Yearly Archives: 2008

Interesting Question About Reading

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Today as I and our 4 yos were lying in bed and I was reading to myself, he asked —

“Why can’t I hear you reading?”

Interesting coming up with an explanation a 4 yo can understand. He saw me turning pages; knew that I was reading. But words weren’t coming out like in our family read aloud times, or when I read individually to him. He sees his brothers and sisters and me reading to ourselves all the time. I wonder if he’s been thinking on this for a long time, or it just occurred to him this time, that I was reading, but he couldn’t hear anything.

His conclusion was that he can read in his head too. To which I replied, “You have to understand what the words on the page mean.”

“Oh!”

He’s already trying to keep up with learning everything his 6 yob is learning. Perhaps he’ll be an earlier reader.

But I think I’ll make sure he does a lot of oral reading to me (as I do with all our children until they are fluent readers,) to make sure he knows what those words on the page are and mean.

 

Teaching Math

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Some good advice for teaching beginning arithmetic, from the original Teaching Manual for Ray’s Arithmetic (and other common books at the time).

In the first class, besides those who have never studied Arithmetic, put all who have been poorly trained in the elementary processes. It will be economy of time and labor to do this, even if you have to include the entire school in this division for a time; for, in arithmetic, above all other studies of the common school course, it is of the utmost importance that one step shall be thoroughly understood before the next is attempted. [Good advice even in the home. Lay those foundations solid. -lh] The first two years’ training is of more importance than all the rest the child receives.

Do not attempt to have the children use a book in the primary class. —A book should not be used, because no book contains, and no book can be made to contain, the kind of instruction necessary the first year.

Do not teach the figures in the first lessons, and do not allow the children to do any written work ; but teach orally, illustrating every operation, at first, by means of various objects. —The instruction should be entirely oral, and
should deal altogether at first with concrete numbers. The little child can not grasp abstract ideas. It is true you can teach him to repeat, "2 and 2 are 4;’ "2 from 4 leave 2;" "2 times 2 are 4;’ and "4 divided by 2 equal 2." But, without the proper preliminary work, these words can not possibly convey any clear meaning to his mind. This kind of instruction in a primary class is simply machine drilling on abstract numbers and words which convey no ideas, or at best a mere jumble of ideas to the child’s mind. It is one of the worst, and at the same time one of the most common, faults in the teaching- of arithmetic, and it is one which is very apt to disgust pupils with the subject from the outset.

On the other hand, if the proper method of teaching is pursued, which may properly be called the object method, the children are taught to think; they will be interested at the very beginning, and they will be kept interested by this method until they are successfully carried to the point where the object method is no longer necessary, and their minds are ready to grasp the abstract, through careful preliminary drill on the concrete.

Begin the teaching of arithmetic, then, with objects, — blocks, balls, marbles, sticks, books, kernels of corn, apples, shells, pebbles, etc., etc. The more varied your assortment of objects the better. The numeral frame and other mechanical devices are useful, but should not be used exclusively, or the work will become monotonous and tiresome.

Eclectic Manual of Methods – 1885

For Biblical Reasoning

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Give a man a fish, feed him for a day.
Teach a man to fish, feed him for  a lifetime.

Why does Lifestyle Education through Discipleship™ use the methods we do for home education? Most importantly because I believe the Word of God, and that we should do all things to the glory of God. But this old adage is in line with that.

I believe the most important thing we can teach our children is to fear the Lord, and to seek His Wisdom. This means we teach him how to learn, to discern truth, and to walk in it. We teach him to “fish” for himself.

What we teach our children is important; to teach them Truth is highly important. But knowledge is ever increasing, and there is no way were are ever going to teach them every “thing” they need to know. We don’t know what the future holds for them in this way. But Truth never changes. We must teach our children everlasting Truth, and how to learn knowledge and discern Truth.

So, more important is how we teach them, that we teach them to learn. L.E.D.™ is a Biblical Christian approach to home education that teaches for Biblical reasoning. One of our highest aims in education is excellence in learning. That is, that the child learns to reason Biblically for himself and apply what he learns. It is learning for not just knowledge, especially temporary knowledge to pass a test. It is learning for Wisdom, Understanding, and Knowledge. It is learning to reason through the topic to find God’s perspective, and understand the topic in context, and apply what he learns in his own life.

