Rivendell, WIS

Places to buy and sell used educational materials and books

2009-03-20T22:04:00.000-07:00

While the world reads Harry Potter Number Seven...

2007-07-30T08:05:00.000-07:00

I took a road-trip to LeTourneau University in Longview, Texas, last week. To while away the 2,000-roundtrip miles, my two teenage daughters and I listened to a podcast of Allan Smith's new book, Quid and Harmony.

Deliciously delightful! My spirit soared in this fantasy world that Allan's words have woven. More to my taste than Harry Potter... Better writing than Ted Dekker, according to our 18 yodd.

I will write more when time allows. Interested readers can check out a pdf file of the first 10 chapters or an mp3 of chapter one at Smithysbook.com.

Recommended audience: Young adult or older. The lust for power is accompanied by other desires in some of the nastier characters, but Allan tastefully refrains from explicit descriptions.

In grace,
Colleen

Book Condition Descriptions

2007-06-03T17:23:00.000-07:00

Do you buy books online? If so, you've probably run into the same problem I've had: trying to determine the value of a book you've never seen from a written description of its condition. The Independent Online Booksellers Organization has provided definitions of the terms "New," "Good," and "Reading copy." Perhaps this will help buyers and sellers communicate more accurately.

IOBA Condition Description Definitions

For many years, the grading system defined by AB Bookman (now sadly defunct) was the standard in the antiquarian book trade. IOBA's standards, listed below, do not fundamentally differ from those standards though they have been expanded upon, and defined a bit more specifically.

(Condition normally shown as __/__, i.e., F/F, denoting first book & then dustjacket condition)

AS NEW (AN) or VERY FINE (VF) or MINT (M): Without faults or defects, unread, in the same immaculate condition in which it was published (Note: very few "new" books qualify for this grade, as many times there will be rubs/scuffs to the dustjackets from shipping, or bumped lower spine ends/corners from shelving).

FINE (F): Approaches the above, but not crisp. May have been carefully read and dustjacket may have been slightly rubbed or spine ends slightly bumped from shelving/shipping, but no real defects or faults.

(NOTE: From here on, there may be "+" and "-" in a grade, which will mean that it is above the grade noted but not quite to the next higher grade for "+", and that it is below the grade noted but not quite to the next lower grade for "-".

NEAR FINE: Also used, although not contained in Bookman's Weekly definitions, meaning a book or dustjacket approaching FINE but with a couple of very minor defects or faults.

VERY GOOD: A used book showing some small signs of wear on either binding or dustjacket. Any defects/faults must be noted.

GOOD: The average used and worn book that has all pages or leaves present. Any defects must be noted.

FAIR: A worn book that has complete text pages (including those with maps or plates) but may lack endpapers, half-title page, etc. (which must be noted). Binding, dustjacket, etc. may also be worn. All defects/faults must be noted.

POOR or READING COPY: A book that is sufficiently worn that its only merit is the complete text, which must be legible. Any missing maps or plates should still be noted. May be soiled, scuffed, stained, or spotted, and may have loose joints, hinges, pages, etc.

EX-LIBRARY: Must always be designated as such no matter what the condition of the book.

BOOK CLUB: Must always be noted as such no matter what the condition of the book.

BINDING COPY: A book in which the pages or leaves are perfect but the binding is very bad, loose, off, or non-existent.

Always, if issued with one, the lack of a dustjacket or slipcase should be noted.

A New Focus: Amy Carmichael's poetry

2007-04-05T06:28:00.000-07:00

God of the Stars

I am the God of the stars.
They do not lose their way;
Not one do I mislay.
Their times are in My Hand;
They move at My command.

I am the God of the stars,
Today, as yesterday,
The God of thee and thine,
Less thine they are than Mine;
And shall Mine go astray?

I am the God of the stars.
Life up thine eyes and see
As far as mortal may
Into Eternity;
And stay thy heart on Me.

The second stanza is a great reminder to me, especially when my heart is burdened with worry about people whom I love. Did you sort out all the pronouns in that stanza (thee, thine, Mine...)? If not, I encourage you to read it again, keeping in mind that "thine" means something that belongs to you, as in "your travel mug" or "your loved ones."

So Near

Below, above, around thee everywhere--
So is My love, like clearness of blue air.

To find the air so high and yet so low,
Tell Me, belovéd, hast thou far to go?
***
So high, so low--but I had thought Thee far,
Remote, aloof, like glory of a star.

And is the way of love so near to me?
Then by that way I come; I come to Thee.

Watch carefully who is speaking in Carmichael's poems. The capitals on the pronouns are a clue... Did you catch that two different persons speak in this poem?

Empty, We Come

O Love of loves, we have no good to bring Thee,
No single good of all our hands have wrought.
No worthy music have we found to sing Thee,
No jeweled word, no quick up-soaring thought.

And yet we come; and when our faith would falter
Show us, O Lord, the quiet place of prayer,
The golden censer and the golden altar,
And the great angel waiting for us there.

Hope Through Me

Hope through me, God of Hope,
Or never can I know
Deep wells and living streams of hope,
And pools of overflow.

Flood me with hope today
For souls perverse, undone,
For sinful souls that turn away,
Blind sunflowers, from their Sun.

O blesséd Hope of God,
Flow through me patiently,
Until I hope for everyone
As Thou hast hoped for me.

Spirit, Work in Me

Spirit Divine, work in me holiness,
Purity, pity for the world's distress.
But O let hope, Thy quenchless hope, prevail,
Lest I should faint and fail.

Then as the incense from the golden bowl
Rose up to Thee, so from my quiet soul
Let prayer arise--a little, quiet cloud--
To Thee, my listening God.

These last two poems filled me with hope during some dark days this past month. I desperately needed hope as I poured out my heart to God. And He gave me the hope I needed, the faith to believe that He heard and would answer with good gifts, as a Father gives to His child. Thank You, dear Father in heaven.

Speech and Debate Competition

2006-11-28T17:33:00.000-08:00

Announcing a Speech and Debate Tournament for NCFCA affiliates in Madison, Wisconsin, on January 4, 5, 6, 2007. :) Further details available at our web site. If you have ever considered getting involved with speech and debate competition, please come to the tournament to hear some great speeches and to be inspired (assuming you live somewhere nearby).

We are in need of volunteer judges for this event. I think homeschool parents would be great judges. No previous experience is necessary to serve as a judge; everything you need to know will be presented in a short orientation at the beginning of each round. In addition to homeschool parents, we are looking for judges from the general public because we want the kids to communicate with a broad audience--so, really, anyone over 18 and out of high school is welcome to judge. It's very easy to sign up right at our site: Christian Communicators of Wisconsin.

This is our family's first year of forensics competition--we are excited. Three of our children, ages 12 and up, will be competing in interpretive speech, apologetics, possibly impromptu speaking, and debate.

Questions? Feel free to ask.

Christmas decorating

2006-11-09T14:29:00.000-08:00

This ought to make my blog look a little less neglected. :) This is a photo of the wreath hanging on our front door... and evidence of the one and only bit of Christmas planning/decorating I've done thus far.

Our Lighthouse Speech and Debate Club is selling these Balsam wreaths from Maine. They are guaranteed to last until Christmas. I like it much better than the cheap wreaths I bought from the local high school choir in the past...

If you'd like to order one from us to help us cover our three daughters' speech and debate tournament expenses, please let me know via a comment here or a personal email. Wreaths of Maine will ship directly to you (or your gift recipient--someone who has everything, perhaps?) during the week of December that you specify. Several varieties of wreaths are available, but please order here rather than from the Wreaths of Maine site so that our girls get the credit. Shipping is $7.00 and the last date to order from our family is November 26.

Thanks for considering helping us out.

In grace,
Colleen

It takes so much more than "a village"

2006-10-02T07:31:00.000-07:00

Friday, a school shooting occurred in a small town not even 20 miles from us. Principal John Klang was shot 3 times by a 15 yo student, Eric Hainstock. Klang died at a hospital later.

Reading several articles about the boy's background and containing comments by school employees and community members, I've found one statement (from this Wisconsin State Journal article) that makes sense to me.

Another friend of the family who insisted on anonymity said Hainstock suffered most from being the victim of a broken home, "a situation that made it very difficult for him to feel loved.

"You know the saying 'It takes a village to raise a child.' It's so false," the friend said. "It doesn't take a village; it takes two loving parents, and Eric doesn't have that."

"The village" knew that this child had suffered abuse, that he was the product of a broken home, that he drew troubling pictures as a young boy, that he had a problem with anger, that he boasted of getting into trouble. "The village" found his father guilty of battering him and restricted his father's contact with him for a time. "The village" decided, at the time of his parent's divorce, which parent was more suitable to have custody of Eric. "The village" put him into special education classes and anger management classes. "The village" threatened to put him into in-school suspension when he broke school rules. "The village" kept records on him and held opinions about him.

But, he didn't have two responsible people who loved him above all the other kids, two people who cheered for him in his successes and held him tight in his failures, two people who would give their souls to see him get a good start in life. How can "the village" be a substitute for those two people?

Time for a rant (about adaptations of great literature)...

2006-09-23T15:05:00.000-07:00

I was very pleased that I took the time to browse through books at our local Goodwill store today. Before me was a clothbound volume of Howard Pyle's Men of Iron. The binding was tight, the paper of good quality. It was a discarded copy from the local teacher's college that closed so many years ago. For $1.39! How could I resist?

I forgot one thing: to check whether it was an "adaptation" or not. I am a fool. It is an adaptation. "Adapted by William Kottmeyer, Director, Saint Louis Reading Clinic," the title page reads in plain print for the careful buyer.

Now what am I going to do with it?

"Why does it matter?" you ask. Rather than list some points to convince you that it matters, I'll let you decide for yourself. First of all, here are the beginning paragraphs of Pyle's original text, available free here.

MYLES FALWORTH was but eight years of age at that time, and it was only afterwards, and when he grew old enough to know more of the ins and outs of the matter, that he could remember by bits and pieces the things that afterwards happened; how one evening a knight came clattering into the court-yard upon a horse, red-nostrilled and smeared with the sweat and foam of a desperate ride -- Sir John Dale, a dear friend of the blind Lord.

Even though so young, Myles knew that something very serious had happened to make Sir John so pale and haggard, and he dimly remembered leaning against the knight's iron-covered knees, looking up into his gloomy face, and asking him if he was sick to look so strange. Thereupon those who had been too troubled before to notice him, bethought themselves of him, and sent him to bed, rebellious at having to go so early.

He remembered how the next morning, looking out of a window high up under the eaves, he saw a great troop of horsemen come riding into the courtyard beneath, where a powdering of snow had whitened everything, and of how the leader, a knight clad in black armor, dismounted and entered the great hall door-way below, followed by several of the band.

Now, here are the first three paragraphs of the version bequethed to us by the learned Mr. William Kottmeyer.

In the year 1400 Myles Falworth was only eight years old. Myles was too young to understand what was happening in England then. But later he found out. Then he understood what he had seen as a little boy.

Richard II had been king. But Richard was a weak king. He had many strong enemies. These enemies killed him. And so Henry IV became the new king.

Every king has friends. The new King Henry did not like Richard’s friends. Richard had given them castles and lands. Henry took the castles and lands away and gave them to his own friends. So Richard’s friends soon became King Henry’s enemies. They plotted to kill him. But Henry found out about this. He got his army together and went after them. One by one he caught and killed them.

If you think the second book will touch the heart of a child just as beautifully as the original, you tell me why. Perhaps, though, you'd rather spend your time finishing the online etext of Mr. Pyle's classic story. If you are a child at heart (like me), those first three paragraphs captured your attention. :)

End rant.

The Homeschooling Meme

2006-08-28T06:34:00.000-07:00

Mother Auma tagged me for this meme.

1) ONE HOMESCHOOLING BOOK YOU HAVE ENJOYED
The only education book I have reread several times is For the Children’s Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay.

2) ONE RESOURCE YOU WOULDN'T BE WITHOUT
The booklists of Ambleside Online and House of Education Online.

3) ONE RESOURCE YOU WISH YOU HAD NEVER BOUGHT
The Greenleaf Guide to Ancient Literature. This was not what our oldest daughter needed several years ago when she started 9th grade. I regret not using Ambleside Online for her at that time. 

4) ONE RESOURCE YOU ENJOYED LAST YEAR
A 1930 book called Discovery of Poetry by P. H. B. Lyon, Headmaster of Rugby School.

5) ONE RESOURCE YOU WILL BE USING NEXT YEAR
Home Educator’s Tutor for copywork, art, music and logic (back issues contain a logic game by Lewis Carroll that I’m eager to try out).

6) ONE RESOURCE YOU WOULD LIKE TO BUY
The Pilgrim’s Progress audio version that Mother Auma plans to use, http://orionsgate.org/audio/audio.html

7) ONE RESOURCE YOU WISH EXISTED
Well-qualified tutors in my neighborhood to teach several foreign languages to my children at a low cost.

8) ONE HOMESCHOOLING CATALOGUE YOU ENJOY READING
I look through Timberdoodle more than any others I receive. I use it for gift ideas sometimes.

