The Celestial Almanack: A Visual Representation of the Sky (February, 2012; Volume 1, Number 2) by Jay Ryan is a wonderful way to follow the sky through the month of February.  The Astronomical Calendar is one my family will be sure to look at daily; whether to find out what is remarkable about the day or what phase the moon will be in that night.  We have recently been studying the phases of the moon and spend many evenings outside admiring the winter sky.  Jay Ryan speaks the truth when he writes, "The winter sky is the most beautiful sky of the year!" The detailed illustrations of the evening sky of February as well as the detailed information about the constellations and location of the planets will be sure to help us get a better understanding of everything we are seeing on our nightly field trips under the stars.  The information is well organized and does not require the reader have an extensive knowledge of astronomy- we are looking forward to next month's!

Celestial Almanack, Vol. 1, No. 2 - February, 2012 - Fourth Day Press | CurrClick

I was truly touched this summer when a trailer carrying a piece of steel from the World Trade Center came past me at a local parade. I, like many others, remember September 11, 2001 clearly. My oldest daughter had just turned one and I was pregnant with my second daughter. Watching the news that day I experienced my first moment of fear for my children's future. It is so easy to get caught up in life and forget moments in time like that. This float was a gentle reminder of what happened on that fateful day and to take a moment and reflect on the lives that were lost as well as be thankful for our own freedom and life. Now that my three girls are no longer preschool, I think this year will be the perfect time to teach them about September 11, 2001.

Put some laughter and learning into the hands of your child this year with a Custom Unit from In the Hands of a Child!  What exactly is a Custom Unit?  When you order a Custom Unit at In the Hands of a Child, you choose a topic of high-interest to your child and In the Hands of a Child will provide you with a complete ready-to-assemble Project Pack about that topic.  Custom ordered Project Packs are just like all of the other great ready-to-assemble packs we offer.  Each Custom Unit includes a Research Guide containing 15-20 concepts and 15-20 corresponding Hands-on Activities, Reproducible Graphic Templates, and Instructions for completing a lapbook!  Custom units are on sale this week (August 22-28) at In the Hands of a Child.   All you need to do is name the topic and the K-12 grade level and the rest is in our hands!

How do current Super Members receive the free Super Member Birthday Pack?  If you are a current Super Members at In the Hands of a Child, simply email memberships@handsofachild.com with your email address and birth date and approximately 2 weeks before your birthday, you will receive a Birthday Project Pack eBook emailed directly to you.  What exactly is the Super Member Birthday Pack?  It is a full Project Pack designed about Birthdays!  This 80-page pack includes a 9-page Research Guide and 20 hands-on activities about the history of birthday parties, the history of birthday cakes, the Happy Birthday song, how to say “Happy Birthday” in other languages, birthday traditions around the world, birth certificates, and birthstones, flowers, and gems.  This pack creates a Birthday Lapbook that is a great way to celebrate a birthday or to make a great birthday gift to complete and pass on to someone special!

Current Super Members who have already received the Birthday Project Pack receive a free Birthday Bonus Graphics Pack the following year!  The bonus pack is a 27-page pack titled “On the Day I Was Born” and has 10 hands-on activities with reproducible graphics and instructions to complete a lapbook all about the day you were born including designing a birth announcement, writing a weather report for that day, researching the origin of your name, creating a timeline of firsts, and more!

Are you a current Super Member who would like to receive the free Birthday Project Pack?  Simply email your email and birthday to us at memberships@handsofachild.com today! 

Beginner lapbookers might want to create their first lapbook with one that has already been designed like the Project Packs provided by In the Hands of a Child.  These ready-to-assemble lapbook project packs contain a full research guide (also called a unit study) with hands-on activities, reproducible graphics, and full instructions to create a lapbook on the topic you choose.  You can visit In the Hands of a Child and browse over 400 lapbook topics to choose from at www.HandsofaChild.com.  The best time to start lapbooking is now with our Back to School specials!  We can help make your lapbooking curriculum affordable!

