Summer, Presentations, and Next Year

Sorry it has taken me so long to update and get information out. We have been having a busy summer so far! I hope you are all enjoying some family time.
I loved hearing your thoughts on our last day of class about the things you'd learned during the school year and your testimonies about God's love and direction. If you ever want to go through the "Joy Cycle" again with anything you are struggling with, or teach it to your family, here is a link to the handout I gave you:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BT2sPGY21qh4rw9mF8rcrs4o4ZFOkuCLIUg-MiplsbY/edit?usp=drive_web

Presentations:
Most of you were not ready to present to families yet. What I will do is have the family presentation happen at a vision night for families at the beginning of the next school year - at the end of August. So save your presentations until then if you have one ready and feel free to work on more through the summer.

What to present:
Just pick a project that interests you this summer or that you'd been working on last semester- weather it's a book you've been wanting to read, a video you've wanted to make, an activity you've wanted to plan, etc... and find a way to share a principle or lesson you learned from the experience. Keep in mind the creativity principles you learned from spring semester.

Next year:
As you know, our family will be moving in the late fall or winter. We will still be driving here and doing this class, but it may be at the Packs or rotating houses. We will still plan to meet Fridays from 2:30-4:30, but it may be bi-weekly instead of weekly. If we do bi-weekly - on the off weeks, we will have an online discussion instead.

Also, we will clump our activities into one weekend to avoid so much driving. In other words, each semester we will do an optional camping/overnighter (people can also drive back and forth in the evening and morning if you'd rather not stay overnight) where we will do a hike, simulation, discussion, movie night and temple trip.

We are going to study principles about how to live as we study cultures throughout the world. We will also be looking for creative ways to serve and teach others as we do so.

This Summer:
The first culture we will be studying is that of the Middle East. I have already felt my awareness, compassion and testimony grow as I'm learning about this area of the world. Sister Pack has shared some great resources and has some speakers she can schedule that we can learn from as we seek to understand this part of the world and the people in it. We are looking for places to visit as well.

If any of you or your families would like to start studying the Middle East with us this summer, I will write another blog post with resources, videos, books and current events that Sis. Pack has found. You can add other resources that you find in the comments section. Dads are especially encouraged to send links current events in the area! It would be also be awesome for you to also post your thoughts as you read and learn about these people and the culture.

When we have the guest speakers, I will post some assignments that will help you prepare to hear them speak.

Let me know if you or your families are interested in our summer Middle East adventures and if you're planning on continuing with this class next year. Thanks!