Author Archives: Lisa @ Me & My House

Off to a Home Ed Start – Part 1

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Much of what the articles on this site contain is learning how to give our children a “Lifestyle Education through Discipleship” – how to home educate in this specific way, which is very “non-conforming” to the ways of institutionalized, government education. But many times I get asked a much more basic question, where to start home education AT ALL!

Most of you on this list are probably already home educating your
children, and are not asking this particular question anymore. Some of
you aren’t yet, and are just “looking into it,” desperately seeking
answers to this question. Those that are already home educating
probably get asked the questions these next few posts will cover.
Rather than saying, “Call Mrs. Z, our support group leader,” perhaps
you can glean from these posts and pass the info on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So you are interested in homeschooling your child? More than likely
you have asked, or want to ask, if you could just find someone to ask,
“How do I homeschool?” Let me tell you, that’s an impossible question
to answer, without asking you many, many questions in return. It is
also not a question that can be answered in 5 minutes, or an hour, or
even in an all day seminar or lengthy article.

But let me use this article to attempt to point you toward some
direction that may help you BEGIN to answer that question. Actually
only YOU can answer that question for yourself/ your family – but not
until you answer many other questions. Perhaps your question is better
rephrased, “How or where to I begin to learn about homeschooling?”

There are 3 main things you are probably asking with the question, “How
do I start homeschooling?” They are: “What does my state require?”
“Where do I get my curriculum?” “What else do I need to know to get
started?” Some parents may not even include the last question, but I
consider it the most important and by far the most extensive. In fact,
I consider the order of these 3 to be in the opposite order as I’ve
listed them above. I can give you a quick answer to finding your
state’s legal “requirements”. I can give you a list of websites or
addresses of curriculum providers, but it would be FAR from exhaustive.
(Actually, I will only give you a few for each of a few different types
of curricula.) There are many thousands, I’m sure. It is an area that
has virtually exploded in the last 10 years or so. But to know which
of these thousands to choose from, that will be the right choice for
your family, will take careful exploration, time, research and prayer
to answer the last question in the above list.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

#1) Again, I do not consider this to be the most important, nor the
first thing you need to know about home education, but it’s the one
most people want the answer to first. “What does my state require?”
People are so used to the government or other “experts” telling them
what they “need” or “have” to do, that they immediately want to know
what the state says they have to do. This is the first misconception
many have, and they feel more obligation to what the state “requires”
for education than what God does. The truth is God gave your children
to YOU, not the state to raise and educate. The state has no valid
authority in education. But since this is an easy enough question to
answer, and probably the first you thought of, I will answer it first.

a) WHERE TO FIND OUT THE HOMESCHOOL LAW FOR ANY STATE –
Home School Legal Defense Association – http://hslda.org/ is a great
organization for home educating parents to join, and has information on
each state’s home school laws on their website. Go to this page, and
click on your state. http://www.hslda.org/hs/state/default.asp

b) WHERE TO GET INFORMATION AND THE NECESSARY FORMS FOR NEBRASKA –
For more info on home education in NE, go to the Nebraska Christian
Home Educators Association (our state homeschool organization) website:
http://nchea.org/ There is a link to the Nebraska Department of
Education website where you can print out the law and the forms.

c) BASIC OVERVIEW OF NE HOMESCHOOL LAW – in layman’s terms – IOW, you need to read over the actual law before you file, but these are the
basics of what you need to do. Home School Legal Defense Association
gives a “legal analysis” at their website.
http://me-and-my-house/led-nelaw.htm

_____________________________

#2) Where do I get my curriculum?
A second, major general misconception, of those new to home education
is that there is some set standard of books to use, information that
needs to be learned, etc. But there is no such thing. God has
certainly not ordained that every child of age X must learn Y material
or they will be “behind”. And neither is there a set governmental
standard, though some are pushing for such. Each district has its own
set of “requirements” and texts and (or not) – but that’s another issue.

But it leads to the answer to this question. It could be any
one of thousands of places. There are other questions YOU need to
answer before YOU answer this one. Here are some popular answers as to
the TYPES of resources you can use, that may or may not work for you.
I only know of resources for Christian textbook/workbook curricula, for
non-Christian resources you will have to do your own research. See
question #3 for help in deciding which of these types of curriculum is
right for your family.

a) TEXTBOOKS/ WORKBOOKS
These are probably the types of curricula you are most familiar with,
more than likely even the ONLY type you know of. They are the type
used in government and most private schools. One text or set of
workbooks for each grade level in each subject. If you plan to return
your child to the “system” very soon, and if it is very important to you
that your child follow the lock-step regimen of a government type of
education, and you want to continue teaching your child in the ways and
methods used by those institutions whether it is the best way for your
child to learn or not, you probably need to look no further than this
category.

Can you tell I don’t think much of this approach? Although I can’t
deny that there can be some good information in these Christian texts,
I do not believe this method is the best way for children to learn or
parents to teach. I have many reasons that I haven’t the time or space
to go into here. But a primary one is this is not a family-friendly
way to fulfill our God-given responsibility to “train up our children”
in the “education and admonition of the Lord.” But for those of you
that prefer to stay on this same path, here are some of the most
popular. These all come from a conservative Christian viewpoint.

ABeka – http://abeka.com/ – Christian grade-level, subject specific
textbooks. Even has an Academy, DVD program where your child would be
enrolled in their school, and they would receive teaching via DVDs, and
the academy would keep records and issue grades.

Bob Jones – http://www.bjup.com – another Christian grade-level,
subject specific textbook curricula. Bob Jones also has a “satellite”
program for distance learning in a “nationwide classroom.”

Alpha Omega – http://aop.com – this company uses “LifePac” worktexts
instead of textbooks. There are generally 10 LifePac workbooks per
subject, per grade-level. Alpha Omega also now carries other
curricula, Switched on Schoolhouse, which is computer-based instead of
textbooks, and Weaver, which is a Unit Study curriculum covered in part
2.

