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Hymn Study: Jesus, Lover of My Soul

4/19/2016

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles…For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.” 2 Corinthians 1:3,5

Lyrics
Jesus, lover of my soul, let me to Thy bosom fly,
While the nearer waters roll, while the tempest still is high.
Hide me, O my Savior, hide, till the storm of life is past;
Safe into the haven guide; O receive my soul at last.

Other refuge have I none, hangs my helpless soul on Thee;
Leave, ah! leave me not alone, still support and comfort me.
All my trust on Thee is stayed, all my help from Thee I bring;
Cover my defenseless head with the shadow of Thy wing.

Wilt Thou not regard my call? Wilt Thou not accept my prayer?
Lo! I sink, I faint, I fall—Lo! on Thee I cast my care;
Reach me out Thy gracious hand! While I of Thy strength receive,
Hoping against hope I stand, dying, and behold, I live.

Thou, O Christ, art all I want, more than all in Thee I find;
Raise the fallen, cheer the faint, heal the sick, and lead the blind.
Just and holy is Thy Name, I am all unrighteousness;
False and full of sin I am; Thou art full of truth and grace.

Plenteous grace with Thee is found, grace to cover all my sin;
Let the healing streams abound; make and keep me pure within.
Thou of life the fountain art, freely let me take of Thee;
Spring Thou up within my heart; rise to all eternity.

Our hymn this week is Jesus, Lover of my Soul. It fit well with our sermon entitled Not An Excuse to Sin. This wonderful old hymn was written by Charles Wesley and is sung to a couple of different tunes. I know them both but much prefer the ones that I have linked to. Probably because I grew up singing this hymn using this tune. :)

The cyber hymnal tells us this

Mrs. Mary Hoover, of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, whose grandmother was the heroine of the story, has related to her pastor this family tradition: Charles Wesley was preaching in the fields of the parish of Killyleagh, County Down, Ireland, when he was attacked by men who did not approve of his doctrines. He sought refuge in a house located on what was known as the Island Barn Farm. The farmer’s wife, Jane Lowrie Moore, told him to hide in the milkhouse, down in the garden. Soon the mob came and demanded the fugitive. She tried to quiet them by offering them refreshments. Going down to the milkhouse, she directed Mr. Wesley to get through the rear window and hide under the hedge, by which ran a little brook. In that hiding-place, with the cries of his pursuers all about him, he wrote this immortal hymn. Descendants of Mrs. Moore still live in the house, which is much the same as it was in Wesley’s time.

Isn't that a great story?   Just brings the song to life eh?

Charles Wesley, along with his brother John, started the Methodist church.   It was a time of great change for the church, and often violence would erupt. This hymn was written shortly after his conversion and shows how Jesus is all that Wesley wants, his source of comfort in times of trouble, and the grace that Jesus so freely bestows upon us, even in our sinful state.

Charles Wesley is known as the "Bard of Methodism".   It is said he wrote some 6500 hymns.   Everything that occurred to him, came out in a hymn whether it be the doctrines of faith or earthquakes.   He also wrote hymns specifically for children.   Of all the hymns that he and his brother John wrote, 482 are included in the Dictionary of Hymnology.

Sources:
Share Faith. Discipleship Ministries. Timeless Truths. Hymnary.

The Jaguarundi

4/19/2016

Going through our mammals book as we ran into the jaguarundi. This wild cat's name grabbed my son's attention immediately (even without knowing what it was), and when I showed him the picture he said It's a cat!" (my son loves all things cat).

Just what is the Jaguarundi?

It is a small animal about 11 inches high the shoulder. About 3.5 feet long with about 1/3 of the length being the tail.

Puma yagouaroundi is a rather odd looking cat, a small flattened head, small ears, and an elongated body. The short, smooth, unmarked coat shows three distinct colour phases: black, brownish grey, and a reddish brown phase known as the Eyra. Typically, the darker colors occur in the rainforests while lighter color are present in the drier environments.

