Tell Me Tuesday is being hosted at the AussieHomeschool Blog. Here’s today’s question.
How long have you been homeschooling?
2009 marks our 12 year of learning at home. We unofficially started in late 1997 and 1998 was our first year.
How about you? Would you like to join in with the Tell Me Tuesday meme? Pop over to the blog and see what it is all about.
Another new blog?
AussieHomeschool Blog
Who is writing at the blog?
This blog will not be written by one person. Rather is will be a combined effort of all Australian home-learning bloggers.
Why another blog?
Through this blog, we hope to encourage all homeschoolers parents, or those with an attitude of home-based-learning, by our written words- blogs. We aim to accomplish this by providing a common place in which to pull many Australian homeschool bloggers together so that the younger parents will glean wisdom from the old and the older ones may gain inspiration from the younger parents.
What is it about?
It is a blog – a magazine style blog. The purpose of the Aussie Homeschool Blog is to unite Australian homeschoolers regardless of differing ages, schedules, methods, curricula, locations or preferences.
By following this blog, and those on the blog roll you will come to see some real Australian homeschooling parents- the nitty and the gritty, the ups and down and the down right funny.
When will there be new content?
We hope to update the blog weekly…although the meme’s will be added to by individual bloggers, as they like.
Where is this fantastic new blog?
You’ll find it at the following address – http://aussiehomeschool.com/blog
In fact, today is Tell Me Tuesday…a meme. There is also a meme to join in on Thursday and Friday. These meme’s use Mr.Linky, which is real easy to use, fun and it also drives more traffic to your website!
You can also join the blog roll which will give you more traffic and also enable you to visit other Aussie homeschooling bloggers!
So pop over, have a read… bookmark the site so you can visit again. You can subscribe via RSS or email and receive all new posts. The blog will be an invaluable source of inspiration, encouragement, information and fun…as much as you contribute.
Hope to see you there!
Old Book Art is a beautiful website..for everyone who appreciates art/illustrations in old books.
Courtesy of Old Book Art
The Mission of Old Book Art
To provide & facilitate access to free illustrations: pictures, drawings, maps and other images scanned from antiquarian, public-domain books and other old documents. We have over 3,200 images in our gallery with more added regularly, all at no cost and most available at very high resolution. Most of these we have scanned and edited ourselves. We will also screen and provide links to other high quality resources.
Why Does the Site Exist?
Simply to share public domain resources. Zephyrus Books comes across a lot of antiquarian books with wonderful old illustrations in the public domain. Many of these are not available for public sharing anywhere on the internet, at least not in an easily accessible or larger scale format, so this site was started as a free resource for anyone looking for out of copyright images.
But I imagine that hot-linking is not wanted. Click the images and save them to your own computer, ready for uploading to your site. Provide a link back to Old Book Art, along with the image.
Fabre’s Book of Insects. Courtesy of Old Book Art
Categories
Atlases & Maps
Children
History
Literature & Poetry
Nature & Natural History
Places & Travel
Some wise advice was shared, from the following article, on HOMEschool Fellowship. The full article is by Chuck Norris, recalling his mother’s wisdom. I looked at the original article and thought it was too good not to share, especially when I turned on the news this morning to hear of even more Australian jobs being cut…fuel cost increases and interest rate rises, again!
An old Spanish proverb says, “An ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy.” I believe that value will hold, in or out of a recession. And being that my 87-year-old mother lived through the Great Depression, I think her value (and those like her) will actually increase through these tough economic times, because their insider wisdom can help us all.
Chuck Norris asked his 87-year-old mother, “How would you encourage the average American to weather the economic storms of today?”
Here’s her advice, in her words:
Now’s that conventional wisdom that should be shouted and posted in every corridor of government, every community across America and every blog on the Internet.
Call me overly pragmatic, but I think a little practical wisdom and encouragement is what we all need about now. Mom has always been good for that. She still is.
Chuck Norris is the star of more than 20 films and the long-running TV series “Walker, Texas Ranger.” You can see more about him, his life and ministry at the official website: ChuckNorris.com.
You can see the entire article at World Net Daily.
Whoohoo, there’s a new carnival in town…and it’s right up my alley.
The Carnival of Relaxed Homeschooling is for anyone using relaxed, eclectic or less traditional methods of home education for any or all of their studies.
Using a relaxed approach for the upper grades, i.e., middle and high schoolers, becomes a little more challenging so if you use a relaxed style in any or all of your studies, you have something of great value to offer to other homeschoolers interested in becoming less formal in their approach. Submissions can include ideas, approaches, successes, “failures”, frustration, encouragement or anything else!
Submissions don’t have to be new posts, they can be, but it’s not necessary. What you do want to do, however, is look for one of your best posts. Dig deep if you want, just submit one of your posts that is especially pleasing to you!
If you are new to the concept of “carnivals”, check out this post.
I always enjoy the homeschooling carnivals. I love to see how others approach home education so long as I understand and accept that I don’t have to try and incorporate all the ideas I read into our family home.
The following principles were printed on an A4 sheet of paper, decorated and hung on the fridge. That’s the easy part. The hardest part is for us to genuinely model this attitudes and behaviours.
“Life is never boring,but some people choose to be bored.”
I’ve never accepted it when my children have said, “Mum, I’m bored“. I would always respond with various quips until they simply stopped telling me that they were bored. I made a chart and pinned it to the wall so that the minute I started to hear that whine of “Muuuum…I’m …” I would send them to the chart. Always worked! They became busy and productive in areas and the boredom soon disappeared. However, I’ve always found it easiest to teach the children about boredom when they are not bored! I talked to them about it, taught them what to do when they’re bored…told them about their choices – encouraged them to be proactive. Then, when that familiar cry comes, I was simply reinforcing what I’d already taught.
I would tell the children that boredom is an attitude and a choice. They could choose not to be bored! That’s quite empowering, isn’t it? And it’s true. However, there are times when boredom is a good thing- if handled correctly. Firstly, I’d make sure that the child’s basic needs were all met- physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, etc. (The book series, The Five Love Languages are especially helpful for discerning needs of children) Once I had ascertained that their needs were met, chores had been done, etc I would point them toward the list.
Sometimes it’s good to be bored as it gives us the opportunity to have some quiet time and just *be*…time to think, to process. Usually though, this is a slightly different thing to boredom as my children have never claimed to be bored while having this ‘time’.
Here are the things I put on the chart but I’m sure you could think of much more.
Read a book
Make a card for someone
Write a letter
Play dress ups
Write a story
Jigsaw puzzle
Board games
Ping pong
Listen to music and dance
Take Jazz for walk
Do a nature hunt
Trampoline
Clean backyard
Clean car
Iron clothes
Bake a cake
Make popcorn and then make jewelry
Have a bath and play in it
Do a word search
Colour in or do drawing
Leaf or tree rubbings
Make paper (paper kit)
Throw softball
Rehearse a play and put on show
Write book review
Science experiment
Hide and Seek
Create cubby house
Make paper airplanes / dolls
Garden
Have a ‘drinking water contest’
Do a crossword
Look at photo albums
Carve soap
Chess
Lego
Look for ways to bless your brother/sister/mother/father…
“Only those who want everything done for them are bored.”
~Billy Graham“Nobody is bored when he is trying to make something that is beautiful or to discover something that is true.”
W. R. Inge“A man who lets himself be bored is even more contemptible than the bore”
Samuel Butler (1835-1902)
Originally compiled in 2001 but I lost it until hunting around on my computer in 2009
Have you ever spent hours on planning an evening meal to share with guests and you’ve worked yourself to a silly sweat in the kitchen…set the table with your finest linen, cutlery and crockery and eagerly awaited their arrival? I have. I made our family favourite – my go-to dish: home made lasagne.
The visitors came…and ate. The husband really liked the meal and complimented me. My own husband complimented me. My children complimented me, as per their upbringing. There was something missing. The woman’s absence of any comment made me believe that she didn’t like the meal…or that she didn’t appreciate that I had used our ‘best’.
Now I realise that my lasagne may not be everyone’s idea of delicious but…
From there, I have tried to practice the art of complimenting…on something. I’ve taught (am in the process of teaching) my children to do the same.
If you have a message of encouragement for the people, please speak.
~Acts 13:15
We’ve had friends who have very different standards to us…when it comes to cleanliness. Now I’m no perfectionist when it comes to cleanliness or tidiness but…I don’t allow animals inside. I would never allow my cats (if I had them) to wander on my kitchen benches to malt their hair all over the bread board and find its way into a sandwich and I certainly never allowed my pets (dogs or cats) to drink or eat out of the same cup/bowl as me. However, I’ve got friends who do this naturally…they wouldn’t dream of doing anything else.
These friends also had a generous heart and loved to entertain and be hospitable so they’d often cook and invite us over to share a meal with them. I’ll be honest with ya. I did not find it easy to drink a cup of coffee from the cups, knowing that they might share that cup with their pooch. In fact, my stomach got queasy and it just went against every instinct in my body. But, I forced myself to drink…and to do so with a smile. These guys just didn’t know any different…they didn’t see anything wrong. I firmly believe that if I had said anything or spoken with my body language we could have destroyed a friendship and discouraged them in their faith.
However I found it so hard to be encouraging. I found it hard to say, “Thanks for the cuppa, it was lovely” as it just wasn’t true and I want to be honest and transparent. So, what’s a gal to do? How does one not be rude when there’s little to be complimentary about?
Well, I try to have a policy. Yes, I have lots of personal policies but this one is:
Try to say something true, helpful, inspiring, kind, necessary or nice wherever possible.
Sometimes, most times, it is just plain rude to say nothing. How could I go to their place…drink with them, eat with them, share with them and hear their heart and not say something positive?
Along with my policy above, goes the second part that I try to consider when I do need to open my mouth:
Do I have any responsibility in this area? Do I have any authority in this area? Will my words be ones of encouragement, bringing comfort, peace, grace or will they be ones that cause unnecessary grief and concern and cause hurt? The question of what, when, and how to speak is usually answered as I ask myself these questions.
So, how then do I find something to say? Some people, and I’ve said to my children, that if you can’t say something good, then don’t say anything at all. And this is generally good advice but I think that is many situations you simply have to say something…so I have to find something to say.
Speak when the words build up. Speak if the words bring a smile. Speak where reassurance is needed. Speak what gives hearts courage. Speak how He would. Words that encourage. Words that give life. Words that bless.
If you have those kinds of words on the tip of your tongue, then please speak. Otherwise, maybe it is best not to.
Okay, back to my friend- so the coffee wasn’t nice. The cup was filthy and the kitchen table was covered in dog hair but…this woman had a giving heart. She’d give you her last shirt off her back if you needed it.She would be available 24 hours a day, to help you if needed. She had a servant’s heart and loved to bless people. She grew most of her own vegetables organically and she had a quriky sense of decorating. Oh, she decorated her house in the brightest, most vivid colours that most people would shy away from…but not her.
So, I found myself starting to use words like, “interesting” and fascinating, captivating, enthralling; appealing, attractive; amusing, entertaining, stimulating, thought-provoking, intriguing. (Yes, I used the thesaurus here)
I just couldn’t say the coffee was delicious but I needed to say something, right? I could comment on the new style of quirky curtains she made and put up. I could comment on her serving heart and how much she blesses others by making meals to give to those in need. In other situations I could comment on how the lemon gratings over the steamed broccoli was quite unusual, omitting to say that the potato was raw.
In other words, I don’t need to point out [what I perceive to be] her faults or areas she needs to change or improve in. That’s not my role. It’s glaringly obvious to all (or so I would think) but it’s not my place. No authority or responsibility.
I’ve learned that my preference is not that of anther’s. My lifestyle choices are not that of others…but this doesn’t mean that I’m right and they are wrong. This also doesn’t mean that I can’t fellowship with them. Sometimes we Christians can be so uptight, so self righteous that we appear to others to act as though our own sweat doesn’t stink…that we are holy and they are not. We might relay the message (through body language more so than words) that until they have their act together we can’t fellowship. Oi voi! I’m so glad that God didn’t wait for us to get our act together before He wanted a relationship with us. We shouldn’t use our convictions or beliefs as a weapon or a rod…leave that to God. [generally speaking in context with my post here]
So what are you teaching your children about manners and relationships? Is it acceptable to simply ignore those that don’t fit in with your views, your beliefs? Or should they speak out against every single thing that goes against their beliefs? How then do they speak words of encouragement to others?
And lastly, what on earth does this have to do with blogging, if anything? I really like the page, Biblical Advice for Bloggers, and I think 5 and 6 are quite applicable here, don’t you?
5. Let us therefore make every effort to blog what leads to peace and to mutual edification. (Ro 14:19)
And Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the blog of peace (Eph 4:2)
Do we make every effort to maintain peace and unity in the body of Christ? Or do we focus on what divides us? When we disagree, are we humble and gentle?6. Accept him whose blog is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters…Let us stop blogging judgment on one another… whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. (Ro 14 1-22)
Let us be careful not to condemn ourselves by dividing the body of Christ over disputable matters, or by judging the spiritual state of our brothers and sisters with whom we disagree.
What say you? Does this ring true in your life…either in real time or online? Or am I so long winded that you gave up reading or I totally lost you? That’s okay, I’m sure you’ll be able to find something encouraging to say. O:-)
I’m off again on another rant. It’s in relation to a newspaper article which you can find here.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,24753674-1248,00.html
A QUEENSLAND father of five has taken action in the Anti-Discrimination Commission after his four-year-old daughter was asked to help make a replica of Noah’s Ark at the local state school.
R** W********, who has five children under the age of 10, is opposed to religious instruction in state schools.
He said he was taking action because he did not believe students should be “exposed to superstitious mumbo-jumbo, presented as fact, in an educational setting”, The Australian reports.
The Bible Literacy report
Can be found in its entirety here: http://tinyurl.com/6xovm4
Almost without exception, English professors we surveyed at major American colleges and universities see knowledge of the Bible as a deeply important part of a good education.
For example, when asked to respond to the question, “Regardless of a person’s faith, an educated person needs to know about the Bible,” no professor disagreed; nine provided additional explanation. When asked, “Some scholars say Western literature is steeped in references to the Bible. How would you respond to that?” 38 of 39 English professors agreed; 24 strongly. When asked, “In your opinion, how important is it for students who take your courses to be familiar with the Bible?” 38 of 39 professors said it was important.
Overwhelmingly, professors in this survey indicated that a lack of basic Bible literacy hampers students’ ability to understand both classics and contemporary work. Arduously “decoding” scripture references detracts from absorbing and responding to great works of art, both ancient and modern. At the same time, a number of professors expressed discomfort or reservations with appearing to “take sides” in favor of the Bible in the contemporary context.
They did not wish to associate themselves with a political movement around the Bible, or to seem to detract from the importance of other aspects of a good education, including the value of becoming knowledgeable about other world religions.
This report concludes that high schools should make basic Bible knowledge part of their curriculum, especially for college preparatory students. Doing so requires developing a variety of educational materials and curricula that simultaneously:
(a) acknowledge the Bible’s status as sacred scripture to millions of Americans,
(b) are fair to students of all faith traditions, and
(c) are of high academic quality.Doing so will be an important part of meeting the next generation’s educational needs in an increasingly diverse population.
The King James version of the Bible has been of major impact in the development of the English language. In terms of the English language, it ranks up there with Shakespeare and the Oxford English Dictionary. It is a rich, literary source which still has cultural meaning today. Many people are probably not even aware of how many common phrases used daily originate from the Bible. If a parent values education, then surely a stance such is akin to their child being led like a ‘lamb to the slaughter‘.(Or another reference) It is my hope that the ‘powers that be‘ will encourage Biblical Literacy in our school thus enabling future generations to go from ‘strength to strength‘.
I don’t usually do tags but one of my dearest friends has recently started a blog (after much pestering from me) and she tagged me. So, as not to appear anti-blogging-social I will go along with this tag. Here it is:
Pass this on to 5 blogging friends. Open the closest book to you, not your favourite or most intellectual book, but the book closest to you at the moment, to page 56. Write the 5th sentence, as well as two to five sentences following that.
I have two books closest to me. One is “Why It’s Hard to Love Jesus” by Joseph Stowell, which I’m re-reading and the other is “Passionate Housewives Desperate for God” by Chancey & MacDonald (available through Credo Trust) I’ll use Passionate Housewives as it was on top of the other one.
from page 56:
Be assured that neither your efforts nor your tears (Psalm 56:8) have gone unnoticed by our wise, good and powerful God; and that He has ordained your steps (Psalm 16:7).
Go to Him; plead for His strength and mercy. He will give you the rest needed to accomplish His will; as He promises:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11: 28-30
There, that wasn’t so hard, was it? But who shall I tag? Most of my blogging friends have been tagged with this one so I’ll try something different – I TAG EVERYONE!!!! If you read my blog, you are tagged! Just tag yourself, post your entry and leave me a comment so I can go read your post. 🙂
Its the time of year when many people are busy planning for next year’s homeschooling curriculum and schedule. Many mums are in full swing; pens, notebooks, catalogs, book lists and the like. It can be such fun!
This year, many parents will receive a government bonus (the ‘Rudd money’ – with the express purpose of trying to prevent an economic recession) in early December. The point of my post isn’t to rave about whether or not homeschoolers should take it or not. Rather, I’d like to share a few things written, as only I can, from my own perspective as a former small business owner who aimed to serve the Australian homeschooling community. I’d also like to encourage all Australian to ‘buy Australian’ as much as possible. What good will it do our nation to spend up big on foreign imports – so the money goes back out of our land. How does that really prevent a recession?
Anyway, on to my story. I used to own a small home-based book/curriculum business, called HomeGrownKids. (Who woulda thunk it?) I used to supply books, curriculum and resources that I had used – that I knew a fair bit about…that I could easily talk about with other homeschoolers. I could suggest a variety of resources in case one or the other wasn’t suitable. During this early time, the Australian dollar was at the absolute lowest point in years. The Internet wasn’t all that popular or widespread back then although it was growing. I remember what it was like to meet with another homeschooler and covet some of their homeschool encouragement type books, for they weren’t easy to obtain and were far and few between. No online shopping carts back then! Most homeschoolers were content to order a book and then wait for 3 months while it was shipped over on the boat. Yes, it took a long time but there weren’t too many other viable options. Plus, we learned patience…and learned about interacting with our children rather than just relying upon curriculum. But then, online shopping became easier. More and more businesses started accepting online credit card payments. Whoohoo! It wasn’t long before some customers wanted a resource in a hurry. So I’d order in via air mail. This would cut any profit, for the cost of airmail was crippling…but it was a service that I was providing to my friends- other Aussie homeschoolers.
I would spend hours researching curricula and books…hours on the phone talking to other homeschool mums, offering encouragement, support or ideas. HGK was nowhere near the point of making any money. In fact, it was draining our own pocket! However, we thought that if we could stick with it long enough it would become a valuable service to Aussie homeschoolers.
However, it wasn’t long before I started to notice a disturbing trend. Well, I thought it was disturbing – not sure if everyone agreed with me. I started receiving a few phone calls where people would talk to me about curricula, asking for my opinion. Sometimes this phone call might take me away from the family dinner table or afternoon lessons. These calls rarely took a brief 15 minutes – more like hours! After talking and sharing and then giving the price of the requested books, some people thanked me and hung up. They later went online and ordered those very books from book suppliers in the US!!! Yes, it was a little cheaper ( not that much really) but I still thought it was quite rude. I had done the legwork, the research, the homework. I had talked with the people about the best curriculum to suit their needs and they bought it for a few dollars cheaper!
After awhile I just couldn’t compete. Not that I was trying to per se, but I was give, give, giving of time for people to source a few dollars cheaper elsewhere out of Australia. Some did shop within Australia. They found that A & R or Dymocks were cheaper by a couple of dollars. Sure! But could the bookseller talk about that book from their own experience? Had they used it with several children? I don’t think so. To make HGK prices the same as Dymocks meant that the books cost our family money!! No one can operate like that. Who can compete with Amazon, Book Depository, CBD and all the other giants, especially when our dollar was so low? Unlike the super-stores, HGK couldn’t receive cheaper items because of large orders. We had to pay shipping fees from the US…and then postage fees to the customer. Nowadays there is even GST to add to the mix! Over the Christmas break, my husband and I made the hard but necessary decision to close HomeGrownKids down. The reasons listed above are certainly not the only reasons but they were a contributing factor.
So not only do I love Aussie made products…I love to support local businesses – even if it costs a few dollars more. When I email or call Adnil Press, Chariot Press, Homeschool Heaven, DownUnder Literature, Always Learning Books, Credo Trust or Homeschool Favourites we have a good natter on the phone…we share many things in common…but I know that they aim to scratch my back, so I want to do the same for them. with all the time, effort and money that goes into a local homeschool business (effectively supporting *me*) then surely a few dollars extra won’t break the bank. Can you buy cheaper overseas? Yes! But will you, knowing how much it costs our local Aussie homeschool businesses? (Visit here for more info on Aussie homeschool suppliers)
There are some products I simply can’t source locally, so I look to the Book Depository or other Christian homeschool suppliers- usually only once I’ve exhausted all the locals. Sometimes, I’ll purchase from these larger international stores if it means a large saving…but I always ask myself, “how much is their time/advice/expertise/knowledge worth?”
How about it? Do you think it’s worth buying from a local supplier? Is it worth supporting another homeschool family business- one that exists to serve you? Or will you still purchase from overseas?
I love blogs! I like blogging! I also love online forums and communities. I believe they have different purposes. I’ve often said that some people need to stop ranting on forums and get themselves a blog! Forums are for sharing ideas, resources, etc whereas I see blogs (within the home-school community) for personal sharing, ranting and raving and expressing one’s own thoughts, being as biased or straight forward as one likes. Your blog is your personal soap-box. Forums are a bit different and much more netiquette is needed.
B U T …
I believe that the blogging explosion has stolen something from community forums.
Think about your early days of homeschooling. Did you belong to an online forum, email group or online community? Did you receive help and support? After having received help and support are you now one who gives support? Have you noticed that as the blogosphere has grown the online community forums have diminished? How do you feel about this? How do you think newbies feel about this? ( I don’t have the answers – feel free to comment)
I love having my online home, where I can decorate as I like, rant and rave…write or not write! But, I will never give up forums…I love the combined effort that online communities offer. I started blogging as I found I was writing the same answers over and over again – it seemed more time efficient to simply put it in one place, but I know that many people prefer a more personal response – they prefer forums. So, I will continue to be a part of online communities – it’s my way of trying to serve others.
Blogging can be addictive.(It has it’s own dangers= the lure of popularity, to come up with ‘new’ information or thoughts, etc) To be a self publisher and see one’s own words in print – wow! Once one starts to post regularly the comments start rolling in…one can gain in popularity, get ranked in the blogging social bookmarking sites. It all looks rather professional really. However, there are dangers that every Christian needs to be aware of. Guard your heart.
Online communities offer something that the blogosphere doesn’t or can’t by its very nature. An online community can offer support, encouragement, information, resources, laughter, fellowship in the one place – from more than one member! Which means one can go on holiday and feel at peace- instead of worrying about the readers wondering when the next blog post will be written.
We’re created to be part of a community…and the blogosphere provides an online community – to an extent. But community forums are where newbies go for help first…
So I ask, why do you blog? Are you blogging for you or with the heart motive of serving other’s. Should the answer to this question change your actions at all?
Bravo Grandma!!!!! Well, she’s not my Grandma but she’s obviously a lady who has an opinion, cares deeply about morals and decided to try to be part of the solution!
A PERTH grandmother was so appalled by “s*xed-up” dolls in toy shops, she created and launched her own wholesome range.
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I will keep an eye out for these dolls.
“I wanted dolls that depicted real Australian children, not something that was unattainable, such as Barbies with their ridiculous figures,” she said.
“We need good wholesome play and good role models that are happy and content in themselves – and that’s what the Australian Girl storylines on the website are all about – to help girls be happy with their own Australian uniqueness and not always thinking of the external.
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This post was originally a response to a question posted on a forum
On a delightful forum that I visit, another homeschool mum asked about her child’s pastime and questioned if it is worthwhile…should she encourage it, institute rules for it or discourage it. Having used a delight directed, relaxed, identity-directed, Spirit led, Bible-First approach for a few years I wrote in with my 2c worth, which I’ll copy and paste below.
I wonder if many relaxed or delight directed home schoolers face this…it strikes at the nature of homeschooling, doesn’t it? This is an issue that we have faced with at least 2 of our children so far…especially the two children who are the most intense in their personality. But this can be a good thing – as they mature, they can tend to approach all their work and efforts with passion, working hard at it, focusing on it and giving their best.
Everybody is a genius. But, if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing that it is stupid. -Albert Einstein
Rather than try to look at the product of those activities, be it comic books, softball, computers, games or drawing…I’ve tried to focus on The Process. Now I still want it to be enjoyable for them. I don’t want to make it a school lesson and suck all the joy from it but as a Christian who also sees the value of natural learning I want them to live by Christian principles as well.
So I allow them to take after me!!! Eek, now that’s a scary thought! (Truly, the heart and soul of the learning at home lifestyle) I love web design and could easily spend 14 hours a day on my computer, building and designing as well as writing. I enjoy doing many things, which may or may not become productive one day. In fact, I’m quite sure it is productive but that still doesn’t mean that there are no guidelines. There are still chores, errands and duties that I must tend to first.
I also see the academic/spiritual/mental and /or physical nature in the activities I pursue. This helps me to focus on the process, not just the product.
I actually find it easier to parent the child who does have these interests – there is something to ‘work with’. For I can help this child to learn the value of self discipline, diligence, patience, sowing/reaping, etc within and throughout their journey with their ‘obsession’. An ‘obsession’ or interest gives me opportunity to teach many worthwhile life skills. Yahoo!
Teach them of the pitfalls of their interest. If the child is a boy, teach him of your concerns, so he may be educated about it. Teach him that a possible pitfall is that it can be an expensive hobby, addictive, take time away from family (and in the future his wife), contain anti Christian thought and other political/socio propaganda. As you go through each day, walking, sitting, reading, driving, talk to him about it .I tell my children everything – every thought that pops into my head! (Poor kids) I tell them of the possible pitfalls but also of the positives that they can learn throughout it all.
Who knows what skills can be learned throughout this interest? Talk to your husband about it. Who knows where it will lead? Even if it doesn’t lead anywhere, what valuable skills can be learned throughout it? Giving our children the freedom to pursue their interests is one of the greatest gifts we can give them.
You could try and fit it into lessons- so he can earn credits for it. I have made up a few notebooks for our interests (softball and coffee). These allow the parent to ‘see’ productivity and maybe one day go toward a credit as it can go into their portfolio. How fantastic would this be for an employer- if a prospective employee turned in a huge notebook of his work, relating to his interest even in a vague way? It shows a lot about the person’s character.
My notebooks go into everything from the history, rules, types, skills, political, social, geographical information as well as reading biographies or doing biographical sketches of notable people with that field. I’d just say not to focus too heavily on this part. If you have a funday or a light day in your homeschool, you could ask him to do some work on this project on that day – once a week. Who knows where it will lead?
Lastly, I have taught my children about true education. if I think they are spending too much time on something I may ask them what they are learning or working on. Tehee, this usually gets them thinking- if they can’t think of anything useful, educational or productive then I suggest that maybe they need to devote the morning to something more worthwhile. This is important to me because I don’t just want to teach my children academics at home – I want them to learn about education, so they can truly know what is education and what is ‘busy work’. This is part of a life skill – learning to discern the root thought of an attitude and make a decision whether or not it is worthy to participate in.
See also:
Oops! I had intended to pop back earlier with our exciting news but the days just seemed to skip ahead of me. Last week, we attended the local (State) Barista Championships where our 17yodd was competing in the Latte Art section.
She was up against two former Australian Champions and others who were veteran barista’s and competitors. She was the only female competing in that category and by far the youngest barista.
She placed 3rd! How absolutely exciting! 3rd in this state! We were so ridiculously excited and happy for her. Actually she finished equal 2nd but they went decided to count back and go into percentages (which is odd as they don’t do that for the general barista comp but who’s complaining?) and she ended up placing 3rd- one point behind the 2nd place-getter.
Well, hasn’t she just had a full-on week since? She has had various photo shoots (including a hair and make-up session) for the paper, and then centre where she works. She feels a little odd as they want to put her photo around various places in the mall- congratulations and a form of advertisement. She received a RB tamper worth over $100 so she is totally chuffed. She also won some prize money, a trophy and was presented with a sash. A tamp is a tool used in the making of espresso. She’s being interviewed for another paper and has also been contacted by Master Roasters (official name for those who roast beans) and CoffeeHouses. Whew, what a whirlwind week.
However, as parents, none of that has been as impressive as seeing our child work hard and apply themselves, focus on the process and not the outcome and then try something new that takes them out of their comfort zone. Miss17 was as nervous as anything for the week before the competition. She purchased all her own table setting and practiced on us for some time. However, she has never even been to a Barista Championship before let alone competed in one so didn’t have a clue what to do or expect. She has told me that she just kept her eyes and ears open to learn from those more experienced and that she kept learning right up and during her performance! She said she learnt from the barista’s who went before her and incorporated some new things into her routine. This is a sign of a lifestyle of learning- her [delight-directed education] homeschooling years have prepared her well. It wouldn’t have bothered us one bit had she not have placed, even if she had come last! What mattered to us was the whole process- the working, the attitude, the attempts, the learning, the failing, the trying again, the attitude, etc. Oh, did I mention attitude? 😉
Barista Championships
So the HUGE expensive espresso machine is now gone from our kitchen and I’m back to our small but trusty Sunbeam. But it’s so much easier to keep clean. The other $5000 (yes, five thousand dollars worth of coffee machine has been in our kitchen for the last month!) was so large it overtook the whole kitchen! It was also messier. But really, who’s complaining?
I wonder what’s next?
I once heard a [homeschool mother] speaker demonstrate this story. It stuck with me and has helped me plan my days, terms and years. I also recalled reading in a book by Stephen Covey. The was called First Things First. I post it here in the hope that it will help others.
One day an expert in time management was speaking to a group of business students and to drive home a point, used an illustration those students will never forget. As he stood in front of the group of high powered over-achievers, he said, “Okay, time for a quiz.”
Then he pulled out a one gallon, wide-mouthed Mason jar and set on the table in front of him. He then produced about a dozen fist sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, “Is the jar full?” Everyone in the class said, “Yes.”
Then he said, “Really?” He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. He dumped some gravel in, and shook the jar, causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the space between the big rocks. Then he asked the group once more, “Is the jar full?” By this time the class was on to him. “Probably not,” one of them answered.
“Good!” he replied.
He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar, and it went into all the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, “Is the jar full?” “No!” the class shouted.
Once again he said, “Good!”
Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked at the class and asked, “What is the point of this illustration?”
One eager student raised his hand and said, “The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard, you can always fit some more things in!” “No,” the speaker replied, “That’s not the point.”
The truth this illustration teaches us is: If you don’t put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them in at all.
What are the ‘big rocks’ in your life? Your children….Your loved ones…Your education… Your dreams…A worthy cause…..Teaching or mentoring others…. Doing things that you love…Time for yourself…. Your health….Your significant other.”
“Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first, or you’ll never get them in at all. If you sweat the little stuff (the gravel, the sand) then you’ll fill your life with little things to worry about that don’t really matter, and you’ll never have the real quality time you need to spend on the big, important stuff (the big rocks).
So, tonight or in the morning, when you are reflecting on this short story, ask yourself this question: What are the ‘big rocks’ in my life? Then, put those in your jar first.
Oh! An Internet, friend in the US has found the perfect curriculum for Grade 1. If you have little children, you won’t want to miss this post of hers. So run- okay well, quickly click this link to read The Mother Lode’s great find.
Awhile ago I mentioned that ‘Master J’ had joined Air Force cadets. what I hadn’t mentioned is how it all came about. I find it quite an interesting story…I’d love to hear of your *boy* stories if you’d like to share.
About one year ago, DH and I spoke together about trying to encourage ‘Master J’ to find an interest to pursue – something other than the computer! He was in no hurry to find any interests. Hmmm, we could see he needed a little incentive.
So we truthfully told him that if he could not find an activity to try we would find one for him. This didn’t really bother him, at first, until he realised what we were getting at. we didn’t put too many rules on the activity except I wanted something that was:
1) Physical. I believe it is important for boys (boys entering puberty and growing to be young men) to exercise, build strong muscles and bones, learn to adjust to their growing strength and become comfortable in their developing bodies. It also helps to burn off all that extra energy that comes with being a hormone laden boy.
2) I wanted something that required a little bit of daily practice- whether or not it be physical or mental but he needed to have something to do each day.
All the other wonderful things that I wanted him to learn can happen through many activities so I don’t even bother to list them but I would have been very happy if his chosen activity was not a sport. I think, particularly for boys, a sport can be a very good thing but it can also have some negatives, especially if not dealt with vigilantly. Sport can create an appetite that isn’t conducive to a happy family life later on…it can be very time consuming, a bottomless money pit and can even see a man being away from his wife for extended periods of time so while I thoroughly believe that sport, especially team sport, can be a good thing, it also has many points that need to be carefully weighed and measured.
We gave him 3 months in which to find an activity, and find out all the information needed to join or else we would sign him up to an activity of our choosing- one which he may not like but would be most convenient for us. There was a ballet studio just down the road and ballet would also fulfil my two requirements. (Convenience is not a factor for us usually. If a child desires to do something and pursues it diligently then we will do whatever is necessary to facilitate and support them but if they’re just being slackers then we give them likewise support yet try to be a living example in our own lives).
Well, we have never seen a child run so fast to the Internet and research, research, research! He spent a few hours looking for things to do!!! Anything…to avoid ballet.
However, as is quite typical with our family, we weren’t able to follow through with our plans as within 2 days we had been told that we were moving interstate again! Okay, so that whole plan went down the drain. ‘Master J’ smirked in delight, thinking he had escaped and could quietly sneak back to his favourite position on the computer.
After moving and staying in apartments for a few months, we finally learned what area we’d be staying in and guess what…yup, there was a ballet school not too far away! So, the deal was back on. Postponed a little but back on, nevertheless! Suffice to say that ‘Master J’ quickly found an activity.
He has joined the Air Force Cadets. I think he takes after his father as he seems to have the attitude and makings of an excellent soldier. He is very diligent in all matters relating to cadets. It has even motivated him to be more diligent with his lessons!! Hey, that’s gotta be a good thing eh?
Through cadets I have been able to teach him how to iron his uniforms, which he completely does all by himself now- from washing, drying and ironing, even mending, which his father had to do teach him. He polishes his boots weekly and he practises his drill daily. He even drills ‘Master C’ , who just soaks it all up.
Oh, did I mention table manners and general manners? He’s always been fairly good with manners but he has been a stickler for excellent manners lately- he’s even corrected me at the meal table! Apparently I was passing the salt around the table the wrong way. 😉 (One should pass always to the right, y’know?)
He has done his recruit course and had his first bivouac ( weekend out bush) and loved it! However more than him having fun, I have seen him grow and develop as a male. It’s great! He’s growing in responsibility, manners, work ethic, and all those other character traits that we want to see in our children. He is learning the value of team work – that the world is bigger than him and that the way to achieve is to give of oneself, etc. He’s learning the all important lesson of consequences…and of reaping and sowing.
Ah, I am one happy mama. How about you? Have you found it beneficial or necessary to get boys involved in something phyiscal? What did you do? I’d love to hear of your positive and/or negative stories of life with your boys.
With my dh away I was able to wake up slowly and at a time when I wanted to- rather than jumping out of bed at 6am to prepare breakfast. I hopped up, made a cuppa and snuggled back in bed with a book. (I miss my hubby though) Then I showered and went around and opened up all the blinds, which in turn slowly woke the children up.
Today is not a normal day. Actually, as the children have gotten older we never have normal days. Each day is different, unusual and brings a new set of delights, eventful happenings, trials and tribulations.
Over breakfast (‘Miss A’ had an omelette while the boys had cereal), I read from the Scriptures and we talked about the Holy Spirit- how to hear Him in our lives and what role He plays. While sharing over pancakes we also started talking about the effects of guilt and how far we can go down the slippery slope- how important it is to keep listening to the Holy Spirit, how we need to shush more so we might hear. We then start talking about the requirements of a deacon and elder and how they must be of sound mind, self controlled, etc, We looked at various passages in 1Timothy. It was a productive yet informal time of getting round God’s word. ‘Miss R’ made pancakes for her breakfast so everyone sat down to Second Breakfast. ‘Miss R’ has a scheduled day off school today but we have an appointment at the school later on in the afternoon.
‘Miss A’ gets into her exercise plan, the boys start their bookwork and I sit down over a cappacino with ‘Miss R’ year old and we share in a deep and meaningful conversation about things in her life. We don’t get as much opportunity to do this anymore so I seize the moment whenever it presents itself.
We leave home at 12.45pm. ‘Miss A’ goes to work and I take ‘Miss R’ to the school as we have a Subject Planning meeting, in preparation for her Yr 11 studies next year. What was scheduled to be a 15min meeting took over an hour!! I don’t know why… ‘Miss R’ is then dropped at a friend’s house for the afternoon and evening.
They boys have finished their bookwork and ‘Master J’ is getting ready, ironing his uniform for Cadets tonight. Tuesday night is pretty hectic at our place, even more so when DH is away. Tuesday’s are not my favourite day but… that’s life.
I potter around the house, fixing potatoes and boiled eggs for tea, calling my dad and generally just ‘being at home and with the children’. I ring ‘Miss R’ quickly just to check in and say hi- and respond to her text messages. We (boys and I) eat a quick tea and head out the door at 5.30pm for Cadets. ‘Miss A’ leaves work and goes to softball training.
‘Master C’ and I head home, alone. (I enjoy the solitude but I miss my hubby) It’s so quiet. He has some quiet time on the computer (first for the day) while I do dishes and clean up then sit down to watch some tv. Not for long though!!!!!
We leave home at 9pm to pick ‘Miss A’ up from training. I printed out directions from whereis.com despite the fact that I vow and declare that I will never again trust them. Argh…I promise myself yet AGAIN that I will never trust their directions as we got lost, in the dark, again! I blamed ‘Master C’ ‘s navagting skills but it turned out that it wasn’t his fault at all. There was a No Through Road which was not marked on the directions!
Finally, we pick ‘Miss A’ up and by this time, the orange fuel light is glaring its horrid, hungry stare at me, threatening to go on a hunger strike. Argh! Fuel up! We continue on and pick ‘Master J’ up from Cadets and he talks us all silly about his night. lol. Actually he has met another Christian homeschooler, so that’s a bit of a bonus! Of course, a late night outing just isn’t complete with a quick drive-thru Macca’s to get a .50c cone eh!!! Then, we swing by ‘Miss R’ ‘s friends house and pick ‘Miss R’ up. Eventually, at 10.40pm we arrive home, tired, hungry and a little cold. (I can’t wait till hubby comes home)
Everyone fixes a snack for themselves and then s l o w l y starts to turn in for the night. ‘Miss A’ wants to talk and tell me about her day. She’s an early riser though and starts work at 8am tomorrow so she heads off to bed. ‘Miss R’ wants to talk again so makes me a cuppa and natters to me. ‘Master J’ is still running around, hyper from the evening activities-despite my pleadings and warnings for him to go to bed! 11pm is lights out and DH calls to say goodnight. We hang up at 11.45pm and then I mentally review the day and the children’s needs- I make a mental note to make sure we do some reading aloud tomorrow, but I am glad that we had such great discussions today. I thank the Lord for all His blessings and His abundance and I spend a few minutes in prayer for family before…zzzzzz zzzzzz…
Did I mention I’ll be extremely glad to see John???
The boys got stuck in and did most of their book work this morning. ‘Miss A’ made me pancakes with fresh strawberries and cream with fresh cappuccino for breakfast and then she went to work. I pottered around a bit and spoke to DH, who has been away for a week, on the phone.
It’s such a beautiful day today (finally) so we went outside to do some weeding. The boys were a great help as they also cleaned out the car. While weeding I had the opportunity to share with the boys about the nature of weeds- what a weed is and isn’t…how they grow and spread and how to effectively eradicate them. Weeding needs constant attention…one must always be on guard against weeds if one desires to have a clean garden. Some weeds can spread fast, underground and their roots go very deep. I explained that our lives can be like this if we’re not careful. We need to continually be on the lookout for the ‘weeds in our lives’ that can seemingly go unnoticed until one day they spring up and seem to overtake the garden and all the beautiful, productive plants growing in it.
Then we came inside and had some lunch. ‘Master C’ made himself an omelette and we talked about the seasons over our lunch. Oh we also read a chapter from Created for Work, a book for boys by Bob Schulz. We talked about trees and this led to getting a General Knowledge book out and flicking through it as we talked about how to tell the age of a tree. We learned that there is a large tree, called a Sequioa in North Carolina so we googled to have a look. Turns out that the General Sherman is the biggest giant sequoia, and also the biggest tree in the world. He is 83.8 m (274.9 feet) tall, his girth at breast height is 24,10 m (79 feet) (near the ground it is 31,3 m or 102,6 feet). The width of the crown is 33 m, and the first branch starts only at 40 m or 130 feet!
We cleaned up after lunch and went back outside to finish the gardening and tidying. we spoke more about weeds and how we need to completely remove the (bulb) root, else the weed will come back thicker and stronger than before. Hmmm, sin is like that. I really enjoy sharing with my children while using metaphors, analogies and object lessons. I thank God that He gives me opportunity to do so each day and I hope that I stay alert for these opportunities and that I don’t become complacent.
The boys then had some free time while I vacuumed the floors. Then I had to zip down the street for a short time so the boys finished their lessons. They had one subject left.
We had a fairly rowdy tea, which is quite common in our home. Everyone jumped in and helped with their chores and we settled down to the evening.
Only 4 more sleeps until Dad (DH) gets home!!!!! 🙂
A few days ago I posted about realising and accepting that unschooling is my default mode of parenting. This following post is in response to Katie’s question.
Hi Susan, I really enjoy reading your writings, and are pleased you are continuing to blog. This radical unschooling is something I’d really like to try. I had a 9+ year old boy who is verrry slow to pick up reading. I am trying to do a bit with him every day – he knows all his sounds – phonograms in isolation, but when put into words and sentences – that’s when we have trouble. Do you get your children reading then use an unschooling method, or do you wait until they are ready – which there is no guarantee of an age. Would appreciate your comments on this matter.
Hi Katie,
Thanks for being patient and not expecting my response immediately. That shows strength and graciousness. I am happy to share my experiences but please bear in mind that they are my experiences…I don’t expect that it suits everyone or that our way is the only definitive way to do things. So, with that I will offer my initial thoughts…
I taught my girls using a fairly rigorous phonics program and they learned to read at quite young ages. The have continued to read of fairly high quality and they still love books. Then came my boys. Different story. I tried to teach ‘Master J’ using phonics but he just didn’t get it. We’d try- he wouldn’t get it- I’d put it all on the back-burner for a few months and try again. He still didn’t get it. I thought this boy would never learn how to read, let alone enjoy reading. We weren’t unschoolers at that point- I was constantly striving to be a perfect homeschooler.
I slowly started to see that I had pushed the girls prematurely. Oh it wasn’t all a waste as we had a good time and strengthened our relationship but I wasted many hours of work and stress. It was all around this time that I started to see that my children were able to learn many thing without direct instruction from me…but I had to help by finding out what motivated them.
I actually stopped trying to teach ‘Master J’ to read when he was about 9 years old. Oh there was part of me that worried…but stressing over it and pushing him was only giving us a sense of frustration and agitation. I figured that if I couldn’t teach him to read in peace and harmony then maybe he’d be better off not learning to read just yet.
While perusing through the second hand shops one day I came across a whole set of books that I thought looked good for boys. Hey, if nothing else I could pass them on to someone else, eh. I came home and put them in my ‘give away’ box (actually I have a few of those boxes) and then I promptly forgot about them. I continued to provide a print-rich, literary environment for the boys but in a very gentle and natural way. We didn’t do reading lessons- I simply read aloud to them. I didn’t require them to read silently but they saw me read during our quiet time in the afternoon. They saw me read street signs and food labels and eventually ‘Master J’ started to see that reading for information and knowledge might be a handy thing!
One day, I saw him walk out of his room with one of those books. I asked him to be careful with it as I wanted to sell it or give it away. He looked a little taken aback at that so I went a little further. I nonchalantly commented that I didn’t think he’d be able to read those books…that they were a bit ‘above‘ his reading level. Well, they were the right words at the right time for, with all the heroics that a young boy can muster, he took that on! He went on to devour the whole series not twice, not three times but several times each book! He learned so much through those books, aside from learning to read. They are a great series that I thoroughly recommend. The author is Willard Price and he wrote ‘The Adventure Series‘.
During this time, I asked him if he wanted to keep the books for himself or if he’d like me to read one aloud. He nearly jumped out of his skin with excitement! I only read the one book aloud but he often shared little tid bits of information with me; information that blew me away and I often expressed my pride and admiration for him to see. This also spurred him on. While I read aloud, ‘Master C’ would grab a spare copy or cuddle next to me and he’d follow the words along as I read. (I believe that teaching reading is an art, not a science) Meanwhile ‘Master C’ was busy learning many road signs and reading labels on Weet-Bix packets and milk!
I liken reading and many other skills to toilet training! When ‘Miss A’ was little I felt pressure to have her toilet trained. So we worked on it. I tried everything from sitting her on the potty all day; waiting to catch her in the act and then offer praise. Everything from offering lollies, gentle encouragement all the way to not-so-gentle encouragement! It was so tiring and produced a lot of frustration (we won’t even mention the mess!). I eventually stopped trying and thought I’d wait until I saw signs of her being ready. (In hindsight, it was rather a DUH! moment) Well, what do you know…a few months later ‘Miss A’ (who was barely 2 at the time) just decided that she wanted to use the toilet like adults do!!! It wasn’t hard to *teach her* at all- it was all quite natural and stress-less. I just had to watch for signs of readiness, and then seize the moment when I saw them. Hmmm, I think there’s a lesson here that applies to much in parenting. It’s about observing the child and waiting for signs of readiness – waiting till they are developmentally ready. Reading and writing is also a developmental process.
Over all the years, I have explained to the boys that there are different types of reading: reading for information, skim reading, reading for pleasure, etc. I guess if I had to summarise I would say that the following list contains the things we did:
‘Master J’ loves to read and he reads very well. He reads a wide variety of books. He reads for pleasure and for information. After quite some time of learning to read (gaining fluency) and practising in a non threatening environment, he is a proficient reader with good comprehension and output (Understanding and narrations). One would never know that he didn’t read until he was 11 years old!
‘Master C’ can read and enjoys it but not as much as his older brother…yet. He can read well for information but he reads at a slightly lower level for pleasure. But that’s fine. He is developing fluency, and a love of words. He absolutely loved reading his developmentally appropriate Day by Day Kids Bible. That was the book that helped spark a sense of achievement and accomplishment in him. He loves listening to books being read aloud and is having fun with rhymes and tongue-twisters at the moment.
So, I have used both ways you asked about: teaching my girls to read via phonics and then taking more of a natural learning approach compared to starting with a natural learning approach and teaching the boys to read via real life.
We should put many learning opportunities before our children; put rich and noble ideas before them, encourage them to love reading and model that which we want them to emulate, then sit back and delight in the learning that will happen. This doesn’t guarantee that a child will read or love reading, but neither does drilling in phonics, dumbing down literature to nothing more than dull basal readers which contain no stimulating and capturing ideas.
Reading and the teaching of the skill is an art which needs our gentle and loving patience, guidance and nurturing. Teaching reading can build a relationship or cause frustration and embarrassment-tearing apart the relationship. What do I desire more? I don’t believe there is One Right Way to teach reading (much like parenting) although many disagree. Maybe Leonie would offer her thoughts…I’ll pop over to her blog and ask her if she’d be so kind as to share.
I don’t know if any of that has been helpful to you. Feel free to read, take any meat and spit out the bones.
All the best,
Harper Collins has generously made excerpts of many books available for viewing. At the site you can search the entire book for keywords and phrases and you can even go straight to each chapter!
HarperCollins has made the excerpts of this and over 500 other recently released books available here. Some of these titles might be of particular interest to homeschool families. With titles such as The Daring Book for Girls, The Dangerous Book for Boys, andAmelia Bedelia, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Katherine Paterson, and much more! How about The Writing Road to Reading ?
If you like the books you find, you can then buy the complete hardbound copy, (preferably from local suppliers) or you can purchase a downloadable E-book version.
Learn more here ! See the list of Australian suppliers here.
UNSCHOOLER at HEART
Boy I’ve changed a lot over the years. I’ve become truly comfortable in my own skin- education wise. Oh I’ve always thought I was fairly comfortable but inside I’ve always been striving: pushing myself to do more, to be more.
Take time to stop and smell the roses.
I’ve often thought that I need to take the time to stop smelling the roses and actually do something. And I have tried to. But after awhile it slows down and eventually comes to a grinding halt. We drift back to our lifestyle of learning…one that looks almost the opposite of a school based system.
As homeschoolers, we all agree (most likely) that there is no separation between learning and real life, right? However, that means different things to different people. To me, any activity can be learning. Yes, reading comics can even be educational, if one has an attitude to learn. Yet, even a textbook or good living book may not be ‘educational’ if one doesn’t have an attitude or hunger to learn.
I don’t really understand how some people think that unschooling is easy. I think unschooling is an attitude- a belief. I also don’t understand how some people say that can unschool for a short period of time but they return to a more systematic (school-at-home) approach as they “felt lazy“. Wow! I’ve always felt the opposite. Somehow, some people see unschooling as an easy way out- the slacker’s way. Wow!!!! I don’t see that at all. I think this could be the case if one doesn’t truly understand unschooling and still has fears or dreams or ideals. Unschooling isn’t something you ‘do’ for awhile to see how it works. That’s just a band-aid solution of an issue- it doesn’t address the root. I’ve always felt that I needed to do less, as a teacher, when we use curriculum or are more structured in implementing our lesson plans!! True!! When I need a break I pull out the workbooks or system and attack them in our own relaxed homeschooling way. I’ve had to do more as an unschooler. I’ve also had to learn to rely on God more as an unschooler. I’ve tended to learn more about my children as an unschooler. I’ve learned more about myself when I’ve accepted that I am, in fact, a radical unschooler– to quote Sandra Dodd.
Sandra Dodd, on her website, says this
Some want to give their kids uninterrupted learning opportunities and time to pursue their interests during “school hours” so that on a school day they’re free to do what they want as long as it seems somewhat justifiably schoolish. And they might accept that Lego or sandbox play is schoolish because there are math and engineering and physics and nature elements, and they want to document some of that. But they might not want the kids to just sit and look out the window, or to read magazines about movie stars, or to play a video game during that same time.
If you read that and thought, “Yeah, but looking out the window, playing a video game or reading ANY magazine is still learning,” then you’re probably a radical unschooler.
I have continued to grow, develop, change, learn, evolve as a woman, a parent, a person, a homeschooler. I’ve realised (and still trying to accept and embrace) that I’m actually a radical unschooler at heart who has some ideals or struggles that propel me toward being an eclectic, relaxed homeschooler. Okay, so I’m not as ‘radical’ as some mentioned on Dodd’s website because my core Christian beliefs come into play and affect my thinking and actions. However, with that in mind, understanding the true nature of unschooling compels me to admit that yes, I’m an unschooler. Tehee, most people I meet are more conservative learners who *try* to or dabble in unschooling. I feel like I’m an unschooler at heart who tries or dabbles in being eclectic and a relaxed homeschooler.
Hmmm, realisation, acceptance…now I need to fully embrace who I am and totally stop striving to be or do ‘more’. This shouldn’t be hard. We, as a family and as individuals seem to learn more when we just live, instead of trying to learn…but it’s my insecurities, my fears, my letting go, my lack of faith in both God and in trusting the children’s curiosity that stop me from fully embracing myself as a radical Christian unschooler.
Oh, in case you’ve wondered what brought me out of my hidey-hole to post, I was prompted by Leonie’s post.
*ETA: Sandra Dodd’s site is not Christian and this will be reflected in the articles. Just because I link to it doesn’t mean I agree with everything.
Our Devotional Journal that we used with the girls. I designed this as a simple way that the girls could do their own Bible reading and were prompted to follow the steps in our Kerugma Bible study approach, using the 4 step process with the anagram of IDEA. (Introduce, Digging Deeper, Examine & elaborate, Application to my life)
I show the children how I use this approach in my own day and how it need not take hours each time. It can take 15 min or one and half hours. We need not study one new passage each day…a passage may spread over two days or more! The focus needs to be on process, not outcome. We need to be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit and not be directed by the clock, or the day.
Here is what the various fields mean:
Date: Helpful to record the date
Passage: Record the passage being studied
Key Verse: to be filled in at the end of the study
Pray: asking God to reveal His truths
Introduce
Read the passage– out loud or silently
Reread the passage, possibly in another translation
Digging Deeper
Dictionary words: Use the vocabulary sheets for words not known
Other resources used: Record other books used for reference. eg: Journey Through the Bible, etc.
5W’s and H: Understand as many of these that apply.
Expand and Elaborate
Paraphrase ..write the passage out in your own words or narrate the passage orally
Application
How does this apply to my life?
Is there a promise to believe?
A truth to be believed?
A duty/an action to perform?
Is there a command to obey?
A prayer to echo?
Is there a positive example in this passage that I can follow?
Is there an action in this passage that I need to avoid?
Is there an attitude in this passage that I need to have?
Is there something I need to be thankful for?
Pray: asking God for help to apply truths learned … To give thanks.
Related pages:
Yay, I have finally uploaded the first 5 studies, in pdf format, of our Kerugma Family Bible study. Admittedly we completed these lessons over a year ago but nevertheless, as promised, they are now uploaded.
To use the lessons, simply download them at the Download Page…along with the Activity Sheets…the Obvservation Sheet and the IDEA Bookmarks. Don’t forget to read the preamble about how the format of our lessons and all other related bits n pieces.
The first lesson is setting up our Bible Notebook and then there are four lessons after that. Feel free to use the ideas with your family. All I ask is that if you do, please leave some feedback by leaving a comment here or on my site.
Leonie posted a day in the life of her unschooled teen. I enjoyed reading it so thought I’d ask ‘Eldest Daughter’s’ permission to write her day. Some days are similar to this and other days are completely different to this. Now she is working again, (she had to leave her other job to relocate to SA) our rhythm is changing again. It’s been fantastic to have her home with me full time and we did make the most of it knowing that she’d go back to work soon.
She awoke at 7am and did some stretching and then when straight into her morning workout. Today was resistance training using free weights. Then she made herself an omelette for breakfast. She did a quick check of her online forums and email. And yes, she can actually do a brief check, unlike me! Then, she went off to clean her room and get ready for work. She then came out and did some research reading on the subject of coffee and beans and then wrote on her blog about it. This of course, led to her experimenting with our machine to get the ‘perfect crema’ from the espresso. While she was there she made the rest of us cappuccino’s and hot chocolate for the boys while we sat and talked about…coffee! We were talking about making our own blends and what particular roasts are good to blend.
Then it was time to go to work. She starts at 12pm but we needed to zip over to the coffee shop and buy some freshly roasted beans…I dropped her off at work a few minutes early so we had 15 minutes to sit for and talk. This was a short chat but we girls can get straight to the heart of the matter, discussing emotionally deep and personal issues. I love these chats and she loves to hear my thoughts on things and she mostly wants to hear what the Bible has to say on the many things that go through her mind. Today she has a 4 hour shift so she’ll finish at 4pm. While on the way back home I got a call from the school. ‘Younger daughter’ isn’t well and I stop off at the school to pick the poor poppit up and bring her home.
Meanwhile, the boys had tended to their morning chores and did some reading and while I was zipping ‘Eldest Daughter’ to work they found the family tent and set it up. This is a large tent and it took them awhile but they want to ‘camp out’ tonight. 🙂 So Younger Daughter and I arrived home – we all regroup and then have lunch. (1pm)
(4.30pm) John (dh) picked ‘Eldest Daughter’up while on his way home from work and they arrive home by 5pm, by which time I have the cappuccino machine ready to pour all the coffee’s and we sit together and discuss everyone’s day. ‘Eldest Daughter’ does another quick check of her email & Internet (and is totally excited as she receives an email from a good friend who wants to come and stay for a few days- a friend from Brisbane. She responds excitedly) Then she helps with setting the table and meal preparation, all the while involved in family discussion. Our tea times are always loud and rowdy with most of us giving our opinion on anything and everything. I was fairly organised so there wasn’t an awful mess to clean up after tea. All the children contribute toward cleaning up. This is great but it’s awfully noisy!
After tea, ‘Eldest Daughter’ popped on the treadmill and did a 30min cardio workout. She listened to some praise music while running and then comes out to tell me some thoughts she’s been having about a scripture. Then she sat with me and we watched some TV while surfing the ‘net on her laptop. She’s heavily researching and learning about coffee and barista work as this is an area she wants to go further in. She is tinkering with the idea of one day opening up her own coffee shop. She talks to me incessantly about her dreams, ideas and passions. We laugh together at the sometimes corniness of it all…but it’s what we do. It’s what makes us have such a close relationship. We live together, laugh together, dream together and sometimes, cry together.
She headed off to bed with a good book (she’s on book 5 in the Gods and Kings series). Problem is; she often stays awake until the early hours reading these good books! But these books have been such a source of inspiration and knowledge…we speak about it frequently and share our learning from these books.
‘Eldest Daughter’ is mostly self managed but she likes me to be involved. I don’t mind because I know that she is an independent learner and capable person but she simply *likes* to have me around. Today she didn’t do any fitness reading and writing but on another day she will. She also didn’t do any of the Business Maths that she has on the go but she will at another time. Another day she will do Bible study and/or cook a family meal or go and do the shopping or help me with the housework or do some work with the boys. Each day is different but is packed with learning activities. Her days simply don’t look like a structured schooly system…but I know she is learning and she knows it too. It works well for her and for us as a family. The day doesn’t sound that interesting or exciting and truth is, it probably isn’t. It’s the relationships within the day that make it all worthwhile…the manner in which she lives her day- full of purpose, knowing that she is operating in and developing her passions and God given talents, while strengthening her weaknesses. I’ve found that over the course of the semester or the year she delves into most, if not all, subject areas. She has grown as a person, as a daughter of the King. And in the end, we’re all thankful for the ability and opportunity to be home-based-learners.
What about you? Care to share a day in the life of your teen? (With their permission, of course)
‘Eldest Daughter’ is 17
‘Younger daughter’ is 15 and a half
Boys are 13 and 10
Yes, I truly have been Missing In Action. In other words, I’ve been living a full, rich life and had plenty to write about but little time to actually write!
My Dad came to visit me and stayed with us for a few weeks. I haven’t seen him for nearly two years and I missed him terribly. It was so wonderful to connect (IRL) with him again. He drove back to Broken Hill and then he popped in for breakfast one morning!!!! What a fantastic surprise. He was helping a friend move house and had an overnight stop over in Adelaide so he popped in for pancakes with lemon and sugar for breakfast (Courtesy of ‘Miss A’ , who makes the fluffiest, yummiest pancakes). I have really missed these sort of informal drop-ins by family while we’ve been interstate.
John took me out for an evening a few weeks ago. We went to see the Paul Potts live in concert. I have been a fan of Paul Potts since I first saw on youtube. The concert was even better than the CD so if you get a chance to see him live, it’s a better experience. The man may not be a Christian but I see a humility and attitude of gratitude in him and his wife.
‘Miss R’ has settled well into school. She did a week of work experience at a hair dressing salon, which she enjoyed very much. Other young girls went to fashionable, funky salon’s but as we had just moved ‘Miss R’ couldn’t be choosy and had to take what she could get. Well it all turned out for the best as a dear lady took her in and as they were short of workers ‘Miss R’ had lots or opportunity to experience things that the other kids her age didn’t.
‘Miss A’ was applying for jobs all over the place. She got herself at job at a cafe a few miles away. She had a two week trial period as a barista and while she would have stayed there, it wasn’t what she really wanted. She just kept putting it before the Lord. Well, on the very last day of her trial period, a new coffee shop opened up at the village mall only 3kms away from us!!!! She applied and they employed her- all within a matter of hours! She is now employed as a barista in a speciality coffee shop (No, not GJ’s…much better ). The have given her a fair bit of room to be creative with her latte art and have paid for a further training course where she went to be trained by professionals and learned more about coffee cherries, beans and roasting. The employers are fully supportive of her softball, which is all the more amazing. Praise the Lord! I can see more and more how much our home-based-learning lifestyle has enabled ‘Miss A’ to pursue her passions and subsequently excel at them. She has learned so much about life through a home-based education.
The boys have been engaging in heaps of real-life learning. They’ve been pottering on with their ACE paces although John was bored with his SOSE paces and considering that he reads so much historical fiction, I have allowed him to read good, living books instead. We are currently learning about Ancient Rome so he is reading through If you’re not familiar with the book, you might like to check out this homeschool review. He is also reading many other books set around this period. We have started a read aloud which is my second time. I read it aloud to the girls so it must be good for me to do it again. The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare is a great read for boys or girls.
John has been tending to his lessons but he’d rather do anything physical than sit down to bookwork. He will mow lawns, clean the car, exercise, do dishes, you-name-it, he’ll-do-it rather than write with a pen! However, he’s continuing to practice composition and writing. Shhhh, don’t tell him that it is a part of formal lessons. He is teaching himself a whole new language as well – PERL. No, he hasn’t taken up knitting. It is a computer language. While I learn HTML, CSS and PHP, he likes to try his hand is designing games. So he borrowed a book from the library and has been intensely teaching himself this new language. He is practising all the necessary learning skills – reading, writing, taking notes, narrating, processing information, while practising keyboard skills. But the best thing is that this is all independent learning! He is totally self directed in this project.
Last week I had to attend a meeting in the city so we all piled into the car and dropped ‘Miss A’ at work and ‘Miss R’ at school and then the boys and I popped into a fresh roasted coffee bean store before heading off to spend a few hours at both the Adelaide Art Gallery and the Museum before heading to Koorong Christian bookstore. While there, I picked up our reserved copy of the DVD, Hadassah: One Night with the King. ‘Miss A’ and I read the book over a year ago and have been waiting impatiently for the DVD to arrive in Australia. If you’ve been studying the book of Esther, you’ll like this movie tie-in. If you’ve read the book by Tommy Tenny, you might be a little disappointed in the movie- I don’t know. Drop me a line and let me know what you thought of it.
Another book that I bought and have started is called The Story by Murray Watts. It looks very good. It’s similar to The Book of God: The Bible as a Novel by Walter Wangerin which the girls and I enjoyed but it seems a little shorter and a tad simpler in literary style.
We have been doing a basic study on the nature of God, which I will upload to my website, one day…after I’ve uploaded the outline of my talk at the SA HSing seminar.
John (DH) had to go to Sydney for an ill family member who was hospitalised so we had an emotionally draining fortnight throughout all that. The family member has recovered but is in need of further medical treatment so your prayers would be most appreciated. God knows the need.
I’ve been having dreadful migraine headaches, which is not a usual occurrence for me. maybe it’s too much coffee…maybe it’s other lifestyle issues, I don’t know. But they have been constant and quite debilitating. I will be adjusting my lifestyle next week and going off coffee and drinking more water, so I hope that will help. Meantime, I’ve been working steadily on my new project – yes, an interactive website for the Australian homeschool community. I’ll write more about that soon.
Life has been so busy, rich and full. Like an online friend, Marbel said,
Whenever I find myself blogging, or thinking of blogging, frequently, I find… the rest of my life diminishing. When I blog about reading, I’m not reading. When I blog about homeschooling, I’m not homeschooling.
Leonie posted a day in the life of her unschooled teen. I enjoyed reading it so thought I’d ask ‘Miss A’ ‘s permission to write her day. Some days are similar to this and other days are completely different to this. Now she is working again, (she had to leave her other job to relocate to SA) our rhythm is changing again. It’s been fantastic to have her home with me full time and we did make the most of it knowing that she’d go back to work soon.
She awoke at 7am and did some stretching and then when straight into her morning workout. Today was resistance training using free weights. Then she made herself an omelette for breakfast. She did a quick check of her online forums and email. And yes, she can actually do a brief check, unlike me! Then, she went off to clean her room and get ready for work. She then came out and did some research reading on the subject of coffee and beans and then wrote on her blog about it. This of course, led to her experimenting with our machine to get the ‘perfect crema’ from the espresso. While she was there she made the rest of us cappuccino’s and hot chocolate for the boys while we sat and talked about…coffee! We were talking about making our own blends and what particular roasts are good to blend.
Then it was time to go to work. She starts at 12pm but we needed to zip over to the coffee shop and buy some freshly roasted beans…I dropped her off at work a few minutes early so we had 15 minutes to sit for and talk. This was a short chat but we girls can get straight to the heart of the matter, discussing emotionally deep and personal issues. I love these chats and she loves to hear my thoughts on things and she mostly wants to hear what the Bible has to say on the many things that go through her mind. Today she has a 4 hour shift so she’ll finish at 4pm. While on the way back home I got a call from the school. ‘Miss R’ isn’t well and I stop off at the school to pick the poor poppit up and bring her home.
Meanwhile, the boys had tended to their morning chores and did some reading and while I was zipping ‘Miss A’ to work they found the family tent and set it up. This is a large tent and it took them awhile but they want to ‘camp out’ tonight. 🙂 So ‘Miss R’ I arrived home – we all regroup and then have lunch. (1pm)
(4.30pm) John (dh) picked ‘Miss A’ up while on his way home from work and they arrive home by 5pm, by which time I have the cappuccino machine ready to pour all the coffee’s and we sit together and discuss everyone’s day.’Miss A’ does another quick check of her email & Internet (and is totally excited as she receives an email from a good friend who wants to come and stay for a few days- a friend from Brisbane. She responds excitedly) Then she helps with setting the table and meal preparation, all the while involved in family discussion. Our tea times are always loud and rowdy with most of us giving our opinion on anything and everything. I was fairly organised so there wasn’t an awful mess to clean up after tea. All the children contribute toward cleaning up. This is great but it’s awfully noisy!
After tea, ‘Miss A’ popped on the treadmill and did a 30min cardio workout. She listened to some praise music while running and then comes out to tell me some thoughts she’s been having about a scripture. Then she sat with me and we watched some TV while surfing the ‘net on her laptop. She’s heavily researching and learning about coffee and barista work as this is an area she wants to go further in. She is tinkering with the idea of one day opening up her own coffee shop. She talks to me incessantly about her dreams, ideas and passions. We laugh together at the sometimes corniness of it all…but it’s what we do. It’s what makes us have such a close relationship. We live together, laugh together, dream together and sometimes, cry together.
She headed off to bed with a good book (she’s on book 5 in the Gods and Kings series). Problem is; she often stays awake until the early hours reading these good books! But these books have been such a source of inspiration and knowledge…we speak about it frequently and share our learning from these books.
‘Miss A’ is mostly self managed but she likes me to be involved. I don’t mind because I know that she is an independent learner and capable person but she simply *likes* to have me around. Today she didn’t do any fitness reading and writing but on another day she will. She also didn’t do any of the Business Maths that she has on the go but she will at another time. Another day she will do Bible study and/or cook a family meal or go and do the shopping or help me with the housework or do some work with the boys. Each day is different but is packed with learning activities. Her days simply don’t look like a structured schooly system…but I know she is learning and she knows it too. It works well for her and for us as a family. The day doesn’t sound that interesting or exciting and truth is, it probably isn’t. It’s the relationships within the day that make it all worthwhile…the manner in which she lives her day- full of purpose, knowing that she is operating in and developing her passions and God given talents, while strengthening her weaknesses. I’ve found that over the course of the semester or the year she delves into most, if not all, subject areas. She has grown as a person, as a daughter of the King. And in the end, we’re all thankful for the ability and opportunity to be home-based-learners.
What about you? Care to share a day in the life of your teen? (With their permission, of course)
May you have a blessed Mother’s Day today!
I thought I’d repost something that I wrote last year regarding Mother’s day. I originally posted it just before Mother’s Day but the principle is the same.
Mother’s Day is just around the corner. What are you planning?
My mother isn’t on this earth any more. She graduated and went to be with the Lord nearly 10 years ago. While she was here with us, my children had opportunity to see for themselves how I still honoured her as my mother. Now she isn’t here, I look for similar opportunities to teach my children how to serve and bless others.
Mother’s Day can be a day filled with self indulgent motives and consumerism which often teaches our children that money and gifts can buy happiness. I don’t want to impart this to my children. However, this day can also send other messages…ones which may not be entirely what we want our children to receive.
Some people have been surprised to learn that I encourage my children to bless me on Mother’s Day (and Dad on Father’s Day). While they are still young, I am teaching them how to bless others… impart to them a desire to serve. While I can live quite happily without being spoiled on Mother’s Day, it is for the children that I do this. That sounds rather pious, but it truly is my heart’s motive.
As a mother who chose to stay at home and teach her children, I am aware that this was my choice to live this lifestyle. I dearly want my children to have similar values. But if they see my life as not appealing…then how or why would I expect that they would desire it? If they see me moping around the house often, complaining and not living in joy, then why on earth would they choose a similar life? If all they see is mother being a martyr then they may ‘hear’ that the home-schooling lifestyle or even the lifestyle of motherhood is not one they want. Oi voi! I hope not!
I’m learning more and more lately how important it is to teach our children the value of family through our own life experience. The children don’t always see me as ‘a child’. Naturally, they think that I’m an adult, grown up. And I am. But I’m also a child and will be as long as my father is alive. But even more so, I will always be a child as my heavenly Father is eternal. We need to teach our children what it means to know God as father…and part of this means being a child, being parented by God.
My older girls have a heart to bless others and they bless me without any prompting. However, my boys are still a little younger (9 and 11yo) and they still need some guidance and prompting in this area. It is also good for them to learn these lessons as I believe it will help them to love and honour their own wives, when they have them. The day will come when I will no longer encourage or prompt them to think of me on Mother’s Day…it will be totally up to them. I hope I will handle that time with love and grace.
I’d like to encourage you to think about Mother’s Day. What messages do you send your child regarding motherhood? Think about what legacy you’d like to leave your children…what lessons can you teach through this day? Your children will not always be young, and the time for teaching these sorts of lessons will not always be so ripe. Make the most of it! Pray and discover how you can creatively impart life values to your child and teach them the important lessons in life. Drop me a line and let me know how you plan to spend Mother’s Day.
For the Children’s Sake…
Your Turn! If your children have been to school, why did you bring them home?
As usual, feel free to leave your response by way of comment or a link to your own blog.
Chapter 2
God Called you to be a part of His Plan.
Here we are in chapter two of the Heart of Wisdom Approach. In this chapter, Robin is going to address the common feeling of fear and calling. She has taken the basic foundation of living as a believer and related that to home schooling!
Fear is an obstacle that can hinder us in our spiritual and home school journey. Sometimes those fears arise from life circumstances and other times, they are more home school related. Robin tells us that it was during the writing of the HOWTA that she received some tragic news that she had to shoulder alone. Yet, within moments of taking the burden to the Father she felt unburdened and she knew that God was in control.
It was once Robin let go of her fear, her burden, that she was able to function fully, with joy and purpose. The object of her joy was God, but not because she was resigned to accept the situation, rather because she knew that God was in control.
Robin goes on to say that as Christians we have a viewpoint (perspective) that is different to a non believer. As believers, we can have trust in God (trust that produces peace) amidst hard times whereas non-believers tend to experience anxiety and worry due to fear.
With regard to home schooling, fear comes from many sources: what method to use? What curriculum? What subjects? How many hours to school? Learning styles? Socialisation? High School? Family/friends thoughts? Housework? Aackk, where does the list end?
Robin encourages us to remember that we need not worry about curriculum or home schooling issues! Philippians 4: 6-7 tells us that: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Robin also reminds us that God wants to develop patience and endurance in our lives: And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. ~ Romans 5:3-4
But how do we acquire this faith?
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17)
Robins points out something very interesting ;
The book then talks to us of Moses and the leading of the Israelites out of Egypt. God told Moses all that He would do and Moses was still anxious! He tried to give God reasons why he couldn’t do the task. Hey, how many of can relate to those objections? Lack of eloquence, (lack of academic knowledge, etc) and fear that the Israelites wouldn’t listen (How many times have you heard or said, “Oh, my children don’t listen to me like they do their teacher”?.
Is our task as hard as Moses call? God called Moses and he enabled Moses. He’ll do the same for you! Trust in Him, that He will provide all your needs, even in the home schooling aspect.
Robin goes on to encourage us to have faith in God. Rather than declare that we can’t or that we aren’t smart enough, patient enough, time enough or anything else, we can declare that you will walk by faith, not by sight.
We need to seek God to learn how He thinks.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. ~ Isaiah 55: 8-11
Robin tells us that “The root of our weakness will always lie in not trusting God, step-by-step, moment-by-moment. We can only be as strong in faith as we are in direct communication with God, it is then that He will work in us the fullness of Christ.” (page 36-37)
Take heart! Those whom He calls, He equips. He knows what your children will face in the future, and He will give you what you need to educate them in the way they need to be educated. Just trust in Him for what you need.
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Points to consider privately
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Some articles for further reading
I managed to keep up with blogging while moving interstate and living in apartments but since moving into our home I haven’t kept up with anything online. So Your Turn! is a little late but here is another one…
Your Turn! Were you homeschooled?
If so, please share of your homeschooled experience. If not, you can share your schooling experience anyway.
As usual, either post a comment here or post a link to your own blog where you might have posted on this issue previously.
Chapter One
Homeschool Journey- Escape from Public School
In this chapter, Robin tells of their journey from public school to bringing the children home and the path they trod since. She likens their journey to the Exodus- the escape from Egypt. For those who are not familiar with this story, it might pay if we all refresh our memories. Start in your chronological bibles and read from Exodus 1 onwards. Briefly, the story tells about the Hebrews being set free, their walk in the wilderness, God providing, their looking back and of their entering the Promised Land- a land flowing with milk and honey.
Just as God set the Hebrews free, Robin tells of their story- their being liberated – being grateful for being home.albeit in a typical school-at-home setting. Then, Robin tells how she started to feel doubts, panic, unbelief just as the Israelites started grumbling after a few weeks of being led around the wilderness. Robin tells that she started to look back to Egypt, the ways of the school system. But it was about this time that she knew she needed to find a better way.
God provided nourishment each day! The Israelites didn’t need to hoard as God gave them fresh manna each day. During this parallel time, Robin started devouring information on learning styles, methods, and approaches. Soon the Israelites began to doubt and fear that they would ever reach the Promised Land and Robin seems to convey that she felt similar- that she was still ‘looking back to Egypt’. She felt that this was a fear based work and it wasn’t trusting in God as Jehovah Jireh-the Lord provides.
After time, Moses died and God speaks some VERY significant words to Joshua.
“Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night.” This was the time where Robin and her family started feasting on God’s Word day and night!
All throughout the story of the Exodus we can see God’s mercy, His grace and His justice. We can see how God used an ordinary man to achieve an extraordinary task. Robin encourages us to leave Egypt but then to go the distance into the Promised Land. Robin tells us that the moment academics begin to direct us, or slow our pursuit of God, it (academics) goes from being a helpful tool to the ‘cares of this life’.
Robin goes on to tell us that simply changing resources and/or utilising different methods were only surface changes- that deeper work was necessary and that came from being in God’s word and coming to an understanding of the knowledge of God.
Articles to read for further study and reflection:
One Needful Thing
Academic Requirements
LINKS
Heart of Wisdom
Purchase the HOWTA book: buy the book and view many sample pages
HOW Teaching Approach: for articles and further reading.
Helpful tools.
Science ~ All about God’s Creation
Math ~ About God’s order
History ~ About His-Story, His plan for the world and the redemption of His people
Government ~ How God has established human government for specific purposes
Language Arts ~ How to tell others about God’s truth (both writing and speaking)
Literature ~ To read of how He has affected other lives
Economics ~ To understand stewardship, God’s rules about money
Arts ~ To appreciate God’s gifts of music, drama, dance, and art, as forms of worship to Him
Health ~ To learn of God’s plan for nutrition and health
Discussion starters: (or points to consider privately)
Two years ago, I had the opportunity to lead an email discussion group while studying the Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach (herein referred to as HOWTA) by Robin Sampson. I’d like to share the chapter summaries and things I’ve pondered here.
Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach Book Study
PREFACE
The first sentence sums it all up! The HOW TA begins with the Bible as the centre of education, with all subordinate studies taught through the light of God’s Word.. This tells us what we can expect from the book. Robin Sampson then goes on reminding us (or in some cases it might be informing one for the first time) that we need to make the very most of whatever time we have left.
Robin then shares what the Hebrews thought of ‘the heart’ in contrast to what or how the Greeks believed to be important. She tells us that the Hebrews believed;
Robin then shows us the two trains of thought regarding wisdom.
1) Wisdom from God, as sought after by the Hebrews and
2) Wisdom of the world, as sought after by the Greeks.
Learning the differences between the two trains of thought have helped me in many ways. It has enabled me to see the worldview behind many things. It has been really important for me to see these differences, especially in the area of ‘education’ as I can see how far I had strayed from God’s Word in the training and teaching of my children.
Lord, help us to make the most of our time and resources. I don’t want to be idle, to waste my time on empty pursuits yet I find that I do these very things. Lord, bring me back to you more and more. Father, give me wisdom…that this wisdom may be seen as a witness by my husband, children and others that I come in contact with each day. Lord, renew my mind.
LINKS
Heart of Wisdom
Purchase the HOWTA book: buy the book and view many sample pages
HOW Teaching Approach: for articles and further reading.
Points for further reflection and study:
Your Turn! The chance to offer your two cents worth.
Are you qualified to teach your children at home?
It’s HOWTA Book Study time.
Introduction
Who likes to cook? Prepare yummy nutritious meals for their family? Do you have a favourite cookbook? Are you the type who follows the recipe to the letter or do you like to add variation by supplementing or complementing the dish? Do you overly stress about meal planning? Do you even meal plan? How far in advance do you plan?
See, I reckon that we’d have many different responses here, based upon our different personalities and backgrounds. The HOW TA is similar in approach. Robin has recognised that we need to eat nutritiously! That we need to use some key ingredients, but that they may vary from time to time…but every recipe has a key ingredient that simply cannot be left out- the dish will not be right otherwise!
So we set about baking a cake. We assemble the flour, eggs, sugar, butter and choc chips. 😛 Then, we cream the butter and the sugar, add in the other ingredients and bake it in the oven. Next, we ice our cake with some fudge frosting cake, decorated with a few sliced strawberries on top, with a dollop of whipped cream. We try to exercise control as we have one moderate piece with a nice hot cup of tea. 😉
Here we have a basic recipe with ingredients, a method of preparation and an outcome.
Robin likens our endeavours of home education to this; we have the:
The HOWTA contains two main recipes. One is a recipe that we should consume on a daily basis and that is God’s Word. The second is a recipe for a unit study. Robin tells us that we are free to adapt this recipe to suit our family’s needs. Let’s dig in and have a closer overview of the Main Course eh?
The Main Course – the main dish/ingredient in our main course is the Bible.
Well, how many times have we said, “Well duh, of course!” and then continued on our merry way? Or am I the only one who has done that? 😳
HOW provides a Bible approach in the way of chronological readings along with various nutritious seasonings like Bible study tools. You need to work out the exact measurements for your own family though. That’s the beautiful thing about it! It isn’t purely a One Size Fits All meal. Have you ever eaten a pre-packed TV dinner? They’re okay when you’re in a pinch (they might serve a purpose) but ya can’t live off them regularly and expect to be healthy!
Okay, do we have any side dishes and side dish recipes? Of course- every good meal does! Ours include the study of history, science and life skills. Also included are living books, video’s, and the Internet. What about a sprinkling of geography, composition, religion, government, economics, and more? Sure thing! Robin tells us that all we need to complete our meal is a dish of maths, phonics, a foreign language and other electives.
Now, let’s move on to planning the meal! We have the recipes, we have the side dishes. We have the method of how to prepare it. Robin encourages us to NOT leave out the Essential Ingredient – the Bible. But this meal planning business? Well, the HOWTA even helps us with that. Four years worth of meal plans! Okay, a schedule or plan to cover 4 years worth of study. Then repeat that three times and you have 12 years worth of meal plans!
Robin tells us that if we use the HOW teaching approach we can use the recipes provided (the HOW unit studies available) or we can devise our own recipes by modifying the recipes. I’ve found it helpful to also use the method in other lessons.whether or not I’m using a HOW unit study or not.
The HOW Teaching Approach book is compiled into five sections.
1) Lessons from Exodus
2) Rethinking Education
3) HOW Methods
4) HOW Instructions
5) Resources
LINKS
Heart of Wisdom
Purchase the HOWTA book: buy the book and view many sample pages
HOW Teaching Approach: for articles and further reading.
Any comments or questions so far?
Biblical terminology, vocabulary or jargon: do your children know it? Do you consider it important for them to know? Why? Why not?
The Bible can be hard to understand. It can seem like a foreign language. In a sense, it is. If you were going to go and live in another country where English isn’t spoken would you try to learn the native language in an effort to understand the people, the culture? Well, the Bible can be likened to that too! Learning the language, the terminology, the use of literary style…It’s hard work. It takes study. It takes time, effort, patience and diligence. It won’t happen in 10 min a day, especially if that 10 minutes a day is spent reading someone else’s thoughts on that country or language. Naturally, you’d be much better off to spend time directly learning that language eh. So I’ve been thinking that I’d like my children to have a better grasp on the Bible and God’s plan and purpose than I did…so how am I going about that? (you can see our approach to Bible study here)
I’m not talking about curriculum or a book but what methods are you teaching your children to use so that they can continue with a lifelong love and habit of studying God’s word? I’d love to hear from you.
Your Turn!
What is your favourite piece of advice for a new homeschooler?
Have you ever noticed a pattern to growth spurts? For a few months, during a growth spurt, my child might look like they’ve put on a little weight- they’ll look a little rounder. A few months later though, and their trousers become ankle freezers and their jumpers are too short. During this part of the growth spurt, they look as though they’ve dropped a couple of kg’s. They haven’t at all – they’ve simply shot up in height. I’ve noticed that sometimes my children grow horizontally and then awhile later, they’ll have a vertical growth spurt. It’s an amazing process to watch. 😀 Out then up, fill out then up. It’s also a process where one needs to have long arms as they will tend to eat us out of house and home. I can usually tell when my children are heading for a growth spurt (and by watching them I can also tell when I’ll need to buy them new clothes) as they start to eat more. Yeah, they become bottomless pits!
The academic mind is much similar to our physical bodies. There are times when a growth spurt is very obvious and I’ll observe that their thinking skills or knowledge base has been stretched in a horizontal way – they’re building on top of the knowledge they already have…they’re making connections of their own and figuring how information goes together. Then, there’s the academic-vertical growth spurt where they learn new information and it appears like there is great growth. During all this time, they need to be fed nutritious, healthy, rich mind food and a diet full of rich ideas written in an engaging style generous in literary quality and great truths in order for the whole person to be nourished.
Ever noticed that during times of growth spurt that the child can become a little clumsy or awkward? Sometimes they will seem like their coordination is slightly off or they’ll always be bumping into things or having little accidents. I wonder if this is because the body has changed and so the habitual habits (fine and gross motor skills) must also adapt. So it is with the mental growth spurts of children. The connections they make may not be entirely correct, they may use terminology that isn’t quite right, they may struggle with appropriate talk at a given time…much of this is part of the mental growth spurt stage. Just like a physical growth spurt, this stage needs good nutrition, exercise, stimulation, patience and time. There are some things that just can’t be rushed.
There are times when one of my children have had a voracious appetite for good books. I may not have seen much ‘output‘ from them during this stage. In fact, it seemed like they were a bottomless pit- devouring good books yet not putting on any weight. But then, a short time later, the growth spurt would come and I would have opportunity to witness the effects of their partaking in a rich diet- a growth spurt. Just as the height of an adolescent may not change yet the body is undergoing huge changes. The bones are developing, reaching maturity yet we don’t necessarily see these changes.
What I had to learn throughout all this was that all the stages are important and that I shouldn’t esteem one stage as more important that the other. I wanted to see the vertical growth spurt all the time. But I didn’t. I had to learn that it isn’t right, necessary or desirable to see vertical growth all the time… that all the stages of the growth spurt are important and necessary for a full, well rounded person. I am learning to observe my children more. Then I can decide what their needs are and set about meeting those needs. Everyday brings something new, something rich, something different, something exciting…take time to stop and look for the little things and then consider how to best meet the needs of your children.
Have you ever felt that your child was devouring information yet not doing much with it (output)? Have you ever noticed the different aspects within the growth spurt period? Does thinking this way change the way you view anything in your child or your homeschool?
Time for readers to answer another Your Turn! This is your chance to link to your favourite curriculum supplier, tell others about a new vendor or leave a link to your own business.
Where do you usually buy your curriculum and other items?
What is the strangest or funniest thing someone has said to you about homeschooling?
Either leave a comment or post a link to your own blog post.
What do you love or appreciate most about homeschooling?
Either post a comment here or leave a link to your own blog post.
In your experience and opinion, what is the hardest thing about homeschooling?
Share either the hardest thing you have personally faced or a general idea.
Describe a typical day at your home.
You can either write here in the comment section (doesn’t matter if it is lengthy) or leave a link to your own blog post.
Just a quick note to let readers know that I have added a few more downloadable freebies to the Kerugma site. You can find them at Kerugma, in the Download area, under Bible Study Resources.
Activity Sheets used in steps 3 and 4.
Observation Sheet : narration prompt, writing prompt or research aide
Lesson template: for devising your own lesson plans- based on Kerugma Bible studies
Idea Bookmark : for use with Kerugma Bible study
Outline of Author : Standard sheet for students to use when completing an Author Outline
Chapter Summary Form: this form can be used as a worksheet or simply as narration style prompts.
Book Report: We use these forms as part of our record keeping system.
Book Synopsis: slightly different to a book report. We use this form as well.
Attendance Sheet : Adaptable for any year
Australia, from the beginning: our course of study while reading the book by Eve Pownall. It is only a ‘bare bones’ framework but provides room for more.
What is Labour Day : worksheet for students to complete.
Kitchen Duties: see my blog post for details
Feel free to leave a comment in you have enjoyed the downloads, or if there is anything in particular that you’d like to see.
More coming as time permits…
Updated 19/07/2009
I’ve spent the last few days slowly de-cluttering some rooms and areas. I’m a hoarder by nature and I don’t find it easy to throw things out yet with all our house moves it is getting easier. Actually, discerning WHY I hoard things was a real eye-opener for me. I’m not usually one to blame everything on my childhood or upbringing but in this instance I realised that I had taken some things from my childhood and carried them into my adulthood.
The pantry is one area that I can tend to hoard things. I like the feeling of an over stocked pantry. It sends me a message that I’m not going to go hungry or have to eat miserably- that I have choice. There are so many problems with the root of my hoarding that I needed to go to the Cross with it all- and then I need to take steps to check myself and that I am continuing to trust God. So this is why I clean out my pantry. It’s not because I am a deep seated organisational type. Oh, to be one of those people! But because I can revert to hoarding instead of trusting God.
So I have cleaned out my pantry and linen cupboards. The pictures above are of the highly organised, yet rather empty looking pantry. I threw out so much out-of-date food is was shameful. Yet at least now I can find what food we do have!
The children are de-cluttering their bedrooms. ‘Miss A’ remarked on how freeing it all was. I hope she remembers and carries that trait with her into her adulthood.
Robin’s Heart at Home blog is an excellent source of motivation and inspiration for me. If you’re interested in organisation and homemaking, be sure to check our her blog.
Have you de-cluttered or reorganised lately? Care to share any ‘before and after’ shots? 😯
So, where do you do most of your homeschooling?
In the car? Student desks? Dining table? Lounge room? Park? Computer? Kitchen? Bedrooms?
Time for another Your Turn question!
Why do you homeschool?
If your children have been to school, why did you take them out and homeschool? Do you homeschool for social, moral, academic, athletic, family, health, financial, spiritual or other reasons?
I have previously written about the marvellous ladies and their products at DownUnder literature. They have some fantastic samples on their site but they also are featured as the free giveaway sample at Homeschool estore this week!
Beatrix Potter for Beginners Ball & Stick
This copy work eBook has been developed to provide a language-arts resource that helps a child develop the early writing skills that lead to good handwriting. Four complete Beatrix Potter stories, complete with their charming illustrations, were chosen because they have enduring value.
This copywork ebook suits those who want to fill their childrens mind with living literature and not just the technical aspects of bending lines nicely. This ebook is very easy to use. There is one lesson per page. It begins with simple tracing and finishes with writing words in sentences in the line underneath.
Do check out Down Under Literature– they’re a relatively small but excellent company. Best of all, they’re Aussie…they’re home grown! 🙂
Those who know me well know that I’m always curious. Curious about anything and everything. One of my most frequently used words is the word, ‘why’. After that would be the words, where, when, what and how. 😉 So in keeping with my nature, I’m going to ask a few questions over the coming weeks so all those people who lurk (and lurking is okay. We all do it at some time and place) and those who don’t, can come forward and tell a little about themselves. Ready? Let’s start with an easy one.
When and where do you blog?
Tell of your own blogging habits- frequent, infrequent, irregular, frequently irregular, etc 😀 How long have you been blogging? Why do you blog? What do you blog about? If you don’t yet blog, tell why not. What’s your favourite aspect of blogging? What is your least favourite aspect of blogging? Leave a comment and provide your URL so others can visit.
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Maybe.
A few years ago, one of my daughters would often ask John and I, “What’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?”
Our response would be along the lines of, “You’re our beautiful daughter. Of course we look at you!”
But she often thought we were giving her a dirty look and would often respond accordingly. ~sigh~ We weren’t of course, but she couldn’t see us clearly and couldn’t make out the look on our faces. When we would watch a family movie, she often lost interest and would go to bed and read, despite her love for movies. She complained frequently of headaches. So off to the optometrist we went. Not just any optometrist though. I searched for a behavioural optometrist that works with children. Well, as it all turned out the poor lass did need glasses and quite strong ones at that. My darling daughter couldn’t believe how much clearer the world was when wearing the glasses. She is no longer paranoid and thinking we are ‘looking’ at her angrily. She can see our facial expressions quite clearly now. The headaches have also gone. Praise the Lord!
Just a few months ago, I noticed that our older daughter, the athlete, was squinting to see the catcher. She couldn’t see the signals. Her solid fielding of grounders dropped also. Off we went for a check-up. Lo and behold she needed glasses too! She also has contact lenses for playing sport. She is still totally amazed at how clear the world is. She says that she ‘missed out’ on seeing so much as it just wasn’t clear! If she wasn’t playing sport I probably wouldn’t have picked it up and taken her to be checked over. Many children get their eyes tested after a recommendation from a school teacher. Sometimes the children can’t see the blackboard. As homeschooler’s we don’t sit at the back of the class and read from the blackboard (which is a good thing!) but that also means that we may not pick up on a problem quite as quickly as if they were in school. It’s easier for the child to naturally compensate for blurry vision by moving closer or adjusting their position.
Whenever I go to the optometrist they get me to look through a lens to show me what each child sees. Wow! I couldn’t believe how poor the vision of my girls was. No wonder Bek thought we were giving her dirty looks. No wonder she couldn’t be bothered to watch a movie- she couldn’t see it! No wonder ‘Miss A’ couldn’t see the catcher’s signals- all she could see was the outline of the catcher, let alone their fingers! But the girls also didn’t realise their vision was so bad. As with many things that creep into our lives it happened slowly, little bit by little bit so it went unnoticed.
There’s a new blog in the blogosphere! So what? There’s new blogs every day I hear one say. True but this one is a little different. It is called Heart of the Matter and its purpose is to is to provide a place for homeschooling parents to find all of the resources they desire in one convenient location. It is written by Christian women but there is much value here even for the secular homeschooler. There are approximately 18 monthly colums written by various homeschool mothers, on a wide variety of themes. The website is clean, bright and easy to navigate.
There is a column down the ride hand side so that you can search by keywords or you can view particular writers columns or you can view the online magazine as it is released each month. I encourage you to head over to Heart of the Matter and have a look.
I’m going to stay with my 4 P’s: to pray, to ponder, peruse and plan. I tend to do that same thing each year- so why does the appearance of what we do always change? Because learning at home adventure is not static- because one size does not fit all, because each of my children are unique in their needs and interests, passions and gifts.
When planning the curriculum for each child, I have learned that the best way for me is [what I call] the 4 P’s: to pray, to ponder, peruse and plan. I tend to do that same thing each year- so why does the appearance of what we do always change? Because learning at home adventure is not static- because one size does not fit all, because each of my children are unique in their needs and interests, passions and gifts.
A few years ago, I loosely planned out the years for each of the children until they are 16years old. It was a very loose plan with lots of room for delights, interests and purposes. I then broke that down into the various years. Oh, this took a real weight off my shoulders! It is only a rough plan. It is very loose and fluid and can be modified and manipulated as needs either change or become apparent. We still use Real Life as much of our curriculum as we can. It is a great teacher and facilitator!
We need to prayerfully consider what we need to teach our children and what we need to put before them. I know that I have had to let go of many of my plans, my ideals in order to truly see the needs of each child. I have to let go and ask myself what I want my child to know and why I want them to learn it. (And for WHOSE glory or purpose?) Then after that, if I still have the go-ahead, I can look at the when, where and how to go about it.
Commit your homeschool plans to God. He cares! He has a plan and a purpose for you and for each of your children. So it makes sense to consult Him and find out what He wants.
If you have time and inclination, now is a good time to undertake your own little bit of study and research the history of education. This will help you to see the why, where and how of education, thus allowing you to develop your own scope and sequence for each child. Do you know that each child has their own built-in scope and sequence? Yes, as much as ‘reformed schoolies‘ (people like me who were educated in the school system) have brought their children home to escape the cookie-cutter mentality, we can sometimes skip back into it by blindly accepting other people’s advice and knowledge. Do you follow a book or methodology for your scope and sequence? If so , why? Have you ever really looked at why you do what you do? If not, now is a good time to do so…all the while having a mind of ceaseless prayer. (I’m not saying it is wrong to follow another scope and sequence only that you should know why you do what you do).
Recognise and accept that there will never be a perfect curriculum, a perfect schedule or a perfect routine. Thus, there will probably never be a perfect homeschool year! Observe your child.
There are many things to consider when pondering the curriculum needs of your child. Here are a few that might help you:
Now it’s time to ask questions, read reviews, look at websites and as much curricula as you feel necessary, according to your answers above. You may want to consider curriculum and resources that fit in with the answers above (this will be an individual process for each child.) Here are some questions you might like to consider while looking at each resource:
and further:
Remember that the curriculum is just a tool. You are the best teacher for your child- not a curriculum package. It is a tool, a device, a helper to assist you in the teaching of your child.
After praying, pondering and now perusing, you will probably have made your purchases. The next step is planning. Schedules on paper can look good but often aren’t flexible or reasonable enough to work for many homeschooling families. They may look good in that “Teacher Planning Binder” but ask yourself if that is what your goal is…or is it something more?
I am good at planning and making schedules. I am not good at seeing them through! After years of making elaborate plans and beautiful schedules (on paper) I slowly started to see that I was expecting too much ‘busy-work’ from the children…that I was either copying other people’s family ways or trying to emulate what I knew (in school). Neither was working for us! I was also expecting way too much from them! It wasn’t until I recognised, accepted and embraced the notion of *seasons* that homeschooling became less tedious and more joyous. I now had time and energy to do the things that I wanted to do – real life learning-at-home, movies and discussions, Bible study, etc as I wasn’t covering the same old ground year after year.
Nowadays, my plans are very loose and flexible, which allows for real life. It also allows for us to be spontaneous and take advantage of every learning opportunity that arises.
One year, a Monet Exhibition was touring Australia and they were at the Art Gallery in our city. I was able to plan a mini unit on Claude Monet so that the children were familiar with his works when we went to the gallery to see the real life works. I’ve also incorporated mini units (which often means nothing more than reading a good book, watching a movie or documentary and discussing it) on Australian Studies, Current Events, World History, Geography, Science topics and births, deaths, funerals, and other real life topics.
I’ve also learned that it is easier to keep records of what we have done, rather than what we plan to do. Although it sounds obvious it did take me awhile to really figure it out though. Yes, it is far easier to simply and quickly record the day’s learning opportunities into a lined exercise book than look back over a years worth of plans to remember what we did and didn’t do.
Over planning also contributed to making me feel like a failure. Term after term, year after year I failed to achieve my plan. I would be motivated and inspired in the new year, compose a new plan and off I’d go- until the next real life out-of-my-control circumstance hit me and then I’d go down in a heap again. I like to aim high, but the goal must also be achievable, and reasonable and flexible.
What do I want to have covered with my children by the time they are 18? Pencil in the basic skills and possible resources and work backwards from there.
I now do not expect each child to do World History studies in 4 year rotational cycles. Oh it might look good (in that Teacher Binder) at the end of their formal education at home but is it necessary? Why study history? To learn about the story of God’s people and see His plan and purpose throughout mankind. So then, how should I study? When should this be studied? And what resources should we use? I have found that providing regular access to very good books and movies and doing some informal thematic studies throughout the year do as much toward teaching my younger children the scope of world history than following a full 4 year course! (See our scope and sequence for studying history in our home) The same can be said for teaching grammar. Why teach it? Does it need to be taught in a spiral manner (touching on a little bit every year) or can it be grasped by copywork/dictation, exposure to fine literature, and a solid focus time when the children are a little older? I have found that to be true! So, I don’t teach much grammar in the early-middle years!
We don’t learn about some topics all year round. It just doesn’t flow for us! For instance, I have difficulty trying to do Australian and world history at the concurrently. So why should I? I can take time off from studying world history to spend on Australian studies. That’s fine. So why can’t I do the same with other subject areas? Well, we do! My science-loving son doesn’t study science all year round. I will give him focussed times of learning about science, and when he has completed that course of study, we put science on the back-burner and focus on other topics. Of course, we still continue to learn about science all the time, but not in a formal way- in ways that incorporated into our life.
Not every page in every book needs to be read or covered- if using traditional workbooks then much of it is repetitive. Look over it and see what your child needs to cover- don’t just hand them the book and tell them to do it.
I try to put a smorgasbord of worthwhile, beautiful and noble things before my children, especially in the younger-upper elementary years. I want to give them a taste of a wide variety of things. By the time they are a little older, I have, hopefully, been able to discern their interests, gifts and passions so I won’t require their focussed attention on an area that is not in line with their interest. This doesn’t mean that I put it away all together though! For instance, my eldest daughter, never really like art or picture study. She liked going to the Art Gallery but that was because she thought we might go to Macca’s afterward! She is also not accomplished at playing an instrument, but that never stopped me from exposing her to fine music and art. I continued to do so but in a gentle, discreet way. I did not require her to do these subjects as part of her homeschool study. However. that little girl has grown to be a 17yo young lady who likes modern opera, classical music, various styles of art and a range of other fine arts. I would never have thought so! But being an accomplished musician or artist is not the same as being able to respect and appreciate the finer, beautiful things in life.
So, while the children are young expose them to a wide variety of good and noble topics. Let them linger over them for awhile, soaking in the beauty, all the while studying it, although unbeknownst to them. As they mature if they show an interest or an aptitude for that area then by all means go back over the ‘pray, ponder and peruse‘ stages to facilitate their further learning. If they don’t show an interest in it, don’t stress. Not everyone can be a musician or a sculptor. But continue to expose them to these fine arts, in a gentle way. The best way is to do these things as a family. Don’t force them to listen to music- take them to a production or a musical!
Enjoy life with your children!
There are many ways to plan- break the book into term sections, then by month and then by weeks then by days. Voila! You can split the year into semesters, or terms…even then in a 10 week term you can do a focussed course for 5 weeks and then another course for the remaining 5 weeks of a term. Many homeshcoolers don’t follow a 4 term, 10 week on/2 week off pattern. It just doesn’t fit with a full time homeschooling family in many instances. Look at your own life,:see the patterns and rhythms to your family year. What do you think will work for you? Experiment with it. Try 4-5 weeks on and 1 week off or 5 weeks. Maybe go for 10 weeks but aim for 4 days of formal academics! (we aim to do formal lessons 4 days per week)
This is your family, this is your life, and this is your schedule. Use your schedule as your tool and always be on the watch so that you don’t skip into the bad habit of becoming a slave to the schedule. That is one sure way to kill of a spark of curiosity and dampen a love of learning. It’s more important that you spend time with your children than making plans that may or may not eventuate.
On the hard days, the bad days, go back to your goal and focus on that. Be prepared to just throw the books in for the day and concentrate on the most important thing. It is worth it! If your goal is to instil a love of learning in your child, then making him do every page in every book, every day of the week is probably not going to help you attain your goal. Learn to look outside the box and see real life as learning. Look for ways to turn everyday activities into learning opportunities.
Focus on your priority goals and be surprised at results. Every lesson that you learn along the way should be shared with your children. They will learn along with you, and these life lessons are the most important. This allows for births, deaths, marriages and all those other real life circumstances that will interfere with your lovely homeschool plans! But, they are most important- for they are real. Know your goals. Know your limitations. Know that God is in control.
God, grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change,Courage to change the things I can, and the Wisdom to know the difference.< /br>
By Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971)
I’ve found that much of our history and science study also ties in with the study of geography.
We have a rather relaxed approach to geography. (No surprises there eh?) Firstly, we learn about people in other lands. And then we learn about man’s discovery of that world and that of discovery of the new lands. Children love to trace maps and the early years can be a great time to start this. We have often placed a plastic sheet as a tablecloth over our table and we put either a large wall map of Australia, the World or the country that we are studying under it. We still have this now, in our study area. The children have learned heaps from it.
We have enjoyed a few books like, “Exploring the World Around Us” and “Planet Earth” both by John Tiner. Often biographies teach us a lot about different cultures. Sonlight Core 5 is excellent as a launchpad for a study of Eastern hemisphere countries…as are the Evan-Moor guides. Each of my children will do a continent/major country thematic study before they finish their formal education at home.
Around the World in 180 Days” by Sherri Payne is a multi-age, research based unit study which studies the world by continent.
A friend, Ruth, (who has a wonderful site) has a plan for the study of geography.
We started a new unit with geography using a book called, “Trail Guide to World Geography“. We also have and use “The Ultimate Timeline and World Geography Guide“, which is an excellent resource! I’m also reading to the children from a book called, “Global Geography” by M. Finkelstein while the children do notebooking and mapping activities to add to their geography binder. Runkle Geography is another excellent resource, which we haven’t gotten around to using yet. Gosh, a homeschool mum can’t do everything!!! 😉
We’ve also read “A Child’s Geography” by V.M. Hillyer but my children have enjoyed a homeschooler’s fresh writing on the subject. Another good book is called “A Book of Marvels” by Richard Halliburton. The boys enjoy that!
Anne is writing “A Living Geography Online for Children – and God’s Glory” and the first few chapters are available on her blog. If you like what you see, email her and she will send you the remaining chapters via email. Truly wonderful!
My children, especially the boys have learned a lot from various well written books such as the series written by Willard Price. Great source of geography, nature study, character, adventure and science wrapped up in a fairly easy-to-read, enthralling mystery for boys.
There are always so many resources – too many to choose from. If I could have my time over again, I’d evaluate the resources carefully, assess the needs of my children, articulate exactly what I want the children to know and then make a purchase. In hindsight I have done too much of many things and not much of it in depth. But, I live and learn.
HomeGrownKid’s Scope & Sequence for World History
Birth to age 9 ( birth -G4)
Old Testament History (Egypt, Israel, Mesopotamia) then Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece, Middle Ages, Reformation & Renaissance, …. with read-a-louds. Use the Bible and Bible stories and easy (but not twaddle) biographies, fiction, and use drama, drawing, colouring in and other hands-on activities. Learn the basics of the different cultures. Use booklist from Heart of Wisdom.
Age 10-13 or (G5 – G8)
Review the same cycle but in greater depth. Discuss the possible world-views of people groups and major characters.
Use the Bible, stories and related works, deeper biographies, historical fiction, plays etc not necessarily in chronological order – the time-line or Book of Centuries will tie things in for the student. Books like “Kingfisher Illustrated History of the World” or the “Usborne World history” books are always a hit! Use the booklist from Heart of Wisdom.
Age 14 through 17-18 or (G9 – 12)
Time to tie things all together using a chronological and narrative approach. Possible books to use would be:
(originally written in 2003)
We enjoy all styles of music from Colin Buchanan to Tchaikovsky, from Charlotte Church (Voice of an Angel) to the Military Bagpipes. We have studied Beethoven, Handel, and Mozart; Hymns, Choruses, Folk Songs, and all other forms of music. We have used book by Ann Rachlin, “The Famous Children” series and the “World Greatest Composer’s” by Mike Venezia. I use “Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers” by Patrick Kavanaugh.
Music links to help with your music appreciation lessons:
We have learned about some artists such as, Albrecht Durer, Mary Cassatt, Caravaggio and Albert Namitjirra and also enjoyed doing some picture studies by various artists.
Art links to help with your art appreciation lessons:
There are so many colouring books to be found online that I’d be here all day trying to list them. Usually a google search will find you what you need. See also:
**I take no responsibility for the content on any pages that are linked from this site. At the time of publishing, all links are correct and *family-safe* but due to the ever changing nature of the Internet, I cannot guarantee that they remain that way. Parents should always supervise their children’s Internet viewing.
John has given me permission to share his narration of our trip to Dreamworld. At the time of writing, John was 12 years old and has had no to little formal writing instruction, although he is quite widely read for his age. I have left it complete with grammar and spelling errors but I have removed the names of the friends that accompanied us, for their privacy.
(Be warned…this is long although you won’t see me complain! 😉 He enjoys writing, which is good. It means I have something to work with. As yet, we have not gone over this writing and edited it…it was more of a freewrite than a formal exercise. He makes a common mistake, just like me, in that he changes tenses.)
DreamWorld
28th October, 2007.
Yesterday, the 28’th of October, 2007, we went to DreamWorld. Today, the 29’th, I’ll tell you about it.
We woke up, got ready, and piled the Esky into the car. We get in our seats. Dad turns the keys. The tension builds up! Dad turns the keys a bit more, and the car doesn’t start. So, Dad and Mum went to buy jumper leads. We rolled the Van down the driveway, then the Ford, and we connected the batteries together. Then, Dad turned on the car and it starts. Finally, after forty minutes, we start moving. We stopped of at a petrol station, fueled up, and set off again. We stopped at the Heston’s house, picked up Nathan and Lauren, and we set off for DreamWorld. The seating places were simple. Girls in the front-back, boys in the back-back. In a van, you have three sets of chairs. We call the front ones the “front”, the middle ones the “front-back”, and the back ones the “back-back”.
We got to DreamWorld uneventfully, and parked in a lone park somewhere near the gates. We got out, walked up to the gates and prepared ourselves for the lineup that was sure to come. And it did come. After fifteen minutes, we got into DreamWorld, and we split into three groups. ‘Master C’ , Mum and Dad together. ‘Miss A’ N and L together, and Beck and myself (that’s John, by the way) together. Beck and myself traveled to the Giant Drop, where we waited in-line for ten or so minutes before we got on. On the Giant Drop, you travel 120 metres at a slow rate, and then you wait for around two minutes. After those two minutes have past, hold on tight. You plummet to the ground super fast – fast enough to leave your stomach at the top, anyway – and scream till your mouth bursts from the pain of having it open to long. After falling for around thirty seconds, it suddenly slows down and then you’re at land again. You walk off feeling pale and scared, then you go toward a gift shop to see your silly picture of you holding on to the rails for dear life. Now that it is over, you laugh at your picture. You weren’t laughing when you came down, I would like to guess! At the gift shop, you can either print your photo or just look at the silly faces you and your chair mates were bound to make. This ride is fun when it’s over, fun while it is at the top, but not fun while going down. Going on this ride after lunch is a stupid idea, unless you like the taste of vomit.
The next ride Beck and myself went on was the Tower of Terror. I had my eyes closed the whole time on this ride, so I will not be able to explain much, but I’ll do my best. First, we walked through a skull door and into a airconditioned metalic room. Waiting inline wasn’t too bad with the airconditioner. When the line started moving a bit, we saw ourselves walking over a city (a city out of clay/cement, of course) on a small glass platform that looked like it would break any second. But hey, if it could hold the person infront of us (who was rather weight challenged), it could hold us. After walking over that, we found ourselves in a red “spooky” room. It wasn’t spooky, but that was the effect they were trying to get across. In here, the airconditioning ended. It was boiling in this room, and we couldn’t wait to get out of it. We were in there for over twenty minutes. That’s the thing with DreamWorld. More time inline than inride. Once we finally got out, we walked onto some red chairs, strapped ourselves in and then suddenly the cart we were in sped off at 160 kilometres per hour. After three or more painful seconds, you get to the rise. You start climbing up a tower almost thirty eight stories high. This was freaky. Actually, it wasn’t freaky for me, because I didn’t see a thing. Sorry I can’t explain better, but I just couldn’t open my eyes or take my hands of the bar to wave them in the air like the “idiots” on the side of me. I only thought them to be idiots because they were screaming in my ear louder than my sister, and she screams loud. Too loud, in my opinion. Anyone who goes to DreamWorld has to go on this ride. Also, if they could please send their picture to me, I would be happy. My picture wasn’t too happy, though. This is even worse than the Giant Drop.
After we went on that one, that freaky one, we traveled into the Wiggle World. Uhh…lets just say, we were out faster than the Giant Drop drops. I can still hear “potato salad! Yeah, potato salad!” in my ear. We found ourselves in the water area. Having no bathers, we walked out, but not before a ride on the Reef Diver. Beck and myself thought this would be a nice relaxing ride. Hah! Relaxing my…err, hat. We thought it would only spin around, like a merry go round. It didn’t, it span around peacfully then rised itself to almost the hight of a three story building. Here’s the description of it on DreamWorld’s website:
“Forget the flippers, you won’t need them on this giant vertical whirlpool of fun”
They really could have taken the time to get a better description for one of DreamWorld’s best rides.
After we went on that, we went to Mick Doohan’s (or something like that.) “moto-coaster“. Actually, we didn’t go on till over an hour of waiting inline. Ridiculous, to say the least. After our boring one hour of waiting inline, we finally got on. I had my leg in the wrong way, so the whole fifty seconds (you heard me right. One hour waiting for fifty seconds) was painful more than you could imagine. This ride was, I’m sorry to say, pathetic. Too slow, too painful, and not worth the wait. After this silly ride, we went back for lunch, and found everyone else there. We bought a Frozen Coke, and sat down. The frozen coke was nice after three or more merciless hours in the hot sun, but it was expensive in comparison with the MacDonald’s one.
After lunch Dad took all of us to the Tower of Terror. ‘Master C’ started crying and crying because he was scared of the ride, even though he went on it before. Finally we got him to go on it (he didn’t really have a choice) and again, I closed my eyes. If I ever go on that ride again, I will keep my eyes open, I promise! Then, I will give you a good description.
After that blood thrilling ride that almost made me vomit, Beck, L and myself went out together and we went on the Claw twice, then we went on the Reef Diver. The girls wanted to be by themselves, and I wanted to be by myself too. This time, it wasn’t as scary. Last time, Beck must has been rocking the carriage, because this time I was fine except Beck and L screaming in the carriges infront of me.
After that, we went into the Vortex, whereupon we found ‘Miss A’ and N inside. The Vortex span around rather fast, I don’t know how fast though. It span around so fast that you couldn’t remove your hand from the side of it, though I’m sure it was the shape as well. It was shaped like the classic “UFO” that aliens drive in sci-fi movies.
After that, we went on the Cyclone. “Cyclone is one of the tallest high-speed gravity roller coasters in the Southern Hemisphere.” is a good description for this ride. I had my eyes closed this whole ride, so I can’t exactly tell you what it was like, but I can tell you I had my head bashed around quite a bit especially on those 360 loops. got off this ride uneventfully, and the pictures the computer took had my eyes open! I must have blinked them open suddenly. If I can do the Cyclone, I can do anything!
After the Cyclone, we went on The Claw again. I should probably explain this ride, as it is one of the “thrill rides”, so I will go on about it now.The Claw is a 360 swinger and spinner that often swings you to over nine stories high, and pushes you around seventy-five km/h in ten or so blood curdling swings. This is not as bad as the Tower of Terror, and it is no where near as high, but it is still not one for after a meal.
After we went on The Claw for the last time, also the last time The Claw would go around that day, we went back to the center of DreamWorld. It was nearing five-o clock, so we headed for the car. We got to the car and drove to the H’s house. We dropped off N, and L came home with us.
Well, that’s about all that happened yesterday, and I hope people can understand my weird style of writing and spelling mistakes.
Here’s an overall summary:
I think DreamWorld was a fun experience, and I am glad that Dad took us there. Thanks, Dad! At the end of the day, we were all tired but content.
My favourite rides were the Tower of Terror, The Claw, and the Reef Diver. The Giant Drop comes close in fourth.
I liked the Tower of Terror for it’s blood thrilling, freaked out type of style. I liked the Claw for it’s swinging motion, that made me feel sick but freaked out when I looked down. I liked the Reef Diver for its very small line up and peaceful but “scary” ride. And it should be obvious why I liked the Giant Drop. If it’s not obvious, I like the Giant Drop for its adrenaline rushing, blood-pumping fall.
Freewriting: Bravewriter and Heart of Wisdom
‘Master C’ has given me permission to share his first attempts at written narration. This is not a narration from a book but from an event. It is of a day that we went, as a family, to Dreamworld. I have left it complete with grammar and spelling errors but I have removed the names of the friends that accompanied us, for their privacy. ‘Master C’ had recently turned 10 at the time of writing.
DreamWorld
28th Oct 2007
Opens at 10:00 Am – Closes at 5:30 Pm
Yesterday we went to DreamWorld. We all got up and got ready we started to get in the car then someone left a door open. So the battery was flat. Dad and Mum had to go down to the shop to get Jumperleads. When they came back we reversed both cars down the driveway and put the cars in place. Dad soon got the car working so we started on our trip to the H’s. There we picked up N, and L and left for DreamWorld.
It took abuot half a hour to get there. When we did get there it took another fifteen minutes to get in the gates. Then when we got in we had a small talk then we split up. Dad and Mum came with me and John went with Beck and ‘Miss A’ went with N and L.
Dad and Mum and I went to the Goldrush Country. And we went to the Rapid Water ride. When we got on it went under a cave with plastic people inside it. Then it got up to the heavy waves and we all got a little bit wet, then it came to the end and we got off.
We kept walking and Mum was trying to find the log water ride and we found it. We waited in the big line and when we finally got on it stopped at a place for a while then it started going again. It went up a small ramp in a building and then fell in water and we got a bit wet then it went through a small cave then we looked up and we saw a rhino and then we got out of the cave and there was another cave with a sign at the entry. It said, Heavy Waters Ahead. “Watch out heavy waters are ahead” said Mum and there was a little wave and we were out of the cave and turning around into a big building that made us go up then down out of the building into the water and splash! all this water went on us and we got soaked. Then it turned and that was the end of the log water ride. So we kept walking we saw a cart type thing go past us and go on top of a tower so I said “Lets go on that ride” and then Mum said “No I dont want to go on that” Mum looked scared but Dad said “Lets go on it” while Mum was looking scared. So we were heading through Wiggle World and we walked under a tunnel and then walked up a ramp and saw a skull. We looked at the top and it said “TOT” meaning Tower of Terror so we walked in.
