Free Science Projects for Kids and Families!

At American Heritage School, teacher Nancy Willis, with the help of her sister, Melissa, have created a truly wonderful resource for families and children. Their newly created blog, provides access to a growing number of American Heritage classroom science projects. We are thrilled to point you to AHSfamilyscience.blogspot.com for many interactive and exciting ideas for teaching children science in various emphasis, including chemistry, anatomy, oceanography, cytology, biology, botany, astronomy, and many more. Thank you, Mrs. Willis, for giving us a peak inside your classroom!

Blogging - A Power for Good

I came across a wonderful video on LDS Power Bloggers today of Sister Julie B. Beck discussing our responsibilities and opportunity as members of the LDS faith to prepare ourselves and to help other people prepare themselves to receive the blessing of eternal life. She discusses the great opportunity blogs provide women relative to this opportunity. I particularly like her relating of Abish as an example of a great ancient "blogger" who after being converted, went house to house helping others receive the blessings she had received.

Watch the video to learn how Blogging can help to increase faith on the earth.

Utah County Students Serve and Learn in Mexico

By Leland Anderson

Twenty students from Utah county schools engaged in service-learning in Mexico last week. Directed by Kendon Eakett of Family to Family Humanitarian Expeditions (FFHE), students and adults from American Heritage School (American Fork) and Aspen Academy (Payson) traveled to Mexico City and Querétaro to teach English, repaint a public shelter, deliver school kits, upgrade a community soccer park in Mexico, and participate in LDS missionary work.

Preparations for the event began six months in advance. Leaders planned opportunities for participants to serve together, with the aim of developing a desire for life-long service.

The service-learning began on the campus of Centro Escolar de Benemérito de Las Americas, also known as “Benemérito” – an LDS church-owned and operated school in Mexico City founded in 1964 that now enrolls over 2,000 students. Benemérito students and FFHE participants were paired together so that each Utah student had a Benemérito “companion” to eat with, serve with, and stay with in the school’s residence halls. In all, 40 LDS youth from Utah and Mexico directly participated with dozens of adults.

“Intelligence, Power, Light, and Truth” are inscribed on the marquee that welcomes visitors to Centro Escolar de Benemérito de Las Americas – an LDS Church-sponsored high school in Mexico City. The school is also known as “Benemérito.”

AHS Student Adam Bushman (AHS) and

Jorge Rincón Chávez (Benemérito) became fast friends.

The event began with a devotional on Benemérito's campus in which a leader of Benemérito invited the service-learning participants to engage in a daily routine of studying the Book of Mormon. This would invite the a spirit of love for each other and for serving others, he said.

Providing Benemérito students with English-language conversation practice was a significant service-learning goal at Benemérito. Students presented on various topics in approximately 100 English classes and answered interview questions with almost 2,000 Benemérito students. About the classes, Olivia Sutton, a ninth grade student at American Heritage School (AHS) said, “The teacher let me help teach. I answered students’ questions and they enjoyed it.” Classmate Kelsey Crawford added, “It was a good experience talking with all the different students.”

Students of Centro Escolar de Benemérito de Las Americas (also known as “Benemérito”) perform a traditional dance from Jalisco during an evening of sharing culture and talent.

A cultural and talent exchange Tuesday night resulted in students learning together. Benemérito students performed Mariachi (traditional Mexican serenade) and “Ballet Folklorico” dances from Aztec culture, Chiapas, and Jalisco. Utah students in exchange performed vocal, piano, dance, and orchestral numbers.

The youth group also served in the Mexico City Temple, performing hundreds of LDS ordinances. About the temple, 16 year old Lilia Michelle Valenzuela Parra of Puerto Peñasco, Mexico said, “The Church is the same everywhere, and even though we have different cultures, different language, different colors, we have the same feeling and the same faith and I just think this is great. I think this is how it going to be when we live with God again.” Her companion, Lexie Butler of Payson Utah added, “I like to see how every temple is different. The Mexico City Temple is so pretty.”

Amy Gomez-Garcia, Amy Bailey, Mosiah Andrade-Reyes, and David Pack

pose for a photo after serving in the Mexico City Temple.

