Did you know that the 5th grade class was recently quoted on the Kids of Courage website? (The link to the article is here.)

If you’re not familiar with that page, it’s run by the Voice of the Martyrs, an organization that raises awareness about Christians around the world who are persecuted for their beliefs.

While the 5th grade class was studying the story of Esther, they talked about speaking up for what is right without knowing the outcome. That led them to KOC, where you can read stories about Christians who face struggles that we in America can hardly understand.

And beyond just talking and understanding, the class incorporated the proceeds from a leaf-raking project into raising money for organizations who speak up for those who can’t speak for themselves.

Congratulations to the class on a job well done!

Running out of things to do during a humdrum season of the year?:

1)      U-M Sports (for free!)

Football and men’s basketball are the two big-ticket sports at U-M (pun intended), but not many people know how many free-admission sports there are at the U. You can check out a special page on their website for the details, but tennis, water polo, field hockey, swim & dive, track & field are just a few of the fun sports (for kids and adults) that are on tap. (And while you’re at it, you can cheer on AACS parent and head swim/dive coach Mike Bottom at the team’s competitions.)

2)      The Ark’s Storytelling Festival

The lost art of storytelling isn’t necessarily lost, as Ann Arbor’s annual storytelling festival on the 16^th and 17^th proves most entertainingly. There’s an adult show as well as a children’s show, so pay special attention when buying tickets to make sure you know which is which.

We may not have much in the way of snow around the Ann Arbor area, but there’s still plenty of winter fun to be had this weekend and next – especially if you head to one of our local metroparks!

The metroparks are a blast even when there isn’t a special event going on, but local favorite Hudson Mills has their annual Winter Festival coming up on Saturday, January 26^th. A few of the events are snow-specific, but they’ll be having indoor crafts and hot chocolate as well. Check out the Events Calendar at the Metroparks website for more details, and please note that pre-registration is required.

If you’re feeling more adventurous than that, January 19^th sees the Lake Erie metropark’s Erie Ice Daze, while January 26^th finds Oakwoods hosting a Winter Survival workshop. (It’s important to note that the Lake Erie metropark entails quite a long drive for most in the Ann Arbor area.)

Due to the university, many international families travel to the Ann Arbor area to work or study. Until recently, AACS was not allowed to admit students who are not U.S. citizens. However, after approval from the Department of Homeland Security, AACS is now a SEVIS authorized I-20 school for the issuance of F-1 student visas. For international families who desire a Christian education for their children, this allows AACS to enroll qualified students who are not citizens. We hope that this will enable AACS to serve more families in Ann Arbor and surrounding towns.

For those who don’t know, the AACS Lego Robotics Team is open to students in grades 4-8. At international competitions, teams of students design, build, and program an autonomous robot using Lego NXT 2.0 systems and software.

Additionally, students research and present a science project (based on the theme of the challenge) aimed at providing a new scientific solution to an unsolved problem.

The team typically meets on Saturdays at the school and is coached by volunteer parents.  The team’s season runs from August until regional competitions in November and a state competition in early December.  The last two years the AACS Lego Robotics Team has received several awards and qualified for the state competitions.

More details about the win are at annarbor.com.

It’s getting to be that time of the year, when people in the know (or those who think they’re in the know) fill out their lists of the best books, best music, best movies, and best everything of the year.

2012 being no different than any other year in most respects, here are links to a few of collected lists (a list of lists, so to speak!), just in case you’ve got the time now — or later — to cuddle up with a good book, song, film, show, etc.

The usual disclaimers apply: caveat emptor, and all that rot.

Best Books

• Publishers’ Weekly
• NPR
• New York Times
• Amazon (best sellers)

Best Music

• Metacritic
• Rolling Stone
• Mojo

Best Movies

• Metacritic
• Rotten Tomatoes
• The New Yorker
• The Year in Movies

Best Television

• Paste
• Washington Post
• Metacritic

If there’s one thing that kids love (that’s not candy), it’s trains. Whether it’s Thomas or Chuggington or Lionel, or best of all, the real thing, there’s something about all that power moving across the landscape that fills kids (and the rest of us) with just a little bit of awe.

That’s one reason that the website RailPictures.net is such a great resource for kids (and adults). With massive, high-quality photos and the work of surprisingly artistic photographers, this site is capable of amusing any kid for hours — okay, maybe minutes — at a time. At least, it worked for my kids briefly…

Navigation isn’t as easy as many photo sites like Flickr, but each photo has a descriptive caption and a great interface with Google Maps in case you want to work out a geography lesson while you’re at it. The site reaches any level of knowledge, whether your kid is a railroad expert or just likes to look at pretty pictures.

If you want to start somewhere, the Editor’s Choice section is particularly good.