CONTAGIOUS GRATITUDE IN SMALL BLESSINGS

November always begins with a whirlwind and flurry of activity for me. Plans and good intentions fall to the reality that my commitment plate is full, which means my energy tank feels depleted. However, one sure-fire way to bring a healthy perspective back into focus in my life involves a great conversation with friends or family about my MANY blessings. Two weeks ago, my daughter and I had the privilege of attending the opening night of our local symphony orchestra in our new hometown of Charleston, WV. My all-time favorite symphony, Scherezade, was on the playbill. Both of us had tears streaming down our faces at the sheer beauty of the music artfully and masterfully played. However, my most cherished memory comes out of the conversation of my daughter’s awe and wonder that we would be so blessed to be able to attend the event, sitting in the presence of such skillful musicians. I must admit, I had missed the magnitude of the blessing until that moment. I vowed to pay better attention right then.

I know I could write pages about my needs, struggles, or complaints. But I could write VOLUMES about my blessings. My life overflows with the blessings of living in this nation and sharing life with my family and friends. In particular, I often reflect on the blessing of a quality education. Do you know the difference between a first world country and a third world country? Education. The main question is: Can the majority of a nation’s citizens afford to purchase a book that they have the education to read? WOW!

A book. I have shelves and shelves. So many in fact that my cross-country move involved the calculation of multiple boxes of books, and the reality that leaving many behind meant re-purchasing later. Perhaps you have vast amounts of books as well. In every story I read, I find specific instances to feel grateful. If the main character has a serious conflict, I may feel grateful that I don’t have the same problems. If I read a happy conclusion in a story, I think about the joyful ways some of my experiences turned out.

How can we practice an attitude of gratitude with reading? We can be intentional. We can decide to look for opportunities to notice the blessings. As you read together this month, you might want to answer a few questions centered around a thankful heart. Here are some examples:

•  What happened in the story that you are glad you didn’t have to experience?

• What blessings did the character have in his/her life? Can you relate?

• What about that story/article makes you feel thankful?

  Additionally, your family can practice creating your own gratitude literature . . . establishing a rhythm of noticing the blessings. Here are some ideas:

• Write thank you notes to family members.

• Make a gratitude tree, where each leaf lists something for which a person feels grateful.

• Write simple poetry expressing thankfulness.

• Sit over a warm beverage, recalling your fondest memories of each family

  member, including those present and those who have passed.

• Create a journal of gratitude.

• Fill a “gratefulness jar” with slips of paper containing your cherished blessings.

  This month, I pray your family has fun expressing joy and thankfulness, and truly experiencing a heart of gratitude.

  Written by: Julie Snyder

MAKING THE MOST OF LITERATURE THROUGH ENRICHMENT PROJECTS

Enrichment Projects

When studying a novel, we often find some tidbit of information we would like to study further. Perhaps there is an interesting location in the story. Maybe it is even the author that fascinates. Have you ever wanted to follow a rabbit trail in education? Cue the enrichment project!

Throughout our many years of teaching classes, students anticipate the end-of -semester enrichment assignments in classes. These enrichment projects (EPs) are designed to allow students to explore an area of interest from the novel. In medieval studies, students explore crests, castles, occupations, and they even build large scale models. Other EPs provide opportunities for students to rewrite the ending of a story, write a prologue to a story, or write their own story with similar themes or literary elements. Still other projects allow for research of historical figures, events, people groups, or geographical settings. Whatever the project, EPs offer wonderful educational opportunities. In The Write Journey classes, EPs include three components: a written assignment, a visual aid or project, and an oral presentation. Typically, the EP allows all students to explore their creative talents and interests through creative writing, artistic projects, and engaging oral presentations.

The written portion:

While the EP is designed to explore new and different types of writing (moving beyond the academic essay), students use skills learned in class to create the written portion of the project. In addition, instructors may introduce story writing skills to help students tackle their own stories. They may also teach skills such as letter writing, poetry, or even research writing. Depending upon the book, instructors will help students learn about writing in a style that differs from formal academic response writing, even as they continue to remind students about the importance of applying the skills they have learned through their essay writing instruction and practice. Even creative writing includes engaging ideas, logical organization, quality sentence structure, and proper grammar.