Following the temple visit, students changed into work clothes and traveled to a Mexico government-sponsored care center for elderly men. The youth group cleaned and re-painted three cafeterias to enhance the atmosphere of that common area. AHS students also visited the elderly residents, singing hymns to them, talking with them, and sharing candy with them. Students shared their tender thoughts about these men and their desires to do more service in a group meeting later that evening. AHS student Amy Bailey said, “One of the highlights was realizing that you could feel love for these men even though they were from a different background.”

Students also enjoyed time for visiting Teotihuacan (pre-Columbian ruins), playing sports, and teaching social dances to each other.

Sharing gospel testimonies and appreciation for each other concluded the Benemérito portion of the trip during a devotional Friday morning. Then AHS and Aspen students loaded into a bus and headed to Querétaro for more service.

Upon arriving in Querétaro students delivered school kits to 100 students in need at a local elementary school. The students receiving the gifts returned their own act of service by sharing a traditional dance number and writing thank you notes.

AHS Student Karina Hansen hugs a student in

Querétaro, Mexico after providing a needed school kit.

Students donned work gloves, hats, and work masks Saturday morning and worked in nearby Menchaca, a suburb of Querétaro in need of community recreation space. AHS and Aspen youth combined with approximately a hundred youth from two Querétaro LDS stakes, about 40 LDS adults and a dozen architecture students from Monterrey Institute of Technology to build bleachers and renovate a soccer field. Touched by the large project, several local residents pitched in. Today, Menchaca has new bleachers and an improved soccer field, thanks to the service.

AHS Student David Pack (Grade 12) played a pivotal role in making the project a success. He organized an Eagle Scout project that included raising $4,000 to fund the day’s portion of the project.

As part of his Eagle Scout project, AHS Student David Pack raised $4,000 to support the building of bleachers for a community soccer field in Menchaca, Querétaro, Mexico.

Alejandra Martinez Trujillo, a Monterrey Tech student said, “I am very pleased with the project because the people of Menchaca are interested in it and it gives them a place to spend time together as families and a community.”

Antonio Garduño, the supervising professor from the Monterrey Institute of Technology, said, “I am proud of what is being accomplished because we are serving the community of Menchaca, my students are doing good work, and we have so many volunteers here helping.”

Youth participants and adult leaders said they enjoyed working together and felt the satisfaction of creating an important community recreation space for the families of Menchaca.

After a long day of work, the youth enjoyed time in Querétaro’s historic downtown district including a walking tour of the city.

The group attended and participated in Sunday LDS church meetings in two Querétaro LDS stakes. That afternoon they also accompanied local LDS missionaries, visiting many homes. Adam Bushman of American Heritage School, said missionaries asked him during one visit to extend a baptismal invitation to a woman they met that afternoon. Bushman said, “I couldn’t believe they wanted me to extend the invitation, but I did, and she accepted. I am grateful for the experience. I can’t wait to be a missionary.”

After a Sunday night fireside about missionary work, AHS, Aspen, and Querétaro youth parted with hugs. Tour participants met early Monday morning to ride a bus to the airport and fly home. Student Lexie Butler (Aspen) called the trip the “best eight days of my life.”

Leaders from American Heritage School, Aspen, and FFHE felt the trip was a success. Eakett said, “This expedition has been special among those I have directed in the last ten years.” AHS High School Principal Leland Anderson added, “The goal to foster meaningful service and spiritual experiences for our students was accomplished and brought our young men and women friendships and memories they will cherish. I look forward to similar trips in the future.”

The Charted Course of Education in the Church

From President J. Reuben Clark (1871-1961), First Counselor in the First Presidency, we get the following excerpts from "The Charted Course of the Church in Education".  Here is the section for teaching of our Youth.  It's a POWERFUL read that is worthy of sharing.   
Please share on FB, twitter, google+ etc.  

The Education of our Youth

As I have already said, I am to say something about the religious education of the youth of the Church. I shall bring together what I have to say under two general headings—the student and the teacher. I shall speak very frankly, for we have passed the place where we may wisely talk in ambiguous words and veiled phrases. We must say plainly what we mean, because the future of our youth, both here on earth and in the hereafter, as also the welfare of the whole Church, are at stake.

What our youth want. The youth of the Church, your students, are in great majority sound in thought and in spirit. The problem primarily is to keep them sound, not to convert them.

