Author Archives: Lisa @ Me & My House

The Resource Bug is Biting – Part 3

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AFTER the CONVENTION:
1. If you’ve held off your purchases and not bought at the convention, PRAY (and research more if needed) until you feel sure, then ORDER. If you were unable to see something at the convention, but you still feel it may be best, order it. Don’t choose what you feel is going to be second best just because you haven’t seen what you really wanted to try. Most companies have return policies, on curriculum type things anyhow, and it is better to look and pay a return fee if it isn’t going to work, than to keep trying other things, and always wondering if this other would have been better.

2. Realize that mistakes WILL be made! It is part of learning and growing – and learning and growing involve COSTS. Don’t throw out an *apparent* mistake at the first sign of difficulty. Pray about how (if) it can be adapted to fit your goals/methods, or if it is indeed what God wants but is going to require you to STRETCH and GROW. Give it some time, and really try to utilize it, especially if it fits into your “guidelines”.

3. If you truly make a mistake, repent, spend more time – prayer and research – finding the replacement. Sell the old on a curriclum swap e-list or local used book fair. Chalk it up to experience. But be careful not to get in the rut of always jumping from one thing to another, and never truly implementing ANYTHING, always jumping to the newer, better resource, in looking for THE answer. If this is happening, go back to the beginning and spend more time Renewing Your Mind and getting God’s direction.

4. Also realize that as you grow, the *PERFECT RESOURCE* that is perfect this year, may not be *PERFECT* NEXT YEAR or 5 years from now. You will be growing and continually renewing and adapting. Start where you’re at and grow from there. Sell, give or throw away, whatever no longer fits into your philosophy and goals and move on. But try to purchase things you won’t “outgrow”, like the Real Resources/ Living Books things the guidelines below suggest.
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As I said above, Renewing our Mind to God’s purposes and plans for our family’s education is the primary factor in determining what resources will work for us. Having a well developed personal Philosophy of Education – which is just another way of saying, knowing how God wants you to teach your children – will keep you from making mistakes more than anything else. We have developed a set of guidelines that help us stay within our philosophy. There are so many tempting things out there that sound SOOOOO GOOD, we can easily get distracted and buy things that don’t “fit” our family.

We try to follow each of these resource qualifications for every learning resource purchase, although #3 and #4 don’t always apply, #1, 2, and 5 are musts! We use almost all Real Resources – Living Books (great literature) as well as Skills Resources for teaching “how to” (whether that be math, sewing, phonics, cooking, writing, car repair, etc.) Only resources that fit these guidelines are worth spending our hard earned, many times hard-to-come-by, dollars on. Other things – such as an occasional “fluff” or extra resource/book “just for fun” must come out of extra money (a rare thing) or from the library. I really don’t like spending money on something that isn’t worth keeping in our own family library. They aren’t worth the money or space they take up, let alone the time wasted on them. We do all really need to be watchful that we Redeem that Time that the Lord has given us, and not waste it on vanity.

Here’s the qualifications I think through when deciding what resources to buy. They are a part (the *5th* principle) of the “8 Principles of L.E.D.” (which you can receive on tape from us). They should be applicable for anyone following a Lifestyle Education through Discipleship.
5 Qualifications for L.E.D. Resources:

1. Relational & Relative – (individualized vs. canned) It must be something that speaks into OUR lives, not just the “latest, greatest everyone is raving about it” resource. Does it further the goals God has given us for OUR family’s education? (not just what someone else says we should be learning.) Is it based on premises we believe in? (Biblical worldview.) Does it follow the way WE believe teaching and learning are best accomplished? (not textbooks/
workbooks.) Does it promote adaptation to individual circumstances? (or is it written to be used in a lock-step way – daily, scripted lessons, etc.?) Does it fit OUR LIFESTYLE?

2. Multi-level – Is it something that can be used by many different ages? (or is it “grade leveled”?) Most Living Books fit into this. A timeless, living book can be enjoyed by EVERYONE in the family, but even Skills Resources should cover all aspects of the topic, not just 1st grade, 2nd grade. We don’t use grade levels in our family’s education and don’t like resources that are written as such. Some resources may contain only “Introductory” level information, etc. but this isn’t the same as “grade level” resources.

3. Multi-disciplinary – Is it something that crosses the “subject” lines? (or does it only cover one “subject”?) Many Real Resources are TOPICAL, they only cover one topic, but that doesn’t mean they only cover one “school SUBJECT”. Obviously all “Living Books” fit into this category. Even resources like dictionaries and such will be used in all of learning. Most non-textbook resources don’t have to be pegged into a “subject” hole. But, just as obvious, things like a Math book will only cover Math.

4. Multi-sensory – Does it teach through more than one sense? If it’s a Skill-learning Resource or teaching guide, does it give ideas for presenting material in more than one way, to reach learners of various types?

5. Re-usable – Will it be able to be re-used by others, as well as the original student? (or will it be consumed and
thrown away when done with?) Real resources are ones that will be used over and over and are worth saving and using again. Even better yet, they will promote the student producing something worth saving. Recently, I heard a quote, from ages gone by, that any book worth reading once is worth reading 3 times. And, that we need to read them (or listen, if it’s a tape – in these modern times) at least 3 times before we really “get” it. I really believe it. I don’t think a resource is a good one, if it’s something I’m going to turn around and get rid of as soon as we’ve “gone
through it”. It should be worth saving for future reading and reference.

 

The Resource Bug is Biting – Part 2

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Conventions Shopping Tips
Here are my tips for buying resources at a Convention.

