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HISTORY THROUGH THE AGES
TIMELINE PRODUCTS |
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TIME TRAVELERS HISTORY BASED
ACTIVITY STUDIES |
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| ACTIVITY-PAKS Both Downloadable and on CD! |
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| RESOURCES & ORDER INFORMATION |
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ABOUT US
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Warm greetings from the Pak family! We are a family of six who have been home-schooling since 1996. "Yes," we do live in the woods, and many of our experiments, projects, and re-enactments have taken place in the creek, ravine, woods, and fields that surround our house!
From the beginning of our schooling experience, I (Amy, mom and teacher of the brood), having dreaded the thought of teaching history to my children as it was a topic of particular distaste in my own school years, immediately glommed onto the idea of timelines as a great visual resource to pull the whole idea of history together. It made sense and gave a concrete foundation for fitting all the topics into place. As we studied history through living books, drama, writing, etc., I fell in love with the topic of history, as it had become a new and exciting venture to be explored--far different than the boring textbooks I remembered in high school! With the timeline a mandatory tool, I found myself having trouble finding images that I liked. I had been a graphic designer/illustrator both in an agency and as a free-lancer for several years, and my choice of art was rather picky. I vowed that, Lord willing, someday I would create figures that were classic and realistic in illustration. With young ones and a lot on my plate, the time was not to be then.
We'd begun a website in 1998 that offered some of our unit studies we'd developed to homeschool moms, however it wasn't until 2002 that I felt the Lord give me the "o.k." to proceed with the timeline project that had sat on a back burner for so long. With the support and blessing of my husband and family, I began researching and illustrating figures to accompany the history materials we were using at the time, and Home School in the Woods was born.
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In 2004, two years into our business, I found a folded, dusty paper in my parent's basement. It was my 4th grade report card. Imagine my surprise when I read in the Social Studies report:
"Amy understands the personal side of historical figures, but has difficulty in
connecting these men to the events of the time."
Wow! God has quite a sense of humor, bringing me to find that report card at this time in my life! What this said to me was two things:
1) that I was ALWAYS wired this way and it was not something I would grow out of--it's just the way He made me! and...
2) God had equipped me not only to provide a way to "bridge this particular gap" with the talents He had bestowed upon me, but He confirmed to me that we were truly following His will by bringing this solution to the homeschool (and education) arena for other children (and adults!) to benefit from!
Children need to know that what may seem a weakness at one time in your life, can provide for a wonderful strength and a result that can impact many! Take heart--I know this first hand, and God has shown me it is so!
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Looking back, I see many reasons why the Lord held off the beginning of this business. Having used timelines in not only our own studies, but also in co-ops and other projects, I had a few notions that I wanted to include and found imperative. I found that no matter how hard you studied the explorers, given time you will still be wondering who explored what, when! I began to include written definitions with the figures to remind us of key points regarding each person and event.
Immediately after the first set was released, I was getting requests for the next set! As it turns out, I tend to be a night owl and happen to work best under pressure. With many nights vested in illustrating into the wee hours of the morning, we had all four sets completed in literally just over a year! That was a total of nearly 1,200 illustrations, not to mention all the research and definition development as well as general layout and pre-press preparation. Of course, then came the requests for a notebook to put them in and a CD to allow easier manipulation of the images! That had to wait until this summer, but is at last ready for release!
We have been strictly a family run business, with my husband, Ed, as computer-guru and software developer, editor, proof-reader, copy-writer, and business manager. The older children have been crucial to the business, as they do all the scanning and clean-up of images, collating, checking, and bagging of the products. We are training them in the business end of fulfillment and management. I think this qualifies as a business course! Even the younger children have been a help with small jobs, clean-up, and assistance.
I give all glory of this business to God! It has truly been a faith-driven venture with much prayer and seeking God's will throughout each turn. Many moms have written, referring to us as a ministry, and it warms my heart beyond belief to read these responses from both the moms and children! I've been so thrilled to be able to share a talent He has bestowed with others who can benefit from the results, hopefully helping develop a love of learning! As home school parents, supporting and lifting each other up is vital! I consider it an honor to be able to help others with pearls of wisdom and encouragement.
I believe most people are visual and what a blessing it is to see the Lord's story unveil throughout time, weaving an awesome tapestry that is so thick with His presence and unending mercy, patience, and love for His creation! I thank you for the chance to share our giftings and love of history with you and your family!
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HOME SCHOOL IN THE WOODS
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