Category Archives: L.E.D. HisStory

Helps for teaching and learning history by LED

Thanksgiving Stories

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While I’m completing the final preparations for our Thanksgiving MEGA-Sale (watch for the details to be posted by Monday,) I wanted to send you some ideas for great books to be reading  for Thanksgiving Day. Order now to get them in time to read.

The first four are great stories to read-aloud as a family or for individual reading. They are listed in order of difficulty.

Of Plymouth Plantation – a firsthand account of the Plymouth settlement, written by one of their own. The best source for the true story, but a little higher reading level.

The Mayflower Pilgrims – an easier (and shorter) read, and great as a family read-aloud (or for older children) to find out who the Pilgrims were and their story.

The Mayflower Secret – another fictionalized story, probably just a bit higher reading level than Stories of the Pilgrims.

Stories of the Pilgrims – a simple fictionalized story based on the true story. This one can be read alone by children.

Other great resources on the Pilgrims and Plymouth:

Pilgrims vs. Indians –  What was their relationship really like? – audio CD from the Christian Controversies series.

Plymouth in the Words of her Founders – Guided tour of Plymouth’s sites and monuments with quotes in the words of the Pilgrims.

Landmarks & Liberty – An audio tour of the landmarks of the Pilgrims, Puritans, and Patriots – stories recorded on location. – audio CD set  (8 CD’s) from the 2003 Faith and Freedom Tour.

See more of our Early American HisStory Resources and Recommendations, including overview resources that have great stories of the Pilgrims also, here.

Want to get started reading before your order comes? You can start with these free online books. Both Stories of the Pilgrims and The Mayflower Pilgrims were written long enough ago that they are in the Public Domain and can be found online to download, as well as  Bradford’s History of the Plymouth Settlement, (Of Plymouth Plantation,) by William Bradford and Mourt’s Relation, another firsthand account.

 

Blessed Independence Day

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Today we celebrate the blessed founding of the united States of America. When those 56 men signed the Declaration of Independence they had no idea what would become of it. They were not a mighty nation, (weren’t a nation at all!) had no national army or navy, and were going against the greatest power of the world.

But God was with them. They looked to Him and His Word for guidance, and they not only won their Independence, but went on to found a Federal Republic based on biblical principles of government bringing such liberty as the world had never known. We have so much to be grateful for as the first Christian Constitutional Federal Republic.

Today we see those liberties being eroded away, as our nation turns it’s back on God who established her, His Word that gave them direction, and our Constitution that framed our great nation. Today we beg again that God’s people would humble themselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from their wicked ways; that God would hear, forgive our sin and heal our land.

 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. (II Chronicles 7:14)

May God once again Bless America!

Read or Listen to the Declaration of Independence today.

Some articles to read today. (Thanks to Scott Eash at Biblical Worldview Media for these article links.)

Relect on our Freedoms – and how to restore them – and have a great day!

 

Freedom & Simplicity in HisStory

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Freedom & Simplicity™ in HisStory is where you can begin to apply Lifestyle Education through Discipleship™ after getting the Big Picture of L.E.D. through The Seminar.

I designed Freedom & Simplicity™ in HisStory to help you build a strong foundation in Providential history and biblical principles, and then apply it. It contains everything you need to learn how to lay a biblical foundation in HisStory and teach it by biblical principles. It does not contain specific history lessons (beyond the foundation) but teaches you how to learn and teach history. My goal was to make it simple enough to understand for someone new to biblical principles education, yet comprehensive enough to really lay a good foundation in a biblical philosophy of ed. – all three aspects, philosophy, methodology, and content.

From the first section of it you should be able to lay the foundation fairly easily. It presents the Biblical Foundation – source/origin and purpose of HisStory, as well as the Rudiments – P.I.P.E. & the P.I.P.E.line of HisStory (what we study and the context), and 7 Biblical Principles of Liberty (goal of HisStory). IOW, what we study, how, and why. This is where we should all begin.

The second section teaches you the process of learning, the components of reflective learning – how it goes beyond traditional “pour it in and spit it out” learning, then covers 7 Pillars of Excellence – 7 tools we utilize to walk us through the process contrasted with other ways education is done (such as, we focus on ideas and principles rather than random facts, discipleship through discussing and guiding rather than lecture, real resources rather than text/work books, etc.)

The third section goes into the application, planning the lesson – what to keep in mind as you are planning, suggestions of steps to follow when planning, then presenting the lesson – components of the actual lesson and ideas of how to do them and questions to utilize for digging into various types of studies. Then some practical ideas such as long term scheduling, learning journals, high school, beginners, integrating subjects, some resources I recommend, etc.

I close with a summary review for you to work through, called Discipleship yoU!™, and resources to begin with, then several appendices of extra helps.

If you need more practical help, after digesting Freedom & Simplicity™ in HisStory, you can find several things on my L.E.D. blog, as well as email me questions.

 

Where to Start?