BEFORE the Convention:
1. THROUGH PRAYER – make a list of the TYPES of things you think you’ll need. i.e. “History resources covering _____ time periods. A hands on way to teach math, covering all levels. A mom’s “how-to” guide for teaching _____ in a relaxed way. A few interesting read-alouds on ______. A drawing program for _____. …..” This will help keep you from looking at things that you don’t need this year/ yet. If you’ve already got somewhat of a plan down, through prayer, AND have talked to your children about some interests they’d like to pursue, you’ll know things like ” there’s no use looking at _____ this year, because I KNOW that isn’t the direction we’re going and we won’t get to it. It will sit on the shelf and I’ll feel guilty for spending the money and for not using it.”

2. Get as many catalogs and visit as many websites as you can, so you will have an idea of what you particularly want to check out. Make a list under those “types of things” needed, of possible resources to fulfill that need. There will be plenty of other things at the convention that you haven’t heard of before to choose from, that you may also want to look at, but this pre-looking will at least narrow it down some. You will have, through the catalogs and websites, eliminated many choices. You can walk right past those booths with no condemnation or questioning for ignoring them.

AT the convention:
1. Go only to those booths that have your predetermined resource possibilities. WOULDN’T it be great if we could stop there? NO, DON’T DO THIS! There will be other good things to check out. But DO go to those pre-determined booths FIRST – and do some more eliminating.

2. DON’T buy anything on your first round. Make it a “skimming” tour. Make note of any other resources (or booths) that fit into your “types of things needed” that you’d like to further check out.

3. If something looks REALLY interesting, TALK to the vendor about it. Go to WORKSHOPS by that vendor that cover that resource (if possible) or at least give you an idea of that vendor’s philosophy (it determines the philosophy behind the books that vendor carries). This is more true of the smaller specialized vendors than those that carry a little of everything (who usually don’t do workshops, and may not even know much about their books. In fact they may just be a local “hired hand” to help “ring up” customers. Small vendors and especially those that have authored the resources are USUALLY the most helpful.

4. Buy ONLY when you have God’s Peace about a resource. If you still aren’t sure as the convention nears completion, DON’T rush or be pressured into buying ANYTHING. It will well be worth any extra you have to pay in shipping to get the right thing. Spend the time you need praying about it and getting God’s direction and peace. Don’t let a vendor (or others there) talk you into something that doesn’t fit your “litmus test” (see our guidelines below) unless you really sense God leading in that new direction. Perhaps it IS HIM giving clearer revelation, but PERHAPS it’s an expensive (in money AND TIME) rabbit trail.

5. This is personal opinion – as in what *I* do, and therefore carries emotional sentiment and may not fit as “good advise” :- ) IF you have been hs-ing a long time and you know the direction you’re going, and you already have all your basic resources – buy what you find that will fill-in for the future, even if you may not use it THIS year. I really don’t NEED anything for “THIS YEAR” anymore, but I do know what I plan for the future AND I ENJOY filling in and buying when I find a resource that is just right for what I know is upcoming, when it is something I really feel God’s Peace about.

There have been years that I haven’t been able to go to convention OR order any resources and I have been grateful for God’s advance promptings that have led me to purchase ahead and provide for future (at the time, but now current) needs. It’s a good feeling when Mark says, “Sorry I don’t see how we can squeeze anything out right now,” and I can reply, “We’re OK. We already have all we need for now.” This is especially true because we use “Real Resources” such as timeless Living Books.

We may not be studying Early America this year, BUT I know it’s coming up and I know we want to read Charles Coffin’s “Sweet Land of Liberty” and William Bradford’s “Plymouth Plantation” when we get there. I know they are living resources that won’t be not applicable/ out of our philosophy when I get there. OR, perhaps we are collecting G.A. Henty books, or those character classics reprinted by “Lamplighter”, we have the ones we’re going to read this year, but I find others to add to our collection. These are timeless resources that I’d like to have, just to have in our library and read ANYTIME!, not just the year we “study” their topic. If I find them at the convention, and I have the money to buy them, after getting anything I need for this year, I get them.

This could get me on a whole other rabbit trail of building a good and timeless library. I want to have books on our shelves that tempt our kids to “read ahead”, meaning they see these books as being valuable to our family, and are intrigued to just pull them off and start reading at anytime, not just because they were “assigned”. That is part of creating a Love for Learning. And, I will save the rest of this rabbit trail for the Environment of Excellence article in our forthcoming “Lifesytle Curriculum” book.

6. Another good question to add for us book junkies that are deviating from “this year’s needs” list is: Do I already have something that teaches/covers this in a way that is do-able for us? Does this NEW resource do that much BETTER of a job, and fit our QUALIFICATIONS that much better, that I am willing to REPLACE the other one? It’s easy for me to duplicate things, because there’s MORE than ONE good thing out there. BUT since we already have a library of thousands of books, we don’t need to keep adding, just for the sake of adding. A verse that “speaks” to me is “Of the making of books, there is no end.” from Ecclesiastes. AND I DON’T NEED TO OWN *ALL* OF THEM!!!!!

Continued in Part 3

 

The Resource Bug is Biting

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This is the time of year when Home Education Conventions, Conferences, Retreats, Seminars, Workshops and Curriculum Fairs begin. Everyone is beginning to focus on what we “need” for “next year”. Even if you believe, as we do, that learning is a lifestyle that continues year-round, if you have any state requirements for academics, those probably “come due” at the beginning of the government (so-called, public) school year, and it is time to start planning and ordering.

Making choices as to what resources to buy isn’t near as limited as it was when we began teaching our children at home 15 years ago, and only knew of the traditional curriculum/ subjects viewpoint we had grown up with. As those choices expand yearly – DAILY! – it can get easy to be tossed about by every wind of new and great things out there that EVERYBODY’S using.

