Home School Co-op

Today was the first day of home school co-op for us!! AMAZING!!!

What an a wonderful group of people working so hard to make learning fun and interesting. I feel humbled to be teaching in this environment and very blessed that Sarah and Hayden are able to attend.

I am teaching a class called 'Names of God' to 3rd - 6th graders. These kids are so attentive and appreciative that they make teaching easy. I am excited about sharing the character of God with them and introducing them to the Greek and Hebrew languages along with the culture of the 1st century.

Sarah and Hayden had a wonderful first day and met some great young people. I know this will be a positive experience for them.

Though the picture below is a year old, to me it sums up these two!

Schools In!!!

I haven't been abloggin' cause we started school this past Monday. I was so ready to get back to the books and a routine. The kids are moderately excited also. They like it, they just do not want to admit it!

We have an exciting line up this year. We are back to Abeka this year after doing Charlotte Mason last year. We alternate back and forth and it works well. We will be doing math, Bible, history, science, grammar & vocabulary, spelling, Greek, and Appalachian history. We will also read whole books during the year. Sarah and Hayden will continue their music lessons also.

It is just such a privilege to teach my children. I believe the Lord commands that we be the primary influence in their lives and I am awed by the opportunity to be used by Him to raise and teach them.

Proverbs 22:6

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

Home Education

Excerpt from Voddie Baucham:

Education is discipleship; whomever we allow to educate our children is discipling our children. “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40 ESV).

If I knew for a fact the school down the street could ensure better test scores for my children, I still wouldn’t give them my children! I am commanded to bring my children up in the nurture and instruction of the Lord (Eph. 6:4), and to do so by teaching them God’s statutes when I sit in my house, when I lie down, when I rise up, and when I walk along the way (Deut. 6:7). I am also admonished not to place myself, or by extension my children, under false teaching (Col. 2:8), or to expose them to teaching that undermines God’s Law (Matt. 5:17-20). Instead, I must teach them to “take every thought captive” (2 Cor. 10:5), to refuse to be “conformed to the pattern of this world” (Rom. 12:2), and meditate on God’s Law day and night (Ps. 1:2).

AMEN!!

Salt and Light? Good company?

Many Christian families state that a key reason for staying with the public school system is to be 'salt and light' to a pagan culture. I think this may be an excellent reason for an adult who is called to teach and who has a burden for evangelism of the lost. There are many Christian teachers in public schools who choose their work for this reason and my hat goes off to them. They are undoubtedly facing in-your-face hostility to Christian principles and yet remain there to pray for the lost, be a witness for Christ and give the best education they can to students. But the 'salt and light' concept ends there. I think it is unwise (dangerous?) to send little-trained or untrained youth to perhaps the key battleground of Humanists (the public school classroom) and expect them to be effective in winning over unbelievers, adult or student. The evangelism is working in reverse far too often as is evidenced by Christian-family youth adopting morals of their unbelieving friends.

The Bible says, "Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals." (I Cor. 15:33) An environment where the majority of people are not Christian is unquestionably going to produce a different ethic than will occur when nearly all are Christian (faculty and students). The value system, or worldview, of non-Christian teachers and students will produce a 'normal' environment that is hostile to Christianity. If we believe the Bible to be true, it simply cannot be any different.

Most students like to model their teachers, especially when they are viewed as "cool." However, the morals of Christian-family youth are being corrupted when the lifestyle of their teachers reflects such anti-Christian views as gay rights, abortion rights, and sex before marriage. Believing otherwise is already proof that the warning of this scripture was ignored ... you have been deceived.

taken from the Nehemiah Institute, Inc.site.

Thursday we begin the process of more formal education again. I like the routine and we are excited about doing the Charlotte Mason method after taking a year off.
We will continue to make practical learning a priority; cooking, woodworking, composting, cleaning, service, etc.
This year we will be reading the History of the American People, the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Gulliver's Travels, the Missionary Travels of David Livingstone, Plutarch, Shakespeare, and much more.

Another Reason To Homeschool

I Corinthians 15:33,34 says literally:

"Do not lead yourselves astray:
bad companionships corrupt good morals.
...I say this to your shame,
for there are some who do not know God."

Companionship with those who do not know God is a shameful sin which draws us away from God. How much worse spending the best of one’s waking hours in a government school which teaches us to ignore God all day long, among teachers who cannot even mention God’s name; and among students who, if they do mention God’s name, do not mention it with reverence.

Charles F. Potter, a leading humanist, wrote in the magazine "Humanist,"

"Education is thus a most powerful ally of Humanism, and every American public school is a school of Humanism. What can the theistic Sunday schools, meeting for an hour a week and teaching only a fraction of the children, do to stem the tide of a five-day program of humanistic teaching?"

