Jocelyn's blog

Jan. 3, 2008

Lamplighter Books

At the end of each "school year", we give the boys a book. Sometimes, they ask for a particular book or we buy one that's part of a series they already have. This year, I decided to buy some Lamplighter books.

Why?

Lamplighter publishing finds old stories, often with a Christian message, and reprints them in a beautifully bound hardback. Their "Rare Collector's Books" are perfect for a gist or to mark a special occasion.

This year, I gave Zac "Titus: A Comrade of the Cross" and Stephen got the sequel, "Stephen: A Soldier of the Cross". There's one more in the series, "The Cross Triumphant" and we will get that soon. Zac told me after he finished his book the other day that he wants to buy another Lamplighter book with his own money. I mentioned to him that I would buy a few in one go and he said that he wanted to buy all of them himself, even if it took a while!

I was thrilled to hear him say this. The language is harder for a 9 year old than a lot of the other books he's reading but he enjoyed the story and now wants more.

Why not go to the Lamplighter site and have a look around? Some old classics may be known to you already.

www.lamplighterpublishing.com

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Nov. 1, 2007

Courage and Conviction: Chronicles of the Reformation Church

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For those of you who look at the blog, you will notice that I have a section on the left hand side where I talk about the books or resources that we are using. I try to update this from time to time but many of these are delved into over long periods of time.

My friend, Susan (aka Home Grown Kids), has just listed an entry on her blog about History Lives. It is the same series as the one we have been using all year. We are using Volume 3, called Courage and Conviction: Chronicles of the Reformation Church. I have been meaning to write a review on this for a long time and as Susan has asked for comments from others about this series, I decided to write my reply and review all in one.

Each book in the series is about a different historical time in the ages of the church. The first book covers the Ancient church, the second is about the Medieval church and the third looks at the church of the Reformation. This series is being written now, by Brandon and Mandy Withrow, so the language is modern and the stories are easy to follow for ages 8 and up. So, do the topics lack depth? Not at all! Last year, in the book titled Monks and Mystics: Chronicles of the Medieval Church, we read about Bernard of Clairvaux. He struggled with the mission given to him by the Pope to preach in favour of a Crusade when personally, he felt it was futile. Isn't that part of the unfolding drama of history - the complexity of events and how they impact upon people? The Withrows are able to weave these components into their stories; helping you to understand the frailty of humans and God, who is at work through it all.

This latest book has been no different. The Reformation was a time of great upheaval socially, as well as religiously. We read a story on Thomas Cramner recently. Though this man was convinced of the importance of the Scriptures, the need to expose errors in the Catholic Church at that time, of his right and privilege to marry as a man of God, he still struggled with his resolve when Queen Mary asked him to recant and return to the Catholic faith. For a short while, he valued his life above his faith but was burned at the stake. In a story of about 30 pages, this critical time in Cramner's life was told poignantly. We talked about that for quite a while afterwards.

Another feature of this series is its structure. Interspersed between the biographies are short chapters or summaries on different events. Some topics we have read about are: Religious Wars, Cathedral building, and the forming of universities. I like the two styles being put together in the one book. Sometimes, it's great to be able to read a narrative to the children and at other times, I prefer to give them the background information before we move on.

The only story I haven't liked so far has been the one on John Calvin. In my opinion, it spent too much time talking about his desire and quest to find a wife and not enough time on other key aspects of his life. We read other books on Calvin so we just skipped this one in the book. You may find that some stories won't resonate with you, though I would be surprised if the number is high.

Overall, I find this series to be excellent. It certainly has found a niche in a plentiful homeschooling market! I eagerly await the next title - Hearts and Hands: Chronicles of the Awakening Church.

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Nov. 1, 2007

Dictation and Teacher's Guide from Downunder literature

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Just before I got sick, I wrote this review, with the intention of posting it on the blog. Here it is now:

Recently, I sat down with a cup of coffee in hand to look through the new Downunder Dictation and Teacher's Guide. (I was given an advance copy - it will be available soon!) I'm glad that I did set aside a period of time because this resource does demand that, if you are going to get the best out of it.

Michelle Morrow has written some excellent notes on the importance of dictation in the life of your child's learning. It is to your detriment if you try to skip past these notes at the beginning of the book and launch straight into the first lesson. These introductory pages help you to organize your thoughts on dictation, give the importance of preparing a passage and have great tips for how to tackle different genres of literature.

In the back, there are appendices with basic spelling rules, sample grammar lessons from Charlotte Mason, and checklists with common questions to ask your children in language studies.