When a person knows how to learn, and has become a lifelong learner and lover of learning, he is able to learn anything he needs to know for himself when he needs to know it.

 

Back to School Blast

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Ready for another online seminar? This one is sure to get you excited for your new homeschool year.

The Back to School Blast is another of Cindy Rushton’s popular seminars. This seminar features:

  • Online Sessions in the comfort of YOUR OWN HOME!
  • Free Gifts–ebooks, audios, downloads!
  • Special offers from our event sponsors!
  • Mp3 Downloads for all audios–preview chats AND seminar sessions!
  • The retail prices for all of these items individually is $479.95!
  • YOUR price for access to the Membership Site with all these items – the entire Seminar is just $29.95! Or Bring a Friend for just $45 for both of you!

This Seminar starts tomorrow night (Thur. Aug. 7th) and goes all day Fri. and Sat. (8th-9th daytime).

Not convinced yet? … There’s More!

Cindy has allowed us to share a sneak peek into the new Back to School Blast Membership Site, by offering you a sampler of one of her free gifts that is included there. It is a audio and ebook set that she actually sells on her website, but she is giving away on the Membership Site. Here is the information for your FREE GIFT:

Let’s Get Ready for a New School Year Super Set!

Let’s Get Ready for the New School Year Mommy Planner…
Ebook by Cindy Rushton

Need some help gearing up for the new school year? Wish you had a friend to take you by the hand and help you plan your year? You will LOVE this! It includes a quick Mommy Planner with a potpourri of planning sheets from all of Cindy’s products to help you get started on the right track with your homeschool planning. It is full of goodies! AND YOURS…

Download Part One

Download Part Two

PLUS! Companion Audio! 🙂
Let’s Get Ready for a New School Year–Audio
Download by Mp3

This is only ONE of the awesome gifts included on the Membership Site. There are many, many more!

Get your Ticket Now!

Or Purchase with a Friend and Save!

New L.E.D. Resource

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You’ve been asking and waiting for this one! Redeeming the Time Journal™ forms are back! Well, making a comeback anyhow.

I’ve reformatted your 3 favorites, that are requested most – Spiritual Journey, P.R.A.Y., and Day-by-Day Book of Remembrance Journal. Now with design choices and more formats to choose from. And ready for you to download, and print the ones you want, as many as you want for your own immediate family.

See the details and order Redeeming the Time Journal™ Favorite Forms here. SPECIAL SAVINGS when you buy Redeeming the Time Journal™ Favorite Forms and Refrigerator Charts Master Pack together.

FYI, the Redeeming the Time Journal™ Education forms are just about ready for re-release too!

 

more Mind-Mapping

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I’ve been discussing Learning Maps™ and mind-mapping software with several of you and others for a while now. That is also the section I’m currently working on in my new book (soon to be released, Lord willing). That has sent me to further research. So here’s some info to add to previous posts. (And look for my new book to come out, that will have a complete section on Learning Maps™ – what they are and why and how to use them.)

I believe there are 4 contenders for making good mind-maps on the computer. Gratefully, they are now all available for both Mac and windows computers. All of them will cost you something. But all of them also come with free trial periods (at their home websites.) So you can test them out and even compare them to see which you like best before purchasing. FreeMind seems to be the best free, as in no-cost, mind-mapping software, but it still doesn’t have the features that make mind-mapping the effective learning tool that it is meant to be. So I don’t consider it a contender.

The newest Mind Mapping software is the only one that has incorporated all of the features that make Mind Mapping the powerful learning tool that it is. I’m just getting started with it. So before I tell you more about it, I’ll tell you about the other three – that I know more about.

As previously announced, we are now affiliates of NovaMind, one of our favorite mind-mapping programs we’ve been using. Since I wrote on it a couple weeks ago, I won’t add more right now.