Although Home Education Conventions/Curriculum Fairs are REALLY TEMPTING places, and CAN BE VERY OVERWHELMING, I DON’T believe we should stay away from them. They are where we can best get the information we need to make right resource choices, as well as help deepen our philosophy of education. In fact, I think every mom (and dad too, if possible) needs to go EVERY YEAR to some type of hs mom’s (parent’s) retreat, convention, etc. for her (their) own renewal and refreshment. We all need encouragement and support. Sometimes we can seem so isolated in our own world of home educating. We need to get out and see the “big picture” just for a better perspective. God has given us such great mentors to help us along, we need to utilize the resources He’s provided for us. No homeschool home is an island. Don’t try to make yours one.

IF you already have a solid “philosophy”, the specialized retreats/conferences can be the best place for you to go, for it encourages you in YOUR way. But general conventions are good too, as they open the doors for greater thought, and different perspectives. I’d love to encourage you all to attend/ host an L.E.D. seminar, but our baby’s due next week, so we aren’t planning on doing any this year. :- ( I love to do them and miss them greatly when I’m not able, but this list will have to suffice for this year for those of you who aren’t local. I do still plan to do some things locally this year. But there are many things L.E.D. can glean from other philosophies. If you’ve attended our workshop or listened to the tape “Introduction to Lifestyle Education through Discipleship”, you know how our philosophy compares with some of those others. Your own personal philosophy may glean more or less from each of the others. If your philosophy is quite similar to Charlotte Mason’s then a CM Conference would be great for you to go to. If you are more enthralled by the Principal Approach, go there. If Sally Clarkson’s “Wholehearted Child”, or Cindy Rushton’s “Easy Way” really interests you, go to one of their mom’s retreats. Many of us don’t have that many options near us, and a general “state convention” is our only choice. Perhaps, we have the blessing of at least MORE THAN ONE to choose from. For these, search out the vendors and workshops that are closest to YOUR “philosophy” and pick and choose that convention – or those workshops and booths at your only choice.

If you are new to looking at education through any perspective other than the world’s view that we grew up with, DO – DO -DO, AT LEAST go through (or at least begin) your season of Renewing Your Mind BEFORE going to a Convention. The more we have developed our personal Philosophy of Education (found God’s direction for our family’s education) – the easier it becomes to make those choices in a place where endless resources are calling “Buy Me!” When we sit at the Lord’s feet and get His direction for our family we will find that many things “out there” just don’t fit US. This makes them much easier to pass up when they (and all your friends) are calling “NEW, GREAT, THE BEST, WOW, JUST WHAT YOU NEED!” It is SOOOO TRUE that we should NOT BUY until AFTER we’ve gotten direction from the Lord.

IF you don’t take (have) time before the convention to Renew Your Mind, and you’re only “looking into this”, determine to NOT BUY at the convention. Just soak up information, that will help you make your decision later. But I warn you, it may be confusing. There are many conflicting voices out there calling for our attention. If you’ve read our website and this L.E.D. e-list’s posts, and you know that your philosophy is akin to ours, I recommend that you order our “Introduction to Lifestyle Education through Discipleship” workshop audio and syllabus to see how L.E.D. compares to other philosophies so you will know which ones may be compatible with your thoughts, and not just add contrary confusing advise.

See part 2

 

Truth vs. Reason

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This article continues my thoughts (and probably overlaps some) on Thinking Skills.

Truth vs. Reason

What do we mean when we say we want our children to have/develop “thinking skills”? For most Christians, I would think we mean we want our children to be able to discern right from wrong, and be able to apply that and communicate it persuasively. That is, to be able to figure out, on their own (after being trained), what is the right answer or conclusion and then act on that, whether that means making a personal life decision, or coming to a correct solution to a math problem. This is what the Bible calls having Understanding and Wisdom.

I would venture to say that is not necessarily what the world we are living in means by “thinking skills.” In general definition, probably; in application, doubtful. As the Word tells us, “The wisdom of man is foolishness to God.” Man’s wisdom is based upon the reasoning of the mind. And we know that the mind can very easily be deceived.

In a recent conversation with our college-attending daughter, she told me that there is a class on “Critical Thinking” at the college (local community college, not Christian). There are no right or wrong answers. The professor only grades the student’s papers based on how their answers were thought out. Did they follow a “logical” thought process to come to this conclusion? If so, they get a good grade, regardless of their conclusion. This is not to say that there aren’t some secular materials out there that really want people to learn to come to the right conclusion. But our world has embraced a humanistic, evolutionist philosophy that “right” is situational and individual.

This class seems to me the ultimate in situational relativism, and the epitome of “There is a way that seems right to man, but the end there of is death.” The saddist part of all is that this isn’t just natural, uneducated man arriving at his own conclusions, but that this is being taught as “higher learning.” This is college level thinking skills.

As Christians, we know that what is right is not based upon our own individual thought processes and conclusions. What our minds think and what seems to be reasonable and logical to us, no matter how much thought and “logical reasoning” goes into it, is not right unless it aligns with God’s absolute Truth. There is no Truth apart from God. He tells us that the “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy brings discernment.” It is through knowing and having respectful fear of Him and His absolute and unchanging ways that we learn to discern what is right and what is wrong. Yes, Virginia, there is a right and wrong, and you don’t determine what that is. You can only learn to discern what it is.

Understanding, that the Bible speaks of as “discernment”, comes from “exercising our senses” by meditating on God’s Word (Joshua 1:8) to give us knowledge of the Holy (Pro. 9:10). It is the ability to arrive at and communicate Truth. What the world considers “logical thinking”, yet coming up with its own individual answers, is not what I think any of us desire for our children. Rather, we would have them desire Truth, seek for Truth, know how to find Truth, recognize Truth, and communicate Truth.

For an education of Freedom and Simplicity™, I believe our focus needs to be on teaching our children how to discern Truth, by teaching them the fear of the Lord and how to meditate on His Word to “know the Holy”, rather than on trusting his mind to be the valid source of reason because he learned some “thinking skills”. It is when he knows the Truth that he will be set Free, and when he is able to convey the Truth to others that they can be set Free. The logic and reason of man will never bring Freedom to man, but the Truth always will.

