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The Secret

Some of you may have seen the show on tv last night…or seen the book in the shops…or heard the latest rave…all about the new book called The Secret.

I haven’t read it, nor will I. (Mind you, I’m not one to shy away from reading a book just because it is controversial…but this book is catching so many Christians unawares.) I have a few online friends who have read it and wrote about it and as I’ve read their posts and spoken with them, I know that I will not read the book- I believe it is contrary to God’s word, even though it sounds all spiritual and is apparently being used in some churches.

I’d like to list a few links for those who are interested:

Baptist Press – First Person, The Secret by Don Whitney

World Net Daily – Oprah’s got a secret by Joseph Farah

Robin’s thoughts– from Heart of Wisdom and she also writes here on her new blog: Looking for the secret.

Bill Muehlenberg posts his thoughts here and here.

Don’t just read this information and keep it to yourself. As parent’s we need to understand WHAT we believe and WHY…so that we can teach our children the truth of God’s word. Share your learnings with your children- inoculate them against false teaching and error.

Kingdom's Hope

Yesterday we started our new read aloud! Book Two in the Kingdom series. I blogged about Book One (Kingdom’s Dawn) and we zipped through it in excitement so we could start Kingdom’s Hope.

This book spans the time from Moses to Malachi. It is has on the edge of our seat each day. I get goosebumps while reading it. If you haven’t checked this series out yet, please do! It will be well worth your effort to source them.

Visit the website to learn more!

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Day 7 Prayers for our children

Justice

God, help my children to love justice as You do and to “act justly” in all they do.

For the LORD is righteous, he loves justice; upright men will see his face.
Psalm 11:7

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

Learning with Different Ages and Levels 2

In the last post, I wrote about using unit studies in the homeschool. In this post (part 2), I want to write in a more practical way and show exactly how a unit study can be accomplished.

How can I plan a unit of study?
Let’s consider a unit on ‘Ancient Eygpt“, a unit that we spent several months on and thoroughly enjoyed. The older child could read a biography or (fictional) diary and then orally narrate to the rest of the family. Or, she could try a written narration or prepare a factual report on a character or event. The younger child could dress up and role play or act out a scene from a book. The family could make recipes or crafts, draw and diagram maps, watch videos and visit museums together. You may like to look at the diet of the people and subsequent problems (deficiency’s, illness etc), to the terrain and climate of lands explored, other cultures that influenced or impacted Ancient Egypt (now, there’s a long rabbit trail) and so on.

Some people say that this is too hotch potch for them and they would like a more chronological or systematic approach. Easy! You can study history chronologically and integrate your other subjects around that. Some people prefer to only use units for the Social Studies and keep Math?s and English (Language Arts) separate. This is fine too. Whatever works for your family.

Here are the subjects that I try to include when thinking of relating topics:

Bible, Literature, History, Science, Language or Vocabulary, Independent Reading (Fiction and non-fiction, biographies, diaries), Composition or various forms of Narration, Poetry, Copywork, Applied Math, Foreign Language (if at all applicable), Art Appreciation, Music Appreciation, Geography, Current Events, and craft or hands-on activities.

Maybe an example will help you too see what it can look like.

Ancient Egypt

Bible (Joseph & Moses),
Literature (Golden Goblet, Mara, Daughter of the Nile)
Poetry – Ozymandias
History (culture and times of Ancient Egyptians)
Narration of reading and other learning
Applied math– structure of pyramids
Foreign Language– (hieroglyphics) No, I’m not kidding
Art- Ancient Egyptian artwork and architecture-reading about it and trying it yourself
Music – instruments and celebrations
Geography– ancient – modern -drawing/tracing maps including landforms and landmarks.
Craft– dressing up, making Egyptian style sandals, Nile River models, model pyramids.

Now, if all this seems too complicated, let me assure you that it isn’t. Your local library should have plenty of books on these topics. Just have them in the lounge room and let the children peruse them and be prepared to go with their excitement! One thing I find that kills this excitement is a feeling or sense of “Quickly, let’s hurry up and finish this topic so that we can move on“. That sentiment is really like a wet blanket.

If you?re a beginner at incorporating subjects you could just try to start with a few simple ones. Choose a family read aloud to go along with your history study and look at a good book that relates to the artwork or architecture of the period. That’s it to start with, but I can fairly confidently assure you that it won’t end there. History and geography go well together and from there you can start to add in art, music and literature.

I hope this encourages other homeschooling families, to live and learn together.

Go to Part One | Part Two

Susan 2002

Learning with Different Ages and Levels

Homeschooling Multiple Ages…

(first written in 2002)

Do you have each of your children doing separate studies? Do you long to have a more natural family oriented approach to your homeschooling journey? How do you homeschool with more than one child, and all at different ages?

Firstly, the most important point is to visit the Throne Room! It is good to be able to listen to others and be willing to adapt and change our own ways but what suits one family, may not suit another. It’s good to always consult the Lord God before running off with new ideas, no matter how good they may seem.

It’s good to always consult the Lord God before running off with new ideas, no matter how good they may seem.

As I said earlier, each family is different and each needs to seek the Lord for their direction. Some common threads that seem to work for most families are to have some sort of schedule. This might be to attend to ones own chores (bedroom, hygiene etc) and then make the house reasonable presentable. I don’t mean spick and span because we’d never get around to lessons, but we at least need fresh coffee cups!

Lessons often take around 2-4 hours, varying with the different developmental levels of the children. Afternoons are often taken up with music practice, library visits, grocery shopping, visitors, gardening, business needs, ministry, reading or community services just to name a few. Sometimes your high schooler may need to work in the afternoons to finish assignments or study. Other families with a baby find it easier to do some lessons with the children in the afternoon, when baby is napping.

Don’t forget to foster the attitude of servant helping in your older children by asking them to teach the younger children.

Don’t forget to foster the attitude of servant helping in your older children by asking them to teach the younger children. It can be very beneficial for the older child to have to explain a concept over and over in a variety of ways to a younger brother or sister. ‘Miss A’ , my 11yo helps John, her 7yo brother, with his Maths? and phonic instruction and sometimes he just doesn’t get it. She has to then think of other ways, which she may not have thought of before, to try to help him understand. This builds the families relationships as well as cementing in the older child many valuable lessons. Lessons such as, not everyone is the same, and we are all different as an example. As she must ponder the basics it is also being reinforced in her own mind, which we have found extremely helpful. Try it!

I must say from the onset that Miss Mason was not totally in favour of units or unit type of studies. However, Miss Mason was in charge and responsible for a school, not a family. God has placed me here, in this family to work to His Glory and that is what I am to seek.

I always keep that in the forefront of my mind. My situation is very different to that of Charlotte Mason?s. I am a wife, a mother of 4 blessings, a homekeeper, laundress and all those things that fall into the domestic realm. These things I do alone, with the help of my servants like the washing machine, dryer and microwave etc. However, I wear many hats and homeschool teacher is one of them.

So, considering this, I asked myself- is there any value or merit in units? Yes, I believe so! If we were to follow a boxed curriculum I doubt that any of my children would be studying the same thing at similar times. I think that for me, this would spell *burnout* with a capital B. I don’t believe that we need make a unit study out of everything. Sometimes that can lead to overload. However, if we were to use the eldest child as the (yardstick) then all of the children could end up having a liberal education but with the benefit of studying together. If the eldest child is studying ‘explorers’ in history study, why can’t the family all study explorers? Keep in mind that we will never teach our children all that they will know. Is that the goal though? Or is your goal one of instilling a love and desire of learning and equipping them with the skills to be able to research whatever they wish to?

Keep in mind that we will never teach our children all that they will know

A lot of boxed curricula appear to approach learning with a mentality of “just put in the facts over a 12 year period and then voila! Down the track, out comes a “well educated” individual. If only life were like that, it may work but I’m sure that we know differently. Textbooks aim to cover *everything*; all the vital and important facts that everyone ought to know. How many students know these all important facts at the end of Year 12 and continue to remember and use them in their later life?

I must admit the scope and sequences look very impressive and the Education departments may like them too. It can reassure us, as parents that our children must be learning a lot, learning what they should be at the right age. However, in the scope of an entire lifetime, what does it all really mean? Does this scope of study necessarily mean the child has a desire to know more or does it assist in creating a curiosity about things or does it simply help the student to pass the next exam?

I would encourage all new homeschool mums to take upon a theme and linger over it for a period of time. Your child and you will be learning much, much more than just one subject. You could use a scope and sequence chart to check off all the areas that you have studied but the ticks may not be nice and neat straight down the page. They will be all over the place, from Kindergarten to Yr 12. Have a really good look at a scope and sequence of a science or history program. How many times are the topics repeated? They are, supposedly, building concept upon concept but they are designed for a school system, not a homeschool system.

In all this, I’m not saying that you must ignore your state requirements or authorities. If, for example, your state requires that your student must study astronomy in grade 5, then go ahead, by all means and study astronomy along with the whole family! In a unit approach your families learning can become a way of life! It can assist in building curiosity and independent thinking in the children (and maybe even yourself). Learning can become more meaningful. No longer need the children cry “Oh, what does this have to do with me? Why do I need to learn this?” Most importantly, you can all learn together. Your child will learn more about true education by watching you, than sitting through a hundred dry texts.

In the next post, I will continue my thoughts and look at how we can practically go about using unit studies in the homeschool.

Part One | Go to Part Two

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Feed on RSS

“What Is RSS?

What do those orange RSS or XML buttons that abound on sites mean?
They are the latest rage…but more than that they are incredibly handy and a great time saver- perfect for the busy homeschool mum! You can receive newsfeeds or feeds from many sites including news, movies, blogs and ecommerce stores and more! It’s also a great feature for those on dial-up connection as you don’t have to surf the Internet for updates…the information that you want, comes to you!
rss-icon-collection
RSS” means “Really Simple Syndication.” What it means to you is that when you subscribe to a site that has an RSS feed, you can keep up-to-date without having to check the site every day or week.

Most people are interested in many web sites whose content changes on an unpredictable basis, like this site. Repeatedly checking each site to see if there’s any new content can be time consuming. RSS is a great way to be notified of new and changed information. Notifications of changes to multiple web sites are handled easily, and the results are presented to you in a well organised format. You may have seen the RSS icon on various web sites or blogs (this one included). This icon lets you know that there’s content to which you can subscribe and view using an RSS reader.

You might have seen some of the little icons on various sites…if so, you might also have been confused by them! I hope to simplify the mystery a little for you and enable you to get started with RSS feeds.

How do you get started? It’s fairly easy!

With an RSS reader you can subscribe to many feeds and read the new entries all in one place, without having to visit individual Web sites to find out what’s new.

There are several different kinds of RSS readers. Some are dedicated programs for viewing RSS feeds, but they cost money and most homeschool mums would rather spend their money on books, especially when there are some great free feed readers available.

You can also view RSS feeds through web sites such as My Yahoo!, or my personal favourite, Bloglines.

Many web browsers also have built-in RSS support – Firefox, by “Live Bookmarks”, Safari has a built in RSS reader and even IE 7 will (although beta) support RSS.Windows — RssReader and Google Reader are popular online feed readers available for download. Need more information? Here is a short video that explains the concept…

Below is a short, 3.5min video which explains it very well. If you are confused about using RSS feeds but want to know more, this video is for you. The short video will teach you why feeds are good and how to set one up. This video will teach you, the homeschool mum, how to make the most of your time. Let me know if you find this sort of information helpful.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0klgLsSxGsU

There! You should be set to receive the information that you want, while saving time to get on with the things that you want to do.

Why don’t you subscribe to my blog and receive post and comments via RSS?

Labour Day-Public Holiday

Today is Labour Day! It is a public holiday in Queensland. Yahoo! But many people don’t know what significance this holiday has for them. Do you know? Do your children know?

Labour Day is a public holiday in recognition of when workers won the right to a reduced work day of 8 hours in the late 1850?s. Their struggle was founded under the philosophy that each day should consist of 8 hours for work, 8 hours for recreation and 8 hours for sleep. The Stonemason?s spearheaded this campaign and after a long battle, the unions eventually achieved their aim and they held parades to celebrate the victory. Before this time, workers were required to work 10 to 12 hour days, six days a week. (Whew!) The five-day 40-hour week was achieved almost a century later in 1948. The first parade was held in Melbourne on 21st April 1856. How does your town/city or state celebrate Labour Day? How did you spend your public holiday?

I have made a sheet that can be printed out and used as a prompt. You can download it here.

Let me know if you find it useful and if you’d like to see more sheets like this.

In His Grace,

Susan <><

Teaching Savvy Shopping Skills

I enjoy Belinda’s blog…don’t you? Why don’t you pop over and subscribe to her blog? Anyway, today she wrote a post on shopping and how it relates to home-schooling and this led me to thinking about some of the adventures we’ve had while shopping.

One night, John and I thought about getting take-away for tea. It was late, we were all tired…but we couldn’t make a unanimous decision on what to order. So instead of takeaway, John took us all to the local supermarket. He gave everyone $5 each and told them they had 10 minutes to choose their food and then we’d go home and eat it together!

Everyone had the opportunity to buy whatever they wanted. Firstly, I will say that the first time we ever did this took a little longer than 10 minutes. The children all ran around putting their favourite foods into their basket. But when we all got together again they saw things in other’s baskets that they desired and became confused. Some of the children grabbed delicious, yummy food but it wouldn’t have filled them up (one child chose a whole packet of TimTams but didn’t have much money left).

After some (make that LOTS of) discussion, they finally figured it out! They joined forces!

They formed into pairs and went about choosing their meal again! They worked together and looked at quality of foods and their own little budget. They also saw that they got to have a wider variety of foods this way. It was a fantastic exercise!

We arrived home and had a FEAST. We had heaps of fun that night. It has become a treat for us instead of getting takeaway. Not only is it cheaper (A venture to MacDonald’s can cost us well over $35 so we don’t do it often)…not only is it yummier…not only is it more fun…but it is very educational! Everyone is happy (and satiated).

Share some of your ideas for teaching budgeting and shopping skills. I’d love to hear from you!

In His Grace,
Susan <><

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Mother's Day: Teaching Children to Serve

Mother’s Day is just around the corner. What are you planning?

Home n Hearth

My mother isn’t on this earth anymore. 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!

We have such special opportunities to teach our children the value of family through our own life experience. The children don’t know me as ‘a child’. Naturally, they think that I’m an adult, all 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 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.

Carnival of Homeschooling

The new Carnival of Homeschooling is over at Dewey’s Treehouse! It is a truly inspirational carnival.

If you can’t remember when or where the next carnival is to be held, just come back to my blog, look down the left hand side of the page and you’ll see that information.

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Day 6 Praying for our children

Day 6

A love for God’s Word

May my children grow to find Your Word “more precious than gold, than much pure gold; [and] sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.”

The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.
Psalm 19:9 & 10

Do Your Kids Read Books?

I sometimes read the blog of Albert Mohler and I am always blessed, encouraged and informed by his posts. He wrote a post back in January about “Do Your Kids Read Books?” Interesting. Thought provoking. As a homeschool mother, what will I do about it? Does this change anything in my homeschool?

He ends with these words…

Do our own young people read books? Do they know the pleasures of the solitary reading of a life-changing page? Have they ever lost themselves in a story, framed by their own imaginations rather than by digital images? Have they ever marked up a page, urgently engaged in a debate with the author? Can they even think of a book that has changed the way they see the world . . . or the Christian faith? If not, why not?

Go check out the full article. It isn’t overly long, won’t take you long to read.

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Day 5 – Praying for our children

Self-Control

Father, help my children not to be like many others around them, but let them be “alert and self-controlled” in all they do.

So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.
1Thessalonians 5:6

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Day Four: Honesty and Integrity

Honesty and Integrity

May integrity and honesty be their virtue and their protection.

May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in you.
Psalm 25:21

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Carnival Time

I really like visiting the Carnival of Homeschooling…it’s a great way to travel around the world and read other’s thoughts and see things that they do in their families.

This edition of the Carnival is being over at Sprittibee’s. Not only has she compiled the post but she has added her only bee flavour to it. A carnival is simply a place where the carnival host showcases a group of blog posts, dedicated to a particular theme, in this case the theme is homeschooling.The host writes a few lines to whet your appetite so that you will go on over to the full blog and read the complete post. For each new carnival, there is a new host.

This new carnival will have you busy for days…enjoy!

If that isn’t enough to keep you hewing for awhile, then the Christian Carnival certainly will. It is being hosted by MandiKaye.

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Day Three: Prayers for our children

Day 3 of Praying for our children

Love
Grant, Lord, that my children may learn to live a life of love through the Spirit who dwells in them.

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Ephesians 5:1 & 2

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22 & 23

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The Kingdom Series

The series is one continuous story with characters that portray courage, loyalty, discipline, and honor. Read chapter excerpts and reviews or listen to theme music from each book.

We’ve just started book one in our new read aloud fiction. I have wanted this series for a few years, ever since I first saw it advertised in The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. However, as there was no Australian distributor, other books and resources seemed to take priority. Wasn’t I pleasantly surprised when I saw the series in Word bookstore??!!

The Kingdom series is a Biblical allegorical set of books that is set in a time of knights, swords, and kingdoms. Book One starts with a Prologue and has a set of discussion questions at the end of the book. Some families have used this series as an introduction to discussions about the end times. Each book even has its own score for original music, which would be wonderful for an aspiring musician. Best of all, there is no magic, mysticism, or wizardry in The Kingdom Series.

They cover the span of time from Genesis through the 2nd return of Christ. They are full of action and adventure where swords, knights, and battles are all Biblically symbolic. The allegory teaches Godly character, the adventure captures the imagination of all ages, and the action keeps teenagers engrossed from cover to cover…even non-readers! Deep symbolism with an action story makes excellent reading for ages 8 to adult.

The author, Chuck Black, wrote the first book as an attempt to capture the attention of his children and inspire them to read the Bible more. This led on to further allegorical parable like stories resulting in the rest of the series. The books are also available as audio CD’s.

Visit the website!

We’re only up to chapter five so far, but have been sitting on the edge of our seats for parts of it. My skin prickled with goose-bumps during certain parts. There are just some book that you just know you’re going to really enjoy…this is one of them!

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Day Two- Prayers for our children

Growth in Grace


I pray that they may “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen
2 Peter 3:18

Day One- 30 days of prayer for our children

A Parent?s Prayer Program, by Bob Hostetler
http://www.gbgm-umc.org/asburyumc/parents_prayer_program.htm

Salvation

Lord, let salvation spring up within my children, that they may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.

Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
2 Timothy 2: 10

Why I Don't Like Seeker Friendly Churches

It’s not too often that I’m at a loss for words…but I was last night when I went to bed and read over the Sunday paper. Now I love a good cappuccinos (skinny cap with a shot of caramel, thanks!) and I also like to look nice but this new brand of church has me confused and grieving.

Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage?with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
2 Timothy 4:2-5

I like technology and think that as God’s people, we can certainly use progress and technology to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. This denomination/church claims that when one would walk into the church they would see the message in a way that appeals. Hmmmm, the question is not about the message being appealing, rather WHAT message is being presented?

People are being encouraged to come to church to receive the freebies like “coupons for beauty treatments, clothes, interior decorating, meals, discount shoes, kitchen renovations and more.” One’s social life can be complete at the church with activities like, “group golf, enjoy family movie nights or join the Xbox gang ? a group of teens and twentysomethings who play computer games on church big screens between services.”

One attending woman said that God has given them a beautiful life and while this is true, there are many other people to whom God has given a different road to travel. I am concerned that this church is preaching the faith, health and wealth
doctrine, which is scripturally unsound and false.

It can be worthwhile to spend money on technology and equipment in order to proclaim the message of Christ but it certainly needs to be balanced. Of course, relationships and meeting the true needs of people are far more important than the latest and greatest gizmo’s. Mind you, I feel the same way in traditional churches where lots of money is spent on ornate decorations and sculptures…I’m not anti-modern, nor into tradition for the sake of tradition. I am concerned about the foundation that this church is laying. It can preach the right words but true faith is caught, as well as taught. You know…actions speak louder than words and all those proverbial sayings. Is the gospel of Christ being preached and thus drawing people or is it the false lure of money, fun, and other things that satisfy the lust of the flesh. What is the ‘good news’ being preached by this church? Is it the grace of Christ or the ‘good news’ of satisfying the worldly lusts of the flesh (under the guise of Christianity)? When Jesus is revealed to us, He will also be revealed in us. This could/should/would compel us to be prepared to deny ourself and follow Him…we need to give our every worldly care to Him.

My faith isn’t about what feels good. It isn’t about what prospers me. It isn’t about what appeals to my ego. I am thankful that God called me and washed me in the blood of the Lamb…that I wasn’t brought to the faith by education nor by the emotional, feel-good satisfactions of my flesh. I pity those that have found Christianity through having their material possessions and needs met, for they are missing so much!

So, what can I apply to my own life from all this? Well, quite a few things. 1) Just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning (remembering that he appealed to her sense of ambition and ego) I need to be diligently studying the word of God and keep abiding in Him so that I will not be led astray…that I may stand firm and continue to develop a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
2 Corinthians 11: 3

2) To teach my children well. To teach the attributes of God…His purpose for His bride, what pleases Him, the nature of true worship, the role of the Church, and how easy it is for man to fall prey to satisfying the lusts of the flesh.

2 Corinthians 11 is worth a read.

Thinking Blogger Award

Thinking Blogger Award

Thank you Belinda, for nominating me for a Thinking Blogger Award. I haven’t been blogging as much as I previously have so I wasn’t completely aware of the Thinkng Blogger Award. So of course, I had to have a quick look into what this was. You can learn more about it at this link:

If you get tagged with a Thinking Blogger Award, you are then supposed to do the following:

1. Write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think.
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme.
3. Optional: Proudly display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote.

So here we are. Five blogs that I’d like to tag with the Thinking Blogger Award:

Leonie makes me think! I may not always agree with everything she says, but my mind always ticks over and ponders things she writes:
http://livingwithoutschool.blogspot.com/

Two Kid Schoolhouse writes some great posts, although she may not think she does. I like checking her blog to read her thoughtful and insightful musings.
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/hsmomof2/

Eight children and eight years of homeschooling means that Kidspatch always has something interesting to write about. She shares from her heart, which causes me to reflect and think.
http://kidspatch.blogspot.com/

Gifts from Adonai is a Messianic homeschooling mum and I enjoy reading her blog. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/giftsfromAdonai/

Not because she tagged me but because I genuinely want to – Belinda always has something interesting to share, whether it be from her own lie happenings or her ideas and tips.
http://www.lifestyle-homeschool.com/Homeschool-blog.html

Appreciating Poetry

I didn’t grow up with a love of poetry…and to be perfectly honest I still don’t fully appreciate poetry, mainly because I don’t fully understand it. Nevertheless, I try to foster a love and appreciation of poetry in the hearts of my children as much of the Bible is poetical so I want them to desire to read these areas and not shy away from them.

courtesy of Diane Romanello

A few years ago, we started doing poetry appreciation using Charlotte Mason’s methods, which is to study one poet per term. I found that by reading all the poems aloud together over morning tea was enjoyable and enriching but this practice also depended upon me to do the work and as my girls got older I wanted them to be more independent so I started adding the poetry to their schedule but it never seemed to get done. Maybe this is because it is small and bite-sized that they’d leave it till later…but it didn’t get read at a rate that I was happy with. I think that every child should have heard the poetry of R.L. Stevenson and A.A. Milne.

Then, I printed out the *should-read* poetry list from Ambleside Online. The girls were supposed to read a poem a day (or so). I also requested that once a term they completed a Poet Biographical Sketch and one Poem Synopsis. (‘R’ didn’t complete all this yet she still likes and appreciates poetry)

poetrybookDo you ever get that feeling that you’re running out of time? Well, as silly as it is, I feel that way too at times. I found a good book called the The Walker Book of Classic Poetry and Poets. This book has a short biographical sketch on each poet and has a few notes on each selected poem, which I found very helpful in simply giving it to ‘Miss A’ and telling her to slowly work her way through it.