Inspiration, the other program I own and am currently using, can be purchased  through our Amazon affiliate link. You can also download a free trial at Inspiration‘s website. Inspiration was written as educational software, so is more specific to the education market than NovaMind, and a bit easier to use, but doesn’t have as many features.

MindManager, the first mind-mapping software I purchased, MANY years ago, is now available for Mac computers. (It was windows only when I got it, which is why I switched to the other two I use now.) It looks like it has been improved, and even better than when I was using it. I don’t have intentions of repurchasing it, but am working with the free trial now. It also can be purchased through our Amazon affiliate link.  You can also download a free trial of MindManager at their website.

iMindMap - Free Download

iMindMap is the newest of the four, but developed by the originator of Mind Mapping®. Since I already had 3 mind-mapping programs, I didn’t even notice that Tony Buzan had finally created his own. It works much more like hand-drawn mind maps than any of the others, increasing its effectiveness. As Buzan says, “A Mind Map created by you is far more powerful than one created for you.” I am testing it out now. Do I really want to buy ANOTHER mind mapping program? Ouch.

iMindMap is also the newest we have an affiliate partnership with. Their current offer is if you purchase version 2 before version 3 comes out next month, he’ll give you the top edition of version 3 (of 3 new levels) for free when it comes out. You will pay just over what the lowest new edition will cost. It’s not the cheapest mind-mapping application, but OTOH far cheaper than some of the business software I have that I use far less – and it offers more of what Mind Mapping should be than the others.

 

Keeper of the Books

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Excerpt from our May ’08 Me and My House musings email newsletter:

We love books! So we have bookcases in every room of the house – including the bathrooms! and a “library” room, too!

So, how do I keep track of all these books? Well, when children sneak them off and don’t return them, I have been known to buy duplicates. I see a book, and think, “Hmm, I know that’s been on my to-buy list for several years, but I thought I bought it.” I look on the shelf, where it should be, and it isn’t there, so I buy it again. Only later – usually much later – to have the original show up in some child’s possession. Actually, maybe this is their way of ensuring there is an extra copy of the book for them to take with them when they are grown. Hmm.

My first tactic for keeping track of our books, is having a place for each kind. Yes, there is a method to my madness. Different types of books are in each room, and our library is organized, not by the dewey decimal system, but by my own system. But even if you don’t have as many books or bookcases as I do, grouping them by type will help you organize your books.

But, I have one more invaluable method for helping me keep track of all we have. The not-so-secret answer is a computer database. I used to have a file sheet I made (in Access), but now I have a much easier option – software called Booxter. Booxter is a database for books! Enter the ISBN number and it will look up and fill in all the other information about your books (if you have access to the internet, and if the books have an ISBN. Of course my old books don’t, so I have to enter them by hand.) You just add any other notes you care to make – about the location of the book, where you bought it, price paid, notes, etc. – or nothing at all!

You can also, in Booxter, organize your books into files, for easy browsing through various categories, and of course you can search your list. You can even export your list to your iPod, so you can carry it with you! I haven’t tried that yet, but it will be invaluable when we go to homeschool conventions! [Update: I have and it is.]

Booxter is only for Mac computers. But I just did a google search for “book organizer app” and “book database software” and found several for PC. Give one a free trial and see if it will help you with your book collections.

 

Who is Gramsci?

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Excellent article by Richard Jones, from American Vision today. Here’s the last part. Be sure to read the whole article here.

"… What most Christian leaders don’t understand, however, nor does Barna, is how badly they’ve been blindsided by Antonio Gramsci, a man unknown to all but a few. A brilliant Marxist, Gramsci (1891–1937) saw that if his cause was to prevail globally it would be vital that young, pliable minds be molded with anti-Christian, Bible-defaming and pro-special interest worldviews. His insightful plot has slowly but steadily percolated up into the activist agendas of those on the God-hating left; those who, themselves, couldn’t even tell you who he is. But they have learned this: If they’re “given the child” during the formative years that child will be theirs forever. Which is exactly what they’re achieving. That’s what Falwell and Wildmon and the rest are up against today, and if fighting fire with fire on our part doesn’t immediately come to mind as a counter tactic, it should.