These are 3 of the most popular. There are many, many more.

b) REAL BOOKS – Here I am using this term a little more loosely than I
use it in describing L.E.D.’s 4 Real Resources. Here I am using it in
the context of, as opposed to textbooks. There are 2 (or more) very
different categories of “real books” users. Using “real books” can be
a more loosely structured type of curricula, or VERY structured,
sometimes more rigorous than a textbook approach. There are MANY, MANY
variations of using “real books” for your curriculum. This can be as
unstructured as just checking out library books on any topic you are
interested in or as structured as following a “Classical Curriculum”
based on great classical literature. I will define some of the
differences in the philosophies or “approaches” (thoughts and ideas of
what education should be and what methods should be used) that
determine which way “real books” are used, when I answer the next
question. Also, I cannot give you specifics on “where” to get the
actual plans for using these books (which is all a “curriculum”
actually is – your plan for teaching) – until I answer question #3.
For now I’ll give you a few ideas of the VAST AMOUNT OF PLACES where to
find various types of “real books”.

libraries – your local public library, university library, interlibrary
loan, church library, “friends’ library” 🙂

bookstores – general bookstores, Christian bookstores, “educational”
bookstores (though not as many “real books” at these), used bookstores, online bookstores – check out the Resources and Recommendations on our website, for ordering through CBD at great discounts.

online – the text for many books, especially older “classics” can be
found online. Also much general information about nearly any topic can
be found there.

We don’t generally recommend, this newest type of “curriculum” – the
Internet Hodge-Podge. Granted, there is much information available on
the “information highway”, but indiscriminately forming a curriculum
based on whatever you can find on the web will not give your child a
comprehensive nor cohesive education, just a “hodge-podge” of unrelated
information. There are many different worldviews, biases, and ideas
about education out there. If you utilize “free” curriculum from any
website you can find with information on the topic, your child will
receive a very confusing education. That said, there is much very good
information on the “net”. But you must use much discernment and
discretion in choosing “what” to use, and do much research to find what
is worthy.

Part 2 will answer our 3rd question – and give you an idea of the
different “methods” of home education, that will determine the types of
resources you will use (and the specific places you can find them).
Well, I’ll give you a very brief start on it anyhow.

For more detailed information on the types of curriculum and methods of
teaching, and just plain differing ideas (philosophies) of home
educating, order our workshop audio, “Introduction to L.E.D.”

 

the Principal Thing

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2004

Thursday, March 18

 

In the midst of the series I’m doing on the 7 Pillars of Wisdom, today I’m interjecting this post on the principal purpose of Lifestyle Education through

Discipleship.

The guiding principal behind L.E.D. is not just to have a relaxed,

natural-methods, lifestyle-based home education. It is not even just

to have family-centered education. It’s not even just to raise kids

who “love Jesus” and to shelter them from “the world”. These are all

good parts of L.E.D., but none of them is the “principal thing;”

although knowing, loving, and serving the Jesus of the Bible is

definitely the reason for our educational goal.

Proverbs 4:7 tells us “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get

wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.” (See also verses

4-9.) L.E.D. has one main underlying goal, that is for our children to

“get wisdom”. We’ve talked before about how the “Fear of the Lord is

the beginning of Wisdom.” Therefore, any instruction your child

receives that is not based on the Fear of the Lord, is not wisdom;

which throws out the entire government/public school system. No matter

how many Christian teachers and coaches are there trying to bring a

little light into a very dark place for the lost and dying that are

there, government education is designed with a main underlying goal

also, to indoctrinate children into their way of thinking and beliefs

about life. These ways are blatantly at odds with the ways of the

Bible, making this no place for a Christian child to receive his

instruction; his view of life and way of thinking. But expounding on

this issue isn’t the purpose of this article. The purpose of ALL

education is to impart a way of thinking and view of life. By defining

OUR goal, hopefully you will see how the goals of these 2 systems –

government/public ed and L.E.D. – are worlds apart.

Let’s begin with a working definition of Wisdom. Wisdom is seeing life

as God sees it; viewing the world, all of life, through the lens of

God’s Word. That is called having a Biblical Worldview. You can see

why this begins with the “fear of the Lord”. The beginning of Wisdom

is knowing who God really is, (which instills an honor and reverence of

Him,) and believing the Bible is His Word, and having a desire to

follow His ways. The Bible, God, through His Word, speaks to all areas

of our lives; and wisdom for living all of life is based on renewing

our minds to His Word, developing a Biblical Worldview. In fact Joshua

1:8 puts it, that by having His Word always in our mouths, and

meditating on it day and night, to do all that is in it, is the way to

prosperity and good success.

We, as Christians, are in the world (we live on this earth, amongst

those that are of “this world” only), yet we are not to be “of the

world”. We are set apart to live differently than those of this world;

to live a lifestyle rooted in the way of God’s Word, not following the

ungodly lifestyle, ways & beliefs of this world. Romans 12:1 tells us

that we are not to be conformed to the world, but to be transformed by

the renewing of the mind. That is, God’s Word changing not only WHAT

we think, but also HOW we think – transforming our minds, totally

changing them from the way the world thinks. Having a Biblical

Worldview doesn’t just mean we don’t smoke, don’t drink, don’t cuss,

don’t sleep around, and we do go to church on Sunday instead of

sleeping in, and if we’re really on the ball, we say a prayer and read

a verse every day. It means our way of thinking and viewing all of

life is governed by God’s Word, rather than by the world around us.

The title of Israel Wayne’s book, Homeschooling from a Biblical

Worldview, really sums up our goal. Just by BEING Christians, you

will not impart a Biblical Worldview to your children. Perhaps your

own mind is not renewed, and you don’t even have much of a Biblical

Worldview yourself, to impart to them. Everything that is around us in

“the world” counters a Biblical Worldview. That is why we must

purposely “not be conformed” to it, why we must purposely renew our

minds by the Word of God. If your own mind has not been transformed,

from the non-Christian education you received and just from living “in

the world”, this goal of “Homeschooling from a Biblical Worldview” may

seem impossible to you. But what God has called you to do, He will

equip you do to. You may have to learn right alongside your children,

leading them, being only one step ahead.

Having your children be at home with you, rather than “out in the

world”, will not give them a Biblical Worldview. It will not give them

the foundation they need to stand strong in their Christianity in an

ever-growing anti-Christian society. (I hope this strong Christianity,

this Wisdom, is what you want for your children.) Resorting to

educating with whatever free or cheap resources you can find that cover

the topic, using a hodge-podge of resources with no thought to the

worldview they’re written from, will only give your child an

inconsistent Worldview; a shaky, unstable foundation at best (no

foundation, or a faulty non-Christian one at worst); especially if you

don’t have a solid Biblical Worldview yourself to recognize and counter

those views presented in those resources.

Purposely educating your children from a Biblical Worldview will give

them the foundation, to not only stand as Christians, but to make

inroads in changing this world; to affect the lives of those around

them – however large or small God makes that scope – for the Kingdom of

God. This is why L.E.D. exists for YOU, and not just as a philosophy

for educating our own family. Our desire, through L.E.D. (and all of

Me and My House ministries), is to help disciple you to lead (disciple)

your family into a Biblical Worldview, through home educating by

Lifestyle methods; even as we ourselves are growing in grace and the

knowledge of our Lord and Savior and His Word.

 

Wisdom’s 7 Pillars – Math

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This post continues with our Wisdom’s 7 Pillars resource recommendations, today on the topic of L.E.D. Math.
UPDATE at the end.

LED MATH

Of all the things we teach our children, math is probably the hardest

for parents to implement in a “lifestyle” way, especially beyond the

very young childhood years. In keeping with LED principles, we desire

to keep math instruction as informal as possible for those early years,

and not resort to formal “school book” type programs until the formal

education years (the youth/teen years). We have implemented several

things that have worked well for us. We are working at getting those

things into a “presentable” format for others/you to use. We have also

found & recommend several resources that help us stay true to L.E.D.,

while providing instructional guidance.

INFORMAL

As a part of Lifestyle Education through Discipleship principles, we

believe most academic instruction, including math, should be fairly

informal, up to about the age of 12 or 13. The math concepts can

mostly be taught orally and informally through household objects and

dialog, with a little paperwork instruction included as needed. Our

children’s absolute favorite, and highly effective, math instruction

for the early years, we called “Money Math”. Very simply teaching them

to add and subtract through the use of money. They were “paid” for

doing things, and they “paid” for receiving things; beginning with

pennies, and progressing through nickels, dimes, quarters, half

dollars, and bills. They had to keep a running total, adding what they

were to receive, and subtracting what they were to pay. Money is

definitely the easiest and most logical way to teach our base ten

system, decimal placement, and negative numbers. We offer a booklet

called Freedom & Simplicity in Math (for the Childhood years), that

includes our “Money Math” ideas, as well as some charts and tools for

those early years. Calendars, clocks, and measuring devices round out

the *needs* of the early years.

We also love to incorporate Cusineaire rods (and counting bears) in our

hands-on, build it, see it math instruction. Yes, you can do the same

thing with popsicle sticks and dried beans, but the rods (and bears)

are so colorful, sturdy, uniform and fun. They aren’t just a “school”

tool; they are a fun “toy”, for building houses, complete with a family

to live in them. Our toddlers love the Jumbo rods and bears, too.

Our favorite resource by others, for these early years, which covers

all the topics typically taught in K through third grades, is “An Easy

Start in Arithmetic”, part of the 3 R’s series by Ruth Beechick. (We

recommend the whole series.) Mrs. Beechick includes ideas for teaching

each topic informally as you go through your day in managing your

household with your child alongside. Some written work is also

incorporated, as you design it (very simple, no daily worksheets to

write or such). A few simple chart ideas are also included. To

continue on with these ideas and foundation, Mrs. Beechick has also

written “How to Teach Your Child Successfully”. In it she gives ideas

& guidelines for older children (4-8 grade), in all foundational

subjects. We believe that “An Easy Start in Arithmetic” is all you

would *need* to teach your child math in those early years. Add on the

“Freedom & Simplicity Math”, Cuisenaire rods, and counting bears for

some practical, hands-on application ideas. “How to Teach …” will

guide you through the concepts needed to continue the rest of the later

childhood years, but many will probably want to add a little more from

other resources at this stage.

CONCEPTUAL

For those that desire to add a little more to the subject including

more written “paperwork”, we still recommend keeping the instruction

conceptual, concrete and informal, enjoyable, and “un-school bookish”

as possible. (We don’t feel these resources are necessary, but some of you may.)

The “Miquon” math series of “workbooks” utilizing Cuisenaire rods, by

Key Curriculum Press, provides this type of resource. It translates “real life” math,

that we’ve been doing concretely (with real objects through “An Easy

Start ,”) to paper. If you choose to utilize the “Miquon” books, we

still recommend using “An Easy Start in Arithmetic” as your foundation,

and adding the “paperwork” as an occasional exercise, as enjoyed by the

child, not an “everyday have-to”. There is no reason to begin this

“paperwork” at the same time you start your informal instruction with

“An Easy Start”. It can be begun even a few years later.

DRILL

Along the way, as your child learns the “math facts”, for

addition/subtraction, and in later years for multiplication/division,

you may want to work on these facts becoming “automatic” for him to

remember. This can be done by several methods. The most notorious is

by plain old fashioned flashcards, but many other ways are much more

fun and just as effect, if not more so for various types of learners.

“Math-It” turns the drill into a game, for both sets of facts using

“Add It” and “Timz It”. (Also available are “Pre Math-It”, covering

learning the addition facts through dominos, and “Advanced Math-It”,

covering percents/ decimals/ fractions.) We have devised our own type

of drill similar to “Math-It”, included in our “Freedom & Simplicity

Math”. Our children also all enjoyed learning sing-song jingles of the

facts from audio tapes, such as “Skip Counting”. The hands-on drill

tools called “Wrap-ups” are great for your kinesthetic kids, but we

found that some kids memorized where the string went more than the

actual facts. An alternative to the “Math-It” games, (I mention

because they are extremely popular with home ed parents) are the

“Calculadders” drill sheets. These are timed worksheets, and by far

the least fun and “informal” of the resources mentioned here.

Occasionally these can be used with older children for brush up, but we

don’t use them with our younger “informal stage” children. Freedom &

Simplicity Math (or “Math-It/Advanced Math-It”) and the “Skip Counting”

tapes are our recommendations.