I also select and read aloud poetry that fits in with our learning whether it be a unit on ‘whales’, ‘Summer’, “Easter’, ‘flowers’, ‘family’, ‘Bilbo’s Song’ or an historical time period. We read Australian poets too- who doesn’t like A.B. Paterson? I have many pages printed and filed in binders and much poetry is included so that the children can freely choose to write for copywork. If I have selected poetry to go along with our theme, they will usually do that for copy work. I also might read these poems aloud a few times before asking the children to have a go and reading it aloud, teaching them to read with character and inflection.

We have also done a unit of work on poetry. Sometimes this has come up in their LLATL books and other times, I’ve devised a mini unit on it. What this means is that we work on a few poems for copy work and dictation, while discussing the structure and language of the poem. I have bought a few books of poetry which I will strew around the home. Occasionally, I will sit in the lounge room and read a few poems myself and if one takes my fancy I will share it with the children. There are some good downloadables from CurrClick

My oldest child is now starting to read Christian poetry and enjoys the Psalms more also. I used to struggle with reading the Psalms and thought they were a bit boring…but in the last 10 years, since I’ve been stimulating my literary appetite with more poetry, I find that I enjoy and relate to the Psalms more.

My goal is not that the children should know every major poet or every classic poem, rather that they have a love for the literary language and appreciate the rich beauty of imagery presented in the poems…that they would become accustomed to reading in this way and that this may lead to a desire and joy in reading the very best forms of literature.

I have tried to accomplish this goal by learning to appreciate poetry for myself…and by not making it a ‘subject’ that needs to be ticked off until the student is older. I don’t think it really matters how you read poetry…just enjoy it!

Living by Rules

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.?

Ephesians 2:8-9

Law. Rules. Trying to live according to them. Does funny thing to people eh.

Here in our city, we are heading into level 5 water restrictions, due to the dams being at 20% capacity…it’s not a good situation. People have made many changes to the way they do things, good changes- our family has tried too. One of the things not allowed is washing the car with a hose although using a bucket is permitted for now. Now our family is not big on washing the care regularly but our car, which is parked outside, has been getting ‘egged‘. Now if you know anything about ‘egging’ you’ll know that not only does it smell disgusting and look awful but it can damage the paintwork of the car thus devaluing it. So, after being egged again, John grabbed some warm soapy water in a bucket and cleaned it all off. What I don’t understand is some of the looks he got from the neighbours. Maybe they thought he was wasting water and looked down upon him for that. Who knows?

For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.
Galatians 2: 19-21

I noticed some things about myself in all this. I desire to be obedient…to live according to His ways. His love, His grace that He poured upon me compels me to obedience. Nevertheless, sometimes, somewhere, I start looking at my own obedience and then I look at others around me. It’s so easy to stand on the outside and look in…and question why someone else isn’t living according to the same rules. I know that when I do this, I’m no longer living in grace but my own performance is driving me. I can’t even be obedient without stumbling into sin. Oh what a wretched creature I am. Oh what a marvellous and gracious God is he!

For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it? the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.
Romans 3: 20 – 25

Lord, help me to not look at others in any other way than how to serve them…help me to live according to Micah 6:8. I thank you for your grace…thank you that I have been crucified with Jesus and that He lives in me.

Knowledge Overload

Yesterday, John and I went to a Christian bookstore together for the first time in awhile. I go there fairly regularly and, as a creature of habit, there are specific sections that I just naturally avoid as they don’t interest me. John doesn’t go as frequently as I do so he decided to stroll around. He couldn’t believe the resources available for pastor’s and lay leaders. He remembers the day when an expanded concordance was groovy. Nowadays, all one needs to do with the right software, is type in the keyword and hey presto, not only does the software do all the work but it also generates a sermon! How easy is that? We live in an age where we have access to much more information than we need. We also need understanding and wisdom to follow that knowledge.

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A few years ago, in my home-schooling experience, I learned how important it is to search for information for oneself. Predigested information rarely touches a person’s heart and mind, compelling them search further with the hope of finding a truth or impacting their life. However, as a person comes into contact with ideas and concepts, searches and studies to find the truths within, this process is his responsibility. It is in this process of responsibility, that the knowledge being learned is connecting with other ideas being learned and it is slowly being transformed into understanding and eventually, hopefully, wisdom. (Of course, predigested information can plant a seed in a listener’s heart, driving them to pursue truth further)

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Knowledge is not a dirty word. There’s nothing wrong with knowledge- it’s necessary and good and worthwhile. However, the Bible tells us that…

Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know.
1 Corinthians 8:1b-2

 

So, what does all this have to do with leading our children into a lifetime habit of Bible study? We don’t need all the latest software or the latest book that gives us all the information. Sometimes it is good but most times it is predigested. Someone else has done the work…read and studied. No doubt they have benefited from their study but simply reading or listening to someone else’s nugget without doing any work for ourselves, will not yield the quality and life impacting gem we need. It’s easier but we need to think of process, not just outcome…we need to think of quality, not quantity.

 

How familiar with the Holy Bible are you? Have you learned any truths simply by being in God’s word with a few simple Bible study tools? I’d love to hear from you.

In His Grace,

 

Happy Birthday

Recently ‘A’ reached the wonderful age of 16. Either of us are exactly sure why it’s supposedly so special but there you go! We had Baked Spinach Gnocchi for tea and a Boiled Fruit Cake for dessert. A few days later we had planned to drive into the city to watch the Play of the Passion but the lines of communication were having interference and I forgot to tell John where it was so we hadn’t allowed enough time to get there and find a parking place…so we ended up at Sizzler instead!

This was ‘A’s first week of a back-to-normal work/lesson routine. She has dropped down to only 2 days per week of work and then rest of the week is devoted to lessons and softball.

So while it’s a little belated I will still write, as I have for the other children:

HaPpY BiRtHdAy!!!!!!!
HaPpY BiRtHdAy!!!!!!!
HaPpY BiRtHdAy dear sweet 16,
HaPpY BiRtHdAy tO yOu!!!!!

Course Requirements for History Program Using Living Books

 

I managed to creep into the deep, dark recesses of my computer to find the Course Requirements that I compiled for my high school children.

• Complete one essay in-depth (biographical, comparative,changing over time, or question based essay) from each group of three lessons, per week. (Ensure that student covers all forms of report/essay)
• Read two relevant/appropriate books per term. (One book must be either primary source or classic, depending upon availability. (see Mum for high school booklist)) Submit a written book report, book synopsis or chapter reports for each book.
• Submit 2 – 3 projects (either assignments or choices from MoH or HoW)
• Maintain history timeline. Complete any mapping exercises as per course book.
• One page essay per term, in preparation for exam.
• Take tests/quizzes/worksheets as prescribed in course book.
• Take term exam.
• Take yearly exam.
• Watch appropriate video’s, documentaries or shows and discuss.

This allows the students to read for understanding and knowledge. They read quality literature as well as learning to write in in various forms. Creative and individual activities are also catered for.

The Centre of the Bible

In the Bible, Psalm 117 (2 verses) is the shortest chapter in the Bible, and Psalm 119 (176 verses) is the longest.

The Bible has 31,174 verses which makes the centre of The Book Psalm 118:8-9 . Do you know the verses that are the centre of the Bible?

It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in man.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in princes.

So there you go! It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.

The Archaeological Study Bible

Study Bible coverThose of you who know me will probably have gathered that we place great importance upon the Bible. I love the Narrated Chronological Bible with its running commentary.A few weeks ago, when DH and I were in Word he showed me a new Bible but I gasped at the price. I thought I’d come home and do an online search to find out if I could source it cheaper. I couldn’t. By the time I’d gotten back to Word, they had completely sold out. So, I ordered one and I received last week.

It’s great! It’s called the Archaeological Study Bible– an illustrated walk through Biblical History and Culture.For those that like a Bible-First approach to home-based-learning, this looks like a great study tool. It will provide a wonderful and rich resource, especially when used in conjunction with other study tools, like the Victory Journey through the Bible.

It is a NIV with full colour illustrations, a bonus CD-Rom, study notes, articles, and much more.

I won’t rave on about it anymore. You can go to the website and download a free 90 page sample for yourself!

New Search Engine for the Visual Learner

G’day,
Yep that’s right. I’ve been away for quite some time and I come back to blog about a new search engine.

Well, it’s called Mooter and it is different from other search engines in that it is more visual. It arranges the ‘hits’ into clusters. You can then select the cluster that best describes what you are looking for.

As an example, I typed in ‘homeschool’ which we all know is very broad and generalised. In a visual way (much like a mind-map) it sorted the hits into these categories:

homeschool
homeschooling
home
resource
curriculum
christian
children


and then comes up with another cluster of even more information.

Now while I’m not about to leave google, I think this could be a very good resource and prove to be a valuable tool.

Check it out at http://www.mooter.com/moot

Jesus is coming again!

Jesus

THE WORD OF GOD
became flesh…

THE SON OF GOD
became man…

THE LORD OF ALL
became a servant…

THE RIGHTEOUS ONE
was made sin…

THE ETERNAL ONE
tasted death…

THE RISEN ONE
now lives in men…

THE SEATED ONE
is coming again!

Analogy: the barber shop

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation. They talked about so many things and various subjects. When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said,

“I don’t believe that God exists.”

“Why do you say that?” asked the customer.

“Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn’t exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can’t imagine a loving a God who would allow all of these things.”

The customer thought for a moment, but didn’t respond because he didn’t want to start an argument. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop. Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and unkempt. The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber,

“You know what? Barbers do not exist.”

“How can you say that?” asked the surprised barber. “I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!”

“No!” the customer exclaimed. “Barbers don’t exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside.”

“Ah, but barbers DO exist!” answered the barber. “What happens, is, people do not come to me.”

“Exactly!”– affirmed the customer. “That’s the point! God, too, DOES exist! What happens, is, people don’t go to Him and do not look for Him. That’s why there’s so much pain and suffering in the world.”

Teaching Older Children to Be a Friend…

We had visitors the other day! Friends that we hadn’t seen for several months. It was wonderful time of fellowship and general catching up. A memorable highlight was when the little 5yo daughter came running out of the car, whizzing straight past me and bounded straight into the arms of Bek. (12yodd) Full of heart-felt emotion she exclaimed,
“Oh, I’ve missed you so much!” as she continued to hug a smiling and touched Bek. Bek and I talked later on that evening and she was so surprised that this darling little girl had remembered her (it had been several months since they had seen each other). We were able to talk about the impact that we can have on other people’s lives if we only take time to build relationships.

I have always tried to encourage my daughters to spend time with younger children whenever we are out at homeschooling meetings or when we have visitors. Playing with little children is very natural for Bek while ‘Miss A’ finds it a little more difficult. Nevertheless, ‘Miss A’ gets on well with all ages but isn’t as drawn to younger children…usually. I have reminded the girls of how they have felt when older children had taken an interest in them and now they can do that for others. I love having visitors! Aside from fellowship and catching up, there are so many learning opportunities.

Training, guiding, correcting, and encouragement (discipleship) are all preparing our children for their life purpose. Home truly is a wonderful preparation ground.

Today, I’m feeling very blessed to be able to have all of my children at home with me, to share my life with them and to guide them with theirs and that I have a great relationship with them.

Thank you Lord, for my life, that I’m in a situation where I can be at home, discipling our children every day, that my husband is working his best to provide for us which allows me to be at home. I’m so glad that I have this opportunity. Please help me to make the most of my days and the opportunities that come along.

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Influence of Home

I just had to share this beautiful quote with you!

“What we want to do with our children is not merely to control them and keep them in order, but to implant true principles deep in their hearts which shall rule their whole lives; to shape their character from within into Christlike beauty, and to make of them noble men and women, strong for battle and for duty. They are to be trained rather than governed. Growth of character, not merely good behavior, is the object of all home governing and teaching. Therefore the home influence is far more important than the home laws, and the parents’ lives are of more moment than their teachings.”

~* J. R. Miller in Home-Making *~

And He Shall Sit as a Refiner and Purifier of Silver

We all go through some hard times. Yes, it would seem some people more than others, but it is not in vain. I pray that this will comfort and strengthen all who feel as though they are going through the furnace at this time.

“Some time ago, a few ladies met in a certain city to study the scriptures. While reading the third chapter of Malachi, they came upon a remarkable expression in the third verse. ‘ And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.’
One lady proposed to visit a silversmith and report to them on what the smith said about the subject. She went accordingly, and without telling the object of the errant, asked the silversmith to tell her about the process of refining silver.
After he had fully described it to her, she asked, “But sir, do you SIT while the work of refining is going on?”
“Oh, yes madam,” replied the silversmith. “I must sit with my eye steadily fixed on the furnace for if the time necessary for refining be exceeded in the slightest degree, the silver will be injured.”

The ladies at once saw the beauty, and comfort too, of the expression, “He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver. God sees it needful to put His children into a furnace. His eye is steadily intent on the work of purifying, and His wisdom and love are both engaged in the best manner for us.
Our trials do not come at random, and He will not let us be tested beyond what we can endure. Before she left, the lady asked one final question, “When do you know the process is complete?”
“Why that is quite simple,” replied the silversmith. “When I can see my own image in the silver, the refining process is finished.”

Practising the Presence of God…

This book.gif

I’m starting to read this little book called, “The Practice of the Presence of GOD” by brother Lawrence. I’d like to read it slowly and try to absorb as much as I can. I’m using an abridged version for now and maybe later I’ll read the unabridged version.

The unabridged version says, “That we should establish ourselves in a sense of GOD?s Presence, by continually conversing with Him. That it was a shameful thing to quit His conversation, to think of trifles and fooleries.That we should feed and nourish our souls with high notions of GOD; which would yield us great joy in being devoted to Him.”

My more modernised version says, “Brother Lawrence insisted? that it is necessary to always be aware of God’s presence by talking to Him throughout each day. To think that you must abandon conversation with Him in order to deal with the world is erroneous.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“That we ought to give ourselves up to GOD, with regard both to things temporal and spiritual, and seek our satisfaction only in the fulfilling His will, whether He lead us by suffering or by consolation, for all would be equal to a soul truly resigned.”

“Our only happiness? should come from God’s will, whether it brings us some pain or great pleasure. After all, if we’re devoted to doing God’s will, pain and pleasure won’t make any difference to us.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“That there needed fidelity in those drynesses, or insensibilities and irksomenesses in prayer, by which GOD tries our love to Him; that then was the time for us to make good and effectual acts of resignation, whereof one alone would oftentimes very much promote our spiritual advancement.”

“We also need to be faithful, even in dry periods. It is during those dry spells that God tests our love for Him. We should take advantage of those times to practice our determination and our surrender to Him. This will often bring us to maturity further on in our walk with God.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I’m intrigued about what it might mean to practise the presence of God. I want to know more…I want to experience this but I get so caught up in the day to day things that make up my life. I want to be closer to Jesus…to feel His presence more closely…to feel Him nearer.

During my early morning time on the pooter, I came across a site with sermons on it. One, in particular, caught my eye and has been on my mind all day. I’ve decided to act upon it. Some of these things I already do but I want to do them with more awareness…with more joy. These things are such as,

  • Waking to the Lord- giving Him my first thoughts.
  • Early prayer and quiet time before family prayers.
  • Plan my day with HOLINESS TO THE LORD at the forefront.
  • To work diligently at my calling…of being a child of God, wife, mother, homeschooler, friend, etc.
  • Guard my heart and mind throughout the whole day- being on watch for things that tempt me.
  • Make a conscious decision to talk to myself and the children of the everyday things of God- to see God in everything.
  • Be quick to confess my sins.
  • Strive to do my best in my relationships and duties of them…as unto the Lord.
  • Pray and give thanks before I go to sleep.

As well as modeling this, I want to share this with my children.

Serenity, Courage and Wisdom.

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.

By Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971)


This prayer used to hang in my mother’s home and it never made much sense to me. I would read it and just not ‘get it’. Throughout the years, as I’ve grown and experienced more of life, I have come to see the richness of this prayer and the words are ones that I echo often.

God's Goal for Parents

teach

“God’s initial goal for Christian homeschooling families is not the raising of godly children. Instead, God’s wonderful, but subtly hidden agenda is that the homeschooling experience be so challenging for the parents that they feel the need and hunger for a closer walk with their heavenly Father.”

~Wisdom’s Way of Learning by Marilyn Howshall

How is this for the truth? Hard hitting eh? Challenging eh? It sure changes my perspective on homeschooling!

A goal may be a good education and a good job or career or even to have children who are saved but the ULTIMATE goal is that we walk closer with our Father. And all this time I’ve thought it was only about The Children…For Their Sake. But there’s a purpose in here for me!

We are living our lives by loving and glorifying Him. I often think of this quote when I’m about to yell at my kids or look around at my eternally untidy house. There’s a reason for all this … so maybe I’d better get to the business of that reason and stop lingering on the computer.

Another Diary Day

vegeieblog tagged me!? If you get tagged you have to tell what your day TODAY was like…really!? Not what you wish it’d been like or what you’d planned for it to be like, but how it really turned out.

Okay, but of all days to get tagged it HAD to be today…OF COURSE!!!!!! Today was not a usual day for us…but in the spirit of honesty, here goes:

The alarm pulsated in my ear, forcing my face deeper into the pillow. How rude- it was only 5.45am and I was NOT ready to greet the day. So, for the first time in *ages*, I didn’t get up before my hubby and I didn’t even make his breakfast! Instead, he made some toast for the children and brought me a cup of tea and a panadol before he left for work. My head hit the pillow again and I started to ZZZZZZZ off again when 14yodd came in to say good morning. I asked her to supervise the boys cleaning the breakfast mess while I continued to doze and hoped that the thumping headache would subside. The peace and quiet lasted for a whole half an hour before same 14yodd came in to *talk*. This is only alright because she didn’t come empty handed. She brought me another cuppa.? So, for the next 2 hours we sat on my bed and talked…chatted about life, relationships, siblings, the future, this weekend, her social life and her softball life.

I emerged from the shower feeling a little more eager to greet the day…only to go into the kitchen and see that nothing had been cleaned up. Where was this darling 14yodd? Oh, suddenly she is busy doing her lessons! Yeah right!!!! Hang on a minute, now both boys are also SUDDENLY engrossed in their lessons! Now, before you get the wrong idea, let me tell you that this was not a history or geography lesson but it was English and Maths! Oh Puhleeze!!!!!!!? Meany mother that I am, I pulled them away from their ever-so distracting yet obviously engrossing lessons and I shadowed them as they cleaned and tidied the kitchen. THEN, they could go on with some lessons.

I did a quick email check and decided that it was about time I moved my blog from its previous residence. Yeah well, these things never happen quickly, do they?

Hubby came home for lunch, then it was clean-up. The girls had a few more lessons to finish and then they also helped the boys a little with their own lessons while I pottered on the computer.

Before I knew it, it was 4.30pm and hubby was home. Thankfully, 12yodd was more than happy to cook tea for tonight, which is no easy feat in our home of 7. We’re having a Tuna Pie and she has also made a Fruit Crumble with Whipped Cream for dessert. 🙂

I feel physically lousy today, and usually when I feel like this I start to feel mentally and emotionally lousy too…however, I have at least given some one-on-one time to each child today. they have had some uninterrupted time with some eye contact and hugs, so all is not lost.

So, I ask myself, did I learn anything today about the nature of God, myself or the children? I have to be honest and say that I can’t think of anything, thinking makes my head hurt today…but tomorrow’s a new day!

Bible Study resources

‘A’ has been using a wonderful book to enhance her understanding of New Testament readings. She currently uses “The Narrated Bible” and this is a chronological Bible with a small commentary at the beginning of each section. This is good and ‘A’ is enjoying it. However, I finally got around to working out the schedule to combine her Bible reading with a great book called, “The Victor Journey Through the Bible“, by V. Gilbert Veers. This book goes through the Bible story by story! It is really connecting the dots for my daughter. This book goes story by story through the Bible from Genesis through to Revelation. It has many good pictures, maps and background information.

If you want to read through the Bible in a chronological order but don’t have a Bible that is arranged that way, you can download this plan, from Heart of Wisdom, and print it to use.

Click Here For Bible Checklist

To see more about the many uses for the Narrated Bible you can visit the HOW site:

Click Here For Information on the Narrated Bible

You can see more of the “Victor Journey through the Bible” book here:

Click Here For Information on the Victor Journey through the Bible

And no, I don’t work for HOW…just really like the philosophy and products 🙂

Music Appreciation for the HomeGrownKids

I love music! All styles and genres. I was fortunate to grow up listening to and developing an appreciation for classical music. I also loved the tapes that came out in the 1980’s: Hooked on Classics and such. A few years ago, I was introduced to Bond and fell in love with their work and this morning while surfing the ‘net, I came across an orchestra that is new to me. However, this is not ordinary orchestra! No siree! Talk about a beautiful, stimulating blend of classical and modern. Visit here and view the video of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra performance.

I enjoyed reading Peter O’Neill, the band’s founder and his thoughts what the Trans-Siberian Orchestra was about, Paul O’Neill replied, “It’s about creating great art. When asked to define what great art was, Paul said, “The purpose of art is to create an emotional response in the person that is exposed to that art. And there are three categories of art; bad art, good art and great art. Bad art will elicit no emotional response in the person that is exposed to it, i.e.; a song you hear in an elevator and it does nothing to you, a picture on a wall that gives you the same emotional response as if the wall had been blank, a movie that chews up time. Good art will make you feel an emotion that you have felt before; you see a picture of a forest and you remember the last time you went fishing with your dad, you hear a song about love and you remember the last time you were in love. Great art will make you feel an emotion you have never felt before; seeing the pieta, the world famous sculpture by Michelangelo, can cause someone to feel the pain of losing a child even if they’ve never had one.”
[Emphasis mine]

You can also read an interview that Christianity Today had with Paul O’Neill here.

It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, and I can’t vouch for their productions or performance, but we had some great discussions about the power of music and how stimulating and evocative this band is. This is great art, in my opinion…I’d love to pass an appreciation of music on to my children.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Bible Study Toolbar

Have I mentioned before that I love the Internet??? I am constantly amazed at the generosity of people. There is so much information and products available for FREE these days.

I love to study the Bible…and I often use the Internet and online Bibles to do so. I usually use bible.crosswalk.com as it’s easy to type in but now there is a new feature available. It is a toolbar (for use with Bible Gateway)? that you download and install for Firefox (and if you’re still using IE, then you need to stop and get a decent browser!).

This easy to install toolbar has a groovy number of options, letting you change versions and languages, restrict your search to certain parts of the Bible, and more.

See here for more info: News at Bible Gateway

Go here to download the toolbar.

I hope you enjoy it and are as blessed by it as I am!

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Do You Strew?

Strewing…What is it?

We know there is unschooling and carschooling, there is even fridgeschooling, but there’s another new term which is popular. Even though it’s a new term the practice of it isn’t new…in fact, I’m sure everyone does it to varying degrees. Did you know that ‘strewing’ has now become an ‘official’ homeschool/unschool term? I’m sure that many of us do it quite naturally but there is still good value in the practice of it, so I decided to write and share about it today. Strewing simply refers to the placement or scattering of objects and learning materials around the house where children will discover them.

The dictionary defines strewing as:

  1. To spread here and there; scatter: strewing flowers down the aisle.
  2. To cover (an area or a surface) with things scattered or sprinkled: “Italy . . . was strewn thick with the remains of Roman buildings” Bernard Berenson.
  3. To be or become dispersed over (a surface).
  4. To spread (something) over a wide area; disseminate.

I strew books that may be of current interest but I also strew books and computer games that may not be MY area of interest nor even in our realm of study topics but simply to put something new or different before the children. I often strew art books, grammar books, lovely picture books with beautiful illustrations, and books filled with inspiring quotes. I may strew computer games that teach electricity or Australian history, Art History or House/Architectural Design or things like that. I also strew video’s and DVD’s although I do try to keep them in the lounge room. Sport equipment, musical instruments, board games, posters, quotes, etc.