The youth of the Church are hungry for things of the Spirit; they are eager to learn the gospel, and they want it straight, undiluted.

They want to know about the fundamentals I have just set out—about our beliefs; they want to gain testimonies of their truth; they are not now doubters but inquirers, seekers after truth. Doubt must not be planted in their hearts. Great is the burden and the condemnation of any teacher who sows doubt in a trusting soul.

Online Educational Videos - Bright Storm

My 16 yr. old son has been loving these videos from Bright Storm.  He has enjoyed them even more than those from Khan Academy.

Yesterday he spent 3 hrs. watching science demonstrations and then, applied some of those things by doing some experiments.

It's thrilling to see a soul catch-fire when taught things of interest and discovery.

Today, he recommends BrightStorm.com

Awesome Michelangelo Art Project for Homeschoolers!

Another wonderful post from our friends at http://www.homeschoolchic.com/! Thank you Quinn and Jenn for taking the time to share ideas from our Homeschool and Distance Education program! Your experiences inspire us to keep moving forward in this work to make wonderful, LDS-based homeschool resources more accessible.

From http://www.homeschoolchic.com/:

Each week we spend some time learning about artists during homeschool. I’ve wanted them to have the context of history (referencing our world history wall timeline during the process) to back up our art study so we started with studying art from previous periods leading up to the Renaissance (inspired by the Art History Timeline provided and referenced in the American Heritage School Kindergarten Art curriculum I purchased last fall). However, I’ve been counting down the days until FINALLY it was time to introduce my children to Michelangelo Buonarroti and the Italian Renaissance. Finally, yesterday was the day!!!

Every beauty which is seen here by persons of perception resembles more than anything else that celestial source from which we all are come. – Michelangelo

Having studied so much art while refining my own art skills during my youth, Michelangelo has always been one of my VERY favorite artists. I was so inspired by his Pieta that I created a mixed-media charcoal and oils painting of Mary during my Senior year of high school as a gift to my mother.

However, as a mother of so many little ones, I haven’t taken, nor created, the opportunity to bring out my oil paints for years. For now, I am perfectly satisfied to share my love of art with my children by helping them experience art and make it real to them

I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free. – Michelangelo

One of the many things that I love about Michelangelo is that he spent so much of his youth learning as much as he could to master his skills. “At age 13 he learned the traditional painting and sculpture techniques from the painter Domenico Ghirlandaio and the sculptor Bertoldo di Giovanni. From ages 15 to 17 he went to live with the noted art patron and ruler of Florence, Lorenzo de’ Medici…. When Lorenzo died, Michelangelo went to Venice and Rome. He studied anatomy and learned the structure of the human body,” – pg. 99, American Heritage School Kindergarten Art curriculum by Heidi Boden.

Michelangelo didn’t just wake up one day, try painting and sculpture and then get hired to paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling. He really worked to refine his skills and aimed for absolute perfection in the use of his talents. This is such a great example to children. I want my children to see that talent doesn’t negate the labor of love required in developing that talent. The labor of love to learn and improve upon the talent is what gives that talent wings to fly.

If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful at all. – Michelangelo

Obviously, you can see that I adore Michelangelo Buonarroti and I didn’t want to introduce one of the world’s greatest artists to them lightly. I wanted them to remember him somehow and start to develop an appreciation for his work. Because of this, I was absolutely thrilled to see how the American Heritage School Kindergarten Art curriculum connects the children to Michelangelo.

After telling my children all about Michelangelo’s life and showing them some of his work, we talked about his paintings on the Sistine Chapel ceiling (one of Michelangelo’s greatest and most famous works). Then, the AHS K Art curriculum suggested taping a piece of paper on the under side of a table and then having the children draw a picture with crayons while underneath. This was to help them experience a tiny taste of what it would have been like for Michelangelo to spend four years of his life painting the Sistine Chapel this way.

We had SO much fun with this project! My kids all had such a unique experience where I could tell it was really making an impression on them. They’d say things like, “this is hard,” “my neck hurts,” “my arm hurts,” “I’m tired,” to which I smiled and replied, “just think of doing this for four years! Claire, you’d be 9 by the time you finished! Isn’t Michelangelo amazing?” They’d talk about how hard it was to make the art look nice this way, almost believing it was impossible for it to be any other way. Then I reminded them of how beautiful Michelangelo’s paintings were on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. We talked about how tricky it must have been and how he must have gotten a lot of paint dripped on his face. It was hilarious and so much fun to see Michelangelo’s work come alive to them!

