Archive for July, 2009
Make Fun Picture Slide-shows For Free!
Thursday, July 30th, 2009
Here is a cool website, Animoto, we just discovered, which enables you to make short (30 second) slide shows for free. You can also upgrade for a $30 year subscription that allows you to make longer shows.
Besides just goofing around with our own family pictures since we found it, we have also used it during a therapy session with an autistic child. In our experience, we have seen that some of the special needs children we have worked with enjoy seeing pictures/videos of themselves, and find that very rewarding. Animoto enabled us to do this on the fly, taking pictures during therapy and then with just a few clicks, rewarding the child’s hard work at the end of therapy with a fun slide-show of…himself!!
Here is a sample video we put together – snapshots of Timberdoodle during this current heat wave.
Have fun!!
Baby Picture In Wallet Increases Lost Wallet Return Rate
Thursday, July 30th, 2009

While I have to reject the author’s conclusion as to why this approach works, I found it helpful to know that wallets which include a picture of a baby have an 88 percent chance of being returned.
This is a higher rate then when they have a picture of a puppy, family, elderly couple, charity card or no picture at all.
Full article here.
Prayer Request for Chris Klicka
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009
All you long-time homeschoolers will likely recognize the name Christopher J. Klicka, Esq., but if you have just recently joined the ranks of homeschooling, you may not be familiar with Chris and his years of legal defense and support in the homeschooling community.
Chris has intervened on behalf of thousands of homeschooling families since 1985 and represented many homeschooling families in court. If you are unfamiliar with the influence he has had on the homeschooling community HSLDA has a bit more information on Chris and his work there.
Chris has also had chronic progressive declining Multiple Sclerosis (MS) for 15 years, and has recently experienced great difficulty with his physical health.
The Klicka family is urgently requesting your prayers, as Chris makes some decisions regarding his current treatment plan.
This is a crucial time for him and your prayers would be such a blessing for them.
For full details please visit his CaringBridge webpage.
Download John Piper’s Latest Book – FREE
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009
Healthcare Reform Bill
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009

In light of the ongoing concerns generated by the Reformed Healthcare Bill, we thought that for homeschoolers this summary by HSLDA might be helpful: “Although this bill does not directly impact homeschool freedoms, it would significantly impact parental rights and early childhood education…”
Full article here.
World’s Largest Blimp – 7/24/1958
Friday, July 24th, 2009
Did You Know About The National Bible Bee?
Friday, July 24th, 2009

I know I was unaware of a National Bible Bee, until the author of Balancing The Sword, Allen Wolfe, informed us about its existence, with 17,244 already enrolled!
Put together with the goal of saturating families with the most important knowledge ever – God’s Word. The goal of the Bible Bee is not to coerce children into memorizing facts about the Bible by offering them money, but rather to celebrate and reward hearts that are saturated with the Truth of God, the only worthwhile pursuit.
If you are interested in participating, here is a listing of local Bible Bees. One resource you may find helpful for studying is Balancing The Sword; here is an article about the Bible Bee by Balancing The Sword’s author, Allen Wolfe.
Movie Review Websites
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009

If you wish to know if a movie will be appropriate for your family before you view it, then you might find one or more of these websites helpful:


