8/14/2012

Everyone is gearing up for the return to school. Back-to-school sales grab our attention at the stores. The calendar tells us that summer is coming to an end and fall is just around the corner. 

We choose to homeschool year-round. For us, that means that we start a new school year in early summer - May or June. We usually end around April or May the next year, taking 11-12 months to get through the material instead of schooling for 9 months and taking a 3-month break. We take breaks as we need them and generally school 3 or 4 days a week instead of 5. It's just what works best for us. 

So, we're already underway with homeschool, about 30 days in. My daughter is in 4th grade this year. We are using Sonlight  again this year. In fact, it's the second half of their American History curriculum, so we're picking up where we left off with 3rd grade - the Civil War era. Already we've enjoyed excellent literature and are trying to see the issues of slavery and state's rights from all sides. It's a fascinating study. 

In addition to the great history element, she's doing a CD-ROM math program called Teaching Textbooks. She did this last year and it was a great success. I also discovered a website called Xtra Math that is FREE for anyone to use, to focus on drilling basic math facts. In my opinion, Teaching Textbooks is a little lax in the area of drilling those math facts that simply must be memorized (basic addition, multiplication facts 1-10). Xtra Math gives you a few placement tests at the beginning to test your skills, then gives you games and drills to do daily (or a few times a week) to keep drilling those facts into your mind. 


We've added Rosetta Stone Spanish this year, which is also a computerized program. She's enjoying that so far. We are entertaining the idea of going on a mission trip to Costa Rica in 2 years, which led us to want to introduce Spanish at this point in her education.

Sonlight provides the Science curriculum, which focuses on Electricity and Magnetism for 4th grade. There have already been a few experiments with batteries and light bulbs. 

We use Sequential Spelling for spelling. We found another website - Spelling City - which allows me to enter the entire spelling list and then it gives the spelling test to my daughter. It also does word games with that list of words, if she needs more practice. I've found Spelling City helpful for 2 reasons. First, my daughter likes using the computer for school, so anything that can be done on the computer is automatically more enjoyable for her. Second, she learned basic typing skills last year as part of 3rd grade. Now when she uses Spelling City for spelling, it's like two subjects in one - spelling AND typing. She's learning to spell the words but also getting typing practice. The only down side is that we have 1 computer at home for all of us to share, so as she is using it more and more for school, it's available less and less for any of the rest of us to use. Note to self: look into getting a second computer or laptop.

There's also handwriting and language arts, which seem to be my daughter's least favorite subjects. She remains excited about piano lessons and continues with those. She's getting to the point of being able to play simplified versions of many familiar songs (Yankee Doodle, Jesus Loves Me, Camptown Races, etc), which is great motivation for her to continue on. 

The biggest change in our homeschooling this year is that we've joined a homeschool co-op. This is a group of 50 other homeschooling families in our area who get together each Wednesday morning at a local church to provide supplemental class opportunities for our kids. All the moms help teach/lead/assist different classes. The kids have choices amongst 2-6 different class offering, so they can pick what they will like best. There are 4 class hours, so they will take 4 classes that last for the fall. Then new classes will be offered in the spring. I'm teaching a US Geography class for the elementary students (including my daughter who choose to take the class). She's also taking Ballet, American Girl book study and Space Camp. All the kids are required to take Gym, Ballet or Martial Arts - since sports opportunities are quite limited for homeschooled kids. All children from babies up through high school can attend, so my son will be in a PreSchool class. We're excited about the co-op, which starts in September. We know a few other families/kids in the co-op but anticipate making a lot of new friends through the group, as well as learning new things that otherwise wouldn't be a part of our homeschool.

As far as my son goes, we will continue to work on basic preschool concepts - shapes, patterns, counting above 10, letter recognition and sounds. School for him is much less formal, involving a lot of playing and reading books and works around my daughter's 4th grade schedule. 

Next year will be the biggest adjustment yet - juggling a 5th grader and a Kindergartener. But that's not my concern right now. For now we're enjoying 4th grade and preschool... and love learning together at home. 

8/13/2012

Ever since the whole Chick-Fil-A, free speech, gay marriage debate blew up a few weeks ago, I've been wanting to post a few thoughts. 

I have strong feelings about the issue, but I don't want to be political. I want to be biblical. 

Sometimes the American church jumps on a bandwagon or a cause so quickly that I wonder if anyone stops to consider the implications of the jump. This may be one of those times. 

The Bible does have a lot to say about homosexuality. The clearest passage on the topic is Romans 1. This passage talks of God "giving people over" to sinful desires, shameful lusts and a depraved mind. Why? Because it's what the people wanted. "For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened." Read the entire passage. It's dark. It's bleak. It could be applied to the world we live in today without much of a stretch. 

This got me thinking about Sodom. Remember Sodom in the Old Testament? Go back to Genesis 19. Two angels - who looked like men - came to Sodom to rescue Lot from the coming destruction. The local men from Sodom nearly bang down Lot's door as they sought the visiting men. Why? Verse 5 tells us, "Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them." As if this isn't bad enough, verse 4 explains further that this mob of men included ALL the men of the city, both YOUNG and OLD! It sounds like homosexuality was a big problem in Sodom. And God did judge Sodom severely for their sin. Was it homosexuality alone that brought down His wrath? Hmmm.

If I were judging Sodom, I might put homosexuality on the top of their list of sins. Somehow this sin seems so much bigger and worse than other sins. 

Isn't it interesting how we tend to rank sins? Some are worse. Others, like a little white lie, aren't so bad. Some deserve judgement while others can be overlooked. Reminds me of a book I taught on last year called "Respectable Sins" which dealt with this very thing - how there are some sins in our culture which have become acceptable or even respectable. 

So this could be the end of the lesson and unfortunately for many, this is where it ends. Homosexuality is wrong and sinful. I can be thankful I'm not gay. I can point the finger at all those sinful folks and be glad I'm not one of them. End of story.

Well, there's a little chapter tucked away in the little-known book of Ezekiel that blew my judgmental soap box apart. Read Ezekiel 16, especially verses 43-63. Did you notice verse 49? It clearly states: "This was the sin of your sister Sodom - she and her daughters were ARROGANT, OVERFED and UNCONCERNED; they did not help the poor and needy." Whoa! Of all the sin that was taking place in Sodom - including homosexual behavior - God is listing these 3 as their primary issues?! 

Do you find this convicting? I sure do! 

I live in America. If any nation on earth could be described as ARROGANT, OVERFED and UNCONCERNED... it is us! 

And to our shame, the American church is holding the culture's hand on this. The American church is in many ways ARROGANT. The American church in many ways is OVERFED. The American church in many ways is UNCONCERNED.

And to bring it home even more, I admit that I am in many ways ARROGANT, OVERFED and UNCONCERNED. 

Lord, we ask for your mercy on us as a nation, as a church, and as individuals. We do not deserve blessing. We deserve wrath. We walk in arrogance. We are overfed. We are unconcerned about the poor, the needy, or frankly anybody besides ourselves. Forgive us, Lord. We are no better than any other sinners. The only hope for them or us... is You! Jesus, you are the only hope of rescue from sin, rescue from ourselves, rescue from eternal wrath and destruction. Thank You for loving us despite our sin. Thank you for demonstrating Your love for us even when we were still sinners, still lost. You poured out love on us. Thank You for that love and grace. Enable us to then show such love and grace for others, who remain lost in their sin. May they one day come to Your Kingdom because they have experienced Your great love, shown through others... and maybe even shown through me. Amen.