The Roots are beginning to show Shoots!

The first phase of the Lifestyle Education through Discipleship™ eCourses is open. And this part is FREE.

I’m working behind the scenes at our Discipleship yoU! online courses site to launch the L.E.D. Courses, and the first section is done. I’ve opened a Free Forum for users of the Biblically principled method Lifestyle Education through Discipleship™ to ask questions, discuss how users are applying it, and share ideas.

Join the Free L.E.D. Forum here!

Need the basics of L.E.D. – for Freedom & Simplicity™ in Biblically principled home ed?
Freedom & Simplicity™ of Lifestyle Education through Discipleship™ ~ The Seminar ToGo (the foundations)

Freedom & Simplicity˙ on R Road to Biblical Wisdom (the how to guide)

Also, prayers are coveted as I work on A Quick Start Guide to Freedom & Simplicity™ through Lifestyle Education through Discipleship™.  My goal is to have it finished and available yet this month. This guide will help those new to home education, or just new to L.E.D., to jump in and start quickly, while still renewing their mind and learning themselves. (Based on my mentorship of those that call me and say, “Hi. I’m pulling my kids out of public school tomorrow. What do I do?”

If you’re already using L.E.D. Join us at the Free L.E.D. Forum here!

If you haven’t started yet, pick up the basic Foundational resources and begin today.

SDG - For God's Glory Alone, For Me & My House, Me & My House ministries ~ Discipleship for Life!

Wow! We are down to 1 week until our annual, local Freedom & Simplicity™ of Lifestyle Education through Discipleship™ ~ The Seminar LIVE!! In this full day Seminar we lay the Foundations for Freedom & Simplicity™ in Christian home education based on Biblical principles, and take you all the way through to the practical, hands-on applications. You’ll go home seeing the Big Picture of Lifestyle Education through Discipleship™.

The Seminar will be presented in North Platte, NE on May 28th, from 9-6. A fun, hands-on Bonus Session will presented on Friday night from 7-9.

You’ll learn how to combine real books, and natural, family-friendly methods with Biblical foundations, principles and reasoning for Freedom & Simplicity in YOUR home educating.

Get more details and Register! Registration due TODAY!*

*If you are unable to pay today, you may pay next week or at the door, but please let me know today that you plan to attend. Thanks!!

For Me & My House,
Lisa

Keep in touch by “Liking” us on Facebook @ MeAndMyHouse and @ Lifestyle Education through Discipleship AND by subscribing to our free monthly email newsletter, Me & My House musings, as well as subscribing to our feed here.

If you are new to our blog and Lifestyle Education through Discipleship, this post is for you!

As a Christian homeschooling mom of a large family, I want a method of education that meets several criteria. Perhaps you’re looking for some of the same things.

1. It has to be simple enough in structure and application that it works in a busy mommy of many schedule.
2. It has to be flexible and work with the lessons and flow of real life.
3. It has to use natural learning methods that are easily incorporated into all learning, not artificial constructs.
4. It has to teach my children to be Biblical thinkers, not just “get-it-done” but really learn and most of all learn how to learn and think.
5. It has to present a comprehensive integrated view of life, not fragmented unrelated pieces.
6. It has to be family friendly – which is really mom friendly – not taking my children (and therefore my mind) all different directions, but helping us to learn together as a family.
7. Most of all, it has to glorify God and present all learning as from Him and for His purposes.

Impossible?
NO!

Lifestyle Education through Discipleship™ provides just what I need – and perhaps what you are looking for too. How do I know? Because I designed it to be that. I’ve spent the 23 years I’ve been home educating, developing and designing a philosophy and methodology to meet these needs, for my own children, and to help others and their children.

Lifestyle Education through Discipleship™ is Freedom & Simplicity™ in Home Education LED by the Spirit and grounded in the Word. It is Real Books and Family-friendly Natural methods  + Biblical Foundations and Reasoning for Excellence. We incorporate the best of the same methods that Charlotte Mason and the Principle Approach utilize, but more importantly it is a Biblical philosophy and methodology.

Sound like something you’d like for your home education?

Browse our website to learn about about Lifestyle Education through Disicpleship™, through our articles and blog there.

Join our email list to get a FREE introduction workshop audio.

Then get started with your Freedom & Simplicity™ home education with our Freedom & Simplicity™ of Lifestyle Education through Discipleship™ Seminar audios and handouts,

and Freedom & Simplicity™ Learning Guide ebooks.

At the beginning of a new “school year”, most home educators have grand ideas for a new start? What are yours? Do you immediately think things like this: “We need to get caught up on math.” “I’ve got to get this child to read.” “How am I ever going to teach physics?”

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Although these may be good things, even important things to teach our children, they should not be our focus. As we look to new beginnings, we must keep our priorities in mind. “Add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge…” (2 Peter 1:5) The most important matters in discipling our children should be looked at first. “Has this child been converted?” “How is he growing in Christ?” “Where is he struggling?” “Has he been taught the foundations of the true and living Gospel?” “Has he grasped those teachings?”

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In the Christian home, the Bible should never be another “tacked on” subject to “regular” school. Discipleship in the Word of God should be the foundation and framework of all we do. We should be first and foremost teaching God’s Word itself in our homes.

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In addition, we should be teaching everything else in connection with the Bible. Although we will use other resources to teach the details of other subjects, the Bible should be our Source book for every subject, for in it we find the meaning, the source, origin and purpose of everything we learn, of everything that is. It is all God’s. There is no knowledge outside of what God has Created and given, and to glorify Him, we begin with Him.

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As you start your “new year”, remember to put first things first.

