~ March 2013 ~

Dear Readers,

Happy March! This is one of my favorite months, because I love the spring season and the color green.

When I was a girl, Saint Patrick's Day was the one day I could go to school dressed in all green clothing from head to toe and not feel totally conspicuous. I had a green shirt, green corduroy pants, green hooded jacket, green canvas sneakers, and a shamrock pendant. The other kids would look at me and say, "You must be Irish!" and I'd reply, "No, I just like green." But I got to marry a guy who's half Irish on his mother's side. :)

This weekend we'll be watching our two favorite Irish movies while eating Irish Stew and Soda Bread. The Secret of Roan Inish and The Quiet Man were both filmed on location in beautiful northern Ireland - and in both of these movies, whenever a guest enters someone's home they say "May God bless all in this house." I wonder if that's an Irish custom? If so, it's a good one!

This year, the month of March is extra special because it includes both Saint Patrick's Day and Easter Sunday! Wishing you all the joys of Spring as we celebrate a time of hope and renewal, while rejoicing in the triumph of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Featured Article

Green is the universal color of nature and spring. Nowadays the phrase "Think Green" is a politically-correct term based on environmental issues and the connections between humans and nature. When I was a kid in the 70s, ecology was the "big thing" back then too. But for centuries the color green has also signified life, healing, renewal, and growth.

Spring arrives early in my home state of Arizona, where the desert miraculously turns green at this time of year. Nurtured by winter rains, all of the dry dead-looking plants come alive, and the ground is covered with a lush carpet of vegetation. No wonder the ancient Egyptians considered green to be a sacred, joyous color! Click here to read a devotional article about plants, gardening, and the color green.

Book(s) of the Month

Spring is a great time for getting outdoors and studying nature. This Spring why not create a wildlife habitat for birds, butterflies, and other creatures in your yard! My fully illustrated Gardening for Wildlife e-book will walk you through the process step by step. 28-pages ~ only $4.95!

This study guide contains a biography of the famous homeschooled patriot as well as vocabulary, discussion questions, writing questions, research questions, an overview of rhetorical techniques and literary devices, additional assignments and study questions. Includes a copy of “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death.” Practice your oratory skills by reciting it on March 23, the anniversary of Patrick Henry's famous speech. Makes a great Language Arts or American History unit study! 18 pages ~ only $4.95! Click here.

Famous Homeschoolers

To celebrate Women's History Month which honors the great contributions that women have made in history, I've written a tribute to Rose Wilder Lane, the daughter of Laura Ingalls and Almanzo Wilder. I was always a fan of the Little House books and TV series, but it wasn't until my adult years that I discovered what a fascinating and adventurous life Rose led herself. Besides being a writer and world traveler, she was one of the "founding mothers" of the Libertarian movement. Actually, it's quite uncanny how the politics at that time parallel those of today. You will see what I mean when you read Rose Wilder Lane's biography.

Reading Between the Lines

My family just finished watching The Way of the Master: Mission Europe series on DVD (in which Ray Comfort and his faithful team travel through Europe preaching open-air), followed by ROOTS which is a youth evangelism DVD series based on Mission Europe. I had been wondering how these two programs would compare, and now that I've seen both of them in their entirety back-to-back, I will describe the differences and similarities while they're still fresh in my mind.

ROOTS contains footage from just six of the Mission Europe episodes, while the complete Mission Europe series contains 13 episodes. ROOTS is a good introduction to the longer Mission Europe series for someone who may not be familiar with The Way of the Master program. This way they can "try it out" before investing in the complete series. It's also a less expensive alternative for anyone who likes The Way of the Master and wants to have a sample of their work on DVD.

ROOTS would be a great six-week evangelism training program for Christian youth groups. Each episode ends with a "homework" assignment in which the viewer is challenged to do something, ranging from the simple "Greet a stranger" to the more advanced "Go out and street preach." A group of evangelism-minded students could hold each other accountable and even have fun doing this together, as opposed to an individual viewer being on their own.

With homeschool quizzes and printable discussion guides, this six-session, video-driven course is perfect for homeschoolers and family devotions too. To access the curriculum resources, simply insert the DVD-ROM into your computer and open it as you would a data disc. ROOTS also contains a Bonus Video, "The Science of Evolution," from an earlier season of The Way of the Master. "The Science of Evolution" is quite entertaining and will appeal to younger kids as well.

As advertised, ROOTS "includes special interviews with the Duggars from TLC's '19 Kids & Counting.'" However, each episode only contains one tiny little Duggar clip that doesn't add anything of importance. It's almost as if they put those clips in there as an afterthought just to be able to market ROOTS to Duggar fans. Kirk Cameron, on the other hand, is featured prominently as the host of the program even though he didn't actually go to Europe with the rest of the team.

Overall, ROOTS is a nice overview of Mission: Europe with much of the same European footage (from six of the 13 countries anyway), some new footage, as well as additional educational bonus features. Even though they say ROOTS is geared to youth, the full-length Mission Europe series is just as appealing to the youthful viewer. My husband and I watched them all with our 17-year-old and 12-year-old sons.

For more information, please visit LivingWaters.com.

Learning Links

Pi Day Activities (Pi Day is March 14. A great day to learn math facts while eating pizza and pie!)

Saint Patrick's Day (Saint Patrick's Day, March 17th, is a national Irish holiday honoring Saint Patrick, the missionary credited with converting all the people of Ireland to Christianity in the 5th century.)

Think Green (A devotional article for Spring.)

Happy Easter (Learn about the history, traditions, and symbols of Easter; read an Easter poem; find Easter recipes and activities; and more.)

Albert Einstein Biography (This famous mathematician was born on Pi Day! A self-educated genius who did poorly in school, his real studies were done at home.)

Robert Frost Biography (Robert Frost was born on March 26, 1874. He was educated at home and also taught his own children at home.)

Patrick Henry Biography (Tutored by his father and uncle, Patrick Henry grew up to be an eloquent orator.)

Freebie of the Month

"Give Me Liberty or Death" Speech - Print this out and practice your oratory skills by reciting it on March 23, the anniversary of Patrick Henry's famous speech.

Resurrection Word Find
(This will keep the kids quietly occupied for a while. I tried it myself - couldn't resist! - and found about 25 words.)

Resurrection Story Strips
(Cut these out and place them inside plastic eggs.)

Easter Scripture Strips
(Cut these out and place them inside plastic eggs.)

Bonus! Print out a Lost Sheep Maze from my Psalm 23 Unit Study. Buy the e-book and get more pages like this! Click here to download my Psalm 23 Unit Study.

(Requires Adobe Reader: click here for free download.)

Quote of the Month

“Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in spring-time.” ~Martin Luther

A Note From Teri...

Here's an Irish Blessing for you...

“May flowers line your path and sunshine light your day.
May songbirds serenade you every step along the way.
May a rainbow run beside you in a sky that’s always blue.
And may happiness fill your heart every day your whole life through.”

Happy Homeschooling!

P.S. Did you like this month's newsletter?