TOPICAL

Shortly before your child advances to formal math instruction you will

want to make sure they have not only the basic facts “drilled”, but

also all their basic arithmetic down pat. This “transitional” stage is

usually between the ages of 10 and 12. During this time they will

begin doing regular “workpage” “math problems”, covering all concepts

of addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, decimals

(money), and percents, as well as measurements, time, place value,

negative numbers, and Roman Numerals concepts. Much of this will be

review, but also solidifying and pulling it all together. The “Key to

” series by Key Curriculum Press has booklets covering Fractions,

Decimals, Percents, and Measurements. Also, you could begin utilizing

the program recommended below, by covering each concept (not workpage)

in the beginning levels and using some of the word problems and/or

tests from the “extra practice” booklets/pages as indicators that the

child has good comprehension.

INCREMENTAL

Formal instruction, including formal math instruction, begins for our

children around 12 or 13 years of age. We believe the best math

program, that includes all elementary and high school math concepts,

taught in a line upon line, incremental, conceptual (understanding of

the principles, not just rote memorization) and concrete way (with

manipulatives) is “Math U See”, by Steve Demme. So, if this program is

complete, conceptual, and concrete why do we bother recommending the

other resources and not just start with “Math U See” and use it all the

way through? We feel “Math U See” is an excellent program, & love the

way it integrates conceptual teaching & concrete manipulatives for

applying math to “real life”. However, and for us and Lifestyle

Education this is a big however, we do not feel such a formal

structured program should be implemented for young children. We do

feel it is the best program for our older students, in those formal

instruction years.

All the resources recommended here have their own strengths for their

own stages of learning. We have picked the best in each category (as

we see it, from the wide variety we have used and thoroughly reviewed,)

for working within the principles of Lifestyle Education through

Discipleship. In review, those are: “Freedom & Simplicity in Math” and

“An Easy Start in Arithmetic” for early Childhood stage (and

optionally, “Miquon” math w/ Cuisenaire rods); for the later Chilhood

stage, “You Can Teach Your Child Successfully”, “Freedom & Simplicity

Math” (or”Math-It”), “Skip Count” tapes, “Key to …” series, (and

optionally, “Wrap-ups”); and for the Youth/teen stage, the

complete series of “Math U See” (which goes up through Trigonometry, if

you so desire).

One key component of Lifestyle Education is through “Notebooking”. Our

“Freedom & Simplicity in Math” includes guidelines for Notebooking

Math. As with all the other topics/subjects we Notebook, the goal is

to produce the child’s own Book of what they’ve learned and now know,

their own “teaching” guideline, – their own “text”, if you must. This

provides the “written work” the child does and provides him his own

personal reference book for looking up concepts and procedures for

figuring out problems. As far as we know this is the only resource of

this kind. It will, Lord willing, be available for purchase later this

Spring. Please pray for its timely completion as we put the finishing

touches on this “published version” of our L.E.D. Math methods for

Freedom & Simplicity™ in YOUR homeschool.

UPDATE: We have not changed our opinions on the above mentioned resources. We still like them and all the “pros” of them still stand. However, there is one more addition to our list, and also another preferred resource.

I would add Making Math Meaningful by David Quine of Cornerstone Curriculum, as another option alongside of Math U See. It too teaches math in a real life setting, using manipulatives, and teaches reasoning. There are some lesson “perspectives” I prefer in it, but some presentations, (like Steve’s video examples, and the uniformity of manipulatives) that I like better in MUS.

My preferred resource now though is Ray’s Arithmetic. It is a completely non-consumable program (a big plus for big families), and teaches completely through the principles of math, real life application, and reasoning skills. It is a series from the 1800’s, and therefore a bit more advanced than today’s teaching, but the books are not “grade-leveled” so that doesn’t really matter. It does not come with manipulatives, but it is expected that you will use real objects to present the lessons. It explains how you reason through to the solution of the problems. It also expects early lessons to be done orally and mentally with manipulatives, not paper and pencil, so it can be used with our informal early teaching.

 

The Way of the Fool

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Here’s a short rabbit trail – on the way of the fool, discussed in the previous post, following the train of thought of foolishness and education. Not a full thesis on the subject, but just a few thoughts.

Worse than a fool left to his own devises is a fool leading a fool.
God’s Word says, “The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
and “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly.”
Two VERY GOOD and GOD-given reasons
to not send your children to a government/public education institution. Public education has declared
there is no God, not on their property anyhow – even Christian teachers
can’t bring Him there. They must teach the evolution of a world apart
from God. He and faith in Him cannot be expressed as a natural and
important aspect to ALL of Life. You can be a Christian and work or be
trained there, but you must keep religion in a box separated from your
education. When God’s Word tells us that “The Fear of the Lord is the
beginning of knowledge,” and “The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of
Wisdom,” we can easily see that an education that does not “fear the
Lord” is no education at all; not one to be desired, anyhow. Education
apart from God can be nothing but utter foolishness. Why would any
Christian want their children instructed in foolishness? Knowing that
the Bible declares this will be to his ruin?

Wisdom’s 7 Pillars Resources – Bible

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We rely heavily upon the Bible for our “curriculum”. But obviously it

isn’t the only book we study. We utilize 4 Real Resources, rather than
textbooks, as our “core curriculum” – Real Books, Real People, Real Places, and Real Experiences. As a part of this Lifestyle we go to places and do things that are relative to “Real Life” – not contrived (which doesn’t always mean, not planned). We talk to “real people”, people who have lived life – gone places, experienced things that are interesting to listen to. And we read real books, exciting stories about the lives of the people that have experienced life, that have learned and grown. Exciting books that allow us to experience in our minds what we aren’t able to experience with our bodies. In addition to stories, we read factual books that present information in an interesting, rememberable way – as much as possible, books that relate that information to God and His Word, and relationally to our lives. I plan to (eventually) send a post of Resources for each of the 7 Pillars of Learning. (perhaps posts for each Pillar.) In this post I’ll start with Resources that specifically relate to our study of God’s Word (that all other studies hinge upon) and our growth in Him.

