Family Educators Alliance of South Texas MANNAVolume 40/ Issue 12/ December Calling All Homeschool Organizations Winter Showcase fun, fellowship, and festivities start the New year with Science MANNA 1 In This Issue A Christmas to Remember… It is the time of year when we experience commercial overload; you cannot enter a store 3 Letter from Linda without seeing Christmas items everywhere, listen to the radio or watch TV without hearing 4 Resource Center ads and Christmas Carols and...EVERYTHING is on sale! 5 Winter Showcase 6 Calling All Homeschool Groups Of course, none of this puts a damper on the fact that Christmas is my favorite time of 7 Spelling Bee year! It is easy to talk to people, do random acts of kindness, and say what you really feel. 8 Creation Seminar With life going by so fast, we don’t take time to keep in touch with those we know; and 9 FEAST Science Workshops don’t make an effort to reach out to those we don’t know. Try reconnecting with the true 10 Ribbon-Cutting Photos meaning of Christmas. 11 Leaders Luncheon Follow-Up 12 Joyfully His If you think back over the last five Christmas Seasons, could you write a one-paragraph 13 Playtime Challenge story about each one? Personally, I feel like they blend together after a while. I may have a happy memory, but I can’t remember which year it happened, or maybe one year all my 14 Humane Society family was able to be together, but I did not make the time to get pictures of everyone and 15 Feature Web Page make it memorable. 15 Homeschool Day 16 What's Up Get together with your family, adopt a grandparent at a local nursing home, go on a date 18 From The Bench with your sweetheart, or all three! Make everything you do memorable. Take pictures, 20 Volleyball spend time with the children, bake cookies together, there are so many things to do that 20 Basketball cost little to no money. 21 Baseball 22 Football This year, why not make yours a Christmas to remember? Do you remember the reason we 24 Track & Field celebrate and share this special day with your family? The reason is recorded in Luke 2:9-12 26 Cross Country 27 Soccer “And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, 28 Calendar behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” Click HERE to read previous issues. This one great historical event would change the world. So whatever you decide to do, make sure you include the One who IS the reason for the season! If Christ had not humbled Himself and come as the babe in the manger, there would be no light in this dark world. Since He came as a man, He was able to die on the cross for me. Now THAT is a gift! If you have not received that gift, please let me share it with you this Christmas. It would definitely be the gift that keeps on giving! Make sure that you and your family make this one, a Christmas to Remember! Serving Him by serving you, Linda S. Whiten 2 MANNA ISSUE 12 MANNA 3 Focus on Focus on COLLEGE End of Semester CO-OP FEAST Resource Center Celebration College Ready? As we near the end of our Fall COLLEGE WORKSHOP Semester, it’s amazing to see time pass so quickly and the friendships December 10th, 2-4pm that have developed! We have FEAST Denman Estate been blessed with many new 7735 Mockingbird Lane families who have joined our co-op. The wonderful moms, dads, and Ann Marie Vasquez will be meeting with parents for an informational grandparents that are honoring their meeting on "what to do when" to get your student ready and enrolled commitment to volunteer their time into college. Transcripts, testing, scholarship, and registration information to make our co-op a safe place for our children. Thank you so much, will be covered. If you know someone that could use this workshop in and May GOD Bless our efforts as we Spanish, have them call the FEAST office for more information. desire to honor HIM in all that we do! Register HERE Please join us as we take a moment to slow down and enjoy a time of fun, fellowship, and festivities together. This year we will have a Holiday Market Place where students from our crafty classes will display their wares as well as music, skits, project displays, and more. Tacos will be available to purchase. Ordering information will be sent out soon! CO-OP WINTER SHOWCASE SCHEDULE 4pm Set-up gym 5pm Eat in the gym. 5pm - 6pm Project demonstrations (gym/classroom listed on program) 6pm Meet back in the gym for performances and demonstrations What a great way to end the year! We hope to see you here! 4 MANNA ISSUE 12 MANNA 5 Focus on Focus on HOMESCHOOL SPELLING Calling all South Texas Support Groups, Co-ops, and 2020 FEAST all other Homeschool Spelling Bee Organizations! • Would you like your group information more available to homeschoolers? Tuesday, January 14, 2020 at 1pm • Do you need a location to host a planning meeting? • Would love to pamper your group volunteers with a nice meal or ceremony? Registration deadline: January 7, 2020 • Are you interested in training/workshops on specific topics? $10 per participant, Patriot Pass Families - FREE FEAST is here to serve YOU! We get calls every day from families all across South Texas wanting CLICK HERE TO REGISTER information about support groups that are near them and/or meet certain needs they have. We want to put updated information on our website to help direct families toward your group. FEAST is not trying to take the place of the local support group, nor are we in competition with you. We know that God has provided our region with so many different “flavors” of co-ops and support groups Spelling Bee is a fun activity that really causes your child to stretch toward a goal! because homeschoolers are a diverse group of people. All students, ages 7-15 (student should not have reached his/her 15th birthday on or Did you know that the primary purpose for FEAST is to serve, honor and glorify God by taking before August 31, 2019) are invited to participate. appropriate steps to unify and focus the homeschoolers and homeschool support groups in the South Texas Region? In an effort to make this purpose more known in the community, we need to hear from The Spelling Bee consists of two divisions: you! We want to know how we can serve you. You know your group and their needs. Let us know how Division 1 (just for fun) is for students 7-9 years of age. The first place winner of this we can help. division will not move on to the Regional Spelling Bee. Division 2 is for students 7-15 years of age. The first place winner of this division will How can you aid us in helping you? These three simple ways: Check our website and see if your information is listed and is current. If you need to be added to move on to the Regional Spelling Bee sponsored by the San Antonio Express News. the list or have information updated, send an email to [email protected]. If you can, please include a one-page advertisement we could print and display in our support group binder in All participants of the Spelling Bee will receive a certificate congratulating them on our Resource Center. their hard work in preparing for the Spelling Bee. Email [email protected] and let us know the answer to the above questions. Do you Study words are available for registered participants. need help starting or organizing your group or a sports program? We can help. Let us know how we can serve YOU! Please email or call Estela Frias with any questions: one_and [email protected] or call (210) 240-8912. Spread the word! Homeschooling, in general, is growing in leaps and bounds and especially here in South Texas. Let other homeschool groups know that FEAST can advertise for them to help them serve others. We are so happy that you exist to serve our homeschool community and look forward to partnering with you to help you continue doing so! 6 MANNA ISSUE 12 MANNA 7 Focus on Focus on SCIENCE 2019-2020 SCIENCE Local Creation Seminar FEAST Science Workshops Please note that we will not meet for December due to the holidays. to start the New Year! HERE IS OUR LINE UP FOR THE SPRING: Starting on January 5th, 2020, at 4pm and each Sunday thereafter for at least nine Sundays, SABBSA and Cibolo Valley Baptist Church (5500 FM 1103, Schertz, Texas, 78108) January 27 - Prescience in the Bible – will put on a nine-part Creation Science Seminar showing God is the Creator! The Bible was not written to be a science textbook, but where it does speak of scientific The churches’ AWANA program will be going on at the same time as this seminar, issues (about 200 times), it should be 100% accurate if it was inspired by God.