Lifestyle Education through Discipleship™ musings

Greetings from Me and My House,

Does that sound scarey to you? Do you think you can’t possibly write your own curriculum? I hope by the end of this series of articles you will change your mind.

Years ago I got a book called, You Can Write Your Own Curriculum (or something like that). It was so common sense and easy to integrate, that once I adapted and developed some forms to suit our needs I got rid of the book. I wish I still had it to share its simplicity with you. But instead you will get my version.

For some the question may not be can I do it, but why would I want to? Writing curriculum is work. It takes time. And who knows if I’d do it right. So why write your own curriculum? In one word, Liberty.

Here in America we’re generally losing the understanding and the care about what that word means. We think freedom is doing whatever I want while someone else foots the bill. But in truth Liberty can be summed up in having self-government so no one needs to control me. It speaks of character and growth. Neither comes without Labor. Both require that four letter word that many don’t like to hear, work. But it is through Labor that we grow in wisdom, knowledge, understanding - and character.

Yes, writing your own curriculum requires work, but that is not a bad thing. It is the thing that will cause your own growth, and help develop good character in you. That which we are handed, whether it be curriculum or welfare, does not cause growth or develop character. It does not cause increase. It is only through Labor that we produce, cause increase.

How does this connect to Liberty? Increase through labor brings freedom. We live in a society that seeks ease above freedom, constantly giving away liberties in exchange for someone else to take care of everything for them. We do not have freedom when we are dependent upon others to take care of us. This mindset can pervade our thoughts of education also. We don’t see that freedom comes from laboring for production for ourselves. Laboring to write our own curriculum brings Liberty by freeing us from someone else’s ideas of what education should look like for our family. It frees us from being dependent upon someone else for our increase of knowledge.

Writing our own curriculum causes us to exercise our creativity through labor to cause us to grow and produce. It frees us from a consumer mentality. It allows our family to operate in the individuality God has created within us. It keeps us dependent upon the Lord.

Writing our own curriculum exercises our faith. We need to trust God to lead us to educate our children in the way He would have them go. We write in “fear and trembling”, acknowledging our own weaknesses and inadequacies but His ever present strength when we are weak that enables us to “do all things through Christ who strengthens me”, and knowing that His grace that is sufficient. He will see us through, and all glory goes to Him. And when we are most glorifying Him we have our greatest joy!

We write our own curriculum because of the freedom, individuality, and creativity, variety, growth and joy in it. It allows our family to show forth who God is making us to be.

I will continue this series, showing you the Freedom & Simplicity™ in Curriculum Writing.

For Me & My House ~ at Jesus’ feet,
Lisa @Me and My House ~ Discipleship for Life!
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Greetings from Me and My House,
What’s the difference between principles, truths, and rudiments? These may be completely foreign terms to you, but they are basic terms in Biblically principled education that is expansionary. Expansionary education teaches by “planting seeds that contain the whole” by getting to the core principles of a subject and beginning with those and from those the whole subject grows. This is sometimes called teaching from whole to parts.

The definitions of these terms somewhat overlap. But you see slight nuances in them that give us our basis of usage.
Principle: Source or origin of any thing, that from which a thing proceeds; element, constituent part; ground, foundation; a general truth; a law comprehending many subordinate truths.

Truths: (see also McDowell quote below): Conformity to fact or reality; true state of facts or things; fidelity, constancy; real fact of just principle; conformity to rule.

Rudiments: A first principle or element, that which is to be first learnt.
Let’s take a look at what others say about these:
This first came from a discussion with Ellen at the Foundation for American Christian Eduction:

Every subject will have its own individual principles. “THE 7″
Principles (of American Christian History and Government) are basic
foundational Biblical principles. You will find them interwoven
through much of what you study. But every lesson in every subject is
not based upon “the 7″. Utilize them as they fit. Utilize others as
they fit.

This from McDowell & Beliles book “Liberating the Nations”:

“While the Bible contains thousands of truths, these can be broken down into a small number of principles form which the truths spring forth. If these principles are known, this provides complete parameters through which to view life, assuring that one truth is not forgotten while embracing a new one.” And they go on to discuss principles as “seed”.

So how do we use these terms? I don’t know that there is anything magical about the terminology but from the above this is how I use them. IOW, this is a generally the explanation I go with but it is not set in cement.
1) I term the “Universal” or Foundational Principles as the “7″. These are God’s governing principles that overrule so many areas of all of life.
2) The Biblical principles that are specific to a subject I usually term the Biblical Truths (or Biblical principles) of the subject.
3) And the principles that govern the subject (not directly derived from the Bible), the first rules of the subject itself, I usually term the Rudiments.

I will post an example, probably in the subject of math, and add its link here - hopefully later today.

For Me & My House ~ at Jesus’ feet,
Lisa @Me and My House ~ Discipleship for Life!
Order Christian and Home Ed Resources Here

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