The Bible of course is our source that all other resources are held up to and compared with. We prefer to stick with KJV or New King James Version for their accuracy. We buy our little ones a NKJV Giant Print Bible as soon as they begin to read. The large print is easier on their eyes, and the NKJV is very understandable, yet accurate – without being a paraphrase, or “dumbed down” version. When our children reach their “formal study” years (around puberty), we buy them a NKJV Spirit-Filled Life Study Bible. This keeps us all reading the same version aloud, for easy follow along, and all memorizing in the same translation. If you prefer the purity and beauty of the original KJV, it is also available in a Giant Print and we recommend the Full Life Study Bible (good study notes), or the Rainbow Study Bible (color coded by theme), or the Hebrew Greek Key Study Bible (includes the original Hebrew/Greek words and their meanings – like having Strong’s concordance in your Bible.) If using KJV, you’ll probably want various family members to have the different recommendations here for optimal study use. The Thompson Chain Reference Bible is also a good study Bible available in KJV and NKJV. For our little ones, babies, toddlers, and prereaders we buy a Baby’s/Toddler’s Bible that they carry around with them as soon as they are able, developing a love for God’s Word at a very early age.

For learning about the Bible, we use several resources. One area we
study is Bible Survey, for familiarity with the whole of God’s Word. Probably my favorite resource for adults and teens is Chuck Missler’s “Learn the Bible in 24 Hours” – a CD-ROM that takes you through a quick (24 Hour) overview of the Bible. It is divided into 1 hour sections, and includes a visual (PowerPoint) presentation along with the audio teaching. Another resource for Bible Survey is “What the Bible is All About” by Henrietta Mears. It is a classic that gives an overview of each book and a reading plan for reading the highlights of each book. It is divided into 52 lessons, and has daily readings for each chapter. There is also “What the Bible is All About for Young Explorers” for younger children. These can be used for Family Study of this topic by presenting from the “…Young Explorers” version then having the older youth also read the regular version and reading plan.

If you have only pre-readers, or desire to use a Bible Storybook, whether for family devotions or your Bible Survey with young children, two of our favorite story Bibles are “The Child’s Story Bible” by Catherine Vos (a classic) or the “Illustrated Children’s Bible”. or you may want to use “Bible Studies to Read” and “Bible Stories to Color” by **Rod and Staff. Each has simple Bible Stories going through the highlights of the entire Bible. Your children can draw or color pages as you read, or narrate or act out the story – either in person or with felt cut outs.

In another post I will continue covering recommended resources for
Bible Doctrine, Bible Principles for Life, Bible References, Bible Study and Memory, Devotional Life and more; as well as documenting our Biblical Studies through Journaling.

**Rod and Staff books not available through Me and My House.

 

Homeschool Stewardship

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Greetings from Me and My House,

It’s that time of year when many home educators begin thinking of resources for “next year” – unless you, like us, continually plan and buy all year round. Either way, this is something to think about when buying and selling.

Homeschool Stewardship

‘Tis the season for homeschool shopping. Everyone’s planning what to use next year. Curriculum fairs and Conventions fill the calendar. Catalogs fill the mailbox. And EBay, TUAC, and Veg-Source are ablaze with Homeschool resources changing hands. As you set out to buy and sell this spring and summer I want to challenge you to do it with a steward’s heart.

Many home educator’s have one thing in mind when they begin looking for resources – CHEAP! Most even have a good excuse for doing so. Most homeschoolers have a limited single income, and a larger than average family, and they have learned that those funds have to really stretch. But I want to challenge your thinking – as God has not called us to be cheap, but to be good stewards; and they are not the same thing.

Stewardship is glorifying God with your money and possessions. It is being wise in our purchases. It is not just getting the “cheapest price” (or selling at the highest dollar we can get) while allowing our integrity to wane.

This point touched my heart once again recently, at a homeschool parent’s meeting, as one mom shared (and my grown daughter reaffirmed) how online “Christian ” homeschool sellers “mask” (usually not out-and-out lie about) the quality or “important information” (such as version) of a book/resource – all to “sucker” another person into “making up” their own loss from a purchasing mistake, or to get their own costs back out of something they got good use out of – and the resource shows it.

This is nothing unusual. Christian homeschoolers, unfortunately, have a horrible reputation of being cheap to the point of being unscrupulous, never wanting to pay “their due” for the things they use and buy, only wanting the cheapest, preferably free, things they can fanangle – a horribly sad but sometimes true commentary, and even more horrific witness. A stereotype we must try to overcome by our own integrity.

I’m sure all our hearts go out to the mom who was cheated in making that purchase. We think it’s horrible that a Christian homeschooler would hide the truth just to make a buck. Hopefully, we also will think twice in advertising our own things, as to whether we’ve been fair and thorough enough in our descriptions. None of us want the reputation of being a “cheat”.

But especially, in this time of conventions and such, we need to look at another side of this same problem. That is, as a buyer. Do we try to cheat a seller out of their “due wages”? Elijah Company has long ran an article in their catalog as to why they don’t discount. It is well worth your reading. [Below is an update from Elijah Company who has, since the original publication of this article, closed down their catalog sales, due to the very problem I discuss here.] Now, I’m not saying you should never buy anything at discount again, rather that this is a perspective we all need to take a look at and some have probably have never thought of.

Perhaps the biggest abuse of this is from people who take the “free” information given by one seller and then go and make their purchase from another seller, because “it’s cheaper through them.” Never giving a second thought to the fact that they are robbing the “workman of his due wages”. Many vendors, usually the smaller ones, offer much “free” advise, consultation, and workshops as a “ministry”. (In fact , most of the time they have to pay to give a workshop – as well as for printing handout sheets, etc.) Most care deeply and passionately about the products they sell, only sell ones they have personally used and can give a high recommendation of, and will talk to you about your personal situation. The cost of this service is many times just thought of as included in the price of the resources they sell, and they usually don’t discount. They aren’t usually big enough to be able to offer discounts, even if they wanted to, and the time they invest into each sell is far more than they are being compensated for through the profits of the sale.