I’ve strewn collections. We have a sea shell collection and a rock collection that often inspires a child to look at it and then ask questions in order to learn more. We also strew with excursions! Some times we’ll go on an excursion if it relates to a topic that we’re learning about (Science and History usually) but we also go out to places for no other reason other than, ‘just because!’ How about strewing with food?

Unschooler’s are very good at using this method and I personally suspect it is similar to how Sally and Clay Clarkson describe their ‘learning centre’s’ in Wholehearted Child. Personally, I don’t get hung up on how others describe it as I know I do it naturally. The only problem with strewing in my house is that while often an abode for creative and stimulating discoveries, the place can also look rather hotch-potch. However, not everyone’s home is like this so I don’t blame strewing, it’s just me.

When I raised this question on a forum there were some great responses and one lady suggested rain-gutter bookshelves. What? Being raised in a mining town where homes are often built from tin metal and now rusting, did not build a pretty picture in my mind, until said friend sent some links. Have a look, they might spark some creative ideas of your own! Just imagine, you could strew PC games, DVD’s, cookbooks, works of art…the possibilities are endless!

The Rain Gutter Literacy Revolution

Rain-Gutter Bookshelves

So, I wonder…do you strew? If so, how, what and where? I’d love to hear from you.

Global Warming-My Thoughts

?But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good?
1 Thessalonians 5:21

I?ve been called a skeptic. I?m prone to investigate some conspiracy theories. I like to think that I examine things (within my own limited knowledge and understanding). I think that we need to be good, responsible stewards of the earth. There!. Had to get that out of the way.

I want to teach my children how to think critically, how to read information and examine it, how to apply God?s word to everyday life. Therefore, I love learning at home with my children and am thankful for the responsibility and opportunity to do so.
Every person holds a worldview. A worldview is a way of looking at the world?it is what you believe, what you understand the world to be about.
Everyone has assumptions or presuppositions. This is simply having an idea or a belief and you filter new knowledge or information through that assumption. Each worldview has various presuppositions supporting it.

There is a naturalistic, Biblical and pantheistic way of looking at things. Various trains of thought (worldviews) have adaptations but they basically can fit into these categories. (Learning about worldviews is an important topic!) So now knowing that everyone holds a worldview, I’ll start honing in on my subject.

Over the course of history there have been many beliefs. Beliefs that people held and defended to the hilt. Others who did not agree with these beliefs were mocked, persecuted and all manner of things. Remember when people thought the world was flat? Well, it?s all well and good for us to sit here now and laugh at that because we have the benefit of history and science behind us. Do we look and see ourselves in that picture? Do we believe everything that we are told without examining it? How about Y2K? Future generations may laugh till their insides hurt when they hear of the hysteria and confusion around Y2K?yet it was a real threat in our minds only seven years ago.

There is a lot of hype and hysteria surrounding the whole climate change issue. Ever heard the saying, ?he who controls the media, controls the world?? Think about it. While we are busy, worrying and adapting our lifestyle, stressing over the current issue (climate change, Y2K, terrorism, etc) other things, important (world, national, state and local) issues, could be slipping under the radar. Fear is a powerful motivator. And with every ?issue?, there is fear behind it. I haven?t watched the latest movie, ‘An Inconvenient Truth? but the snippets I have seen are designed to produce fear in the hearts of the viewers. But oh, that?s meant to be ?information?, facts to make the people aware. Are the people who are doing the alarming changing their lifestyles? There is truly much to think about with the whole issue. Michelle Malkin has a clip here which is thoughtful and enlightening.
There are plenty of informed scientists and speakers who disagree with the whole alarmist view of global warming but they are not being heard or listened to. I wonder why?

Do you remember the animation, Captain Planet? Cool eh? It was indoctrination- pure and simple. It did not have a biblical basis or worldview. Pick up a newspaper, magazine or turn on the television today. What information are you being fed? Have you really examined the facts or are you being led into an emotional trap? Are you being indoctrinated?
A popular website that is being pushed in Australia is cooltheglobe. Here?s a snippet from the site:

“Climate change is the greatest threat facing our planet. Humans are causing climate change, and humans can stop it getting worse. We can keep our planet healthy for future generations by acting on climate change now and reducing our greenhouse pollution.”

I think that sin is the greatest threat facing our planet and the humans that live on it.

I don?t believe in evolution, or a type of Christian Evolution. I guess you?d call me a young earth creationist. However, if I believed in the process of evolution then I?d believe that the world is millions of years old. I guess I could then think it?s possible that the earth is in trouble. Also believing in evolution, I?d believe in the superiority of man (I mean underneath all the rubble, even racism stems from an evolutionary worldview). If man was capable of evolving into the intelligent species that we are, I?d have to believe that we can fix this problem. Apparently the ice caps on Mars are melting due to our actions here on earth. Wow, we?re pretty powerful uh! So the earth has been around for millions or billions of years (so apparently has man) yet it is only in the last few hundred years that we have managed to destroy the earth and universe as we know it. This view holds a very high opinion of man, doesn?t it?

There are a few issues within the whole crisis that I am concerned about. The experts compare today’s weather to hundreds and thousands of years ago but I can?t see how this is accurate. How long have there been reliable weather stations throughout the world? Granted, the experts use measures of tree rings, they analyse ice-cores and so on but these don?t build an accurate picture, especially as one considers that scientists can?t even agree on the age of the earth! They say that this weather pattern and climate change is not normal?I don?t think man has been officially recording the weather for long enough to know what ?normal? is. (Apparently they started recording in the mid 1800?s?even in a time frame of 6,000 years that is not much to go on) It?s such a short term view.

A statement at National Geographic says:

Over the last million years the Earth has fluctuated between colder and warmer periods.

How does a Christian reconcile this with the Bible?s teaching? I?m no great scientist, but I believe that when we truly understand and believe in a catastrophic event such as the Great Flood we can see how it would have had a major impact on the geophysical and biological system of the earth?and that dating systems which do not reflect a biblical worldview nor take into account the devastating flood, are simply not correct.

We can see that over the course of history, the climate has indeed changed. Was this the result of man? Was man big enough to control the universe? Sure we need to be good stewards and live carefully but the fear mongering must not be allowed to control us. We must teach our children to think critically and examine issues. We need to prepare our hearts for the day when we meet our Maker.

Where is God in all of this global warming/climate change issue? Is He so small that He does not control everything? Some times we need to stop, take a step back and actually read our history and science books?and try to see things from a biblical worldview rather than our own small perspective.

Whether or not you do or don?t believe in all the hype, I hope you can see that we need to teach our children to think?we need to educate our children about the real issues: being that fear is a powerful motivator, combined with the media using every means available to appeal to our emotions, (propaganda) can be a strong driving force that can be used?and is often used, sadly, by politicians.
I don?t want or expect anyone to agree with my thoughts?but I hope you look closely at the facts and research for yourself, for the sake of your children. A few sites that I like are:

http://www.junkscience.com/Greenhouse/

http://www.icr.org/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16960409/site/newsweek/

http://www.michaelcrichton.net/speeches/index.html

http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v1/n2/global-warming

Link at AnswersinGenesis

Upgrade 2

Upgrade

Upgrade

After my review on Upgrade, by Kevin Swanson I was asked how this book impacted my life so I’ll attempt to share my thoughts here.

Upgrade! How it helped me.

I’ve already written a review so I won’t rehash that so I’ll approach it from another angle without rewriting the entire book!

Kevin Swanson devoted one whole chapter to ‘education’. I like this as it is helpful to know what the goal is before we attempt to formulate a plan toward aiming for it.

“Education is the preparation of the child, intellectually, emotionally, spiritually and physically for life and for eternity.” (p10) He then writes in the broader sense.
He says that each worldview will affect our understanding of education (see why I like it?) He then pulls apart his own definition by explaining ‘preparation‘: preparation for what? He also questions (and answers) the concept of a ‘successful education’. He gives another definition of a successful education on page 17 “A successful education is achieved when a child is prepared to make maximal use of his God-given talents and abilities in the accomplishment of the child’s calling.”

Education is the preparation of the child, intellectually, emotionally, spiritually and physically for life and for eternity.

Then he writes 10 Secrets for a Successful Education, which aren’t really secrets at all. 😉
The first secret is on the Pre-Eminence of Character. Now all CM enthusiasts agree on this but he brings out a point which allowed or encouraged me to change my first character training habit from that of developing ‘Attention’ to Honour of Parents (duh!)

The 2nd secret is Quality One on One Instruction. This really spoke to me as my homeschool methodology had me focusing on good books. Now this is a good and worthwhile habit but it cannot and must not take place of quality one on one instruction. Of course some subjects take more individual instruction than others, like Math’s, (which I had to learn the hard way). He gave me a focus point of one hour per day for 2 full years with each child. (p47)

The 3rd secret is the Principle of Protection.
He says that protection is itself is ineffective but combined with a purpose of preparation is effective (p52). To be prepared, a child ought to be protected?all this with an identity or individual focus! He talks about monitoring the inputs and controlling the inputs that the children are exposed to. He warns of the dangers when protection becomes an end in itself:

1) the child might try to escape the world
2) amalgamate with the world and become like it or
3) change the world

The Principle of Individuality is the 4th secret and he talks about our children as individuals. This wasn’t new to me but he brought out some interesting points. The principle of individuality is liberating, so Mr. Swanson says. It can be wielded with amazing adaptability and effectiveness in the home and removes a tremendous amount of pressure from the backs of children and parents. He suggests that this principle takes the individual gifts and abilities of each child and maximizes them. This often means that a homeschool moves away from standardization. He goes on to say that this principle holds profound implications for the involvement of the state in education.

The 5th secret is Rooting in Relationships.
Mr. Swanson puts forth that every child is an individual with individual learning styles and rates and emotional concerns. An educational program will only be optimized for each child by a mentor who knows the child well. He states that studies have shown that there is no difference between the academic performance of students whose parents are professionally trained teachers and those who are not. He attributes this to the God-designed factor of relationship based teaching. In this lengthy chapter, he also discusses the issue of delegation… delegation while still retaining responsibility.

A successful education is achieved when a child is prepared to make maximal use of his God-given talents and abilities in the accomplishment of the child’s calling.

The Principle of Doing Well is the 6th secret.
Charlotte Mason enthusiasts would know this one! The main aim of education is to communicate so he encourages us to do this well. Reading and writing is fundamental. He then gives 10 focus points which I found beneficial:
1) read aloud
2) the best literature
3) don’t waste significant time doing anything but the basics
4) do not multiple the course requirements upon the student (this one hit me hard)
5) memorise portions of the highest quality literature, poetry, drama, and prose.
6) Copywork is a valuable tool
7) It is advantageous to teach them the languages of Hebrew, Greek an Latin once they are advanced in their own native language.
8) Don’t advance a student to the next level until he has mastered the basics
9) Basic learning required disciplined repetition
10) Teach the Scriptures

Reading, thinking, (verbal and written) communication, discernment and singing are basic fundamentals.

The 7th secret is the Principle of Life Integration
He writes of the difference between knowledge and wisdom… about life integration and the best way to do this is to maintain a life integrating educational environment. He encourages the reader to avoid the separation of school and life (yet he is not an unschooler). The student must have real lie experiences on which to hang the knowledge that he learns from the textbook else the textbook learning just becomes head knowledge and not wisdom or understanding. He gives another more tips like:

1) Tie their textbooks learning to real life..
2) Limit the time they spend listening to lectures.
3) Build relationships and spend time doing the important things?take the children with you everywhere.
4) Train your children to think and communicate all the time
5) Train them to be able to interact with others well
6) Encourage them to start their own business or work with you
7) Prefer hands-on training, develop a learning environment
8) Use curriculum that understands the importance of real life application.

Maintaining the Honour and Mystique of Learning is the 8th secret.
We should strive to cultivate a sense of wonder. This can be stifled if we don?t take into account the principles of individual character, etc.
Modeling a sense of adventure, self motivated learning and spontaneity while encouraging the inquisitive mind is important. Avoid activities that mesmerize yet don?t encourage wonder and discovery. He also talks about honouring and commending true achievement and achievements. Children need affirmation.

Building on the Right Foundation is the 9th secret and it deals with the content of education.
Again this chapter deals with worldview … the big questions of life. As parents we need to know what are children are learning and at the least we need to discern the worldview that under girds the books we use. In this we need to know and discern the difference between polytheism, monotheism, relativism, absolute truth, atheism, humanism, biblical theism, nihilism and those that have a providential view of history. (I’ve found that the need for understanding this, increases as the child gets older)

He says that that there is no neutrality in books or programs (see why I like this book?). God’s word must be tied into every aspect of our child’s experience be it entertainment, history, geography, science, music or reading… we must train our children to think in terms of God’s world. This doesn’t mean that every book so sentence must have God in it rather that our children must learn to see the connection to God in all that they do.

1) know your worldview
2) know what your children are learning
3) accept that there is no perfect curriculum
4) think ?integration?
5) use principles of protection and wise progression
The 10th secret of the Principle of Wise, Sequential Progression.

This chapter talks about the stages of learning:  knowledge (collection and storage of facts), understanding (discernment and arrangement of facts) and wisdom (application of those things). He warns us to beware of programs that only spit out facts or information all the way through high school. It’s important to learn the basics well but also important to progress toward critical thinking and wise independent problem solving.

Chapter 13 talks about developing a vision for your family: where to start, how to get there, etc.

These are the areas that helped me in my family. While not necessarily new to me they condensed and highlighted all the information in my own knowledge bank so that much of could become practical and I could apply it to my life. So many things cry out for our attention yet not all are necessary. They may be good but not necessary.

Don’t take my word for it though…rush out and get your own copy! These points are just what I took from the books…I haven’t done a complete chapter review, I’ve tried to speak more personally.

How Many Hours in Bible Study?

John Stott used the following time allocations dedicated to Bible study:

* One hour a day
* One 3 hour period a week
* One day every month
* One week every year

I think this is a good and worthwhile goal to aim for. What do you think?

Drive Thru History DVD

Want a fast-paced, high energy tour through history? Then you might like Drive Thru History with with Dave Stotts!

We have watched Drive Thru History: Rome If You Want To.. and Turkish Delight as well as Greece and the Word. We’re looking forward to the next DVD; East Meets West.

Each DVD is a part of the Drive Thru History series in which the sometimes hilarious Dave Stotts explores the history of Western Civilisation. Some may feel that Dave Stotts is a little irreverent so be warned but we enjoyed his sense of humour- he’s not rude, just tend to point out the obvious. Each DVD has 3 episodes of approximately 30 minutes each.

Personally, those in our family who have studied a full rotation of world history and have an idea of the places mentioned, seem to enjoy this a lot more than the younger children. Therefore, I would recommend these DVD’s to those who are familiar with the places and events visited. It is not a curriculum (although the American history series which is a full curriculum looks so good…I wish they’d one one Australia!) but a good, fun, visual tie-in once you’ve learned about those areas, people or places in your history studies.

These are available from Koorong or Word from $16 through to $21 each DVD.

English Lessons HomeGrownKids Style

We still use a spelling list. (We like the lists from PocketBasics.com) I have found it easier for me to teach the various spelling rules when we have followed a list. I can easily review what rules I have and haven’t presented to the child…and set about continuing on with that. If I feel that a child does not grasp a particular spelling/grammar rule, then I will search for a passage or selection of work so that they can specifically write it out for copy work.

Copy work is preparation for dictation

The reason I have used a spelling list is also because I haven’t been as diligent with the practice of dictation as I would have liked, but that’s life eh! I do believe that the CM method of education is full and rich and thorough if adhered to…which is where I fall down.

The Lessons

We would do a passage for copy work on Day One. I read the passage aloud to the children once or twice. I would review any of the spelling and grammar rules that are applicable and I would then teach new concepts from the passage. I tell the child that they can spend time and take care with this selection as they will be writing it for dictation soon. I ask them to notice any words that they may need to spend time on or look up in the dictionary. I ask them to notice any grammar or punctuation rules, and we discuss it. If they haven’t noticed anything, then I jump in with my comments but I like to give them opportunity first. At the end of the lesson, I ask the child to read the passage aloud to me. (I think this is an important step) They also have to read (or listen to) good living books and then narrate to me. After a few days (depending on the passage I’ve selected) I will have the child write the selection from dictation. This is where they need to apply the habit of attention, else they will get spelling and punctuation incorrect.

Dictation Lesson

To start the dictation lesson, which may be on day 2, 3 or 4 (on this day, dictation REPLACES copy work and is not in addition to), I read the passage aloud to them. I’ll slowly read a phrase at a time as the child writes it on their paper. I try not to re-read any phrase as I’m trying to develop the habit of attention, requiring them to concentrate and use their memory…but I don’t let myself get hung up on it. My goal is to train them in the habit of attention, develop their ability to focus and recall, to have neat handwriting and develop their spelling, grammar and punctuation skills.

I think the basis of a CM English program is Copywork and then also Dictation, Narration, and good Living Books. Exposure to Great Ideas is a big part of this.

Tip

Another tip which I have found very useful is to have a double copy of a book that I’m reading aloud. As I’m reading it aloud, another child will have the second copy and be following me along. This helps them to SEE and HEAR the word so they hear the correct pronunciation and see the correct spelling in a very gentle way.

I also buddy read: where I will read a passage and then the child will read a passage. Having the child read aloud is very important as I can *hear* exactly where they are having difficulty and then I can help them straight away without needing to wait until the rule or concept arises in the textbook.

Focussed Seasons

We also have focused seasons which probably isn’t very CMish but it works well for us. By seasons I mean that we will have a period of time (could be weeks or months) where we will all learn and focus on grammar. We’ll do a course like Winston Grammar and we focus on it during our copy work times. We might put another topic or area on the backburner for awhile as we do this. Then, when I feel that we’ve done enough there for the time being, I’ll put grammar to the backburner and bring another area into focus. Some people can’t handle this way of doing things but it is the only way that I can manage.

I hope some of this has been helpful, if only in sparking some ideas.

There are a few links that you might like to read over:

AmblesideOnline Scope and Sequence for LA

LA with Penny Gardner

Copywork with the Parker’s

Record Keeping – HomeGrownKids Style

I was recently asked how I keep records so thought that I may as well post the response here.

I believe it is a matter of documenting your learning opportunities, and then jargonising them, which isn’t that hard really…especially if you are familiar with the requirements as laid out by the particular Board of Studies and Ed. Dept’s. We use a recording journal that I made up…I make them yearly for each child and they can be personalised. Each year they have looked different although the last 2 years they’ve been the same. As we go throughout the day, I can easily look back and see where things fit into various subject areas: (For the older children)

BIBLE
Catechism
Bible reading
Bible stories
Proverbs ? character

ENGLISH
Copywork
LLATL
Spelling / Vocabulary
Writing
Grammar
Individual Reading
Reading Aloud to others
Listening to Reading Aloud

MATHS
Text / workbooks
Biographies / stories
Times tables / memory work

SCIENCE
Science text/workbook (Medicine, Chemistry)
Living book/biography

GENERAL
Folk Song
Natural History
Shakespeare Story
Current Events
Manners & Etiquette

SOCIAL STUDIES
History General
History Australian
Geography
Economics
Citizenship

FINE ARTS
Music Appreciation
Composer study
Art Appreciation
Artist study
Art Application (Artistic Pursuits, ArtPacs)

LITERATURE
Well, this is way to big to cover, but I”m sure you get the idea.

LIFE SKILLS
Well, this is way to big to cover, but I”m sure you get the idea. This area also covers heaps of the Key Learning Area’s (KLA’s)

EXTRA’S
Well, this is way to big to cover, but I”m sure you get the idea.

For the younger children, it is a different layout:
It is a 2 page spread and it has Mon-Sat down the left side.

The left side has boxes so that either the children or I can fill it in. There are boxes for:

Spiritual Life
God’s World – Science and Technology
God’s Story – History (places, events, people)
People and Places – Geography, etc…

Then, when we look back over our day, we can slot in the days activities into the relevant boxes. This helps the children to learn to record their learning opportunities, although we aren’t the most diligent with it but more than that, it helps them to see that all of real life is learning.

When presenting this to the Ed. Dept, I would give as little as possible. This might be something like a summary report, with a short paragraph on each subject matter, outlining if we used a text or books and I’d talk about things that the student enjoyed learning about. We also record the character and spiritual/emotional development of the children but this is purely for *us*. No one else sees it. This is where we write about the spiritual, emotional and character development of the children. For us, this is more important than the academic record.

It seems like a lot, but once you get the hang of jotting things down it just becomes part of a daily habit, like brushing teeth, and doesn’t take very long.

History Scope and Sequence

HomeGrownKid’s  Scope & Sequence for world history

Birth to age 9 ( birth -G4)
Old Testament History (Egypt & Sumeria)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.

Age 10-13 or (G5 – G8)
Review the same cycle but in greater depth. begin to look at 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! Mystery of History is an excellent resource and our absolute favourite is the Heart of Wisdom Unit Studies and Approach.

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: “Picturesque Tale of Progress” by Olive Beaupre Miller, “Story of Mankind” by Van Loon, “A Brief Story of the World” by Niver, “Streams of Civilisation”, “Western Civilisation” by J. Spielvogel or” TruthQuest History Guides”.
Consider biographies, historical fiction and primary sources. 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 Kingfisher or Usborne type History Encyclopaedia.

Not blogging regularly?

14yodd informed that I am just not posting regularly enough! So, in an attempt to do so I’ll let you know about our last week, although I warn you now it wasn’t overly exciting…just normal everyday family activities.

15yodd was at work and lessons. We didn’t teach PE at the primary school this last week as the rain meant we had to cancel. 15yodd attended her first ever youth group camp this past weekend! Yep, that was exciting and she enjoyed it immensely. I’ll let her talk about it though as we have decided to share this blog. In between family, lessons, work, softball and church friends she just wasn’t getting around to writing on her own blog so we’ll share. I think she’s learning a lot through church and youth group although I’m glad that she hasn’t always attended…I think there are *seasons* for these things as well and having such a strong family bond, and such intimate relationships with her parents has been the best precursor to going to youth group.

14yodd has been at school but she has also done a little ‘homework’ as agreed between her and I. Neither of us feel she is having enough or adequate instruction in the art of composition so she is going to do a few things at home. I’m proud of her for recognising this and agreeing to work extra on it. She has made a good friend at school, a girl that DH and I like.

The boys and I have slowly pottering through some lessons. We’re having most of our table time in the Bible, which is great! They’re also powering on with Maths. Did I mention that I am so thankful for Math U See?

I feel for my DH though. Late last year, he had an accident at work and after a few weeks of agony, he had to have a shoulder reconstruction, which had him out of action for months. Well, he isn’t fully recovered yet but he has hurt his back at work. He had a horrid weekend at home, went back to work today where the Dr sent him for an x-ray. The Dr. thinks it is a ‘blown disc’…that there is no cartilage between 2 vertebrae. Ouch! So, he came home and then I took him for an MRI. He has several appointments with doctors this week, so I guess all this will keep me busy for the next week.

And me? I’m enjoying my time of intense Bible study as I delve into the word. It is consuming my every waking hour of late. God is revealing Himself to me in ways that enable me to teach my children every day…many things. God’s word truly is worth studying! Lord Tennyson is reported to have said “Bible reading is an education in itself.” Oh boy, do I agree!

And, last but not least…during the week I heard that another family member reads our blogs so I want to say a special hello to Damian! I hope you’re doing real well at your job. I’m proud of you. Leave me a comment here one day eh?

The next day…

This day was the beginning of a new routine for us, in that we haven’t done ‘lessons’ for quite some time (many months) so we’re trying to ease in gently.

Wednesday 31st Jan, 2007

After a full day out in the raging heat yesterday I had a good night’s sleep and was looking forward to being home for most of the day. I awoke at 5.30am and lay in bed having a quiet time, saying good morning to the Lord and pondering the activities for the day. I got out of bed at 5.45 and put a load in the washing machine and then went on to prepare lunches and breakfasts for my three who are out for the day. I woke dh and we had breakfast together and spent the next hour and a half preparing clothes and food and pottering around until I saw dh off for work at 6.45 to which I then sat and watched the news on Sunrise until 7.15 when the girls woke up. After our morning greetings, one showered while the other started on her breakfast as I pottered around doing odd jobs and chores.

At 7.30am I decided that it was about time the boys got up so I went in for a snuggle. While they dragged themselves from bed, I went to make tomorrow’s espresso and be with the children over their breakfast. Then, I organised the boys starting on their chores (John vacuums the floors and ‘Master C’ does the kitchen) and went and showered, did some cleaning of my bathroom and waved goodbye to Bek who went off to school. I spoke to my Dad who informed me of local (Broken Hill type local) news. I speak to my Dad daily.

At 9am, the four of us piled into the car to take ‘Miss A’ to work but we stopped off first at the library so she could pick up a book. (She works part time at a coffee house) We arrived home after some great discussions in the car) and the boys finished their chores while I prepared our Bible study. From 10.15am until 11.30am we did Bible study and spelling and then went into the lounge room for two chapters of our current read-aloud book, Farmer Boy. Well, don’t all good books bring about some great discussions? They do in our house! John made me a cup of tea and the boys had their ice water. As we have two copies of Farmer Boy, ‘Master C’ sat and followed along with a separate copy (which is great for reading skills) and John and I snuggled as we discussed the difference between the words ’till’ and ‘until’. We also bantered and verbalised our own thoughts as we discussed how Almanzo would rather be working at home on the farm rather than be at school. 😉 The best discussion came about from reading how Father gave Almanzo a half-dollar and Almanzo had to choose between succumbing to peer pressure (to buy lemonade) or the possibility of building his own wealth by buying a pig, raising it (and its future piglets) and then selling them for profit. We discussed the application and possibilities of this for our own life. The boys would love to have some chooks and also would love to plant some vegetables but sadly, it is impossible at this house so we then discussed where we’d like to move next and what qualities we’d like to have in our next house.

Then we pondered what to do next… so we put on a Moody Science video and viewed a segment on Spiders, which somehow led on to a discussion about evolution and Christian Evolutionists (people who believe that God used the process of evolution to create the world) and how this was a popular teaching and train of thought in the early 1900’s, especially prevalent amongst natural historians and naturalists, as evident by literature of that time. Whew! 1pm and the boys ambled into the kitchen to prepare their lunch while I hung some washing on the line and put a new load in the machine and fold clothes while talking to them as they ate.

I took about 15 min to type this up, while the boys hunted outside, in our teensy weensy yard, for spiders. Then they came inside for a few quite minutes in their room (this is their own choice and I love the fact that they know how to take some quiet time for themselves.) I ate lunch while watching the last few minutes of Oprah and I took a few phone calls. I pottered around a bit, waiting for ‘Miss A’ to call in her lunch break and chat but she doesn’t: they must be busy at the shop.  I miss hearing from her. After doing the lunch dishes, we lounged on the sofa and read ‘Drought‘ by Trish Oktober and then ‘Miss R’ came home from school at 2.45pm and I sat with John to lead him back into the ways of doing Math with Math-U-See. Meanwhile ‘Master C’ had been having some free time to play and then he sat down to so his maths lesson. I sat with the boys today and did most of their work with them as it is the first time in a loonngg time since we have done any book work.

Free time! When John comes home, we always sit together and share our day over a cuppa so I run around and try to do a quick house tidy before he arrived home.

Oh, time to go and get ‘Miss A’ . John and I head out to have a few minutes to ourselves while we drive to get her. We waited for awhile as she is a tad late. Then, on the way home we returned the dvd from the previous night. While we’ve been gone the children have had some free time, although that is Screen Free Time for the boys. The table has been set and we eat our tea. Over tea, John asks some probing questions as we have discussed our learnings and discoveries for the day. He confirms and expands on our discussion regarding making money work for us and what instant gratification means. Everyone else shares about their day and it is a wonderful time of coming together, even if the meal is only pies, pasties and quiche from ‘Miss A’ ‘s workplace!

After tea was Praise ‘n’ Wash Up! Various tasks have standard requirements and each child knows what they are, and what is expected of them so we all set about this. ‘Miss A’ takes ‘Master C’ into the booknook and he tells her all about our Bible reading. Then, they come back in and complete their jobs.

They had some more free time as well as a few chores like feeding the dog. 14yodd (who attends school) had homework and the others couldn’t help but snicker. I glared at them but they can’t help themselves.  (It’s all good fun really)

Everyone then was free to pursue their own free time. I sat and spent a few minutes on the computer. Then it was bedtime for the boys, of which they don’t agree but such is life eh! ‘Miss R’ must have been tired as she decided to head to bed early while ‘Miss A’ and I stayed up to watch Prison Break. We both struggled to keep awake during the show and we headed straight off to bed at about 10.30pm.

In and around the day, we had many enlightening conversations where we shared together, laughed together, learnt together and just hung out together. We prayed together and played together and vegged out together. We even managed to do some daily disciplines (like chores, lessons and things like that) so all in all, it was a great day!

Day at Our House – Tuesday

BEEP BEEP BEEP screeches my alarm clock at the sadistic time of 5am. Ugh, I have to get up early today to go ‘to school’! Why do I do this AGAIN? I ask myself.

I stumble out of bed and shower, make breakfast for all, prepare a few lunches, kiss John as he heads out the door. I throw some clothes at the boys and declare that if they don’t get up in 5 min (which was 7am) then they’d miss out on breakfast! They made it just in time (Oh, lest you think I’m a TOTAL meanie; everyone was warned the day before, of the hecticness of the coming day). We packed the car and ‘Miss A’ , John, ‘Master C’ and I zoomed off to travel 45 min to go to school! Bek saw herself off to school, although she did get a kiss and a hug from me!

‘Miss A’ was asked to go into the school and teach PE lessons for 5 weeks. As I’m a level 2 coach who has done this in schools 4 times before I thought it would be good for me to go and lead her and then support her. Argh, I could kick myself!?

We arrived late due to traffic conditions and not knowing where I was going. There was no teacher to meet us or give us directions although the teacher did send 2 students to tell us to go and set up on the oval. So, we did. My boys were fantastic all day, carrying a heavy gear bag filled with softball gear, and our esky.

Within a few minutes our first class arrived. My boys sat in the shade and talked and read books while for the next 2 hours solid ‘Miss A’ and I were out in the glaring hot sun, teaching 4 classes for 30 minutes each. Now, of course we couldn’t instruct them for a full 30 minutes because the lesson period went for 30 minutes so by the time they got there, we introduced ourselves and they settled down, it left us about 20 minutes! Then, we had 45 minutes for lunch so we all piled back in the car and went to a local general store to get some lunch and buy a bag of ice. We went back to school and did another 3 lessons (11/2 hours solid in the sun) and then had a 20 minute break and did another 1 hour solid, before piling all our gear into the car and heading home. Traffic was horrid.

We got home and Bek had let herself in. I jumped straight into a cold shower, which hurt due to the heat of sunburn! Bek then made me a cuppa and I promptly drank it and fell asleep on the couch. John came home and listened to the horror of our day and somehow I drifted off again! Bek suggested pizza so she and DH organised that. We had tea and then watched Barnyard on DVD and we were all in bed by 9pm.

After it all, neither ‘Miss A’ nor I desired to do this again but we are booked in for another 4 weeks. The students weren’t too bad, but the heat combined with the schedule was blistering. However, throughout it I managed to see some great points:

  • My sons are fantastic! They barely complained the whole day and yet they had every reason to. They are such troopers. They were sworn at by some of the schoolies but they just ignored them.
  • ‘Miss A’ had the opportunity to observe me coaching (I’ve always coached her but this time it was with a different perspective) and then I stood back and made her go it alone! The first time she faltered a bit but then she did fabulously! By the time the grade 2-3 were there, she was even able to adapt and modify the program to suit! Wow, I was impressed!
  • These three children have no desire to go to school and think it is a joke- the boys are now adamant that nothing much gets done at school and good students must either be naturally bright or work extra hard at home! (This is my 11yo’s opinion ) They said they’d rather run away that be forced to go to school.

So all in all, it was a tiring day but some positives came out of it. Whew! I’m looking forward to a quiet day at home tomorrow. (Wednesday)

p.s. oh, in case you’re wondering what it was all about – softball is our sport, it’s what we do. ‘Miss A’ is a softball athlete and as she improves she has been asked to take on this role. We jumped at it, thinking that it would be an excellent opportunity for her personal growth and development. (It is…it’s just hard). It also pays so that helps.

Happy Feet

We went to the Drive In the other night and saw Happy Feet. I commented on my blog that I didn’t like it and Kristal asked me why. Here are my thoughts.

Please bear in mind that this is MY OPINION and I’m sure there will be others who will disagree. That’s fine too…but this is my opinion. Feel free to leave your own review if you like.

Happy Feet is a lively, fast-paced musical animation abut penguins. I didn’t realise it was a full scale musical so was a little taken aback. However, I tend to love many musicals and animations so figured I’d get over it…but I didn’t. I have been asked what I didn’t like about it, so here goes:

Overall the movie was okay. Pretty heavy on the environmental push but I guess I can live with that. :-/ I was disappointed in the films music- I love music and I especially like older songs but would’ve preferred to see an original score (eg: Beauty & the Beast, Cinderella, Jungle Book, Aladdin, etc). I also did not appreciate the s*xual undertones in some scenes. Now, I know that animals mate…but it doesn’t have to be humanised as that’s when it turns into something twisted and not nice and not appropriate. While dancing around, they looked s*xual, which even feels weird to say seeing that I’m talking about animated penguins!!!

eg: There is a song between prospective partners and the main line is,
?You don?t have to be beautiful to turn me on, I just need your body, baby, from dusk till dawn.?
Pfft, this is not what I teach my children!!!!
Another song is taken from the modern one with the line, ?Let?s talk about sex, baby.? Although the line is changed slightly and the S word removed..

Okay, so what else didn’t I like? Well, I thought it had a few digs at Christianity. I could be wrong and being overly sensitive but I thought that the elders (Elder Penguin) were satirical. They told the masses that they need to return to the way of old and believe in ‘The Quin’ and that The Quin won’t bless and prosper them unless they do this. It all sounded very religious to me and I feel it was a dig.

There was another character who I didn’t like. Sure he acted like a tele-evangelist but it just didn’t need to be there, in my opinion. I question why it was there? Do children really need to see and know this? I think not.

I thought it was similar in one way to ‘Footloose‘ but one can only watch a penguin dance so many times!!!! (I actually found more positive discussions arose from Footloose with my teens)

Some young or sensitive children may find one or two scenes scary so be warned.

Mumble (the main character) had a lovely spirit and attitude. He was respectfully obedient, positive and humble. I liked this way his mother saw his differences as qualities to be celebrated not squashed yet overall I was disappointed with the movie. If I previewed it first, I wouldn’t have watched it with my children.

If I were you, I’d check out some trusted review sites and if you decide to watch it, make sure you have some solid discussions with your child about it all.

Kids in Mind

Christian Answers

Out and about…

Saturday

I’d like to be able to say that we all sprung out of bed at 5.15am to take Stef to the airport so she could go back home. But in reality, I sprang out of bed and had to drag everyone else out of bed! However, we did get out of the house on time so all was good. John and the boys dropped us (the girls) at the airport so we could wave goodbye while he took the boys a few kilometres down the road to a small aviation museum.

John and 'Master C'

After seeing Stef safely on the plane, we headed a few hours down the coast to go to the beach. We stopped at Surfer’s Paradise and did a little shopping and then we went to Main Beach and caught some rollicking waves. We had a great time, although the girls and I did get sunburnt. Why is it that we, who use sunscreen, do get sunburnt and the other’s don’t?

The beach!

Then we headed to another beach which was quieter and less waves as we *thought* ‘Master C’ would have more fun there, but he didn’t: he preferred the other place although he didn’t venture in very far.

Pondering...beach and bad hair

Riding the waves does NOT make for a good hair day!!!

All this led me to thinking about life…some people like to go on all the roller coaster rides; they go from one to another and they have such fun. (I used to be like this when I was younger) but there are other people who really do like the merry-go-round; they are happy, content and filled with fun at that. I used to wonder how that could be (I loved the scary, fast-paced rides) but as I’m getting older, and having more responsibility in life, I find that I’m extremely happy and content to go on the merry-go-round. I simply don’t need to go on the fast-paced rides anymore. ‘Master C’ is like that. While the other children are trying to tell him what he ‘is missing’, he just doesn’t see it that way. I think that is beautiful. Life is like that, isn’t it?

Anyway, we went from there to another shopping centre and had a stroll around (had one of the best cappuccino?s I’ve ever had!) and then we started to drive back…we pulled in and had tea, which ‘Miss A’ had prepared earlier (Chicken Caesar Salad) and then we went to the Drive-In. We love the Drive-In, although there aren’t very many around nowadays. We actually hunted this one down and planned the whole day around it. We backed our van in and got ourselves all set up to watch Happy Feet and Night at the Museum. While we didn’t really enjoy either of the movies, we thoroughly enjoyed our time together as a family. Being out and about from 6am until 1.30am certainly left us all very tired the next day, although I managed to stay up long enough to catch the tennis.

Argh HSB is not allowing me to post piccies at the moment so here is the URL of us at the Drive-In. The photo isn’t great because it was pitch black and I couldn’t see what I was taking a photo of!

Now, it’s back to normality. John is at work, ‘Miss A’ is at work, ‘Miss R’ is at school and it is the boys and I home today! I have some jobs to do which will take most of the day but I will do some Bible study, reading aloud and maths with the boys before heading out for softball training tonight.

Family…I’m so fortunate and blessed to have a wonderful family!

Upgrade: 10 Secrets to the Best Education for Your Child

Upgrade

Upgrade

Anyone who knows me (or reads my blog) would know that I like to read books on home-schooling…particularly books that speak about the heart of education. I like to read books by Robin Sampson, Sally Clarkson, Diana Waring, Marilyn Howshall and others. I have noticed that more women than men seem to write, which isn’t unusual seeing that it is primarily mothers who are the primary educators in the day to day lessons within the home, so it is refreshing to read a book written by a man.

I eagerly read my new book by Kevin Swanson. Mr. Swanson was home-educated as a youngster so he speaks with experience and authority. This book addresses the basic but very important points that are (and should be) of utmost importance to the home educator.

If you haven’t read this book then you need to order your copy ASAP. Upgrade will assist you in devising a vision for your family, or strengthening an existing vision. Mr Swanson also covers what he considers (don’t forget he has been a homeschooled student and now a homeschool parent) to be the most fundamental and important points essential for education.

I did read and gain some nuggets from R.C. Sproul’s book, “When You Rise Up” but I believe this to be more beneficial for every homeschooling parent. Mr. Swanson is a Christian and this is extremely evident throughout the book, but I still think there is relevance to all parents who love their children. To get an idea of his writing style and some things included in Upgrade, you can read this article: God’s Theory of Education.
I could go through and list the ten most important basics that Mr. Swanson has listed but I think you’ll be MUCH more blessed to read the ENTIRE book for yourself. As with anything worth having, it isn’t as simple as reading,
1.
2.
3. etc

but you’ll be glad you did. The book is not a difficult read and the practice of it is not hard. In fact it is quite simple…sometimes so simple that we often can’t see the forest through the trees.

If you are looking for a structured approach where you only need to write a rigid schedule for the child to adhere to then this book may not be for you. If you want a list of thorough curriculum suggestions then this book is not for you. If you are a parent, home-schooler, teacher or child-care worker, you will appreciate this book.

If you are beginning your home-school journey or have been living the lifestyle for many years, you need this book!

For those in Australia, you can order “Upgrade” through Homeschool Favourites.
It could be the best $25 you’ll spend this year on family/parenting/home-schooling books!

You can see more about Mr. Swanson at his website; and download a few audio broadcasts, and read a few articles.

A great week of softball

Whew! What a fantastic, exciting, stressful yet satisfying week!

A whole week of softball, featuring U/16 Girls from each state playing off for the title of U/16 Girls National Championship.

New South Wales has been victorious for the last 7 out of 10 years, including the last 4 years in a row. Last year, ‘Miss A’ ‘s team played their way into the Grand Final but sadly, lost in the final inning with a score of 3-2.

But boy was this year different!! This year, Queensland came from fourth position to beat Victoria in the Semi-Final and face off against NSW in the Grand Final. The score was again 3-2 but this time, QLD were the VICTORS!!!

Oh, a week of softball at this level is like riding an emotional roller coaster as we cannot interact with ‘Miss A’ for 9 days; no phone contact and only a few minutes per day in which to encourage her in the game.

I have been amazed at how much strength and endurance (both physical and mental) can take place over the course of 12 months. There are simply some things that cannot be rushed…there are some things that cannot be ‘taught’ 100%, they must be experienced in order for true understanding to occur.

‘A’ pitched 11 out of the 14 innings on Saturday and she remained in control of herself, physically and emotionally during all that time. I had wondered how she would go as she had been announced Co-Captain of the team and I think this is a double load for a pitcher, but she held up beautifully.

So as the parents of the victorious team we looked forward to the State Dinner, which is a time for all team players and participants to relax and enjoy each other’s company. It is always a delight to watch the girls but the double whammy was when ‘A’ was awarded the Most Valuable Player for the 2007 U/16 Girls National Tournament. Oh, to say we were very proud of her would be an understatement.

People were offering their congratulations to ‘A’ and us, as parents…and while it was a most joyous event we would still be incredibly proud of her regardless of winning an award. It is a beautiful privilege to have the opportunity to teach and guide a young person through the journey’s of life, and to see them slowly take hold of those values for themselves and embrace them as truth for the truth they are, not simply because Mum and Dad told her to.

Seeing and experiencing this has given me fresh encouragement…vision to continue to develop bonds with my children and share my walk through the journey of life with them.

The Stages of Learning

wisdom_understanding_knowledgeWe don’t use grade levels in our home. They are distracting and quite irrelevant. The labels of grade/year level can be of some use but I prefer to view things in stages of learning, rather than grades. Stages of learning is much more individual and personal, allowing for uniqueness to shine in the various subjects and topics of interest.

There are three definite seasons (or stages) in the learning process. They sometimes dovetail with each other and they do not follow a chronological timing. Once an awareness of these stages is understood then knowing how to move on with the learning process is made easier.

While there is a transition that occurs when a child enters from a ‘Collecting Knowledge‘ stage to the next stage, ‘Understanding‘. I actually believe that it is the next stage (Wisdom) that is very important and most enjoyable…and the one that we parents, need to recognise.

Collecting Knowledge

(Introduction to ideas)

In the Collecting Knowledge stage the child is young, curious and eager to learn as much about the world and the people around him as he can. He is taking it all in, observing as much as he can. This is like the first building blocks in his educational foundation. It is in this stage that memorization is important. The basics of English and Maths may often be learned by rote during this stage, but don’t expect them to completely understand it – it is the ‘collecting knowledge’ stage, not the understanding stage, regardless of how it may look to a first- time parent. (In our home, we prefer to memorise beautiful literary forms like God’s word, poetry and various worthy selections of literature, rather than dates, names and events that will one day perish.) This is a time, a season of preparation. The planting of many seeds that will one day bear fruit.  Children need exposure to the best things in life via the modes of reading, hearing , seeing – experiencing with all the senses. This stage often is around the K-3 range, although all children are different and may accelerate at different rates.

Understanding Information and Ideas

(Digging Deeper, Examining and Elaborating)

The next stage can start to become apparent around grades 4/5 and developing to around grade 8. After the child has some basic information and rote knowledge in his mind, he is able to piece together those fragments, to make connections of his own…this is when he starts to understand that knowledge…to participate in that prior knowledge. As he matures, this processing of knowledge also starts to manifest itself in the form of discernment. The basic subjects are still studied but it is the student who will view them differently this time around. He will not only know the basic phonographs but will be able to discern when they apply and why. The same concept applies for Maths and History, Science, Geography, etc. The material need not be much different than the earlier years, which is why unit studies and literature based methods are wonderful for many large families, but the student is able to receive and process the information at a different level. Here is where you are watering the many seeds that were planted in the previous stage. This is where exercises or activities such as comparing/contrasting, discussion, debate can be helpful, within reason and under the authority of a parent. Time is also a big factor during this stage. Children need lots of time to think, to process information, to ‘join the dots’. This stage or process can’t be rushed. Knowledge and Understanding are starting to work parallel—toward the next stage.

Wisdom

(Application or sharing of information)

This next stage usually occurs from grade 9 onward through to grade 12, although individual children are all different. (Are you getting the idea that this is all a very individual approach?) It cannot come before knowledge or understanding as the two stages go together to form the ‘Wisdom stage’. Building upon knowledge and understanding/discernment, the student is able to make choices, form opinions, express ideas and thoughts that are based on knowledge, understanding and wisdom. Of course, as Christians, we believe that true wisdom comes from God and so a relationship with God is important in this stage. The later years of this stage are where you begin to harvest the fruits…of course we continue to see this over the course of their lives. It is in this stage that we most desire to see some quality output of some type – creative output of some form, performing,, discussing, writing, etc. Here is where we apply all the information that we have collected, the relationships we have made, the ideas we have connected with, in a meaningful and helpful way.

Do you know someone who is knowledgable in a subject or an area? Do they parrot information or do they actually understand the topic? Are they able to apply their knowledge in a real way? Are they able to coherently share their knowledge in that area with others?

Many people have knowledge of the Bible yet know not God. Others may have knowledge of the Bible, may understand how the Church should operate, how to live a Christian life yet have not wisdom. Wisdom is what we desire most for our children to grow and develop into.

All children, youth and adults go through all these stages when trying to learn new material.  These are seasons- there is a season for everything.

Seasons

Natural times of growth

Think back to when you were first considering learning at home. There may have been a seed planted in your mind or conscience. Then, through some discussion or reading those seeds were watered. For some, this process can take longer than others but that’s fine- it’s the way it should be. Then you start working through homeschooling, tweaking schedules, buying curriculum, trying every new idea that comes along before you come to the Wisdom level where you are more confident in your knowledge and are able to express your ideas, opinions and knowledge of homeschooling in a concise and clear manner. (Harvest) You know WHY you are doing WHAT you do. I have been on my own journey of education, through all of these processes or stages, over the last 10 years. There are some aspects of home education that I may finally be entering into the Wisdom stage and other aspects where I am still in the knowledge stage. It doesn’t matter- I’m on a journey of self-education and it’s fun! But, the point is, it is education…I have tailored my education to suit me, based upon the natural stages of development and learning. Oh, that we should do the same for our children.

Just as a child’s knowledge level of one subject may be greater than another subject, so may his transition into the next stage- Understanding and then Wisdom. I believe that an Identity-Directed Approach accommodates and allows for this even more so than a structured, grade leveled approach. It is, I believe, important not to try and rush each stage lest you end up with prematurely grown plants whose root system in not deep or fully established.

There are particular methods for learning about a subject which fir perfectly with the stages of learning. It is called the 4 step learning process and is beneficial for all students, regardless of age or aptitude. If you follow this link, you’ll see how it all ties in together.

Grade 7 schedule for one of my children

Homeschooling at SimplySusan

 

Here was my daughter’s schedule for 2005 (approx age of grade 7)
** She was a reader!