Click link to go to source

Unlike most wild cats, these small cats have no contrasting colour on the back of their ears, which are rounded and well furred. Due to the shape of the head and tail, they have often been confused with otters and weasels. They live in South America up to Texas. Occasionally being spotted in Florida (but these are believed to have been brought in).

Click image to go to source

Typically males have a large territory than the females, using different areas without doing regular border patrols. They used to be called the "weasel cat", and they have litters of 1-4 kits born in a den hidden with in a hollow log or in a dense thicket.

Depending on the source you read they are either a very secretive cat so it's been a challenge to learn a lot about them OR they are seen so often that much is known..It's hard to know who is accurate, I suspect it is due to which population is being studied.

They have been spotted in pairs, and yet known to live solitary lives as well. They make 13 distinct calls.

They eat a variety of small game, fish, reptiles and birds but they have been observed eating fallen fruit.   They are well-known for raiding chicken barns and are therefore not on the "liked" list for farmers.   Basically, if it's moves and they can catch it, it's lunch.   It is thought that Central Native Americans tamed Jaguarundis to control the village rodent population.

They are mostly threatened by habitat destruction and human encroachment, and are listed as of least concern for being threatened.   Though the Gulf Coast species is known to be on the decline due to habitat loss and conflicts with people (road kill, trapping and poultry thieves)

Sources:
Biodiversity Warriors. Wild Cat Conservation. ADW.   Arkive. BCR. ISEC.

Review: A+ Interactive Math

4/17/2016

Imagine with me if you would, a math program that targets the particular needs in a given students math journey. Enter in A+ Interactive Math with their new Math Mini-Courses, of which we reviewed Elementary Geometry and Elementary and Middle School Division. These math lessons worked well.

Having reviewed A+ Interactive Math a couple of times in the past, i was pretty sure what I could expect with these courses, and expected initial enthusiasm from my son which would quickly wane as he found things about the course that he didn't like.

To my surprise, I didn't run into this at all with the 19 lessons he took in Elementary Geometry. I even received comments of "Mom, this is easy", "Mom, is it time to do my math yet?" Or "Mom, all I have left to do is math right?".

You have to understand something.. math is NOT high on my son's list of priorities AT ALL, so to have positive comments from him or even eagerness to finish his math lessons is simply a delight.

How doesA+ Interactive Math work?

After inputting your students password they are greeted with this page. It took my boy only two reminders to use the Launch button. This would open the mini course in a new window.

The window opens landing on this page with interactive buttons directing the students to their next stop. My son always clicked on the video lessons.

Video lessons brings you to this page, where it is important to click on the file folder which opens up each lesson. It won't open up the next lesson until you close out the previous lesson. At the end of each lesson you need to mark off the box at the top of each lesson saying completed.

The lessons are interactive. Teaching you one basic concept and then having a quiz afterwards. My son was required to do 80% or higher on the lesson. If he did so I considered the material understood, no additional work required. This gave him the incentive to pay attention. Verbal testing later worked well (narrating lesson to me). :)

One of their neat features is the ability to view the lessons as PDF's. I had my lad do this for one lesson. He liked that he could read it himself but found the interactive lessons much quicker to go through and he remembered the information better for the quiz that follows each lesson. (as evidenced by the 75% in lesson three).

If you choose to let your child do the on-line worksheets, they are easy to generate and are listed by topic title as per the lesson page. These same quizzes and tests are also available as PDF's. I was glad to see that option. The answer guides are included. They have done such a great job in making sure that each student can learn in the way best suited for them.

When a lesson is completed this page will be shown, giving the results of the quiz. If you want to you can print off a certificate. My son never chose this option saying "Mom, it's wasting paper, I know I did it". Isn't it nice though to have that option?

These mini courses are great. They close learning gaps in math for students in an interactive way that grabs their attention. My son is much more confident in his geometry skills than he was previously. He did work briefly with the division program as I asked him to do so, but preferred to focus his attention on geometry. He found the division courses as step by step as the geometry one.

We are considering adding these mini courses as he finishes these two.