The big discount companies rarely do workshops, give free consultations or advise. The salesperson may be just that, an order taker, paid to take your order who may know nothing about any of the products being sold, let alone recommendations for your particular situation. Yet, it happens over and over. A small vendor will take the time (and perhaps pay out of their own pocket) to do a workshop, take a phone call, or answer an email, giving the buyer information, helping them to make their decision. Then the buyer says, (by their actions if not their words), “Thank you very much for all your help. Now I’ll take my business dollars elsewhere – to where they discount or have on sale.” – robbing the vendor of the wages they have earned.

They may feel they have been good stewards. They have gotten “free” advise, and a bargain price as well. But in reality they have acted without integrity, which is not good stewardship at all, as it does not glorify God, and has harmed their Christian witness. [Here’s the updated info from Elijah Company.

” • Elijah Company’s catalog has always been one of the most respected—and requested—resources available to home schoolers. People say, “Everyone must have the Elijah Company catalog, especially new home schoolers!” For years, many thousands of home schoolers have turned to Elijah Company for their home schooling needs. However, in the past couple of years, although everyone wanted an Elijah Company catalog, many would use it to purchase from home school discounters. Eventually, we could not compete with these companies and we have had to close our store. Yet, the Resource Guide is still an invaluable resource for anyone wanting to know what long-time home schoolers consider valuable and useful.

• We are happy to offer you our 22 years of homeschooling experience and you may buy our new Resource Guide for only $5.95. (The $5.95 covers printing and shipping inside the 48 contiguous States).

Even though we are no longer offering home schooling materials, Elijah Company hopes to continue to help parents raise their own children at home for many years to come. You’ll love our new Resource Guide.”]

Perhaps this has shown you a side of the coin you’ve never considered was there before. Hopefully, you are one that makes your purchases (and sells) with more than the bottom line monetarily, as your primary factor. The bottom line is always to bless – as a buyer to bless those who bless you (purchase from those who provide you with the info, especially personal info), as a seller to bless others as you have been blessed – and if you have made a mistake or were ripped off yourself, to humbly accept the lesson learned, and still to bless.

As a seller of your used materials, this means to fairly represent and fairly price your items (this doesn’t mean you have to give them away or underprice them – just be fair). As a buyer this means to purchase from those who give you personal information.

So, can you never utilize the bargains and discounts? Not at all. When you don’t need any further info about a resource than the discount catalog or display gives – go for it. When you do need more, and you get that info from another source, buy from that source – paying the workman their due wages, even if it isn’t the cheapest price you can find.

One last thing about Homeschool Stewardship. Many times people just send for or take anything “free”. Please realize that “free” catalogs aren’t really “free”, they cost the vendor – and they aren’t cheap. They are their advertising expense. If you plan to purchase from a vendor, by all means take their catalog. Even if you think you MIGHT purchase from them, they are glad to invest in you. If you know you’ll never buy from the vendor, please don’t take (or send for) their catalog – especially just because they give better descriptions and pictures than the cheaper suppliers you plan to buy from. Suppliers offer their catalogs (many times for free) to get them into as many hands as possible, but it is for the purpose of sales. If you won’t buy, don’t take and then throw in the trash their hard spent money.

So, pour over those catalogs you get and internet sites. Find the materials you’re interested in. Then ask the seller that you will buy from any further questions you have. And spend those hard earned, sometimes hard to take from other budget needs, dollars in a wise way by being both fair and a good steward.

At Jesus’ feet,
Lisa

[Update on us: We are currently an Affiliate of CBD, a discounter. We still give much free councel, but also can not afford to compete with the big discounters, to earn our “return”. So we just ask that if you are benefitted by the ministry of Me and My House that you would place your orders through our website, to CBD to get their great discounts, and we will get a small return from them.]

[Another related issue is copyright. See this site.]

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Early Learning – Character

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Greetings from Me and My House,

Probably one of the top 10 misunderstandings of the “Better Late than Early” philosophy is that if you aren’t “doing school” (i.e. traditional academics) with your young children then you aren’t teaching them anything. We all know that nothing is further from the truth.

One aspect that we highly focus on during these years (anywhere from toddler to preteen) is character development. One excellent tool we can use as part of our “character curriculum” that also covers “doing school” is the reading aloud of biographies of those of great Christian character. We have and use several resources for this.

One of our favorites for the younger crowd is the 3 book series of Hero Tales. In these books are short stories from the lives of several “famous” Christians – 3 stories per person. These are by Dave and Neta Jackson, the authors of the Trailblazers series – which are also excellent stories of missionaries’ lives, though told through a fictional story. For the little bit older children (and adults :-), the new Then and Now series of Christian biographies by Janet and Geoff Benge is excellent.

The stories in Hero Tales are short enough that you can finish them in one setting with little ones. After reading and narrating a story, we discuss what godly character was in the life of the person and how we can be like them. This is just one tool we can to help our children develop godly character in their lives.

At Jesus’ feet,
Lisa

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Giving Thanks

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What are you doing on the computer, instead of spending time with your family? OK, perhaps like here, the guys are “bonding” in a quick round of golf and the kids are getting ready to go to Grandmas, so you’re just sneaking in a few moments.

I just wanted to send a quick note to encourage you all to, if you haven’t yet, spend a few minutes relating the Story of Thanksgiving to your children. Let them know this isn’t just turkey and football day. It isn’t a day of gorging themselves, or even just a day to be with relatives. It is a day set apart for expressing our thankfulness to God.

Tell them how the Pilgrims sought religious freedom to not only worship God as set forth in His Word, but to raise their children in an environment conducive to them developing their own rightful walk with the Lord – we must take a stand to follow God no matter where it leads and we must take our children there with us. How many lost their lives, but not their souls, in taking the risk to be trailblazers for those to come after (half of the people on the Mayflower died that first winter) – sometimes the costs are high to be the first one to do what is right, but someone must step out. How God’s provision came from the help of one “outside” (Squanto) – we can’t remain in the huddle of “us 4 and no more”; we must reach out to the world, to those different than us; perhaps God will use them as instrumental in our blessing. How they were thankful in lack as well as in plenty – whether we are abased or abound, God is there and to be praised. How in their preparations of their Feast, their own efforts proved “inadequate” (although God had brought a great harvest, their Feast would not provide for all the extra people that came,) but – God provides above and beyond what we can see, think, or even dream of. We must never trust in our own efforts but always trust in the One who alone is Trustworthy and Faithful.