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See also article: Foundational Anchors

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Living Coram Deo – before the face of God,

Lisa

It’s our BIRTHDAY!

Well, really it’s MY Birthday. Our business doesn’t really have a birthday/anniversary, so
we’ll celebrate MY BIRTHDAY instead – with a get together and gifts!

The best birthday celebration is a get together, and in June we have our  biggest annual get together for Me and My House ministries – Freedom & Simplicity™ of Lifestyle Education through Discipleship™ ~ The Seminar LIVE!

We’d love to have you join us for this full day seminar on Biblical home education!

Freedom & Simplicity™ of Lifestyle Education through Discipleship™ ~
The Seminar LIVE! 2009

June 13th from 9:30-5:30
Fun, bonus session for registrants Friday 7:30 pm-9:30
North Platte, NE

Registration $30, due June 5th.

The full day seminar will take you from establishing a Biblical foundation, philosophy and principles of education, to learning the Freedom & Simplicity™ methods of home education through L.E.D., to the practical application of scheduling and planning. Discipleship yoU! follow-up exercises will help you apply what you learn.

Join us for the LIVE Seminar – presented by Lisa Hodgen, mom of 10, home educator of over 22 years, and founder of Lifestyle Education through Discipleship™ – and get your Biblical Principles education off to a great start.

Click here for more details and to register.

No birthday celebration is complete without gifts of blessing either. For our birthday celebration , you get the blessing. For the month of  June we’re offering 3 of our core Lifestyle Education through Discipleship™ Exclusive Resources for 1 fantastic special price.

Freedom & Simplicity™ of Lifestyle Education through Discipleship™ ~ The Seminar (audios and handouts) AND
Freedom & Simplicity™ of HisStory AND
PIPEline of HisStory

These 3 resources will help you lay a good foundation and get started in Freedom & Simplicity™ in home education – for ONLY $45 for the month of June 2009! Get all the details and order here. (This Special has expired.)

The question came up recently on an elist I’m on about Kindergarten. Below is my reply. (BTW, everything here doubly applies to “homeschool pre-school”.)

We don’t “do” Kindergarten,* but continue informal learning, with no “planning and scheduling” until they are about age 6-8. If they are interested in something, we work on learning it.

They are involved in our Family Worship, Bible Study and Recitation, and Character studies time. If they want to draw a picture or other notebooking page, they can. They usually ask for their own “Notebook” binder when they are about 3. They are also a part of Family read-aloud times, as well as individual times of reading with them.

They learn letter sounds along the way as we are reading, and start writing when they want to learn. I teach them proper letter formation (and pencil hold,) but they do most of their early writing “in the air” (finger writing) or in a salt tray. When they know many letter sounds, and are ready, they start blending and spelling.

They also pick up quantity solving just around the house, as we go about our day. We talk about “calendar” and “time” things, as well as money and measuring things.

They narrate informally on their own.

And I think that’s about it. It covers all the “subjects” but isn’t following any curriculum or structured formal study. (Our state requires “filing” when they are 7, but we can cover all the subjects they want us to do, informally through real life, even if we don’t start structured studies then.) Lots of games and play, exploring and family time. Lots of helping and beginning household responsibilities.

*Note: Kindergarten – For a highly enlightening research project, look up the source, origin, and intent/purpose for this modern, progressive idea.

Are you waiting for the release of Freedom & Simplicity™ on R Road to Biblical Wisdom? Until it is available for purchase, I will post various portions for short, unannounced times on its webpage. Check it often to read bits and pieces from Freedom & Simplicity™ on R Road to Biblical Wisdom.

Don’t know what I’m talking about? R Road to Biblical Wisdom is the Freedom & Simplicity™ methodology we utilize in all our learning. It is a process of learning through biblical reasoning and application. This methodology forms the Framework of Lifestyle Education through Discipleship™, a biblical approach to home education.

For Me and My House ~ At Jesus’ feet,
Lisa @ Me and My House ~ Discipleship for Life!
1 Thessalonians 5:23
Order Christian & Home Ed Resources here

Get future posts to this blog by email:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Get future posts to this blog by email:

The Difference – in a Nutshell.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Does that help?

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

Get future posts to this blog by email:

Wow, it’s been a couple weeks since I’ve posted and I have NEWS TO SHARE. If you haven’t been reading the L.E.D. section of my website, and are not subscribed to our complimentary email newsletter, you may not know the most important L.E.D. news of this year. That is, Freedom & Simplicity™ of Lifestyle Education™ – The Seminar LIVE! 2008 is only about ONE WEEK away!

Below is the basics, click here to read more and register.

Freedom & Simplicity™ of Lifestyle Education through Discipleship™ ~The Seminar LIVE! 2008

will be presented LIVE! in North Platte, NE on June 28th. This is your chance to not only learn the foundations of L.E.D. and renew your mind to biblical views of education, but also to ask Lisa all your questions about L.E.D.!

 The Seminar is a full day Saturday, with an optional Friday night fun session for those that can attend. We will cover the philosophy, principles, and practical application of Lifestyle Education through Discipleship™.

Please consider joining us. Pre-registration required – and due June 15th. –You can still register. Please register online now.–

 $25 for the LIVE! Seminar or
$40 for the LIVE! Seminar PLUS the downloadable audios afterwards, so you can re-listen again and again. That is HALF-PRICE for the audios when purchased with your Registration for L.E.D. ~The Seminar.

More details – register – or order previous years’ Seminars – at the L.E.D. ~ The Seminar webpage.

Hope to see you there!

Other, more important news, and why I’ve been too busy to blog lately – dd gets married this weekend!!