Advanced Geometry (4th-7th) - 35 lessons
Advanced Fractions (4th-8th) - 26 lessons
Decimal Numbers (3rd-7th) - 20 lessons
Percentages (5th-8th) - 13 lessons

My thoughts are this: if you want to cover the gaps, or just have a short lesson of key concepts, these mini courses are just the ticket. Short enough daily lessons covering the main concepts of any given math subject area with a quiz to reinforce learning.

It certainly worked well with my math-unfriendly lad and i couldn't be more pleased.

Product Details:
Vendor: A+ Interactive Math.
Received: Math MIni-Courses in Elementary Geometry and Elementary/Middle School Division.
Length: Access for one year.
Price: $9.99-$19.99
Grades: 1st-8th
Type: Digital Product

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Co-op Classes: Earthquakes

4/14/2016

I've developed a reputation for doing hands-on interesting classes with my co-op, having this reputation isn't always a good thing.... means I need to think about what I want to do!

This time around I wanted to do hands-on STEM type stuff but didn't really have a clue about what I really wanted to do with it. Week two has me doing earthquakes.

What types of Earthquakes are there? Four Kinds

A tectonic earthquake is one that occurs when the earth's crust breaks due to geological forces on rocks and adjoining plates that cause physical and chemical changes.
A volcanic earthquake is any earthquake that results from tectonic forces which occur in conjunction with volcanic activity.
A collapse earthquake are small earthquakes in underground caverns and mines that are caused by seismic waves produced from the explosion of rock on the surface.
An explosion earthquake is an earthquake that is the result of the detonation of a nuclear and/or chemical device.

If you want to know more about how earthquakes form check out this page.

What kind of faults are there?

Normal faults form when the hanging wall drops down. The forces that create normal faults are pulling the sides apart, or extensional. (Divergent)
Reverse faults form when the hanging wall moves up. The forces creating reverse faults are compressional, pushing the sides together. (Convergent)
Transcurrent or Strike-slip faults have walls that move sideways, not up or down. (Transform)

Check out this site to see an easy way to demonstrate. This site talks a bit more about the different types of faults.

What are the levels of earthquakes?

Shallow fault earthquakes

A fault is a break in the rock beneath our feet. Shallow fault quakes occur very close to the surface. . Because shallow fault earthquakes are so near the surface, even small ones cause a lot of damage from shaking.
Subduction zone earthquakes

The largest earthquakes ever recorded are subduction zone earthquakes. They can last several minutes. Subduction zone shaking can occur along the whole subduction zone. In the Pacific Northwest, these major quakes seem to occur every few hundred years. These earthquakes can also cause huge waves— tsunamis—.
Deep earthquakes

Deep earthquakes occur in the subducting ocean slab, deep beneath the continental crust. In the Pacific Northwest, deep quakes start about 50 km (30 mi) beneath the surface. Large ones have shaken the Pacific Northwest in 1949, 1965, and 2001—about every 30 years. (source) (also here)

How are earthquakes measured?
The Richter scale is used to rate the magnitude of an earthquake -- the amount of energy it released. This is calculated using information gathered by a seismograph.

The extent of damage is rated on the Mercalli scale. Mercalli ratings, which are given as Roman numerals, are based on largely subjective interpretations. A low intensity earthquake, one in which only some people feel the vibration and there is no significant property damage, is rated as a II. The highest rating, a XII, is applied to earthquakes in which structures are destroyed, the ground is cracked and other natural disasters, such as landslides or tsunamis, are initiated. (source)

Some Activities we are going to do.

See how FOLD mountains are made because of the earth moving.
Earthquake waves.
This on-line seismic simulation.
Watch a seismic shadow simulation.
Build towers to see how well they survive our shake Table.

If I was doing this for a longer period of time I'd make this seismograph.
I thought this activity looked cool but couldn't figure out how to make it.

Animals help us learn

4/13/2016

This month the Canadian Homeschooling community is doing a round on on Conference Chats (goes live April 27). We're to pretend we have to give a speech on ANY topic we want and then write what we would talk about.