There was a huge line so we waited we got to a bridge type of thing with glass under us and under the bridge was a small model of a city with sounds of police sirens. We walked past the bridge and there was a staircase with a big line on it. We got up the staircase and to safety zone 3 and we saw a big door with sign one sign saying ‘front row’ and one saying ‘back row’ and another saying ‘third row’. The door opened after a while and we saw a car type of thing. We stepped on the third row of the car and put small seatbelts on. I saw a man walk to a small room. I saw him press a button and I saw a camrea flash and we started moving really fast. It kept going and went up a huge mountain type of thing then it fell back down to where we came from. We got our bags and went away down a elevator. Dad pretended the elevator was ment to be scarey so he screamed loudly. When the elevator got down we saw a shop. We went to the counter and looked at the photo`s.
So we went to the motocoster where there was a huge line. When we finally got there I wanted to go into the sidecar, Dad wanted to go to Pole Positoin (position). Mum wanted to sit in the middle so we all sat in the middle for Mum. When I put something down it got stuck on my leg and it hurt. I was screaming the whole race. we finally got off and we went to go for lunch.
We were waiting for ‘Miss A’ and Beck and L, N and John. They came. Mum and Dad went to go to the car for some rolls with chease. When we were done we went in a group to the Tower of Terror again. I was crying so much becase I didnt want to go again but Mum foreced me to. So I did and I didnt care. I had my eyes a little bit open. John had his eyes closed fully when we did the Tower of Terror. We looked at the Photo and it looked good so we bought the Photo. The Photo looked funny becase someone in the bottem left.
We walked to the Claw Thrill ride. Mum went on it and we took Photo`s on our camara while Mum was on the Claw. Next we went to the Cyclone but I didnt want to go on. I wanted Mum and Dad to go on but they did not want to go on without me. So we walked to the bumper cars. Mum kept bumping me while i was trying to go in a circle so i bashed Mum for to bumps.
Then we walked to the IMax Theater we watched a space station documentry.
About a space statoin.
Then we walked out to a chair and waited for John, L, N, ‘Miss A’ , and Beck to come. We talked for a while then we walked out of DreamWorld and got in the car and we drove back to the H`s house. We dropped off N but L stayed with us. And we drove back to our house with L. We got back and ate and stayed up for a little while then we got told to go to sleep.
My Favorite rides Are:
Tower of Terror
Motocoster
Rapid water ride
The rides i went on:
Tower of Terror
Motocoster
Rapid water ride
Log water ride
Bumper cars
The End
We started learning at home in 1998- actually I made the girls do diagnostic testing, bought their books and get started on them in December, 1997. How do I remember this? Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of my mother’s graduation. It is 10 years since she passed away and went to be with the Lord. John and I had been investigating the notion of homeschooling for over 6 months and had taken the appropriate steps to start in January. My mother died on December 14, and we traveled interstate to take her body to her hometown for burial and to be with my Dad. We stayed with him, in my childhood home, until the New Year but it was over the Christmas break that I started homeschooling the girls. Two days after my Mum’s funeral the girls were hard at their workbooks! Now when I mention how keen, eager and enthusiastic I was I hope you’ll believe me! 🙄
💡 However, I really don’t consider that we have never parented in a home-based-learning way. Even though ‘Miss A’ went to school for Kindergarten and year 1, she had to come home every night and I would help her with spelling, reading, memory work and maths. Actually, it was this that made me even start thinking of learning at home. I couldn’t understand what on earth they did at school all day, if after being there for 6 hours she still needed even more work at home, when she was tired! There had to be a better way!
Hmm, I’m not really making a point in this post, am I? I guess I don’t really have a point. I have been thinking a lot about how the home education movement in Australia has changed and is now again, changing. As a 10 year homeschooler, I can see that there are positive changes but there are also some not-so positive ones. These changes affect everything from the overall movement and homeschool communities to the grass root level of a mother teaching her children at home.
There is so much curricula and so many resources available nowadays. Actually, it’s almost gluttonous! I remember the absolute joy and ecstatic, bubbliness that welled inside me when I found another Christian homeschooler, Anna from Fountain resources. Anna kindly lent me a few books and I couldn’t believe that someone, somewhere, had written a book on homeschooling! Now I know some of you might find that ridiculous (that I thought that way) but believe me when I tell you that books and resources were not that easy to come by 10 years ago, in Australia.
I remember when upon finding a good living book that we (a few other homeschoolers that I knew via snail mail) would share it around fervently, handling it as though it were gold. Those of us on email groups or printed family newsletters would delightedly share our latest good book finds and that book might end up going on a tour of Australia, as it was posted from one family to the next!
I remember when Anna told me she could order in a particular book for me! Whohoo! but it would take about 3 months to come in by boat. Did I care? No way. Three months was a long time but there was no other option. I had to learn to be patient, unlike these days when I can place an order and have it on my doorstep within 4 days. So I just waited and kept on with the marvelous task of teaching and discipling my little children, and getting together occasionally for a joyous afternoon with another family. Then the book arrived! Oh voi, what a happy mama I was! But you know what was really interesting? That book was not at all in keeping with my teaching style, nor my children’s learning style. But guess what? It didn’t matter! I used it anyway, because I was learning along with the children! I taught them using the book and just modified it to suit. Easy peasy. Nowadays though, one can purchase resources that are only suited toward a particular denomination and learning style and still own way too much! There’s just so much available, it isn’t funny. Yet in all this latest and greatest have I spent more or less time with my children? Am I learning to teach my children where they are at, which involves really knowing my children?
I remember that the idea of a field trip or excursion didn’t even enter my mind. All I knew was that I continued on with my jobs and the children naturally came everywhere with me. They saw me in action, living my life, learning about the world as we lived. After a few years, and a few more homeschoolers entered the scene, talk started of organising excursions. So we did…and I did. We went to the local Fire Station and the Police Station and a few other places like that. I found myself getting a little frustrated when the children would ask questions about the Police or Fire brigade, instead asking them, “Didn’t you listen when we were there?” or “Wait until next week when we visit the Police Station. You’ll find out then.” How sad is that? I taught my children to compartmentalise their learning and not to come to me with every little concern and question.Moving on from that can you guess what the very next issue to arise was then? Yup, socialisation: when, where, how, and with whom were the questions. Hmmm, maybe I should have asked myself WHY.
I remember the homeschool get togethers, with people from various walks of life: Christian, non Christian, Catholic, secular, Australian and foreign. Nowadays, there are so many splinter groups depending on country, religion, age, gender, learning style, and many other divisive issues that we have really lost a lot of valuable sharing and information. Oh, I know it’s good to talk to others who are like minded but I remember the specialness of when that would happen. Often now, sadly, it seems like we expect it to be ‘the norm’.
Hmmmm, as a movement in Australia, I wonder how much we have gained in the last 10 years. How much have we lost? I’d love to hear your thoughts regardless if you feel differently to me, or the same.
A previous post brought forth a few comments. One of those comments was a concern with something I had written about not using the Bible to ‘teach character’. You can read the original post here. I really had meant to address this much earlier than this but time has gotten away from me. Even now, I will be doing a rush job with writing this response but I did want to write before we go on holidays and get back in the New Year. I will try to clarify my thoughts on ‘character’. As always, feel free to agree or disagree. All I ask is that you be polite as you let me know your thoughts. I absolutely love it when people ask me to clarify my thoughts or writing. It helps me to more fully process and consider things. So thanks to Pure and Sensible for bringing her concern to me and asking me to clarify. I really appreciate that.
I previously wrote
Pure and Sensible wrote
Interesting POV. (I personally haven’t read LOTR and unfortunately, I don’t know what FOTR means, but I will keep this in mind as my children get older.) Precious woman of God, I’m mostly concerned and a bit conflicted inside about your thoughts of the Bible and character issues. I’m not saying that I totally disagree with what you said about teaching character traits from people. I love to read fictional stories and biographies for character lessons and use them quite often. And I definitely think that teaching character without modeling isn’t effective, if not useless. But, without the Word of God? You said, “I don’t teach my children character traits from the Bible.” I uphold the Bible as Truth and believe in training up my children using Scriptures. I want to teach God’s ways, not man’s opinions, and the only way to do this is to know Truth (by reading and applying the lessons learned from the Bible – being doers of the Word, not just hearers). God never changes, but man does. I probably just completely misunderstood the point you were trying to make. And I apologize in advance if I am misunderstanding you – I really do not want to offend you. I believe I’ve been to your blog before and have found it quite enjoyable.
I don’t use the word of God to teach a set rules/code of behaviour but I will proclaim the message of God and trust that the Holy Spirit will teach them what He wants to teach them. Their salvation is not dependent upon me teaching every character trait. It is dependent upon God! I can’t teach someone into salvation. What is the point, the goal of teaching the children? Is it that they become fine, moral, upstanding citizens or to usher them into the presence of the Almighty God? Two different issues and two different ways to go about it.
I teach character through modeling- real life- being an example. I use fiction and other good books. I use the lives of other people and other real life situations. I don’t use the word of God but I allow the Holy Spirit to use God’s word to teach me. Sounds like I’m being picky with words? I don’t mean to be…there is a difference.
The Bible is our greatest teacher for all things, including character. No doubt about that. But, how do I present it to my children? How do I learn best in my own life?
I believe that in the younger years, it is more appropriate to teach direct character as a code. Do this, don’t do that, work hard, be generous, be honest, etc. We are teaching knowledge of character and also instilling many character traits as habit. However, older children need to be handled differently. 😉 As do resistant children. I do not have my children copy out passages that deal with a particular character trait. There was a time when I did. But what was my goal? What message was I trying to teach them? The nature of God, and of His great grace or how to please Him by my actions? There was a time when I studied character like that…almost like a mini unit study. I found it was good for me in building knowledge of character but not necessarily wisdom or understanding of that character trait. I guess it comes down to that age old question: Why do you do what you are doing? How are you doing it?
As we read through the Bible, we will come to many direct and indirect character teaching points. Proverbs is a great example of direct teaching. The life of Joseph or Esther is an example of indirect teaching. Proverbs are especially good with young children and also adults who are already desiring to follow God’s word. But, if and when I get to a point where I want to reach a child’s heart…to bring them to the foot of the Cross…to see them come to know the Father God directly for themselves then there is that time when I stop talking about morals and conduct and ‘should do’s’. A time when we focus our learning on the nature of God without learning all about us and our response. The Cross is the power of God unto salvation, not a good, moral, polite, well mannered life. Then again, we also spend more time and energy learning about the nature of God than the nature of man…for it is in understanding the nature of God, and what he has done for us, that we can rejoice! The study of God, the nature of God will, I believe, do more to teach character to our children than any character curriculum.
The path to heaven is not through a moral code. Diligence will not see my child saved into the kingdom of God! No matter how diligent or generous or hard working or honest (or insert relevant trait here) they are. Character will not save a person from their sins. Only the Cross of Christ can do that. So what should I spend more time and energy on impressing upon my children?
We read about the life of Joseph and his many trials. I don’t focus on what character traits he does or doesn’t display at this point. We do see God’s providence in all his life and circumstances but we see this because we have the benefit of hindsight- a panoramic view. Sometimes, we need to try and see this in our own life as well. So at this point, ‘I don’t teach character’. Maybe it’s also good to remember the ages of my children at this point. 😉 Naturally I write from the position of having older girls and I can forget what it was like when I had a house full of toddlers. Something may happen in our life or the life of my child. She might struggle at work with her boss. I might casually say,
“Oh, I’m reminded of Jospeh and how he was in a situation where he didn’t choose to be, yet he was respectful toward his boss nevertheless.” Now that’s all I’ll say! She has studied the life of Joseph. I don’t need to elaborate any more than that. I’m very aware that whatsoever learning my children dig for themselves is often when true understanding occurs, rather than just head knowledge. I’ll plant the seed and allow her to ponder that. I do not have to be the Holy Spirit in her life. He can do that and teach her what He will. I don’t need to lecture her or tell her the same lessons that I have taught her for years…it can just build a resistance or resentment in their heart. But again, this is with my older children. She is nearly 17 and having been homeschooled her whole life, she has had much one-on-one teaching. 😛
Having their heart turned toward me is the most important key. Without their heart, all the character training in the world can still just mean that they’ll rebel against me and/or God, but in an outwardly polite way!:roll: Character must come from the heart. If the message of the Cross, if our salvation isn’t what compels us toward strength and depth of character then what is the point?
Through life experience and drawing nearer to God, learning about His nature or by learning about the how, why, where and when of a character trait? I try to parent my children as God parents me, especially in the years as they are growing more toward adulthood. Knowledge of character is one thing and that can be taught. True depth and strength of character is more caught than taught.
A dangerous notion that I have tried to steer away from presenting (directly or indirectly) is that by our efforts, we can obtain salvation. Because we can’t. We can never go further than or beyond the Cross. It is the centrality of our faith and I don’t want to teach my children any different.
So I assess my teaching: What do I spend more time and effort on teaching? Good character, habits, behaviour or the Cross of Christ? What do the children hear that I believe is most important?
I don’t want to give them the notion that God is a doddery old man, sitting up there somewhere, waiting with a big stick to send me to hell because of my character traits – for the narrow way isn’t about behaviour, manners or character- it’s about the Cross of Christ.
On the other hand, I don’t want to send the message that grace is cheap- because it wasn’t. If it is that cheap, then maybe it isn’t grace at all. So having been shown grace I am free to show grace to others. I am not bound by sin.
I have asked my children, “In your opinion, what do you think is most important to Mum? Homeschooling, God, academics, character, being good, softball, Internet or books?” Well, only try asking your children this if you are brave…you may not like their answers! 😉 😆
Character is all good…but it should also be a fruit of the Spirit- a fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives, not a moral code or set of behaviour that we strive for. Again, it comes down to motive. What is our motive for desiring strong character? If the hope is to please God, then we will fail. If having been shown such great and marvelous grace, we are compelled to display more Christ-like qualities, then let us be imitators of Christ- and this will see us naturally grow in strength and depth of character.
When my daughter turned 15 we stopped paying for softball. Now softball is ‘Miss A’ ‘s delight. It is her passion. It is something that she has learned many valuable life lessons and skills from. She has worked hard and has reaped the rewards of that diligence. However, it was time for her to start to pay for it herself. 😉 Time to get a part time job and enter the wonderful world of The Workforce! What to do? Where to start? I had very little idea.
Firstly, she had to have her own banking account so we go to work on that. We decided to go with a bank that is Australia-wide as it will be needed seeing that we travel so much.
Then, she needed a Tax File Number. Hmmm, not as easy as the bank account. Most schools automatically do this for their students but homeschoolers have to do it the hard way 🙄 but the best way! 😛 My 14yodd has a TFN but doesn’t really understand what it is, nor how she would go about getting one by herself. ‘Miss A’ , the homeschooler, does but that’s because she has had to dig this information out for herself. So whilst it seems tedious or hard, it’s well worth it! Plus, in the process the student is still learning valuable life skills about the workplace environment, filling in forms, dealing with professionals, etc. (If it sounds like I’m putting my 14yodd down, I’m not. She fully admits to this herself and was happy for me to share this)
Next, she compiled her resume. She was a little concerned at first because the resume was, naturally, quite bare. I mean, if one needs a job to gain experience what experience could they have had to write on the resume? However, I think most employers are well aware of that catch-22 and they look a little deeper than the piece of paper. However, this piece of paper is often the first impression so it pays to do one’s best on it. I told ‘Miss A’ to research resumes on the Internet. She did. She then compiled her own resume and proceeded to deliver it to a few places.
Then, a friend from church suggested she try at a local Cake n Coffee House. She dropped her resume off, received a call back from the boss and then went in for an interview. The boss barely looked at the resume but spent a good deal of time talking with her. He also wanted to see me, which I thought was a good sign. usually I don’t think it is a good idea for Mums to attend interviews with their children. I believe employers desire to see fairly independent people but in this situation the boss asked me to attend as he realised and understood that ‘Miss A’ was still a junior and I would be responsible for getting her to and from work. I thought this was very good and wise of him. We all got to know each other. She started part time work within days. 😎
I have taken out the personal details but left the bare bones of ‘Miss A’ ‘s resume for others to glean some ideas from and see what is necessary in compiling their own resume. Once the basic resume is done it can be updated as necessary.
FULL ADDRESS
Telephone:
Email:
FULL NAME
Personal Details:
Date of Birth:
Address:
Telephone:
Mobile:
Email:
Profile and Strengths:
Objectives:
I am seeking the opportunity to expand my skills, knowledge and experience in a junior role. To gain more experience in the work force and become a valuable member of the work society I am involved in.
Education:
Work Experience:
Community Involvement:
Computer Skills and Experience:
Strengths and Interests:
Achievements:
References:
Name: Mr. _______
Position: State Head Coach U/16 Girls Softball Team
Phone:
Name: Mr. __________
Position: Current employer, *Name of Business*
Phone:
A few books that we read and discussed were:The Teenager’s Guide to Part-Time Jobs: Tips for Earning a Dollar by Samantha and David Koch
and The Teenage Liberation Handbook: How to Quit School and Get a Real Life and Education by Grace Llewellyn
I use a teaching method that I learnt from Heart of Wisdom called the 4mat system. I have modified it slightly to suit the needs of our family. I have found these steps to be very beneficial in not only our Bible study but when approaching all lessons.
I have created the anagram IDEA to help you remember the steps. (see the for a printable bookmark based on ‘IDEA’)
IDEA
You can see more about this format of lessons over at the . However, I also wanted to mention the Activity Ideas that go along with steps 3 and 4. These are not all my own original ideas (is there really such a thing?) but I have complied the list. I have spent years gathering the various ideas and then compiled them into the four various activity types.
You’ll find many activities categorised within the following sections: Creative Drawing and Building Activities, Creative Drama Activities, Written Activities and Oral Activities. These Activity Ideas can be used with any learning activity and any subject. They can be as simple or as complex as you like! You might start to notice that your child has a particular bent for one type of activity and I have been asked if one should allow them to only choose the same activity each time. I will share what I have done with my children.
When my children were a little younger, I would encourage them toward choosing a variety of activities. This prevented them from only developing in certain areas an helped them to develop in a few areas. It’s like body building. When a child is young we don’t make them to 100’s of sit up’s each day in order to strengthen their abdominals. Rather we want them to play outside in a variety of activities which will strengthen the whole body.
Later though, as their interests and talents have presented themselves to me, I will allow them to narrow the choices a little. I have found that my older children do strongly desire one type of activity more so than anther and once they are older I believe this is important in allowing them to develop in the ways that God wants them to develop. But in the younger years, I try to aim for variation in order to expose them to more.
You can find the Activity Sheets for download on the (along with a few other freebies). If you use the Activity Sheets in any lessons (including your Bible times) please drop me a line and let me know.
I am naturally quite shy. Yes, it can quite hard to believe because I can be verbose when online. But I really am shy in real life. I find it very hard to go into groups of people or even to meet people one on one. But I force myself. I have taught myself over the years how to control my feelings of shyness, although it is still a natural tendency within me.
I noticed that one of my girls was very naturally ‘reserved’ as well. Different from shy in that she would talk to me a lot but was very reserved and never seemed to open up and just let herself have fun. She was always so serious. She still is, but she’s learning. I taught both my girls how to talk to people. I tried to teach them that it isn’t about themselves, but about others. Meeting the needs of others should be greater than serving our own needs. That young, reserved girl has now fully embraced that teaching and is now very sociable. She can be the life of the party and give speeches in front of large crowds, but she has learned that whilst she is capable fo doing so, it drains her and she needs some quiet time along in order to re energise.
Sometimes, shyness can be a mask of something else – sometimes it is talked about as low self esteem. And who I am to say any different? but I do know that shyness can also mask pride. Yes, pride. I don’t want to look silly or dumb. I don’t want anyone to think less of me. So rather than speak up and risk that, I keep quiet.
Shyness can also be selfishness. We can deny others knowledge, friendship, and the benefit of others knowing they’re not alone, but we need to go out of our comfort zone, to think of others and learn to live despite shyness. As a believer, I try to think ‘less of me, more about others‘.
Shyness can also mask fear, which shouldn’t be allowed to control me. With a good attitude, skills, practice and prayer I can learn to live with it.
There are probably more serious conditions that are related to mental illness and other serious disorders which all need to be considered, but those issues are beyond the scope of this post.
Seeing an example can foster desire. Coupled with learning skills and practicing the art of communication are important keys when training our children to be social and effective communicators.
As parents, we can address the shyness by using all four keys. Be the example. Enjoy relating with people and let the children see us using relational skills. We can directly teach skills and have role play sessions in the safety of home, and then we can practice those skills and arts throughout the day with other people.
I found that having a few good friends and family members was beneficial. I spoke to them separately and solicited their help! I gave them cues or particular points of conversation so that they would be able to open a conversation with my children. This allowed my children to practice their skills in a safe and non threatening environment. I reciprocated with their kids as well.
I’ve found that the more general knowledge I have, the better conversationalist I can be. Even though I don’t know a lot about much I have learned how to ask questions. This in turn gets the other person talking about their interest, and I learn something, which in turns comes back full circle by making me a better communicator. So while it isn’t about being smart, it’s about the ‘other person’ and not myself.
I am not the only one who struggles with being shy. A lot of people do! And so I need to be gracious and accept others. If they’re not talking to me easily, it may not be because they hate me- they simply may not be great communicators themselves or having a bad day. This allows me to then focus on someone else other than myself.
Like any new skill or art, this needs practice. And room for failure. It’s to be expected. But in doing so, we learn more about ourselves and how we think, how we respond and how to improve.
I am still shy. I still need lots of quiet time so that I can be re-energised. But I have learned not to allow my shyness to control me or to rule me.
Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment.
~Proverbs 18:1
Reviewing the current year
Well, it’s that time of the year where I start to look back and reflect upon the growth and change in the members of our family, including myself. While we don?t have school report cards or achievement cards I will be writing letters to each of the children. I shall tell them areas where I think they’ve had growth or that they need to focus upon in the future are areas such as:
This activity is much more important than an ‘A’ or 80%. Really, what does that tell a person? How does that encourage them? How does that help them to one day be self governed in the important areas of life? Our home learning journey is about real life, so I’ll want to let them know how they are going in those areas especially. So I’ll write them about their Spiritual Life, Life Skills, and Relationship and Character. I’ll probably spend more time in these areas than on the other academic areas. I have found that it?s of little use to focus heavily on academics if the child doesn’t have the ability to focus or apply themselves to a task. Similarly, it?s more important that they know how to relate to other people than have their touch typing skills at a high level. I find this sort of review helpful as I begin to pray, prepare, plan and ponder and peruse in preparation for a new year.
For those who don’t give grades or make yearbooks, how do you review the current year in preparation for the coming new year? I’d love to hear from you!
If you liked this post, you may also enjoy:
I don’t wish to start debate or controversy but I have to wonder how far away we are, as Australians, from scenes such as this?
Read here for the full article: http://www.hslda.org/hs/state/ny/200710300.asp
Homeschooler Told by Police ?You Have No Rights?
In September 2007, a single homeschool mother and her two elementary age children left their Florida home to go to New York to visit her father, who was recovering from triple bypass surgery.
Mrs. Denard (name changed to protect family?s privacy) was able to teach her children in her father?s apartment while assisting him with his recovery.
Everything was going well until, unfortunately, a neighbor made an anonymous tip to the Department of Human Services. A social worker came to the apartment and left a card when she could not reach the Denard family. Mrs. Denard dutifully called the social worker, who said she would return the next day to investigate allegations that the children were not in school.
In the meantime, Mrs. Denard contacted Home School Legal Defense Association and talked with Attorney Tj Schmidt. He said that the easiest way to clear up the case would be for Mrs. Denard to get the notice of intent that she filed faxed to her so that she could show compliance with Florida homeschool law.
When the social worker came to the apartment the next day Mrs. Denard, aware of her Fourth Amendment rights, opened the door while keeping the chain on, and handed the Florida Notice to Homeschool to the social worker. Mrs. Denard also explained that she was just visiting for a few weeks to nurse her father back to health.
The social worker?s response was very aggressive. She demanded entry into the apartment to ?strip search? the children to see if they had any bruises. She shoved the papers back to Mrs. Denard, exclaimed she did not want them, and demanded entry into the apartment. The mother steadfastly refused, even though she was shaking and scared to death.
The social worker then called the police, who came to the scene and also demanded entry. When Mrs. Denard explained through the chained door that she had certain rights under the Fourth Amendment, they told her ?You have no rights!? They furthermore said that if she did not let them in, she would be guilty of ?obstructing justice? and a total of three felonies. In the meantime, Mrs. Denard was trying to call on HSLDA?s emergency line.
Years ago, I wouldn’t go near it with a ten foot pole. All I knew of it was that there was a wizard. I wanted to stay well away from anything like that. I did not like fairy tales, myths and legends, or anything with magic, mainly due to my interest in occultish things when I was a teen.
My husband hired the FOTR for just us to watch. I sat through some of the movie, horrified that he could consider watching something like that. I thought it was dark and eerie.
Then, I started to see that some Christians were talking about the books. As I usually do, I didn’t want to take their word for it. I like to investigate things for myself…read all the for’s and against’s. This is how I grow. So I decided to read the book for myself. I didn’t want to read other’s thoughts…I wanted to read it from a clean slate (or as much as possible).
Aside from the literary richness and the involved and detailed plot and the insightful characters, I fell in love with Middle Earth. Now that alone is not a good enough reason to like it eh?
I found there to be so much good, noble and worthy attributes in the book. Unlike allegories (of which this is not) there is no one perfect character in LOTR. When I read an allegory I am usually trying to look for the spiritual reflections- sometimes, many times I must miss them ::). I tie myself up in knots trying to work through the spiritual truths I do find. But when I read a good book, I can plainly see the spiritual truths- things just jump out at you. But like in real life, not one person is perfect- they all make mistakes, but they either grow through them and learn or they don’t. I can learn things about myself, the nature of man but more importantly I can learn about the nature of God and His purposes for mankind.
I can see some characteristics of God in people: strength, courage, boldness, humility- these are characteristics I want my children to learn…I don’t believe it always has to come only from Scriptures. In fact, I wonder if sometimes that can have a negative affect. I don’t teach my children character traits from the Bible. 😮 I know many beautiful Christians who do and I have no problem with that. I simply have a problem with it for myself- I don’t want them to think of the Bible as a list of Do’s and Don’t- simply a Moral Code. It is much more than that. I believe that character is more caught, than taught. But we can also teach character through role models, either in books, tv, or real life. Of course we an teach character traits through simple means like teaching what honesty is, and giving examples of it. I do this with our Bible readings regularly when we study the life of a person in the Bible…but I am getting off track.
Tolkien doesn’t preach. He gives life to his characters. He allows them to develop, to learn, to make mistakes, to grow, to fail…this is how we can learn from LOTR.
Okay back to the magic: magic has always bothered me as a Christian parent, especially presenting magic as just ‘good fun’. Magic in LOTR is not good fun. The wizardry in LOTR is not as that in other fantasies. He made a point of saying that he uses the word ‘wizard’ to mean ‘something utterly distinct from sorcerer or magician’. (The Letters of JRR Tolkien)
LOTR was written from the perspective of the hobbit. The hobbit’s however, did not know much about magic, Elves or even humans. What appears to be magic to them (when Aragorn uses a plant to heal a wound) can simply be knowledge of which they know not.
Some characters like Gandalf and Saruman appear to use magic. In fact they are supernatural beings, created by Illuvatar, who was the God in Tolkien’s world. The ‘magic’ in LOTR is not portrayed as something to gain or even something to strive for. Hard work, strength, courage, truth, loyalty, self-sacrifice and other such traits are what Tolkien was upholding more than anything else. In fact, it was these very traits (from a simple, mere, hobbit) that enabled the One Ring to be destroyed. It was no easy feat that was accomplished by the wave of a magic wand. I found more truth and virtue and points to teach from in LOTR than in many other ‘Christian books or fiction’.
Tolkien was a professor and his knowledge and love of English history and mythology is plain. However, while he draws much inspiration from this, the lines do not get blurred as he isn’t preaching.
These are just a few of my thoughts…as I could write them. I’m not interested in writing a complete thesis so please forgive me if I sound incomplete or jumbled. I am well aware of the in depth and rather heated debates that take place because of these books and I’m not interested in taking part in them. I wouldn’t want or try to convince another person to read the books or watch the movies for it is not a gospel that I’ve been called to proclaim. Every parent should make up their own mind whether or not they will read the books. Don’t be convinced by mere man. But don’t let it become an issue that divides. If you feel I’m in error, pray for me. Email me. But don’t let it divide the unity we have in Christ Jesus. For those interested in pursuing a study of LOTR, I highly recommend seeking God for direction and if He gives you the go-ahead, you could look at Literary Lessons from LOTR.
