Learning Center Activities
Brine Shrimp
Essays
* Brine Shrimp
* Eating unclean animals

Have them observe the eggs w/o telling them what they are. Have them write an imaginative paragraph about what they think they might be.

Explain how to perform an experament and assign an experiment to each student to perform on their own.




Brine Shrimp
- Microscopes
Types of microscopes
How a light microscope works
Staining
Interesting things to look at.
Analogies


Berries/Apples
Soil characteristics
pestacides vs. organic
Types of that fruit
How to pick
When to pick
Pruning
How seeds are sown in the wild



Fire Fighter
Qualifications for a Fire Fighter
Training
Types of burns
MSDS
Fire safety
Types of fire extinguishers
How to use a fire extinguisher
Fire first aid

States and Cities
State bird and flower
State seal and flag
Famous people from that state
Famous events in that state
Major indestries
Current Mayor/Govenor and ways to pray for him
Interesting facts


People
Florence Nightengale
Corrie ten Boom
Ira Sankey
George Washington
Abraham Lincoln
Winston Churchill
Ronald Regan



Bible
Worship
- Read some hymns about worship
- Ask what worship is
- Discuss how other religions worship -- how should worshiping a living God who loves you be different?
- how do you worship?

The sin of Ballam
- Can't curse them
- Can't beat them
- Pulling them into the world.
- Worshiping idols
- immorality

WB 16
Power Though Precision
- How do birds, eagles fly?
- Music therapy
Insights through Investigation
- light - color spectrum - measuring light -
- The history of lights and candles
History
- The history of the Bible
- John Wycliffe
- John Huss

Blessing Leadership
Calander for signup
Sign up to bless for one day a month

Student Questionair
Field trip ideas.
What occupation or career would you like t learn about?
What is your second choice?
Would you like to work on paces in your room?
What subjects would you like to discuss in Bible Class?
What type of learner are you?
What is your favorte subject?
What do you need to work on?


Monitor Questioair
What subjects are you strong in?
What are you weak in?
Would you like to take a diagnostic test to see what you could work on?
Which students do you get along with best?
What students do you have a problem with? Explain
What would you like to teach?
What is your favorite and least favorite jobs in the LC?
Do you have an idea for a better title than monitor?

Ben Carson Video
How should we then live?

Nature Corner - Anatomy
Brain
Brain functions and map  symptoms of brain trama



He was in the first third grade class I taught at Saint Mary's School in Morris, Minn. All 34 of my students were dear to me, but Mark Eklund was one in a million. Very neat in appearance, but had that happy-to-be-alive attitude that made even his occasional mischievousness delightful.

Mark talked incessantly. I had to remind him again and again that talking without permission was not acceptable. What impressed me so much, though, was his sincere response every time I had to correct him for misbehaving: "Thank you for correcting me, Sister!" I didn't know what to make of it at first, but before long I became accustomed to hearing it many times a day.

One morning my patience was growing thin when Mark talked once too often, and then I made a novice-teacher's mistake. I looked at him and said, "If you say one more word, I am going to tape your mouth shut!"

It wasn't ten seconds later when Chuck blurted out, "Mark is talking again." I hadn't asked any of the students to help me watch Mark, but since I had stated the punishment in front of the class, I had to act on it.

I remember the scene as if it had occurred this morning. I walked to my desk, very deliberately opened my drawer and took out a roll of masking tape. Without saying a word, I proceeded to Mark's desk, tore off two pieces of tape and made a big X with them over his mouth.

I then returned to the front of the room. As I glanced at Mark to see how he was doing, he winked at me.

That did it! I started laughing. The class cheered as I walked back to Mark's desk, removed the tape and shrugged my shoulders. His first words were, "Thank you for correcting me, Sister."

At the end of the year I was asked to teach junior-high math. The years flew by, and before I knew it Mark was in my classroom again. He was more handsome than ever and just as polite. Since he had to listen carefully to my instructions in the "new math," he did not talk as much in ninth grade as he had in the third.