This was one of those times where one of my dreams for homeschooling my children came true: to develop within my children a love of art and an appreciation and excitement for their own divine capacity to create.

Later that day, I caught my two oldest children commenting on the prints of some of Michelangelo’s famous works that I hung on the bulletin board in the hall. “Look at how many colors he used!” I heard them saying. It was a proud, proud moment for me… which, sadly, I quickly ruined – accidentally – by stepping in and commenting with them which led them to walk away, no longer interested in their discovery. Yikes.

Many believe – and I believe – that I have been designated for this work by God. In spite of my old age, I do not want to give it up; I work out of love for God and I put all my hope in Him. – Michelangelo

I’m so grateful for Heidi Boden’s creative way of bringing Michelangelo to life! This art project was so fun and I’m certain my children will remember it for a long time. To supplement Heidi’s Kindergarten Art curriculum from American Heritage School, I also purchased the printed “Michelangelo Picture Study Portfolio” from SimplyCharlotteMason.com. It came with beautiful prints that I hung in the hall on our bulletin board, as well as stories and discussion-starters for each of the prints. So fun!

Homeschool Binders: It FINALLY Clicks!

Today I want share a post from two wonderful homeschool mothers. Last week Quinn and Jenny came to visit with me about helping American Heritage School with some homeschool related projects. They are relatively new to homeschooling and very eager to learn and help. While they were here, they spent some time walking through a few classrooms and talking with teachers. They were like kids in a candy store; taking pictures, notes, and mentally recording ideas for the one room school houses of their own. Following this visit they went home and put one idea to work, which they blogged about below.

At American Heritage School we are more concerned with impact than anything else. We love to see families incorporate the ideas, tools, and resources we've found so enriching and enlightening in education.

Thank you Quinn and Jenny and for your desire to share!

From http://homeschoolchic.com/blog/:

Recently Jenny and I had the opportunity to tour American Heritage School to learn more about their faith-based education strategies and the distance education programs they are developing. We were able to walk through classrooms, sit in on a bit of teacher lectures and look through some of the students’ binders.
The whole “student binder” concept blew my mind. I know it’s a relatively simple idea and I almost feel silly now to think that I didn’t think of it on my own before, but I’m SOOOOOO grateful to have seen how American Heritage does their student binders because it completely inspired me and our homeschool will NEVER be the same.

Prior to implementing binders, my visionary, chaotic nature was ruling our roost. Anything we worked on during homeschool time was set in piles in various spots in our house because I wasn’t quite sure what to do with them. Art was especially problematic because I LOVE encouraging my children to do art, so we have a LOT of their artwork that gets piled around the house, too.

Another primary issue is that because of this hectic style of homeschooling I was constantly feeling like our homeschooling wasn’t as effective as it could be. My kids were definitely learning, but our motivation waxed and waned too irregularly for us to create much predictability. I’ve heard of many homeschool moms say that there’s a time when your homeschooling feels wild but then it finally clicks and you find your groove.

Homeschool binders helped me find our groove. This one simple thing has impacted our household dramatically! My kids are excited for homeschooling each day and eagerly show off their binders to anyone who will sit with them long enough to see them (they’ve showed each other their binders multiple times, going through them page by page… so sweet!).
The concept behind the binders is that having children record what they’re learning will assist them in retaining the information, as well as seeing their progress. The binders are divided by tabs for each subject we’re studying. I probably should have gone with the packages of 8 tabs, rather than 5, but we’re making the 5 sections work just fine. Each of my children have all of the same 5 tabs: Writing, Math, Science, History and Art.

My children are all different ages and at different levels, so some of their work differs, but overall I teach these 4 subjects in a core format, spending individual time with each child as needed so they can learn the concepts they’re seeking. So far this has worked really well for us. For example, for math, each child works on a similar project, but at a different level (Tate works on subtraction, Claire works on addition and Norah works on counting).