Another leading humanist, John Dunphy, wrote in the Humanist Magazine (1983).

"I am convinced that the battle for humankind’s future must be waged and won in the public school classroom by teachers who correctly perceive their role as the proselytizers of a new faith: a religion of humanity...
The classroom must and will become an arena of conflict between the old and the new — the rotting corpse of Christianity, together with all its adjacent evils and misery, and the new faith of humanism."

Are our children prepared to do battle with the Philistine Giant of Humanistic Education?

Proverbs 22:6

"Train up a child
in the way he should go,[that is, fill him with salt]
and when he is old
he will not depart from it."

Our children do not come with salt. Our God given task as parents is to fill our children with salt. We call this process education.

Only after our children have matured and are proven in the correction and counsel of the Lord, only then may we send them out to do battle with the Humanistic Philistines. But if we send our children out to be discipled by the humanist system, we may expect any salt we may impart to them to be steadily washed away by a constant stream of polluting humanism. The salt will lose its taste and be good for nothing.

We must first turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children; and the hearts of the children back to their fathers.

JUST ANOTHER MANIC MONDAY

Today started out looking unproductive, but alas, I overcame!! Or was overcome!!!! We'll put it to a vote later. We were staying home today since we were gone all day yesterday for church and lunch and praise team practice and church and dinner. (ok, not a frugal day, but it could have been worse) Really

I couldn't get motivated at first; too much to do with the house, school preparations, etc. We needed bread and I bought some dough enhancer to try. So, I got busy with that first. Lawsy, the dough was sticky; I do NOT know what was up with that. It turned out fine, but I thought I had stuck my hand in a fly trap. (bad analogy)

Next, I had those apples that Rita and Mark gave us. APPLE PIE for dinner!!

Now, on to school preparations. The Charlotte Mason method takes some preparation in advance. There are books to hunt down here at home, online and at the library. I have to see how much is required from each book for each term. There are historical documents to hunt down; easier now because of the internet. And I have to work out the kids schedules. Tired Now! Spent several hours on and off on this.

Then there are the bills. UGH! So, I sat down and paid some bills.


Still

Early

In

The

Day



Dinner: these people gotta eat. Meatless Monday! Mac & Cheese, greenbeans, corn, salad and what is left of the bread. And apple pie.

In between I did interact with my children and husband. Washed dishes. Became my son's hero because I successfully transferred a picture from the internet to his PSP! Mom Rocks!!

Had really ripe bananas so decided to try a new banana bread recipe. Will let you know how it turns out. It is in the oven as I write.

So, did I overcome or was I overcome with some sick, incurable need to be productive. Be gentle....

Learning

Most of these will be set aside this year as I am returning to the Charlotte Mason method of schooling. For those of you unfamiliar with this, it is reading more whole books as opposed to textbooks. It exposes the student to the classics, more complete history and many great speeches and documents.

Hannah enjoyed this much more than textbooks; she always felt that these fell short when it came to information. The 'blurbs' were not enough for her. She was frustrated much of the time. Reading more complete histories of civilizations and people groups made more sense to her. She also studied Consumer and Business Math, which will serve her well.

When the student reads about certain parts of say, history in more complete context, it makes more sense and they get a better feel for what was really going on. They also learn more about the people and their lives during that time period. Students also copy famous speeches and study to gain a better understanding of them. Math is still on the agenda as is science.


Quote: "My education was interrupted only by my schooling." Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

Why We Homeschool

We chose to home school after realizing we were running through each week and not spending quality time as a family. Our kids were in a private christian school and we were very involved as parents. But, by the time we got everyone home, had snacks, did homework then dinner, we had no time to just enjoy each other or talk to each other. Public school was not an option for us since so much has changed in public education. The standards are lower, the teachers cannot discipline for fear of reprisal and the parents have limited input.
We also believe it is our responsibility to educate our children spiritually and academically. We do not desire to isolate them, on the contrary, we travel and have many friends. We do not wish to keep them ignorant of the world nor the circumstances many face daily. Our children are taught that they are blessed to have been born in America and that few around the world have as much as they do.
We teach our children practical skills as well as strong academic skills. They learn to care for a home, garden, cook, run a business and serve others. They have the luxury of time instead of spending 7 hours in a classroom. They interact with people of all ages and minister in our church. They are children that don't mind doing for others, in fact, they seem to thrive on it. Their legacy is one of service to others.
We spend a lot of time just talking to our kids. The topics range from politics to religion to conservation. There is very little TV watching. We sit on our porch and talk. We get in the kitchen and cook together and talk. We go to friends for dinner, games and conversation. Each child is comfortable stating their opinion and conversing on any topic.
Parenting has been the biggest gift and the most incredible blessing!