BIBLE/DEVOTIONAL
Prayer is an Adventure by Patricia St. John.
Young Person?s Guide to Knowing God

MATHS
Saxon 65
Champions of Mathematics
Mathematician’s are People, Too

ENGLISH
Continue with Copywork from your Bible, Arthur Mee?s or other sources
Wordly Wise 6
Written narrations, letters, reports. Journals entries.
Selected units from Write with the Best.
Memorisation and Recitation
Poetry (according to our schedule)
Henrietta Marshall’s English Literature

SCIENCE
History of Medicine
The Astronomy Book
It just Couldn’t Happen
The Ocean Book
The Weather Book

CHURCH HISTORY
Mr. Pipes & the Hymns of the Reformation.
Selected chapters from Trial & Triumph and the One Year Book of Christian History and 100 Most Important Events in Christian History.

BIOGRAPHIES
Jane Austen
Florence Nightingale
Thomas Edison
Michael Faraday
For Those Who Dare (Tiner)
*Cross curricula with History
William Carey
John Paton
Hudson Taylor
Amy Carmichael
Charles Spurgeon
George Whitefield
Jonathon Edwards
John Calin
William Tyndale

Most of Sonlight 5

Australian SOSE
Australian Society & Environment Book 6.
Biography summary sheet of 1 per week.
Listen to Folk Songs.
Australian literature: My Story series (as interested)
Project on Matthew Flinders.
See associated literature

We did a unit on Money and Economics using library books

GEOGRAPHY
Exploring Planet Earth
Exploring the World Around Us
Legends & Leagues
Elements of Danger by Eve Pownall

TYPING & TECHNOLOGY
Mavis Beacon and Compositions
Construct basic website.

PERSONAL Development
Beautiful Girlhood
Fallacy Detective

SHAKESPEARE
Using Edith Nesbit, Charles Lamb, and Leon Garfield. Read play in Arthur Mee?s Shakespeare. Watch play or video.

FINE ARTS
Art and Music Appreciation

LIFE SKILLS
Cooking- continue skills
Learn CPR and first aid (This will also be documented for Health.) (St. John?s course)
Learn to balance fortnightly pays.
Learn to read a map
Start basic road rules
Learn to garden and/or yard care
Put air in tyres.
Show improvement in general housecleaning and jobs.
Instruct boys in use of Art Pacs.

HEALTH / NUTRITION
Abeka-Safety, Health & Manners,
Cooking.
E-Food (workbook-selected chapters)
Schedule regular exercise of some sort EVERY day.

LITERATURE
It Couldn’t Just Happen
The Case for Christ (Youth Edition)
Coils, Magnets & Rings-Michael Faraday
Rose & the Ring
Rose Round
Promise of Zion Series
The Prince and the Pauper
Across Five Aprils
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Cricket on the Hearth
The Whipping Boy
The Cay
Trim
Little Black Princess
Born Free
Call of the Wild
Wrinkle in Time
Bridge to Terabitha
The Giver
Hitty-her first hundred years.
Catherine, Called Birdy
Witch of Blackbird Pond.
When We Were Kids-Aust.
A Lantern In Her Hand.
Any by George MacDonald
Any by G. K. Chesterton
Any titles available in the My Story series.

Now I must say that my dd was a voracious reader and so she read even more books than this. It isn’t about the amount of books one can read through though…it’s about quality. Narration is critical, in my opinion.

I was asked about why we chose a textbook to do Australian studies when we obviously use many living books and have a delight-directed approach. Here was my response:

We chose to use this text as it suits my daughter’s learning style and it allows her to achieve the work which breeds a sense or feeling of accomplishment in her, which breeds success.

I think that success breeds success…so I want my children to succeed. To give them that taste of success I have to set situations in play that allow them to taste success. I can only set these things up by observing them; their interests and their gifts.

So even though my daughter read a lot of books *she* didn’t feel like she was accomplishing much…so rather than throw the ‘workbook baby’ out with the bathwater, I thought it best to create a situation whereby my child can taste and achieve success.

How did we work through it? I don’t know. I simply gave it to her and told her to work her way through it…and she did! She likes seeing pages completed and finishing a book- she feels like she has achieved so I didn’t have to motivate her. Rather, I found out how she is naturally motivated and set things in place so that she could achieve.

She worked on it about 3-4 times a week and she naturally continued to read good living books.

I also plan to use the same series with my boys but will be using it slightly differently. They are not motivated by the same things as my daughter was so I plan to do his WITH them, teaching them how to use workbooks and how to research and write as we go through the book. We’ll possibly do 2-3 lessons per week…also incorporating good living books into our day.

In finding a balance I’ve found it helpful to look at who and why is doing the choosing of the textbook (age appropriate of course) If the textbook is wanting…pleading to be used by YOU, then it’s important to recognise this…if they’re screaming to be used BY THE CHILD then it’s equally important to acknowledge it. This does not mean that it becomes child directed. Rather that by recognising WHO is the driving force behind the use of them, we can more aptly figure out a plan for HOW to use them.

People Will Learn What They Need To Know

People will learn what they need to know, when they need to know it.

People will learn what they need to know, when they need to know it.

People will learn what they need to know, when they need to know it.

People will learn what they need to know, when they need to know it.

People will learn what they need to know, when they need to know it.

People will learn what they need to know, when they need to know it.

People will learn what they need to know, when they need to know it.

People will learn what they need to know, when they need to know it.

I heard this statement earlier last week, and I’ve been pondering it ever since. It’s one of those statements that can encapsulate an educational philosophy…not totally define it but summarise, supplement and complement one’s own philosophy of education.

When Internet goes wrong

I spent most of yesterday afternoon working on a forum that I run. It was time-consuming, frustrating, hard, long and tiring…did I mention frustrating? Worst thing is…some people will not be happy. They won’t like it. The Admin staff and I decided that some changes needed to be made for the sake of the homeschooling community that frequents the forum. We didn’t do it to annoy people or make their time on the forum harder, even though it may seem that way to people at times.

Tehee, I remember nearly 10 years ago when my husband first wanted to connect our dinky computer to the Internet. I did not want it at all…I thought it would one day be used as an instrument of the enemy and I didn’t want any part of it. Well, sure enough here we are- blog, website, forums, email and just about anything else one can think of. But, I’ve had my fair share of computer crashes, dumps and horrid things go wrong. Nothing is more frustrating that losing everything on the computer- or not being able to access one’s information at call. I recall saying many a time, “I hate having my life on the computer!” as I could not access my homeschool records or planning after a PC crash. I did however, learn to back up my work well. Change is a necessary evil with all things Internet…not always desired but necessary.

My, the homeschooling movement has changed a lot over the years. Let me tell you a little story. A few years ago, I had a home-based business supplying books to fellow home-schoolers. At first, people (I hope you know I speak very generally here) were patient and quite content to wait 3 months for an order to come in from the States- it was just the way it was. Slowly, over the years though, as online ordering became easier, a few people found it easier and quicker to order their supplies straight from them States themselves. I didn’t have a problem with that as they could get it quicker- sometimes even cheaper than what I could supply them with! (Sad, isn’t it?) Well, business grows and time goes on…

So, I started ordering more stock to have on hand here, which is risky for a small business but on the occasion where I would run out of a book or resource, people simply could not wait for their curriculum to arrive by air mail…they needed it now. They could get it quicker themselves via the ‘net. I started to go crazy by trying to meet the continually changing needs of the homeschool community that I served and meet the needs of my family. I couldn’t do it- something had to go. Obviously, it wasn’t going to be homeschooling so HomeGrownKids closed down. But I have noticed how much the emergence of the Internet has totally changed our society…and our homeschool society.

I think it’s wonderful that so many Christians and homeschoolers have embraced technology and use it as their tool. I think that the Internet, in general, has allowed for the generosity of some people to shine. I mean honestly, how much legally free stuff can one get on the ‘net? It’s incredible…this truly is the Super Information Highway-the Information Age. People share their time, the gifts, their knowledge, their energy, their whole being…for the good of others. Sure some people are making money on the Internet- good on ’em. Other’s are not…they just enjoy serving others.

It’s good to remember where we were 10 years ago and to think ahead as to where we’ll be in another 10 years. Time has a way of changing things, doesn’t it? Our perspective changes when we start to see things in the light of eternity…when we try to look at the Big Picture (God’s Kingdom).

I know blogs are important and it is incredibly frustrating when something goes wrong. However, there are many biblical principles that one can try to live by. We can show our character through these time: are we thankful for the many free opportunities we are given or do we grumble? Are we quick to judge, quick to form opinions and hasty with our words and actions? Or are we allowing the Lord to develop patience in our lives?

PRO 15:18 A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension, but a patient man calms a quarrel.

ECC 7:8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.

Eph 4:2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Patience is very easy to display when things are going well eh? But the true mark of patience is when things don’t go our way. Patience is a Fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5;22) and as believers, we should all be growing in this area. ?I am extraordinarily patient provided I get my own way in the end.? is something that Margaret Thatcher has said. Does this sound like you?

But how do we display patience when we want our blog up and running? Well, patience is persevering toward a goal, enduring trials and expectantly waiting for a promise to be fulfilled. We can do that with HSB. They have our best interest at heart, I’m sure. They have a goal – to get us all up and running as soon as possible. We can try to be patient during this trial while we wait expectantly for the goal/promise to be fulfilled. (Hope I’m not sounding heretical here)

During this wait, we can do something proactive!

1) Be thankful. Take this time to enjoy your family and other things around you…giving thanks to God for ALL things.
2) Seek another purpose for a time…ask God to show you something else to do in the blogging time.
3) Encourage each other to be patient, to give thanks and to persevere.

2006 Yearly Review

Well, it’s getting on toward the end of the year…which means a new year is acomin’. 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’.

So where to for next year? 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.
Rest, Relationship and Refreshment.

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 ‘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.

Nori chips

Everytime I’ve logged on lately to blog, it has been about food…so I decided against posting. This is, after all, a *homeschool* blog, isn’t it? Yes but our life is one of learning so I guess it doesn’t matter so much. I guess if it continues though I should think about discontinuing this blog and moving somewhere to start up a food blog.

I’ve just done something quite interesting with some nori sheets that I had left over. I put them on a tray and seasoned them with some oil (I made a few different combinations: olive oil & flax and another combination of coconut & olive oil with a dash of chilli oil). I baked them at 180 degrees for about 6 minutes and then when they came out, yet still warm, I sprinkled them with a Parmesan Sprinkle mix, which is 1 tsp of Celctic sea salt with 1 TB of sesame seeds which have been combined and ground, either in the Magic Bullet or using the mortar and pestle.

I then cut them into finger sized (bite sized) pieces and put them into an air tight container.

They are yummy! I think John will like to snack on them at night. They’ll make a great, nutritious substitute for chips, not that we have many, but what a way to get some extra nutrients. Try it for yourself and let me know what you think!

Yummy Zucchini Dishes

We had an abundance of fresh zucchini at our place and I needed to find a way to use them before it was too late. So, I ran them through the food processor and was left with about 3 kgs of grated zucchini.

I made a Zucchini Slice with salad and it was delicious. I doubled the recipe and it filled the six of us plus there were three generous serves left over for the following day’s lunch

Zucchini Slice
375grams grated Zucchini
1 lg. onion,finely chopped
3 rashers bacon,chopped (I didn’t use this as I didn’t have it)
1 cup S.R. flour
1 cup grated cheese (Oops, I didn’t have this either- I used Serene’s Parmesan Sprinkles on top instead)
5 beaten eggs
1/4 to 1/2 cup oil
pepper and salt
(optional: grated carrot, chopped capsicum, finely sliced celery.)

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Place in shallow greased baking dish and spread mix evenly. Bake at 190 – 200 Degrees Celcius for 30 to 40 mins or til browned. If desired, parmesan cheese can be sprinkled on top before baking. Serve with lightly cooked green vegetables or with salad. Enjoyable hot or cold.

While I still had more zucchini left over, I made Zucchini Bread, which we all enjoyed for breakfast this morning:

Zucchini Bread
? 3 cups shredded zucchini (about 3 medium)
? 1 2/3 cups sugar
? 2/3 cup vegetable oil
? 2 teaspoons vanilla
? 4 eggs
? 3 cups all-purpose flour
? 2 teaspoons baking soda
? 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
? 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottoms only of 2 loaf pans that are 9x5x3 inches. Mix zucchini, sugar, oil, vanilla and eggs in large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour into pans. Bake 50 – 60 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Loosen sides of loaves and remove from pans.

Does Studying Hebrew Roots Take Away From Jesus?

G’day,
A question that I previously asked, and one that arises fairly often on the Heart of Wisdom e-group is about the focus on Hebrew Roots or Heritage. Some people mistakenly believe that this focus takes away from Jesus Christ. Robin, the author of the HOWTA and Biblical Guide to Holidays has written a good post in response to this thought: I urge you to check it out!

The Recipe for Success

fafrecipes

Aha! I bet that subject line roped you in, eh? We all want to achieve success – successful , godly children right?

I’m learning that my initial thoughts and ideas on things are not always what is deeply in my heart. Over the years, I have been asking God to cleanse me, to reveal my heart that I may surrender it to Him. He has been showing me the darkness of my heart. This is scary on the one hand yet good on another because I know that it is because He loves me that He is doing this work.

We all know that there is no formula for guaranteed success with our children, right? Well, 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…

In my opinion, this is way to simple and basic and it is missing some key ingredients of which the main one is Relationships.

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.

A love for God. A love for their children. They worked at developing and maintaining a relationship WITH their children. They lived together. Played together. Prayed together. Served together. In fact, they worked quite hard at it all… they were committed to parenting.

Is that me? Am I committed to all of that or am I more concerned or consumed with Math and history?

Oh Lord, help me to see that parenting is bigger than ‘lessons’…bigger than homeschooling…help me to play with my children not just pray with them…to serve them and to serve with them.

Our HighSchool Experience

I?m going to write some of our experiences with our teen daughters. One of them is 15yo and she has always learnt at home. The younger daughter is 13yo and has always learnt at home except this year she spent 15 weeks at a small private Christian school until we moved interstate. She was home again until earlier this week when she started at a local state (public) school. Of course, as parents we still have the greatest responsibility and privilege of training and educating her despite the fact that she attends a school during the day.

When 13yodd first attended school she had to do some diagnostic testing. At first she was a little concerned about how she would fare with maths. Maths is a subject that although we do work on (in our own slow and steady way) she has not enjoyed, nor completely grasped. I explained to the school that I expected that she would be ?ahead? in some subjects and ?behind? in others. I thoroughly dislike all this sort of labeling and terminology but when in Rome?

She was ?behind? grade level with maths but very ahead with English and quite up to par in science, which is quite funny as we aren?t a big science studying family. However, as this school used a system that was self-directed and individual, she came to understand maths and as a result, came to love it! Then we moved interstate but by this time, maths was a great interest to 13yodd. We knew that attending school was a possibility and we told 13yodd that if she were to go to school, then she would have to get herself to grade level in maths. This was important to us as we felt that she would only get ?further behind? and then lose the love of maths as well as confidence. Well, completely on her own she has studied maths. I?m so proud of her. This isn?t something that I?ve pushed in any way. I don?t tend to push, cajole or insist upon lesson work from my teens as their education is their responsibility and I?m more than happy to facilitate in any way I can, but the ultimate responsibility for learning is theirs.

13yodd had her fourth day at school today. Her class had a maths test which she did not have to sit for, as she hasn?t been able to study any of the material, but she chose to anyway. She was actually quite shocked to find that there was only 8 questions and they were all multiple choice!!!!!! She thinks she did well. She also has a science test tomorrow which she will voluntarily sit for even though she hasn?t done any work on this material yet. I think she is pleasantly surprised at how much she actually does know ? even though we?ve always been fairly relaxed, natural-learning, literature based learners at home! She has often said (previously) that she doesn?t feel like we *do* much at home?in other words, we don?t have much to show for it?this is something I?d like to work on more but it always seems forced or artificial in our home whereas discussion and writing seems more natural.

13yodd is able to see how much time is wasted at school?and the futility of some much that goes on there but on the other hand she also enjoys some subjects that she wouldn?t otherwise have access to. Earlier this year, she made a coffee table and presently she is doing metalwork. This just doesn?t happen at our place- especially since we?ve been moving around and not living in our own home.

The Yr 8 class made muffins today in Home Economics class. It sounded like a real hoot to us. See 13yodd can make muffins with her eyes closed- been doing it for years! So she felt like the class was dumbed down as they all had to go step-by-step together. She didn?t have a tin of sweetened condensed milk so she asked the teacher if she could use normal milk instead, knowing that this would alter the measurements needed. The teacher sighed, seemed to get a bit cross but had to allow it. So 13yodd adds more milk as she was also using wholemeal spelt flour (it?s all we had here at home) and she knew she would need even more liquid. The teacher got upset at this too. Ah well, it?s a learning experience for 13yodd, that?s for sure.

I find some reassurance in it all (Hey, I have to get something out of it), in that we are learning HEAPS here at home, in our delight-directed, natural learning, literature based, unschooling life. Ultimately, it isn?t about academics?it?s about their hearts, their character, how much they care about the world and those around them.

Low-Energy Homeschool Mum…

Am I the only low-energy homeschooling mum around?

Due to megaloblastic anemia, B12 deficiency, low folate levels and being unfit, I find that I am very low on energy, both physical and mental. While everyone else seems to be running around, doing various activities with their children, I am barely making it through each day, and each week. It’s a matter of dragging myself out of bed and just putting one foot in front of the other. Is anyone else like this?

As my problems are predominantly nutritional, and I can get myself back to a place where I’m able to cope with the normal demands of life, it can be hard how to imagine how I get like this? But let me tell ya, it isn’t that hard to do. Once you’re down, it’s very hard to do those things which you know will help you.

So, if there is anyone else hiding in the woodwork, could ya please come out and let me know I’m not alone.

Timeline helps

History Timeline Helps

Heart of Wisdom Timeline information

How to make a timeline easily

Printable version of a timeline

Printable version from Cindy Rushton

Other helps:

http://history.donnayoung.org/timeline.htm

http://www.fortunecity.com/millennium/plumpton/1141/timelines.html

http://www.redshift.com/~bonajo/timeline.htm

http://www.homeschoolinthewoods.com/HTTA/TimelineHelps/

http://www.chasesc.com/timeline.html

Free clipart – heads from history
and

http://utopia.utexas.edu/project/portraits/

Timelines on the web

Out and About..

We didn’t make it to church yesterday. DH still needs a bit of help in the morning after his recent shoulder reconstruction…and with another teen in the house (daughter’s friend) we just didn’t make it out the door by 8.45am.

So, we decided to go out for a few hours. We drove north heading toward Caloundra…on the way we stopped and walked up Wildhorse Mountain to the scenic lookout where we stayed for awhile (until we got our breathe back) and surveyed the beautiful Glasshouse Mountains.

As we were expecting initially to go to church and not sight-seeing, we didn’t take the good camera with us but ‘Master C’ , who has been showing a lot of interest in photography lately, had taken his little cheap digital camera with him. It’s not a flash camera but I thought I’d upload the photos anyway.

We went further along until we actually arrived in Caloundra where we walked through the street markets (which is always fun eh?!) and then we went to the golden arches as John needed a drink to take his tablets. We then ventured onto the most delightful beach where we had chicken and chips for lunch. After this, we walked along the beach a little, finding a few hermit crabs along the way when we looked up to see some sky divers coming down to land on the beach. Ah, it certainly took John back a few years…to the times where he had racked up over 300 jumps.

The children were fairly quiet on the way home. I think they were a bit tired from walking up the hill…and the walk on the beach!

I took ‘Miss A’ , ‘Miss R’ and ‘Miss R”s friend to church at 6pm and then spent some time with John playing with our latest toy – Dragon Naturally Speaking before going to pick the girls up from church.

We cannot believe the weather here. It is the middle of winter and we’re going to the beach???!!! The coldest day has been about 12 degrees whereas that would be the warmest day in winter in Canberra. No wonder I had trouble adjusting to ACT weather. It’s just not right!!!

Our Sabbath Season…six months on…

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. Not to 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 math’s 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 math’s…rather that I don’t plan. We simply pick up the lesson where we left off and if this means that we don’t do math’s 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? I’ve often said that learning-at-home is a marathon, not a sprint. Maybe if I only had the one or two children at home I could do it 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…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 commiting 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.”

I’ve come to learn that 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 math’s, on history…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?

Oh, I think that others such as Marilyn Howshall and Robin Sampson say all this much more eloquently and concisely than I do…but I have to speak from my own experience.

How to Schedule with Heart of Wisdom

Following my review of the Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach, a reader, Jamie asked me the following question, and so I will write my response here as she doesn’t seem to be a HSB member and might not find her way back to read my comment.

Question:
I’m so glad I found your blog! I have never used HOW before, but have looked longingly at it for the last year. I have three teens (8th/9th grade equivalent, and one in 10th and 11th this fall) and am wondering if HOW would be something I could implement with some measure of success for the remainder of my eldests homeschooling? Since it is a four year program (and cycling at that) what could you suggest for me?

Hi Jamie,
Thanks for your comment on my blog! I too, looked longingly at HoW for years before taking the plunge and buying the book and a unit study. Yet, I don’t know why I took so long. I always knew that one day I would use HoW, but the timing just didn’t seem right. I think it is because God knows all and He knew that I still had things that I had to get out of my system and let go of before wholeheartedly accepting something new (new to me- or different to my worldly goals).

What many people don’t realise is that HOWTA is not just a curriculum, it is an entire method- a way of doing things that lines up with a Biblical worldview. It isn’t just a curriculum with some Bible study tacked on for good measure…it is basically Bible study!

I think that at the ages of your children, you may not want to completely change everything and offer them a whole new scope and sequence of study. Section Three of HOWTA tells us how we can change methods and use different ones that encompass a Biblical worldview.If I were to undertake this with my older students, this is what I would do. It isn’t so much about book A or book c as much as the WHY we study certain subjects and how we learn about them.

I would suggest that pick up in the history rotation right where you are now! What era are you about to start on this new year? (It is a new school year for you shortly, isn’t it? I’m Australian and our school year runs differently) Incorporate a Bible-First educational philosophy into your home and work…even consider having your older students read through selected chapters of HOWTA for themselves!

I think that a HOWTA is suitable for anyone and everyone…but I’m biased because HOWTA espouses a Bible-First education and that is my passion. Not only did it put forth a Bible-First education but it gave me some tools to achieve that and put it nto practice.

So, in a nutshell I would suggest that you purchase the Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach book and then commit your home and coming year to God, seeking Him for direction, for each child. If God directs you to use a HOW unit study then you can purchase one but if He directs you to devise your own curriculum, with a Bible-First education then you can do that. Either way, I don’t think your money would be wasted in the HOW Teaching Approach.

The Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach

Click here to learn more or purchase

Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach

written by Robin Sampson

The Heart of Wisdom Publishing Company is a family owned and operated business that publishes a variety of homeschool resources useful for Christian families in the training of their children. This approach uses the Bible as the centre of all education. Those who are interested in a Bible based, Delight-Directed, Note-Booking, or Charlotte Mason approaches may like these products as the author has taken the best from each approach and blended them to make the Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach.

I have used some of the Heart of Wisdom units for a few years now but I have been most influenced by Robin’s book, ‘The Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach‘. I have learnt that the Bible outlines how we should teach our children and that study is a form of worship. The goal of this approach is to train children to read, to study, to understand, to love to learn and, most importantly, to desire and seek true wisdom. A benefit to this approach is multi-level teaching and can be used by a mother with children of all ages. I loved ‘Educating the WholeHearted Child’ by Clay and Sally Clarkson and it provided a vision but, for me, it left out many practical how-to’s. The Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach fully provides this yet with the expectation that each parent is to do what is right for their family.

Click here to learn more or purchase

Section One

The Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach is divided into several sections. Section 1 tells of the Sampson family journey from school to homeschool- various approaches and methods. The author doesn’t tell the reader how they should approach education based upon her experience, rather she sends the reader to the Scriptures to find the answers.

