WHAT?

It is rare that I read something as ludicrous as this op-ed piece masquerading as a scholarly article. While everyone has a right to his or her opinion, it is both polite and correct to at least have some credible and cited evidence for that opinion when it is published in a scholarly journal.

According to Robin L. West in her article The Harms of Homeschooling, I am uneducated trailer trash who probably lets her children skateboard all day, only calling them in to teach them Bible verses while beating and berating them, all the while potentially causing an outbreak or epidemic because of my medical negligence. Where has this lady been? Believe it or not, sitting on the full-time faculty of Georgetown Law School.

Hopefully you can easily spot the straw men, red herrings, ad hominem attacks, and genetic fallacies in her article ( my trailer trash 11 year old who just came in from skateboarding can) but if you'd like some help there is a neatly organized retort at Razzed.

As for me, all I have to say is I hope she doesn't teach logic. Maybe I ought to send her a copy of The Fallacy Detective?

Do you buy it?

That Mom give an interesting synopsis of the impending manifesto from the Homeschooling Leadership Summit. Quite an agenda given "In the name of the Lord." Caveat emptor.

Click and Save

Cannon Press is having a bottom dollar sale this week. Two of our favorite books are going for a song: Trial and Triumph: Stories From Church History for $1, and Future Men for $2. They have lots of other goodies as well. Click on over and take a peek.

In Theory…

My kids are blooming pianists who, like most elementary musicians, would avoid their theory lessons if at all possible. Our music teacher is very laid back, desiring her students to enjoy playing the piano. She doesn’t sweat their lack of theory or send them home with loads of nomenclature to memorize. I however, was trained by a lovely lady who did, and while I hated it at the time, I now see its intrinsic value. I don’t want my kids to hate music lessons by the time they hit junior high but I do want them to learn the key signatures, chord progressions, and intervals. So I’m doing what the most sneaky of parents do: employing educational computer games. The following websites provide free music theory training that my kids find quite entertaining:

Creating Music is an elementary site for exploring music

Musicards.net has online flash cards for all levels of theory education.

MusicTheory.com provides students with interactive games for learning theory at the beginning to advanced levels for strings, guitar, and keyboard.

Ricci Adams’ MusicTheory.net has both lessons and games for keyboard, guitar, and brass.

Big Ears is a wonderful site for learning to hear note intervals.

History at Ancient Prices

I know the beginning of the next school year is over six months away, but boy, am I glad I started thinking about it early! I was looking for Diana Waring’s History Alive on homeschool classifieds and decided to check the resale prices against buying it new from her site. Low and behold, she has a marvelous clearance sale going on! The History Alive products will now be published by Answers in Genesis so her self-published sets for Ancient Civilizations and Romans, Reformers, and Revolutionaries are now on sale for a fraction of the original cost. If you are going to be homeschooling anywhere near these eras, or even if you just like to listen to interesting history stories, check out Diana Waring’s recession-buster sales.

Big Splurge/Great Deal

I've got some pretty artsy kids and this year we are going to take some do-it-yourself drawing lessons via Mona Brooks' Drawing with Children in hopes of creating some nice looking nature journals. The colored pencils we've been using are the kind that go on sale for about fifty-cents this time of year. The lead breaks easily, the color goes down less than smoothly, and the kid's are tired of never having the right shade from a box of 12.

So I've had my eye on some professional sets with tons of colors but the price tag has been extremely cost prohibitive. Thanks to a generous 40%-off coupon from Hobby Lobby and $10-rebate from the manufacturer I found on a tear-off pad at the store, I picked up the $90, 72-color box of Prismacolor pencils for about $40. (Gasp!) I know it's hard for you to believe I'd shell out that kind of money for art supplies even at that discount, but with proper care they should last us a whole lot longer than those stink'n Cra*olas!

You can't judge a book by its cover

When I was in elementary school I ordered this book from the Scholastic Book Club flier.


Being wary of any book with the word "witch" in the title, my mother confiscated it and deposited it in the round file before I even had a chance to read the first chapter.

Now 25 years later I've finally read the book. The kids and I listened to it on audio tape during our drive to visit my folks. It is a well written, thought provoking story not about witchcraft, but about how hate and distrust can make Christians act more like the devil than like Christ. It reminded me once again that Christ is seen in me not by what I profess, but by what I do.

Tell Me the Old, Old Story

Our children love listening to stories read aloud, and it is delightful to hear them exclaim "read on, Mommy, read on!" when reading to them the stories God told through the lives of His people.

As far as story Bibles go--and we have many--our absolute favorite is The Child's Story Bible, by Catherine F. Vos. Published in 1935, this 700 page volume was recommended to us by Carole Joy Seid and has not disappointed. Vos accurately weaves the words of Scripture with historical descriptions of the sights, sounds, and smells surrounding the people of God. She goes beyond mere narration to explain the attitudes and emotions that come with both the circumstances and choices of these people of old. The Bible's "mature issues" are dealt with tactfully without lessening the impact of the subjects themselves. Reading a few of The Child's Story Bible's short chapters per week is a great way to take even the squirmiest of children through the Bible in a year.

Another delightful book is A Little Life of Jesus For Children Who Are Learning to Love Him, by Lois Rock. This chubby little book, perfect for toddler sized hands, had accompanied us to church for many years and is still kept lovingly by the bed of my five-year-old. The simple stories of the life of Christ taken from the Gospels are illustrated by eye-catching pictures on every page. Sadly, it seems to be out of print in the U.S. and I don't know of any American retailers who carry it. I've seen it on Ebay and Amazon used, and if you can get one, do so.