One Friday, things just didn't feel right. We had worked hard on a new concept all week, and I sensed that the students were frowning, frustrated with themselves--and edgy with one another. I had to stop this crankiness before it got out of hand. So I asked them to list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name. Then I told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down.

It took the remainder of the class period to finish the assignment, and as the students left the room, each one handed me the papers. Charlie smiled. Mark said, "Thank you for teaching me, Sister. Have a good weekend."

That Saturday, I wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper, and I listed what everyone else had said about that individual.

On Monday I gave each student his or her list. Before long, the entire class was smiling. "Really?" I heard whispered. "I never knew that meant anything to anyone!" "I didn't know others liked me so much!"

No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. I never knew if they discussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn't matter. The exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students were happy with themselves and one another again.

That group of students moved on. Several years later, after I returned from vacation, my parents met me at the airport. As we were driving home, Mother asked me the usual questions about the trip--the weather, my experiences in general. There was a light lull in the conversation. Mother gave Dad a sideways glance and I simply said, "Dad?" My father cleared his throat as he usually did before something important. "The Eklunds called last night," he began.

"Really?" I said. "I haven't heard from them in years. I wonder how Mark is."

Dad responded quietly. "Mark was killed in Vietnam," he said. "The funeral is tomorrow, and his parents would like it if you could attend."

To this day I can still point to the exact spot on I-494 where Dad told me about Mark.

I had never seen a serviceman in a military coffin before. Mark looked so handsome, so mature. All I could think at that moment was, Mark, I would give all the masking tape in the world if only you would talk to me.

The church was packed with Mark's friends. Chuck's sister sang "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." Why did it have to rain on the day of the funeral? It was difficult enough at the graveside. The pastor said the usual prayers, and the bugler played taps. One by one those who loved Mark took a last walk by the coffin and sprinkled it with holy water.

I was the last one to bless the coffin. As I stood there, one of the soldiers who had acted as pallbearer came up to me. "Were you Mark's math teacher?" he asked. I nodded as I continued to stare at the coffin. "Mark talked about you a lot," he said.

After the funeral, most of Mark's former classmates headed to Chuck's farmhouse for lunch. Mark's mother and father were there, obviously waiting for me. "We want to show you something," his father said, taking a wallet out of his pocket. "They found this on Mark when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it."

Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded, and refolded many times. I knew without looking that the papers were the ones on which I had listed all the good things each of Mark's classmates had said about him. "Thank you so much for doing that" Mark's mother said. "As you can see, Mark treasured it."

Mark's classmates started to gather around us. Charlie smiled rather sheepishly and said, "I still have my list. It's in the top drawer of my desk at home." Chuck's wife said, "Chuck asked me to put this in our wedding album." "I have mine too," Marilyn said. "It's in my diary."

Then Vicki, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out her wallet, and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group. "I carry this with me at all times," Vicki said without batting an eyelash. "I think we all saved our lists."

That's when I finally sat down and cried. I cried for Mark and for all his friends who would never see him again.

The original story appeared in Proteus. Condensed in the October, 1991, Reader's Digest. Also compiled by Alice Gray in Stories For The Heart, 1996, Vision House Publishing, Inc.


When I ask you to listen to me and you start giving me advice, you have not done what I asked.

When I ask you to listen to me and you begin to tell me why I shouldn't feel that way, you are trampling on my feelings.

When I ask you to listen to me and you feel you have to do something to solve my problem, you have failed me, strange as that may seem.

Listen! All I ask is that you listen. Don't talk or do - just hear me. Advice is cheap; 20 cents will get you both Dear Abby and Billy Graham in the same newspaper.

And I can do for myself; I am not helpless. Maybe discouraged and faltering, but not helpless.

When you do something for me that I can and need to do for myself, you contribute to my fear and inadequacy.