Section Two

Section 2 is important as it looks at the foundation of Christian education, by exploring the roots of educational methods from the past until modern times. The book also looks at the difference between Christian, Hebraic, Greek and secular worldviews and how this impacts the methods used in modern education. Great reading for new homeschoolers or veterans.

Section Three

Now knowing about why there is a need for change in the way we view education, Section 3 tells us how we can change and use different methods that encompass a Biblical worldview. Learning styles and the Four-Step approach to a lesson plan as well as talking about Charlotte Mason, Unit Studies, Delight-Directed studies and Critical Thinking and Logic are included.

Section Four

Section 4 is a large chapter, full of meaty ideas that will challenge each reader’s thinking and method. A four-year plan that can be rotated to provide a full 12 years worth of study, based upon God’s Word and World is suggested. Scrapbooking or Notebooking is encouraged – assisting children in their learning as they plan, develop, classify, categorise, construct, and organise their work. History is taught chronologically while science is taught in the order of Creation. English skills are integrated into all studies. Scheduling, planning and much more is addressed in this chapter.

Section Five

Once the educational philosophy has been addressed, a change in resources may be required. Robin doesn’t leave us floundering. In Section 5, she writes about using the HOW unit studies or devising your own and where to get the various resources from for years K-12. Science, History, Literature and Life Skill resources can be purchased from the Heart of Wisdom online Store or from your local Christian bookshop.

Click here to learn more or purchase

Not only was I encouraged by this book but informed, refreshed and motivated to run the race. This book, this approach, is like a breath of fresh air. The book is available through a variety of means: electronic download, or bound editions. Regardless of the format, the content is excellent and I wholeheartedly recommend it for any parent, homeschool or otherwise.

Disclosure: I am compensated for purchases made via the referral links in this post.

Stop the world, I wanna get off…

Just when I thought life was going to settle down into a nice, steady routine – WHAMMO!!!!!! No way, it isn’t.

John is scheduled for surgery on Monday. The bone in his shoulder has to be scraped and chiseled in order for the repaired tendon to fit into place. Then, they have to drill a few little holes through the bone so that the tendon sits properly. We don’t know how long he’ll be in the hospital nor how long his recovery will be or what he’ll be capable of. He will likely be home between 6 – 8 weeks. (Those who know me and my hubby will know why this is a mixed blessing) So for now, we wait. But this comes on the heel of a horror week.

After ‘Miss A’ and I got home from Sydney, we had to rush around and buy a new (new to us but second hand) van as our Tarago van died. We bought one, went to get it registered only to find that it hadn’t had a safety certificate for a few years so we had to book in somewhere and get that done. Then, we thought we should change our license’s over to QLD which went smoothly for me but not so for DH who, unbeknownst to us, had been suspended! What? Why? How? When? Where? We asked. Turns out that two and a half years ago, we got a speeding ticket.Okay. I paid it. However, I must have paid it late, after some fees had gone on so it turns out that we still owed $30 in fees which had suspended his license. But they never let us know about it. After a great many of phone calls and frustration, we got it sorted out. We returned home from fixing all that up to find that the front tyre was flat. No worries- John taught 12yods to change the tyre which he did a great job with. John couldn’t do it with his arm in the sling. Bravo Rambo!

Then we had my Dad and his friend visit, which I found incredibly emotional and draining. It was lovely to see him again and to meet his ‘friend’ but very draining.

As you might remember from some photo’s of our new place, we don’t have much of a yard. Still, boys will be boys and ‘Rambo’ (12yods) had taken to kicking the soccer ball lightly against OUR house wall. It really wasn’t very much but it gave him something to do. Well, our neighbour came running out, yelling at him to ?Go inside. I’m sick of hearing that Bang!Bang! Bang! That’s all I hear all day is bang! Bang! Bang! And I’m sick of it. If you want to kick a ball you should go down to the park. Now go inside where you belong!

The neighbour is of Maltese descent, and her shrilly voice fairly scared the boys, while I got angry. I’m all for being neighbourly and that but goodness, can’t my boys do anything in their own backyard? They didn’t do it again for a few days, even though I told them they could so long as they ensured me that they would only do it on the house wall or other fence. Well, a few days later ‘Rambo’ went outside to practice his kicking and within a few minutes, the shrieking was heard again and ‘Rambo’ came inside pretty quickly. John was home (shoulder injury) so he went across to see what the problem is. Turns out that the neighbour was very apologetic but his wife has suffered a nervous breakdown a few months ago and is trying to recover. Gee, did I feel like a nasty pasty or what! However, I still feel for my boys. My heart breaks for them. No yard, no park close by…what ARE they supposed to do to burn off some energy?

Things were looking up for ‘R’ as she was excited to be going to her friends house for awhile. This would mean a plane trip to Canberra, which is all rather exciting. So, we awoke this morning at 4am in order to shower and leave for the airport, not realizing how much traffic would be on the road at 5.15am!Upon arrival at the airport, I went straight to the teller and stood in the short line when an orderly came up and asked me if I had already used the computer to retrieve the e-baggage ticket. No, I hadn’t I told him as I found it quicker and easier to use the teller. This was based on my experience only one week ago in the Sydney airport. Well, it doesn’t work that way here (with Qantas) I HAD to get my eticket first! I ran to the eticket machine, punch in ‘R’s name while the machine tells me that it is sorry but I am 2 minutes late for booking luggage! 2 min late? The time I was waiting in line for the teller! I was told to go to the ticket area and that ‘R’ would have to take the next flight! No way! So, John stayed in the line with the suitcase trying to arrange it to go at a later time while ‘R’ and I sprint for the plane. Nope! Luggage can’t be sent separately as it is a security issue. So, John met us in the boarding area while we explained to the flight crew what had happened. They informed us to simply go to the security luggage area which was only 15 metres away and they would handle the suitcase. Sounds easy eh? Ha! The fellow there said that if we had missed the luggage then all we could do was to take the next flight which left in 2 hours. Cool eh? Except it stopped over in Sydney and there was no way that I was going to allow my daughter to stop over! Then he said we could wait for 2 and a half hours for another direct flight, for the same price. It was at this point (6am) that I became a sobbing, blubbering mess. I couldn’t help it. I explained that this wouldn’t work either as the people who were responsible for picking ‘R’ up reside 2 hours out of ACT and they had already left to head into town to get her! At seeing me in such a mess he practically snatched the suitcase from me and stormed off with it, saying all the while that by doing this he was compromising the security of his personal life (whatever that meant). He tagged it and it was to be stowed away in the captain’s cabin. The lovely attendants listened to my blubbering and assured me that they’d keep an eye on ‘R’. A quick kiss and hug and ‘R’ was off! Yes, she landed safely. All is well. Friends picked her up and she’s as happy as Larry. Most surprising though was that through all this, not once did ‘R’ have to offer any identification- photo or otherwise! All this concern with security yet she boarded the plane having displayed NO identification!

I don’t know what else can go wrong but amidst it all I know that I’m alive to breathe praise for another day…to the God of all creation. I don’t know why things happen or how this is meant to ‘grow me’. All I know is that I get up in the morning, put one foot in front of the other, utter words of praise and get about the day, thankful that I am surrounded by people who love me and whom I love. Thank you Lord.

40 Days of Focussing On Health

Where is my head? Well it isn’t in blogging, that’s for sure! I can’t write about lessons as we’re still in a time of rest, a Sabbath rest. This means that I am not striving toward lessons or the planning of them. This is great but I don’t have any great plans to share. 😉

So, what have we been doing? (Aside from traveling 1500 kilometres to move house and have John start a new job?) Well, I’m on a new fad! Actually, it’s not really new…it’s just taken me awhile to be able to put things together and implement the plans. It isn’t about homeschool or my faith but of course, God is my life and can’t be removed so…

I’m trying to get fit and become healthier in the process. I have been influenced by Bill? Phillips book, Body for Life and also by fellow homeschooler, Jeannie Fullbright. I started my own 12 week challenge! 12 weeks with a slight difference. I feel that a full 12 weeks is too much for me to focus on – I need to see the light at the end of the tunnel. So, even though I’m doing a 12 week challenge I’m doing it with focussed attention for 40 days. Then, I’ll reassess and set some new goals for another 40 days. Sounds weird? Maybe…but I think it will help me to achieve success more so than seeing a looong 12 weeks ahead of myself.

So, what am I doing in this 40 Days of Focus? Well, one must have a goal in order to achieve anything so my goal is to tone my muscles, lose a little weight, regain some fitness and regain a sense of wellness. My new goal is to lose 6 kgs by July 25th. In order to achieve this I have mapped out a plan that I hope to stick to. Here it is in an outlined form:

My Nutrition Guidelines and Sample Meal Plans

  • Eat 5-6 small meals per day, six days per week.
  • Drink 10-12 glasses of water everyday!
  • Supplement meals with Spirulina and Multi vitamins.
  • Each meal should contain a serving of protein & complex carbohydrate.
  • Have either a serving of fruit or 2-3 servings of steamed/raw vegetables or a salad with each meal.
  • Protein serving: fits in the palm of my hand…same thickness.
  • Carbohydrate serving: the size of my fist.
  • I’m aiming to exercise on the treadmill 3 times a week and with weights 3 times a week, on alternating days where practical (I am a homeschool Mum!!!) Sunday will be my free day where I don’t exercise and I can eat what I want to. I occassionally also visit the Neuropathy Relief Guide website to gain some insight on how I could improvise my exercises.

Amidst this, we’ve been establishing new routines, discovering our new city and taking time to continue to build our family relationships-some of which is leading to exciting and life-changing processes but are too intimate to share on a public blog. ~wink~ So, I hope ya’ll don’t mind if I share my learnings and thoughts which may be related to my journey of health and fitness.

Working out, Intensity, high points…a way of life.

Bill Phillips talks about how we should strive to hit a ‘high point’ in our workouts. That it is the intensity in which we train, not the duration. He mentions how some fitness people suggest upping your workout routines from 30min to 40 and then to 50 min and so on, as to be more effective, as in More is Better, etc.

He asks, “Why?” He then says “What is that? What’s the objective? To work out all day???” To which he responds that he hoped he could get fit, stay fit AND have a life!!!!! My thoughts exactly!

He 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!!!

It all has to be achievable and maintainable eh? It has to become our lifestyle.

Working out…in our homeschool.

We’re learning more about the Human Body through my latest interest than we ever could through a book!

I’m starting this venture (40 Days of Focus) with my 15yodc…this child is a great help to me. However, the other children were feeling a little out of ‘it’. So, they arose early yesterday morning and came out on the back verandah to join 15yo and myself. Yes, it did get a little crowded but it was all good fun to watch them do some stretching and do some walking on the treadmill.

13yodc is trying to tone their abdominals so set about doing some abdominal crunches and then after our workout we had a great discussion on the differences between a cardio workout and toning/strengthening muscles.We talked about the differences of them and how important it is for the function of the heart…how important it is especially as they get older.

For a few of the children this was simply putting some *mental hooks* in place whereas 13yodc already had a few mental hooks, but was able to place this information on those hooks, and then connect a few more dots. They learnt much more than had we simply had read a book. How? Because it was real- they DID it and not just read about it. Also, they can see it. They see the truths of it when they look at their mother who is often in pain and lacks fitness and strength.? Sure, they’ve read about it all before in books – for some children it was the book reading that put up those mental hooks. But, it is in the practical experience of it that makes it come alive – makes it REAL.

So, what did we do for lessons yesterday? Well, we did do some other things but the most impactful lesson was on the functions of the heart…and that happened at 7.30am.

p.s. my 40 days of focus has nothing whatsoever to do with the latest fad book by Rick Warren.

Responsibility With Our Words

God at work in this placeFor many years, I didn’t have an opinion. I was raised to listen and learn and be careful when I did speak and I often felt that I wasn’t being listened to. Yeah well, sometimes life is like that eh? But then came the Internet, email groups, forums, the power of seeing my own words in print! Wow, there’s something powerful about seeing one’s own words in print, if only on a document or an email. (I try to harness this and expand on it with teaching my children various writing skills.)

I realised that I really did have an opinion but it was learning how to voice it that was the tricky part. We all have opinions! Many of them! The difficulty isn’t in having thoughts, feelings or opinions; it is in the expressing of them. Over the years I have been offended and done some offending! I have written in haste and also taken so long to write a response that I was considered rude, but I have a learned a lot.

I’ve learned that it’s best for me to only write from my experience- that is something that I can talk about. I cannot write logically (although I’m learning through writing) or even in a concise manner but I can speak about my life experiences, lessons learned and my journey throughout life. But mainly, I’m learning that the power of words is awesome and a great responsibility- even on a blog. As home-based-learners we value the written word. So often we read something that one has written and we take it as ‘gospel’ or absolute truth without truly looking at where it came from and assess it carefully. We seem to forget that anyone can have blog or a website or even write a book!


How many times have you read a raving curriculum review? A positive note of delight about a resource that makes you feel like you can’t be without this new resource – to read a little more carefully and discover that the writer has only used it for a week or so, or a month. Really, is that truly a testament to the positive fruitfulness of a resource? Well to be fair, it doesn’t mean yay or nay but it does need to be considered. I have tried many resources that have worked for a season, and then the novelty has worn off and the monotony returns. This doesn’t mean the resource is lacking in any way though. I’ve also read rave reviews of curricula and thought that I needed it, yet I lacked some vital information.  E.g: has the person writing the review used product ‘A’ with one or two children, or with several?  The writer may have had a degree in history thus able to use the product more efficiently than a woman who doesn’t have a degree in history. The same can be said with negative reviews- I’m learning to read things more critically now.

I try to be aware of these things when I write a review nowadays. It’s not pleasant to sense that one’s own words have had an effect upon someone so that they’ve rushed out to purchase a much needed resource only to find that it was a waste of money for them. Of course the reader must take responsibility but this certainly doesn’t negate the responsibility of the writer. Just because something is in print doesn’t mean it is right.

Another example is something I read recently. A couple had strong feelings about issues of birth control and then wrote a book about it. A few years, and children, later they changed their mind. Now of course, its one’s prerogative to change one’s mind right? But let us not forget the power of the written word. How many people read this book and formed their own life changing thoughts based upon the information contained therein? Who knows? Thankfully, the couple have written about their change in thought. However, it’s a good reminder that just because it is written, doesn’t make it true! Only the Bible is infallible and without error- not even well intentioned, honourable men are infallible and without error.

I often look back to some of my beliefs and opinions that I held years ago- I’m thankful that I didn’t air them publicly so as to possibly affect others. When communicating we have a certain responsibility to say what we mean and while we cannot be responsible for exactly what others hear us saying, we do need to be as clear as possible. That, is effective communication. Yes, we all change our minds and positions occasionally, which is why we need to be careful when we speak or write. It’s quite a humbling thought to realise that what I say today, I may not be quite so adamant about in 5 years time. This doesn’t mean that I’m wrong or weak or anything other than we’re always growing, developing and maturing as people. Generally, *time* and *experience* are a wonderful thing to consider.

The book of 1 Peter addresses this somewhat. As children of God, He has given gifts- whatever He wants to whomever He wants. He desires that we serve the body of Christ with our gifts. This is an awesome responsibility. Writing and speaking is a gift. We should give all honour and glory to God while serving with our gift.

The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
1 Peter 4:7-11

Lord, help me to write and speak carefully. Help me to read critically. Be with me when I speak or write?help me to communicate effectively and to recognise that part of communication is what a reader hears, not just what I say, whether it be my husband, children or someone else. Let my words be weighted with this right responsibility so that I may give glory only to you.

A quick note on Biblical advice for bloggers

Not a National Identity card…it's a Smart Card!

I try not to be an alarmist or to be freaked out by progressive technology…but, I don’t like the sound of Australia’s new ‘progressive’ move toward the SmartCard.

Apparently, the access card will replace 17 health and social services cards and vouchers across the Human Services portfolio. Once registered, people will only need to show their card when they want to access Government services.

The card itself will have the cardholder?s name, a digital photograph, their signature and card number in clear view, while a smart card chip in the card will store a photo, address, date of birth and details of any children or other dependants. The card will also provide cardholders with the option to voluntarily store other information such as emergency contact details, allergies, health alerts, chronic illnesses, immunisation information and organ donor status.

While this card is not compulsory, by the year 2010 it is expected that people will only be able to obtain government health and social service benefits if they have an access card!!! So, it may not be compulsory but, if you want to receive benefits,and to get along with daily life you may not be able to do so without your smart card! But…it’s not compulsory, eh?

What happens after people realise that this card can be stolen? Where do we go then? Enquiring minds want to know.

Surely, I’m not the only one concerned about this?

Thoughts on Moving

Well, we’re moving! It will all be happening soon. I think most people know how excited we are…but I’m also getting nervous.

We’ve just had 18 months of solitude, where we didn’t get out and about very much or meet many people. That season was good for a time but boy, I’m glad to be moving to a place where it will be easier to get around. But, I’m also a little apprehensive. Once again, for the second time in 4-5 years, I’m moving to a new place where there will be lovely people…but those lovely people have been happily living their lives, content without me. I often feel like people don’t need me- I need people!

It can be tiring meeting new people, especially in group settings where they might have known each other for years and they share many common bonds. Again, they’re doing fine without knowing me…but it is my family who needs them. Maybe I’m not used to feeling vulnerable.?? Something else I’ll have to put before the Lord and ask Him to refresh me anew and give me strength and courage to face.

We’ve been talking about new habits to institute when we move. Often moving into a new house can be an ideal time as habits can be *hung on new pegs*. Some of the things we’d like to discuss further are:

  • Family Bible study time
  • Father/Child dates
  • Family games time
  • Re-organise morning routine

Also, I suppose that my computer habits will change as I get out and about…getting out of the home a little more might see me on the ‘pooter less. Not a bad thing though, eh? There were more things that we were discussing but I can’t think of them at the moment.

 

Waiting on God…

I’m slowly reading and studying through the Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach by Robin Sampson. Now, I really liked this book the first two times I read it…but I’m still learning and gleaning from it.

In chapter 3, Robin is talking about focusing on God and not on our circumstances and she mentions ‘waiting on God’. She goes on to say that waiting on God is four-fold.

  1. The first part is of ‘wait’ is to be silent. Not always easy in this modern age. But it is when we are quiet in His presence, that we can hear His voice.
  2. The second part of ‘wait’ is expectation and hope. This implies dependence upon Him.
  3. The third part of ‘waiting’ is to watch, observe and take notice. Proverbs 27:18 gives us a good picture of waiting, watching, and taking notice.
  4. The fourth part of ‘waiting’ is to serve or to minister. Read 2 Samuel 23. David had many mighty men but three of them were chief. What set them apart? Servanthood.

Am I silent and waiting upon Him with hopeful expectation…watching, observing and taking notice of Him? Then, He will reveal Himself to me. I’ll be in fellowship with Him. Am I prepared to serve Him through the needs of my family and whatever else He gives me?

Then, as promised, God also gives us a blessing for waiting upon Him: renewed strength, ability to mount up with wings as eagles, ability to run and not be weary and then ability to walk and not faint.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Put your hope in ADONAI, be strong, and let your heart take courage! Yes, put your hope in ADONAI!

Psalm 27:14

but those who hope in ADONAI will renew their strength, they will soar aloft as with eagles’ wings; when they are running they won’t grow weary, when they are walking they won’t get tired.

Isaiah 40:31

Put your hope in ADONAI, keep to his way, and he will raise you up to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

Psalm 37:34

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways,” says ADONAI.
“As high as the sky is above the earth are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
For just as rain and snow fall from the sky and do not return there, but water the earth, causing it to bud and produce, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so is my word that goes out from my mouth – it will not return to me unfulfilled; but it will accomplish what I intend, and cause to succeed what I sent it to do.”

Isaiah 55:8-11

Using Bible Stories Year After Year

This time of year is always fairly spiritual for me as I meditate and ponder fully the work of the cross, the work of God to redeem His people.



Yesterday I was reminded by my 15yo daughter that this is also an opportunity to learn more about the Lord…and opportunity for our children to develop more of those *mental hooks or pegs* in place or to make some connections. As we were reading the story of the Passover and the Exodus, my daughter and I were having some great discussions…and I tried to ‘enlighten’ the boys (rather unsuccessfully might I add) when ‘Miss A’ said,

“Mum, why don’t you just stick with the story like you did for me at that age?” Well DUH!!!!!!!! (See, I’ve told you more than once that I can be a tad thick-skulled).


When I immediately agreed with her, she went on to remind me that reading and discussing the stories was what I had done with her, and that hearing them year after year enabled her to build upon the mental hooks more and more until she is now at the point of understanding a great deal. Uh? It takes a 15 year old to remind me of things.


The local Christian school here has done very little in commemorating or teaching about Passover or Easter. I find this sad. I think they had ample opportunity, especially this year. In Victoria, the schools only schooled for 6 weeks and then they had two weeks holiday for the Commonwealth Games…then they returned for 2 weeks of school before breaking again for end of term one holidays. Those 2 weeks back at school could have been a great time for teaching in their Christian Studies period. However, they chose to have the students watch a video…the animated Moses, Prince of Egypt.



Now don’t get me wrong…I’m all for using modern technology (we use tv and dvd’s fairly liberally) and then documenting that as a learning activity or opportunity. However, I was saddened at the lack of teaching on the Centrality of Our Faith. There’s also a time and a place for watching animations…I guess I just expected a little more from a combined Yr 8/9 class at a private Christian school.



On the bright side, if it is acceptable to chart Moses, Prince of Egypt as the Christian Studies subject for the week…then it is certainly acceptable for me, as a homeschooler, to document similar activities as one learning opportunity in a subject – not that I care to compare to a school system, but it can be an interesting exercise.

'I Dared to Call Him Father' – Must Read

I’ve just read a biography called “I dared to call Him Father” by Bilquis Sheikh. It is the wonderful true story of a prominent Muslim woman who was called to Christ and of her subsequent trials, ups and downs. I remember reading this book many years ago as a fairly young Christian (also a young woman then too) but it touched me more deeply this time round. I believe there is a new updated version of the book but I still have my old tattered copy. Throughout the book, the author has a true, deep sense of being In His Presence. She cares more about doing right by Him than doing right in the world’s eyes. She doesn’t look at what a Christian considers the right thing, right words or what labels they wear. Rather she looks at the simple truth of loving one’s neighbour…being guided by His presence…sharing His love with others.

Wow.


This is what I aim to impart to my children. Not whether or not they know church doctrine or man’s theology rather that they worship the Lord by loving their neighbour…being guided always by the Holy Spirit…be doing all possible to be obedient to Him and having a desire to share our knowledge of God with others.

Plants and Pillars or Sons and Daughters

I love gardens. Beautiful flowers of varying colours delight my senses. I see many parallels between gardens and families…gardening and training a family. Sometimes the word, ‘training’ (in regard to children) holds negative thoughts for some people but I see it rather differently. To achieve the most beautiful display that a wisteria can create, it needs to be trained…to be pruned, to be fed and watered, etc. I was recently reading Psalm 144. It is written by David and in it, he thanks God for His mercy and he prays that God will protect him. He makes a promise to praise God and then he prays for his kingdom. Listen to verse 12:

Our sons in their youth will be like full-grown saplings, our daughters will be like sculptured pillars fit for the corner of a palace. Wow! We all want to see our children do well, don’t we? I want to see my sons as plants grown up! Not weeds or thorns but I want to see healthy, mature and fruitful plants! Nothing could make me happier and joyful. Sometimes our plants need to be strong in order to brave the elements…to weather the storms, the rain, hail and burning winds and sun. God often likens children, especially sons, to an olive tree. Olive trees were pretty important to the Israelites as they were a symbol of God’s blessing. They needed to be ‘trained’ else they become wild and unfruitful. They [the trees] had a purpose! They need to be strong in order to face the weathers.