Finally, a worthwhile newcomer to the plethora of story books on the shelves of your local Christian retailer is The Jesus Storybook Bible, by Sally Lloyd-Jones. Lloyd-Jones does a marvelous job of taking all the major stories of Scripture and shooting them like well-aimed arrows at the target of the Messiah. The redemption story is central on every page. And I especially like the illustrations--Abraham, Moses, and Jesus actually look Middle Eastern! While we don't own it yet, our pastor is reading it a chapter at a time to the children on Sunday mornings and it is quickly becoming a favorite.

Theology for Itty-Bitties

Did you know that the concept of "asking Jesus into your heart" is not found anywhere in the Bible? Neither is "giving your life to Christ." And yet we often use these less-than-biblical Christianise phrases to explain the glorious act of redemption to children. Our kids need to know the real deal about God for the same reason we do--because it is imperative to answering the questions of life. They need to know that there is a powerful God and that He speaks and acts.

Leading Little Ones to God, by Marian M. Schoolland, has been around for 45 years and is one of our favorite resources for explaining biblical doctrine to our kids. Divided into 14 sections and 86 chapters, it systematically teaches children biblical theology in bite-sized chunks without using weighty seminary words. Children will learn about the doctrines of sotieriology (salvation), harmartiology (sin), ecclesiology (the church), sanctification (spiritual growth), eschatology (future things), among others. We first used this book when our eldest child was in kindergarten and find it engaging for toddlers through about 3rd grade.

It is my experience that children understand a whole lot more than we give them credit for, that they can engage in much more intelligent conversation than we allow them to, and that they need to know the true God of the Bible in His majesty, fury, and amazing love not the one of the cartoon coloring page we give them in Sunday School. Working your way through Leading Little Ones to God is a wonderful way to introduce your children to this glorious God.

Commentaries for Kids?

Recently I was asked about the tools we use in our home to train our kids in the "discipline and instruction of the Lord." Over the next few weeks I intend to highlight some of the resources we've found helpful and the kids have enjoyed, for we've discovered that one without the other is often useless. Some of our absolute favorite resources are the Herein is Love Children's Commentaries by Nancy Ganz. The following is a book review of these texts that I wrote for another website in September 2006:

When my mother picked up the first three books in the Herein is Love series for us, I figured it was an easy answer to my quandary of what Bible curriculum to study with the children during this school year. Little did I know the blessing these books would bring and the wonder they would inspire not only in my kids' hearts, but in mine.

Nancy Ganz hasn't written another story Bible. She hasn't simply retold stories from long ago and far away. She's mined the depth of the Old Testament and extracted huge chunks of doctrinal gold that sparkle in the light of the Son by bringing to life the people and situations of the Pentateuch and artfully matching them to their fulfillment in the life of Christ and letters of the apostles.

We've spent these last few month bathing in Genesis. Our awe has been renewed in God's glorious acts of creation. Our hearts have been wrenched by the first Adam's fall and the Last Adam's stand. Our consciences have been quickened by Cain's refusal to return to the Lord, and our fear of the Lord heightened as he "went out from the presence of the Lord."

Currently Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers are available from Shepherd Press. Mrs. Ganz intends to continue the series through the book of Joshua. We highly recommend this series, not for simply learning the "stories" of the Old Testament, but for meeting your great and glorious God face to face.

Since then we've read from Genesis to Leviticus and are now devouring Numbers. We're hoping Deuteronomy becomes available soon, but if not, we intend to go back to the beginning and start again!

She's Coming!

My favorite homeschool guru is coming to the midwest! No matter the age of your children, if you're homeschooling or considering homeschooling, and live within a few hours of Chicago, don't miss Carole Joy Seid's seminar Begin With The End In Mind. (If you live too far away, check out Carole's website for a seminar location near you.)

DATE: March 8th, 2008, 9:30 am-5:00 pm

LOCATION: West Suburban Community Church, Elmhurst, IL.

COST: $45 advance registration postmarked by February 22nd or $53 at the door.
Spouses are free!

THE BEGINING WITH THE END IN MIND SEMINAR WILL COVER:

I. Expanding Your Vision
What about socialization, apprenticeships, service, sports, travel and the arts?

II. A Truly Literature Based Approach
Let the classics be the core of your curriculum

III. Western Civilization and Christian World View
Developing a philosophical grid through which to view society

IV. Curriculum Options/College and or Trade Preparation
How to cover the bases and get into the school or career of your choice

Carole is a veteran home school mother, who has a B.A. in fine arts and a Masters degree in education. She has taught in both public and Christian schools, spoken at numerous conventions and presently does educational consulting for families across the country.

Carole has been speaking all over the country for over 15 years and has helped many homeschooling families get on the right track with her life-giving seminars. You will leave with motivation, understanding and the tools necessary to embrace a truly Christian worldview for your family. Attend and receive Carole’s unique booklists and curriculum handouts. Also, a selection of classical literature will be available for purchase at the seminar.

Make sure to pre-register to ensure an ample supply of books. As Carole brings a FANTASTIC supply of Classical education books to purchase!

For more information or a registration form, go to www.carolejoyseid.com. For other questions, call Patti (630) 834-7023 or Michelle (630) 513-5238.

Let me know if you're going and maybe we can do lunch!