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I could go many different places with that title. And many of you probably know my ultimate answer – renewing your own mind. But what I want to look at today is what area of learning should we start to renew our own mind in when beginning to apply a biblically principled education in our homes.

I believe we begin with our foundation, the Bible itself. We need to KNOW the Bible, to have it internalized. Learn how to study the Bible, how to deduce principles – find wisdom therein, and apply it to our lives, and also learn the content of the Bible, its unified message and stucture. This will be completely fleshed out in Freedom & Simplicity™ in Bible, and bits and pieces can be found in the L.E.D. Bible & Worship category of this blog and on the L.E.D. webpages.

The other area I believe is key to begin in is HisStory. Just as the Bible reveals God’s Plan. HisStory demonstrates the outworking of His Plan, in the lives of men and nations. Everything we study will connect to these two things – God’s Word and God’s World. In our studies of HisStory we apply our methods of study through reasoning, to apply Biblical principles, apply the lessons learned to our own lives and the world around us. We first lay down the foundations of the origin, purpose, principles and rudiments of HisStory, and then begin to study through the content of HisStory, looking at it through this Big Picture foundation, and studying it through our reflective methods. Freedom & Simplicity™ in HisStory fleshes this all out, leading you through how to learn and teach HisStory. In addition, you will find bits and pieces on the L.E.D. HisStory category of this blog and on the L.E.D. webpages.

What can you do in the meantime, while you are renewing your mind and learning how to teach by biblical principles? Check out this article.

 

Wall Chart of History

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If you’ve been to any of my seminars or read Freedom & Simplicity™ in HisStory you know I LOVE my Hull’s Wall Chart of World History.

If you have looked for one (they are out of print) you have probably been disappointed to find out that the revised version, that is usually all you can find, has evolutionary material on it.

I recently found out there has been a reprinting of Adam’s Chart of History that looks very similar. I’ve been trying to find out if it is the same thing.

I’ve gotten enough info now that I’m going to announce it sight unseen. I will get it as soon as CBD has it in stock and report more then, when I compare the two, but from the reviews I’ve been reading and the questions I’ve asked, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

It appears I may have something I can recommend in place of the virtually unable-to-find Hull’s Wall Chart of History.

515051: Adams's Chart of History: A Chronology of Ancient, Modern, and Biblical History Accordian Style Fold Out Adams’s Chart of History: A Chronology of Ancient, Modern, and Biblical History Accordian Style Fold Out
By Sebastian Adams / Master BooksBased on Ussher’s The Annals of the World and featuring colorful artwork representing people and events from creation to the late 19th century, this vintage biblical and historical timeline was originally published in 1871! Post it on your walls and let it inform your kids’ imaginations as they learn. Features 21 foldout 13″ x 28″ panels.

Answers in Genesis notes 3 interpretive comments they disagree with on the chart. We would agree with AiG. 1) some credence is given to the possibility of the “gap theory”. 2) it speaks of 5 “races of men” 3) it speaks of Ham as the “father of the black race”.

 

Contemporary Music Artist of the Week

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Well, contemporary to the time period we are studying – early 1800’s.

The last couple weeks or so we have been studying the War of 1812 – looking at God’s Providence, cause and effect, individuality, and such. We’ve met the men and lived through their battles. One of the things we’ve done is had the children each pick a battle and draw it and then narrate from their drawing what happened.

One of the key people we looked at was not a big General or fighting war hero. We didn’t look at him initially or even primarily for what he is most known for. We took a back door, and fell in love with him for a scripturally rich hymn he wrote. He wrote of his inexpressible praise for God, and for all He has done and does.

We saw in action a quote we memorized at the beginning of the year: “A good hymn is the best use to which poetry can be devoted.“, by another poet of renown, John Greenleaf Whittier.

Our poet is Francis Scott Key, if you haven’t guessed yet. Of course, once the children knew who it was, they knew what he is most famous for (our national anthem, the Star Spangled Banner,) and his and its connection to the War of 1812.

We learned the other verses of the Star Spangled Banner and saw the depth in them, and realized that like hymns, you really don’t know the author’s heart, intent and message if you don’t know all the verses. We lose much Biblical teaching by eliminating some of them.

The hymn we learned is Lord, with Glowing Heart I’d Praise Thee. Click here for the words. It’ll be worth it. 🙂

 

Our Music Lesson this Week

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This is the funnest version I’ve found of the 1812 Overture, which we will be studying this week. We’ll listen to an instrumental version too 🙂
here and part 2 here.

YOU’VE GOT TO WATCH THIS VIDEO! I removed the video from this page because it messed up my blog page formatting. Here is the link to it though. DON’T MISS IT! Enjoy.

 

HisStory Plans – 1800’s Part 2

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Continuing our HisStory plans for the 1800’s.

In addition to the primary resources we will use for our study, we will also utilize biographies and other living histories, some from the Sower series, some from CLP, some from the Leaders in Action series – see our HisStory Biographies Resources & Recommendations for more links. Others may be from the “Christian Heroes” and “Heroes” of History series by Janet and Geoff Benge, as well as a few old originals I’ve picked up. Other links on our HisStory Resources & Recommendations pages for the 1800’s.

The children will each choose different ones to read. We will obviously not cover all of these. These will cover People (listed in no particular order) such as Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson, Lewis and Clark, Noah Webster, Adoniram Judson, Francis Scott Key, Daniel Webster, Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, Samuel F.B. Morse, Johnny Appleseed, Jed Smith, Marcus and Narcissa Whitman, Abraham Lincoln, J.E.B. Stuart, Clara Barton, Harriet Tubman, Booker T Washington, David Livegstone, George Washington Carver, Matthew Fontaine Maury, William Carey, Hudson Taylor, George Mueller, Amy Carmichael, Florence Nightingale, Dwight Moody, Charles Spurgeon, Fanny Crosby – and I haven’t even listed the scientists and other important names such as Robert Fulton, Louis Pasteur, Helen Keller,  Louis Braille and I could go on and on. (Yes, I really do have biographies on all of these and others, some of them more than one.)

There are just a few I want to look at in more depth. We will probably read those aloud. Others we will just read short biographical sketches. Others the children will choose and read on their own.

Living histories we will include as read alouds are:

  • Of Courge Undaunted by James Daugherty
  • Our Flag Was Still There by Tracy Leininger
  • The Alamo, the California Gold Rush, and the Pioneers will be studied through living histories – perhaps not full books unless time allows.
  • Boys of ’61 by Charles Coffin may be more detailed than we choose to pursue on the war itself. But we will use parts of it.
  • Christ in the Camp by J. William Jones – may not use all of this either and it will probably be used by high schoolers.
  • Oliver Optic’s fictional works from this time period are loved by our children.
  • With Lee in Virginia will probably be listened to since we have that on audio.
  • Democracy in America by Tocqueville and other primary source documents will be included too, mainly by high schoolers.

Videos we’ll watch/ audio we’ll listen to include:

We plan to spend more time on the Civil War and “Reconstruction” than any other thing in this time period, looking at the causes and effects.

Literature is the “handmaiden of history”. It shows us the Ideas of the times. We have far more Literature we’d like to read from this time period than we will get to. Some prominent authors we’ll choose from include, Dickens, Eliot, Austin, Wilder, Twain, Cather, Optic, London, and a few others, as well as poets. Many of our favorite Lamplighter Publishing “Rare Collectors Series” are from this time period. I’ll list some of these resources we choose at another time.

Also we will include science, the arts, music, architecture, etc. from the time period.

 

HisStory Plans – 1800’s

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It’s about time I get back to writing some informative articles here. I’ll start today with our current HisStory study plans. We are moving further into our studies of  the PIPEline link “One Nation Under God” (“Go Ye Into All the World”). We will look at the People, Ideas, Places, and Events of the 19th century and the causes and effects of the happenings then.

We will look at the spread of missions at that time – reaching the far west of North America, South America, Africa, and Asia. We will look at the changes in Christianity in the U.S. in the 1800’s and the role that played in events then, and how it has affected Christianity and our nation today.

We will follow the philosophy and methodology presented in Freedom & Simplicity in HisStory, and document our studies through our various resources -PIPEline Journal Pages, PIPEline of HisStory, and PIPEline Book of Remembrance.

We like to get varied perspectives of HisStory.  Everyone won’t read all of the books listed below, and only the parts pertaining to the 1800’s will be read. A foundation of previous times has already been laid. Some will be read aloud, some only parts will be read, and some will be read only by certain students (generally high school.) Some of our reference resources will be:

  • Sketches  from Church History
  • Building the Nation by Charles C. Coffin (republished by Mantel Ministries, but currently out of print again – online Free download here)
  • Universal History in Perspective by Emma Willard (written mid 1800’s, out of print)
  • A Basic History of the United States by Clarence Carson Cumberland Books has it at a discount. Blackstone also has put it on audio.

America: The First 350 Years by Steve Wilkins (audio course) and From Sea to Shining Sea by Peter Marshall may be used to provide very differing positions that we can follow up through primary source documents. (Children’s version and Sounding Forth the Trumpet by Marshall also available on our History Recommendation page.) Genevieve Foster’s Abraham Lincoln’s World gives an interesting narrative of the time period – for the whole world, but not from a Christian perspective. We will probably not include it this time, unless we look up something specific in it. It does have nice picture clips of many of the events and people of the times that I like to use.

I’ll continue more about this study in another post, listing some biographies and living history books we’ll include, as well as literature and primary source documents. See more of our History Recommendations.

I’ll close leaving you another online link to another old history book I have, Putnam’s Handbook of Universal History, that I just found available for FREE download at the same site as Building the Nation,  listed as Tabular Views of Universal History by George Putnam. This book shows in side by side columns what was happening at a given time, all over the world. Another great history resource written in the 1800’s.