 

On Writing Topical Studies

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I just replied on another list to a question about writing Unit Studies. As most of you probably know, we don’t write “Unit Studies” per se, but we do base our planning on Topical Studies. My answer includes some of the differences (as I see them) – mostly having to do with the amount of structure and mom burn-out, and includes how we believe Topical Studies can be written within the context of the Freedom and Simplicity of education LED by the Spirit, through Lifestyle Education through Discipleship. It obviously is not as thorough as our publications on this, but it gives a simple overview. I feel the post is appropriate to send to this list, and hope you can glean more about L.E.D. through it. God is ever impressing me to mentor other moms/parents in MORE than just the philosophy of L.E.D. and pass on, in a practical way, what I have learned.

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Dear —–,

Writing a unit study is a trade-off like anything else. Which do you have more of – free time or money? Is your only motivation to save money, or do you have other philosophical reasons for writing your own study? How structured do you want your family’s education to be? How old are your children and how many do you have? How in-depth do you want to go? Are you looking at writing a complete – several years, covers everything – curriculum or one unit on a topic of interest?

Trying to write a completely integrated (all subjects), full curriculum (one year or several, to cover everything, for all children) is a LOT of work and probably not worth it, if you don’t have philosophical reasons and it’s not a love and burning desire for you to do it. Burn out is a common result for mom’s who try to do this. IOW, $70 is a small price to pay for such a thing.

OTOH, pulling together topical studies for the whole family (even for their ENTIRE curriculum), in a family that has a “relaxed” approach needn’t be a big deal. It all depends on whether MOM is up to doing a whole lot of studying and writing and planning herself (the previous paragraph’s way) or if she’s going to facilitate the children doing the learning, yet provide some direction (this paragraph’s way).

For philosophical reasons, I write our own Topical Studies. Because I have teens, I base our whole family’s studies on them, and utilize a cycle approach to make sure that everything (that *I* deem necessary for high school) is covered within that cycle. Our younger children’s approach to this is much more relaxed, and I probably wouldn’t have even the stucture that I do in it if I had ONLY little ones. Since this list is about Hi-School, I’ll try to keep things geared toward it (and try not to veer from [list name’s book] principles :- ), but the principles apply for the whole family – using [list name’s book] or not. I think, [list name’s book] is a good way to pull it all together for documentation, credits, etc. [note to l.e.d. list = I DO NOT feel this book is NECESSARY for this in a L.E.D. education.]

What I have learned over the years in writing Topical Studies, to prevent stress and burn out is:

1) I don’t try to force every subject to integrate into each study. If they fit in naturally, they are included. If it’d cause me to have to spend much time and stress trying to figure out how to get a certain subject to “fit in”, I don’t force it. I believe many published unit studies REALLY STRETCH to try to create a relationship between things, just because they “have to” cover all the subjects, and all areas of each subject, throughout the curriculum, and they want it to all be integrated. LIFE is integrated and not fragmented into “subjects”, but it is also RELATIONAL not forced.

EXAMPLE: Learning about a certain composer and his music during the time period he lived is relational. Learning how to cook the meals that our family eats can be learned quickly on its own without “integrating” it into a History or whatever unit, although if a child WANTS to cook some time-period/ethnic food that relates to the study, they are free to do it.

2) I don’t stress out trying to rack my brain for a list of endless activities for my children to do related to the study. IF there is something that comes to me as important and relative that I want them to do, I include it. If not, they think of their own activities, if any. They are usually required to do certain TYPES of projects within the study, but not certain ACTIVITIES themselves – especially, to use a C. Mason term, “twaddly” ones. Again, most published unit studies have long overwhelming lists of activities, but many are irrelevant to learning the material and time wasters. IOW, an activity must produce something worthwhile (not a project to be trashed when done, because it has no future relavence) OR it must be something that the child just WANTS to do, because it is relevant to him from this study.

EXAMPLE: They are not required to “write a fictional journal of a girl that came to America on the Mayflower”. They ARE to write various narrations, summaries, essays, etc. and to keep a Book of Time (timeline) …. They ARE required to demonstrate certain science principles, but not to do SPECIFIC experiments. Communication skills (language arts/English) is NATURALLY integrated into EVERY Topical Study, through Notebooking, and other natural methods.

3) I don’t spend weeks/months? covering a topic with the above activities and rehashing things over and over and reading EVERYTHING we can find on the topic, when it can be done in a short amount of time through a few EXCELLENT books, resources and projects. NEVER drag anything out. IF our children are interested in learning more and deeper things about the topic we continue as long as interest AND new, deeper learning is taking place – but we don’t continue just because I planned for it to last a certain amount of time. IF interest has waned and we’ve used some EXCELLENT resources to learn the important things, we move on. Our children don’t have to know EVERYTHING about EVERY topic.

4) I don’t think that EVERYTHING that our highschoolers “need” or want to know can be learned through “integrated unit studies” – at least through ones that all the subjects aren’t forced into irrelevant places. They will undoubtable have outside (the topical studies) interests (and perhaps even “needs”) that they pursue.

5 – ?) I’m sure I haven’t remembered everything.

Here’s one way to plan a complete curriculum based on Topical Studies:
Working from the “Big Picture” perspective – i.e. you have a list (loose or detailed) of what you want your child to “cover” in high school and the credits you want them to earn. You begin with the “Big Picture” and work your way down to the details, in your planning.

BIG PICTURE PLANNING (based on Pro. 24:3-4):
1) Determine what courses you require and how many credits in each for their total high school requirements. (Other, teen chosen, courses can be electives.) EXAMPLE: History/Social Studies – 1 credit US, 1 credit World, 1/2 credit Government/Civics.