When I first heard the topic I thought BUNNIES, I can talk about Bunnies and then hmm.. but how can I tie that into homeschooling. As much as I love to talk about bunnies, I need to honour the group that I am working through right? :)

It got me to thinking about how the bunnies have helped in many different ways with schooling and just with general life topics.

Let me present for your consideration ways that animals are helpful in learning about life in a spiritual scope.

1. Why do just these mice always try to jump out of their cages?
     Watching what animals do is so enlightening.   We have house of mice, that the mice are always able to get out of. It's given my son a reason to observe them and realize how mice are able to use other things to get to where they want to.   How, just like a cat does, they look at what is around them and learn to measure distances.

     People learn and grow too. We see what is around us and use it, hopefully for our betterment. Not all will do this though. Just as one group of mice is filled with explorer mice, the rest of our mice are very content to stay where put.   People are no different, God made us all different. Many are content to be led, while others are leaders, there is room for both.

2. Look how nice Milo is, keeping me company while I read!
    The companionship that animals provide can be an excellent distraction and a way for a boy to keep busy with his hands while he's busy using his eyes.

    The different ways God meets the needs of his people amaze me.   When my son was learning to read, his cat was always there with him. Settling his heart and body so his mind focused.

3. Why do I have to take care of the mice before breakfast?
     Learning to put the needs of others before himself is an important lesson for any child to learn.   It's also a good talking point about what responsibility means.

     The Lord God gave us dominion over the earth.   Told us to take charge and care for all that he provided us with.   That's a responsibility we need to take seriously.

4. Why do they talk so much when we have the guinea pigs all alone?
      Did you know that guinea pigs don't like to be alone, and that what one guinea pig does, the rest of them will often copy?   This means that if one is alone, it will call for the rest of the herd.   If the herd is all together one one notices a favourite food is coming, it'll call out and the rest of the herd will join in?

     God calls us to be in fellowship with each other.   Just like guinea pigs do best when part of a herd, God's people do best if they are part of a body of believers, encouraging, teaching, strengthening each other.

We learn other things from the animals as well.
1. Financial responsibility.   It costs money to house, feed and protect animals. Choices need to be made about what is the wisest way to spend dollars.
2. Entrepreneurial skills.   Talking to customers, managing your business, selecting for temperament, colour, and type, advertising, and more.   Creating care sheets and learning great communication skills.
3. Life starts and ends. Animals are born, animals die. animals get sick. How does one manage this?    Vet care, do it yourself care, watching healthy animals points the way to knowing what an unhealthy animal looks like, good observation skills are a must.
4. Not everyone is caring. Sadly in our years of caring for animals we have need to rescue some animals.   It's saddens our hearts to see how uncaring some folks are about their animals.   Sometimes it's deliberate, other times it's simply lack of knowledge, either way it just very sad when animals are treated poorly and need to be brought back to good health.

To help you learn about bunnies and how to care for them I put together this ebook for you.

Just click on the image to the left.

Review: Homeschool Copywork

4/12/2016

You know how sometimes you pick up a product for schooling your children and it surprises you at how your children react to it? I recently experienced this lovely phenomenon with my son as we dove full-heartedly into our lifetime membership with Homeschool Copywork.

So just what is the lifetime membership into Homeschool Copywork all about?

It's all about learning to spell, use good punctuation and great vocabulary.    It engages the mind with interesting ideas, captures imaginations and helps children increase their reading and comprehension skills. As children engage in copywork it helps to organize their thoughts as well.

What I see in my lad?    "Mom, Can you print me off another Dragons Verse?"   Asking, not me telling, a boy asking.   I hear "Mom!   Look at this one?   Isn't he interesting?"

This is me is what copywork is.   It's my boy finding something he is interested in, and then finding sentences he can write down about it.   That joy in his eyes as he sees interesting pictures to go along with those writings. I LIKE IT. :)

How does the Program work?