I’ve used heavy cardstock to make dividers under some of the tabs. For example, under “Writing” we have 2 dividers for “Copywork” and “Stories” so their work can be organized. I’m going to do the same with Science, having dividers for each section of Science that we’re studying (we’re finishing up our Zoology learning today and Monday and will be moving on to Astronomy).

As a quick sidenote, I use the American Heritage Kindergarten Science Curriculum and have LOVED it so much because every lesson shows God’s hand in science. They have also done a great job at taking concepts that are big and making them very digestible. My kids LOVE Science because of this.

Now our homeschool time is much more easily structured. My kids love completing an assignment and then being able to put it in their binder. I can see how these binders are going to be treasures for each child every year.
Where is the evidence of my elementary education? In a cardboard box stuffed in a closet somewhere at my parents’ house. I assumed my childrens’ work would be kept “safely” the same way, but am thrilled about using binders. Now all of their artwork and projects can be kept in one easy-to-access place.

Best of all, each day feels like we’re actually progressing in our learning. I can easily see and measure where we’re at. I can use various curriculums as desired for each subject. I can supplement each subject with activities and worksheets that I like from anywhere and it all fits together and makes sense in their binders.

Hallelujah. I’ve been enthusiastic and committed about homeschooling, but now it has finally clicked that I CAN do this! At last I feel fully confident that I can provide an incredible education for my children. Woot! Woot!
It reminds me of this scripture, “…by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise” (Alma 37:6).
This small and simple concept of homeschool binders has brought about a great transformation in our family’s learning and I will be forever grateful for American Heritage School for the idea!

Number One on iTunes Chart!!!

This classical music video, featuring Steven Sharp Nelson and the American Heritage Lyceum Philharmonic is currently in the number one position on the iTunes charts in the United States and Canada, and is in the top 10 in eight other countries around the world.

CBS News posted a review on their blog, calling the piece "pure amazing."  On its current trajectory, the video will likely reach two or three million views before it plateaus.  It was filmed partly at American Heritage School in American Fork, Utah (an LDS based private K-12 school) and partly at a recording studio, and all with a group of 13-18-year-old musicians inspired by Kayson Brown and great professional artists like Steven Sharp Nelson.   See HERE for current iTunes rankings.

NEW FREE Videos for Home and Church Use

On Sunday night I attended a fireside with John Uibel, executive producer of new film clips for the church.  From the set in Goshen, Utah comes New Testament clips to be used for FREE at home and in the church. (3 new ones to be released each week.)  They WANT us to share these beautiful and powerful messages Bible Videos - A Gift to the World -- with others.

Watch here "The Widow's Mite".  A powerful reminder of the need for 'consecrated hearts'.

Scripture Study Resources for LDS Families

Scripture Study Resources for LDS Families - from "Discover the Scriptures"

Here are some resources and links that will help your family with their gospel study.

CES materials including seminary and institute manuals, scripture mastery cards and lists. The scripture mastery lists and cards are great to use as a family--even for those not yet at seminary age. You are never too young to start memorizing scriptures!

BYU has several FREE personal enrichment courses available online. Older kids (seminary age and older) and adults will enjoy learning about temples, prophets, books of scripture, and other gospel principles.

A Plain English Book of Mormon is an interesting website that offers the Book of Mormon text in simplified, modern language. Unlike Book of Mormon Stories (published by the Church) and other readers, A Plain English Book of Mormon follows the Book of Mormon text verse by verse.

Kingdom Kidz Club is a company that offers Bible songs that help your children memorize Bible verses in a fun and easy way. The catchy tunes are fun to sing and make it easy to take scripture memory on the go!

MyNauvooTrip.com offers a FREE Nauvoo kids pack (available soon, and created by Discover the Scriptures) that your kids will love. If you are planning a trip to Nauvoo, there is a lot of information on the site that will help you. If you aren't, your kids will still love the Nauvoo kids packet, which features stories from kids like them who lived in Nauvoo!

