New Units! Veterinary Science & Animal Care Newly Revised Unit! Ancient Egypt New Graphics Pack! Check out our new Graphics Packs! Graphics Packs contain just the questions & templates geared to a particular area of study. You supply the resources to find the answers to the questions! State By State Lapbook ANY State! New Super Member ONLY Unit! Trains Quarterly Freebie for ALL! Deer ---------------------------------- Contact Us: --------------------------------- So you want to review a HOAC Project Pack? Wonderful! Here are the guidelines: If you are interested in reviewing one of our products on your blog and/or for your Yahoo Groups we need your complete contact information including email, snail mail, and phone number. Please cut and paste the information below into a new email, fill it out and send it to Name: Email: Mailing Address: City, State, Zip: Phone Number: Blog Link(s): *NOTE: Only one review per household is permitted and all HOAC guidelines must be followed. ---------------------------------- Questions about Memberships? Contact Katie at --------------------------------- Interested in seeing your article in our Newsletter? All Submissions are welcome. Send your article of 1000 words or less to Kimm at ---------------------------------- Would you like to see your family appropriate advertisement in our newsletter? Email Niki at for current rates. ---------------------------------- Are You New to HOAC Project Packs or Just Want to Talk With Others Who are Using Them? Participate in discussions and get all of your questions answered! | ATTENTION SUPER MEMBERS
Thank you to all of our Super Members for your patience as we switched to a new shopping system and server. Our webmaster has informed us that there is still work to be done with our server so we are unable to activate the Members Only area at this time. We apologize for these delays and thank you for understanding that we are doing all that we can to get the Super Member Area back up and functioning properly as quickly as possible! We do, however, have the December Super Member unit available for current Super Members.
If you are a current Super Member at In the Hands of a Child, please carefully follow the instructions on our homepage at www.handsofachild.com to set up a new account. Once you receive a message confirming that your Super Membership has been added to your account, you will have access to the November and December Super Member units. ______________ Incorporating the "Art of Giving" into Your Unit Studies By Katie Kubesh The art of giving is something we should all focus on teaching our children (and ourselves) throughout the entire year, but this lesson always seems a little easier to teach around the holiday season. I am always trying to think of ways to show my daughters how it can be rewarding and fun to help others; whether we are picking up an extra pair of mittens to place on the “mitten tree” at the library, or helping each other out right here at home. To some, it may seem overwhelming to try and include this important lesson in with all of the other day-to-day things that take up our lives. Why not incorporate the “art of giving” into everyday curriculum or unit studies? At In the Hands of a Child, we are continually stressing the importance of “hands-on” activities in our children’s education. Giving brings peace of mind and a connection to other people’s needs. Giving teaches empathy, sympathy, kindness, responsibility, and many other strong character traits. When children are taught how to serve others, they are learning firsthand how to make a difference in someone else’s life and in the world. So what are some hands-on activities that we can use to incorporate giving into our everyday lessons and unit studies? Here are just a few ideas. · Study some of the symbols of Christmas and have your child research the history and importance of those symbols. For example, learn about ornaments, Christmas cards, or the Christmas tree. Then, have your child make Christmas cards and donate to a local retirement or nursing home for residents to send, help someone address and stamp their cards, or help someone decorate their tree. Volunteer to help wrap gifts! · Food donations are needed year round, and especially around the holidays. Donate to a can drive or have students host a can drive of their own! · Start a holiday tradition by donating a toy, book, clothing each year! · How about making a batch of cookies or other snack and taking it to a local military organization when studying about the military, wars, or Memorial Day? · If you are studying animals, talk about an endangered species and research what can be done to help that species. Perhaps you and your child can have lemonade stand and give the proceeds to the favorite animal of his or her choice. This will also help your student practice math skills, fundraising, money management, organization, and philanthropy. · Volunteer at a local animal shelter or donate pet food, toys, and other supplies. · There are some organizations out there that you can donate money to and the money goes to providing a needy family with an animal. For a small donation, your family could provide another family with a cow. A cow? That’s right- cows, sheep, and llamas. They supply farm animals to families so they can have fresh milk, meat, etc. What a great geography lesson to learn about the region of the world where your family purchased a cow! · What better way to learn about the effects of extreme weather conditions than to research a weather disaster like a hurricane or tornado and then helping with the relief effort? Not every family can pick up and go to the disaster area, but it is easy to find out what supplies are needed and send a donation. In 2006, children all over the U.S. had lemonade stands to raise funds for Hurricane Katrina relief. There are also organizations like Teddy for Tragedies that accept teddy bears and other toys to send to children who are in disaster areas and in need of something to hug. There are so many ideas for giving and it’s easy to incorporate into everyday learning with just a little planning. Give your students some choices to decide what they want to do- they will be empowered to keep on giving! Katie Kubesh is co-owner and writer/researcher for In the Hands of a Child. Recognizing that hands-on projects are essential to the learning experience, In the Hands of a Child has created Project Packs that go beyond the hands-on aspect. They have taken the preparation time out of the parent/teacher job description with complete ready-to-assemble lapbook units that are available in eBook, printed book, and CD formats. Please visit their website at www.handsofachild.com. ©2007 Katie Kubesh ______________ Why Not Join an HOAC CO-OP? Questions about our co-ops? Co-Op Schedule Unit Titles | Unit # | Job Sign ups & Mail Planner | Jobs Due | Planning Weeks | Teaching Weeks | | | South America | 1162 | 1/7/08 | 1/25/08 | 1-21 and 1-28 | 2-4 and 2-11 | | Mountain Habitats | 1175 | | 10 Commandments | 1034 | 2/4/08 | 2/22/08 | 2-18 and 2-25 | 3-3 and 3-10 | | Missionaries to Know | 1096 | | Cinderella Stores Around the World | 1163 | 3/10/08 | 3/28/08 | 3-24 and 3-31 | 4-7 and 4-14 | | Mythological Creatures Around the World | 1160 | | Music Appreciation | 1158 | 4/7/08 | 4/25/08 | 4-21 and 4-28 | 5-5 and 5-12 | | Art Appreciation | 1174 | | Cowboys | 1150 | 5/5/08 | 5/23/08 | 5/19/08 | 5/26/08 | |
______________ All of us at In the Hands of a Child would like to wish all of you a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS! "Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:10-11 |