The visual aid:

This portion of the enrichment project allows students to flex their creative muscles! Many homemade costumes, food items, dioramas, poster boards, online slideshows, videos, and models have been shown over the years. We believe this is one of the best parts of homeschooling; the freedom to think outside the box and create gives students a refreshing break from the day-in and day-out assignments and tasks. Some students are by nature more creative than others, but ALL students have creative ideas and will benefit from exploring their interests in relation to the book they are studying.

The oral presentation:

While this portion of the EP allows performers a chance to shine, it may intimidate other students. However, time and again, we watch our students blossom and grow in exciting ways on presentation days. Some classes begin practicing oral presentations weeks before the big day with show-and-tell, or learning to share a personal anecdote. Through class discussions, students also sense the class comradery that enables them to present in front of a crowd. Students, instructors, and parents all give warm encouragement to the presenter. Since we know that students will need to continue presenting later in life, such as in educational and career pursuits, these oral presentations give our students the exposure and practice they will need to succeed.

Presentation Week, 2021
This semester, our presentations will take place in class during the week of November 16th -18th, 2021. Students will decide what they will need to complete for their EPs, and they will begin working on the assignments related to the project a few weeks prior to their presentation day. With the mystery genre this semester, we know there will be some wonderful projects related to the detective culture. We expect students from different class levels to find creative ways to interact with and help one another. As always, parents are encouraged to join in the Zoom class to watch the presentations. Class instructors will share the needed information to allow you to participate. May the planning and projects bring a sense of wonder and intrigue into your homes!

Written by: Julie Snyder Educational Director & Instructor

MAKING THE MOST OF THE MYSTERY GENRE

As we have settled into our classes this semester, each of our Lit-based classes are studying age appropriate mysteries. For the youngest kiddos, we lean on the innocent mysteries of lost or missing items. One of our classes is searching for answers to the characters’ plentiful questions about a mysterious room. Some older students are studying more nefarious plots, missing persons, or even murder. However, at the core of each and every mystery, the plot centers around the need to seek and find the truth. We long to answer the questions, “What really happened, and why?” In addition to this fun critical thinking learning opportunity, mysteries also rely on some common vocabulary terms that we as adults may take for granted: crime, suspect,
alibi, victim, clues, evidence, motive, and so on. This month’s idea is to help foster curiosity in our students, while helping them understand the process of using inference and clues to figure out the truth. An educated guess goes a long way in all fields of study, especially seeking the truth. Let’s look at some options to make the most of this genre of writing , and encourage the whole family to have fun with it!

Here are some ideas for you to expand on the mystery theme this month in your homes:

1. Mystery Dinner- what’s on the menu? Close kitchen access, and leave a few clues as to the menu. Children can even participate in the meal making process; they may chop vegetables, but not realize they will go into the marinara sauce. Or, children may help prepare a small portion of a dessert, but have few clues about the final product. Mix it up, and have students (and parents) try to figure out the menu for the meal!

2. Talk about each child’s story. Likely, they are in the very beginning of their novels, but a weekly check-in about the progress of the case might be a fun way to encourage lively discussions and guesses; just don’t allow any students privy to the story’s ending to spoil it for the reader. Repeat after me- NO SPOILERS!

3. Fingerprinting Activity- Supplies needed: Plain white paper, lead or graphite pencil, transparent tape, a magnifying glass (optional)

   1. On the paper, use the pencil to scribble a thick layer of pencil mark (make it nice and dark).

   2. Rub fingertips over the pencil mark vigorously, picking up enough graphite to coat the fingertip.

   3. Place a piece of clear sticky tape solidly across the finger tip.

   4. Lift the tape straight up and off the finger, making sure to not touch on the prints.

   5. Stick the tape to the white paper.

   6. Use a magnifying glass to closely examine the prints!

4. Mystery Box- place an item in a box, and allow students to

   try to guess at the item based on the size, weight, and sound.

5. I Spy Observation Game- On a tray, arrange multiple small items, like toys, erasers, lip balm, hair accessories, sunglasses, school supplies, and so on. Set a timer for students to observe the items without touching or moving any. Then remove one item, and ask the students to decide what item has been taken. For older students, they may have to guess more than one missing item, or they can have one minute to write down all of the items they remember seeing on the tray after it is covered or removed.

These ideas are only a few possibilities, and many parents and students have fantastic ideas of their own! The encouragement is to make the most of the mystery genre in literature. As we mentioned in last month’s newsletter, this reading and writing genre is often identified as the first love for many. We encourage families to develop this love and make the most of reading with at least a couple of these activities this month!

Written by: Julie Snyder