Read More

The Father's Role in Family Education; Neil Flinders

The Father's Role in Family Education: Preside, Provide, and Protect Neil J. Flinders This is the text of the keynote address Brother Flinders presented at the LDS Home Educators Assn. Conference, October 13, 2007

The Substance of Human Life Learning and teaching, following and leading are the substance of human life. Remove these functions and very little is left. Recognizing and consciously responding to the significance of these four functions is the most important contribution a parent makes in the developing lives of their children-be it good, bad, or indifferent. Beyond providing birth and sustaining life, the central core of human existence is learning and teaching, and following and leading. Every individual forms their own pattern of pursuing these functions. The importance of the pattern we embrace is mirrored in the lives we live. It is inescapable; the process extends beyond the human family and appears in nature itself. Consider two examples-(a) a covey of quail and (b) trees. Lessons from a Covey of Quail Frequently I see a family of quail parading across our back lawn. Recently, I watched two or three adults and a dozen or more tiny tots scooting along, mimicking their parents' pecking in the grass. One of the adult birds was on guard duty, perched atop the highest rail of our pole fence. He or she constantly looked this way and that way, alertly following the group on their journey by running along the rail-ever ready to sound the alarm if a cat or other predator appeared. The smallest members of this covey seemed hardly big enough to fly. They were busily learning lessons of survival. The entire family was diligently doing first things first. It obviously was a life or death matter. I've watched such coveys diminish in number. Eat or starve. Watch out or die. Keep moving. Don't leave the safety of the group. Watch Mom and Dad; do what they do. Obey instantly. Work hard. They had an agenda and the agenda was constructed around definite priorities. You don't eat when you are supposed to fly. In the "eat and be eaten" world of quail, certain principles or patterns must be learned and taught. Failure spells disaster or death. Human life has its similarities but it involves moral agency as well. Read Full Article Here

1,000 Good Books - Classical Homeschooling

From "Classical Homeschooling" we read the following:


This 1000 Good Books List is by no means exhaustive. It is a listing of the books that 25 homeschooling mothers have come up with over the course of a year’s time through discussions of criteria to use in choosing a good book, and many other discussions about individual titles to include or exclude. If you know of books that are good that are not included in this list, by all means, do not let their exclusion stop you from reading them with your children. And similarily, if a book is included on this list that you just plain don’t like for whatever reason, then don’t read it. We firmly believe in the parents right and responsibility to have the ultimate choice in choosing reading material for their children. We have posted this list as a place to start, not necessarily as a place to end; since many of us did not have the benefit of careful discrimination in our reading material in our own childhoods and education.

The criteria we used to judge inclusion are: Does the book have literary value? Does the book re-emphasize a Biblical worldview or the Judeo-Christian heritage in some way? Does the book teach, through whatever means, what is moral or just or true? Does the book encourage to love and good works? Does the book exemplify warmth, tenderness, courage, humor, and other values and characteristics that we desire our children to be exposed to? Does the book nourish the intellect and fire the imagination? Does the book cross age barriers to be enjoyed by all?

The Bible, the best of the good books and the greatest of the great books, is the backbone of this good books / great books list. The books listed are offered in addition to the Bible, but certainly never in replacement of it.
1000 Good Books

Farm Life for Children

Compared to a hundred years ago, most of us don’t know much about farming except that chickens lay eggs and cows make milk. That’s why it is beneficial for city children to participate in 4H or attend county fairs or state fairs.

Little Hands on the Farm is a fun way to teach kids about agriculture This web article by Lisa Foust Prater tells all about the Little Hands on the Farm program. It started in Indiana and is now part of many state fairs. It helps children to understand how food gets to the grocery store.  Count it for school! Include it as a field trip for your “Early American” or “Westward Expansion” studies. If you are studying plants or animals, it counts.

Helpful resources for your farm study include: Old Fashioned Farm Life Coloring Book, Prairie Primer Unit Study (unit study for Little House on the Prairie), and God’s Design for Life Series with the World of Plants and the Animal Kingdom.
Gotta love homeschooling.
Blessings,
Harriet, Lamp Post Homeschool

Join The Conversation

"The emergence of New Media is facilitating a world-wide conversation on almost every subject including religion...may I ask that you join the conversation by participating on the Internet, particularly the New Media, to share the gospel and to explain in simple and clear terms the message of the Restoration."

"Most of you already know that if you have access to the Internet you can start a blog in minutes and begin sharing what you know to be true."

M. Elder M. Russell Ballard, "Using New Media to Support the Work of the Church." Speech was given at Brigham Young University-Hawaii’s graduation ceremony on December 15, 2007.