2) Break each course down into Topics (usually 3-7 main areas or so). EXAMPLE: Divide World History into 5-7 time period Topics. Divide Life Science/Biology into Plant and Animal and Human Topics.

TO PLAN THE TOPICAL STUDIES THEMSELVES:
1) Write a “Learning Map” (outline) for each Topic of what points you think are important for high-school “coverage”. Some teens can do this for themselves and can just be given a list of “topics” and your “required” book/resource list. Others want more structure and like having this guide. Some could even be just given a list of required courses and could design their own Topical Studies and Learning Maps and Resource Lists, BUT in our home we believe it is OUR job to teach and train our children and have some guidelines and requirements, even through high school. This is guided preparation for their own future self-directed studies and home educating their own children.

2) Search out EXCELLENT Living Literature/Real Resources (books, places, people, and experiences) that present the Topic in an interesting, godly (Biblical WorldView) way. (Every resource may not have a Biblical Worldview, but the foundation for the topic must be presented through it in a Christian education. i.e. a field trip may not be to a place with a “Christian Worldview” but it is not the foundational source of their study.) We usually have some *required* resources, some *optional* resources, and of course, they are free to add other resources (within our guidelines – such as not ungodly, not “twaddly”/dumbed down).

3) Find enough of these resources to cover the topic as thoroughly as you think it needs to be covered, (or require them to find other resources.)

4) As the Topic is covered, you will branch out across “subject” lines. Document each part of the Topical Study under the proper “Course”. Don’t get too stressed out about this; they can be moved around later, if need be.

5) As Topics naturally integrate you may find that you don’t have to “do” a certain Topic because you have already covered it through its natural relationships with other Topics. That how “credits” add up in [list name’s book] [AND L.E.D.].

Having said all that, I do believe that there are good published unit studies – complete curriculum – for even high school. I have only used one of them (several years ago), but I’ve seen others that look good. All that I’ve seen have had some of the drawbacks I’ve mentioned, but IF you are looking for a complete, stuctured integrated curriculum [rather than creating a Lifestyle Education through Discipleship]- and you are not a HIGHLY CREATIVE WRITER with a BURNING DESIRE, and MUCH TIME to do this, I think they are worth the money.

If you are comfortable with the relaxed approach [of L.E.D.] and want more info on writing your own – from MY perspective anyhow – (I’m sure I haven’t covered this thoroughly) I invite you to check out our website: [website updated] and ed blog here or join our elist [elist changed and blog sites added]. You are invited to ask questions.

 

Reasoning or Right Thinking

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This kind of goes along with the Biblical Worldview article that I sent recently. I went to a Homeschool Convention this weekend and to a workshop by one of the speakers. It was on Real/Right Thinking (Reasoning). His primary point was that Real Thinking comes through the 3 Rs – and primarily spoke on Reading and ‘Riting. Reading EXCELLENT literature and learning to write properly. He talked a lot about writing essay type journaling. He focused on the forgotten art of Meditation (as described in Joshua 1:8 – as I closed with in the Worldview article). And also brought out that Pro. 9:10 literally says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy is *discernment* (understanding). That’s what we are really talking about in “reasoning”, having good understanding or discernment, as I mentioned in quoting Heb. 5:14. We exercise our senses by *meditating* on His Word and His ways, to gain knowledge of what is Holy.

He talked much about NOT learning about the world through the world’s ways and that we are to be innocent concerning evil, yet not naive. (We are to know that evil is out there and how to discern it, but not details about it.) How to choose EXCELLENT literature – it always portrays evil as evil, never downplays or disregards it, and never gives gory details – just as God portrays it in the Bible. He pointed out (as I have in another article) that satan is the one who wanted Adam and Eve to have knowledge of good AND evil; that was never God’s intent. He only wanted them to partake of the Tree of Life. I.e. God doesn’t believe that “real life” consists of having “knowledge of good and evil.”

As I’m sure you can tell, I really enjoyed this workshop. It so fit in with L.E.D. It seems, that according to this speaker anyhow, we are on the right track for teaching our children “thinking skills” through developing a Biblical Worldview, and reading Excellent, Living Literature and learning to write well.

His recommendation for those wanting a “formal” logic course is “Logic” by Issac Watts (the hymn writer from centuries ago). He said it is the only one that he’s found truly based on the Biblical Worldview, and he (the speaker, Vic Storkle) has written a study guide to go with it. Watt’s also has a second book, and Storkle a second study guide to go with it, for even deeper study. Another person’s review that I have read on Watt’s “Logic” feels it is more philosophy than logic and is best used as an adult’s study of the history of logic. Having never studied the book, I can’t say – but for those wanting to pursue a formal logic course for their highschool students (or themselves), I’d recommend checking it out.

 

Developing a Biblical Worldview

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The teaching of “thinking skills” has become big in education in the past few years. Although we believe God wants our children (and US!) to learn to think correctly, in fact Romans 12:1-2 tells us that our way of thinking HAS to be CHANGED, as usual I think “school” (the mentality, whether in a government or Christian institution, or at home) has gone about this all wrong. There is a place for Formal Logic and Reasoning to be learned by some – mature teens and adults, but generally, I don’t believe children need to be taught “thinking skills” as a separate class subject.

It’s not that we don’t think it’s important, but rather we believe learning to reason properly is a part of LEARNING in ALL subjects, actually all aspects of Life. It is through the application of gaining Wisdom, in ALL of Life. It isn’t a separate, fragmented class to take, just as “Christian Education” isn’t tacking a Bible class onto your academic curriculum list. It is impermeating, and basing ALL that you learn, with and ON God’s Word. “Wisdom is the principal thing,” for wisdom is thinking God’s thoughts, and there is no higher Logic.