But when you accept as a simple fact that I feel what I feel, no matter how irrational, then I can stop trying to convince you and get about this business of understanding what's behind this irrational feeling.

And when that's clear, the answers are obvious and I don't need advice. Irrational feelings make sense when we understand what's behind them.

Perhaps that's why prayer works, sometimes, for some people - because God is mute, and he doesn't give advice or try to fix things.

God just listens and lets you work it out for yourself.

So please listen, and just hear me. And if you want to talk, wait a minute for your turn - and I will listen to you.


When you see geese flying along in "V" formation, you might consider what science has discovered as to why they fly that way. As each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in "V" formation, the whole flock adds at least 71 percent greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own.

People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going more quickly and easily because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.

When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone - and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front.

If we have as much sense as a goose, we will stay in formation with those people who are headed the same way we are.

When the head goose gets tired, it rotates back in the wing and another goose flies point.

It is sensible to take turns doing demanding jobs, whether with people or with geese flying south.

Geese honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.

What messages do we give when we honk from behind?

Finally - and this is important - when a goose gets sick or is wounded by gunshot, and falls out of formation, two other geese fall out with that goose and follow it down to lend help and protection. They stay with the fallen goose until it is able to fly or until it dies, and only then do they launch out on their own, or with another formation to catch up with their group.

If we have the sense of a goose, we will stand by each other like that.

Other Stuff
"I'll never forget that day" Stories from Bible characters told in from a little different viewpoint
abcteach Lots of printable teaching forms and exercises

English and Spelling

Lists of Links
Teacher Stuff-Large collection of links
Theme Pages A large collection of educational links.

Science
Skull Module a really neat sight for studying the skull.
Botany from ICR
Lumen Learn Them Neat anatomy pictures
Subject index -- a huge collection of good science links
North American Caterpillers -- identification.

Social Studies and Geography

Math
edHelper.com - Increadible math worksheet generators, including fractions, percents and decimals.

Social Studies and Geography

Science
Skull Module a really neat sight for studying the skull.
Botany from ICR
Lumen Learn Them Neat anatomy pictures
Subject index -- a huge collection of good science links
North American Caterpillers -- identification.

Lists of Links
Teacher Stuff-Large collection of links
Theme Pages A large collection of educational links.

Educational Resources
English and Spelling

Other Stuff
"I'll never forget that day" Stories from Bible characters told in from a little different viewpoint
abcteach Lots of printable teaching forms and exercises

Learning Center Activities
Brine Shrimp
Essays
* Brine Shrimp
* Eating unclean animals

Have them observe the eggs w/o telling them what they are. Have them write an imaginative paragraph about what they think they might be.

Explain how to perform an experament and assign an experiment to each student to perform on their own.




Brine Shrimp
- Microscopes
Types of microscopes
How a light microscope works
Staining
Interesting things to look at.
Analogies


Berries/Apples
Soil characteristics
pestacides vs. organic
Types of that fruit
How to pick
When to pick
Pruning
How seeds are sown in the wild



Fire Fighter
Qualifications for a Fire Fighter
Training
Types of burns
MSDS
Fire safety
Types of fire extinguishers
How to use a fire extinguisher
Fire first aid

States and Cities
State bird and flower
State seal and flag
Famous people from that state
Famous events in that state
Major indestries
Current Mayor/Govenor and ways to pray for him
Interesting facts


People
Florence Nightengale
Corrie ten Boom
Ira Sankey
George Washington
Abraham Lincoln
Winston Churchill
Ronald Regan



Bible
Worship
- Read some hymns about worship
- Ask what worship is
- Discuss how other religions worship -- how should worshiping a living God who loves you be different?
- how do you worship?