History Lives series
Peril and Peace: Chronicles of the Ancient Church Volume 1
by Mindy and Brandon Withrow
Isbn: 1845500822
* This series is written from a Protestant perspective
Suggested age: 8-12 but I would easily say a student of 16 would be quite happy to read this book.
I love learning about Church History! But finding a good book that are not way above my head can be tricky, for me. Finding a good book that the children can learn from is also tricky. Not so with the series from ChristianFocus.
Volume One contains the history of the early and Ancient Church. You will read about Paul, Polycarp, Justin, Origen, Cyprian, Constantine, Athanasius, Ambrose, Augustine, John Chrysostom, Jerome, Patrick, and Benedict. This volume will allow you to discover the roots of Christianity and learn about issues such as worship; creeds and councils and the formation of the Bible.
This series is written in a fairly modern style, so it differs slightly from other books such as “Trial and Triumph“. It isn’t gory so it’s a good read to get an overview of Church History. This 240 page book has longer chapters interspersed with shorter, factual chapters.
If you’ve been wondering how to study Church history with your children, you’ll want these books! They aren’t too brief or dumbed down but they definitely aren’t textbook style, which puts many young people to sleep.
Volume 2 is Monks and Mystics: Chronicles of the Medieval Church.
by Mindy and Brandon Withrow
Isbn: 1845500830
Ever wanted to learn about Gregory the Great, Boniface, Charlemagne, Constantine Methodius, Vladimir, Anselm of Canterbury, Bernard of Clairvaux, Francis of Assisi, Thomas Aquinas, Catherine of Sienna, John Wyclif and John Hus? Well, you’ll want to get Volume Two in the History Lives series.
The period known as the Middle Ages wasn’t just dark and oppressive. God was spreading the message of Jesus Christ to previously foreign lands. In this book, you’ll learn how the early Church moved on…you’ll learn about the Crusafes and the spread of Islam and the Reformation. You’ll also see how and when the Bible was translated into various languages
Through this book you’ll have opportunity to learn about and discuss with your children, issues like the rise of Islam, The Crusades,Creeds and Councils and the Renaissance.
At present, I don’t have the other volumes but they are:
Volume Three – Courage and Conviction: Chronicles of the Reformation Church
Volume Four – Hearts And Hands: Chronicles of the Awakening Church
Each volume is approximately $10 – $15
Koorong:
Word:
Christian Bookworld:
Find a Christian Bookstore near you:
See more about this series here: http://christianfocus.com/series/show/40/-/d_series
If you read this and decide to read the series, or if you have read the series, drop me a line. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
p.s. [edited to add] How cool. Mindy Withrow, the author, just left a comment. How cool is that? She also left the link to the History Lives website, which you’ll want to visit: http://www.historylivesseries.com./
p.p.s. How cool. Mindy was also homeschooled! 😉
This post is another post written in response to an online query. I had a good time writing it though as it caused me to reflect upon the times when the children were younger. I remember thinking that the time would never come when I wouldn’t have toddlers but I have experienced that this time, too, shall pass. My children are all approximately 22 months apart. So here is where I write about my experience with our toddlers and young ones while trying to homeschool.
I’m trying to remember how I managed…not just survived but enjoyed it. And I did enjoy it for the most part. The hardest times were when things would go wrong with the car or house and John was away! But that’s not the children’s fault.
Firstly, I taught my babies to sleep independently and I expected this to carry on. Even as older toddlers I would put them down for a Quiet Time. I wasn’t fussed if they slept but they needed a quiet time. I needed the Quiet Time.
I also gave my children LOADS of free time to play outside…to play inside. Just time to play and be children. They played outside in the mud, in the dirt, with the dog, pulling up the garden, digging, climbing, running, jumping and generally doing what most children do given the opportunity.
The hardest times were when my baby was about 18mt – 2yrs, next was John at 4yrs, ‘Miss R’ at 6yrs and ‘Miss A’ at 8yrs. Yep, this was a juggling act. But we managed by being flexible and spontaneous.
The children would get up and have breakfast and do some chores and then they’d go outside to play. I would send them ALL outside together. Sometimes I’d go out with them, other times I’d watch from the laundry or the kitchen while doing some work. The fresh air and sunshine, with lots of laughter really tuckered the young boys out so the youngest would come inside and go down for a solid 2 hour nap while John was content to be in the play pen with toys or books, listening to me while I taught the girls their very basic lessons.
After the2 hours were up, they’d be back outside again while I prepared lunch. After lunch it was cleanup and then we’d either do an activity, have visitors or go out. We’d back home in time for daddy to come home and we’d have tea and baths and then bed. I was always pretty strict on bedtimes as I was very protective of my time at night. I felt I needed it- that time for me, and with my husband. (Good job I got that time then because I don’t now that they’re older).
We did some arts and crafts but not much- I don’t like it. We were more into physical activity which I think is great for everyone. Plus being outside from such a young age helps to strengthen and build their immune system, I believe. But each family has their own unique fingerprint and God has placed your children with your family to learn particular things…so go with what you do and what you love.
I was asked the question:
How much sit down schoolwork does your 7yodd need? Is there a way you can simplify? What exactly are you doing that would need to take more than 1 1/2 hours per day, even when broken into smaller chunks?
There’s so much you can do with all the children that is ‘education’ yet not have it be sit down school work. Your children, even the 7yo, are so young! There’s so much to learn, to explore, to know, to be sitting inside on a chair with a pencil in hand for more than 2 hours a day.
Do you have a playroom where the children can make a little mess that doesn’t need to be cleaned up immediately? How about playing classical music every afternoon and having them ‘act it out’ or dramatise it? This is a wonderful activity that everyone can do.
How about Nature Studies– nothing formal just nice walks through a park while gently pointing out the various plants and wildlife to be seen? Stimulating their minds with worthwhile and rich ideas are what is important, much more so than pencil work at this young age. (If you’re worried about handwriting look into Copy Work and also let them play with Lego, do colouring in, drawing, play-doh and other fine motor and gross motor skill activities) Talking with them, listening to them (even when it’s really boring) is the best thing you can do for this also lays foundations.
How about choosing some really good picture books and reading aloud as a whole family? Your oldest child could occasionally read aloud and discuss the pictures with all the younger ones. I’m sure you are already doing this but it’s worth mentioning that training children to sit and listen quietly is an important skills and can’t be started gently too early.
Young mother, your job is so important and part of it is homeschooling. But academics are only a small part of it all. However, you are laying the foundational principles for academics now. If your child can’t develop in the habit of attentiveness then lessons will always be difficult. If the habit of self control or self discipline is not instilled early then it will be much harder later on. The habit of neatness and of trying your best the first time are all most worthy habits to focus on. Building a family of faith is not all that easy…and while we don’t want to use resources or teach academics that are contrary to our mission, we need to be more diligent in teaching and displaying love for God, obedience to God and His word and good character traits and habits.
Life Skills cannot be neglected and probably would take up a large chunk of your day. Don’t think that this is not teaching, or training or homeschooling because it is!
Now a few years on, I can look back and say DO NOT STRESS. Enjoy your children. Live life with them. For soon they will be older and you will face very different issues and concerns (not bad but different). This time of hard, tiring and monotonous work will pass.
Live your life to the glory of God, act justly in all things, love mercy and walk in fellowship with your family and with God. Focus on the eternal. Train yourself to see the Big Picture amidst the nappies, the tantrums and the phonics.
He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8
Large lapbook, filled with great folded booklets. All you need to print out and assemble this lapbook is included. This is a great project to have for a keepsake, as well!
Courtesy to the wonderful folk at Homeschoolestore
In my early years of learning at home I worked pretty hard. I sorted curriculum, marked worksheets and workbooks and planned out each week’s work. A large part of my Sunday evening was spent in ‘teacher time’. I really enjoyed it…at the time. Once I realised that I could emulate school and do a fairly good job of it the novelty wore off, especially when I observed how well my children learned many things naturally, in their everyday environment.
Then came Testing Time! We tested by using oral narrations, as the children were still quite young and narration was our most frequently used method of learning and processing information. I was a little dismayed to find that while the girls were able to recall some of the information that had taken me some time to devise into a course of study, there was a lot that they simply didn’t retain! I was yet to learn (have understanding and wisdom, not just knowledge) that the early years of childhood and education are more about exposing children to great ideas, stimulating their minds, nourishing their heart and soul, forming good habits and developing daily disciples than sheer academics. 🙂
I think it all started when we went away on a holiday. We were exposing the children to a variety of experiences…we put stimulating ideas before them…we gave them nourishing thoughts to ponder, interesting things to do and see…and their learning took off, all of its own accord! They were growing, developing, learning (and enjoying it), and true education was happening yet it wasn’t laborious for me, nor for them! It wasn’t hard. I started to question the value of everything I had been doing. I was working pretty hard yet was beginning to sense that it wasn’t the most efficient way to work or learn.
I discovered that simply doing workbooks and reading lots of books is not enough life experience for my children to learn all that they have to learn – there has to be more. That ‘more’ has to be in the form of establishing relationships with others and with God. This enables them to have many experiences in which they can learn from. However, I also learned that I could spend hours reading a good book to the girls yet they wouldn’t only retain a marginal amount of it. How frustrating. Why did this happen? how could I maximise that proportion? I’ve found that by reading the books with them allows me to know what is going on so long after the book is finished, we can still talk about the book or movie. We can relate back to certain incidences and learn from that. If I’m not a part of that with them then that opportunity is limited. The key here is for me to be with the children. While it may seem the harder or longer road, it is actually the smarter, easier road.
The primary years are ones of collecting knowledge. I imagine it to be a smorgasboard where the children can sample a huge variety of foods, tasting each one a few times to see what really grabs them. I would have them sample the marinated mushrooms and picked octopus at least three times before they can declare that they don’t like them. But I’ll carefully observe them during this time…watching to see how they taste, what they naturally gravitate toward. This arms me with valuable information about each child. I take note of their individual likes and dislikes and I plan the meals accordingly. Naturally, I don’t cater to every whim and fancy. Some meals will still have picked octopus in them! It is good for them to learn character and good manners by eating something they don’t naturally like. Plus the slow and regular exposure to it may just help to form their taste buds and appetite. 😉 (but that’s a whole ‘nother post) How does one eat an elephant? 
One bite at a time. Even though my child may not be interested in nature study I will still want them to sample it. Even this sampling can have an effect upon their lives. But I don’t need to get caught up in it or feel guilty about not doing it if it is not pleasant to our palate. However, my time might be better served by focussing on the foods that they will eat. I can always disguise the octopus and mushrooms and hide them in another dish. 😉
There are times when we should require 100% of best effort from our students and other times when it is acceptable to ask for less, if they are sampling and deciding what next to focus upon. We need to teach our children how to give 100% and deliver good quality but we also need to teach them how to optimise their time and how to look for things that yield productivity.
What do you spend most of your time learning about? Is it working for you? What is most important to you as a homeschool mother? In your homeschool, what activities give you the greatest results? Do you need to re-prioritise and refocus your energies?
Have I mentioned Beverley Paine’s website? HomeschoolAustralia. Oh, I have been remiss. You will want to check it out, but brew a fresh cuppa first as you can expect to be there awhile. 🙂
When we first started learning at home, there was nowhere near the amount of information available as there is now. But, there was Beverley Paine and her books! Beverley is very generous with her time and knowledge and is a great pioneer in the area of Australian Home Education. Don’t be too quick to look at the expensive, glossy, over priced books that often flood the market today…reach instead for some tried and true, down-to-earth, practical insight and purchase Beverley’s books.
Beverley began writing for home educators in 1989 an continues to add to her growing collection of homeschooling and unschooling titles. Her aim is to demystify the education process and make it accessible to all parents. She began home educating her children when it was almost unheard of in Australia and is a passionate advocate of true educational choice for families. She shares her perspective as well as great ideas to motivate and help you enjoy this wonderful family adventure through articles and books and online at www.homeschoolaustralia.com .
She has sections and sites for getting started, reviews, a blog, resources and a monthly newsletter, which you will want to subscribe to.
Whether or not you’re looking at starting the home education adventure or have been living the lifestyle for awhile, you will find something of interest at Beverley’s site, HomeschoolAustralia. Other sites are:
http://homeschoolaustralia.com
http://australianhomeschoolcurriculum.com
http://alwayslearningbooks.com.au
Oooh, it’s so exciting! Another homeschool supply business is serving the needs of Australian homeschoolers.
Credo Trust is operated by a friend of mine, Joelle. She is a long time home educator of her five children. The aim of Credo Trust is to encourage families to continue teaching their children through the highschool years. They will provide you with an excellent array of products to help you achieve wonderful results and provide interesting learning for your family.
They have an assortment of curricula and books. Credo Trust aims to build a supply of great biographies, historical fiction, and reference and living books to assist you in whatever learning style you favour.
Do pop over there and take a look around their website. You can even receive updates to their catalogue via RSS. Be sure to let them know that Susan says *hi*. 🙂
Credo Trust
Family and Educational Resources
See other favourites sites and suppliers here.
Crowns of Fire is a rich, literary story of the Australian bush, originally written by Amy Mack (and I love her work) and it has been adapted by Michelle Morrow of Down Under Literature. The illustrations, by fellow Australian Cath Chegwidden, are just stunning! This book would be a timely addition to any homeschool library as it talks about the effects of drought and bushfire.
This 29 page hardcover book is available from Down Under Literature, who also publish and supply the fantastic Wonderland of Nature by Nuri Mass. But wait, there’s more! In addition to the Wonderland of Nature is a ‘must-have’ companion book: The Wonderland of Nature Journal CD which has three sections: How to Nature Journal, Discovery Sheets (excellent!) and Web Links.
For all things Aussie, and Nature, and Grammar, and Copy Work, check Down Under Literature for pricing details and generous samples. Tell them Susan said hi. 🙂
I’ve just had the opportunity to read an ebook A Parent to Parent Chat on ADHD – The Book I Wish I Had by: Theresa Lode
Theresa (an online friend of mine and real funny lady) shares a little of their own personal journey as well as gives some down to earth and practical tips that she has learned along the way. This book is not for those wanting an official report on ADD or ADHD. Rather it is for the parent who wants to understand the condition a little more and gain real life ways to help the family flourish.
Theresa is a home educating mother but her ebook will not heap condemnation upon you if you don’t homeschool. Theresa writes in her humorous, bright and sparky way that will give you a chuckle as well as give you information and creative ideas.
The chapters are: The Gift that is ADHD, Getting a Diagnosis, Picking Your Health Care Team, The Heredity Link, Co-Morbid Conditions, Sensory Inte-WHAT?, To Medicate ? or Not, What We Decided to Do,
Diets and Supplements, Neurofeedback, Lifestyle, Dealing with Behaviors, Learning Styles, The Brilliance of ADHD, Education Options, What is Education Anyway?, Parent Stress, and You are the Expert.
For the low price of $24.95US this 26 page, honest and real look at parenting a child with ADHD can be delivered straight to your computer!
Visit the website today to look at a sample chapter and see what others are saying.
http://www.theartofaccounting.com/motherlodepublishing/
You might also like to visit Theresa’s blog at: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Theresa/
After viewing my profile, a reader sent me an email with the question, “What is an Identity Directed Approach” so I thought it was about time I tried to put my scattered thoughts into a more coherent form.
Identity Directed home-based learning goes hand in hand with a Bible Based, Christ Centred approach. It simply means to teach the child with a view to his/her God given strengths, weaknesses, interest, passions, and talents… their natural bents.
Firstly, it’s important to recognise that God has put you, the parent, as the responsible authority in the lives of your children. Remember also that when God calls, He also enables! If God has a plan and a purpose for you as well as your child (and He does!), the best way to find out about that plan is to learn more about Him and His ways. Look at Isaiah 55:8-11
Pray! It almost goes without saying yet it’s often the most neglected facet of homeschooling. Acknowledge your weakness and lean on His strength and His ways. Yes, it is a walk of faith. For great information on homeschooling in faith I recommend Robin’s article at Heart of Wisdom. As I have looked to God, more and more He has taken care of all our homeschool needs. In other words, the less I have planned and struggled, the more He has been in control and provided for us.
Listening is so important. We need to listen more to God. Once we’ve asked for His help and direction, we need to stop and listen so that we may hear.
We need to watch and observe. We will often sense the prompting of the Holy Spirit (and gain help and direction) just by watching and observing our children. But one caution; recognising the individual make-up of each child and who he/she was created to be is an ongoing process. We need to understand that we will become students; students who study our children!
It’s important to spend time identifying the following in each child:
Once these things have been identified, pray and ask God to help you as you devise a plan to develop their strengths and to build up their weaknesses.
Identity Directed education is not child-led. It does not mean that the whim and fancy of each child is indulged. It doesn’t mean only doing what the child is good at and ignoring everything else. While it is part of Delight Directed education, it isn’t only about following delights. An athlete must train the whole body. It would be detrimental to their being to only train the areas of the body that they use most in their sport. A softball pitcher must have strong core muscles, upper body and leg muscles but they risk severe injury if these are the only areas they develop. They must also develop agility and speed, combined with power and explosiveness. They are required to use the muscle which allows them to pitch underarm yet if they don’t develop the muscles that allow them to throw over arm, they risk injury. Athletes use their whole body in a natural way and they never isolate a single muscle group or joint in the competition. In training yes, in order to develop the area but, only with an aim of building a strong whole body, fit for competition. Training with balance in strengths and weaknesses is the key! Just as an athlete has a training routine, so must the education of a child have structure and routine. These things are [natural, God ordained] biblical principles just as day turns to night and autumn comes after summer.
An individual’s strengths and weaknesses and interests are part of their God given make up! By identifying and encouraging their natural bents you will be launching them toward their purpose. Most of all, train in the ways of God and in wisdom!
Wisdom’s way of learning is about seeking God for His plan for our family.
Well, after you have recognised your God given responsibility, and prayed for wisdom, guidance and direction you will have been observing your children closely while leaning on God. So what comes next?
Each response to these points should look different based upon the personal convictions, values and calling of each family. (However, all should line up with #5 Do your aims line up with the Bible?)
Many people realise the immense benefit of home education but sometimes it isn’t until later on that parents come to see that homeschooling is more than academics… that it is a natural extension of God’s purpose for the family. This brings us to another set of points worth pondering:
The response to these points will also vary greatly. This is an interesting exercise to do with your spouse as it can help you identify your family’s unique purpose.
After identifying your family’s goals and purpose you should be able to see what is most important and worth your time. Is it academics? Skills? Information or knowledge? Or relationships? Our family has a priority list of relationships (with God, others and self) first, then skills and then knowledge. One of our highest priority areas is to grow in wisdom, which only comes from God and falls under the category of ‘relationships’.
“Academic education, as we know, should not be life’s goal for the Christian, rather, the goal should be discipleship to Jesus Christ.”
Marilyn Howshall ‘Wisdom’s Way of Learning
I’d like to encourage you to recognise God’s call, seek Him for direction, rest in Him yet all the while listening and observing. Put fine, rich books and ideas before your children. Watch for a spark and allow them to dig further. You will see the learning.
If you have any questions or would like me to clarify anything, please leave a comment or send an email.
Some recommended reading if this topic is of interest:
After my past Diary Day post, Leonie commented that I seemed to do a lot of reading aloud. Yes, I did…On That Day! 😀
Monday’s are usually my heaviest read aloud day…but I’d like to share what happened yesterday, just in case anyone was under the false impression that I have everything all together.
After getting John off to work, I immediately jumped into the car to take ‘Miss A’ to work for a 7.30am start. I came home, supervised a few chores, cleaned the bathrooms and jumped in the car to take ‘Miss R’ to school. Home by 8.45am and at 9.30am a tradesman arrived to install blinds in the bathrooms, toilet, laundry, kitchen and dining rooms. Yay, we finally have some privacy. He ended up being here for 2 1/2 hours!!! During this time, I have to be available as he might need to ask a question plus he he roaming around my house. The boys went on with all their individual lessons.
We popped out to the shops, before picking Rebakh up from school. I was at the checkout, having put all the groceries through when I realised that I didn’t have my keycard. ‘Miss A’ had it from the night before!!! So, I ask the shop to hold my goods in the fridge. We run to the car and pick ‘Miss R’ up. We get home, she gets changed and we’re back into the car to take her to work. Thank the Lord that both girls work at the same place! ‘Miss R’ and ‘Miss A’ swap shifts and I get my card back. We zoom back to the shop, which is 10kms away, passing John (DH) along the way. We pick up the groceries and head home where I have 15min to catch up with my husband before ‘Miss A’ and I head out the door again to go to softball. Ugh, traffic was shocking. Took us 15min just to get over the Gateway Bridge. The traffic report said traffic was slowed to 60kmp/h on the bridge but we were only inching our way over it. John had to pick ‘Miss R’ up at 6pm.
Whew, we’re at training and I sat in the car and read and spend some much needed time with the Lord. We amble home to find that everyone has had CatchWhatYaCan for tea. Ugh, this means they tend to catch what they can but not clean up after themselves. Oh well, I’ll face the mess in the morning.
How much reading aloud did I do yesterday? NONE!!!!!
So if anyone got the guilts after reading my Diary Day post, I hope you feel better now. 😀 Each family is different and has their own uniqueness. Praise God!
There are now countless websites and blogs devoted to the teaching and philosophy of Charlotte Mason. Back in 200, when this article was first written, I intended for this to be brief. Considering the amount of information now available, this is now ridiculously brief. Rather than attempt to rewrite the article I’ll simply post some links to good websites.
So Can We Sum Up The Methods Briefly?
We are leading the children to self-education. The reading of the best books facilitates this. Instead of comprehension questions and workbooks, narration is used. Narration is a natural yet extremely powerful tool that we can use in all areas of learning. Very simply, it is the telling back of what they have read or of what has been a read-aloud. Through narration, we can also see what the child does know, not what the child does not know. Whilst narration can be easy, natural and free it is also a complex process of which is very valuable and important in later years.
There is a strong emphasis on “living books“. (A living book is the opposite of a textbook and workbook) Texts and encyclopedias are good and contain much valuable information, however they are only facts. Dry facts. Living books allow the readers to become a part of the book, enabling them to understand the story, time custom etc. more clearly. They are well written and what Charlotte Mason would say are “clothed in literary language“. Living books do not talk down to a child’s level or leave out odd and interesting vocabulary.
Short lessons, which take place in the morning, keep children stimulated and focussed.
Copywork begins with careful penmanship, learning to make the letters and numbers correctly, producing a few perfect examples rather than a page of work that becomes sloppy. Once the letters are learned, then simple words, then sentences, paragraphs, and so on can be done, according to the age and ability of the student.
Charlotte Mason strongly emphasised the formation of Habits. She wrote, “the habits of the child produce the character of the man . . .every day, every hour, the parents are either passively or actively forming those habits in their children upon which, more than upon anything else, future character and conduct depend.” Many, who have read Charlotte Mason’s Six Volume Series agree that one of her favorite analogies with regard to habits is that they are similar to tracks for a train. The same way that it is easier for the train to stay on the tracks than to leave them, so it is for the child to follow lines of habit carefully laid down than to run off these lines. Because habits are so powerful, she tried to emphasize to parents that it is our responsibility to lay down these tracks. Charlotte Mason considered habit a delight in itself, and the training in habits becomes a habit for the mother. The choice is ours, as Charlotte put it, “The mother who takes pains to endow her children with good habits secures for herself smooth and easy days; while she who lets their habits take care of themselves has a weary life of endless friction with the children.”
I hope I have assisted you in becoming more familiar with the woman, Charlotte Mason and the methods that she espoused.
Recommended reading
“For The Children’s Sake” by Susan Schaeffer Mcaulay
“A Charlotte Mason Education” A how-to manual. By Catherine Levinson
“A Charlotte Mason Companion” by Karen Andreola
“Charlotte Mason Study Guide ” by Penny Gardner
“Charlotte Mason’s Original Homeschooling Series” by Charlotte Mason (six volume series)
Charlotte Mason series:
Part One: the woman and the philosophy,
Part Two (methods in brief),
Part Three (subject covered)
WHAT SUBJECTS ARE COVERED USING THIS METHOD?
Primary Curriculum
Bible, Literature, History, Science, Language, Spelling, Independent Reading, Composition, Poetry, Handwriting, Math, Foreign Language, Art Appreciation, Music Appreciation, Geography, and Handicrafts.
High School Curriculum
Add to the Primary curriculum:
Geometry Science Botany, Entomology, Geology, Physiology, Languages, Morals & Ethics, Astronomy, Algebra & Economics.
Add to that those everyday lessons that homeschoolers teach and you have a full inexpensive curriculum of which every member of the family can benefit and learn from.
Charlotte Mason series:
Part One: the woman and the philosophy,
Part Two (methods in brief),
Part Three (subject covered)
originally written in 2000
Charlotte Mason’s philosophy of education is becoming more popular as people realize what a simple, yet profound, method it is. Still, many home educators have never been introduced to Charlotte Mason’s ideas.
Who was Charlotte Mason? When did she live?
Charlotte Mason was born in England in 1842. Her parents mainly educated her while at home. She was orphaned at the age of sixteen. Miss Mason was an innovative educator who developed a unique approach to education. She believed that all children should have access to a broad, liberal education and to be allowed to reach their full potential. She started a teacher’s training college and many parents who educated their children at home flocked to her ideas. During her life she taught school, was a lecturer at a Teacher Training College, wrote many books and pamphlets, started a training school for governess’ which became Charlotte Mason College, became a popular public lecturer, established the Parents National Education Union (PNEU), and was Editor of it’s magazine, “Parent’s Review”. Charlotte Mason also taught parents, held retreats and classes on building the family. Charlotte Mason believed that all would benefit from a rich education and life. Her philosophy of education is designed for homes, private schools, and homeschools. Charlotte Mason had never claimed to have invented the methods that she put forth, rather she modified and combined them in a practical and intelligent way. Her methods include Narration and copywork, Nature Notebooks, Fine Arts, Languages, a Literature based curriculum instead of textbooks, and real-life applications. Charlotte Mason passed away in 1923 and was and is admired by many people. She was a Christian woman who dearly loved children and education.
What are the benefits of using her approach?
This is true learning. Children’s listening, attention, comprehension, retention, speaking, and writing skills all improve from using narration as a major part of education. It has been called a literature based approach and whilst this is an important aspect of the methods, it is definitely not limited. Most people find that they enjoy their homeschooling so much more since using Charlotte Mason’s methods. It can be inexpensive to use this method of schooling.
All one really needs to purchase is a language/phonics program and a Math book. Most that use this method buy lots of good literature, and in fact, have been known to be avid book collectors. But, you can get all resources from your local library. We enjoy the short lessons, which helps cut down on dawdling. The utilisation of “short lessons” helps prevent dawdling and encourages the student to have a focused attention span and sets good study habits. Families enjoy learning about real people in real places instead of dry, hard, cold facts. Science is a hands-on approach with lots of nature study. Fine literature, good art and music also are studied and enjoyed in this approach.
Another benefit is that each child is free to work at their own pace while still having a sense of achievement. No push to reach a particular *grade* or level. So this approach may be used with intermediate or advance learners or with slow or special needs children.
Charlotte Mason series:
Part One: the woman and the philosophy,
Part Two (methods in brief),
Part Three (subject covered)
And everything, whatever ye may do in word or in deed, do all things in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father by him.
Col 3:17
There are scheduled times that I clean the house, mop and vacuum the floors and other jobs that need doing on a regular basis. However, if these were to be the only times that I cleaned or tidied, my house would be near uninhabitable! I’ve learned that while it is good and necessary to have these cleaning times, if I don’t tidy or pick things up at other times the scheduled cleaning time is staring at me like Mt. Kosciusko!
We’ve developed a motto from a book that I read, of which I cannot remember the title or author. This motto is something that I repeat several times a week, in a sweet voice and slowly, the children are beginning to get the idea.
“Always try to leave a room in a better way than you found it.”
It might be that I rearrange the pillows in the lounge-room or put the TV guide back where it belongs. It might be cleaning the kitchen cupboard door fronts while I have the sponge in my hand, rather than wait until Monday- my cleaning day. Whatever it is that I do, it all makes tackling Mt. Kosciusko on the cleaning days that little bit more achievable and less daunting.
My homeschooling efforts used to be a little the same: I felt like the task was of mammoth proportion! To only fit all of ones academia into certain hours is daunting! But since I’ve come to see that academics and education is much like my housecleaning routine it is so much more achievable. Here a little, there a little… Sure, we have set scheduled times where we focus on an area (like we do with housework) but it was when I saw that it is more about cultivating a lifestyle that more learning could actually take place! Here a little, there a little…
Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatever ye do, do all things to God’s glory.
1Cor 10:31
The other thing I have noticed about myself is motivation. I enjoy having visitors as it requires me to do a certain amount of cleaning. Years ago, I used to use visitors as a motivation for cleaning the house! I don’t need that anymore, thankfully. It’s good to not be motivated by fear. However, I wondered about my motivation for my children’s education: why did I want them to read this book and that book? Why was it important to me that they have done this, that and the other? Was it again, similar to my housework in that a fear of some kind was my motivation? As I was able to release these concerns and fears to God, I started to live in freedom. Which I then took, as one often does when on a learning curve, to the extreme. Over time and circumstance, God brought me to a place of healing and restoration in the area of “education”, I can now set about my day and goal with a clearer motivation…one that is not based on fear.