We really don’t focus on “thinking skills” as such, but rather developing a Biblical Worldview, which is just another way of saying “thinking God’s thoughts”. It’s having the same view of an aspect of Life that God Himself has of it. We think this is the most important thing we teach, and our goal in training and teaching our children – beyond loving and knowing Jesus personally, of which this is a part.

I think we’re doing a great job in “giving” our children a Biblical World, through reading that imparts the Scriptural view of things, and our own modeling of “Biblical thinking”. It truly is something WE must develop in our own lives first. Most of us have been thoroughly indoctrinated by our own education and just living in society with a humanist, even Marxist, and definitely unbiblical way of thinking. Many, perhaps MOST, of today’s Christians – even Evangelical Christians – have not renewed their minds and been transformed out of this mindset. We allow this mindset to not only remain in us, but it’s ever increasingly anti-scriptural view to set our children’s way of thinking, too.

That’s why, in several of the last few posts, in talking about “where do we begin?”, I’ve stressed that the parent’s reeducation must be the foundation. Although these articles have focused on transforming our view of EDUCATION, our renewing can’t stop there. Our way of thinking must be transformed in ALL areas – not just education. God has a view and His Word has the answer for EVERY area of life. As Marshall Foster, of the Mayflower Institute says, our goal is not to just raise kids who aren’t pregnant and on drugs by age 18. It’s to raise World Changers, for the glory of God. To do this we must have a transformed, Biblical Worldview AND impart that into our children.

4 simple steps taken from Marshall Foster give us the guidelines to this:

1. Teach the mighty deeds of God – that is History as His Story, the workings of God throughout the ages. Read Psalm 78. Verses 4-7 say: “We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength and His wonderful works that He has done. … which He commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children; that the generation to come might know them, the children who would be born, that they may arise and declare them to their children, that they may set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments; …”

2. Read original biographies. These are the true original stories of people’s lives and how God worked in them, including the futility of those without faith in God; not a dumbed-down, politically correct, revisionists view of someone’s life. Read Hebrews 11. 1 Cor. 10:11 says: “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”

3. “Bad company corrupts good morals.” 1 Cor. 15:33 According to the Word, your children will turn out like who they spend much time with, and other’s bad morals will rub off much faster than your child’s good morals will rub off on them. This includes real people of course, but also TV, computer or video games, and even reading books that have a non-biblical view. Pro. 13:20 “He who walks with wise men shall be wise, but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.” I could go on and on here, but would undoubtedly get off on a rabbit trail that I will cover more thoroughly in another post. Hint: It has to do with Wisdom and Fearing God, the whole basis of a Biblical Worldview.

4. Make life and home a joyful revolution. Home is the center for God’s dynasty and the basic tool for God’s kingdom to be built. You are the center focus of this. Make your home the center of YOUR and YOUR FAMILY’S LIFE. Make it a joyful place to be. Model Biblical “gender” roles. Develop an atmosphere – provide a good library, historically 60% theology, 40% history. Build culture yourself – paraphrasing Dr. Spurgeon, “Set yourself on fire and your kids will come to watch you burn.” As I said, MODEL IT! God has a purpose and plan, not just for YOUR life, but for your DYNASTY – those you disciple. Deut. 6:3-7 says: “YOU fear the Lord your God, keep all His statutes and His commandments… be careful to observe it,…these words shall be in YOUR HEART. You shall teach them diligently to your children ….” Pro. 22:6 says: “train up a child” – this is a word picture of passing on YOUR tastes and culture to your children. Make sure they are GOD’S! – the way they SHOULD go. There is far more said to our husbands than us moms on this, but Pro. 14:1 says: “The wise woman builds her house…” And Pro. 31:26: “She opens her mouth with wisdom, …”

As I said, by modeling this and giving our children great reading based on a Biblical Worldview, they will *HAVE* a Biblical Worldview. But will they be able to REASON from this worldview? I believe THAT training takes a little more than just reading and having modeled to him. Hebrews 5:14 says: “Solid food belongs to those who are mature, that is those who by reason of use (practice) have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” To do this, we must (and must teach our children to) not just read, but also study and “exercise their senses”. Their reasoning skills aren’t developed just by hearing, but also by practicing. This is accomplished through the 6 Processes of Learning:

1. Receive – taking in information.

2. Record/ Recite – record that information through quoting and through their own words, “parroting back” through Copywork, Recitation, Oral or Written Narration.

3. Ruminate – “to chew on”, think about the new info, relate it to what we already know.

4. Reason/ Relate – to actually process the information and make judgement on it. We MUST have the foundation of Wisdom through God’s Word in order to do this. The 4R method used in the Principle Approach, through Researching what the Word has to say on a topic, “exercises our senses to discern,” causing Wisdom to be gained. God “has given to us ALL things that pertaining to Life and godliness…” 2 Peter 1:3

5. Respond – this is the step of deciding what to do with the information. Toss it totally if it doesn’t line up with Biblical Truth. Keep the “baby” but throw out the “bathwater”, if there is some Truth buried in man’s faulty understanding. Embrace it and make it our own – if it totally lines up with Biblical Truth.

6. Release – communicate the results of the above process, sharing what we’re learned – through discussion, essays, teaching others, etc.

We must TRAIN our children how to walk through this Process of Learning, but it is done through whatever learning they are doing, not through separate “classes” on it.

So, while there is a place for learning Formal Logic and Reasoning “techniques”, I am far more concerned with my children developing a strong Biblical Worldview through ALL that they learn, to not only live their own lives by, but to also be able to present, through God-given Wisdom, from His Word and His Grace (supernatural empowering), His Truth to all who may “ask for a reason for the hope that is in them.”