Creating a lapbook is a fun and easy process.  Not only does it appeal to visual and hands-on learners but it helps break information up into bite-size sections, making the information easier to comprehend and retain.  Lapbooks are great hands-on tools for 4H Projects, PreK-12 Classrooms, School Presentations, Homeschools, Homeschool Co-ops,  Sunday Schools, Bible Studies, Book Studies, and more! You do not need expensive materials or supplies to get started; you may even have all the supplies you need right in your office or craft drawer.  All you need to create a lapbook is a file folder (or 2), paper, scissors, tape or glue, writing tools, crayons, and perhaps a stapler or hole punch.  You CAN do lapbooking!

You may already be aware that lapbooking is a great way to add a hands-on approach to your classroom or homeschool curriculum, but are you aware that it's not as hard as it looks?  If you haven't tried lapbooking yet because you are worried it will be too time consuming or overwhelming, you aren't alone.  Some educators take one look at a finished lapbook and become overwhelmed with the task of creating one with their students.  Although some finished lapbooks look like art masterpieces completed by super creative lapbooking experts, it really doesn't take an artist, or an expert, to create one!  Anyone can create a lapbook- any age, any skill level, and for any topic.  You CAN do lapbooking!

Take a look at the brand new Summer digital edition of The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine. I have an article in this issue on page 134, titled Creating a Lapbook on Horses.  You can view it at this link: http://www.thehomeschoolmagazine-digital.com/thehomeschoolmagazine/freegift#pg137.  TOS is offering this digital issue of the magazine totally free with no strings attached. Enjoy reading my article and the rest of the magazine—no registration or email address required! Take a peek today! If you wish, you may also share this issue of TOS with your friends by clicking on the share button at the top of the magazine pages.

I have to admit; I am a back-to-school supply-shopping junkie!  You know the people who are stocking up on pencils, paper, pens, and crayons in July?  I am one of them!  Maybe it is all my years working in retail and remembering how the “good stuff” is always gone by August or maybe the reason is that when I see a box of crayons for twenty cents and a notebook for ten cents, I can’t help myself.  It is probably much more the latter reason than the first.

As you make your shopping list for back-to-school supplies and curriculum, don't forget to add In the Hands of a Child to your list.  Our Back to School Lollapaloosa starts August 1st and runs through September 4th.  Don't miss out of 5 weeks of Savings, Deep Discounts, and FREE Giveaways!

Super Memberships (one-year membership) are currently on sale at In the Hands of a Child for $65.00! That's $10.00 off the regular price and a great savings for the entire year! These high-interest packs are loaded with information and hands-on activities to help you and your students enjoy learning each and every month.

Every month Super Members and their students are able to enjoy free downloadable Project Pack offered just for Super Members. On the 15th of each month, we release two new Super Member Project Packs to our Super Members Area on the website. Each pack stays in the Super Members Area for two consecutive months before we place it on the website for sale.

If you are a new Super Member at In the Hands of a Child, here are some helpful tips:

To access the Super Members Area, please follow the instructions below:

1. Visit www.handsofachild.com.
2. Login.
3. Click on the Super Members tab.
4. Click on "Monthly Super Member Downloads."
5. Here, you will find the free downloadable Project Packs available only to Super Members! Click on "Download" next to each of the Super Member Project Packs you wish to download. Please remember to SAVE your free Super Member Packs to your computer and a backup- once Super Member Packs are removed from the Super Members Area, they are no longer available for free download.

To receive your 15% discount off all eBooks, please follow the instructions below:

1. Email memberships@handsofachild.com for the Super Member discount code.

To receive your FREE Birthday Project Pack, please:

1. Send your Order # and birth date to: memberships@handsofachild.com and you will receive a FREE Birthday Project Pack eBook via email approximately 2 weeks before your birthday.