Go toHomeschool Copywork. Find the unit you want to use. You can use it as a stand alone copywork program OR use it to supplement another unit of study.

Download, save to your computer.

Print off the pages that you want.

We focused on the Dragons study. This comes with print and cursive font.

Illustrations can be coloured.

The copywork is generally found at the top of the page, with plenty of lines for writing. My son REALLY liked that. He's done some copywork that had insufficient lines or space, and had to use backs of sheets and he just finds that aggravating because it's too hard to keep it all neat. My lad takes pride in doing the job neatly and despairs of the cursive both his parents employ. :) (neat we are definitely not)

One of the things I like about this program, even though it is not immediately obvious, is how easy it is to find what you are looking for. If you go to the Member Login page, it brings up these good divisions, makes finding what you want so easy. :)

How did we use this?
My son has been learning to write cursive for the past bit.   He's been enjoying learning it but said "Mom, I don't get to practice my capitals enough AND I want real sentences."   Therefore when this review came up I asked him what he thought and he was quite open to it.. Dragons, Armour of God etc.. interesting things for boys. AND it could take the place of learning his cursive. Writing in sentences about things he was interested in.

When I showed him all the different options they had (they have LOTS of options) he immediately asked to do the dragons one.

Everyday he would write out a passage (I would print off five handwriting worksheets the Friday before).   He would pick the one he desired and write it out. When he started out he would pick the shortest piece, then he started picking out the ones where he liked the dragon the best, then he started reading the passages, and picked out the passages that interested him. "Mom, is it true?    Does this passage really say there were dragons in palaces?"     It gave time for discussion. He is learning about different bible translations, and why word choices were made. It was so interesting to me to watch that change in him.

I have to admit, I've become a convert. I've been so skeptical to benefits of copywork, seeing it as busy work only, but here's my lad... DELIGHTING in his handwriting practice. Learning, asking questions, engaging in conversation over dragons and bible translations, being excited about doing this work (when normally he's a boy child who would rather do anything other than school work)... but with his copywork, doing it with no complaints.. Ah now THAT is a goodly thing. :)

Now I have to tell you something about using Homeschool Copywork. If something happens where you have to set it aside for a while, it is so easy to pick it up again..

Homeschool Copywork is so very, very, very easy to work with. I am SO glad that I had a chance to review it and will continue to use it.

When we are finished with Dragons my son wants to do the following.

Product Details:
Received:L ifetime membership
Vendor: Homeschool Copywork
Membership details: I received lifetime membership which differs from the free membership (limited selection), Full membership (one year subscription) $29.95, and Lifetime Membership (which is of course.. for a lifetime). $45.00 :)

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Hymn Study: Come to the Saviour Now

4/12/2016

[5] This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. [6] If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. [7] But if we walk in the light, as he is in the lhttp://www.weebly.com/editor/main.phpight, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. [8] If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. [9] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. [10] If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
(1 John 1:5-10 ESV)

Lyrics
(verses in black in our hymnal)
Come to the Savior now,
He gently calleth thee;
In true repentance bow,
Before Him bend the knee;
He waiteth to bestow
Salvation, peace, and love,
True joy on earth below,
A home in Heav’n above.

Come to the Saviour Now
Gaze on that crimson tide
Water and Blood that flow
Forth from his wounded side
Hark to the suffering one
"T is finished" now he cries
Redemptions work is done
Then Bows His head and dies.

Come to the Savior now,
Ye who have wandered far;
Renew your solemn vow,
For His by right you are;
Come, like poor wand’ring sheep
Returning to His fold;
His arm will safely keep,
His love will ne’er grow cold.

Come to the Saviour Now
He offers all to you
and on his merits you
can plead for life anew
No vain excuses frame
respond to Christ today
None whom to Jesus came
were ever sent away.

Come to the Savior, all,
Whate’er your burdens be;
Hear now His loving call,
“Cast all your care on Me.”
Come, and for ev’ry grief
In Jesus you will find
A sure and safe relief,
A loving Friend and kind.

