Beware of Oprah's new "teaching"

Please read these articles to educate yourself on a new book that Oprah and Friends are introducing and encouraging people to read. We must be prepared to stand up for the truth.

http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/007/smith-oprah.htm

http://www.oprah.com/about/press/releases/200801/press_releases_20080130.jhtml

The Golden Compass - WARNING

There will be a new children's movie out in December called "The Golden Compass". The movie has been described as "atheism for kids" and is based on the first book of a trilogy entitled "His Dark Materials" that was written by Phillip Pullman. Pullman is a militant atheist and secular humanist who despises C. S. Lewis and the "Chronicles of Narnia". His motivation for writing this trilogy was specifically to counteract Lewis' symbolisms of Christ that are portrayed in the Narnia series.

While "The Golden Compass" movie itself may seem mild and innocent, the books are a much different story. In the trilogy, a young streetwise girl becomes enmeshed in an epic struggle to ultimately defeat the oppressive forces of a senile God. Another character, an ex-nun, describes Christianity as "a very powerful and convincing mistake." In the final book, characters representing Adam and Eve eventually kill God, who at times is called YAHWEH. Each book in the trilogy gets progressively worse regarding Pullman 's hatred of Jesus Christ."

The Golden Compass" is set to premier on December 7, during the Christmas season, and will probably be heavily advertised. Promoters hope that unsuspecting parents will take their children to see the movie, that they will enjoy the movie, and that the children will want the books for Christmas.

Please consider a boycott of the movie and the books. Also, pass this information along to everyone you know. This will help to educate parents, so that they will know the agenda of the movie.

Here is a link for more information: http://snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp

A Thanksgiving Journal

As we enter the holiday season, full of its "me" mentality, I saw an idea in an email newsletter that I wanted to pass on to each of you! Why not do something with your children to help them focus more on the Lord and on giving to others? For the next month, have your children daily journal/copy/memorize a verse about giving, write things that you are thankful for that day, and/or record ways that you can give to others that day. You can create your own journal pages or purchase and download the 30 day ThanksGIVING Journal for $4.95 at Homeschool eStore. Here is the link: http://www.homeschoolestore.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=21359

PS If you are not signed up for their email newsletter, you need to do it! They send out FREE unit studies weekly!

Thank You

I just wanted to thank you all for all you have done. Your prayers have given me the strength when I have needed it and the peace when I was looking for comfort. God has been so faithful through all we have been through the past year. The family that He has given me through this small group and the love and support is more than I could ever ask for. You all have done so much and I could never express to you all in words how much you are appreciated and cared for.

Father be with each and every one of these precious families. Give them the strength when they need and the comfort when they need it. Hold their hands when they need it held. Carry them Lord through any trials they may go through. Bless them Lord indeed, Enlarge their territories, Keep them from harm and Lay your hand upon each and every home. Thank you Father for sending them into my life and allowing them to touch a family in need. In Jesus name, Amen.

Thank you so much again. You will never know what all you have done through all this.

In Christ,
Shanda

Send a Letter to the Troops

David and I sent a card to the troops. It is so easy and it is free.

If you go to this web site, http://www.letssaythanks.com/ you
Can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to
a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq. You can't pick out who gets it,
but it will go to some member of the armed services.

How AMAZING it would be if we could get everyone we know to send
one!!!

This is a great site.

Please send a card.

It is FREE and it only takes a second.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if the soldiers received a bunch of
these?

Whether you are for or against the war, our guys and gals over there need
to know we are behind them...

Allison

FREE Resources

APTPLUS and Discovery Education– As you may know, Alabama Public Television is pleased to offer the K-12 educational content of Unitedstreaming free of charge to every teacher in Alabama through APT’s free educational, multimedia website, APTPLUS. The Unitedstreaming content is owned by Discovery Education, and Alabama Public Television is leasing the content from Discovery. Contact Libby Davis at ldavis@aptv.org to sign up. Please include the name of your school district and cover group with which you are affiliated as well as your preferred e-mail address for enrollment purposes. This is an awesome resource with over 4,000 educational programs for classroom use. The subscription for this is $1,500 per year, but for Alabama teachers it is FREE!!!! The website for APT is http://www.aptv.org/Learning/APTPlus/ , and there are lots of free resources here as well.

Discovery Education Science Connection - As you all know, APT has paid for all educators in the State of Alabama to have access to United Streaming (If you don't know, look here: United Streaming ). Now they are providing us with a 45 day free membership to Discovery Education Science Education, which is a new online multimedia toolkit specifically for middle-grade science instruction. The info can be found here: Discovery Education Science Connection.

Source: Teaching at Home

Childcare Swap

Interested in setting up a childcare swap with other moms for hair appointments, shopping, doctor appointments? Comment here!

Adoption

If anyone ever wants information about adoptions, they can call or email me. Many people are being called to do this, and sometimes information and a listening ear can plant many seeds. I'm always open to talking about adoption! --- Teresa

Many thanks to you all!

Hi Moms! My name is Melodye and I am new to the Highlands Homeschool small group and new to the Homeschool world. I wanted to thank you all for sharing your stories during the summer small group! I felt empowered and encouraged at every turn. I felt informed and ready to run the race ahead.

Once our meetings ended and I began to 'teach', I felt overwhelmed! My daughter didn't appreciate the change. I was now interrupting her playtime or a show she enjoyed watching. My son was interested in school and my daughter was less than thrilled. What was I going to do? I wondered how I would fix this? They were not cooperating. Why am I doing this?? How do I begin? I should have put my daughter in school. My head was spinning with doubt and I questioned our choice to keep her home.

Then I attended the first outing. We attended the outing at the Museum of Art, that is where I found reassurance. Once again, I was encouraged and cheered on! The moms I spoke to gave me nuggets of wisdom they learned along the way, I knew I could make it! Things had become so bad, before our outing, that I had stopped all efforts of teaching my daughter. I felt I had ruined this for us both. She wasn't having fun, and that was so important to me. I wanted learning to be fun.

One thing I realized was my 4 year old little girl had more to learn than how to read. She needed to learn to sit still. Is that fun? No, but it IS necessary. I began to let her school time be a sort of craft time. She began making pictures, using scissors, glue, glitter, the works! She loved it! Little did she know she was learning to be still. One week later she was asking to learn her vowels again.

Meanwhile, my 2.5 year old son had joined my daughter, in craft time, and he too learned to sit still. So now, when I teach my daughter, he often sits with us. When he has ants in his pants, he just goes to his room to play. I found a peaceful fit and my kids responded. I know I will have other bad days. There is more progress to be made but I know visiting with you makes the tough days easier to face! Thank you all for sharing your wins and losses! They are truly a blessing to a new 'Mom-teacher'.

Events/Activities to Know About

Things that are happening in our community that everyone should know about!

Please check the Area Events/Activities Calendar for even more information! I try to keep it updated with information I receive from area locations and libraries. It is a great resource for curriculum supplements.

Classes Available

If you know of any co-op or private lessons for homeschoolers, please feel free to add them as a comment here!

Curriculum/ Books for Sale or Needed

Post your new or used curriculum that you are wanting to sell here! Also, put curriculum here that you are looking for! This is an easy way for us to help each other.

Miscellaneous

Can't find a subject that your comment fits into? Put it here!