~ What if my child doesn’t know everything he/she needs to?
~ What about the other children his/her age? They can all spell,write, do trigonometry, etc.
~ What will my neighbour/friend/Ed.Dept. think about my child not learning a foreign language?
~ Accck, do they need a foreign language?
Sure, all these things are concerns and ones that may need to be considered but the point isn’t the concerns themselves rather the motivation behind them.
Lord, help me to truly understand my imperfection and to know that I have not attained nor will not attain here on earth the state of perfection that I so often seem to desire. If the apostle Paul had not attained perfection on earth, then I know that I won’t either. Help me Lord to press on, toward the goal, to actively pursue your grace through Christ- not in and of myself – but knowing that Jesus has taken hold of me. Help me to keep my eyes upon heaven and your kingdom… that everything I do be for your glory.
but one thing–forgetting the things behind, and stretching out to the things before, I pursue, looking towards the goal, for the prize of the calling on high of God in Christ Jesus.
Phillipians 3:13-14
Living, loving and learning together…that’s our family!
One of the first and most profound statements that I had ever read was the one by William Butler Yeats, “Education is not the filling of pail, rather the lighting of a fire.”This has been a cornerstone of our home and family along with the Scripture of Duet 6: 4-9.
I guess if I had to label the how of our home/family, I would say it is loosely based on a ‘discipleship method’ or a “Bible-Centred, Eclectic, Discipleship Based, Spirit-Led, Identity-Directed, Relational, Literature Based Learners-at-home” approach. This approach (for want of a better term) can look a lot like natural learning but in our home, has a few differences. It isn’t focused upon academics- it is spiritual and real life based; and after that comes academics. It is only after sitting with John and praying and talking about our goals or aims for our children that we have come back to this. I believe that if we have a goal then this goal will influence the how and what we do with our children. Our aim is to have children who love and reverence the Lord and abide in Him. We believe that knowledge just for the sake of knowledge puffs up and fills us with pride if not done/learned with humility and a goal of serving the Lord. The main way we try to achieve this is not on content or *what-to-teach-when* rather a focus is relationships- relationships with parents, siblings, others and God.
To me, this approach is a lot larger than simply not using workbooks or a scope and sequence. It is looking at the child’s uniqueness- his gifts and interests and trying to develop other skills from this- or using this interest as central to his development. This doesn’t mean that my children just run amok each day but it does mean that no two days look the same (although at this stage the boys do look similar).
I’m still trying to find a balance between exposing the children to things that they don’t have a natural bent for without overloading myself or tying myself to a schedule of MUST DO THIS or MUST DO THAT . Eg: Fine Arts is not something that ‘Miss A’ takes a lot of delight in but I still try to encourage an appreciation for this in her life. Listening to different forms of music, view different works of art, etc can all be used to gently enhance my family and my home but do I need to turn it into a lesson? A subject? Maybe for one child that is appropriate because of her interests and gifts (be it even wooden watches) but does the other NEED to study that? These are things that John and I have worked through and are now happy to be at a place where we can answer these questions for our own family.
This approach, for us, also means that I strive to *keep their hearts* turned toward John and I and the family. This takes time and work. I also believe that true natural learning takes a lot of work by the parents. It isn’t just a matter of letting the kids run amok and see what they learn- it is more about putting things before the children and also praying for wisdom in discovering their interests and then developing their basic skills in and around those interests.
This form of learning allows the children to pursue their own (God given) interests with my support and guidance *and* I can be included with them in this! My children are surrounded by books (lots of ’em), good TV programs and other learning resources but mainly, (and I think this is a big key) and hopefully they will see my example of loving to learn, to study. This fits in with our goal of keeping the children’s hearts as I am actively involved in their course of learning. Another benefit is that their learning isn’t as ‘artificial’ as it has been. It hasn’t necessarily been spoon-fed to them- they have dug a lot of information out for themselves.
An example of modeling learning – this is part of the naturalness of learning at home. Our children can memorise Scripture and colour in Bible pictures galore but if they don’t see us living and breathing that Truth, then what do they really learn? This doesn’t mean that we don’t use workbooks but that within the use of books, our focus is now different. Our focus is not upon WHAT we want to achieve or how much we want to read but that we view our more formal learning times as training- training the hearts of the children amidst some English, history or science lessons. (The real interesting thing is that we have shared this with the children and they understand this. Now, instead of just trying to plow through the work or books, they recognize the need for me to stop and address an attitude or behaviour. ) Anyway, it wasn’t until I could let go of ‘my‘ ideas of what we should cover and when (otherwise called a scope and sequence) that I was able to look at other ways. I never used anyone else’s S&S but nevertheless there was one: it was my own rigid but ‘original’ plan of what I wanted to do. I wasn’t homeschooling in liberty or freedom but I was in bondage- to my own plans! Rewinding my thoughts back to 6 years ago, I now see again that the ‘process of learning‘ is more important than the ‘what’ or ‘how much’ we are learning. How much of this learning is force-fed? Artificial? How much am I simply trying to fill the bucket? Is my child remotely interested in this subject or am I forcing her to do it? I think that there is a difference between becoming literate and loving to learn.
I’ve also learned (and am still learning) that this type of learning is more natural… (naturally) 😉 – we see it all the time. Students in school take the morning off to have a visit to the Fire Dept and learn about firemen and our students and learn this in the course of a trip to the supermarket when they see a fire truck on its way to a fire and we have a discussion about it. This is natural and we can accept this but we tend to draw the line with other areas. Why? I’m not saying we should or shouldn’t draw the line but it’s a good thing to ask ourselves eh? Why do we draw this line? Is it based on fear? Or a desire for academic excellence? What motivates us or drives us to feel the way we do?
When we understand that no one else will teach our children the wonderful things in the world, we realise that we have to make the most of our time. This is often best achieved as things arise naturally. When you are out in the garden and your little boy asks a zillion questions about a spider that has piqued his interest, you don’t say, “Oh, not now honey…that will come up in your science book so don’t worry about it for now.” Rather we seize the opportunity and make the most of it, explaining (or trying to) the answers to his questions. Maybe you don’t know the answer. That’s okay too especially if you answer with, “Hey honey, I’m not too sure on that one myself. What a great question. But let’s look that up in a book when we go back in the house, okay?” Through this you are modeling a lifestyle of learning…you are showing your child that even adults like to learn.
I believe that this natural approach to learning is good but I also don’t think that it is a formula. Well maybe it is touted as such but I don’t think that it should be. As homeschoolers, we are prone to latching on to formulas hoping that it will give us success. (In whatever we deem as successful). Combining the principles of natural learning and the discipleship approach (Deut 6) can be purposeful, beneficial and have its own structure or routine of learning. It need not be the random, haphazard look that often scares people away.
I too, sometimes use labels and like many, recognize the small scope that labels allow for. I think that sometimes natural learning is almost a dirty word in some circles and I think this is a shame. It’s hard not to use labels when trying to communicate to a wide variety of people, especially when one is trying to get a whole viewpoint across in as few words as possible-and to an extent labels can help us achieve that.
Living, loving and learning together…that’s our family!
HomeGrownKids Scope & Sequence
Our scope and sequence is a similar pattern to what we follow for history. (internal blog link) It is closely linked with my understanding of the Stages of Learning, which you can view here.
Birth to age 9 ( birth -G4)
>> If you have older children that are following the same sequence, it is easy to add simple but beautiful picture books into the junior schedule. Even better if the older children read it and discuss it with the youngers!>> Songs and memory work are of great benefit during this stage. (Colin Buchanan is a classic!!) We also go through the book, Training Hearts Teaching Minds: Family Devotions Based on the Shorter Catechism by Starr Meade.>> We go through the Old Testament – using a children’s Bible such as:
Devotional type of reading: Books like;
A few links(more to come)
http://gardenofpraise.com/bibleles.htm
Age 10-13 or (G5 – G8)
>> Review the same chronological cycle, if desired, but in greater depth. Pay attention to biographical stories and Christian fiction.
>> This is the time to develop or use a Bible timeline.
>> Songs and memory work are of great benefit during this stage. We also go through the book, Training Hearts Teaching Minds: Family Devotions Based on the Shorter Catechism by Starr Meade.
Bible reading:
Studies:
Books:
Age 14 through 17-18 or (G9 – 12)
>> Time to tie things all together using a chronological and narrative approach.
>> Doing a survey of the Old and New Testaments is good, as is doing a study on the Life of the Messiah.
>> Consider biographies, historical fiction and unabridged Bible readings.
>> Pay particular attention to discussing thoughts and ideas, updating the time-line or Book of Centuries.
>> Tie all studies in with a Book of Centuries (Timeline), good living books, and a Bible Encyclopedia and other study tools.
>> You may also consider learning a little about Church history as the students get older. Biographies are great for this, and there are too many good books for me to even begin to mention.
Bibles:
Studies:
Tools:
Books:
Church History resources
Bible Study Guides Bible Study Guide for all ages
Family Bible study!Positive Actions
Teaching a child’s heart and his head. Kindy, Junior High and High School. Teacher Manual and Student Book including memory verses and worksheets. Able to be used twice a week or 4-5 times a week.
Explorer’s Bible Study
Daily lessons from Preschool to Adult level, including activities, questions and maps. Apparently families are able to study the Bible together but using the different books for each level.
Deeper Roots
Has studies from grade 7-12. Inductive study.
Firm Foundations – From Creation to Christ
This curriculum is set up to chronologically teach through the Bible, from Creation to Christ! Extremely thorough.
My students will be completing a Survey of the Old and New Testaments and a great resource is the For the Layman series.
For the Layman: A Survey of the Old Testament and
For the Layman: A Survey of the New Testament
by Ken Levy
These are a set of cassette’s and a workbook where Ken Levy takes you through the Bible. Full of information and ties events and people together!
An excellent study! Study guide for the Holman Bible Atlas! This is a 69-page pdf download file.
Families who have an older child using a HoW approach seem to find it easier to know what to do with the younger siblings. A few people seem to need further help with instituting a HoW approach with a young family. I wonder if this confusion arises because people are trying to use a HoW unit study without understanding the thoughts that make up the approach. A few other methods have a similar difficulty in that they are foremost a method or an approach. AmblesideOnline is one that I have seen other people struggle with until they understand the *why* of it. Without understanding the principles behind the approach, AO is just another booklist; dry and long. But, when that booklist is combined with the methods espoused by Charlotte Mason, the booklist becomes so much more. It is the method or the principles that are the binding glue. So it is with HoW. The units are great! But, they are only a small part of the greater work. The Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach is an approach that is based upon biblical principles- it isn’t simply sprinkling a few key Scriptures throughout the pages of a book nor is it reading only Christian books with no regard to methods used in teaching. It is an entire method or approach that can be used from birth through to adulthood. In my own life, I use a HoW approach!
So, onto the daily practicality of using HoW with a young family. What could such a day look like? Firstly, a principle of the HoW approach is Bible First- regardless of the ages or number of children in the family. You will study the Bible and use Bible study tools relevant to your children?s ages and development level. Then, you can study thematic unit studies, using living books and the Internet. Through this study is where you will develop the little ones language skills and start to focus on building good habits essential for further study: habits like attentiveness and producing one’s best effort, and the art of narration. You’ll need to do some phonics instruction and maths with your child.
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HOW has been a great launching pad for our family and has put some wonderful ideas before myself and the children. Here I’ll share how we use the unit studies.
For a few weeks before we start, I look at the books in my shelf and get the appropriate ones out. I put some of the commonly used resources out on the table or desk. In fact, they are always within easy reach and readily available for perusing. eg; ‘Amazing Expedition Bible‘ and ‘Who’s Who in the Bible‘ and a ‘Bible Encyclopedia‘.
Firstly I look at the objectives of each lesson on pages which is in the front of the unit study and I briefly tell the children what we will be focusing on that day. If we don’t do a lesson a day (and we often take more than one day) I use these objectives to go over what we did do the day before ? sort of a revision.
So, I’ll describe lesson one for you;
I will tell the children some things that I’d like them to focus on…to listen for…to consider…In this, I would say something like,
?After this lesson I’d like John and ‘Master C’ to tell me the Creation story. I’d like ‘Miss A’ and ‘Miss R’ to know two Hebrew names for God. I’d like you to think about why God created us or to think about how Creation reveals God. So, you guys think you can do that?”
We start by reading the ‘excite passage‘ or a CMish way of putting it is to Prepare the Lesson. Sometimes I will be organised and have the timeline figures ready, other times I won’t and will just quickly do it on pieces of paper. So, after we muck around a bit we will arrange the cards into chronological order.
Then, after we’ve done this, which doesn’t take long, we move on to the next step which is titled ‘Examine‘. I will read straight from the HOW lesson (page 25). I will ask the children if any of them would like to make a mind-map of what I just read. We may or may not read the first 11 chapters of Genesis as we have done this numerous times.
Then, I’ll grab some of the books from the shelf that we have ? Amazing Expedition Bible and Who’s Who in the Bible, the Victor Journey through the Bible and a Bible Encyclopedia. We might look over the relevant pages all together although sometimes I’ll give ‘Miss A’ a book and tell her to look at it for herself. Often, we will look at the Internet links that HoW provides and they can be very good. Many times, while doing this part in HoW, I will pair the children up: ‘Miss A’ will work with ‘Master C’ and ‘Miss R’ will work with John.
Then, I tell the children that I want them to do something with this information. I give them all of the choices in Step 3 (Expand). My artistic child will often go for a hands-on project and in this lesson she chose the mind-mapping activity whereas my dd who likes to write might choose activity 2 ? writing summaries. They will refer to the books we have, although I usually like to find the internet sites for ‘Miss A’ , as she is older and likes to research on the PC.
Now, this is most often where we get stuck or stop! Everyone goes off and does their own thing and it’s hard to get them back. Sometimes, we can move on that very day, but other times it has to wait until the next day when we will move to the next step, (Excel) where I wrap it up. We will review a little by putting our figures or pieces of paper into chronological order or in our timeline book. We aren’t very diligent with our timeline book though.
We often show Dad everything that we’ve done that night or the next night. There is always some time when we get to share or to show what we have been learning.
The thing is we could easily make one lesson spread out for one whole week! But, then I fear, we’d never get out of Genesis. So, I try to move them on a bit- in my own mind allowing 2 days per lesson but I’d like to make it one lesson per day.
We do things a bit different in that we have a separate English program and vocabulary program so while I make mention of new vocabulary words we don’t keep the notebooks like HoW suggests. We ‘ll also have our current read aloud that ties in with the unit. It might be ‘Adam and His Kin‘ by R.Beechick or “The God King” by Joanne Williamson or one of the new books like ‘The Priest‘ by F. Rivers for the older girls.
The thing that I really appreciate is that the objectives are laid out and this enables me to quickly see the point of the lesson, which is especially good if I want to move on at a moderate pace. If I’m happy to go at a snail’s pace and chase bunny trails, then I ignore the objectives. However, the other thing is that it teaches how to Prepare the Lesson. So often I think, this is ignored. Charlotte Mason expected her teachers to Prepare the Lesson yet often in CM circles we aren’t told that, let alone shown how to do it.
The HoW unit studies and teaching approach Prepares the Lesson, Gives the Lesson, Asks for a Response to the lesson and then gets student to Relate that knowledge. How cool is that?
I hope that gives you a little insight into how we use HoW. I also like the philosophy of HoW and the methods of excite, examine, expand and excel. Even when we don’t use HoW units, we use this 4 step method because it is easy for me to remember and to work with. Hebrew roots is also a personal and individual study that I have taken on…not always for my children. The Hebraic roots of our Christian faith is a constant interest of mine – one that I pursue for myself.
“Hear, Yisra’el: the LORD is our God; the LORD is one: and you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.
These words, which I command you this day, shall be on your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up.
You shall bind them for a sign on your hand, and they shall be for symbols between your eyes.
You shall write them on the door-posts of your house, and on your gates.”Deuteronomy 6: 4-9
From this, it is my understanding that we, as parents are to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness…and then to teach and lead our children in that too.
The Hebrews didn’t separate knowledge into divisions of spiritual and then secular. Rather, they saw that the main aim of education was to train the whole person for service unto God. It is because of this that our family has the aims that it does- that we use the methods that we do.
We aim to do a few things each day. The most important one is to read God’s Word. And to pray- to talk and listen with God. Ultimately, to become hearers AND doers of the Word.
Along with this, we have some other goals for our family although we recognise that these don’t need to be accomplished in one year!
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Here are the thoughts of my 12yods. He hasn’t done any formal writing so bear that in mind when reading his thoughts about the series, Terrestria Chronicles by Ed Dunlop.
Book: Terrestria Chronicles series
by Ed Dunlop
Name: John
Date: 2007
This book is an allegory, written by Ed Dunlop. It was written in 2006. It is set in medieval or castle-times. Mr. Dunlop writes the book from one person’s perspective: an omniscient perspective.
The basic plot about this story is good vs. evil, right vs. wrong, like many books. The main characters in this book are Josiah and Selwyn. Josiah is a slave boy to Argamor, an evil blacksmith. After making an attempt to escape with the help of a stolen file, he is caught and tied to a tree, where a flogging would take place. After being tied to the tree, the King arrives and frees Josiah of his Chain of Iniquity and his Weight of Guilt. The King then adopts Josiah into the Royal family, and Josiah is taken to the Castle of Faith.
The spiritual value of this book is pretty good, being an allegory. I think that other boys, and girls would enjoy this book. I would like my Mum to read it aloud to us, but we are still reading the Kingdom Series.
More information can be found at the Dunlop Ministries website.
Manners Judi The Manners Lady ~ Through cool music and games, Judi helps parents teach important manners and life skills to their children. Kids around the world are saying “The Good Manners Pledge” and joining the Manners Club. It’s fun… and it’s free!…
Raising Servants (?er, I Mean Children)
Chores: You Are NOT Doing Them All By Yourself, Are You?
Chores: What 1-2-Year-Old Walkers Can Do
Chores: What a 3-5-Year-Old Can Do
Chores: What Elementary-Aged Children Can Do
We don’t have a set daily schedule. We don’t eat meals at specified times or have a daily to-do list. Instead we tend to work in blocks of time. In the morning, we discuss briefly what blocks of time we are doing that day and this way the children know what to expect.
(Times given are approximate and are determined by the day’s activities)
(2hrs)
(2 hours)
(2 hours)
I awoke at 6am and jumped in the shower while John watched the morning news in bed. He actually pretends to watch the news but I think he really snoozes! He showers and gets ready for work as I head to the kitchen to make grilled muffins with eggs for breakfast. ‘Miss A’ awakes and the three of us have breakfast together before John heads off to work at 7am. He has a long day today and won’t be home until about 10.30pm.
‘Miss A’ and I jump in the car as I drive her to work. Upon returning home, I remind ‘Miss R’ that it is time to get up. I open the boys blinds and let the sunshine stream into their bedrooms as I greet them with a hug and kiss and a loud ‘good morning!’ John and ‘Master C’ take quite a few minutes to wake up so they follow me into the kitchen and watch me as I prepare their muffins for breakfast. I steal a few minutes to clean my bathroom and put on a load of laundry. Over breakfast, I ask John to unstack the dishwasher and drainer board from last night. ‘Master C’ ‘s chore is to re-stack the dishwasher while I take ‘Miss R’ to school. Upon my return, the boys have nearly finished their chore. John then gets the vacuum cleaner out and vacuums the entire house, while ‘Master C’ cleans all the mirrors and a few windows and screens in the house. They have done all their chores without grumbling and complaining and I tell them how proud I am of their choices and attitudes. I have a 30min break on the computer to quickly check boards and emails while the boys finish building their current lego construction.
At 10am, we sit down to start our more formal part or ‘Table Time’ of learning. Today I read from the gospel of Matthew where Jesus feeds Five Thousand and we talk about how Jesus is able to meet all our needs. We discuss how Jesus thought of other’s needs more than His own…we want to be more like Jesus, considering the needs of other’s before we consider our own needs. We discuss what it means to have a giving heart as compared to a selfish heart. We give thanks to God for His word, that we are able to learn more about Him and we ask that He do a work in us…that we may consider others more highly than ourselves. The boys and I take turns in reading from the Scriptures in their own Bibles. I love seeing them become familiar with learning the books of the Bible and seeing them thumb through God’s word to find the relevant book, chapter and verse. 🙂 We also read and discuss another chapter in our catechism: Training Heart, Training Minds.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
Philippians 2:3
Then I read from Herein is Love: Genesis. We’re only up to chapter 12. But we’re getting there…slowly. It is now nearly Elevenses, time for Second Breakfast. The boys prepare pikelets with jam while I read another chapter from Boyhood and Beyond. This chapter is about Justice. Then we head into the lounge room for a snuggle while I read a few chapters from our current read aloud book, Kingdom’s Call by Chuck Black. Midway through the chapter, ‘Miss A’ calls from work to say *hi*. 😀 After read aloud, of which the boys do not want to stop, it is time for a little independant work. John starts a lesson of Math-U-See while ‘Master C’ completes a page in each workbook. He has a book on Building Your Thinking Skills and Writing & Comprehension Skills. He also does copy work and then goes outside for a bounce and thinking time on the trampoline. 🙂 Meanwhile, I sit at the computer, do a quick round of the forums and email and start to compose this post. Ooh, ‘Miss R’ emails me from school, during her English class, so I respond to her and give her my perspective on her upcoming debating topic. (yes, the homeschool mama never stops homeschooling, even when they go to school!)
The phone rings. Usually I screen calls when I am busy but not when I know it is my lovely family…and it is! ‘Miss A’ calls me to remind me about softball training tonight. Then John calls me from out whoop whoop somewhere so I really want to take that call. I call him back and we chat for a few minutes. He reminds me of a few phone chores I must tend to. I don’t like being on the phone a lot- although I can laugh at the irony of that statement. 😀 Meanwhile the phone is beeping at me with call waiting, which I despise but can’t be bothered to turn it off; I just don’t use it. It is my Dad so I have to call him back. Meanwhile the boys are making themselves their lunch. I’m not phased by this as I made them a good breakfast and had some quality time with them.
Another quick check of email and answered a few posts and paid for some curriculum. Maybe I’ll have some lunch now too. Nope, took a business call which lasted 15 minutes and then I run like a mad woman to the car to pick ‘Miss R’ up from school. We stop off to get petrol and I give her a lesson on how to fuel up the car. We drive home (yabba yabba yabba all the way home) and we sit in the car for about 10 minutes as she tells me of her day.
We’ve only got a few minutes before we go out again to pick ‘Miss A’ up so we all sit on our computer’s for a spell. ‘Miss R’ is checking a few sites for a homework assignment while the boys play a PC game and I check Aussie Homeschool Ads and continue this post. 😉
Out the door to get ‘Miss A’ and home again…but not for long! We spend 40 minutes catching up and then we head out the door again to drop her at training. After having a few healthy meals lately, tonight is CatchWhatYaCan for tea. ‘Miss R’ and I spend a bit of time on the Internet designing her new blog. It’s clean up time and then shower time before we head out to pick ‘Miss A’ up from training. She fixes something for tea and then we settle down to watch a show on television.
John arrived home at 9.30pm as I was on my way to bed. ‘Miss A’ had gone to bed, as had the boys although they were still awake reading (John is hooked on the Terrestria Chronicles and ‘Master C’ was engrossed in his Bible). John and I had a few minutes of catching up and then ‘Miss R’ sat with him for while and they talked before she went to bed.
Whew, that was my day. It wasn’t terribly exciting but it has changed in appearance and structure over the last few months and years. I’m not longer in the world of toddlers but my children are growing and emerging and developing. I do a fair bit of driving around on some days but not all days are that hectic with me out of the home.
I did want to blog about my thoughts on the purpose of the law but it seems that I won’t get to it for another few days. Oh well, it will happen.
Anyone care to share a day from their week? If so, please leave a comment or trackback so I can read your post!
Do we do Bible Study every day?
I think we have tried every approach that is bantered about in homeschooling and family circles. We have tried starting our day with Bible study. We have tried doing Bible study after lunch when the main academics are finished. We have done Bible study every day. We have done it three or four times a week. I’ve had issues or problems with them all!
So how often do we do Bible study? That might be so much easier to answer if we had a regular lifestyle with no interruptions. But we have many interruptions. Just a few weeks back, I had a particularly harrowing day and I took 16 phone calls. Now some would say that I shouldn’t answer the phone. But you know what? I was screening the calls. Those 16 calls were all from my family: my father, my husband, ‘Miss A’ or ‘Miss R’. Now how’s a gal supposed to fit in meal preparation, laundry, lessons, Bible study and stay sane? The only way that I know how to do all those things and stay sane is to not stress over the minor things…to understand that every day brings its own opportunities to minister, to serve, to love, to read and to pray.
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Charlotte Mason’s methods and other natural learning methods were wonderful with my girls for teaching them English skills. They both write quite well. Narration has formed the cornerstone or basis of their English lessons. However, the boys have an aversion to pencils and paper so writing has always been tedious and something down further on the ‘to-do’ list. I’ve been trying to focus on it a little more lately by using the 5W’s and an H and requiring more detailed narrations. It’s been like pulling teeth. So I did what I always do when I need to go back to the drawing board. I researched new curricula and/or methods. But nowadays, I am pretty particular as I have learned what I need, what the boys need, and what has most chance of success. A program could be the best program available, with all the bells and whistles available, but if it relies too heavily upon me, then it won’t get done. If it requires too much pencil work from the boys, then it won’t get done. If it is something that needs to be done every day, of every week, of every month of every year, then it won’t get done.
I was leaning heavily toward Institute for Excellence in Writing products as they have a dvd lesson which teaches directly to the student, yet also requires a little of me. The boys are achieving success using Math-U-See so I thought that something similar would be a hit. I received the program in the mail (Thanks Linda from Adnil) and spent some time looking over it. Wow, to say that I felt overwhelmed would be an understatement! However, I am trying to persevere with it.
Yesterday, the boys did the first lesson on outlining using key words. Today, the learned about writing a new paragraph from their keywords. I am allowing them to use the computer rather than handwriting their keywords and paragraph as getting the ideas and thoughts flowing is more important to me than using a pencil. I was very happy with their work today. Below is 10yo ‘Master C’ and 12yo John’s paragraphs. (I have their permission to share their work)
Sea Wasps
By ‘Master C’Sea Wasps are the most venomous jellyfish with a poisoning ability greater then any snake. Sea Wasps search for shrimps on the beach. Sea Wasps have a deadly sting after humans get stung they only have seconds to stagger back to the beach. Sea Wasps are transparent and are difficult to see. Sea Wasps are not found in America and Europe but they are found in Australia. This blob of neurotoxin is quite capable of killing fifty or more people.
Sea Wasps
By JohnThe Sea Wasp is a venomous type of jellyfish, with poison stronger than that of a snake. While looking for food, it often floats into the shore of Australian beaches, causing danger to swimmers that swim along the beach. When a swimmer gets stung by one, the effect is deadly and gives them seconds to reach the beach. It is very transparent, making it difficult to see and making it harder to avoid. It is not found in anywhere in America or Europe, but makes its home around Australian beaches. It is quite capable of killing fifty or more people. Some may consider it the most dangerous creature alive.
Narration has always been a little more difficult for the boys and after years of persisting and encouraging I knew I needed to give them some key skills that narration could give them, but it wasn’t as they found it cumbersome and difficult. I’m hoping we’re on to a good thing here for the boys.
This post was in response to a thread on an email group. The discussion was about the high incidence of teenage rebellion in homeschooled children.
Sadly, I think there is a lot of myth and fear surrounding the teen years, especially amongst home schoolers. We don’t need to stick our heads in the sand and only discuss that which we want to hear- we need to know what is happening.
I believe that there comes a time in everyone’s life where they start to examine and question the big issues of life: why are we here? Who put us here? What happens when we die? Our answer or thoughts to these questions make us do the things we do.
We want to teach our children these things that we have taken on as belief and faith. We do teach them. We homeschool so we can spend more time with our children, building the relationship, instilling values, etc
There comes a time when a child starts to question those big issues of life. That isn’t wrong- it is necessary if one is to grow and be an individual person (a child of God), rather than a sheep. I see this as a transference of faith– where the child may start to take responsibility for their relationship with God. They are able to go directly to God for themselves and not relying upon their mum or dad. (Of course this is when some parents start to get concerned as that relationship may appear different to their relationship with God)
What happens if this taking ownership of faith does not happen? Well, it still may shift but instead of relying upon Mum and Dad’s faith, they may rely upon someone else’s: their boyfriend, husband, pastor, friends, magazine, tv, etc (The enemy is vying for the heart of all and is actively working toward gaining it via any means). They either take ownership of the faith they were raised in or they transfer it and take the beliefs or faith of someone else.