9) ONE HOMESCHOOLING WEBSITE YOU USE REGULARLY
For finding web resources on a lot of homeschool topics, I start with A to Z Home’s Cool: http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/index.htm

10) TAG FIVE OTHER HOMESCHOOLERS

Tootlepip
Paper Lilacs
Tim's Mom
Sherry
Erinee

This will probably be my last post for awhile. Too, too, too much to do.

"The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved," Jeremiah 8:20. Application to my life? August is almost over, school should begin soon, and not only haven't I thoroughly planned our schedule, but I haven't painted the housetrim!

Homeschool Math Blog Giveaways

2006-08-12T07:06:00.000-07:00

I have posted links to Homeschool Math Blog. I appreciate the focus of Maria's writings, as well as the resources she links to. She has a new contest that I'm entering by publicizing.

Homeschool Math Blog is giving away memberships to The Math Forum Problem of the Week service (great for learning problem solving, for grades 3-10) AND some math ebooks.

Click here to read the details and how to participate!

Learn more about Challenging problems in math and how to use a "Problem of the Week" activity.

The Math Forum's mission is to provide interactive learning services and a
library of resources from the online mathematics community that enrich and
support teaching and learning in an increasingly technological world.

UPDATE: I won in this Giveaway!!! Thanks, Maria, for the free Geometry E-book. I'm hoping to introduce our younger children to geometry, since it is only lightly covered in their math texts before high school.

Time is relative

2006-07-12T10:00:00.000-07:00

After years of experience on the Internet, I've come to the conclusion that the theory of relativity holds true when it relates to time. Time online is not at all the same as time offline. I think it's because when online, our environment is so foreign to the real-life environment in which we've grown up. We're missing all the natural perimeters by which we usually measure our time.

For example, how long it takes to make coffee is a "known" to me. How long it takes to do a Google search and find the right website is an unknown, so perhaps I cannot evaluate beforehand whether or not the time spent is worthwhile. ? Going for a daily walk typically takes me 40 minutes. Sometimes, I look at all the other tasks I need to accomplish and decide that I don't have the time to take the walk. However, on the same day, I may decide to check my email, totally blind to the fact that this activity might eat up my walking time and then some.

Anyway... I'm off to call the bank to find out if they have a copy of the one checking statement out of the last twelve which I'm missing. That's right... It's been 12 months since I reconciled our account!!! I need someone around who will lock the computer each month unless I've balanced the checking account...

This post was inspired, btw, by a comment from Mother Auma about my post titled, "Help!" She said, " I have finally realized that when I know I have been on long enough I need to actually turn the computer *off* otherwise I keep popping back in when I have a minute.. which turns into an hour very quickly."

And I said, "I know exactly what you mean. In fact, I think I'll jot off a quick post about it. It shouldn't take more than... let's see... five minutes? Ha!"

The Curious ask: "How long did it take to write this post?" Eighteen minutes as of this second. More than triple what I estimated. I can see Albert Einstein looking over my shoulder, nodding his head...

Help!

2006-07-10T10:54:00.000-07:00

Help! Help! Help! I've lost my entire first page... I can get to archived posts, but the first page just shows as a bunch of code from the template...

I think it probably happened when I tried to add a link to my sidebar and then tried to republish. It took more than 15 minutes, so I shut it down. Now everything's gone. Whoo-whoo! Whoo-whoo! What a to-do!

**********

LATER... Well, I simply went to the Blogspot templates and reloaded the one I used to make the blog. Whew! It worked! Of course, I lost all my links and stuff in the sidebar. However, some things were not lost, like the quotation I have right under the title. I guess that's saved in "Settings."

So, back to our regular programming... Stay tuned for the next episode of, "I really shouldn't be online because I have so much to do in my real life!"

;)

Where Are You From Poetry Contest

2006-06-19T09:46:00.000-07:00

Joy in the Morning is hosting a poetry contest.

Hurry--deadline is June 21. Here's the poem that inspired the idea.

Our first diploma from our family school

2006-06-06T14:41:00.000-07:00

We bought the template for the diploma at VDM Educator Services for only $6.00 US. Isn't it beautiful?

Even more beautiful are the memories of the last 19 years of Anna's life. I feel blessed to have the privilege of being her first teacher. Or should I say the privilege of having her as my first teacher? What I've learned through this adventure is priceless.

The text of the diploma:

This
DIPLOMA
is awarded to Anna xxxxxxx xxxxxxx
in recognition of her many accomplishments
and as evidence that she has fulfilled all requirements for HIGH SCHOOL
May 21, 2006 Philippians 4:8

Ronald x xxxxxxx Colleen x xxxxxxx
Administrative Director Administrative Instructor

ISTP--Is this me?

2006-06-05T19:39:00.000-07:00

I took the What's Your Mothering Style? quiz tonight. If you know me in real life, does this fit me?

I found the quiz rather difficult to take--there were only 4 questions, each with 2 possible answers. I was a little ambivalent about 1-3 of my answers, but amazingly, I do think this sounds like the mother I've evolved into.

Your type is: ISTP —The “Give 'Em Their Space” Mother

“My feelings are my own business. Not theirs.
So I honor their privacy too.”

Non-intrusive and respectful of differences, the ISTP mother gives her children the personal space they need to develop as separate, self-sufficient individuals. As children grow and mature, she enjoys observing how each one becomes his or her own person. She seeks to accept and honor each child’s interests, opinions, and choices.

The ISTP mother does not believe in authority or control for its own sake. Instead, she favors a non-directive approach. Yet she has high expectations for each child’s self-discipline as a key to self sufficiency.

To these ends, the ISTP mother wants to “be there” for her children—to meet their basic needs and keep them safe. Her goal is to help her children think for themselves and take responsibility for their own actions.

As I told a group of online friends, I think my results would have been different before my girls reached the teenage years... and before I read Charlotte Mason... that second point, yes--Charlotte Mason taught me that!

Take the quiz yourself (assuming you are a mother). What do you think?

National Spelling Bee, May 31 and June 1

2006-05-26T07:02:00.000-07:00

What will our family be doing next Wednesday and Thursday? Following the National Spelling Bee. Results of the beginning rounds, May 31, will be posted at the Scripps website word-by-word. The final rounds, June 1, are live on TV.

Final rounds of Scripps National Spelling Bee to be broadcast live on ABC during primetime

For
immediate
release
(NYSE: SSP)
April 27, 2006

CINCINNATI – Live television coverage of the 2006 Scripps National Spelling Bee will be moving to primetime this year on the ABC Television Network.

ABC will broadcast the final championship rounds of the bee in high definition from
8 p.m. to 10 p.m. EDT on Thursday, June 1. Good Morning America anchor Robin Roberts will host the ABC broadcast.

Preliminary championship rounds of the bee will air live earlier in the day on ESPN, which has televised the final rounds of the bee in their entirety since 1994. The ESPN broadcast is scheduled for noon to 3 p.m., EDT. SportsCenter anchor Chris McKendry will host the ESPN broadcast.

More Here

A Typical Week, or Something Like

2006-05-20T17:52:00.000-07:00

I kept a rough log of our learning-related activities the first week of May. A typical week at our house looks something like the following.

Monday

6:15 am - Up, coffee, Bible, shower
8:00 - Try to rouse kids--with the emphasis on the word try! It is Monday, after all.
9:00 - Finishing up breakfast (E - Bible reading, book of Job)
Mom - email and blog updates

Note: Activities in parentheses indicate students working independently of Mom. You may assume I was in on the other activities.

9:30 - Mom and E - kitchen cleanup (B - shower, then independent work; C and D - Bible reading, then independent work)

Note: Our children were born in alphabetical order. Their ages are: A 19; B 17; C 14; D 12; E 10; F 6. Grades in school: A senior; B junior; C freshman; D 7th; E 5th; F kindergarten.

10:00 - F - Bible and phonics
10:20 - E - This Country of Ours
10:45 - Mom - housework
11:00 - B and C - How to Read a Book (E - math and handwriting)
11:45 - E - piano practice/instruction
12:00 - Mom checked D’s and E’s math work (E - independent reading)
E - narrated readings to Mom

Note: A slept until noon--not uncommon for her this year. I didn’t try to log her learning activities. Suffice it to say that she met my requirements. Her courses this year are geometry, biology, U. S. history, and literature. For the 3 latter classes, she is basically finishing up several living books for each, narrating to me orally or in writing for reporting purposes.

12:30 pm - Lunch, cleanup; Mom - email check
1:30 - (B - independent work)
1:45 - (C, D, E, F - chore time) Mom and A - prayer time
2:00 - (B - Spanish class at high school)
2:30 - Mom - financial paperwork
2:45 - (E - math; D - piano)
3:00 - (A - geometry; B - reading) Mom - geometry study
3:30 - C, D - discussion w/Mom; narrations
3:45 - (C - piano)
4:00 - Mom - errand
4:15 - (B - violin)
4:30 - Mom - reading
4:45 - Mom - supper preps
5:20 - C - narrating
10:00 - Our cat, Peter Pan, came home with an arrow through his front leg and chest!

Tuesday

6:00 am - Up, coffee, Bible, breakfast
8:00 - Kids up
9:00 - Extracted arrow from our tomcat’s front right leg and chest
9:30 - Mom - tea (needed after above activity!), shower, kitchen cleanup
(B, C - reading; E - Bible, math)

Note: I’m failing miserably at keeping track of the independent work of B, C, D and E. Suffice it to say that they are meeting our requirements. They spend much of their schooltime reading a wide range of books, then reporting to me in oral narrations. Written narrations are called for once a week. They are doing their math lessons pretty much independently.

10:15 - Mom - email check
10:40 - F - Bible and math
11:10 - E - spelling (C - algebra)
11:35 - Mom - lunch preps
12:30 pm - Mom - checking A’s geometry
1:00 - Lunch - discussed geometry (prisms) with all
1:30 - 5:00 - (B to Spanish and then weight room, errands; A to weight room, errands)
1:45 - Mom - rest (C, D, E, F - finish lunch, cleanup)
2:15 - Mom - make bread; cleanup; listen to E’s piano (C, D, E, F - work in yard)
2:50 - E - narrations

Note: Afternoons often include 30-60 minutes of computer time for each student, which may be games, email, blogging, or educational work like spelling bee work or ACT practice

3:00 - Mom - geometry study
3:30 - Mom - checking B’s geometry, C’s algebra
4:00 - 5:30 - Mom - caring for cat, discussing with neighbor; C, D - narrations; B - geometry discussion
5:30 - 7:00 - B, C, D, E, F - helped prepare supper
After supper - All sang and studied Bible with Dad

Wednesday

6:00 am - Up, shower, coffee, online stuff
7:00 - Wake kids
8:00 - Leave for music lessons (D - Bible memory work in car)

Note: Music lessons are an hour away. We listen to music or a book-on-tape about 50% of the time. This week, we are taking a break from listening to anything…

9:00 - Mom, B, C, D, E - read or work on other educational pursuits while D and C take piano lessons, B takes violin lesson; lessons end 10:45
9:30 - E - science reading (then math); F - Bible, phonics

Note: These two youngsters prefer to work in the car during music lessons--the music teacher’s home is a bit noisy for reading and narrating.

10:00 - Mom, E, F - errands
10:45 - 12:30 - Drive home, errands
1:00 pm - Lunch
1:30 - Mom and E - Library to seek books about the ancient Romans (C and D - cleanup; B - Spanish at the high school)
3:45 - 4:30 - A - geometry w/Mom
4:30 - B, C, D, E - narrations

Thursday

7:30 am - Up, coffee, Bible
8:00 - Breakfast; Mom - email check, online research
8:45 - F - Bible
9:15 - Mom - shower (B, C, D, E - cleanup; start independent work)
9:50 - Mom - help neighbor
10:00 - F - math
10:45 - E - This Country of Ours; narrations
11:15 - Mom check math for B, D, E; discuss geometry with B
11:45 - A - geometry
12:40 pm - Lunch, quick email check
1:30 - Mom, E, F - cleanup, work time (C, D - biology lab together with Mom overseeing)
2:30 - E - piano practice; more math (C, D - work time)
2:45 - Mom - reading
3:20 - Mom - online work (B, C - continue independent work; A to job at 2:45)
B, C, D - narrations

Friday - This will not be a typical day at all…

??? - Mom up
8:00 am - Kids up, breakfast
9:00 - F - Bible; read-aloud book about the underground railroad (B, C, D, E - independent schoolwork )
10:00 - Mom - Get ready for expedition; check map
10:30 - Kids help pack lunches and car
11:15 - Leave for expedition

Note: A and B stayed home to carry on their normal activities, including their evening jobs.

12:00 - Stop for lunch in a parking lot, downtown Elroy, Wisconsin
1:00 - Arrive at Bob and Laura’s rustic homestead; meet others and chat
1:30 - Get organized and begin our Underground Railroad Experience, in which we played at being slaves running away through the woods!

2:30 - Most slaves arrive safely in Canada; some Moms, like me, were caught by bounty hunters.

"I’ll never see my children again! Lord, protect them."

3:00 - Drive home; stop at grocery store for roasted chicken
4:00 - Home; prepare supper and eat
6:00 - Mom takes a nap--wery unusual, as Samuel Weller said when his step-mother had a kind word and a glass of pineapple rum for Mr. Weller, Senior.

Note: I’m reading The Pickwick Papers by Dickens now, often late at night, which may explain the last journal entry in more ways than one.

Easter Story Cookies

2006-04-15T10:10:00.000-07:00

Our kids like me to make these on Easter weekend, though we are sometimes too busy to do it. They call them "tomb cookies."

Ingredients:
1cup whole pecans
1tsp vinegar
3 egg whites
pinch salt
1 cup sugar
zipper baggie
wooden spoon
tape
Bible

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees (This is important. Don't wait till you're half done with the recipe!).

Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested, He was beaten by the Roman soldiers. Read John 19:1-3.

Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 tsp vinegar into mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, He was given vinegar to drink. Read John 19:28-30.

Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11.

Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin. Read Luke 23:27.

So far, the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add 1 cup sugar.

Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him. Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16.

Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isaiah 1:18 and I John 3:1-3*.

Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid. Read Matthew 27:57-60.

Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed. Read Matthew 27:65-66.

GO TO BED! Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed. Read John 16:20 and 22.

On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first Easter, Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. Read Matthew 28:1-9.

He is risen! Alleluia!

*Note: edited at 3:38 pm to correct scripture reference in the 8th paragraph. It read "John 3:1-3" originally; I John 3:1-3 seems to better fit the topic of that section.

A dance began 26 years ago...

2006-04-07T08:34:00.000-07:00

Spring and summer of 1980. He is a new believer in Jesus Christ, also newly discharged from the US Air Force. After returning to the family farm, he begins attending church regularly for the first time in his life. She meets him at a Bible study for college-age people. They both enroll in the local two-year university.

A small group of christians meet on campus for Bible studies and prayer. As friendships develop, they gather to talk in the cafeteria, library, parking lot... before and after classes... long conversations, much laughter.

She watches him, noticing that he is intelligent and articulate, discussing subjects she too finds interesting. He is sensitive, looking for ways God can work through his life. A great listener, he asks perceptive questions and gives sound advice when other students come to him with their problems. She admires the freshness and depth of his newfound love for God and the Bible.

A question arises in her mind within the first month of school. Could he be the one? This question grows into a dream, a dream she lays before her Father in heaven. She waits to see what He will do with it.

November 20, 1980. After everyone else leaves a prayer meeting at school, the two begin a conversation that stretches through the afternoon. His counseling abilities and how people seek his advice is one of the topics.

She says, "I had thought of coming to you for some advice."

"Oh, really? About what?"

Uh-oh. She should have known he would ask. Well, she had known. What to say now? Moments pass as she carefully chooses her words, telling him she's not sure she should tell him.

He waits, questions, yet has no clue of the earth-shaking revelation about to emerge.

"I was going to ask what you thought I should do about... What a person should do if... Well, I'll speak of it in past-tense, because I think I may not have the problem any more." Hadn't she been thinking about him less the last week?

She pauses, then finally plunges in, "I had a crush on you."

Thus begins the dance--she takes the first step.

He expresses genuine surprise. A rare man, he, never imagining that any girl would be harboring romantic thoughts about him. He quietly questions her, trying to piece together the facts of this story.

She answers with bright eyes, relieved to finally take a step and patiently waiting for the next one--his step.

He makes a move just as the conversation is winding down. "Well, if you ever want to do anything together, let me know."

Not what she expected. But, this dance is unlearned, unpracticed. Never has anyone else danced it like these two. Spontaneously, each of them chooses his next word, look or movement in a style unique to his own soul. A dance impossible to be danced again.

Their next meeting is a group trip to Red Lobster. No chance for conversation in the van, but at the restaurant, their feet move them to the same table. Alone.

"Hey, you two can't sit by yourselves!" Bryan exclaims, joining them with a huge smile. The two exchange their first private glance, which says, "They haven't yet noticed our dance."

What seals it? After the fish, after the trip home, her phone rings. It is him. He talks of what he has been thinking and remembering: past conversations that could have clued him in on her feelings; comments dropped by mutual friends (girls in on her secret) that seemed odd at the time. Trickles of melting snow from the hills, converging in the valley to rush downstream with nothing to stop the flood.

Our wedding: December 26, 1981

Jumping Jehosaphat!

2006-04-05T19:07:00.000-07:00

Our second daughter has been writing stories like mad... and has posted a small sampling at her blog. If you'd like to read what she's posted and let her know what you think, visit Jumping Jehosaphat.

Atdhvaannkcse. By the way, if you don't have a Xanga account but would like to leave her a comment, feel free to comment here. I will pass it on to her.

Burn-out, multitasking, joy in living

2006-04-01T08:19:00.000-08:00

I found an old blog post at Tami's Blog about how she avoids burning out as a homeschool mom. I agree, I agree.

Thank you, Henry Cate of Why Homeschool for writing about The Multitasking Generation. This is definitely a topic for thought and discussion in our family.

I've been spending less time online these past few months... and I've enjoyed it. This paragraph says it better than I can, from the Time article Henry quotes:

"The problem," says Hallowell, "is what you are not doing if the electronic moment grows too large"--too large for the teenager and too large for those parents who are equally tethered to their gadgets. In that case, says Hallowell, "you are not having family dinner, you are not having conversations, you are not debating whether to go out with a boy who wants to have sex on the first date, you are not going on a family ski trip or taking time just to veg. It's not so much that the video game is going to rot your brain, it's what you are not doing that's going to rot your life."

I find joy in having time (15 minutes, some days) to read an extra story with my 6 yo dd. I find joy in reading a novel now and then, going for a walk now that the weather is nice, looking forward to cleaning out the flowerbed. I find peace and contentment in spending time planning our school days rather than flying by the seat of my jeans. I find satisfaction in having a little more time to keep the clutter in control... Keeping my computer time manageable gives time for other joyful pursuits.

God is so good to me.

In support of eschewing school textbooks

2006-03-25T10:03:00.000-08:00

Edutopia has published an article about how textbooks are made, The Muddle Machine: Confessions of a Textbook Editor No wonder they are dry as dust.

Related articles at Edutopia:
How to Toss the Text
No Books, No Problem
A list of web sites useful for planning science lessons without textbooks

In memory of an innocent 4 yo boy

2006-03-23T06:42:00.000-08:00

Sean Paddock died February 26 of suffocation with blankets. I cannot find many details about his death online; it appears that wrapping him up tightly in blankets was a punishment repeatedly used by his mother, Lynn.

This article gives the most complete information I can find.

The Lord Jesus Christ's teachings about children come to my mind:

* Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these, Matthew 19:14.
* Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, Matthew 18:3, 4.
* And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea, Matthew 18:5, 6.
* See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven, Matthew 18:10.

Hinder them not; offend them not; despise them not. Be humble as they are humble. Words to live by.

Anne at Holy Experience writes words from her heart of love in a letter to the relatives of Sean.

Adler's How to Read a Book: Suggestions for Practicing His Methods?

2006-03-22T14:14:00.000-08:00

A comment and question from Henry Cate of Why Homeschool on my "Reading Readiness" post:

Our first two daughters were late readers. The first didn't really start reading until she was eight. She went from second grade level to twelve in one year. Our second didn't catch on until about nine, and she is busy doing the same thing.

For some reason our third daughter seems to take after my wife, and has been doing fairly well at five.

Do you have any suggestions for short, good, non-fiction books for an eleven year old? I've had my daughter read the first part of Adler's book, and now I want her to put into practice what she has read. I'm looking for something around 100 pages which teaches interesting and useful things.

I first thought of Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? by Richard Maybury, recently read by 3 of our daughters. I also thought that a history chronicle (Bede? Asser's Life of Alfred? The Magna Charta?) or a short biography might be appropriate. Other nonfiction books our children enjoy are nature books, like Life of a Spider by Fabre or Wild Animals I Have Known by Seton.

I would like to take time to browse my bookshelves and booklists for more specific ideas, but I thought I would ask for help from other booklovers who may be reading this, especially those who have put Adler's methods into practice with your own students. What suggestions would you give Henry? Please leave ideas in the comments to this post. atdhvaannkcse!

The one bad thing about books?

2006-03-20T07:26:00.000-08:00

Books give me dark circles under my eyes.

Recently tasted books:

Pride and Prejudice--I finished this Saturday. For those who may have seen one of the films without ever reading the book itself, you are missing out. You'll never fully understand how Darcy and Elizabeth fall in love without the book.

A quote: "But make a virtue of it by all means. My good qualities are under your protection, and you are to exaggerate them as much as possible..." Elizabeth to Darcy.

Precious Bane, by Mary Webb--Three daughters and I are reading this concurrently. My memories of this book persuade me that it is my favorite love story. Will my opinion stand up to a rereading?

A quote from Chapter 1, as Pru begins her book and gives glimpses of themes that will be woven within the pages: "Well, it is all gone over now, the trouble and the struggling. It be quiet weather now, like a still evening with the snow all down, and a green sky, and lambs calling. I sit here by the fire with my Bible to hand, a very old woman and a tired woman, with a task to do before she says good night to this world. When I look out of my window and see the plain and the big sky with clouds standing up on the mountains, I call to mind the thick, blotting woods of Sarn, and the crying of the mere when the ice was on it, and the way the water would come into the cupboard under the stairs when it rose at the time of the snow melting. There was but little sky to see there, saving that which was reflected in the mere; but the sky that is in the mere is not the proper heavens. You see it in a glass darkly, and the long shadows of rushes go thin and sharp across the sliding stars, and even the sun and moon might be put out down there, for, times, the moon would get lost in lily leaves, and, times, a heron might stand before the sun."

Books I'm nibbling on without necessarily planning to finish:

How the Heather Looks, by Joan Bodger--debating whether to assign this to our 14 yodd;
Arguing about Slavery: John Quincy Adams and the Great Battle in the United States Congress, by William Lee Miller--debating whether to suggest this for our 17 yo dd;
Johannes Kepler and the New Astronomy, by James R. Voelkel--trying to choose between this and a Sower Series bio of Kepler for our 12 yo dd... Looks like the Sower Series bio will work better for her. The Voelkel book is more advanced.

Things learned about prayer

2006-03-18T11:57:00.000-08:00

For most of my life, I've been in a rut regarding prayer. I had high ideals, similar to the ideals a friend expressed at a Bible study last month: "I grew up with great prayer warriors as my models, so I thought if I wasn't spending an hour or more praying early every morning, I was failing."

These high ideals produced guilt, so every time I prayed, I had to do extensive confession of my failures before I could pray about anything else. Somewhere in the process of learning to be a mother of several children, I decided to give up the guilt. I realized that God wasn't withholding His blessings and grace from my life because I didn't spend hours in Bible study and prayer. Whose standards was I trying to live up to? He knew what life with small children was like. I concentrated, instead, on walking with Him moment by moment, living out what I already knew from His Word, Practicing the Presence of God.

Still, when I actually felt motivated to kneel to pray, my mind wandered. Or, I fell asleep. So, the next thing I learned was a tip from C. S. Lewis: Use the Lord's prayer as a guide.* It is my outline, if you will, while I pray. An added benefit of using His ideas instead of mine is that my focus is on my relationship with Him much more than when I come up with my own "shopping list" for praying.

Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory.

A more recent thing I've learned: Set a modest goal. For me, this was 15 minutes a day. I reasoned that a few minutes a day, almost every day, was better than sporadic half-hours every week or two. This 15-minute goal has been an important step for me. If I neglect it in the morning, I can easily fit it in later in the day.

Prayer has become a part of my life. It is much more natural now, like eating, drinking, breathing, rather than something unnatural for me, like training for a triathlon (lol!).

The next step has grown out of my desire to pray with my children as part of the discipleship process. We pray before meals together; and when we hear of a special need of a friend or relative, we try to gather in the living room for a time of prayer. The kiddos aren't used to it, however, and they tend to distract each other or act reluctant. I hope that they pray to the Lord alone, as they read their Bibles alone, but I feel some responsibility to help them more in this area.

So, an idea occurred to me. Now, each day (when possible), I pray alone briefly with a different child. After half of month of this, I'm thankful that it's working well. What better way to spend part of our day than coming together to our Father for acknowledgment of His many blessings and of our constant need for His help. This fits well into my philosophy of home education and of keeping open relationships with each person in the family.

*I think the book by Lewis that influenced me on this topic was Letters to Malcolm. John MacArthur also wrote a book on the Lord's prayer, Alone with God: The Power and Passion of Prayer, that I read years ago and still remember. A more recent (and shorter) book I read is by Hank Hanegraaff, The Prayer of Jesus.

St. Patrick's Day

2006-03-17T18:22:00.000-08:00

Today, I finally noticed that my tulips have poked their leaves above the surface--the flower bed has been covered in snow lately, so I hadn't been looking for this first sign of spring.

I appreciate St. Patrick the man, who is by profession one of my brothers in Christ Jesus. One children's book we have read about him is by Tomie DePaola, titled Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland. My better half and I don't agree with the practice of designating some people "saints," but we do appreciate those whose lives clearly demonstrate biblical truth.

We watched a group of Irish step dancers perform on Wednesday. We knew three of the students from either our church, home school contacts, or a play our children were in. I haven't heard anyone here begging to take step dance lessons... yet.

With a given name like Colleen, how can I resist trying some Irish recipes on St. Patrick's Day? Our menu:

Pearl onions with Irish Butter Sauce (ketchup and butter, believe it or not, but good)
Colcannon (definitely worth making, if you've never tried this cabbage and potato dish)
Irish Stew (with beef for economy's sake)
Irish Soda Bread
Mexican Limeade (because it's green, silly!)

May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face.
And rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

In honor of a dedicated wife and mother: Missey

2006-03-02T07:46:00.000-08:00

The home school community has received bittersweet* news. Yesterday, a mom of our number went into eternity after an emergency c-section. Missey taught her children using Ambleside Online, as I do. She also shared advice and practical help freely with other home-educating moms online. Please pray for her husband, Tom, and their 5 children, including the baby girl born March 1 and named after her mommy, Melissa Kate.

Missey's obituary, photo, and details about the complications after her surgery.

*But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him, 1 Thessalonians 4: 13, 14.

Does this coffee cup stir your heart to prayer?

2006-02-27T06:41:00.000-08:00

If you walked into your neighborhood Starbucks, ordered your favorite coffee drink, then glanced at your cup and saw these words, what would you think?

"My only regret about being gay is that I repressed it for so long. I surrendered my youth to the people I feared when I could have been out there loving someone. Don’t make that mistake yourself. Life’s too damn short."-- Armistead Maupin

This is old news, but not to me. I just learned about these "The Way I See It" cups last night. My Better Half printed out a few articles he found online about the response of various conservatives to this quote and other ways Starbucks supports the homosexual agenda (see this related article).

Here's what I thought, after mulling this over as I went about my morning routine (which included grinding and brewing some Starbucks coffee beans): I wonder how many followers of Christ have thought to pray for Mr. Maupin? Dear Father in heaven, break into the reality of which he is so sure and show him Your kingdom of light. Plant the seed of the Gospel in his heart and nurture it till it bears the fruit of salvation. And give us all wisdom on how to treat those who are blinded in their lives of sin.

Reading Readiness

2006-02-23T06:38:00.000-08:00

Raymond and Dorothy Moore have written several books that deal with readiness for school and for learning to read. Better Late than Early and School Can Wait are very reassuring books for the parent who has a "late bloomer" in one area or another.

Another book I'm reading now, Mortimer J. Adler's How to Read a Book (The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading) includes a brief section on reading readiness. He affirms what the Moores found in their research. "The important thing to remember is that jumping the gun is usually self-defeating. The child who is not yet ready to read is frustrated if attempts are made to teach him, and he may carry over his dislike to the experience into his later school career and even into adult life. Delaying the beginning of reading instruction beyond the reading readiness stage is not nearly so serious, despite the feelings of parents who may fear that their child is backward or is not keeping up with his peers," (Adler, p. 24).

Adler lists several aspects of readiness:
physical--good vision and hearing (The Moore's writings stress this
point strongly--not all children have the necessary vision and hearing
skills at age 5 or 6)
intellectual--visual perception advanced enough to take in and
remember the letters in a word
language--the ability to speak clearly and to use several sentences in
correct order (seems many children develop this long before the other
skills)
"personal readiness"--ability to work with other children (how does
this affect learning to read, I wonder?), to sustain attention (ah-- a
Charlotte Mason habit!), to follow directions (Adler, p. 24).

We used How to Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons for 5 of our 6 kids. Among the reading methods I've seen, it is unique in that it works on skills such as listening and repeating a word the parent speaks s-l-o-w-l-y, rhyming, sounding a word out slowly and then saying it fast, blending sounds, etc. as the child learns the sounds each letter makes. It may be available to preview through your public library.

"Enjoy a variety of food"--Hedonism or Healthy Habit?

2006-02-22T15:15:00.000-08:00

The health writer Lawrence Lindner tells of a committee that gathered to hammer out the wording of the United States Dietary Guidelines in 1995. One committee member suggested that the first guideline read "Enjoy a variety of foods" — language that was rejected as "too hedonistic." (In the end, Mr. Lindner wrote, the committee "opted for the apparently less giddy 'Eat a variety of foods.'")

Where on earth did we get the idea that ENJOYING FOOD was hedonistic? Think about it. Did the God who created strawberries, morel mushrooms, orange roughy and the variety of other fruit, fungi and fish that are delightfully delicious expect us to eat them without enjoyment? Didn't this loving God who gives every good and perfect gift also create taste buds?

"But," I hear the diet-conscious consciences protest, "enjoying good food isn't healthy." Oh, really? Check out Harriet Brown's opine about research done in the 1970s showing that we absorb more nutrition from appetizing, appealing food than from bland or unfamiliar food.
"We're hard-wired to enjoy food; it's a survival mechanism," she states.

I've experienced this first-hand the last year. When I love what I eat, I am satisfied with less food. I am satisfied with a little vichyssoise, a little fresh salmon, a little fettucine alfredo, a little grilled pineapple w/honey sauce. Scarfing down a whole box of cheap cookies doesn't even begin to quench my craving for real food.

Bon appétit! Thank the Lord above for the good food He gives as you enjoy every mouthful. I'm baking a butternut squash tonight... can't wait to taste it. :)

Grilled Pineapple (divine)

2006-02-15T18:31:00.000-08:00

Grilled Pineapple

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 1 1/2-inch-thick slices of pineapple (fresh and ripe)
Juice of 2 lemons
2 teaspoons honey
Freshly ground pepper

1. Make crisscross slashes with a knife on each slice of pineapple to get a nice presentation after grilling. Broil until the pineapple turns a nice caramel color, but be careful not to burn.

2. In a small saucepan, boil the lemon juice and honey for 2 to 3 minutes. Let cool, add pepper to taste, and drizzle over the pineapple slices. Serve immediately as is or with a scoop of verbena ice cream... We like it with cottage cheese.

(From French Women Don't Get Fat)

In memory of the last poached pear in the house... which I just ate...

2006-02-12T18:51:00.000-08:00

I plan to post some of my favorite recipes here. I've been trying different menus and recipes since reading French Women Don't Get Fat last April. Variety in my diet has helped me to feel satisfied without eating to the point of feeling full, just as Mireille Guiliano said it would.

Here's one of my favorite fruit recipes, great for winter when all we can buy are pears that don't get soft enough to eat raw! This really feels like a treat to eat.

Poached Pears (4 servings)

1/3 c. sugar
1/4 c. orange juice /or /sweet white wine
2-3 inches stick cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 c. water
4 medium pears, peeled, halved, and cored (peaches may be substituted, but I haven't tried them)

In a large skillet bring sugar, juice, cinnamon, vanilla, and water to boiling. Add pears. Reduce heat. Simmer, covered for 10-15 minutes until tender. Remove cinnamon. Serve warm or chilled.

*****

Here's another fruit recipe that takes a little more time and effort, but it's a great way to eat more blueberries. We have it for an appetizer in the summer; those of you in warmer climes may be able to find fresh berries all year long. Using fresh rather than frozen berries will give loads more flavor.

Blueberry Soup

3 c. blueberries (can use other berries, but I haven't tried them)
2 1/4 c. water
1/2 c. sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 1/2 c. plain yogurt (probably vanilla would work too)

Combine fruit, water, sugar, and cinnamon stick in a saucepan.
Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Pour into blender and let cool.
Remove cinnamon stick, but don't discard it. Blend the mixture. Add yogurt and blend again.
Chill with the cinnamon stick. Refrigerate until cold.

Bedtime Stories Upside Down

2006-02-04T15:49:00.001-08:00

When do our youngest two children hear stories in bed? Most often, in the morning as they wake up!

I read an article awhile back in which a mom shared a tip for helping her daughters wake up and get going in the morning: she read part of a captivating chapter book to them while they gradually opened their eyes. If you read to your children, you can imagine that most kids will indeed "come to attention" when the words of a well-loved story begin filtering into their drowsy brains...

So, about a year ago I started reading a poem or two as our then 5 yod and 9 yos lay snuggled in their bunk beds. Since then, we've finished all four of A. A. Milne's classic stories and poems about Christopher Robin and Winnie-the-Pooh, as well as some other poems. I think we read Charlotte's Web, but I'd have to check with the kids to be sure. And we are now reading through the Beatrix Potter books, a few pages each morning.

Bedtime is not always a good time for reading at our house. Mom can be worn out or we can be way-off schedule and just want to get to bed. So, bedtime stories "upside down," i. e., in the morning, works to give us some time with some favorite books.

A Charlotte Mason-themed Home School Blog Carnival!

2006-01-24T06:04:00.000-08:00

The Headmistress at The Common Room has put together this week's Home School Blog Carnival, complete with quotes from Charlotte Mason to tie the topics together. Nicely done.

We are hosting our yearly Spelling Party for local home school families tonight, so I may not get a chance to browse the carnival offerings for a few days. I hope some of you reading this will enjoy the articles and spread the news to others who may benefit. :)

Additions to my reading list...

2006-01-23T14:03:00.000-08:00

It appears that I have more time to read than time to remember WHAT I read! Ha! In my previous list of books read last week, I left off (at least) two books.

Alice in Wonderland--the first time I've ever read this aloud, chosen for teatime this year for the benefit of our 6 and 10 yo children

A poem, Dauber, by John Masefield--This long poem was recommended in an old book we started last autumn, Discovering Poetry. Dauber is a worthy read for those who enjoy poetry for the sake of beautiful images, in this case, images of the sea and one man's experience of life on a sailing ship. The vocabulary may be a challenge for landlubbers, but the version I've linked includes a glossary.

Here's one passage describing a storm near Cape Horn, when Dauber and the other sailors have climbed up the masts to cut off sails and ropes that are flailing after the upper spars have broken off in the wind:

He saw the streamers of the rigging blow

Straight out like pennons from the splintered mast,

Then, all sense dimmed, all was an icy blast

Roaring from nether hell and filled with ice,

Roaring and crashing on the jerking stage,

An utter bridle given to utter vice,

Limitless power mad with endless rage

Withering the soul; a minute seemed an age.

He clutched and hacked at ropes, at rags of sail.

Thinking that comfort was a fairy-tale

Told long ago-long, long ago---long since

Heard of in other lives-imagined, dreamed--

There where the basest beggar was a prince.

To him in torment where the tempest screamed,

Comfort and warmth and ease no longer seemed

Things that a man could know: soul, body, brain,

Knew nothing but the wind, the cold, the pain.

I recommend reading Dauber aloud, one or two sections a day.

Of Books, Blogs and Burn-out

2006-01-21T08:26:00.000-08:00

The sun rose on a snowy landscape here, after two or three weeks of barren ground. I rose with thoughts of many tasks I'd like to accomplish today, knowing full well that hope of achieving all of them is fruitless. Too much to do--though stocking the empty cupboards and refrigerator earlier in the week saves me leaving home today. I am very thankful I can stay home today.

I requested a book from the public library just now. Home School Burnout by Raymond and Dorothy Moore. I read several of the Moores' books early in our home school adventure, finding inspiration and practical help in them. I remember their approach as somewhat relaxed and down-to-earth, trusting that children's natural desire to learn will eventually win out. I think the book will be a good refresher course for me.

Why Homeschool has a thoughtful article on Do We Have Time to Read? I must admit one reason I don't read as much as I think I should: computer time. Checking email, checking Yahoo groups, reading blogs, writing on my blog...

The few minutes of free time I have each day are often spent on the computer. Yes, I am often encouraged and inspired by what I read online, by corresponding with friends, by spending time writing my own thoughts. However, these activities cannot replace the depth of riches available between the covers of a great book. What harvest is yielded by posting my half-baked thoughts online, compared to spending time nourishing my mind with the well-chosen words of great thinkers?

My reading this past week has consisted of the following:

The Bible (see My Bible Reading Plan)
Short stories by Sarah Orne Jewett, Joel Chandler Harris, and Bret Harte for a short story study our high school girls are doing
Essays for the same course and a few pages from Wordsmith Craftsman on how to write esays
No Little People, No Little Places by Francis Schaeffer, finished the first chapter
Two Beatrix Potter books with our youngest
A few pages of How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler with two of our daughters
Several chapters on "transformations" in our geometry text

That's about it. Those short stories are keeping me busy, first searching them down, then reading one or more by each author to choose which to assign the girls, sometimes rereading a story to better analyze it. May the time spent doing this bear fruit in the lives of my students.

May I make wise choices concerning the use of the hours my Father has given me today.

Home School Burnout

2006-01-16T07:06:00.000-08:00

Laurie Bluedorn wrote some thoughts on Suggestions to Combat Homeschool Burnout (click on my title above to go there). I'd love to delve into this topic more deeply, but I'm trying to cut back on computer time and spend more time doing what I love to do--care for my family and spend time w/each child learning about biology, physics, history, phonics, American short stories, How to Read a Book, This Country of Ours, math, algebra, geometry...

One aspect a home school mother needs to consider: taking care of yourself. I'm getting back into my routine of taking walks, which also includes getting much-needed sunlight. I'm also considering taking the vitamins recommended through the LEVITY program. See the book When Your Body Gets the Blues by Marie-Annette Brown and Jo Robinson (sorry --can't post a link from this browser).

For me, taking care of myself also includes the spiritual disciplines of Bible reading and prayer. The time I spend on this is short--30 minutes a day, not counting time I pray "on my feet"--but the peace of mind and fulfillment I find when I stick to this habit are immeasurable.

Making sure to get enough sleep, feeding myself well so I'm not seeking satisfaction through junk food, spending time doing things I enjoy (movies, books, an occasional bubble bath), a weekly date w/my sweetie and time to talk with him throughout the week... All these add joy and contentment to life when I make time for them.

Lingering questions remain, however, after reading Laurie Bluedorn's article. How can I realistically juggle all these worthy pursuits, especially with 6 children ages 6-19 in our home school? As our children have grown, I have regretted my relaxed approach to some subjects in the past (history, science, math, composition) because our older students had trouble when reaching more advanced studies. They also show a lack in study habits. How can I use what I've learned by experience to improve the standards for the younger children while I'm still trying to fill in gaps for the olders--making one last effort to fill their minds with worthy ideas, keeping a disciplined schedule for math study, working to improve skills in evaluating literature and writing essays?

Please, don't anyone mention the subject of foreign language! With everything else we are doing, the thought that I really do want to study Latin and/or Spanish with the kids is truly DAUNTING.

Are We Using Incoherant Math Texts?

2006-01-14T10:17:00.000-08:00

Maria Miller at Homeschool Math Blog writes:

You probably know that in international comparisons, US students don't do real well in math.

Research into curricula in the best performing countries versus US is giving us one clue as to why this is:

US curricula tend to be

incoherent and a collection of arbitrary topics instead of focused and logical
Average duration of a topic in US is almost 6 years (!) versus about 3 years in the best-performing countries. Lots of spiraling and reviewing is done
Each year, US textbooks cover way many more topics than the books in the best-performing countries

Maria links to two articles giving more information, one of which should be required reading for every math teacher, The Role of Curriculum by William Schmidt. How do the math texts used in our home school compare?

The materials we've chosen for math in our home, Making Math Meaningful by David Quine, followed by Elementary Algebra and Geometry by Harold Jacobs, measure up to the ideas in the article in some ways. David Quine's materials for grades K-6 cover fewer topics than most US math texts I've seen. Spiraling is used, if I'm understanding the term correctly (a curriculum writer I am not!), but review is at a minimum.

Beginning algebra in jr. high, rather than spending 7th and 8th grade reviewing arithmetic further, is possible with Quine's texts as long as each level is completed in one year. I found this difficult to do until I realized that our children didn't need all the practice provided in each module. Our younger students are progressing through the books at a faster speed than our olders did.

Harold Jacobs's algebra and geometry books are focused and logical, imho. Each chapter builds on the previous work, rather than including much tedious review. I've never understood algebra and geometry as well as I do after teaching through these books. :) The beauty and mystery of mathematics is presented, as well, in the introduction/discussion of concepts (every lesson begins with a worthwhile attention-getter) and in Set IV problems, which are for extra work and are usually puzzles or brain-teasers.

On the other hand, I have not yet been successful in keeping our students on an advanced track for math courses. Our two oldest began algebra during jr. high years, but didn't finish until 10th or 11th grade. Our third daughter began algebra as a 9th grader. Our fourth daughter, now in 7th, may be able to begin during 8th grade. This is one way I can improve our plan for the 3 younger children: work harder at progressing through the math so algebra can begin earlier.

I have tended toward a relaxed attitude about math. Thus, our oldest dd will only finish algebra and geometry in high school. The second dd will have time for one more math course before graduation. Can I do better with the next four students?

As I learn more about the subject myself, I enjoy it more. I have also hoped to introduce more "living math" books to our children. Math history is intriguing, as are problem solving and logic
(a recently found author who writes logic puzzle books for teenagers on up: Raymond Smullyan). One of our daughters has picked up the hobby of Sudoku--a great way to improve one's reasoning abilities. Introducing concepts like these earlier should be a boost in the success of our family's math program.

Third Carnival of Homeschooling coming next week ...

2006-01-14T09:59:00.000-08:00

Beat the winter blahs by writing about your homeschool experiences for the Third Carnival of Homeschooling at Why Homeschool. The Cates have listed some topic suggestions to get you started.

If you aren't up to writing, visit the Carnivals that have already been online this month. Here's where you can find Week 2. Week 1 is here.

Homeschool Math Blog

2006-01-07T07:13:00.000-08:00

Maria Miller has a super site where she blogs about math. Book reviews, interesting math topics, teaching ideas, articles and news, a puzzling question this week... all about math. I'm planning to read it often to increase my understanding and love for mathematics, that subject which Charlotte Mason said was beautiful:

"We take strong ground when we appeal to the beauty and truth of Mathematics; that, as Ruskin points out, two and two make four and cannot conceivably make five, is an inevitable law. It is a great thing to be brought into the presence of a law, of a whole system of laws, that exist without our concurrence,––that two straight lines cannot enclose a space is a fact which we can perceive, state, and act upon but cannot in any wise alter, should give to children the sense of limitation which is wholesome for all of us, and inspire that sursum corda which we should hear in all natural law," A Philosophy of Education, pp. 230, 231.

The Carnival of Homeschooling, Week 1, is up!

2006-01-03T07:43:00.000-08:00

With a parade, food stands, star performers, rides and even traveling preachers, the Carnival of Homeschooling is sure to provide some good mid-winter reading.

History of Home Education, Part III

2006-01-03T06:46:00.000-08:00

Here's a detailed, 18-page report on home education, published in 2001 by the Fraser Institute of Canada. It includes two pages on the history of home schooling and about five pages on the growth of home schooling, focusing on both Canada and the U. S.

Interesting highlights:

Notable home schooled Americans include, for example, presidents George Washington, John Quincy Adams, Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Other successful products of American home schooling include inventor Thomas Edison, General Robert E. Lee, civil rights activist Booker T. Washington, writer Mark Twain, and industrialist Andrew Carnegie (p. 5).

Although the contemporary image of home schooling parents depicts a homogeneous,
deeply religious, socially conservative sub-group of the population, back in the 1960s and 1970s most home schooling parents were members of the counter-cultural Left, principally advocates of New Age philosophies, ex-hippies, and homesteaders.
By the mid-1980s, however, most home schooling parents could be accurately described as part of the Christian Right. Today, 75 percent of American home schoolers are practising Christians (Livni, 2000). However, in terms of religiosity,
home schooling is not proving to be the exclusive preserve of Christian groups. In fact, “growth in home schooling may be reaching a broader range of… families and values” (Bielick, Chandler, and Broughman, 2001, p. 4; McDowell, Sanchez, and Jones, 2000; Lines, 2000b; and Welner and Welner, 1999). Muslim Americans,
for example, are the fastest growing sub-group within the home schooling movement. The number of home schooled Muslim Americans is predicted
to double every year for the next eight years (Bielick, Chandler, and Broughman, 2001, p. 4; McDowell, Sanchez, and Jones, 2000; Lines, 2000b; and Welner and Welner, 1999) (p. 6).

What, then, are the specific comparative advantages of home schooling, at least as perceived by those who choose to educate their children in this manner? There are a variety of reasons provided by home schooling parents in both Canada and the United States and the most common to both countries may be summarized as follows:
• The opportunity to impart a particular set of values and beliefs.
• Higher academic performance through one-on-one instruction.
• The opportunity to develop closer and stronger parent-child relationships.
• The opportunity for the child to experience high-quality interaction with peers and adults.
• The lack of discipline in public schools.
• The opportunity to escape negative peer pressure (e.g., drugs, alcohol, and premarital sex) through controlled and positive peer social interactions.
• The unaffordability of private schools, and
• A physically safer environment in which to learn (p. 9)

History of State Home School Organizations

2006-01-03T05:54:00.000-08:00

Here's the history of home education in Texas, by Tim Lambert, President of the Texas Home School Coalition.

I'll look for similar articles about other states (send links if you have them). I'm in Wisconsin, so here's the Wisconsin Parents Association's history page. WPA has consistently worked against government regulation of home schooling. They have a lot of information about current national legislation affecting home educators, including some legislation that HSLDA supports but WPA opposes.

History of Home Education, Part II

2006-01-03T05:11:00.000-08:00

I found another abbrieviated history of the home education movement at Synergy Field.com. I've posted about half of it below. It provides less general detail than the article by Patrick Farenga that I linked in Part I of this topic, but more detail about the wave of christian families who began home school in the '80s.

It is difficult to peg the exact origin of modern homeschooling. Some might say the seeds were being planted in the sixties and seventies by educational reformers and authors who questioned both schooling's methods and results. Notable among them are Ivan Illich (Deschooling Society, Harper & Row, 1971), Charles E. Silberman (Crisis in the Classroom: The Remaking of American Education, Random House, 1970), and the prolific John Holt (How Children Fail, Dell Publishing, 1964; How Children Learn, Dell Publishing, 1967; What Do I Do Monday? Dell Publishing, 1970), a teacher who eventually gave up his original vision of school reform as hopeless. He began advocating instead no school for youngsters, and in 1977 began publishing Growing Without Schooling, a magazine that continues today even though John passed away in 1985. (Author's Note in 2005: Unfortunately, the inheritor no longer publishes this magazine.)

Around the same time, Dr. Raymond and Dorothy Moore were busy conducting and collecting early childhood education research. They, too, began publishing articles and books that questioned the wisdom of conventional schooling with a focus on the harm that can be created by rushing children prematurely into the existing school regimen (see Better Late Than Early: A New Approach to Your Child's Education, Reader's Digest Press, 1975; School Can Wait, Hewitt Research Foundation, 1985).

By the late seventies and early eighties, the message was spreading. The nationally acclaimed Home Education Magazine made its humble start in 1983. As the number of homeschoolers slowly grew so did the number of support groups focused on helping other parents get started in homeschooling. Networking homeschoolers worked to educate legislators and eventually changed state laws that prohibited the practice. The grassroots movement kept growing.

In the 1980s, changes in the tax regulations for Christian schools forced the smaller among them to close down by the hundreds. Suddenly, the parents of the students attending these schools were faced with a choice between government school attendance and homeschooling. For many, this really wasn't a choice at all, and these Christian families became part of a large second wave of homeschooling, joining earlier homeschoolers and boosting the numbers to record highs. Christian curriculum providers, already well-established businesses that had just lost a large chunk of their original market, followed the money and easily courted the new market of homeschooling parents.

Since then, the media has identified yet another wave of homeschoolers - "the mainstreamers." These are families from every conceivable religious, economic, political, and philosophical background in the United States. This wave has been impelled by: homeschooling's greater visibility as an educational option; local, state, and national homeschooling support groups; easy networking and information sharing via the Internet and e-mail; and continuing government-school problems, such as dumbed-down curriculum, violence, drugs, bullying, and more. These forces have brought up the number of homeschooled children in the United States an estimated 15 to 20% each year for the last 15 years. The ballpark figure now stands at two million and growing.

See also History, Part III.

My Bible Reading Plan

2006-01-02T10:41:00.000-08:00

If you find yourself wanting to read through the Bible, but somehow unable to accomplish the goal, you might enjoy the plan I've been using. I have read through the Bible in my life, but never, ever have I succeeded in sticking to one of those "one-year Bible reading plans." So, instead, I've been using the "Read Through The Bible Plan for Shirkers and Slackers."

That doesn't sound very spiritual, does it? Well, before you assume that I condone shirking and slacking, read the article that convinced me to try this plan, Margie Reads Through the Bible in a Year: A Composite History by Margie Haack.

I started this in August, 2004, and I'm about halfway through the Bible. Better yet, I'm enjoying this way of doing it. Rather than reading the Bible from front cover to back cover, I'm reading from a different section each day. Margie points out one advantage of this system: ...it helped me see the remarkable unity and interconnections that run through the entire Scripture. On Monday I would be reading about the covenant God made with Abraham and on Saturday Paul would be talking about the very same thing in Romans.

And, gone is the guilt caused by the great sin of "skipping a day" and the snowballing guilt caused by "getting off schedule." :) His Word is precious, not a burden.

A New Year... Renewed Perspective

2006-01-02T10:05:00.000-08:00

I began our September term of home school full of inspiration and motivation, in part due to the excellent Ambleside Online Conference I attended in Texas in July. I love educating our children--I really do. I love reading great books with my kids, giving them great books to read on their own, hearing their narrations, teaching math to the youngers, having tea and reading poetry together, driving them to music lessons while listening to classical music, teaching phonics to our youngest...

BUT... about this time of year, my enthusiasm fizzles. Discouragement looms like a mountain.

Spunky has captured some of my woes in this post, Climbing Mt. Homeschooling, comparing the home school parent's journey with climbing Mt. Everest. How familiar her lament of, "Nothing seemed to be going as planned." I, too, have those "classic, woe-is-me, meltdown" moments.

When I start feeling down about life, I get down about almost everything, but worries about the progress of our home school are especially heavy on my mind. Spunky's husband gave her some great advice, just what I needed to hear: The challenge for you is not to give up when it's difficult. And not to rest too long that you don't go to the next level.

One of my challenges also seems to be to not push too hard. When I lie in bed at night and dread the thought of starting school the next day, I need to take some pressure off myself and the kids. A life of drudgery is not what I envisioned a few short months ago... What, specifically, needs to change to get us back to enjoying our school days again? I think something needs to be cut out-- I'm pretty sure I'm doing too much--but what to cut?

I can't answer that question right now. For today, however, I am determined not to push for a lot of school work from the kids. I also hope to sit with my AO Conference notes and my planning notebook to renew my perspective on my true goals and hopes for our family.

HIstory of Home Education, Part I

2005-12-28T05:43:00.000-08:00

The wandering trails I follow when I have a little time to surf the web... I started at a blog of someone whom I've actually met (Hi, Mother Auma!), CM, Children and Lots of Grace. I noticed a nifty little sidebar note that said, "I'm a Multicellular Microorganism in the TTLB Ecosystem," which I couldn't resist clicking.

I ended up at The Truth Laid Bear for the first time in my weblife (Some of you committed bloggers may find that hard to believe). I began to explore this unique Ecosystem and found Spunky Homeschool. The article there, Homeschooling for God, led me to an earlier post, The Homeschooling Movement, which led to the interesting, if rather involved, discussion in the comments.

What caught my eye there were some comments about history. Specifically, a history that may not be as familiar to many of us U. S. home school parents, as, say, the story of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The history of home education.

Yes, we have a history. I may be wrong, but I think home education seems like such a new idea that we forget that it has actually been around as long as the human race. More to my point, I think we forget that the modern movement has a history. In forgetting the brave souls who kept their offspring out of school 30 years ago, we may be missing some vital links.

So, for starters, here's a well-documented article by Patrick Farenga giving us A Brief History of Homeschooling. If you haven't heard of John Holt or Dr. Raymond and Dorothy Moore, you need to educate yourself!

See History of Home Education, Part II and History of State Home School Organizations for more reading.

The First Carnival of Homeschooling...

2005-12-27T08:37:00.000-08:00

As the town crier strode down the cobble stones he yelled: "Hear ye! Hear ye! Let it be known that the first Carnival of Homeschooling will be gathering at Why Homeschool on January 3rd for your entertainment, enlightenment, and education. Submit your best post on homeschooling by January 2nd. Hear ye! Hear ye! ...."

There was some buzz as the villagers wanted to know details. What was the Carnival of Homeschooling? Who was invited? Where would it be? Why should they come? Behind the town crier were a couple pages who were handing out pamphlets with details and information.

Check out Why Homeschool to learn more. I think it sounds fun... AND, given that people normally have time off during this time of year, prospective home school parents might be looking for information. What can blogging home schoolers write that will help them?

A quick look at some of my friends' blogs shows that recent posts are dealing with Christmas. Heart-warming, yes, but for the carnival, ladies and gents, let's put up some posts about home education. :)

Merry, Merry!

2005-12-23T11:19:00.000-08:00

Scrooge has relented! Or, perhaps there was a lack of communication about what days my better-half's department would be working next week. Thankfully, he will only work Tues/Wed/Thursday, giving us two 3-day weekends in a row. :) :) :)

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Picking a man's pocket every twenty-fifth of December!

2005-12-21T14:44:00.000-08:00

My better-half came home from work last night to announce that he may not have any weekdays off for Christmas or New Year's. We had planned Christmas gatherings with relatives on Dec. 24, Dec. 25 (after remembering our Lord's death at our chapel), and Jan. 1. We had hoped to have our little family celebration, including brunch, stockings, gift exchange and lounging around afterward, for Monday, Dec. 26. Well, now when do we squeeze that in?

Normally, the foundry gives employees two days off for Christmas, two days off for New Year's, even if the holidays fall on a weekend. So, we are disappointed...

Here's an appropriate reading from A Christmas Carol. I should, however, at least give the foundry credit for giving him Dec. 25 off... more than Scrooge wanted to do!

At length the hour of shutting up the counting- house arrived. With an ill-will Scrooge dismounted from his stool, and tacitly admitted the fact to the expectant clerk in the Tank, who instantly snuffed his candle out, and put on his hat.

`You'll want all day to-morrow, I suppose?' said Scrooge.

`If quite convenient, sir.'

`It's not convenient,' said Scrooge, `and it's not fair. If I was to stop half-a-crown for it, you'd think yourself ill-used, I'll be bound?'

The clerk smiled faintly.

`And yet,' said Scrooge, `you don't think me ill-used, when I pay a day's wages for no work.'

The clerk observed that it was only once a year.

`A poor excuse for picking a man's pocket every twenty-fifth of December!' said Scrooge, buttoning his great-coat to the chin. `But I suppose you must have the whole day. Be here all the earlier next morning.'

The clerk promised that he would; and Scrooge walked out with a growl. The office was closed in a twinkling, and the clerk, with the long ends of his white comforter dangling below his waist (for he boasted no great-coat), went down a slide on Cornhill, at the end of a lane of boys, twenty times, in honour of its being Christmas Eve, and then ran home to Camden Town as hard as he could pelt, to play at blindman's-buff.

~Charles Dickens

What's Wrong with this Outfit, Mom?

2005-12-14T20:00:00.000-08:00

"Women once complained about being reduced to sex objects. Now, their daughters are volunteering to be sex objects," from an article by Patricia Dalton in The Post. Read it at In Beauty and in Grace, linked below.

Thanks to those who prayed and left comments...

2005-12-14T10:28:00.000-08:00

...in regards to my depressing day.

Thanks for the book suggestion, Athena. It's available at our public library, so I'll check it out. I've thought my blues may be related to my time of life (age 44), but it comes and goes almost at random--seems to be related more to stress than to health.

Update: Yesterday I laid down in the afternoon, feeling totally unable to tackle any of my normal tasks. After a brief time praying and crying, I all-of-a-sudden felt that I *could* get up and do something useful. Felt fine the rest of the evening. Did my Shepherd hear my cries and send relief?

The World's Shortest Personality Test

2005-12-13T18:09:00.000-08:00

So, what do I tend to do when I'm depressed? Spend more time online, sometimes. Here's one thing I found this evening...

Your Personality Profile

You are pure, moral, and adaptable.
You tend to blend into your surroundings.
Shy on the outside, you're outspoken to your friends.

You believe that you live a virtuous life...
And you tend to judge others with a harsh eye.
As a result, people tend to crave your approval.

The World's Shortest Personality Test

The Narnia Movie

2005-12-13T12:20:00.000-08:00

I haven't seen the film yet, but I've been reading about it online. The review that most makes me want to see it is linked below. Thanks, Donna-Jean, for delving into the difference between reading a book and watching a movie.

How to home school when depressed?

2005-12-13T09:02:00.000-08:00

Unexpectedly, I am depressed. I went through this late last winter/early spring, learned a lot about keeping myself healthy, had a very happy summer, and now... the same feelings and thoughts are back.

We just took a day off school yesterday to relax from the hectic weekend and to plan for our new term. Today, I'm unable to work with the students without snapping and yelling at them. I'm grumpy, teary-eyed, and full of discontent. I'm planning to do some writing, some reading, some praying, some resting. Perhaps I can take a walk... if it's warm enough.

Please pray for us. If you have any suggestions on what to do about schoolwork when Mom is emotionally distraught, please send them. TY.

Why read Shakespeare?

2005-12-10T22:32:00.000-08:00

And, at what age can human beings begin understanding Shakespeare? Take a peek at one family's touching and hilarious adventure with a brief excursion into the Bard's Julius Caesar...

Target's amazing change of heart...

2005-12-10T19:28:00.000-08:00

The breaking news on christian radio is that Target has changed its policies re: mentioning the name of the upcoming holiday. Yes, Virginia, the holiday is called Christmas. And Target will now include the word, "Christmas," in their advertising, etc. Here's one article explaining Target's policies.

A gentleman on the radio station I listen to said, "Target has had a change of heart in response to the boycott." Now, I am not writing this to argue about what this holiday should be called. Nor am I writing to argue for or against christian boycotts.

My basic question is this: How can a boycott produce a change of heart? Is it just me, or is there a contradiction here? Can Target serve God and Mammon (i.e., money)?

Many of the arguments used for fighting against a "generic" holiday sound very valid to me. Yet, I keep coming back to the idea that if we have to force people to acknowledge the holiday--especially by appealing to their greed!!!--we really haven't accomplished anything.

For a viewpoint you probably won't hear on christian radio, see this Capital Times article, titled Try a Boycott of Real Value. Warning: If you are all for the American Family Association tactic of boycotting, you may be offended.

God's Unchanging Truth in a Brave New World

2005-12-10T14:26:00.000-08:00

The theme for the 2006 L'Abri Conference in Rochester, MN, is Living in a Brave New World. Dates: February 17 and 18.

My better half and I attended in 2003 and 2004, if I have the dates correct. We are considering whether or not to go in 2006. If you are interested in thinking christianly, check it out.

Titles of sessions that look intriguing to me (Oh no! Too many from which to choose!):

Confronting a World of Designer Babies, Saviour Siblings and Re-engineered Transhumans: Towards a Theology of Biotechnology
--- Christopher Hook

It’ll Change Your Life: Popular Music as Cultural Dialogue
--- Denis Haack

Beauty and Body Image: Reclaiming Our Media-Saturated Lives
--- Marsena Konkle

Common Grace: God’s Commitment to Care for all Creation --- Jerram Barrs

A Culture of Commodification, or How Much is For Sale?
--- Dick Keyes

Good, Evil and Human Nature
--- Dick Keyes

Echoes of Eden in C. S. Lewis’ Narnia Stories
--- Jerram Barrs

Already a Brave New World: Romance, Sex & the Human Condition in Contemporary Cinema
--- Greg Jesson

Piercing the Veil: Can Prayer Realize the Presence of God?
---Jerram Barrs

The Beverage of the Friends of God: The Story of Coffee
---Denis Haack

The Best Toy that You Can Be: The Tabloids vs the Bible on Sex
--- Mark Ryan

Perfecting Ourselves to Death: The Pursuit of Excellence and the Perils of Perfectionism
--- Richard Winter

Your home has an atmosphere...

2005-11-25T11:30:00.000-08:00

On the Ambleside Online Yahoo group, a friend asked how a homeschool mom can focus on the atmosphere Charlotte Mason spoke of ("Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life"). Here are some thoughts I posted in response.

When I think about atmosphere in our home, I think about myself, not my kids. I've found that it is unhealthy for me to focus too much on my children's attitudes, my children's habits. I'm enough of a perfectionist that focusing on them breeds discontent and critical thoughts, if not critical words. For those of you with younger children, believe me when I say that a mother who nags, bosses and criticizes her daughters will reap a harvest of daughters who nag, boss, and criticize each other. :( I have a much better time of it if I concentrate on my own attitudes, words, actions. "Motherhood is a three-legged stool: prayer, example, and instruction." My example is more powerful than my preaching. This seems to be in line with Charlotte Mason's understanding of "atmosphere." There aren't too many passages in Volume 1 that speak about atmosphere, but here's one, from Vol. 1, pp. 136,137. "In the second place, the child's most fixed and dominant habits are those which the mother takes no pains about, but which the child picks up for himself through his close observation of all that is said and done, felt and thought, in his home. Habits inspired in the Home Atmosphere.––We have already considered a group of half physical habits––order, regularity, neatness––which the child imbibes, so to speak, in a way. But this is not all: habits of gentleness, courtesy, kindness, candour, respect for other people, or––habits quite other than these, are inspired by the child as the very atmosphere of his home, the air he lives in and must grow by." Notice that the character traits are "picked up" from the child's observation of the people in his home. He even picks up habits from what is "felt and thought." Children are so sensitive. And gentleness, kindness, respect are "inspired by" the atmosphere. We don't have a picture here of a mother micro-managing every minute of her child's day through a superwoman scheduling scheme, do we? That was what I was aiming for a few years ago, I must admit. Instead, we see a mother who humbly walks before her God, passing on almost effortlessly the things that she believes strongly enough to practice daily. She creates an atmosphere by being who she is in Christ, by being Christ-like. One more quote from Charlotte Mason,from Vol 2 p. 247: "How would you summarise the functions of education? Education is a discipline––that is, the discipline of the good habits in which the child is trained. Education is a life, nourished upon ideas; and education is an atmosphere––that is, the child breathes the atmosphere emanating from his parents; that of the ideas which rule their own lives."

So thankful to have my children at home...

2005-11-25T09:51:00.000-08:00

"What if you could give your child the ultimate gift? What would it be?" How about 720 Extra Days of Childhood? Read more at Mozart and Mud Pies. A blog well worth reading. Good job, Ann L. Collins.

Our Thanksgiving Menu

2005-11-21T13:31:00.000-08:00

Appetizers (provided by one of our guests)
Roast Turkey - Brown Butter and Scallion Mashed Potatoes - Gravy - Stuffing - Cranberry Rosemary Wine Jelly - Applesauce
French Bread - Baked Butternut Squash - Cauliflower Gratin
Apple Cider - Cranberry Cocktail
Pumpkin Pie - Cranberry Walnut Upside-Down Cake - Another dessert (provided by a guest)
Atole - Harvest Spice Coffee

Food 24/7

2005-11-02T19:50:00.000-08:00

A few years ago, I realized that I think about food almost all day long. I'm the mom, you know, so I plan menus, cook, clean up, buy groceries, look through cookbooks, search for recipes online, plan more menus...

This year, I lost about 7 pounds in 3 months. I'm lighter now than I have been since having our first child 19 years ago. People notice, but when they ask how I did it, I have trouble putting it into words.

Today, I thought of one way to explain it. I realized that I can truthfully say: "I only eat what I like. I eat less of most things than I would like to eat, and I eat some things less often than I would like to eat them, but I eat what I like and I'm satisfied with the smaller portions."

The impetus for this change in my eating patterns came from Mireille Guiliano's book, French Women Don't Get Fat. It's a commonsense philosophy of food and health, really.

Favorite quote from the book: French women typically think about good things to eat. American women typically worry about bad things to eat.

The Process of Conversion

2005-10-19T14:39:00.000-07:00

An interesting article on conversion to christianity. It's very different than how I was converted in some ways, not in other ways. Perhaps I'll post about my conversion here sometime when I get a roundtuit.

Converted comes from a Latin word meaning "to turn around." How about you? How were you converted?

When Man faces disaster

2005-09-03T11:06:00.001-07:00

I'm taking this out of context, from an article at the New York Times that focuses largely on how poorly officials responded to Katrina. What struck me as I read these paragraphs, however, is that we human beings think we are so strong, so indestructible, when really all flesh is as grass.

"It really makes us look very much like Bangladesh or Baghdad," said David Herbert Donald, the retired Harvard historian of the Civil War and a native Mississippian, who said that Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman's destructive march from Atlanta to the sea paled by comparison. "I'm 84 years old. I've been around a long time, but I've never seen anything like this."

Around the nation, and indeed the world, the reaction to Hurricane Katrina's devastation stretched beyond the usual political recriminations and swift second-guessing that so often follow calamities. In dozens of interviews and editorials, feelings deeper and more troubled bubbled to the surface in response to the flooding and looting that "humbled the most powerful nation on the planet," and showed "how quickly the thin veneer of civilization can be stripped away," as The Daily Mail of London put it.

For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away, I Peter 1:24.

More ways to help

2005-09-03T09:30:00.000-07:00

From Home School Legal Defense Association:

Dear friend of homeschooling, One bright spot revealed by Hurricane Katrina is that homeschoolers are some of the most generous people around. HSLDA's office has been inundated with offers of assistance. We've also heard from many with needs. The Home School Foundation is already helping to replace curriculum. But one of the greatest needs that we're hearing about is housing. If your family would be interested in providing temporary housing to another homeschooling family displaced by Hurricane Katrina, HSLDA is willing to match your family with a family who needs a place to stay. To make an offer of housing, please provide us with the basic information requested below.Please use this email address: hurricanerelief@hslda.orgPlease be assured that we will keep your contact information confidential. When we learn of a family that needs help, we will contact you with their contact information (phone number or email address) and you can contact the family to determine if they are the right match for your family. Name: Address: City, State, Zip: Phone #: Limitations: (e.g., two months max, only want boys, teenagers only, can take up to 4 people) Provide transportation to your home: (e.g., bus tickets, frequent flyer miles, will pick up) Any special facilities: (e.g., handicapped access, room for pets) Other offers of help: (e.g., can provide job, have curriculum for 3rd grader, car available) Thank you for being a part of the extended homeschooling family. Please join us in continuing to pray for these hurting familes.

On the website for Samaritan's Purse, it says this:

Perhaps your church or group would like to send a work crew. We need groups of at least five individuals. The minimum age is 18. Construction skills are helpful but not necessary. If you are interested, call the Samaritan’s Purse Disaster Relief staff at (828) 262-1980 or email disasterresponse@samaritan.org.

Samaritan's Purse is working in partnership with local churches to ensure that spiritual needs are met, too. Our teams share the love of Jesus Christ, pray with residents, and present them with a Bible when the work is completed.

Update on what the ALERT guys are doing...

2005-09-03T09:15:00.000-07:00

This is direct from their web site:

A team of four ALERT medics is currently in the city of Lafayette, LA, just west of New Orleans. They are relieving the wearied medical personnel who have been working 24-hour shifts. The team went in conjunction with the East Texas Medical Center. They will be providing triage, handling ambulance runs, and assisting with loading and unloading medical choppers.

The team at the Astrodome in Houston has been working non-stop, around the clock. The men have been enlisted to handle a variety of jobs including crowd control, security, crowd care, logistics, and checking-in the refugees. In addition to these tasks, men have been setting up cots and sleeping quarters, unloading buses, and generally doing what they can to keep things in order amidst the chaos at the Astrodome. ALERT men are also stationed at a complex across the street from the Astrodome that is being used to house and feed the refugees.

The ALERT men leaving tomorrow morning will be working with the Friend Ships ministry from Lake Charles, LA. They will be deployed to Gretna, LA, a southern suburb of New Orleans, which is completely surrounded by water and is not receiving necessary food and water. Water and MRE’s will be distributed immediately, then a field kitchen set for hot and healthy meals to be served.

Back here in Big Sandy, the ALERT campus has been opened up, free of charge, to meet the needs of the hurricane refugees headed to East Texas. Families have already begun taking rooms on the campus. Donations are being taken to help feed and care for these displaced people. Several ministry-minded Friend-of-ALERT families have volunteered to come help with the daily needs here on campus related to care and hospitality for the disaster victims.

The response from our Cadet ranks is very encouraging. Though we are not at liberty to take these young men and their fathers into the heart of the disaster area, there continues to be a myriad of ways they are able to be a part of the ministry to victims.

We are excited to have, for the first time, a response from the ladies that have completed our STEP program. Skills Training for Emergency Preparedness is a program for young ladies ages 15 and older held here on the ALERT Academy camps each summer. A team of older STEP ladies is scheduled to relieve an ALERT team at an evacuation center in Nacogdoches, TX, Saturday morning. ALERT was requested to help set up and establish the center and has completed that commitment, but our STEP team has been asked to help staff the center during the next days.

Important note:

Calls have been pouring in from across the country asking how to assist and help ALERT during this time. If the Lord is leading you to help the ALERT ministry, the biggest need is that of cash donations. ALERT is not receiving compensation from outside agencies, and this operation has been fully funded thus far by private donations. The Lord has been so good to this ministry to provide every need through the help of good folks who have been led to give.

As ALERT is asked to take on more responsibility and greater demand is placed on our resources, the need for funding will continue to grow. If you want to contribute, you can do so now online via our safe and secure website, please click here. If you would like to give via phone using your Visa or MasterCard, please contact ALERT at (903) 636-2000, ext. 2255. If you prefer to send a check, you can mail it to ALERT at: One Academy Blvd., Big Sandy, TX 75755. As a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit, ALERT will send you the necessary paperwork to receive a tax deduction for your gift. All gifts specifically earmarked for disaster relief will only be used for this purpose.

What else can you do? Pray. Please keep our men in prayer, and specifically pray the men would remain safe, free from injury or illness, and they would shine Christ’s light to people who have lost everything and see no hope.

ALERT for Hurricane relief

2005-09-02T02:32:00.000-07:00

Letter from a friend whose oldest (home-schooled) son, B, has been with this christian emergency team for a year:

"Dear friends,

Just a short note to ask for your prayer support as B and numerous other men from ALERT (Air Land Emergency Resource Team) are being deployed to help with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. This is obviously a huge undertaking for relief agencies such as ALERT, so please lift them up in prayer that the men will be safe in what they do, and they will be able to assist and encourage many of the victims of this Hurricane.

Specifically, B will be heading to Louisiana with a team of ALERT men who have been through EMT training and are now working on their Paramedic training. They will be working with the East Texas Medical Center ambulance crews helping transport victims who need medical assistance. Other ALERT men will be operating swift-water rescue boats to help in rescue operations. Other teams are helping in other areas. In addition, the Alert campus has opened their doors to help house displaced people.

Supported primarily by private donations, ALERT's Disaster Relief Fund and General Fund is being stretched to the limit. If you would be interested in sharing funds to help in this disaster, we would ask you to prayerfully consider ALERT during this time. Having been on their campus three times in the last year, and knowing the leadership of the organization, we can assure you that donated funds will be used wisely and efficiently.

Here is information for those who want to give towards ALERT's efforts:

1) Mail: ALERT One Academy Blvd. Big Sandy TX 75755

2) If you would like to give by phone using your credit card, please call ALERT at (903) 636-2000, ext. 2255

3) On-line directly: alertacademy.com

Thank you for your prayers and consideration!"

Home School Families Respond to Katrina

2005-09-01T09:08:00.000-07:00

In their own unique ways, home school families are responding to the devastation of Katrina. Liberty and Lily has written some great entries about this... Ambleside Online has put up emergency lesson plans for families who will want to get back into lessons sometime in the future after losing everything.

The Ambleside Advisory wrote: "We know that there are more important things than missed schooling during a crisis. But sometimes in the midst of disasters, creating a small oasis of normalcy and continuity is very important. In the midst of such a disaster, grown-ups with many urgent details on their minds cannot always focus on thinking up things for children to do, and it is our prayer that this free resource will fill a needed niche. It may not be enough, but we do what we can."

Project Noah, created in 2001 to deal with home educators' needs after Tropical Storm Allison, accepts used or new educational materials to distribute to families.

The History of Ambleside Online from Leslie Noelani Laurio

2005-08-30T19:07:00.000-07:00

Ambleside Online Conference

Held at Greenville Oaks Church of Christ, Allen, Texas

On July 30, 2005

Report by Colleen in Wis.

Leslie Noelani Laurio blessed our hearts by writing and reading her account of the history of Ambleside Online. I knew bits and pieces of how this educational plan came together, but I enjoyed hearing the whole story from a lady who was in on it from the start. Read it here.

The Large Room of a Charlotte Mason Education

2005-08-30T10:01:00.000-07:00

Ambleside Online Conference

Held at Greenville Oaks Church of Christ, Allen, Texas

On July 30, 2005

Report by Colleen in Wis.

Both Donna-Jean Breckenridge and Lynn Bruce closed the Conference by speaking on the topic, “The Large Room.”

Donna-Jean’s talk was wonderfully encouraging, aimed at anyone who is struggling with life or with home education. I think she had the majority of the audience in tears as she shared from her own experiences.

Lynn’s message focused on the benefits of the Charlotte Mason method of education. Miss Mason wrote of preparing a student for a full life, a life with an immense number of interests, a life in a large room rather than in a narrow, confined room. Lynn inspired us to give this to our children, then turned our attention to the most important relationships to pass on to our children, in other words, two of the most important things to teach: 1) Who God is; 2) Who you are. She ended by sharing some wonderful thoughts and ideas about building relationships within our families.

School Education, Volume 3 of the Home School Series by Charlotte Mason, contains this passage from which the idea of “The Large Room” is taken:

“Our aim in Education is to give a Full Life.––We begin to see what we want. Children make large demands upon us. We owe it to them to initiate an immense number of interests. Thou hast set my feet in a large room; should be the glad cry of every intelligent soul. Life should be all living, and not merely a tedious passing of time; not all doing or all feeling or all thinking––the strain would be too great––but, all living; that is to say, we should be in touch wherever we go, whatever we hear, whatever we see, with some manner of vital interest….

The question is not,––how much does the youth know? when he has finished his education––but how much does he care? and about how many orders of things does he care? In fact, how large is the room in which he finds his feet set? and, therefore, how full is the life he has before him?” pp. 170, 171.

Scheduling Tips from the Advisory Members

2005-08-30T05:16:00.000-07:00

Ambleside Online Conference

Held at Greenville Oaks Church of Christ, Allen, Texas

On July 30, 2005

Report by Colleen in Wis.

Four Advisory Members, Lynn Bruce, Karen Glass, Donna-Jean Breckenridge, and Wendi Capehart, spoke about Schedules. Below are the statements (perhaps not verbatim) that stuck with me.

From Wendi: "Be the family God wants you to be." Wendi shared about how each family is different, therefore each family's schedule will be unique.

From Wendi: "Your schedule is Plan B. What God has planned for your day is Plan A..." A christian home schooling mom needs this perspective--so often I have to lay aside my plans of The Perfect School Day for Real Life Needs.