Proverbs 4:7: “Wisdom is the PRINCIPAL thing, therefore get Wisdom and with all your getting get understanding.” Proverbs 9:10: “The FEAR OF THE LORD is the beginning of Wisdom..” And Wisdom is having a Biblical Worldview. Joshua 1:8 “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” That is probably the key to what we all want for our children (and our own lives), that they/we would be prosperous and successful in God’s eyes, and that comes from developing a Biblical Worldview, by knowing God’s thoughts and thinking like Him.

 

The Balance of Routine

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Did I promise an article on Routine? Well, let’s see if I can get it done today.

Some people are very structure oriented, some very variety oriented. The problem is that it is very doubtful that EVERYONE in your family is the same one. We must work at finding the right balance of Routine for our FAMILIES not just for OURSELVES. Yes, God gives us our specific family members to balance us. We all have seen the extremes of “schedule obsession” and “too flighty to finish anything”, and none of us want to be like those people. Even if WE are those people, we don’t want to be. And our families certainly don’t want us to be.

How do we find this balance? Let me suggest a middle of the road approach to “Routine” that can be adjusted slightly one way or the other to best suit your family. Although I’m giving this in a step-by-step format, I realize, and I hope YOU do too, that Real Life and Relationships do not operate by formulas.

Step 1) Start by making your list of priorities. This is NOT a lengthy, impossible “to do” list, NOR is it your “life goals” list. This is a list of basic priorities that are important to your family. Perhaps customizing the “7 Disciplines of L.E.D.” will give you an idea to start with. You can see the 7 Disciplines online – http://www.angelfire.com/ne/meandmyhouse/led-7disciplines.html – and more details are given on the “8 Principles of Lifestyle Education” tape. These are specific to our *educational* priorities, obviously other things are priority too; clean clothes, picked up house, healthy meals, husband/wife time, etc. but, in this article we are talking about our education routine, AND, as you’ll see in our example below, we have included most of those other priorities – husband/wife time is not included during the “school-day routine, household chores are.

Step 2) Set a few “checkpoints” during the day. I find that mealtimes make the most effective checkpoints. One reason is that they can be slightly flexible if necessary (unless you have someone that comes home for a certain lunch hour). Other checkpoints can be based on set appointments; i.e. someone has to leave the home at a set time. Perhaps you want to have Family Worship before Dad goes to work.

Step 3) Set up your basic daily Routine upon these priorities. Do them in order of priority, filling in other details as needed. This is the ORDER they are done in, not TIME that they are done. This is Routine, not Schedule. That way if interruptions come, or you have to drop everything for an emergency, you still know that the most important things got accomplished. There is a saying called the Tyrrany of the Urgent; that the important often gets crowded out by the urgent. If we begin and order our day by the most important things, this is less likely to happen.

Let me give you an example, based upon the 7 Disciplines.

Checkpoint #1 – Breakfast at 9:00 – personal devotions and grooming done before. I don’t care what time you get up, just have these things done before 9.

After breakfast – Family Worship (includes Disciplines 1 – 3) then
Daily Chores

Perhaps you want to add another checkpoint – at 10:30 – everyone back to the table for Table Time:
Character Study
Copywork/Handwriting
Free Writing
Life and Learning Skills (any help and training you need to give them, from math concepts to cleaning the toilet)

Checkpoint – Lunch at 12:30 – after lunch:
Family Read Aloud
Weekly Chores
Active work – Learning Experience and Discovery
Individual Reading and Assignments/ Notebook work

After all the above is completed is Free Time, whenever that time comes. Since the afternoon, after lunch and Family Reading, is basically “individual” time, Free Time will come at a different time for each person.

Our next checkpoint would be – Supper – 6:00 – with “Blitz” completed before then (however long before then that you need). Blitz is a quick pick up of house and putting away of all projects.

Perhaps they/ you finished early, before a checkpoint time, go on to the next thing (or if the next thing is a family thing, and not everyone is done and ready, they go on to the next *individual* thing.) If they/ you don’t finish by a checkpoint time, or you get called away from home for a while, pick up where you left off when you get back. If an individual doesn’t finish in time, they finish up before they can have Free Time. If it’s an issue of nobody got done because of an emergency or appointment, perhaps rather than picking up where you left off, you will choose to go straight to Free Time, knowing that what you did do was the most important.

Utilizing a basic Routine like this gives you more Freedom than a clock-based schedule, yet allows you to accomplish more – AND the things that are most important to your family, better – than “flying by the seat of your pants”. And that’s what Lifestyle Education is all about “Freedom and Simplicity™”.

 

Freedom & Simplicity™ in High School RecordKeeping

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A List-Mom asked about simplifying High School record keeping for transcript-building, and our products for such. Below is my reply.

Let me explain our Freedom and Simplicity™ recordkeeping – some of it available as “forms” now, other parts to be included in the Lifestyle Curriculum – Or Excellence without Textbooks book (that I will finish in “publishable form” sometime, when LIFE – i.e. being a wife, mom, homemaker, Bible study teacher/writer, home school teacher, …… :- ) – allows me a bit more time. In the meantime I just try to answer questions as they come, individually – locally and email, through our website, and email list.

Anyhow, what we do (and notes as to what is available NOW) – with a focus on high-school recordkeeping, moving from daily records, to long-term planning – is:

Daily Log – This is a journal form, and my preference is for my children to keep it on a daily basis. They write a paragraph of what they did that day. I want this to be in a journal (diary-type) form, not just a list. (They don’t always get it done.) : -(  Of course, you could use it any way YOU please. There is a block on the page for each day of the week. (Forms are in either of the Redeeming the Time planners – or we have some discontinued books – a year’s worth of forms, comb-bound – that we are including FREE with any order over $50, or for $5 with smaller order, while supplies last).