"The “deeper thing” needed that I referred to is this, and it relates to the near-automatic love of parents for children: The only realistic way to restore and re-implant Christian thought and action in a dying culture is for pulpits (and through them, the parents) to zero in on the minds of those not yet “Gramsci programmed.” … Unless the evangelistic “step one” of John 3:16 is supplemented by daily, lifelong doses of 2 Timothy 3:16–17, we’re going to lose. Not Christendom at large, but us, here, in the U.S."

WOW! Encyclopedia of Bible Truths Sale

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Ruth Haycock’s Encyclopedia of Bible Truths is currently on a WOW! Special at CBD. Three of the individual books are 37-42% off! WOW! That $6.something and $7.something per book! (Thanks Mandi for the heads-up.)

They are WOW resources – you can read more about why we use them through the catalog links below too. Here’s the links – both direct and catalog pages. These special prices can end at any time.

Encyclopedia of Bible Truths: Language Arts/English

31136X: Encyclopedia of Bible Truths: Language Arts/English Encyclopedia of Bible Truths: Language Arts/English
By Ruth C. Haycock / Assoc. Of Christian Schools This series integrates the Bible into virtually every curriculum area and is an outstanding resource for lesson preparation, research, and project completion. The series is formatted by content area; each section lists biblical concepts and background for that subject. Scripture references and scriptures that pertain to those concepts are then provided.

 

Encyclopedia of Bible Truths: Social Studies

311394: Encyclopedia of Bible Truths: Social Studies Encyclopedia of Bible Truths: Social Studies
By Ruth C. Haycock / Assoc. Of Christian Schools This series integrates the Bible into virtually every curriculum area and is an outstanding resource for lesson preparation, research, and project completion. The series is formatted by content area; each section lists biblical concepts and background for that subject. Scripture references and scriptures that pertain to those concepts are then provided.

 

Encyclopedia of Bible Truths: Fine Arts/Health

311378: Encyclopedia of Bible Truths: Fine Arts/Health Encyclopedia of Bible Truths: Fine Arts/Health
By Ruth C. Haycock / Assoc. Of Christian SchoolsInfuse your teaching with the timeless messages of God’s Word! Highlight how the creation reflects the Creator in music, the fine arts, crafts, health, and physical education. Designed to stimulate the study of all truth as God’s truth, this supplemental resource helps you integrate scriptural perspectives throughout standard subjects. Includes research projects for most chapters. 116 pages, softcover from Purposeful Design.

 

The fourth book in the series – not currently on sale, just CBD’s every day discount price.

311386: Encyclopedia of Bible Truths: Science/Mathematics Encyclopedia of Bible Truths: Science/Mathematics
By Ruth C. Haycock / Assoc. Of Christian Schools This series integrates the Bible into virtually every curriculum area and is an outstanding resource for lesson preparation, research, and project completion. The series is formatted by content area; each section lists biblical concepts and background for that subject. Scripture references and scriptures that pertain to those concepts are then provided.

 

The Difference

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The Difference – in a Nutshell.

I’m often asked what the differences are between L.E.D./ biblically principled approaches to education and other Christian curricula.

Four primary differences, in a very simple explanation, are that biblically principled education is:

Reflection. It is based on looking deeply into the topic and ruminating on it, giving the student time to think about it before moving on or requiring output from him. We think through the context and connections, finding relationships and applications in our own lives.  It is not based on putting facts in then turning around and spitting them back out.

Biblical reasoning. It is based on looking at every topic studied through the light of the Scripture, reasoning from God’s Word to see His perspective of what is studied. It is not just attaching a verse to a page.

Biblical principles. It is based on finding principles from God’s Word applied or violated, choice -> consequence, cause -> effect, internal -> external. We want to take our studies back to the source and origin, to find their purpose and their principles. We want our studies to change us, to cause us to grow more Christ-like, and to grow in having the mind of Christ in all areas of life, not just Bible study or character classes.

Discipleship. It is based on building relationships, leading along the way of life, through the things of life, sharing “these words” that are in our heart, our passions and desires, and seeking God’s ways together.

Does that help? 🙂