This week's sermon had us singing this lovely song. Come to the Saviour now. Written by John M. Wigner this hymn calls us the Jesus Christ, reminding us of who we are and to whom we belong.

Mr. Wigner was born in Essex, his father was a pastor and he remained part of this church for a number of years, "promoting the spiritual welfare of the young" (source)
He wrote several hymns, many have been brought to God through him.

After working in several churches (mostly with the youth) he eventually was employed in the Indian Home Office in London. (source)

Thinking Thursday: Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi

4/7/2016

Mr. Rumi was born in Persia. Mongol invasions drove him from Persia into Anatoli, Turkey. While in Turkey he meat Persian poets Attar and Shamas al-din Tabrizi and decided to devote himself to Sufism.

The substance of Sufism is the Truth and the meaning of Sufism is the selfless experiencing and actualization of the Truth. The practice of Sufism is the intention to go towards the Truth, by means of love and devotion. (source)

Sufism is the aesthetic and mystical interpretation of the Qur'an. It hasn't always been well accepted by the mainstream of Islamic belief. It was the Sufi concept of uniting with God through love that caught his attention.

Rumi became a teacher in the Sufi movement and as such believed that he was a medium between God and man.   He put a lot of emphasis on daily ritual prayers and litanys rather than analyzing the Qur'an.

He received various visions and shared them with others by writing them down in the form of poetry.

He believe that God is very present and that man is the link between the past and the future.   All of the past, present and future is all on one big continuum.    Everything is an endless cycle... death, decay, and life.... one dies and then is reborn again.

Rumi would say "I died as a mineral and became a plant, I died as a plant and rose to animal and I was Man".

Since life and death are an endless circle we should not grieve death or loss.    We should continually strive for spiritual growth... and that spiritual growth will come through what drives our emotions... music, song, dance etc.   It does not come through reason.

Sufism, as Rumi taught it, was instrumental in turning Orthodox Christian Turkey to Islam.   His beliefs also affected fundamental Islamic beliefs.   Into the 20th century his beliefs are starting to gain ground in western civilization.. think less, emote more.

Point brought up by a reader who is more up in history than I am. :)

My appreciation to CN who says:

Turkey, a modern state, has always been officially Muslim . . The region where Turkey is, back then in the time of Rumi was known as Asia Minor, and was Orthodox Christian and a part of the Byzantine Christian Empire. .The region once taken by the Turks, known as Ottomans, became known as the Ottoman Empire and not until recent centuries has been known as Turkey. The Ottomans overtook this region and forced their religion onto whoever remained in a brutal manner, very similar to what is occurring in the Middle East today. Christians were forced to convert, flee or be enslaved or slaughtered. This is the truth. Many Christians during this time became what is known as Crypto Christians..ie. They appeared as Muslims, in order to survive, yet would worship secretly. Because of Turkeys poor tolerance of Christianity, up to 1,000,000 Crypto Christians still live in Turkey today. Turkey is not an Islamic nation because it converted, to Islam, but because its native inhabitants were forced to give up their nation and invaded by Muslims.

So I guess in short......there was no such thing as Orthodox Christian Turkey....only Orthodox Christian Asia Minor - aka part of the Byzantine Empire.

Giant Forest Hog

4/6/2016

Giant Forest Hog (Hylochoerus meinertzhageni)is a HUGE hog... I tell yah..... My lad and I wanted to see what this shaggy hog looked like and were amazed at the sheer size of some of these hogs.

The males are bigger than the females, they are a dark brown or black in colour covered with hair, this hair becomes more sparse the older the hogs get. They have swellings below their eyes, which can get quite large in the males. They have a bristle like mane which they raise when alarmed or excited. They also have tusks.

Check it out:

This video below gives some good information about them. Did you know that these wild hogs prefer to live in areas with a dense understorey, a large variety of plants and a good water source?

Giant Forest Hog is large wild hog weighing from 100 to 275 kg. They are found only in Africa.

