Please mark you calendars!! Sort your books! Clean out your closets and cabinets!! and join us for...

The Excalibur/Lion’s Gate Used Book Sale

Grace United Methodist Church Gym
2113 Old Monrovia Road, Huntsville, 35806
(near Providence)

Thursday, May 16 1-4pm members only
4-7pm - open to public

Friday, May 17, 10 - 12 noon - open to public

Sellers will have two options:
Set up your own table and sell your own books.
Drop your books off Thursday between 9am -12 pm and have them organized with the others and sold.

Volunteers to help with sale needed!

Contact Traci at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to volunteer.

I find myself during this time of year itching to get outside and plant my gar-den or get the flower beds ready for their new colors for the summer! I know my son feels the same way except his de-sire is to get outside and run, ride his bike, play in his fort or turn cart-wheels! Winter has kept us inside and cooped up for the last few months and it is time for a refreshing of the mind and spirit!

Since we are not quite done with school yet and the school work still needs to be done, we need some refreshing in that area as well! A good thing to do first is evaluate where you are in your school work. You might want to ask your-self, are you just trying to “get the pages done” or are you needing to teach a new concept? Now that you know what your objectives are, try to look at them creatively. Are there ways that you can bring these lessons to life? Is there a way your child can “get his hands on them” so he or she might be soaking in a little more than the words from his text book. You might do a calendar check to see if you’ve done a field trip in a while. Is there some place you could go that would show your child first hand what you are studying?

Here are some ideas taken from two different articles that spoke well on this subject. One article is from an old Home-school Minute newsletter written by the previous editor Nan-cy Carter. The other article is Homeschooling with the Seasons: Spring by Michelle of Raising Cajuns from the website, Homeschool Classroom. I hope these ideas give you that inspiration you need for the refreshment and renewing you and your children might need in school.

In Language or punctuation studies, depending on how old your child is, they could write a blog article. They could also write a letter or an email to a family member they have not spoken to in a while. These are ways they can practice their skills without doing a workbook page.

Some of you like to garden and grow your own food. Here are some springtime math activities from Michelle at Homeschool Classroom:

Have your child measure the plant growth or plant spacing. Chart the pollen growth by weather reports. Track the changing sunrise and sunset times.

One recommended to me, which has become a favorite, was to give your child a dry erase marker and allow them to do math problems on the window.

Study nature by finding birds nests in your yard. Identify the type of nest and type of bird. You could participate in Cornell’s nestWatch, or BirdSleuth for educational re-sources, webinars.

R-examine your learning goals for your children to see what you have met and what needs to be a priority. Take the time to renew and refresh yourselves in the area of school. You will find that you and your children will appreciate the change in scenery or pace.