Your children around the table will be like shoots from an olive tree.~Psalm 128:3

I see that word picture quite clearly but what exactly does it mean to be ‘sculptured pillars fit for the corner of a palace’? Palaces were indeed ornate and beautiful buildings and great care was taken in building of palaces even the angles or cornerstones of the building. Sometimes, the ancient Greeks used to make corner pillar type statues carved in the form of a woman, elegantly dressed in long robes. These even provided strength to the building . They would have been graceful, strong and polished, although the material would not originally have been smooth and polished. It took some polishing to get it that way. Even today, any good builder will tell you that the foundation is extremely important and then the cornerstone is vital to the longevity and strength of a building. The cornerstone is where all the other measurements are taken from.

What I found strange was that I thought this was back to front. What??? The word of God is back to front? See I imagined that the women would have been portrayed as beautiful ornaments in the garden whereas the men would have been the strong cornerstone of a palace…carrying the weight of the building. I would have to look into this one further. Why did God deliberately use these word pictures? What is He trying to convey to us? I’ll leave you to figure that one out for yourselves, if you want to. So, as a mother what does this mean for me? I start with the end in mind: I want my sons to be plants grown up…to be mature, fully developed…to be stable, healthy, fruitful, and able to withstand the storms of life. I want them to be rooted in good soil (rooted in The Spirit of God) so that they will not be blown about by every wind. What more could a mother of sons desire?

In training my daughters to be ‘cornerstones’ I need to train them in virtue of character…to train them into strong, polished pillars who have a pure heart…a modest demeanor filled with gentleness and graciousness…to see my daughters as polished cornerstones, fit for the service of the King.

Does God Say ‘Oops’?

Ever heard someone say that they are going to do something because God told them to do it? I’m sure you have. I hear it often. I guess I don’t really have a problem with it, in itself. However, I do have a problem when a person is fairly adamant about a decision or choice they’ve made, claiming that ‘God told them to do it’. Some of these things aren’t black or white areas; they’re just every day decisions in life that we all have to make. What I don’t have a lot of tolerance for is when God [apparently] says oops.

Of course God doesn’t say oops! Yet that is what it must seem like to non-believers when we march on, adamantly proclaiming that God told us to do it … and then a few weeks later, we completely change direction. What? So does God get it wrong or are we too quick to use God’s name as a justification for our choices, hoping He will bless it … only to find that life takes us down another path? Why do we find it so difficult to simply take responsibility for our own choices and decisions in life?

God has a plan and a purpose for our lives. And I believe that it is bigger than whether or not we drive a Ford or a Holden! He is with us when we’re wandering through the wilderness … and he’s with us when we’re in the land of plenty. There’s nothing wrong with man using his mind to make reasonable and rational decisions, while living in the understanding that all his way are ordered by the Lord.

When God says to do something, He means it! He does not say oops or get it wrong! Let us not to be too hasty in proclaiming that God told us to eat Weeties or CornFlakes that morning … just eat what you believe to be best for your body and go on with your purpose in life, which is to love God and enjoy Him forever.

That is, everything you do or say, do in the name of the Lord Yeshua, giving thanks through him to God the Father.
Colossians 3: 17

The blog about not blogging about the Big Picture Conference!

What a whirlwind weekend!

‘Miss A’ , ‘Miss R’ and I excitedly set off early on Thursday morning to drive to Sydney for the Big Picture Conference. On the way, we listened to a downloaded audio of homeschool speaker, Cindy Rushton and then we listened (rather, I grimaced through) some of ‘Miss A’ ‘s music. If I were having trouble staying awake, which I was not, this music would have seen me keep wide awake and on the lookout!

We stopped at Yass for a cuppa and we met up with some homeschooling friends of ours and had a brief catch-up time. We waved ‘Miss R’ off as she has gone to stay with them for a week. We continued on our way making good time.

We got to Sydney and made our way to the north-west of the city where we were to meet Bec and Lisa at the Richmond train station. Feeling pretty pleased with myself for arriving early, I sent an SMS to Lisa telling her that we were waiting. Well, we waited and watched the train pull up, and then go again…with no Lisa or Bec departing. Uh oh, please don’t say we were in the wrong place!!!! I called Lisa and asked her where she was. Oh! they were at Richmond?where was I? Hmm, good question eh? Turns out I was only a few blocks away at East Richmond station.

Rebecca and I first met years ago when we lived in the same town but Lisa and I had never met in real life. We’ve ‘e-known’ each other for a few years though and get on pretty good online. A few people had told us both that they thought we would get on famously in real life but then again, who knows? What if we were so alike that we clashed??? Well, as it turns out, we did get on wonderfully, although I’m still amazed at how I struggled to get a word in edgeways!

We drove to the Merroo Centre and had a few cups of tea when we found out that we weren’t going to be able to eat tea there! Eek, after a day of travel and talk, we were hungry ladies who needed sustenance! So we headed out for pizza. We came home and made ourselves comfy in our bunkroom and then went down to the main centre where some of the vendors were setting up their book displays. Oh goody! A sneak preview.

With all good intentions we hit the sack pretty early that night although we were kept awake by Bec’s snoring!

The next morning (Friday) saw us all up early as we went into the meal area for breakfast and then it was the beginning of many greetings and the speakers presentations. In between meals and presentations, we also had some workshops which were led by local homeschoolers and these were great! Again, another late night with lots of talking and giggling but this time, ‘Miss A’ kept us awake with her snoring! Kath and her daughter, Lizzie had joined us Saturday morning and Kath kept us in fits with some of her stories. Saturday was another fun-filled, excitement laden , informative, encouraging day with many good-bye’s at the evening’s close. Meeting Belinda and spending a little time with her and her husband was a highlight of my weekend too! Full of mixed emotions, we said our farewell’s and planned to catch up online once we got home.

With nearly everyone making their way back to their homes, there were only a few of us left at the centre- those leaving early the next morning. We had a beautiful time of fun and fellowship over a cup of tea but after all the excitement of the weekend it was hard to wind down and get to sleep, but we did?about 1.30am, I think. I don’t know if anyone snored that night. We also had a gate-crasher that night as Kath and Lizzie had left and all the Canberra ladies had left poor Michelle on her own so she decided to drop in on us. (Well, really we did invite her but… She fitted into our room like a hand in a glove and we loved having her with us.

I planned to leave early the next morning so that we could get home to John and the two boys but after a leisurely breakfast, the fellowship just didn?t seem to want to end?it was about 11am before I dragged myself away and ‘Miss A’ and I headed off home. I didn’t want to leave but at the same time, I really wanted to get home.

‘Miss A’ talked non-stop on the way home! She had really enjoyed the conference and a few sessions had been geared toward and about teens ad high school so she was chuffed. (Oh, chuffed is my word, not hers). We got home and hubby looked very pleased to see me- he?d been cleaning the yard and hadn?t eaten much since I left. :-/ Ah, it?s good to be home.

Well, that’s the timeline of our weekend but it’s left out all the very important parts like what I learnt, what or how will our home and life be changed or impacted by this? Truth is, I can’t verbalise much yet. But that’s okay, partly to be expected really. I feel like a computer who has downloaded a huge program and now it needs to be formatted and processed, ready for application. My mind needs to be formatted so that the ideas can be verbalised, and I mainly do that processing via talking…poor hubby.

I’ve also decided to not make any decision about implementing ideas or changed yet. I’ve done that before… rushed into making all sorts of changes only to find out the long, hard way that those changes, whilst good, were not designed for my family. So now, I’ve decided to pray about it all and trust that God will reveal to me any changes that need to be made or direct me to any ideas that could be implemented?

Ideas from others are like that eh? They can be the greatest ideas but doesn’t mean that they’ll be the best fit for us, for our family.

Seasoned Speech

wonbyoneI took one of those online personality test quizzes, which often are a little silly but this one had me seriously thinking…

My score told me that:

41 TO 50 POINTS: Others see you as fresh, lively, charming, amusing,practical, and always interesting; someone who’s constantly in the center of attention, but sufficiently well-balanced not to let it go to their head. They also see you as kind, considerate, and understanding; someone who’ll always cheer them up and help them out.

Hmm, I wonder if this is really how people see me? Who knows? I do know that some friends, both online and In Real Life have told me that I can come across as opinionated. I’m trying to teach my girls about having an opinion but voicing it with discernment, grace and tact. Tehee, the hard part is discernment, grace and tact eh? It’s not so difficult to ‘teach’ one to have an opinion though, is it?

As a child, I often felt like my opinion didn’t matter…that I wasn’t smart enough to voice my opinion. This largely came from my experiences at school more so than home and family. As time went on and I started to mature, I found that there were areas that I could voice my opinion. Then, after awhile more, I found that there were actually some things that I started to know a little about…and had the freedom in which to voice my opinion! As is so often the case with me, I probably took it to the extreme – stating my opinion whenever given a chance. Thankfully, the Lord has pulled me up on this a number of times…sometimes it has been through a painful experience while other times a quiet, individual experience. But, I am learning that just because I have an opinion or a thought doesn’t mean that I have to verbalise it. I’m even learning that just because I might be asked for my opinion, doesn’t mean that I have to take the soapbox and proclaim it loudly. I need to use discernment in each situation.

Some things that I am learning…and am trying to teach my girls is:

Do I have any responsibility in this area/matter?
Do I have any authority in this area/matter?

Usually, the answer to those questions will dictate to me, whether or not I need to speak and if so, how much and in what manner I need to say them.

As an example: Years ago, as a recent convert to homeschooling I thought it was wonderful and that everyone (or as many as possible) should homeschool. I used to be fairly verbose with my thoughts too. Over time, and situations, I came to see that this is one way but the Lord, in His wisdom, has not decreed that it is a command necessary for salvation. So, do I need to preach it?

Years ago, I used mostly Charlotte Mason’s methods to educate my children, and I thought it was all the bee’s knee’s. However, I realised that it is only one way…amidst many ways… and that the CM method isn’t purely right or wrong or the only way nor necessarily the best way for everyone, so did I need to preach it?

There are so many issues or ‘hot topics’ that I have an opinion on and that are important to me…but is it essential for me to voice them? Do I have responsibility or authority to speak of it? Sometimes yes and sometimes no! I’m trying to ask myself these questions before I speak.

What is it that I want to speak about the most? A method of homeschooling? A style of cooking? A brand of clothing? Something particular that may have worked for me? I want to share what I’ve found to be the best – in life, in homeschooling, in everything! And that, is the all gracious, all powerful, all knowing God…the God of the Bible. This is the only gospel that I want to ‘preach’ for that is what is essential for salvation…for that it truly worthwhile. We don’t know how long we have on this earth, to do that which He has called us to do- may we make the most of our time and our resources. May we seek His grace, for our lives… that our speech would be seasoned with grace when we speak to our husband, our children, family and those that we come into contact with.

Structure or Routine

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

Motivation

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

I Am A Flylady Flunkie

Okay, I’ll confess…I’m a Flylady Flunkie. Nope, not just once but three times!!!! Yes, three times I’ve tried to do the Flylady program as it looks so good…but I just couldn’t tweak it to suit, nor could I apply it to myself.

However, I stumbled (actually it was more clicked) my way through a site which has helped me! It is called Large Family Logistics. While I don’t have a large family, or as large as some of these families, I certainly do need all the organisational help I can get. I have tweaked some things to suit my family and for a few weeks now, I’ve been organised, tidy and clean and spent time with the children doing good things.

My household routine is:

  • Monday ~ Laundry & Kitchen Day (All washing, drying, folding, ironing and putting away.) ‘Miss A’ does cleans the kitchen.
  • Tuesday ~ Bathrooms and bedrooms.
  • Wednesday ~ Home Office/Study Day. Organise finances, file all papers, clean study area, post letters, meny plan, and shopping lists. This works well as it is the day before…Town Day.
  • Thursday ~ Town Day. The kitchen is clean ready for the groceries. The finances are in order, ready for shopping and bill paying. The meal for today is organised from the day before.
  • Friday ~ Cleaning and/or Town Day. On pay week, we will go to town again and get further supplies or when it is off-pay week, we go through the house from top to bottom.
  • Saturday ~ Outside Day. The girls and I go to softball while John stays at home with the boys and sometimes tends to the yard and garden. (Also John’s Shed Day)

Particular Protocol for Jobs.
After spending time at this site I decided to make my own Protocol Sheets, which have been laminated and are in easy reach. We have protocols for? Dishes Duty and Pre-Tea Chores, Bathroom and Bedroom work. I’ve always liked using standard sheets so that I can refer to them – I also feel that it makes me not nag.

Anyway, just wanted to post about this site as I have found it helpful.

Selected in the Aussie Squad U/16…

Wahoo!! I just have to brag! Miss A has been selected in the U/16 Girls Australian Squad for softball.

She has been training and working hard for three years now at State representative softball. It hasn’t been easy as she has had to commute 4 hours to and from, staying with other families and being away from her family. Throughout the week she works hard at lessons, housework and softball as well as continuing to build her family relationships. Last year she represented the ACT State team and this year, due to our move, she represented Victoria.

Out of all the many girls who play softball in Australia, only 15 are selected from each state to compete in the National tournament against each other. This year, Seven months of traveling and training came to a climax as Victoria narrowly lost by one run to consecutive winners, NSW.

Each year, at this National tournament, Australian selectors are present to scout out prospective up and coming ball players. They watch them, their attitudes and log their playing statistics. Eight states competed (NT are not able to attend regularly) with 15 girls in each team (approximately 120 girls altogether) and only 30 of them are selected for the U/16 Girls Aussie Squad. And A was one of them!!!!

What this means is that she has various training camps to attend, even more rigorous trainings and health and fitness awareness. She has to compete in various tournaments to represent Australia and even play in one International tournament against other participating countries. Oooh, it’s so exciting!

A Verbal Skill Breakthrough…

We’re having a breakthrough! Yes!!!!!

Both my boys are fairly quietly spoken and humble. They’re quietly confident in themselves with many things but they’ve been slow to learn to read. Patience and gentleness have been lessons the Lord has wanted to teach me.

I’ve been working with ‘Master C’ all week, listening to him read aloud to me. We buddy-read and then he narrates section by section and it’s working well. His narrations are picking up. But one thing that has bothered me for awhile now is his vocabulary and oratory skills. Oh, I know he has a vocabulary because when he thinks I’m not listening (and when he’s alone with his brother) he talks loudly and a lot, but as soon as I come near he goes very quiet and barely mumbles a word, much to my sadness.

Well, I’ve asked him to talk- I ask him questions and do all that I can to encourage it but to no avail, sadly.

Early on this week, I was teaching the boys how to read aloud and project their voice; not to mumble or to read into the book. I put my hand up in front of their face and encouraged them to try and make their voice hit my hand. They thought this was a great joke.

But…it has worked! And not just with reading aloud- it’s worked at the tea-table and in general conversation. Wow! I’m pretty chuffed, I can now hear them. Today, John was reading aloud from his Bible and he started to mumble again and ‘Master C’ (younger brother) loudly told him to ‘hit Mum’s hand with your voice – c’mon, it works”. Off he started reading aloud- clearly and concisely!

Again I’ve learnt, just a little consistency and a dash of encouragement, a tad of laughter or silliness, and a measure of patience has paid off…. Now, to keep it going.

Narration ~ Discussion ~ Debate

Narration and discussion have been a cornerstone of our family’s learning style and I just wanted to share something that happened the other day.

A (14 yodd) came to me yesterday as she wanted to ‘discuss and debate’ some lyrics of an album that she wants to purchase. A has learned that lyrics and a performer’s lifestyle are very important to me- I look at more than the genre of music.

As we sat and discussed the lyrics of some songs I asked her if we could read some hymns out loud, to which she happily agreed. The difference that she could see is that the hymns are straight out- one doesn’t have to ‘read between the lines’ in order to grasp what is being sung whereas her songs had a special meaning that could be ambiguous UNLESS you knew the story behind the songs. She then went on to research articles, interviews and quotes from the band, which proved to be very beneficial to both of us. (I can see that some songs are performance based, while others are more directly for worship – participatory, not performance)

Not only could this be documented as an academic lesson (worldview, research, debate, reasoning, etc) it was more a life lesson as well as relational building. It drew us closer together so that she continues to feel free to bring anything to me (her words). Throughout this she is learning how to apply God’s Word to her daily life! I’m seeing that she is allowing God’s Word to shape her worldview. Wahoo! is anything more exciting than that?

I’m convinced that the early years of narration, leading on to discussion has helped keep our lines of communication open and in turn, allowed her to verbalise her thoughts as she goes through a thinking process.

Just wanted to share this little happening with you all and encourage you to keep focusing on narration and discussion with your children.

Composition, the HomeGrownKids Way

chbiblestoriesWriting Strands, Write with the Best, Institute of Excellence in Writing…do we need a text or curricula in order to instill a love of writing in our children? Do we need to use it every week, every year? Surely there’s an easier way?

These are my thoughts (to date) that I’ve formulated over the last few years.

A lot of homeschool curricula available turns writing into a totally separate, and sometimes scary, subject, where one is asked to write on topics such as, “My Summer Holiday” or “A Pencil”. (And I’m not kidding!) When I was in grade school, at the beginning of each new school year, I was supposed to turn in a paper titled, “My Summer Holidays”. Well, I couldn’t even remember or talk about something so broad and vast, let alone write about it. Consequently, I was often told that I ‘couldn’t’ write. Many years later, I have found that this simply isn’t true! I know that now, but it has taken me years to realise that I love to write, when I have a topic that I’m interested in. I certainly do not want to burden my children with similar experiences. I write because I want to – I feel I have something to say (whether or not you agree with me, the point still stands eh?) A child has to want to write! A child must have something to write about! Most children love to talk, yet dry up when we put a pencil in their hand. My goal is to try and capture some enthusiasm for a topic and help them so that they can taste success and feel a sense of achievement at seeing their own real words in print.

I haven’t taught any formal writing skills in the home yet. I have embraced Charlotte Mason’s philosophy when she says that teachers shouldn’t burden students by drilling or repetitive exercises in writing or composition. Just because a child is in a certain grade or is a particular age has very little to do with ‘readiness’ or development. I don’t expect my children to just ‘be’ great writers…I do want to provide an atmosphere that will nourish their minds with ideas and vocabulary, provide generous exposure to great books and to be a good writing’ model, while offering encouragement to my own children. My goal is to have children who love to write and who are able to communicate their thoughts, feelings, convictions and beliefs so that readers will understand what they are saying. I would like my children to be able to communicate descriptively, persuasively and informatively. Volume One- Home Education by Charlotte Mason has examples of how not to teach composition. (p. 244-247)

I believe that oral narration is the beginning of composition! I don’t require any [creative or individual] writing until a child is somewhere between the ages of 10 and 12, depending on each child’s individual development. Nevertheless, the child is learning the basics of composition through the art of narrating. When they are ‘ready’ I start the transition from oral to written narration. By this time, they’ve heard copious amounts of quality vocabulary, punctuation, grammar and sentence structure by listening to good books being read aloud- either by a family member or books on tape. They have practiced these skills via copywork and dictation.

Narration is more intellectually powerful than any curricula and it is never too late to start! You can see the narration prompts (now called my Activity Sheets) and use them orally to encourage thinking and verbal skills. Even though we ‘can’ use a book to learn and practice many things, (narration, copywork, grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc) we can still have a holistic approach. I try not to compartmentalise English or Language Arts and composition is a part of this. It needn’t be broken down into indigestible pieces that the child isn’t able to use in his own real world. The effectiveness of this model follows in the literary steps of the great writers.

Language begins with imitation – from infancy onwards… imitating talk and then from good books written by great writers. There is nothing wrong or un-original in studying and copying the ‘greats’. This is the modeling process. It is this process that will give a child a wonderful, rich foundation in which he is free to develop his own literary style. (Karen Andreola talks of this in The Charlotte Mason Companion on p 144). As the budding writer continues this form of imitation, copying from many of the ‘greats’ then his own writing will be influenced and he will begin to develop his own original flair.

I’ve found that the early stage (aged approximately 6-10 years) is a time to focus on oral narration. In the later years is when I spend some time in the transition period from oral to written) and then later again I try to teach some further basic and helpful skills, such as note-taking, outlining, summarising, etc. In the last few years, we’ll be focusing more on essay and report writing. Marilyn Howshall has separated the development stages by calling them the following:

  • Collecting stage
  • Processing stage
  • Communicating stage

chbiblestoriesIn the Collecting Stage, we focus on copywork and oral narration. The children will copy and write thank you and birthday cards, letters to friends and relatives and do selections of copywork from our copywork binder. They start with a basic journal in which they record their chores and lessons completed, daily habits and the weather. They may progress to writings some of their thoughts. I’ve found that a scrapbook or notebook can be a wonderful way to simulate interest in recording and writing but I try to let the individual do this and not force it upon them. We try to do a little something each day that we do lessons. I will have the children give an oral narration from their lesson books which will be either the Bible, history, geography, nature study, science or literature (fables, poems, short stories, etc.) When I am scribing for them, I will have them narrate paragraph by paragraph. This collecting stage is where the child is collecting images, thoughts, ideas, vocabulary and knowledge. Miss Mason writes a section on composition and the younger child here in Volume 6, p.190

chbiblestoriesThe Processing Stage is often an area where some homeschoolers start to look for curricula as they feel a need for ‘structure’. But is it really necessary? I once thought so and went through a spending spree on writing curricula. Now though, I actually find it easier to transition from oral to written narration rather than scheduling in another workbook. I think this is the most exciting stage of all! Here’s how we’ve tried working within the transition stage. (transitioning from oral to written narration)

I explain to the child the what, how and why of what we’re trying to do- telling him that I’d like to see him try to put pen to paper. I might ask him to rewrite in his own words (narrate) a Bible passage, poem or fable. And of course, I try to offer lots of praise and encouragement!

On another day, we might try another way: I’ll have the child narrate to me as I scribe or type and then he will rewrite or copy it out from my copy. We may or may not edit this together. This is the child’s words- their own writing!

I’ll have the child narrate from such books as, Just So Stories, Parables of Jesus, or Aesop’s Fables as these are filled with metaphors (word pictures) which are wonderful for a child’s imagination and stimulating creativity, which in turn, is good for developing writing style.

Then, the child may try to put his thoughts or narration of the story on paper all by himself. It is during this, that I expect narrations to be short and disjointed but I try to be patient. This is comprehension and sequencing (processing, sorting) hard at work!

Also during the Processing Stage I’ve also found it very beneficial to have the children write as much as they can in a non-pressure, informal way – write down shopping lists, birthday cards, letters to friends and relatives. The reason that I have put the birthday cards and thank you’s here is that some of my children have put themselves under immense pressure with writing cards and such, thus ending in tears. In the earlier stage I have them write these things from copywork. I’ll write the appropriate greeting on paper and then copy it onto the card with my help. Also helpful has been a blog. Yes, each of my children have a blog. Receiving comments is a positive encouragement and the children just soak up that positive reinforcement. Again, this comes back to the principle of modeling. Our children will copy what they see as important to us. Do my children see me reading and writing?

After this is where I’ve had my child just write anything…just get the thoughts flowing onto the paper. I try to aim for writing like this three or four times a week. I’ve since learned that Julie from BraveWriter does this and has given it a name. She calls it Freewriting.

Also during this stage, I teach the child to use the various handbooks and guide that we have. This is part of handing their education over to them- it starts to become their education. Here, I also incorporate a few lessons from Write with the Best as well as I teach a basic unit on writing a project – (now called Observation Sheet) Often my children have enjoyed doing their project and having something nice to keep in their binder. I also start to teach basic outlining, project writing and mind-mapping which are a basis for good study skills.

It is also during this time, that I try to select a varied genre for copywork and books to read aloud. Who knows what may stimulate an interest? We may read a genre that we haven’t previously read yet but it will introduce the child to a different style and unusual vocabulary- all of which they can imitate and add to their writing foundation.

I will start dictation toward the latter part of this stage, as I sense the child is ready. We’ll try to do copywork twice a week and then I’ll dictate the same passage twice a week.