There are three recognized subspecies, each with distinct ranges. The forest hog H. m. ivoriensis inhabits the area near the Ivory Coast, H. m. rimator lives in two areas near the west and central equatorial zone and coexists in the east equatorial zone with H. m. mienertzhagheni, the "true" giant forest hog. A potential fourth subspecies exists to the north of H. m. mienertzhagheni. (source)

Unlike most wild hogs, the African Forest Hog primarily eats grasses, sedges and herbage. These plants may contain carrion or eggs, but they mostly eat the plants. They engage coprophogia, which is the eating of feces.

They live in family groups of 6-14 animals, with a dominant boar. Boars will fight when they first meet to decide heirarchy, thereafter they won't fight anymore as the loser will make himself scarce should the family groups meet up again.

In forested environments, forest hogs communicate with quiet grunts to maintain group coherence; a barking call serves to locate individuals at a distance. Males produce a long grunting call. In competing for females, males fight like wild sheep, charging at each other from 20-30 m apart and ramming heads together. This combat may cause skull fractures, although this is often not fatal. (source)

click image to go to source

These hogs are not threatened despite being localized in their populations and well-hunted. Their numbers are not declining and they continue to create crop damage, carry swine fever and are part of the cycle for sleeping sickness. Though according to this site, more people are starting to hunt them for food and so they are starting to disappear more quickly.

Even though these giant hogs damage crops, through their activities they help with dispersing plant species. They keep to trails that connect their grazing grounds, latrines, wallow holes and anything else they use regularly.

If you click in the image below it will take you to a worksheet directly connected with this blog post.

Sources:
ICUN. Animal Diversity. Ultimate Ungulate. National geographic. Wildscreen.

Freebies from The Old Schoolhouse!

4/6/2016

Guess what!!!    The Old Schoolhouse is letting me.. yes ME!!!   Give away some freebies from THEM to you!   Pretty cool eh?   It's rather neat, I've been working with these fine folks for quite some time now and they put out some good materials and are always striving to do more and do better.

I took some time to think about items I was interested in, subjects you might be interested, and then something that just might be helpful or an encouragement to you.

I came up with these three items.   I do so hope I chose well. :)

A Path Among Ancient Rocks: Everyday Easels-Book 1
Art!    The posts that get the most comments on my site tend to my posts with art of some sort in them (that or science)... but art is always a good one to pursue.. it relaxes a body and gets the brain thinking in different ways which helps the learning process. So I choose this one specifically for those who comment the most.... Let's do art eh?

In Everyday Easels-Book 1, you’ll spend ten days studying the painting A Path Among the Rocks by Theodore Rousseau. You’ll learn about the artist and his story of perseverance, plus science, history, and more!

Hey Mama! 31-Day Devotional.
I picked this one out simply to be an encouragement to you. Don't we all need to take time to rest and refresh ourselves? Are you a weary mama, or looking for a little encouragement? This 31-day devotional will help you to stop and gain a little perspective.

To Market, To Market: Selling to the Home Education Sector
To be honest, I picked this one out for me. I want to start selling things for the home education market and thought this might be helpful. So why might YOU be interested in it? Because perhaps YOU would like to do the same? Perhaps you have a skill or talent that you should let shine forth?

Perhaps there is an entrepreneur hiding in your skin somewhere. If so, pick this up and learn a few tricks to the trade AND if are really interested in entrepreneurialism.. Go check out Mom's Plan who chose a book about this very topic as a giveaway.

What is your business dream? Packed with informative, inspiring articles about business and marketing strategies, this E-Book will help you reach your ambitious business dreams and turn them into reality!

So what's the trick to getting these goodies?
Go to The Old Schoolhouse site and create an account. Put these goodies into your account and then use the code: AVCREW16.   It only works with these three items.   And it's good til the end of April.

If you have a chance, why not stop by The Old Schoolhouse’s Facebook page? It’s an excellent way to say thanks for the freebies.   If you “like” the page, you’ll get information on other great freebies as well!

Enjoy the freebies!   :)