Tracking Sheet – This is my most helpful, at a glance form. It lets me see very quickly, just exactly what they’ve been doing. More explanation and a sample form (Word attachment) are in a recent l.e.d. email list post.

As the youth study and learn, they are creating Notebooks – their own personal “living study” of the topic. It will remain their personal reference on the topic, and can be used in the future as their own review or to teach others. These Notebooks though are not particularly for MY use in record-keeping – except in assessing how thoroughly they have covered the topic and put their information together – I use these more to assess such “classes” as Compostition, since these Notebooks contain their compositions and we don’t give further “Compostion” assignments.

Topical Journal – As they “complete” a topic (“class” if you must), they fill out a Topical Journal of it. A simplified overview. It includes a Bibliography of the resources they used (and a check list of whether they took notes/wrote a summary/discussed with parents), a Projects page (giving description, self-evaluation, and parent evaluation). They write a page of Highlights – interesting things they learned, and a Summary page – what they learned, their thoughts about it, etc. – somewhat of a short “term paper” – though not as formal. This is what I use for most of my “assessment”, in assigning a “grade” and “credits” to a Course/Topic. (Forms available – with permission to copy for the purchaser’s own children – for $3.00.)

Most of the other “high-school” documentation we do is through our High School Planning and Record Notebook – what “Lifestyle Curriculum ,,,” will cover. In a nutshell, what it contains is:

High School Graduation Requirements – how many credits in what courses and topics

Documentation Guidelines – how and where they are to document each area, any requirements for forms to use or things to include in specific notebooks.

Course Record – The forms I use to actually compile a transcript. One per course (with a note of how many credits required), divided into the Topics within that course and the basic requirements and credits for each class, the grade received. We also note “date finished” for each Topic/requirement, if appropriate. Things like “Learn the Bible in 24 Hours” (1 requirement for Bible Survey) have a definite ending date. Things like “Descriptive, Narrative, and Biographical Composition” don’t.

Topic Assessment Criteria sheet – (for appropriate Courses – such as History, Science, Health, Practical Arts) – tells what their grade will be based upon. I have a general one, for the above courses that require Topical Journals, but a few more specific ones for other courses – such as Math, PE – listing what is required to get an A, B, or C.

Learning Maps and/or Topic Record sheets – one for each Topic (division of a Course) – ex. our Bible Course (requires 4+ credits) is divided into the following topics – Bible Survery (1 credit), Bible Doctrine (1 credit), Biblical Principles, Christian Living, and Ministry (1 3/4+ credit), Personal Bible Studies (1/4+ credit.) Each of these Topics (for each course, not just Bible) has it’s own Topic Record sheet headed with the Name of the Topic, and the date the Topical Journal is done. Below that is a list of “assignments” completed, their beginning and ending dates and a place for me to initial. The first few lines (or one or *none*) list any of MY required “assignments” – if there are any books or other resources (this could be ‘other resources’ like, “talk to Grandpa about practical investing”) on the topic that I REQUIRE (noted with an ‘R’) or that I consider excellent, though not required (noted with an ‘O’ – optional). The rest of the page is filled with blank lines for them to fill in resources and projects that THEY come up with and do. These sheets were designed and in use long before I began using the Tracking Sheets, and may now be somewhat redundant. But since these sheets aren’t necessarily turned in every week, I designed the Tracking Sheets to keep me more “up to date” on their progress, and Learning Maps more as planning sheets, to give direction.

My Redeeming the Time planner has several other Education Planning and Documenting forms in addition to all the homemaking forms.

Resources written by Me and My House available here.

High School Bible Course

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I’m asked often, but rarely share publicly OUR curriculum, as we believe that is such a personal family thing. We really believe each family needs to seek God for specific direction for what to do – not what “pre-published curriculum” to use, but for God to write through them THEIR OWN PERSONAL FAMILY CURRICULUM. I have debated within myself for years as to how much to share. The questions keep coming, more and more frequent. (Please order our “Introduction to Lifestyle Education through Discipleship” and “8 Principles of Lifestyle Education” tapes to know what we REALLY want to share with you, the foundation, philosophy and principles to build your own family’s education and curriculum upon.)

I don’t want any family’s home-education (other than ours) to be dependent on whether I get a complete curriculum “published”, but I am seeing the benefit other families could gain from me sharing outlines of what we do. So many moms have said, “I really don’t want to *copy* your curriculum verbatum in our home, but I’d just like to see what yours looks like to give me an idea of where to start.”

So….. with that in mind, I share with you a basic outline for our Bible Course (taken from our Bible Course Learning Map).

1. Bible Survey
pre-requisite: Read through the entire Bible and
Keep a journal of your devotions (a notebook form we have – “SpiritualJourney”, or something of their own covering similar info).
Our primary resource list: Learn the Bible in 24 Hours, What the Bible is All About, opt. Hayford’s Bible Handbook

2. Bible Doctrine
primary resource: Bible Studies for a Firm Foundation, book list for each topic studied

3. Biblical Principles (Christian Living, Male/Female roles, Ministry)
way too many resources to list, but included are: Basic Life Principles, Advanced Life Principles, Life Notebook and an extensive book list of possibilities.

4. Personal Bible Studies
various types of studies and using Bible reference books – expositional, inductive, word, topical, contextual – also includes Scripture memory
primary resources: How to Study the Bible, How to Study Your Bible, Bible reference books

These Topics (especially Doctrine and Principles) include journals and essays. The Survey includes book summaries and timelines. The Personal Studies are followed in various ways. I give this basic “requirements” and book lists (which aren’t always written, but “on the shelves”) and they take it from there, each completing it in different ways. We have used God’s Priceless Woman before, but I’ve come across many other resources since then, so don’t know if I’ll keep it as “required” or let them pick and choose. I also like to encourage deeper devotional reading (thought provoking) books.