Apples of Gold Home School News

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volume 13

Welcome, homeschoolers, to Apples of Gold!

Did you note the new, shorter web address? www.applesofgoldnews.com

In this issue:

 Events Updates:   SO MANY NEW ACTIVITIES! Here are just a few! Rollerskating dates for both Wednesdays and Thursdays, new classes in Renaissance History being offered on line, Chess and Board Game dates. Check out the host of children's events at the Superior Library, as well as many other opportunities going on in the region. (Click on the events calendar for all these details.) 

Additions: Looking for short and sweet articles of encouragement? Try an Apple-a-Day, a  blog with frequent new entries offering some homeschooling food for thought and a little encouragement. Several new classes and services are offered on the Classes and Services page and and overflow of continuing events and more can be found on the new Great Opportunities page. See the broad listing of area Support Groups. YOUTH, see the letter and opportunity on the Young Ambassador's Page.

We also have some new homeschool helps resources. See the Resources page to find out about Chemtutor, The Cascades Volcano Observatory, Astronomy, and the National Sea Grand Digital Libraries, and METAL which is a site on mathematics for economics.

Scroll down for the following:

*"Project Nest Watch" a new bird watching opportunity for homeschoolers from Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

*Homeschoolers Invited to National Debate

*Girl Editors Wanted for New Moon Magazine

*What is a Clep Test?

*Book Review: It's Not About Me by Max Lucado

AND WE HAVE A HOST OF ARCHIVED ARTICLES FOR YOUR ENCOURAGEMENT! MORE ARTICLES, CURRICULUM ADS, EVENTS, and BLOG POSTINGS  REGULARLY!

New Autism Camp in Northern Wisconsin Offers Opportunities

This article with information coming soon! In the meantime, you can visit www.birchtrail.com/camp_bt.shtml to find out about this camp!

New Project Spotlights Life in the Nest

NestWatch project takes off, seeks participants

Ithaca, NY —What could be cuter than baby birds all atwitter in the nest? But amid the “oohs” and “aahs” are real data about the rhythms of bird biology and how they may be changing as the result of human activity. Combine the “wow” factor of the former with the scientific value of the latter and you have NestWatch—a new, free citizen science project developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in collaboration with the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center and funded by the National Science Foundation. Participants visit nests during spring and summer to collect simple information about location, habitat, species, number of eggs, and number of young in the nest. Then they submit their observations online.

“NestWatch introduces birding and simple methods of scientific inquiry to families, children, retired adults—people of all ages and skills,” says project leader Tina Phillips. “It’s easy and fun. It helps people reconnect with nature in their own yard, nearby park, or nature preserve.”

Peter Marra from the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center at the National Zoo says, “Each and every observation is important because it helps scientists measure the impact of such things as climate change and habitat destruction. Without citizens across the country collecting this information for us it would be almost impossible to track these large-scale destructive processes.”  

The always-popular NestCams companion site has been revamped and is now up and running. Live cameras show the nesting activities of Barn Owls, Wood Ducks, and Northern Flickers in Texas and California . More cameras will be going online across the country in the weeks ahead at www.nestcams.org.

  All NestWatch materials and instructions are available online at www.nestwatch.org, including directions on how to find nests and how to monitor them without disturbing the birds.

 “One of the most exciting things about NestWatch,” says Phillips, “is that we’ll be able to take in data from as far back as 1900!” Anyone who’s been keeping nest records on their own will now have a way to put that important information to use. With all this information from NestWatchers, scientists will be able to track changes in reproductive timing and fledging success which may be linked to climate change.

For more information and to sign up, please visit www.nestwatch.org.

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The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is a membership institution dedicated to interpreting and conserving the earth’s biological diversity through research, education, and citizen science focused on birds. Visit the Lab’s web site at http://www.birds.cornell.edu.

Homeschoolers Invited to National Debate

My parents homeschooled me because they thought it would present me with more opportunities than traditional schooling.  Today I am working with Oklahoma Christian University to help other students around the country to find opportunities for development.

This August, 48 students will be gathering here in Oklahoma City to participate in a week long leadership debate that will be televised nationally on Fox News!  Applications are open for the next two weeks (until May 16, 2008) and I want to make sure that students from the homeschool community are well represented.  We are interested in having the best students and I know that if we don’t have some homeschooled students we won’t attain that goal.

Students selected for the program will be:

1.       Great communicators

2.       Critical thinkers

3.       Aspiring leaders

If Apples of Gold / Northland Homeschoolers has a student like this who wants an opportunity to meet other students from around the nation, who wants to hone their communication skills, who wants to be a better leader, and who wants to learn from some of the best minds in debate, public policy, and leadership in the nation, then please recommend them for the program.  We have been working hard to find scholarships for every position so the students selected for the program will only have to pay $75 each, which includes all costs for the program including airfares to Oklahoma City.

Marshall B. Sayre

What is iDebate?

Developing Leaders with General Tommy Franks is a new initiative designed to develop the kind of leaders who can solve problems and communicate solutions that will propel our world to greater peace, prosperity, and respect.