Written narration is a skill and it isn’t necessarily an easy one to master although it will come with practice. Sometimes this transition period can be hardest on the parent. Frustration could be an issue for both child and mother! I try to relax and remember that this journey is a marathon, not a sprint. When we’re working through a transition period, I try to scale down requirements in some other areas, allowing them to focus and really apply themselves without getting overwhelmed. Often I’ll require less in a subject that they continually struggle with. This is also an important step for me. I don’t need to be stressing over everything but I do want to be patient and encouraging during this time. I try to remember that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step I don’t want to be overly involved and correct every little error as I feel that may have a negative effect on the student. Nevertheless, there are some basics that I ask the children to keep an eye on:

  • Use complete sentences (I also remind them of this before an oral narration)
  • Use of capitals, full-stops, comma’s, etc.
  • Use of descriptive words.

I write these points in the front of their writing book so they can refer to it often and they use this to edit their work before submitting it to me. I also ask the child to read aloud to themselves before submitting their work. Often one of my children will pick up many errors (punctuation, grammar, spelling, word usage, sentence structure) when reading it aloud. They can edit their work before handing it to me. I don’t use a red pen or completely edit their work…it wouldn’t be THEIRS then, it would be mine! (Besides that, it can be pretty scary to throw your heart into something to have someone critique it…that can be difficult for authors and writers and we’re still trying to encourage our young ones at this stage). Sometimes, I will use a pen and often I will go through the most obvious ones (and the ones that they haven’t picked up when proof-reading) orally – teaching and explaining as I go. I have taught the girls to use a handbook for easy reference. (Learning Grammar through Writing by Sandra Bell)

chbiblestoriesThe Communicating Stage is actually where my eldest daughter is at present. What an interesting stage this is! She is fairly comfortable with putting he thoughts on paper. It’s now time for her to learn a few various forms of writing – argument, persuasive and reasoning forms of writing. I believe this can all be done across the curricula (or Key Learning Areas), although history is the subject that she favours writing about. We’re also reading about the History of Literature in our Arthur Mee Children’s Encyclopedia.

By this time, my girls have read and heard a great deal of vocabulary and so they seem to be fairly comfortable with using the medium of writing to convey their thoughts. Hopefully through minimal correction and involvement combined with the exposure to fine literature, writing with good language is not so daunting for my boys also.

At this stage copywork is optional but my eldest daughter has decided to continue with it, although not daily. as she can see how beneficial it is. Dictation is a tool that starts to take the place of copywork to a large degree.

While composition has largely come from the child’s literary readings, the narration/writing prompts are also a way to introduce a type of creative writing.

While a good amount of grammar is learned through this holistic approach, I also use Winston Grammar with my children. This program appeals to a range of learning styles and the reason that I like it is that I don’t have to teach grammar every day, week, month or year! It also doesn’t take a lot of preparation time.

Next on the list to learn is writing a business letter, expository and persuasive essays, speeches, and book reviews. I used to think that book and movie reviews were not difficult thereby being unnecessary to teach but, after reading various reviews at Amazon.com, I’m now convinced that it is a necessary skill. The method that I’ll use is still one of imitation and living books. Presently I require a minimum of one written page per day and 2 pages if it is typed on the computer. I’m also keeping an eye on each child and if I sense a keen interest or ability in language skills, we will be looking for a public speaking or debate group.

I’ve found that journaling has been useful also. At times I’ve had a child journal their thoughts from their Bible reading. This is reflective and shows that the child is growing in many areas. This type of journaling (along with some narration prompts) require the child to think deeply in order to express their thoughts and beliefs, which are being internalised throughout this whole process.

If at any stage I sense my child is not ready in any way I simply back off. I believe that encouragement, time, and exposure to good literature will help them to develop so that we can, one day, move ahead again. If one of my children should display a dislike of writing, possibly because of previous experiences and/or lack of confidence, they may benefit from revising Stage One but with different (higher level) reading matter such as, Parables of Nature, Pilgrim’s Progress, Guerber’s Histories, etc. I would then keep a note in my diary or planner of when we started the revision so that I could see the progress in three month’s time.

This is how composition currently is and has been approached in our home. Some days it feels like we’re stuck in Suesville and other days I’m amazed at the quality of writing my children produce. Throughout it all I keep telling myself that this is a process…a little here, a little there… through copywork, dictation, literature and narration.

Hope you find this helpful.

Not excited About a New Year – Lacking Motivation

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 inists 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.

High School – Learner Permit

Inkster_Definition_Teach

We have one child entering the High School Years and so we have our “L” plates on. ‘A’ is, at present, 14years old; nearly 15. As we have moved from state to state in the last 4 years, we have come to see that she could be in either 9, 10 or 11 this year (2006). However, this doesn’t really apply to us as we don’t follow a school system and grades. With all of our children, there are some subjects that they would be ‘ahead’ of grade level and other subjects that they would be ‘behind’ in. Nevertheless, the children are progressing, and that is what is important to us. That and more importantly, relationships.

If you’re anything like me, you might feel a sense of fear at the mere thought of homeschooling through high school. We haven’t followed a ‘school system’ or guidelines for a few years now and I didn’t want to start now…so what to do? How to do it? Argh…I was starting to feel a little panicked about the upcoming High School years. I didn’t feel that I was at all qualified to teach some subjects, so how would I manage? What about the all important Higher School Certificate or HSC? What about exposure to all those ‘other’ subjects and experiences? Well, I did what I usually do when I need to learn something new- I read as much as I can…I talk to others who have been there…and I talk to those who are within the system.

 

 

What was I so panicked about high school? What is it that seems to suddenly change once a student hits Yr 9-10? I don’t think there is a sudden change at any particular age or grade. Rather, I think that there have been many changes taking place over the years as the child is going from absorbing information and processing it, to then learning how to effectively communicate their own thoughts, ideas and opinions. Actually, I’m learning that my children have a much better idea of what education is all about than what I do! I guess this is because I have been indoctrinated from my own experiences at school whereas my children are home-based-learners. They don’t have someone telling them that they MUST learn this right now…in this certain way. Actually, the more I read and learn about all this, the more I’m convinced that I’m now getting to the easier part. Well, maybe not easier but I don’t think it will be the fear factor that I first imagined.

In the earlier years we have tried to put a *feast* before our children, so that they could sample a variety of subjects. Even though, the children don’t hate a subject, we can soon see an area that they delight in learning more about. This is now the time that we encourage a slightly more formal study of that area while using that subject to teach more formal aspects of English. eg: essay writing, etc.

We believe that discipleship is still more important than academics during the high school years. Other aspects that I try to bear in mind is their character- without the habit of attention it can be difficult to apply oneself to any type of formal study. Can I use some lesson time to develop character trait and positive habits? Well, I do use copywork as handwriting practice but it is also an exercise in producing one’s best work. Dictation can be useful for developing the habit of attention, as can be narration. Maths lessons can be a way to reinforce diligence. As the higher school years approach I was able to look at my child and assess their weak areas. Yep, we all have them! I was able to research and discover the most efficient? resources that would enable my child to catch up to a level where we could easily then continue to plod along. Sometimes, we’ve put other studies on the back-burner while we focused our attention on building that particular skill or subject.

In our home so far, high school years are a time for us to really get close to the child – to encourage, guide and nurture and instruct…to disciple them…to encourage them to love God, develop good habits (self discipline) and to love to learn. We are still quite relaxed at home, even during these years. I still believe that children need lots of time- free, unstructured time for them to think- to think on ideas, to think upon things that interest them rather than fill their minds with too much knowledge. So far, this approach has led our 14year old daughter to be quite a deep thinker and she is quite self disciplined.

To me, it doesn’t matter how many books or courses the child/student has read, especially if their heart isn’t in it. It is less about curriculum or resources and more about relationships and the heart. My child has to come first, not what the world may or may not think of her. Sometimes, I’ve felt like I’ve pushed her a little or I plan a course of study that isn’t a good fit for her…and so, I’ve had to look at myself and truly examine my own motivation for this behaviour. Is it to impress the secular world? The homeschool community? Family? Friends? Me? But, is it for the child?

But what about the gaps?

What about ‘Gapitis‘? Surely I can’t teach my child everything he will need to know? That’s right, I can’t and I won’t. Gee, I’m still learning everyday, in different ways. I love learning and had to realise that not only that I won’t be able to teach and cover everything but that I don’t want to. I want my child to learn and experience things for themselves once they get older. I’ve done that too, and it’s exciting! I see myself less as a teacher and more as a facilitator of learning.
Well, these are my humble thoughts as we enter the Upper Years of homeschooling.

There and back again…

There and Back Again…

A Tale of our Adventures across 3 states and a territory.

You may have guessed that we did in fact manage to leave home and actually reach our destination on the third try! Dad, Mum, and four kids (22yods, 12yodd, 10yods and 8yods) all bundled into the van, complete with the dog’s kennel in the trailer, about 4.30am and set off for Melbourne to pick up 14yodd, who had been staying with others while training. Of course, with our family nothing seems to be simple and this trip was no exception. We were making good time until we got to the West Gate Bridge? where they just happened to be be doing maintenance work and heavy delays were expected. Both ‘A’ and I are a little scared of heights and what shoulda/coulda/woulda been a 10min drive across took nearly 40 minutes on the now 2 lane bridge, sandwiched in between impatient motorists and trucks. ‘A’ and I found it pretty stressful, to say the least.

17 hours after setting off from our home we finally arrived in Adelaide- seven stinking hot, sweaty, tired, hungry, sore bodies emerged from the car on what happened to be the HOTTEST South Australian day in December on record since 1939!!!!! That is so …*us*. Oh, and did I mention that our only form of air conditioning is the four windows??!!! The family calls us the Priowalds – and we had finally reached our Wally World.

It was great to catch up with Nonna and Nonno and all the other relatives. It’s been 3 years since we last saw them and the nieces and nephews have all grwon so much. We didn’t do an awful lot aside from rest and catch up with family. I had planned on seeing a few people but we just couldn’t manage it.

We did, however, get to make our traditional visit to the Drive-In Theatre to watch “NARNIA~The Lion, the Witch and the Wardobe“. We backed the car in and put the back seat down so that the children could lie on their tummies and all watch the big screen while John and I sat out on chairs. Everytime we go back to Adelaide we go to the Drive-In; it is a ritual that we all look forward to.

‘A’ had to catch the plane back to Melbourne on the 3rd of Jan to join her team. She’s becoming quite the seasoned traveler nowadays. In fact, I’ve missed her so much as we would’ve only been together for 4 days out of 25 in the last month. But, she’s home now.

Two days later we bundled up again and headed for Canberra, only this time we weren’t so squashed. ‘A’ was in Melbourne and ‘D’ (22yo) had stayed in Adelaide for a few weeks. Twelve and a half hours later we reached our home. We were so tired that we slept in the next morning but, as soon as we arose we headed straight back into the car for another 4 hours until we reached Canberra. We managed to find our way to the cabin…eventually. In all the caffuffles of leaving and not leaving, I had accidentally left the directions at home!

I’d thought I was fortunate to find some accommodation for a good price and I truly wasn’t expecting a palace but I was also taken aback when we saw our cabin for the week. I hadn’t realised that it was a ‘communal’ type cabin where each family cleans after their stay and that’s it for the next family. Suffice to say that it wasn’t in the cleanest condition. But I could cope with that- nothing that a little soap and water wouldn’t fix. It was the Nature and Wildlife that I couldn’t cope with. The park was in the middle of a grasshopper plague which also brought out lizards and many spiders. Once we got through the front door, it was almost like cutting through ropes, such were the spider webs. I didn’t sleep too well that night, in our one room cabin, as I lay tossing and turning, feeling (or imagining I was feeling) creepy crawlies all over me and the children. John bought some surface spray the next day and cleaned out the cabin. It was still really hot and there were no windows in the cabin but there was an air conditioner so we used that…but it couldn’t be adjusted so we started to freeze. That’s okay, we thought – we’ll just open the door, letting some fresh air in. Great idea eh? Yeah, it was …except that the screen door fell off the minute that John touched it! Tehee, John had had some tools in the trailer so he fixed it the next day.

The next few days brought softball and more softball which was great. Having lived in ACT for nearly 4 years meant that the kids were very familiar with the softball grounds and so we hardly saw the boys as they were off playing with a mate only surfacing for meals.

As we used to live in Canberra and I had a few homeschooling friends, they had decided to have a meeting while I was there on the Monday evening. Well, was I shocked or what??!! The size of the group had tripled and there were so many new faces…but some very family ones too. It? was great to catch up with Shelso, Jocelyn, Chris, Liz, Susan,? and Janette. We talked about Language Arts – copywork, narration and a few different resources. I felt like we didn’t get through a lot of ground but it gets like that when we all get together. I had a wonderful time and it reinforced to me how much I missed them and what a truly lovely group of families they are.

I received a distressing phone call from my Dad on Wednesday lunch time. He asked how we all were and he sounded ‘weird’. I knew something was wrong as we hadn’t planned on talking for a few days as our schedule was all over the place and yet here he was calling me. He had been having very bad chest pains for a few hours and didn’t know what they were so he wanted to hear my voice before he tried to drive himself to hospital. Here I was over 8oo kms away, fretting over my father, telling him to call an ambulance and feeling horribly useless. He refused to call for an ambulance or a friend which made me more concerned. Dad was meant to go to a friends’ house for tea but had called and canceled so this friend called another mutual friend and asked him to pop in on Dad. This friend arrived at Dad’s just as he was trying to get himself into his car! Meanwhile, I was on the phone trying to call the pastor of Dad’s church and see if he could help. I was worried sick until I heard that after arriving at hospital and having a? shot of morphine Dad had settled a little. He was in intensive care but at least he was in the hospital. But the worst thing was that we had to go back to the cabin for the night where I couldn’t get any mobile reception! We stayed at softball for as long as we could (I could get phone reception there) but I didn’t sleep much that night as I tossed and turned, praying, thinking, remembering, hoping…

I hated the feeling of not knowing anything and not being able to be contacted. I felt so useless. We didn’t know if we should jump in the car and head to Broken Hill or wait and see or what???!!! We headed into town the next morning as early as possible and I was very relieved to hear that Dad was okay and the pains had subsided. I called the hospital and spoke to Dad. Apparently it wasn’t a heart attack (he had one 25 years ago) but they did find that one of the valve’s on the lower part of the heart isn’t working properly. (Dad said it wasn’t firing on all cylinders)? Once I knew he was okay and not in immediate danger I told him off! Yeah, John can’t believe that after all that I’d tell my Dad off but I did. I told him that next time anything like that happens he is not to muck around and be silly and that he is to call an ambulance. I told him to reverse our positions and he’d understand me- to which he agreed.

Meanwhile, a friend had offered the use of a relatives home as they were away. We couldn’t take it earlier as we had already paid the deposit on the cabin and the boys were thoroughly enjoying their adventure. But, not being able to be contacted by phone was enough to drive me to distraction so we were blessed to be able to move that day into the friends’ relatives home …and I could get mobile reception and speak to my Dad whenever I needed. (Praise God)

During all this, ‘A’ was still playing softball and doing quite well. We chose not to alert her unless it was absolutely necessary. ‘R’ left us on the Thursday and had gone to stay with another homeschooling family about one hour from Canberra. She’s good friends with this family and she will have lots of fun there, even though I’ll miss her.

The Victorian team managed to play their way into the finals and ‘A’ had opportunity to pitch on Saturday morning in the Final. She pitched very well against QLD taking 10 strikeouts, gave no walks and allowed no runs to score. They then had to play NSW who were undefeated all tournament and had been the Champions for the last four years consecutively. It was a tough ask but our girls took the challenge. NSW were very strong and usually mercied their opponents and our girls did very well to keep them to only 3 runs while also scoring 2 runs themselves. It was a Grand Final loss but they played to the best of their ability and fought hard.

I’m so amazed at how much my daughter has learned through her sporting life- the life lessons, character training, personal development, health and nutrition, team work and much more have contributed towards building her personality and strengthening her character.

We picked ‘A’ up on the Sunday morning and started to head for home, expecting a slight detour to pick ‘R’ up but the family called and asked if she could stay for a few more days…to which we reluctantly agreed. It’s great for her to be with them and they are wonderful but we’re also desperate to just be at home with our own family and regroup. But, she’s coming home later on this week and for that, I’m thankful.

Since we’ve been home we have just rested and vegged out. I have tried to check emails and forums but my head just isn’t really ‘there’. I’m not quite ready to jump back into the online world…it will happen soon enough anyway.

So, that’s our journey – there and back again. Praise God that we are all safe and well, albeit tired, weary and very sunburnt.

Proverbs 31

This isn’t an original idea but something that I have just printed up and put in my kitchen. The idea was one of Christa. Christa doesn’t have a website but she shares on the HS Fellowship board. Thanks Christa!

She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Prov 31:27

WATCHES

W – Water and weight
A – Adoration (time with the Lord)
T – Teaching
C – Celebration (something special for someone or all in the family)
H – Home Blessing (cleaning)
E – Exercise and Eating
S – Study God?s Word

Giving thanks for the Internet

This will not come as much of a surprise to some who know me but…I LOVE the Internet!!! Oh sure, at times it has been a hindrance in my life but for the most part I love the technology.

Let me explain a little…

I used to like putting on my Cindy Rushton or sermon audio download to listen to while I did dishes or other housework. I was constantly refreshed and encouraged. The downfall was that to listen to it on my computer meant that the whole family had to listen to it. Now, don’t get me wrong- they didn’t complain (well, not too much anyway ;)) but it was very distracting for them.

My dear husband bought me an MP3 player, at the girls insistence (so maybe they DID complain ;)) Well, I have been blessed, refreshed and renewed as I potter round the house, listening to audio encouragement, sermons and good books. The children have been able to go on with their productive activity (and sometimes their non productive activity) without hearing my audio’s at full blast.

I started to read The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence last year but found that I lacked time (or energy) to get through it. But, I’ve listened to it once now and am going through a second time ; thanks to modern technology and my MP3 player.

Another side benefit: 15yodd is going to play softball at the National Tournament in a few weeks and they aren’t allowed to have their mobile phones, which is usually how we keep in touch and where her father and I offer her encouragement and support. Well we’ve decided that I shall record some daily encouragement that she can load in her MP3 player so she can listen to Dad and I each day- sure it’s not *live* but it’s the next best thing. She has also asked that I record myself reading some of her favourite Scriptures so she can listen to them during her tournament. She is also going to listen to some books as part of her Year 11 studies next year! This is why I love technology!

Well, typical to my form I can’t finish a post without sharing some links:

LibriVox? volunteers record chapters of books in the public domain and release the audio files back onto the net. Our goal is to make all public domain books available as free audio books. Great Site!

SermonAudio is the BEST site for sermons, both recent and older sermons.

MomtoMomRadioShow with Cindy Rushton is The Best!

Project Gutenberg (Human Read)

BooksonMP3

Health program by Sue Becker

All for now…

Susan <><
So many audio’s…so little time.

'If at first you don't succeed…' takes on a whole new meaning…

This is no longer a holiday. My husband is on a quest…a mission…this is bordering on obsession!? We are living out the quote,

“If at first you don’t succeed,
Try, Try, Try again.”


We’re heading off in the small hours of the morning again…to head for our home town. Let’s hope that it’s third time lucky eh?

The 3 R's – Rest, Relationship and Refreshment

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:

SPIRITUAL LIFE ~Bible reading, study, worship, prayer, fellowship, devotional readings, journal writing…

LIFE SKILLS~ Chores, serving others, life skills…

RELATIONSHIP/CHARACTER~ Relationship to others, God and self. Exercise, sport, nutrition, hygiene, personal development, health…

ENGLISH~The art of communication – copywork/dictation, grammar, poetry, writing/composition, spelling/vocabulary, literature…

MATHEMATICS~ Problem solving, thinking skills, logic studies…

SCIENCE~Nature study, typing/technology, study…

HISTORY~Past people and events. History and biography…

GEOGRAPHY~ people and places of the world. Government, Economics, Foreign Language…

WORLD VIEWS, CURRENT EVENTS ~

CREATIVE ARTS ~ Music, art, crafts, drama, Shakespeare, instruments, and other creative activities…

AUDIO, VIDEO, TV & DISCUSSIONS~ Things I’ve discussed or learned by listening or watching…

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.

BRING ON THE NEW YEAR!!!!!

The Trip That Wasn't…

Talk about an adventure that wasn’t!? That’ll be the title by which our family remembers this Christmas period.

We had planned the trip for weeks, with the children all getting excited, saving our pennies, organising the house, and figuring out the logistics of having ‘Miss A’ back and forth to Melbourne during our holiday. The day came and we all awoke at 2am. That turned out to be the easy part. We were all bundled in the car by 3am, complete with Jazz in her kennel, in the trailer. We were off on the 4 hour journey to Melbourne to pick ‘Miss A’ up and continue on to Adelaide to visit with John’s family. (A further 8-9 hours)

We got to Glenrowan? and John thought he’d just check on the dog and the trailer to make sure all was well. Problem? You betcha! The car wouldn’t start and the charge light stayed on, telling us that the battery wasn’t charging. Oh dear, we had a deadline to pick ‘Miss A’ up and here we were at 4.15am in the middle of nowhere…John thought the problem was with the alternator and seeing as how we have a spare one at home, he didn’t think it wise to attempt a 12 hour drive with the car not working properly. So, I called ‘A’ (don’t you love mobile phones!) and she ended up catching the train home while we waited in Glenrowan until the sun came up, so that we wouldn’t have to use the car lights, thinking that this might take even more power from the dying battery.

We got home, and the children and I all had a sleep while poor John worked on the car. We went and picked ‘A’ up at 11.30am and then John tinkered with the car for the remainder of the day. He couldn’t figure out what the problem was but tried a few things and it all seemed to be going well. We thought that we’d try again.

TAKE 2
I groggily awoke and showerd this morning at 3.30am but I could NOT wake John. (He didn’t have a sleep yesterday when we all did, and he had a late night.) I flopped back on the bed beside him and didn’t wake until 8am!!! Argh, so much for our early start! Oh well, the children had only just woken too so I guess we all needed some sleep.

We piled in the car yet again and set off…this time we were altogether. 2 adults, 5 children and Jazz, the beagle. The car seemed to be going fine and we stopped at Glenrowan AGAIN just to check the car and trailer. Would you believe it? The charge light came on and the battery seemed to have no life in it. John fiddled with it for an hour while we fed and watered Jazz and eventually John decided that it still wasn’t *right* so we came home again. The weird thing is that the battery and car seemed fine when we got home!!!!

For two days in a row we have set off only to get (approximately) 100 kilometres away, turn back and head home. We’re staying…for now.?? We don’t give up easily in this family and have set our minds to trying again. We’ll set off next week, dropping ‘A’ in Melbourne for training and we’ll continue on to Adelaide where we’ll stay for one week and then head over to Canberra for Softball Nationals. I guess that means we’re one of a few things. We’re either:

1) Stupid
2) Stubborn
3) Really enjoy traveling
4) Really want to go to Adelaide or
5) All of the above…and then some.

Usually when we go away on holdays we are quite disorganised and leave things until the last minute. Not so for this trip! I left the house clean and tidy and have all things organised. John spent a few days working on the car to make sure it was all going well. Despite all this, stuff still went wrong.

However, I have been reminded of Scripture, which I may have taken slightly out of context but the Lord will use it to show me things anyway.

A person may plan his path, but ADONAI directs his steps. Proverbs 16:9

ADONAI directs a person’s steps, and he delights in his way. He may stumble, but he won’t fall headlong, for ADONAI holds him by the hand. Psalm 37:23


We can devise many plans in which to try to be successful yet God knows it all- the ups and downs of it all . However, sometimes these things are not in our control but what is in our control is to say , If God wills it, we can do this or that. James 4:14,15

Throughout all these trials and happenings we see that our plans go awry but we can rest assured? because God is holding us…He has directed our steps and will see us in all eternity because of his Son.
Thank you Jesus.