The sin of Ballam
- Can't curse them
- Can't beat them
- Pulling them into the world.
- Worshiping idols
- immorality

WB 16
Power Though Precision
- How do birds, eagles fly?
- Music therapy
Insights through Investigation
- light - color spectrum - measuring light -
- The history of lights and candles
History
- The history of the Bible
- John Wycliffe
- John Huss

Blessing Leadership
Calander for signup
Sign up to bless for one day a month

Student Questionair
Field trip ideas.
What occupation or career would you like t learn about?
What is your second choice?
Would you like to work on paces in your room?
What subjects would you like to discuss in Bible Class?
What type of learner are you?
What is your favorte subject?
What do you need to work on?


Monitor Questioair
What subjects are you strong in?
What are you weak in?
Would you like to take a diagnostic test to see what you could work on?
Which students do you get along with best?
What students do you have a problem with? Explain
What would you like to teach?
What is your favorite and least favorite jobs in the LC?
Do you have an idea for a better title than monitor?

Ben Carson Video
How should we then live?

Nature Corner - Anatomy
Brain
Brain functions and map  symptoms of brain trama



He was in the first third grade class I taught at Saint Mary's School in Morris, Minn. All 34 of my students were dear to me, but Mark Eklund was one in a million. Very neat in appearance, but had that happy-to-be-alive attitude that made even his occasional mischievousness delightful.

Mark talked incessantly. I had to remind him again and again that talking without permission was not acceptable. What impressed me so much, though, was his sincere response every time I had to correct him for misbehaving: "Thank you for correcting me, Sister!" I didn't know what to make of it at first, but before long I became accustomed to hearing it many times a day.

One morning my patience was growing thin when Mark talked once too often, and then I made a novice-teacher's mistake. I looked at him and said, "If you say one more word, I am going to tape your mouth shut!"

It wasn't ten seconds later when Chuck blurted out, "Mark is talking again." I hadn't asked any of the students to help me watch Mark, but since I had stated the punishment in front of the class, I had to act on it.

I remember the scene as if it had occurred this morning. I walked to my desk, very deliberately opened my drawer and took out a roll of masking tape. Without saying a word, I proceeded to Mark's desk, tore off two pieces of tape and made a big X with them over his mouth.

I then returned to the front of the room. As I glanced at Mark to see how he was doing, he winked at me.

That did it! I started laughing. The class cheered as I walked back to Mark's desk, removed the tape and shrugged my shoulders. His first words were, "Thank you for correcting me, Sister."

At the end of the year I was asked to teach junior-high math. The years flew by, and before I knew it Mark was in my classroom again. He was more handsome than ever and just as polite. Since he had to listen carefully to my instructions in the "new math," he did not talk as much in ninth grade as he had in the third.

One Friday, things just didn't feel right. We had worked hard on a new concept all week, and I sensed that the students were frowning, frustrated with themselves--and edgy with one another. I had to stop this crankiness before it got out of hand. So I asked them to list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name. Then I told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down.

It took the remainder of the class period to finish the assignment, and as the students left the room, each one handed me the papers. Charlie smiled. Mark said, "Thank you for teaching me, Sister. Have a good weekend."

That Saturday, I wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper, and I listed what everyone else had said about that individual.

On Monday I gave each student his or her list. Before long, the entire class was smiling. "Really?" I heard whispered. "I never knew that meant anything to anyone!" "I didn't know others liked me so much!"

No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. I never knew if they discussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn't matter. The exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students were happy with themselves and one another again.

That group of students moved on. Several years later, after I returned from vacation, my parents met me at the airport. As we were driving home, Mother asked me the usual questions about the trip--the weather, my experiences in general. There was a light lull in the conversation. Mother gave Dad a sideways glance and I simply said, "Dad?" My father cleared his throat as he usually did before something important. "The Eklunds called last night," he began.

"Really?" I said. "I haven't heard from them in years. I wonder how Mark is."

Dad responded quietly. "Mark was killed in Vietnam," he said. "The funeral is tomorrow, and his parents would like it if you could attend."

To this day I can still point to the exact spot on I-494 where Dad told me about Mark.