From Donna-Jean: "A passion, broken down into something small, done consistently, yields a harvest." For one example of a passion, Donna-Jean discussed how she spends a small amount of time (a few minutes at lunch) once a week studying a painting with her children. This yields the result that her students have a relationship with art and are interested in art--shown by her daughter's excitement when visiting the Louvre.

Help with Narration and Grammar from Karen Glass

2005-08-30T04:49:00.000-07:00

Ambleside Online Conference

Held at Greenville Oaks Church of Christ, Allen, Texas

On July 30, 2005

Report by Colleen in Wis.

Karen Glass spoke on Narration as one of the Basics of a CM education. The most helpful bit of advice for me was her description of how to move from oral into written narration. She suggests that we teach typing at about age 9, then begin asking the student for regular (once a week or more) typed narrations around age 10. When the student comes to an awareness that writing is a craft (after at least 2 years of writing experience), it is time to begin honing that craft by focusing on essays and editing/composition skills. This makes sense to me and I hope to apply it with my children.

Karen also shared tips about grammar during the Question and Answer session at lunchtime.
"Grammar is a finite subject." This struck me as a principle that is not often acknowledged. Karen's recommendation is that we introduce the 8 parts of speech in a fun way during the elementary years (ages 6-12), then cover grammar one time during the junior high or high school years. I find this to be a commonsense approach that I can easily work into our curriculum here at home.

Read Karen's Language Arts Scope and Sequence at the Ambleside Online site for more good advice.

AMBLESIDE ONLINE CONFERENCE: SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKER

2005-08-22T08:51:00.000-07:00

Ambleside Online Conference

Held at Greenville Oaks Church of Christ, Allen, Texas

On July 30, 2005

Report by Colleen in Wis.

Miss Charlotte Marie Mason (aka Mrs. Donna-Jean Breckenridge) presented an inspiring talk, complete with period costume and British accent. The words were direct from Home Education, Volume 1 of Miss Mason’s Series. The ideas came alive, however, as they were filtered through Donna-Jean’s heart and soul. I was greatly touched. These truths are the reasons I am drawn to Miss Mason’s writings and philosophy. Thank you, Donna-Jean, for this beautiful presentation.

Below are some quotes from "Miss Mason's" talk. This is not, however, an outline or summary of the entire speech. These are simply the sections that spoke to me; in some cases, the section titles are my additions. Page references from Volume 1 are included for those wishing to study these topics further.

What is a child? And first, let us consider where and what the little being is who is entrusted to the care of human parents. A tablet to be written upon? A twig to be bent? Wax to be moulded? Very likely; but he is much more––a being belonging to an altogether higher estate than ours; as it were, a prince committed to the fostering care of peasants (emphasis mine). Hear Wordsworth's estimate of the child's estate:––

"Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:

The soul that rises with us, our life's star,

Hath had elsewhere in its setting,

And cometh from afar;

Not in entire forgetfulness,

And not in utter nakedness,

But in trailing clouds of glory do we come

From God, who is our home:

Heaven lies about us in our infancy!....

and so on, through the whole of that great ode, which next after the Bible, shows the deepest insight into what is peculiar to the children in their nature and estate. "Of such is the kingdom of heaven." "Except ye become as little children ye shall in no case enter the kingdom of heaven." "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" "And He called a little child, and set him in the midst." Here is the Divine estimate of the child's estate (See “The Child in the Midst,” pp. 11, 12)….

How should a child be educated? It may surprise parents who have not given much attention to the subject to discover also a code of education in the Gospels, expressly laid down by Christ. It is summed up in three commandments, and all three have a negative character, as if the chief thing required of grown-up people is that they should do no sort of injury to the children: Take heed that ye OFFEND not––DESPISE not––HINDER not––one of these little ones….

How does one offend a child? The first and second of the Divine edicts appear to include our sins of commission and of omission against the children: we offend them, when we do by them that which we ought not to have done... An offence, we know, is literally a stumbling-block, that which trips up the walker and causes him to fall. Mothers know what it is to clear the floor of every obstacle when a baby takes his unsteady little runs from chair to chair, from one pair of loving arms to another. The table-leg, the child's toy on the floor, which has caused a fall and a pitiful cry, is a thing to be deplored; why did not somebody put it out of the way, so that the baby should not stumble? But the little child is going out into the world with uncertain tottering steps in many directions. There are causes of stumbling not so easy to remove as an offending footstool; and woe to him who causes the child to fall!....

The child has learned to believe that he has nothing to overcome but his mother's disinclination; if she choose to let him do this and that, there is no reason why she should not; he can make her choose to let him do the next thing forbidden, and then he may do it. The next step in the argument is not too great for childish wits: if his mother does what she chooses, of course he will do what he chooses, if he can; and henceforward the child's life becomes an endless struggle to get his own way; a struggle in which a parent is pretty sure to be worsted, having many things to think of, while the child sticks persistently to the thing which has his fancy for the moment.

The “must” behind the parent’s actions.––Where is the beginning of this tangle, spoiling the lives of parent and child alike? In this: that the mother began with no sufficient sense of duty; she thought herself free to allow and disallow, to say and unsay, at pleasure, as if the child were hers to do what she liked with. The child has never discovered a background of must behind is mother's decisions; he does not know that she must not let him break his sister's playthings, gorge himself with cake, spoil the pleasure of other people, because these things are not right. Let the child perceive that his parents are law-compelled as well as he, that they simply cannot allow him to do the things which have been forbidden, and he submits with the sweet meekness which belongs to his age. To give reasons to a child is usually out of place, and is a sacrifice of parental dignity; but he is quick enough to read the 'must' and 'ought' which rule her, in his mother's face and manner, and in the fact that she is not to be moved from a resolution on any question of right and wrong….

How does one despise a child? We despise them, when we leave undone those things which, for their sakes, we ought to have done….

"Despise: to have a low opinion of, to undervalue"––thus the dictionary; and, as a matter of fact, however much we may delight in them, we grown-up people have far too low an opinion of children. If the mother did not undervalue her child, would she leave him to the society of an ignorant nursemaid during the early years when his whole nature is, like the photographer's sensitive plate, receiving momently indelible impressions?... But they should have the best of their mother, her freshest, brightest hours; while, at the same time, she is careful to choose her nurses wisely, train them carefully, and keep a vigilant eye upon all that goes on in the nursery….

How does one hinder a child? The most fatal way of despising the child falls under the third educational law of the Gospels; it is to overlook and make light of his natural relationship with Almighty God. "Suffer the little children to come unto Me," says the Saviour, as if that were the natural thing for the children to do, the thing they do when they are not hindered by their elders. And perhaps it is not too beautiful a thing to believe in this redeemed world, that, as the babe turns to his mother though he has no power to say her name, as the flowers turn to the sun, so the hearts of the children turn to their Saviour and God with unconscious delight and trust (See “Code of Education in the Gospels;” “Offending the Children;” “Despising the Children;” “Hindering the Children,” pp. 12-20)….

This life of the soul, what is it? Communicated life, as when one lights a torch at the fire? Perhaps; but it is something more intimate, more unspeakable: "I am the Life"; "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men"; "Abide in Me and I in you." The truth is too ineffable to be uttered in any words but those given to us. But it means this, at least, that the living soul does not abide alone in its place; that place becomes the temple of the living God. "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not. How dreadful is this place!"

The Parent must present the idea of God to the Soul of the Child.––But this holy mystery, this union and communion of God and the soul, how may human parents presume to meddle with it? What can they do? How can they promote it? and is there not every risk that they may lay rude hands upon the ark? In the first place, it does not rest with the parent to choose whether he will or will not attempt to quicken and nourish this divine life in his child. To do so this is his bounden duty and service. If he neglect or fail in this, I am not sure how much it matters that he has fulfilled his duties in the physical, moral and mental culture of his child, except in so far as the child is the fitter for the divine service should the divine life be awakened in him. But what can the parent do? Just this, and no more: he can present the idea of God to the soul of the child. Here, as throughout his universe, Almighty God works by apparently inadequate means. Who would say that a bee can produce apple trees? Yet a bee flies from an apple tree laden with the pollen of its flowers: this it unwittingly deposits on the stigmas of the flowers of the next tree it comes to. The bee goes, but the pollen reamins, but with all the length of the style between it and the immature ovule below. That does not matter; the ovule has no power to reach the pollen grain, but the latter sends forth a slender tube, within the tube of the style; the ovule is reached; behold, then, the fruit, with its seed, and, if you like, future apple trees! Accept the parable: the parent is little better in this matter than the witless bee; it is his part to deposit, so to speak, within reach of the soul of the child some fruitful idea of God; the immature soul makes no effort towards that idea, but the living Word reaches down, touches the soul,––and there life; growth and beauty, flower and fruit….

The highest and most delicate duty. For here the similitude of the bee and the apple tree fails. The parent must not make blundering, witless efforts: as this is the highest duty imposed upon him, it is also the most delicate; and he will have infinite need of faith and prayer, tact and discretion, humility, gentleness, love, and sound judgement, if he would present his child to God, and the thought of God to the soul of his child….

We must Teach only what we Know.––How to select these few quickening thoughts of the infinite God? The selection is not so difficult to make as would appear at first sight. In the first place, we must teach that which we know, know by the life of the soul, not with any mere knowledge of the mind. Now, of the vast mass of the doctrines and the precepts of religion, we shall find that there are only a few vital truths that we have so taken into our being that we live upon them––this person, these; that person, those; some of us, not more than a single one. One or more, these are the truths we must teach the children, because these will come straight out of our hearts with the enthusiasm of conviction which rarely fails to carry its own idea into the spiritual life of another. There is no more fruitful source of what it is hardly too much to call infant infidelity than the unreal dead words which are poured upon children about the best things, with an artificial solemnity of tone and manner intended to make up for the want of living meaning in the words. Let the parent who only knows one thing from above teach his child that one; more will come to him by the time the child is ready for more….

Examples of quickening thoughts. Father and Giver.––"Our Father, who is in
heaven," is perhaps the first idea of God which the mother will present to her child––Father and Giver, straight from whom comes all the gladness of every day. 'What a happy birthday our Father has given to my little boy!' 'The flowers are coming again; our Father has taken care of the life of the plants all through the winter cold!' 'Listen to the skylark! It is a wonder how our Father can put so much joy into the heart of one little bird.' 'Thank God for making my little girl so happy and merry!' Out of this thought comes prayer, the free utterance of the child's heart, more often in thanks for the little joys of the day counted up than in desire, just yet. The words do not matter; any simple form the child can understand will do; the rising Godward of the child-heart is the true prayer. Out of this thought , too, comes duty––the glad acknowledgement of the debt of service and obedience to a Parent so gracious and benign––not One who exacts service at the sword's point, as it were, but One whom His children run to obey.

The Essence of Christianity is Loyalty to a Person.––Christ, our King. Here is a thought to unseal the fountains of love and loyalty, the treasures of faith and imagination, bound up in the child. The very essence of Christianity is personal loyalty, passionate loyalty to our adorable Chief. We have laid other foundations––regeneration, sacraments, justification, works, faith, the Bible––any one of which, however necessary to salvation in its due place and proportion may become a religion about Christ and without Christ. And now a time of sifting has come upon us, and thoughtful people decline to know anything about our religious systems; they write down all our orthodox beliefs as things not knowable. Perhaps this may be because, in thinking much or our salvation, we have put out of sight our King, the divine fact which no soul of man to whom it is presented can ignore. In the idea of Christ is life; let the thought of Him once get touch of the soul, and it rises up, a living power, independent of all formularies of the brain. Let us save Christianity for our children by bringing them into allegiance to Christ, the King. How? How did the old Cavaliers bring up sons and daughters, in passionate loyalty and reverence for not too worthy princes? Their own hearts were full of it; their lips spake it; their acts proclaimed it; the style of their clothes, the ring of their voices, the carriage of their heads––all was one proclamation of boundless devotion to their king and his cause (Colleen’s note: The Cavaliers are studied in Ambleside Year 3!). That civil war, whatever else it did, or missed doing, left a parable for Christian people. If a Stuart prince could command such measure of loyalty, what shall we say of "the Chief amongst ten thousand, the altogether lovely"?...

The Indwelling of Christ is a thought particularly fit for the children, because their large faith does not stumble at the mystery, their imagination leaps readily to the marvel, that the King Himself should inhabit a little child's heart. 'How am I to know He is come, mother?' 'When you are quite gently, sweet, and happy, it is because Christ is within,––

"And when He comes, He makes your face so fair,

Your friends are glad, and say, 'The King is there."

I will not attempt to indicate any more of the vital truths which the Christian mother will present to her child; having patience until they blossom and bear, and his soul is as a very fruitful garden which the Lord hath blessed. But, once more, "This kind cometh forth only by prayer” (See “The Divine Life In The Child,” pp. 341-352).

a new leaf

2005-06-24T11:46:00.000-07:00

I'm putting up a new blog here, to replace the old Xanga one http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=april61

Why? Don't ask. When will I write here? Who knows.