Whenever a problem exists in a community, a void is created for leadership. That void is always filled, whether with a leader of integrity or otherwise. Knowing this, we feel the responsibility to ensure that the leaders who fill the void are people of character and integrity who have been purposefully developed for the task.

Though today these young people can’t cast a ballot, tomorrow they will have to solve some incredible problems. It will be today’s children who will end the war on terror, pay off our national debt, develop a solution to social security, and create an environmentally sustainable industry. These problems will “resist elegant and easy solutions.” They will take an amazing effort of creativity, teamwork, willpower, and clear and open communication.

This summer, 48 of our nation’s finest students will gather to voice their views, positions, and concerns about some of the most important public policy issues of our day. With debate as a vehicle, students will learn about the difficulties and complexities of leadership and come to appreciate the importance of communication in solving problems. These students and others like them will decide whether the 21st Century is one of optimism or regret.

Hosted by the General Tommy Franks Leadership Institute and Museum, the National Center for Policy Analysis, and the Academy of Leadership & Liberty, participants will be immersed in the issues permeating this year’s presidential debates. Students will have a chance to share their vision for the future with their peers and the world by presenting their ideas in a nationally-televised, freestyle debate that will be moderated by a presidential debate moderator.

Through iDebate, we hope to develop young leaders of character who are well-informed about our communities’ issues, who are able to communicate a vision for a better future, and who can work with people from all walks of life to change the world.

--------------------------------------

Director’s Assistant, iDebate, Oklahoma Christian University

Phone:  (405) 425-1065

Email:     marshall.sayre@oc.edu

Web:      www.oc.edu/academy

New Moon Magazine in Duluth Seeks Girl Editors

New Moon: The Magazine for Girls and Their Dreams, located in Duluth, is seeking girls between the ages of 7-10 for their Girls Editorial Board.  Girls Editorial Board members serve as editors, conduct interviews, and work on the design of the magazine.  If you know a girl who might be interested, you can let her know that applications and more information is available at the Extension Office.  The deadline to apply is Friday, May 2 at 4:00 p.m

What is a CLEP test?

If you are earning an undergraduate degree (e.g. an associate's or bachelor's degree) you may be able to accelerate your degree by taking CLEP tests. CLEP is an acronym for College-Level Examination Program. It is a test that you can take to demonstrate your knowledge in a specific subject.

There are a number of colleges that allow you to take CLEP test to accelerate your degree, especially if you enroll in an online program. The fee is US$65.00 per test, with testing sites all over the United States. You can take a CLEP test for a number of academic subjects, like: Composition & Literature, History & Social Sciences, Science & Mathematics, Foreign Languages, and Business.

Each college differs in its CLEP test acceptance policy. Talk to an Enrollment Counselor or Advisor about CLEP testing.

It's Not About Me (Live Like You Mean It) Teen Edition by Max Lucado

Reviewed by Naomi Musch

Wouldn't it be nice if we could all get to the place where we are living the life God meant for each of us to live? Wouldn't it be especially reassuring if we could find tools to help guide our teens in that direction. The world is already trying to tell them how to do that. It tells them to look out for #1, make all your moves to put yourself front and center in everything, rise to the top and claim your success.

The problem is, that can only set them up for disappointment, especially if they don't attain "success" as they define it.

In Max Lucado's teen edition of the book "It's Not About Me - Live Like You Mean It" published by Thomas Nelson publishers, the author looks into Scripture and explains how people can live a life that really makes sense by first bumping ourselves off "me-centered living" into "God-centered living".

Using an engaging story-telling style and real-life anecdotes, Lucado bring ideas of "God-pondering" and "God-promoting" to life. He helps readers to see and understand that everything we do is somehow about God. Our struggles? They're about God. Our successes? They're about Him, too. Our salvation, our dreams, our message, and even our bodies are not about us, but about God and His divine plan for our lives. Everything—it's all about Him.

In one of my favorite chapters titled "Just a Moment" Lucado helps readers to grasp their view of life's joys and struggles from God's perspective. He says that "(God) captures your life, your entire life, in one glance." From God's perspective our sorrows, our persecutions, our sicknesses, are all really only lasting for just a moment. It's as though while we are looking at life as though it were a long film unwinding, the Eternal God is seeing our entire lives in one flash frame—as just a moment. If we begin to examine all our trials and struggles from that same view, then it becomes easier to give them to Him. We can endure anything for His glory for just a moment!

Our family is always lookning for good devotional tools to use together in our homeschool, and "It's Not About Me" has taken place on our shelf of favorites. I originally read the adult version and was so motivated by the reading that I purchased the teen edition for our school. Up front, the only difference between the two versions is that each chapter in the teen edition includes a story of a real-life teen who has put principals into action of putting God's glory first. Each chapter ends with a thought question, and there is also a journaling section which could be used as a discussion guide in the back of the book. 

Read this book with your family if you want to promote upward thinking, if you need encouragement about your relationships and your goals, or if you simply want to draw closer to God and discover the life you were meant to live.