Tell your children of a country founded on the belief and faith in Yahweh God the Creator and Redeemer, a country fought for and forged on those beliefs. Tell them how it was a President 240-some years later who proclaimed this memorial Feast day begun by those Pilgrims as a National annual Holiday. Tell them how we are Pilgrims sent by God to uphold His truth in this land that has largely forsaken Him.

Above all tell them to give thanks to the Lord for He is good. No matter what they feel they lack, they have so much to be thankful for. Give them each 5 kernals of corn, the daily provisions of the Pilgrims before that harvest came in, and tell them to “Count their blessings, name them one by one. Count their many blessings, see what God has done.” Give thanks to the Lord who satisfies your mouth with good things, as you enjoy the abundance He has provided for you today.

Give thanks to the Lord for the ability to educate our children at home without having to disobey man in order to obey God. Give thanks to our Lord for your husband, for each and every child He has blessed your union with, for extended family, for spiritual family, for friends and neighbors – for relationship is everything. People are the only thing that lasts forever. Cherish each of these and let them know today that you are thankful to God for them. Most of all for Salvation from our sin through the death and resurrection of His very own Son; for Reconciling us to Himself in the most awsome Relationship for Eternity. Halalu Yah!!! Praise Him!

 

In the Beginning …

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Some people (maybe you) may still be saying, “Lisa, I still don’t get it. Just exactly what do you do, and how do you do it? Tell me simply , what does L.E.D. consist of.” You’ll find this information spelled out in our L.E.D. Seminar, R Road “how to” guide and other books, but we’ve reduced it to its simplest form here.

In the Beginning …
The concepts and methods of Lifestyle Education through Discipleship™ may be so totally foreign to you that you look at the philosophy here and say, “I don’t have a clue how to start, where do I begin?” If that’s you–you agree with what we’re saying, but need to see it spelled out simply, this page is for you.

Sola Scriptura — Everything we do is based on Scripture alone. That doesn’t mean the Bible is the only book we use in our home. It does mean that the “earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.” We do not study anything without looking at it from God’s point of view and looking for His hand in it.

Journaling — We record what God is doing in our lives. This isn’t just a diary or log, but anything He’s laying on our hearts and minds–what we are thinking about and what we are learning.

Phillipians 4:8 Life-changing Literature — Family read-aloud time is the foundation of our learning. In addition to the Bible, we read real interesting stories of faith and virtue–biographies, historical narratives, even historical and virtuous fiction, to learn of God, His World, His Plan and Ways in this world and in our lives.

Copywork and Dictation — We Copy the great writing of those that have gone before us–to learn both content and how to write.

Narration — We re-tell the stories we read–to learn to be good speakers and writers.

Notebooks — We compile our loves and our learning to create records and presentations of our Life Message.

It really is that Simple, and really brings much Freedom.

 

** This comes from the L.E.D. Freedom and Simplicity™ Seminar – a 7 session seminar presenting not only the Philosophy, Principles, and Practical Application of L.E.D., but also Times of Refreshing, Relection, and Renewing the Mind. Hands-on Discipleship yoU! exercises will help you integrate L.E.D. into your own life. Sessions include:
“Times of Refreshing”
“All your children Shall be Taught By the Lord” – Introduction to L.E.D.
“The Fear of the Lord is the Beginning of Wisdom” – 8 Principles of L.E.D.
“I Show You a More Excellent Way” – 7 Pillars of Excellence
“Wisdom Has Built Her House” – 7 Pillars of Learning
“When You Rise Up and When You Lie Down” – An L.E.D. Day in the Life of Me and My House
“In the Beginning …” – Getting Started with L.E.D.

[Note: Seminar sessions have been revamped. Same information, just rearranged and sessions renamed.]

Would you like to arrange a seminar for your group?

 

If there be any Virtue

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I have much on my heart to write to you about Literature – so much more than I have time to get down on paper. The topic of Reading has been one of my dearest for my whole life. To actually WRITE about READING from a Literature perspective, rather than a learning to read perspective has been on my heart for several months. Ideas have been stirring, how to get my heart on paper – well in type on screen anyhow – is the hard part. God has put several more resources before me, and I have re-read and re-listened to several others. I’m really trying to get the “Lifestyle Curriculum – Excellence without Textbooks” book done, but it has a ways to go before it’s copyready. Baby, Husband, Children, and Teaching comprise most of my time right now – and these short articles when I can slip them in.

“If there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” Philippians 4:8Virtue is a word rarely heard anymore, nor even seen for that matter. In our society of situational relativism, few are trained in it and few personally aspire to it. True Virtue seems to have pretty much gone the way of the horse and buggy. It’s an interesting relic from the past, but of little value today, only possessed by those that are a little out of step with the world. A recent movie illustrated just this point. All the ladies were intrigued over Leopold’s chivalry, but in the end, “come on Leopold get with it, that just doesn’t work out in real life”.

Truly! “Who can find a virtuous woman?” and are there any virtuous men out there? What is Virtue? The lexical aids in my Bible state that Virtue is the “force or energy of the Holy Spirit”, which easily explains why it’s not found in Godless society. Virtue is strength of moral excellence. It is “in a moral sense, what gives man his worth.”‘ In our society where everyone is looking to find their worth in selfish vain glory, we need only to return to strong moral excellence to find our worth waiting.

God sees Virtue as so important that He tells us to “give all diligence” to add to our Faith, Virtue. It won’t come naturally. It is only developed by diligence. Christian home educator’s seem to be on the forefront in giving diligence to returning to the training of Virtue in their children’s and their own lives. It seems to be one of the most sought after resource areas after the main academics, and in many families even more important than the academics, in following 2 Peter 1:5, to begin with Faith, then add Virtue, and then Knowledge. But regardless of all the programs to teach Virtue available, it only comes by the power of the Holy Spirit at work to transform us as we diligently renew our minds. To renew our minds we must think on such things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report, that are virtuous and praiseworthy, as Philippians 4:8 instructs us, because “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he” Proverbs 23:7. For us to be affected by transforming power, the renewing of the mind must touch more than just our mental thoughts, it must reach our hearts. The mind is renewed when the heart is touched. The God-centered Judeo-Christian philosophy of education demonstrates this in it’s focus on relationships. Where a humanistic Greek philosophy of education focuses on knowledge – the teaching the material to instruct the mind, a Biblical philosophy focuses on teaching the student and to instruct his heart through relationship.

