Have you entered the essay contest? A couple months still to get your entries in. Take advantage of being stuck indoors by having your kids do some writing with a purpose. All the details below and at Midwest Creation Fellowship’s site.

Here’s some info to get you started (but, fyi, I think their ages are switched on their categories):

Purpose:
To encourage the development of skills in research, analysis and logical reasoning through preparing an effective presentation of a thesis in a creation-oriented paper.

Prizes: Senior High Level (Ages 11-14*)

• $250 First Place
• $100 Second Place
• $75 Third Place

Junior High Level (Ages 14-18*)

• $100 First Place
• $50 Second Place
• $25 Third Place

* Entrants 14 years old on April 30 may enter either Junior or Senior division

Topics: must strongly relate to the subject of creation vs. evolution, from a creationist perspective. Suggestions:

• Why do cultures around the world…
  …have the same star constellations?
  …have very similar legends, such as a gigantic flood?
  …offer blood sacrifices to their god(s)?
• Reasons why I believe in creation
• Vestigial organs: a vestigial argument
• More topic suggestions

There is no fee to enter and they publish a book (which they then sell) of winning entries. This can be a fun motivator if just working toward a grade or even just to get an assignment finished is getting a little old.

From the coordinators:

We have three contests . . .  Each year we have several homeschoolers accepted in our
contests and we admire their impressive work.  The following is
information on each contest, if you have any questions please feel
free to contact me!

Here are the websites for more information:
Art Contest
www.celebratingart.com

Poetry Contest
poeticpower.com

Essay Contest
poeticpower.com

An opportunity to flex your mental muscles in the geography arena!

To find out more or to sign up, e-mail Audrey Ringer at dnaringer@yahoo.com.

My kids participated in the local geo bee a few years ago and it provided great incentive to learn their geography facts and really dig into the world around them. Great opportunity!

Saturday, October 22, 11am

Overview

Catapults have a long history in warfare. We want you to build a working version of these war machines. The challenge is to build a catapult which is designed to throw a tennis ball as far as possible. Prizes will be awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place distances. Most importantly, contestants get the chance to build a catapult, compete, and possibly earn eternal glory! This project is fun, exciting, and as easy or intricate as you want to make it.

Participants

1. This contest is open to all catapult enthusiasts; no matter your age!
2. Teams are allowed (and encouraged). No more than 4 people per team please.
3. All participants must register in advance by filling out this registration form by October 15, 2011.

Specifications

1. No ready-made kits. Each catapult must be designed, constructed, and launched by contestants.
2. No part of the catapult can extend over 6 feet high.
3. All catapults will be launched on a grass field. They must sit on the ground. No tables.
4. The catapult cannot be staked into the ground.
5. All catapults will fling tennis balls provided by the First Division Museum at Cantigny.
6. Your catapult must have a triggering mechanism which will allow you to stand 2 feet away.
7. No explosions or air pressure may be used to assist the performance of your catapult. In other words, the energy used to power your catapult must be provided by the device itself.
8. Any type of hurling machine is acceptable: Ballista, Trebuchet, Mangonel, etc.

Scoring

Each group will be allowed three launches. The best launch will be used as your score. The longest launch wins. Prizes will be awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place distances.

Sign Up Now

If you’d like to register for the contest, click here to download the entry form. After filling out the form, save it and email it to mtyer@firstdivisionmuseum.org. If you have any questions, please contact Melissa Tyer at 630 260 8274.
Please click this link for a printable flyer for your classroom:
http://www.firstdivisionmuseum.org/events/schedule/catapult.pdf

Are your Kids off school on Friday April 22?  Come to SciTech for the Easter Egg Hunt, stay for the FUN!
The Golden Eggs are Hidden!  Find one and Win a PRIZE!