I think that we make a grave mistake in looking for any kind of formula. We think that if we homeschool, then our children will turn out okay. But then we have to homeschool a certain way or it won’t ‘work’. We have to avoid this, avoid that, do this, don’t do that…Oh, it’s all so hard – so many rules.
I believe that many of us deeply believe that there is a formula:
1 child + homeschool = Success
I also believe that many of us believe there is a recipe for failure, and it looks like this:
1 child + school = Failure.
Oh, I know that when we see it written so boldly like that we don?t agree that we think that way but?when it gets down to the heart of the matter it is often what is in our heart.
Raising children is a matter of grace, in my opinion. It isn’t about a formula or a recipe. Whether or not a person realises they’re forgiven and walks in it when they are 15 or 45 doesn’t change the fact that it’s all about GRACE. Salvation is a work of grace and after all, salvation is what most of us desire for our children more so than simply the appearance of right living.
If one does follow recipe number one : 1 child + homeschool = Success, then I have to ask, is it about them and their parenting methods or is it about God’s redeeming grace? We need to know and accept that we cannot obtain our child’s salvation! (Having accepted that we can start getting on our knees)
We can lead them to Him, lead them in the ways of Him…teach them all about Him, and teach them to obey us as parents…but that internal work of the heart – to respond to God and obey Him is not within our control. We are the messenger, the herald who proclaims the message. The onus is on the hearer to hear and obey.
We can pray! We can proclaim the message unabashedly! We can live by example. We can train in matters of outwardness. And we can hope.
There will come a time in their life when they question what they believe…it might look shaky for awhile but if the foundation is solid (that foundation being the message- the message of the work of the Cross through Christ) then we can be assured that God will indeed graft them into the vine and call them His own. They will start to see this as their faith…their belief and not just that of their parents. This is a most BEAUTIFUL happening!!!! Truly wondrous!
I have met and had the pleasure of knowing a few Christian young people. Young ones who have a desire to serve God, to serve others and have a great relationship with their parents and siblings. Yet, they were not taught at home. They attended schools. Both public schools and private schools. Upon talking to their parent’s, I came to see that there are some common denominators: Relationship, time, love, acceptance, gentleness, firmness, boundaries, laughter, etc.
However, I still think we’re missing something in all this. It’s all too easy to look at family and judge their efforts or judge the fruit by the 16yo. However, I don’t believe that we can or should do that. I have heard it said, and I believe it to be true, that our true test of parenting isn’t seen until we watch how our children parent. How do our children parent our grandchildren? That’s when we see the fruit of our job.
We can’t look at a 15yo, who is mulling over the big issues of life and struggling with it (which can be a normal part of maturing into an independent adult), and judge a family by that! In the same way, we can’t look at a family who has an obedient and God-fearing 16yo and assume that they have it altogether, thereby desiring to emulate their parenting. We don’t know where that person will be when they are 30, once away from the watchful eye of parents and responsible for themselves. So often we look over the operative word in Proverbs 22: 6 “when he is old”, not when he is a teen.
I was speaking to a beautiful elderly man a few weeks ago at church. He had previously preached and I thoroughly enjoyed it and learned things. His son is an assistant pastor at the church (the elderly fellow isn’t a pastor) and preaches…just not quite as deep and insightful as his dad 😉 Anyway, we were talking about parenting and John and I questioned him about his parenting approach, as we usually do when we see the ripe fruit 😉
He encouraged us to do as much with our children as we could- to teach them God’s way, to love them, to laugh with them, to be firm with them and to not get too hung up over the teen years. He found out we home-schooled and was encouraging about that but he just kept saying the same thing:relationship! His children went to public school. I know of others who have sent their children to public school and they have grown to be productive fruits in the kingdom of God, serving Him with their lives.
I believe we’d do much better to study and learn about how God parents us! For He is the ultimate parent! How does he love, teach, guide, command us? What does He expect of us? Then as we relate our parenting from God, we may be parents after His own heart.
So with the whole rebellion thing…gee I went down a garden path there eh?
Do we mean that the children haven’t adopted our way of thinking in every aspect…do they not adhere to ‘our’ standards of dress, music, etc or do we mean that they have discarded (turned their back on) the ways of God and His word?
Ah, it’s truly a big question I believe…and one that would be good thought and discussion for Australian homeschoolers as home education continues to grow and develop in this country.
As for me, I’ll keep praying for my children… I’ll keep living according to Micah 6:8. Keep proclaiming the gospel of Christ- salvation by grace through faith. And keep building relationships with them so that when the days of questioning come, they will see the Jesus living in me and know that Jesus is the way.
He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8
Do you use the 5W’s and a H to teach your children? I do! I have found it beneficial in more than one way.
When the children were younger and narrating orally to me, the would sometimes forget, especially with some literary books that seem to waffle a bit and take time to get to the point. I started by telling them to remember as many nouns as they could.
Then I came across the idea of 5W’s and a H. It’s not a new idea at all…but it helps me to teach my children to research, to think logically and to organise their thoughts. I made a sheet which listed the W’s and a H and how it could relate to each and every chapter, book, story or movie. I also made a blank sheet so that the child can fill it in while reading. It can be used for all ages.
Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?
I call it our Observation Sheet.
We have used these sheets for every subject, including Bible study. They can form as memory joggers or prompts when making a lapbook, writing an essay or a project. This sheet can easily be incorporated with other study skills such as mind-mapping. You can also use them as narration or writing prompts.
You can download a copy of the sheets below. Let me know if you use it, and if you find it beneficial.
Download link: Observation Sheet
Last year I was tired and weary from eight years of learning at home with children. (We withdrew Miss A from school and began testing her in late 1997)
In 2006 I had planned to start afresh with a new plan, and I was trying to gather enthusiasm for the new school year. I had blogged about it all, and one thing led to another and I decided to take a year’s Sabbatical. The entries and thoughts are scattered throughout this blog so I thought I’d compile them in one place.
It all started when I was studying ‘Rest’ and Sabbath in the Bible.
Usually I pray and ponder and peruse all the curriculum catalogues so that I can plan an approximate guide for each of my children. Late last year I roughly planned out the years for each of the children until they are 16years old. It was a very loose plan with lots of room for delights, interests and purposes. I then broke that down into the various years. I had planned to break that down even further and map out what things we would do this coming year but I’ve decided not to! I’m going to try something different. Instead of the 4 P’s (pray, ponder, peruse and plan) I’m going to focus on the 3 R’s. No, not Readin’ ‘Riting and ‘Rithmetic but…
Rest, Relationship and Refreshment.
I want to rest in God more and lead my children to do the same. I want to focus more upon relationships than ever before and I want to make sure that we have quality times of refreshment amidst our life of work. I don’t want to always be striving toward the next academic goal nor feeling good about achieving my goals. I just want to rest in God. The practical implication of this is that I won’t be planning, rather I will record what we have done each day. Each of the children will have their own recording journal, which we have designed ourselves and had spiral bound, (Learning Lifestyle Journal) and it will cover the following areas:
There is also room at the bottom of the page for student notes or comments and parent notes or comment. Maybe I’m becoming more this way the longer that we do this [learn at home].
I’m tired of seeing myself as a homeschooler! We are a FAMILY! And that is how God designed us to be. Academics are one part of life and so much of it can be done within a different time frame to what we (as school-ised parents) know of. I don’t want to “measure my success” by the amount of Table-Time that we have or the amount of books that we read or how structured or unstructured we may be.
I’ll confess. I’m not jumping up and down with excitement over lessons (school) this year. Nope! There was a time when we would visit Officeworks and stock up on all manner of new stationary and papers and binders and filing systems but (this is the beginning of our 9th year) I can’t even gather some motivation to do that at the moment. There was a time when I would devise some great plans but not this year- we’re just plodding on from where we left off. I love making plans though and if I must say so myself, I’m kinda good at it too. However, it gets really tiring seeing those plans NOT become reality due to one reason or another (usually called “real life”) so I decided not to make any fresh plans or schedules. Years ago, I decided not to make New Year’s Resolutions for pretty much the same reason yet it took me awhile to realise that the same thing happens with my lesson plans.
So, we’re easing back into lessons next week but we’ll start slowly. Bible, English and Reading Aloud and Individual Reading (Yes, I still have to insist upon individual reading for some of my children) will happen first and then once we are rolling with that, we’ll add Maths, Science and History and just keep going from there.
I have tried all of my usual tricks in order to find some motivation or inspiration and it just isn’t happening! Yes, I know that God has called me to this job and that in Him I can do it, but I’m still weary. I want to keep pressing on toward the goal but I’m still tired. I’ve read articles on burnout and while I usually glean something from them, I’m not this time round.
Last year I thought about the possibility of a Sabbath Year- one year every seven years spent in just *rest* before God. No striving, planning, feeling driven, etc. but to simply REST in Him. Yes, I know that this can be a daily process and it should be, but I also think I need a Sabbath Year.
Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart. – Psalm 27:14
I thought about this last year and decided against it BECAUSE I was scared! Scared that my daughter is getting older and couldn’t find the time to have off but I realised that be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. Joshua 1:9
So, with our Sabbath Year this year I’m committing to NOT striving or planning, but to just *live* and rest in the author and the finisher of my faith.
Here we are midway through the year, and it’s time to look back, to assess and take stock of how things are going.
In January of this year, I decided to have a Sabbath period. I called it a Sabbath year but later changed it to a Sabbath Season. I was content to take up to a year but didn’t want to be bound by that. The point of this Sabbath Season was to not strive. Not to plan. Not to be so consumed by homeschooling. To not feel so driven most of the time but to relax in Him. To focus on relationships. I knew that this should/could be the way of learning-at-home but it wasn’t reality for me. Not really.
So, where are we now six months later? What have we been doing? Surely we haven’t just been sleeping in late each day and doing nothing? No. As I had posted we really have been focusing on the 3 R’s – Rest, Relationship and Refreshment.
Yes we’ve been moving interstate, having visitors stay with us and going away for softball trips but we’ve also been doing some things that could/should/would be classified as lessons.
How is this different to what we were doing last year when I thought that God was directing our home? Well, it’s the same but different. The change is in *me*. I didn’t realize exactly how many layers of self I had wrapped up in homeschooling- but there’s a few. A few years ago, I thought I had given it all over to God… that He could do what He wanted with me and that I had died to self and let go of my ideals. And I did do that. However, I believe that there were still parts of it, my goals that had to be given over to God. I’m learning at a deeper level what He means when He says to commit our ways to Him.
So far this year, we have read history, science, done maths and English, watched many movies and had great discussions on the nature of man, practiced real life skills, trained our physical bodies, and implemented new chores and routines. But more than that, we have spent more time in God’s word- reading, studying, immersing ourselves in Him.
It’s not that we have stopped learning how to write or spell or do maths… rather that I don’t plan and wring my hands with worry. We simply pick up the lesson where we left off and if this means that we don’t do maths for 2 or 3 weeks then so be it! It isn’t going anywhere, and we’ll get back to it one day. Meanwhile, there are other things for us to learn or do.
I have been pleasantly surprised at how much my children have been able to achieve independently WHEN THEY ARE READY. Oh, I used to try and have them read this and that… to do this report and that essay but it was a bit of a slog. Now I see that as they are ready, (and I’m watching all the time to see when the time is right) they are able to go through 3 -4 times the amount of work that I could have taught them. But the added bonus is that they have done it themselves and so they taste success in doing something themselves.
So where to from here? Learning-at-home is a marathon, not a sprint. Maybe if I only had the one or two children at home I could do academics with 100% focus but I don’t- I have four beautiful children. This means that it is truly a marathon… the long haul. It has to be a lifestyle for it to be sustainable (for us). This means that I approach the educating of our children a little differently to someone who is homeschooling for a year or so or until high school. This is our 9th year (at time of writing), and I have approximately another 7-8 years before my youngest son finishes yr 12. It isn’t about ‘resting’ and not planning for another 8 years. It’s about not being consumed by that planning. It’s about truly trusting in Him and committing my way to Him.
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
This Sabbath Season isn’t meant to be just for a month or so, for me. Rather it is to be the way we live for now, until the Lord directs us differently. This will come too, I think as there is a time for work and a time for rest. But on a much smaller scale, I’m even finding this to be true WITHIN our Sabbath Season. There is a time to focus on spelling, on maths, on history, etc. but I don’t need to focus on them every day, every week, every month. Seasons – what a gift from God!When I wake in the morning are my thoughts about curricula, lessons or history or are they on the Lord and how I can best serve Him this day?
November 25th, 2006
Well, it’s getting on toward the end of the year, which means a new year is coming. I’ve had such an interesting journey so far this year, and I’ve chronicled it a little on my blog but in scattered bits and pieces.
It all started when I pursued my own study on the Sabbath (Nov 2005). I decided to try focusing on the 3 R’s for 2006- the new 3 R’s – Rest, Relationship and Refreshment. Jan 2006 saw me not too excited about lessons this year so deciding to have a Sabbath Season.
We moved interstate in May so we had to ride the waves of moving. Throughout this I was becoming more interested in getting fitter and I realised something about our home and family, from reading Body for Life. The book talks about hitting high points and efficient workouts, etc. Gee, this sounds a bit like my homeschool- instead of wanting to do lessons and booky stuff all day every day, I want to do our lessons efficiently, hit some high points AND have a life! In July, I was having such a good time that I decided to take stock of the year so far: and in August I started to formulate our recipe for success or not!
Throughout this time of Sabbath I have learned a lot about myself, the nature of Man, the nature of God, how we learn, etc I also learned, in a whole new way, that people will learn what they need to know, when they need to know it.
I’m getting a little excited about planning for next year but with the lessons I’ve learnt firmly in my mind.
Our focus will still be on the 3 R’s.
There are so many books that we haven’t read … books that I know we won’t even get to read … lessons that I haven’t done, but that’s okay! The important ones have been read, the important lessons have been discussed, relationships have been nurtured and the curiosity that is essential for learning has been kindled. Whenever I start to look at how much a child hasn’t done, I stop and look at how much they care, not how much they know and I’m left feeling content.
My family dynamics have changed a fair bit over the last 12 months, and I’m looking forward to a new season of working with my boys. The girls and I have always loved learning about history- it has been our favourite subject, but the boys are more interested in geography and science. Science is something I’ve tried to almost avoid but I’ve even been writing a unit study based on a Willard Price book in preparation for next year. My goal is to bring John to a level where he will be able to work more independently so that I can spend a little more time with ‘Master C’ . I want to streamline the basics so that we an all spend more time in God’s word and learning according to their delights and interests.
We’ll still have interruptions as we’re probably moving again in May, and with two girls working part time and youth group, and ‘Miss A’ ‘s softball this means the waves are starting get a little bigger, but that’s fine because that’s life! It’s how we know we’re alive!
So I’m excited about switching focus to a new subject (science) and teaching my boys, which is totally different to teaching my girls. I’m excited about teaching and showing them God’s word … ahhh, much to be thankful for.
All in all our Sabbatical Year was a beautiful opportunity to learn about many things in ways that we hadn’t before. We tried new things, we tried new ways of doing things, we rested, we were refreshed and we were ready to start the new year (2007) full of energy. Most of all, I spent time growing in God’s word, gaining fresh and new motivation for the remainder of my days as a homeschool mum.
In the year 2006, the ages of my children were approximately: 15yodd, 13yodd, 11yods and a 9yods.
To study, or not to study Shakespeare: that is the question:
When I first read Charlotte Mason’s writings I was thoroughly blessed. The CM series gave me some valuable tools that I could use to enrich our home and family life. I had never read or viewed any Shakespeare play until about eight years ago! We didn’t read or study any when I was at school and I confess I thought it was very outdated. However, once I became a parent and desired that my children learn to speak well and appreciate books of a good literary standard I knew that at some point, I would like to introduce them to Shakespeare. When and how were what I didn’t know. But the CM series taught me how I could introduce my children to the world of Shakespeare.
The girls and I shared a few Shakespeare stories. First, we read the version by Arthur Mee, then the next week I’d read another story version by Charles and Mary Lamb and then Edith Nesbit but our favourite retellings are those by Leon Garfield.
I would have the girls write out a few paragraphs of the story for copy work. Then, I’d also have them write out a few selections from the play. We would use narration as well as paper cut out figures to keep the characters straight in our minds. Eventually, we would tackle the play in its entirety. Oh! the fun we would have by taking a part each and reciting in our most dramatic voices! 😀 We watched a few of the plays that have been made into good movies (but be very selective). Some of our favourites were with Kenneth Branagh and /or Emma Thompson.
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However, I have decided not to introduce my boys to Shakespeare at the same ages as the girls. I will at a later stage but not yet…I don’t think it is necessary. Why, I hear you ask? I’m happy to tell you why not…but before I do I would like to say that this is my conviction, this is something that I believe was right for our family and I wouldn’t like to tell anyone else what to do. Now having said that (my disclaimer) I would also say that I don’t believe your children will be missing out by not covering or learning of Shakespeare while in the primary years. There, I’ve said it! (I know there will be some that will disagree)
As I said, we read the story versions so that the girls would have an overview…a basic understanding of the plot. However, if we weren’t going to continue and read the original play I don’t see what value there was in starting to learn Shakspeare at such a young age. I do know that it felt good to be able to say to other homeshool mums, to non homeshcooling friends, that we were learning Shakespeare. Oh, some looked at us in admiration or with a stare of incredulity. Over time though, I was convicted of my motives. I was feeling homeschool pride! I felt that we were doing something that typical primary/middle schools didn’t cover- yet we could! Oh, to have the girls run around quoting a few lines of Shakespeare certainly did my homeschooling ego good. (I’m sure that none of the readers to this blog have ever felt such a thing as homeschool mama pride eh? 😉 ) Oi voi! God had other plans. He picked me up and gave me a solid talking to!
Shakespeare is fairly intense. The characters and the plot are complex. The original language certainly is beautiful and rich yet the story versions seemed so watered down. In fact, the story versions are almost twaddle, in my opinion. Twaddle that sees some characters blaspheme or joke about sin. As an adult or young adult, we can learn to discern these things. In fact, Shakespeare can be like a spotlight shining into our lives, revealing sin. Black is not always evil and white is not always pure with Shakespeare, which is how it is in real life but I wonder if it is too confusing for a younger child is who still in the process of learning basic Biblical doctrine.
I don’t want my young children hearing or learning about the racism and prejudice of the Jews. I want them to hear God’s side of the story first. I want them to learn about the history of Israel first. Of course, they will learn of bigotry and racism and hatred, but it won’t be dressed as humour or satire or with cynicism that can be difficult for a young child to discern. I firmly believe there is a time to teach Shakespeare. And the process is still the same: introduce via story versions, mind map the plot and characters, watch a good movie version and study the original play. I just don’t believe it is necessary with younger children. How much better to fill their young minds with Bible stories, stories of nature, stories of heroism, fairy tales, poems, stories that inspire? The time will come when they will need to know about Shakespeare and it is then that we, as parents, need to seize the moment and teach with discernment.
Yes, I have read all the benefits for reading Shakespeare. (Here and here are two well articulated arguments) My girls have already studied many of his plays. Yet I have chosen a different path for the boys (currently aged 10 and 12). Why? I think it is all part of an Identity Directed education…being able to tailor the curriculum…being Spirit Led in the education of each individual child. God knows these boys intimately. He knows the plans he has for them. So I seek Him for the educational direction of each child. This is how He is leading me with my boys. It may not be for you. It may be. What is important is that you, and me, individually seek God for direction of our family and homeschool, that we rely upon Him to meet the needs of our families.
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What do you think? Do you teach Shakespeare to your young children? If so, why? If you don’t, why not? I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts.
(No condemnation, I promise ;))
Better is the poor who walks in his integrity than one who is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.
Proverbs 19:1
After being quite sick for the last week, I awoke this morning to a horrible, disappointing shock that has left me reeling and very hurt. I feel like I have been robbed. But let me go back a little in time.
Years ago, like most homeschoolers I looked for ways to be frugal in our homeschooling. I learned to use the library a lot. They have some great selections of video’s, DVD’s, and CD’s. Sometimes we wouldn’t get around to watching or listening to them so I came upon the idea of making a copy before returning it to the library. I even felt quite frugal while doing so. After all, if I had to buy that CD I would need to have spent about $40. But now I had saved that. Before long, I ended up with a stack of things that I don’t think I would have needed or used, but as they were free I might as well have them on the shelf, just in case. I had even lent out my resources, feeling fairly sure that the person was going to make their own copy!
Oi voi!
Praise God! He taught me the error of my ways. He did not allow me to stay at that place. He showed me my sin. I was convicted of my wrongdoing. I set apart searching for every little bit of illegal stuff in my house and then we burnt it all. It was a whole family affair. Something started fairly innocently. I did not set out to steal or deceive. I just wanted to save a few pennies…but the fallen nature of man, and the enemy that seeks to devour worked and saw me down a path that I hardly recognised…a path I didn’t set out to take, but ended up there anyway. Thank God that He rescued me from that path and put me on the straight and narrow.
As is often the case with reformed drinkers or smokers, I developed a hot spot (a bug-bear, a passion) for copyright protection and violations. I now stringently try to protect the lawful copyright owner and go to great lengths to ensure that everything I do is above board. I encourage others to always check out the law and consider the use of a Fair Use Policy. Copyright is far more than a list of black and white words- it is legal, ethical, moral and Biblical values.
I administrate a second hand curriculum and resources website. I plaster this site with the homeschool copyright notices and information from homeschoolcopyright.com I want everyone to be informed as to their buying and selling (and borrowing/copying) practices.
Imagine my surprise when I logged on to the Internet this morning to discover a new website has been set up, on the same free board host that Aussie Homeschool Ads is on. That’s okay, I though. Anyone is free to set up their own board. I did not expect this person to set their new board up with the same URL plus one digit. I did not expect them to copy and paste my board structure (ideas which took months to create) on to their own board.
Yes! The board names, the descriptions, the categories (my intellectual property) were all EXACTLY the same as mine! It took hours and lots of effort to come up with those forums and title them and someone has just stolen them!
I ventured into he forum and discovered that some posts that I had written on Aussie Homeschool Ads had in fact been copied and pasted to the new forum…as though this other person had written it. I was livid. I was sad. That was directly stealing my post, my words. Maybe I should have been flattered, but at the time I wasn’t.
Well as with everything in life, I will deal with this…but the reason I blog about it is to increase awareness of homeschool copyright issues (while my issue here is more about fair use, and intellectual property and Christian ethics it still bears a mention).
Join the Campaign Do you know what is fair and right use of the materials that you use, buy, sell and lend?
Aussie Homeschool Ads and Community Forum
He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight.
Psalm 101:7
My family has been laid down with a horrid flu-like virus/bug. It is nasty. Fever, nausea, body aches and vice-like gripping headaches have saw us all have a quiet, lethargic week. Just when I was starting to get back into the swing of things! I have found some goodies on the ‘net for those that like handy dandy tools and gizmo’s. Check out some of these:
INSTAVerse
Do you visit Christian web sites or receive daily devotional emails? Ever want to look up a scripture fast? InstaVerse? by WORDsearch will let you instantly see the actual Bible text for scripture references like John 3:16 ? just point your mouse at it, and the text pops up in your preferred translation! The best part is that InstaVerse with the KJV Bible is free!
Power Point Bible Maps
In cooperation with eBibleTeacher.com, SearchGodsWord.org is pleased to offer 41 FREE Powerpoint Bible Maps. Ideal for teachers and pastors, each map comes in three different sizes (640, 800, 1024) to suit your needs. Also available is the original PowerPoint file used in the creation of the image files.
Daily Wallpaper for your computer
Heartlight has joined together with Paperquote.com to bring you an exciting feature: Daily Heartlight Wallpaper! Now you can have a new Heartlight image appear on your desktop each morning when you log onto the internet. By simply downloading the free software, you will be downloading new wallpaper for your desktop in no time!
That’s about it from me for this week. I’m off to do some much needed grocery shopping to stock up on some fruit and veg as well as get some party food for tonight is a special celebration! Our youngest, ‘Master C’ , turns from single digits into double digits!!!! Double digits is a pretty big event in our home. Double digits is when one goes from being a boy to a MIT: a Man In Training. It’s special. 🙂
Is there any value in having children read aloud? As tedious as it may be, it has tremendous value! I love books! I love reading and I like reading aloud to the whole family. But what about having children read aloud to us?
Having a child read aloud is recommended by teachers and experts (and deservedly so) as it has immense benefits such as:
Whew! Reading aloud accomplishes an awful lot… so much for such a simple exercise. Exposure to good books will also assist later on in the years with creative writing and journal keeping. Some ideas for writing to read are to:
While it’s never to late too start having your child read aloud, it’s never too early either! If you think about it, most parents naturally do it anyway. Think about reading those first baby picture books that have pictures of single words like Mum, Dad, house, ball, dog, etc. Parents point to the picture and say the word, hoping for some response from the baby. Then gradually the books change and start to include more Repetition and Rhyme. Small children love repetition and rhyme and it is really important to their development. They will enjoy memorising and anticipating what comes next in a favourite book.
I have my children read aloud when they are learning to read. It isn’t something that is burdensome, it’s quite natural. When I am reading their book or reader with them, I simply ‘buddy read‘ with them. I’ll read a paragraph and then I’ll ask them to read a short passage. if they stumble over a word then I will help them. The goal is to build confidence and develop skills and fluency not to major on every word or expect perfection. Over time, they are able to read larger and more complicated passages. This is fairly standard with new and developing readers. Sadly though, once a child is fairly fluent in reading, many parents stop requiring their child to read aloud. 🙁
Next we might read some short poems. Choose poems that tell a story, have rhyme and rhythm and paint a word picture. Your child will love them!
Then comes the short chapter books with simple sentences where we help our child to decode words and read entire short sentences. As they try to sometimes make mistakes, we are there to help them along the way:correcting mistakes and helping them deal with frustration and congratulating them when they get it right. Once the children are fluent and capable readers there is no read to have them stop. Simply choose harder books and challenge them! 🙂 You can move on to read difficult passages in the Bible using the King James version, unabridged classics, poetry and speeches.
Reading aloud fine works of literature (or fine speeches) is the basis for public speaking (oratory skills) and is especially good for older children and boys. My boys are verbal with each other but not necessarily with me and the rest of the family. They don’t give wonderfully verbose and detailed oral narrations yet I know that they have the knowledge so I require them to read aloud a fair bit- to each other, to me, to their sisters and we still buddy read. I have them read their Bible and poetry out loud.
I also use reading aloud as an elocution (pronunciation) lesson. My boys can tend to mumble so we need to continue to practice it. Plus, I’d like it to be a habit so that they will naturally read to their own children. So why stop it?
My boys do lots of their own reading as they are in the ‘building fluency‘ stage so their books are suited to their developmental stage. When choosing passages for them to read aloud, I try to make them according to their level and ability without being too hard, yet still challenging. I try to challenge my daughters though as they are capable of handling more.
I still have all my children read aloud! It is a skill that needs to be practiced. I find that if we’ve been busy (like moving house or holidays) and I haven’t read aloud even I stumble and sound ‘bitty’ for a few pages until I get back into it. However, I’m not super-mum so I won’t pretend that we do it every day. Like most things, there are times of focus and times when it goes on the back-burner.
If we value books and reading then our children need to see it in practice. Why will they value reading if they never see us read? They may start to believe it is something that only children do, and in their desire for maturity, give it up!
I think the key is all about giving the children opportunity to practice something- achieve a good standard which will build their confidence, which has the roll on effect of continuing to build necessary skills.
Feel free to share via posting a comment or writing on your own blog (just comment me and let me know you’ve posted so I can read your blog).
Genesis, A Commentary for Children is part of the Herein is Love series by Nancy E. Ganz. And I really like it! 🙂
Yes, this is a Bible commentary on the whole book of Genesis, From Paradise to Promised Land – Genesis to Joshua, written to children but it isn’t dumbed down in the slightest. Even adults will learn valuable lessons and gain valuable gems from this book. I nearly cried as I read the Introduction as the author tells why and for whom she wrote this book. Even from reading the introduction I knew that this was a book that I needed to read and needed to share with my children.
This mammoth 545 page book includes 68 lessons and includes a teacher’s study guide to correspond with each lesson. The teacher guide is very similar to what I already do as she suggests the use of visual aids, memory work, craft, review questions, prayer, psalms to sing and a field trip.
This book is one part of a 4 book series that covers the four books of the Old Testament. You can see more about this series at ChristianBooks.com. Simply Click here. The promises of God, His promise of a Saviour, His wonderful grace, mercy and love are delightfully and truthfully told while also telling the stories of history with wonderful accuracy. Cultural and historical insight is offered throughout this doctrinally correct yet warmly written and captivating storehouse of God’s truths. It would be able to be used as part of family worship or it could be read daily by an individual student who is accustomed to reading independently.
I cannot wait to finish Genesis so we can start the next book. If you have children from 6 years and older, love the Scriptures and love to teach your children about the Scriptures, then will will want this book. Aussies can purchas at Light Educational Ministries. Or you can buy the Herein is Love Series at ChristianBook.com
Bless you as you strive to teach the ways of God to your children.