The Hebrew term Mashal encompasses the core method of this philosophy, used much throughout God’s instruction to us in His Word. Mashal carries the original sense of “superiority in mental action,” coming from the primary root, meaning “to rule,” indicating the superiority of teaching by this method. It conveys teaching by likeness, through the use of maxims, comparative and figurative language-metaphors, parables, allegories, proverbs, and through poetry and song. Mashal doesn’t compare only within itself, but forces us to compare ourselves to the story, “compelling the hearer or reader to form a judgement on himself, his situation, or his conduct” (A.S. Herbert), as excellent Storytelling does.

When this comparison is made to the usual fare of worldly stories (in books, movies, or television) that most people read (and watch) today, the tendency is to judge ourselves as “not too bad,” as we (particularly if we’re Christians) “don’t do those things.” We can read and watch these stories and never be moved from our comfort zone–nor be changed into the image of Christ, as we compare ourselves to the lowest depravity of man present in these depictions of “life” and pride ourselves on being “better than that.” It is only when we fill our minds with the excellence of Philippians 4:8, in the form of the Mashal, that our hearts are reached and changed.

Mark Hamby, of Lamplighter Publishing, has a term for these kinds of stories–Life Transforming Literature, stories that touch our hearts with Philippians 4:8 values and transform our lives to the image of Christ. As you probably already know, there is not an abundance of this type of literature being written today. Much on the shelves, even in the realm of “Christian books” by “Christian” authors is written to amuse the flesh and “tickle the ear,” not to challenge the soul. Also much of what is written to challenge the soul, is not written as Mashal, but in the more Greek method of reasoning with the mind.

But there are Christian authors and publishers committed to providing training in Virtue, based on Mashallic literature. Lamplighter Publishing has a series of books called Rare Collector’s featuring over 40 captivating stories of Virtue, republished from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. We doubt that anyone can read them without being touched. Contemplate this segment from A Basket of Flowers.

“One beautiful morning which succeeded a two days’ rain, Mary and her father went into the garden, and found the first lilies in bloom. They were in an ecstasy of admiration. The flowers were beautiful, but as the garden had long been neglected, Mary’s relentless care had not been able to subdue the weeds. Her beautiful lilies were indeed lilies among thorns. “And so is His church”, said James; “those who have been washed clean, have put on His righteousness; and rising upward like the straight stem of the lily, must grow through the crooked and twisted mass around them. Notice, my child, the reflection of the sun on this petal. So are we to reflect the Sun of Righteousness. The bright lily has no kindred among thorns. It is evidently a plant of a different kind; and one day God will transplant His lily to bloom in the garden where thorns are unknown.”

These stories with the language of times gone by and deep meaning imbedded in the words, that many would say “will go over the heads of children, so won’t hold their interest” are captivating the hearts of our children. They perhaps don’t know every meaning of every word, nor perhaps understand the deeper hidden meanings, but their hearts are enthralled and being changed as they beg for just one more chapter.

As home educator’s, we, with our own humanistic Greek education background, find it difficult to believe that we can teach our children by “just reading or telling them stories,” yet this is the primary way that God has chosen to instruct us. The proof is in the outcome. Lives are changed by Relationships of the heart whether through people directly or through books. Charlie “Tremendous” Jones, the great Christian speaker and proponent for great Christian literature, in particular biographies of the Heroes of the Faith, is known for saying, “You’ll be the same today as you were five years ago except for the people you meet and the books you read.”

In one of my latest favorite parenting books, Romancing Your Child’s Heart, Monte Swan, home educator from CO, gets to the heart of this issue and captures your own heart as you read, (although you may not agree with every specific application–we don’t, you’ll find it hard to disagree with his philosophy and conclusions). I’ll begin here as Monte quotes from theologian Vigen Guroian, “‘Our children are in jeopardy and so is the future of virtue and human goodness as well.’ (Monte continues,) The solution to this crisis is not more religious education, with the goal of indoctrinating a child by hammering home yet more dry tenets of orthodox thinking. Nor is the solution to offer more courses, and at a younger age, in “values clarification.” Children do not need a shopping list of character qualities or values from which to pick and choose. They need adult guidance in knowing how to live well.

…. We must keep in mind that children learn almost nothing from abstractions and almost everything from stories. Abstractions are impersonal and detached. Stories are practical and personal. Children learn through stories because they internalize them. …. When the characters live happily ever after, the child is connected, if only for an instant, with the larger Story ….– the Story that promises eternal happiness for those who come to God by faith. ….Stories are our primary method for romancing our child’s heart, first to ourselves, and then to God.

…. Children who grow up hearing and seeing stories are far better prepared to step into our culture. …. However–and this is crucial–we as parents need to select carefully the stories to which our children are exposed. The challenge is to find stories through which the larger Story runs like a thread. …. For children raised this way, their whole childhood and adolescence has been a rehearsal for living as adults in our culture. They are practiced in the art of living in story. ….They do not need to search for meaning–they have found it already. They become preoccupied, enthralled, fascinated, captivated by the larger Story, like deer panting after the water brooks–people after God’s own heart.

…. This desire and ability to live in the larger Story is described in the Proverbs as “the way wisdom.” …. The ability and passion to live in the way of wisdom are best taught to children through stories. Stories bring biblical knowledge, doctrine, character, and virtue to life–they are the process of applying these to life according to God’s will. ….The way of wisdom is not a stuffy, boring religious concept. It is the literal and spiritual path that almighty God has designed for each of us to walk through this life.

…. Everyone has a story. We all live in a story in one way or another. And all our stories are part of the larger Story ….–and all are connected at the heart. The only thing we can do wrong is not try.”