SciTech Museum is the place for Fun on the Friday before Easter.
Regular admission is all you need to enjoy:

• Activity Tables with “Egg-Tastic” Hands on Experiments! 10:30- 4pm
• See the Easter Bunny and have your photo taken with him. ($5.00 ea.) 12-4 pm
• Participate in the Easter Egg Hunt and Find the Golden Egg for a Prize! 10:30 am – 12 pm
• Two age groups for the Hunt: 5 and under and 6-12 yrs.
• Over 200 exciting interactive Science exhibits!

For more information just call 630-859-3434 Ext. 218
SciTech Museum 18 W. Benton, Aurora, Il. 60506

Don't Miss out! There's no end to the fun this Friday at SciTech!
And someone in your family may find the Golden Egg!

The link to the full contest information is here. Developed by West Point and sponsored by the American Society of Civil Engineers, this contest is open to all kids age 13 through Grade 12. They can do this on their own or in pairs and it looks like it can all be done from the comfort of your own computer. It has a download for both Macs and Windows, so hopefully all interested students can enter.

Looks like a great science and math supplement or motivator. Scholarship money is available to the winners, too, if that motivates any students.

Download and install the West Point Bridge Designer 2011 software. Use the software to design and test a virtual bridge. Register your team. Log in and submit as many designs as you like. It’s absolutely FREE!

Some kids need a little competition to motivate them. Others need some goals to help them strive harder. And, others just want some recognition for the hard work they have already put out.

What better topic to encourage kids to dig into and recognize achievement in than Scripture memorization?

Today a new friend of mine introduced me to the Bible Bee 2010. This organization and competition gives families a framework to memorize Scripture, along with some lofty goals. The competition is open to kids 7-18 and they must memorize between 250 and 800 verses (increasing amounts by age categories).

If you are interested in attending, you can register starting May 1. At this time they are looking for host registrations, so if you would like to organize a local bee, now is the time to jump online and sign up. Individuals register starting May 1, and packets will go out in June.

Individual registration is $25 per child (limit of $125 per family), and includes all materials for parents and children to participate in the bee. If they apply themselves and advance to the final round they have the opportunity to compete for prizes ranging from $5,000 to $100,000.

Whether you decide to participate officially or not, you might enjoy attending the Bible Bee finals to be held in November of this year in Schaumburg. It might be a great motivator for next year (although next year, the finals might not be so close to us in the Chicagoland area).

Check out the Bible Bee 2010 website for all the details, information, and answers to any questions you might have. And, if you do arrange a local bee, feel free to leave a comment hear letting others know and so we can spread the enthusiasm.

A few days ago I received a package in the mail with a children’s picture book on prayer. This book is not for me to keep, it is just for one of you! The author contacted me and graciously offered a book to giveaway to one of my readers.

To see more images or to pre-order this book to be released on February 16, check out Anthony DeStefano’s website.

This is a beautiful book that helps teach children about prayer by walking them through a child’s prayer. Anthony DeStefano along with illustrator Mark Elliott have created a pictorial and linguistic image of praying to God with humility, thankfulness, and requests.

There an abundance of good picture books to read with your kids, but not enough of them contain a spiritual message that we would like to pass along to them. This book is a great addition to your home bookshelves.

Of course, it also caught my eye and my kids noticed that the picture hanging on the wall is Raphael’s Sistene Madonna that we were just studying in history. Nice when learning crosses real life . . .

Anyway, if you would like to enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment on this post. And you can earn an extra entry by sharing about this giveaway with some of your friends. Either blog, tweet, post, or email about this giveaway somewhere, and come back and leave a second comment saying you did so and you will receive a second entry.

You want another entry? Well, because I appreciate all my fans and subscribers so much, if you are a fan on Facebook or a subscriber to this site leave another comment for yet another entry. Not yet a fan? No problem, become one, and then leave a comment.

That’s a total of three possible entries (one just for telling me you are reading this, one for telling others about it, and one for subscribing or being a fan).

The contest will continue through Friday, February 19, at 11:00 p.m.

Even if you don’t win you can order this online from Amazon or other websites, or keep your eye out for it in your local bookstore as well.