD curriculum!
Your child can master math by systematically
building an understanding of our base-ten
number system.
This systematic method is similar to the way
phonics gives a student ability to decode
words.
• No lesson preparation needed.
• One purchase for all students.
• Students will understand math, not
just memorize it.
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2. Studying Our Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is
the foundation of our American Government. As
the supreme law of the land, no law may be
passed that contradicts its principles, and
no person or government in the nation is
exempt from following it. •
Read, study and discuss the Constitution. •
Read the Constitution along
with explanations. •
See Ben's
Guide to U.S. Government for Students.
The First Amendment
The First Amendment to the Constitution
does not include the phrase "separation of
church and state." Nowhere does it suggest
that Christianity cannot be heard in the
public square. In fact, the first act of the United
States Congress was to authorize the printing
of 20,000 Bibles for the Indians. Read
more.
Judicial Interpretation of the
Constitution
The subject of constitutional
interpretation is a valid and practical
concern today that will reach into many areas
of our lives for years to come.
Two competing viewpoints have emerged: 1.
To follow the original intent of the
Constitution. 2.
To allow judges to interpret the Constitution
as they will. •
Read "A
Tale of Two Constitutions" by David
Barton as well as a variety of articles from
Wall
Builders on the moral, religious, and
constitutional foundation on which America
was built. •
Read "What
Can We Do About Judicial Activism?"
Free Online Lessons
The Center for Civic Education offers
free lessons for Constitution Day and
Citizenship Day. These are beautifully produced pdf files
with illustrated stories, questions,
worksheets, activities, and teacher's guides.
You may download
and print them. Audio guides are also
available. •
Kindergarten - study of
authority. (30 pages) •
Level 1-2 - study of
authority. (34 pages) •
Level 3-4 - Preamble to the
Constitution. (10 pages) •
Level 5-6 - Preamble to the
Constitution. (12 pages) •
Level 7-8 - the federal system of government.
(12 pages) •
Level 9-10 - the Constitution as a framework
for the government. (14 pages) •
Level 11-12 - involves students in critical
thinking exercises involving fundamental
principles of the Constitution. (17 pages)
Give your students college writing skills
with
Hewitt's Lightning Literature &
Composition
programs for Grades 7-12
 Full-length novels,
plays, essays, autobiographies, short
stories, and poems are used to teach
analytical reading and composition skills.
Eleven
High School Courses include American,
British,
British Christian, Medieval, Shakespeare,
Speech, and World Literature.
Courses can be
purchased as packs with all the required
books, or the guides can be purchased
alone.
Junior
High Courses are available for grades 7
and 8.
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3. Studying Our Government
The Teaching Home Newsletters #66-68
(which you can read online or print for
personal use) addressed the topic of teaching
your children about governments in general
and the United States government in
particular. This series offers much practical
information, Internet links for further
study, and application for Christians. It
would make an excellent study for
Constitution Week. Following is an outline of what each issue
contains.
Newsletter
#66: Introduction to Government
1. What and How To Teach
2. The Biblical Basis of Government
3. Forms of Government
Newsletter
#67: United States Government
1. We are a Republic, not a Democracy
2. The Constitution
3. The Three Branches of Government; Checks
and Balances
4. Distribution of Government Powers
5. How a Bill Becomes a Law
6. Our Heritage of Freedom; Our Christian
Heritage
Newsletter
#68: Our Responsibilities in
Government
1. The Spiritual Aspect of Political Action
2. Political Action
3. Guidelines for Any Lobbying Effort
4. Biblical Principles: Basis
for America's Laws
Excerpted and reprinted by permission from
an article by Charles and Cindy Meek, www.faithfacts.org. Christians believe that the Bible offers
ultimate, objective, and absolute truth.
There was a general consensus on this point
in America from the earliest settlers until
only very recently. Thus it was natural for the early
Americans to turn to the Bible for guidance
as to how to make civil law. This was the
standard for law beginning with the Mayflower
Compact all the way through the constitutions
of all 50 states.
State Constitutions
For example, the first state constitution
was the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
(1639). Read this document. The framers of this document desired that
every aspect of it be based on the Bible.
This document was a model for other
constitutions including the U.S. Constitution
which followed it. (See other Preambles
to State Constitutions.)
Rule of Law
Another aspect of our system of government
is that it is based on the Rule of Law. This
concept is a direct descendant of Hebrew law
and the Ten Commandments. Together with the concept of inalienable
rights from God, these concepts helped ensure
a way of life that respected the dignity of
every individual.
The True Nature of Man
Another important aspect of America's
constitution is that it has as its basis the
distinctly Christian idea that man is
basically sinful. Every one of our founding
fathers understood this truth. The result was
that the founders built into the Constitution
an elaborate system of checks and balances. This is evident in the horizontal plane of
executive, legislative, and judicial branches
of government. It is also evident in the
vertical plane of federalism - states' powers
versus federal powers. See a chart
of the influence of Biblical thought on
America's legal system with Bible
references.
5. Resources
Civics Education Courses
From Home
School Legal Defense Association.
Includes: Founding Fathers, Introduction to
Constitutional Law, The Federalist Papers,
Declaration of Independence, and more.
The Federalist Papers Online
One of the most important works on political
theory ever written.
America's Godly Heritage
Video
clearly sets forth the beliefs of many of the
famous Founding Fathers concerning the proper
role of Christian principles in education, in
government, and in the public affairs of the
nation.
A Nation Adrift
"A Chronicle of America's Providential
Heritage"
DVD
is the true story of how God's sovereign
hand guided the founders of America.
Enlightened Democracy
by Tara Ross. Understand the Constitution
and the basic tenets that undergird America's
republican democracy. Free Study Guide. Colonial
Press
Naturalization Self Test
Could your children (or you) pass the test
to become a citizen? Test your knowledge of
United States History and the structure of
our government on this easy-to-use online
question and answer interactive site.
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