I had never seen a serviceman in a military coffin before. Mark looked so handsome, so mature. All I could think at that moment was, Mark, I would give all the masking tape in the world if only you would talk to me.

The church was packed with Mark's friends. Chuck's sister sang "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." Why did it have to rain on the day of the funeral? It was difficult enough at the graveside. The pastor said the usual prayers, and the bugler played taps. One by one those who loved Mark took a last walk by the coffin and sprinkled it with holy water.

I was the last one to bless the coffin. As I stood there, one of the soldiers who had acted as pallbearer came up to me. "Were you Mark's math teacher?" he asked. I nodded as I continued to stare at the coffin. "Mark talked about you a lot," he said.

After the funeral, most of Mark's former classmates headed to Chuck's farmhouse for lunch. Mark's mother and father were there, obviously waiting for me. "We want to show you something," his father said, taking a wallet out of his pocket. "They found this on Mark when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it."

Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded, and refolded many times. I knew without looking that the papers were the ones on which I had listed all the good things each of Mark's classmates had said about him. "Thank you so much for doing that" Mark's mother said. "As you can see, Mark treasured it."

Mark's classmates started to gather around us. Charlie smiled rather sheepishly and said, "I still have my list. It's in the top drawer of my desk at home." Chuck's wife said, "Chuck asked me to put this in our wedding album." "I have mine too," Marilyn said. "It's in my diary."

Then Vicki, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out her wallet, and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group. "I carry this with me at all times," Vicki said without batting an eyelash. "I think we all saved our lists."

That's when I finally sat down and cried. I cried for Mark and for all his friends who would never see him again.

The original story appeared in Proteus. Condensed in the October, 1991, Reader's Digest. Also compiled by Alice Gray in Stories For The Heart, 1996, Vision House Publishing, Inc.


When I ask you to listen to me and you start giving me advice, you have not done what I asked.

When I ask you to listen to me and you begin to tell me why I shouldn't feel that way, you are trampling on my feelings.

When I ask you to listen to me and you feel you have to do something to solve my problem, you have failed me, strange as that may seem.

Listen! All I ask is that you listen. Don't talk or do - just hear me. Advice is cheap; 20 cents will get you both Dear Abby and Billy Graham in the same newspaper.

And I can do for myself; I am not helpless. Maybe discouraged and faltering, but not helpless.

When you do something for me that I can and need to do for myself, you contribute to my fear and inadequacy.

But when you accept as a simple fact that I feel what I feel, no matter how irrational, then I can stop trying to convince you and get about this business of understanding what's behind this irrational feeling.

And when that's clear, the answers are obvious and I don't need advice. Irrational feelings make sense when we understand what's behind them.

Perhaps that's why prayer works, sometimes, for some people - because God is mute, and he doesn't give advice or try to fix things.

God just listens and lets you work it out for yourself.

So please listen, and just hear me. And if you want to talk, wait a minute for your turn - and I will listen to you.


When you see geese flying along in "V" formation, you might consider what science has discovered as to why they fly that way. As each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in "V" formation, the whole flock adds at least 71 percent greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own.

People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going more quickly and easily because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.

When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone - and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front.

If we have as much sense as a goose, we will stay in formation with those people who are headed the same way we are.

When the head goose gets tired, it rotates back in the wing and another goose flies point.

It is sensible to take turns doing demanding jobs, whether with people or with geese flying south.

Geese honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.

What messages do we give when we honk from behind?

Finally - and this is important - when a goose gets sick or is wounded by gunshot, and falls out of formation, two other geese fall out with that goose and follow it down to lend help and protection. They stay with the fallen goose until it is able to fly or until it dies, and only then do they launch out on their own, or with another formation to catch up with their group.

If we have the sense of a goose, we will stand by each other like that.

"Correction does much; encouragemnet does more."
"There is no strength where there is no struggle."
"One's character is shown by what he does when there is nothing to do."