All of this gives you the foundation you need to make copy work and dictation a regular part of your week, without the stress and hassle of not knowing where to look next.

However, it was the section in the middle; the selections for dictation that was a delight. Some of the best known Australian authors are represented here. Wonderful poems, ballads, narratives, tales of the bush, adventures on the high seas and inspiring heroes in our history. My only problem was that there weren't enough! Don't misunderstand me, 32 separate pieces will take you a while, perhaps one a week if you want to use them regularly, I just enjoyed it so much that I was sad to reach the end.

One of the stated aims of this guide is that it will whet your child's appetite for more. Perhaps it will encourage you to get the book from which the extract was taken, or read more about a topic. I think we will be doing some of those things in our household as we go through it together.

This review is glowing and I usually like to mention the things I didn't like about a resource as well. I don't have much to say on this point. I think Michelle gets the balance right. She gives guidance but does not script each lesson for you. This suits my style but you may look for more detail. If you do prefer a more scripted lesson, this resource will still aid you. Take more time to digest the introductory pages, perhaps plan out a few of the lessons yourself using the notes at the start to guide you. Your child will benefit from the more individualized planning that you do.

The only other "down side" to this guide is that I didn't have it sooner. I would have loved it a couple of years ago.

Thanks Downunder Literature for making this resource available now and blessing current and future (home) educators with your labours.

For more information, look at their website - www.downunderlit.com

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Aug. 13, 2007

Little Britches

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We have been reading Little Britches by Ralph Moody as our current read-aloud. We have all been enjoying the stories of the scrapes that Ralph gets himself in to and also the way he gets out of them. What I have been appreciating the most is the relationship between Ralph and his father. It is unique to this first book in the series and the words of wisdom, patience, love and firmness shown by this father stayed with Ralph in the years ahead.

I'll just quote some passages from the book to show you what I mean:

Ralph accidentally kills a pheasant when it gets caught in his hunting trap. Shooting pheasants is against the law in Colorado. His father explains to him what he should do about it:

"It isn't a case of 'if the sheriff finds out about it'. It's a case of your breaking the law without intending to. If you tried to cover it up, you'd be running away from the law. Our prisons are full of men whose first real crime was running away because they didn't have courage enough to face punishment for a small offense. Tomorrow, you must go and see the sheriff..."

Ralph, although only 8, has been helping his father on the ranch for the past year, earning money for herding cows, helping out at the neighbour's farm come haying time. He reasons to himself that he actually "owns" the chocolate bar that his mother uses for cooking. After it has been "calling to him" all day, he finally steals it out of the house and hides it in the barn. He goes back at night to take a section off the bar:

I shook the bar out of the box, unwrapped it, and laid it on the lower rail of the corral fence. Just as I was starting to cut it with the axe, Father said, "Son!"

I couldn't think of anything to say, but grabbed the bar of chocolate and shoved it inside the bib of my overalls before turning around.

After spanking him, Ralph write this:
But it was the next thing that he said that hurt worse than the spanking. He said, "Son, I realize a lot better than you think you have been helping to earn a living for the family. We might say the chocolate was yours in the first place. If you had asked Mother or me for it in the first place, it would have been yours without question, but I won't have you being sneaky about things"...

He said he didn't want a sneaky partner, but if I could be open and above board he didn't know a man he'd rather be in business with.

I couldn't help crying some more when he told me that, just because I loved him. I told him I'd never be sneaky again, and I'd always ask him before I did things.

That whole interaction between them is beautiful and it's a shame to cut it short. The relationship unfolds and is built upon throughout the whole book. I must admit to being affected by this section.

Another time, Ralph sees that the neighbours have company. Some relatives are "free-loading". Ralph talks to the little visiting girl, whose father apparently has the philosophy that the world "owes him a living". This same man cannot hold down a job and seems to be quite at home taking advantage of his family. When Ralph talks to his father about this conversation over the milking at night, this is his reply:

"There are only two kinds of men in this world: Honest men and dishonest men. There are black men and white men and yellow men and red men but nothing counts except whether they're honest men or dishonest men.

Some men work almost entirely with their brains; some men almost entirely with their hands; though most of us have to use both. But we all fall into one of the two classes - honest and dishonest.

Any man who says the world owes him a living is dishonest. The same God that made you and me made this earth. And He planned it so that it would yield every single thing that people on it need. But He was careful to plan it so it would only yield up its wealth in exchange for the labor of a man. Any man who tries to share in that wealth without contributing the work of his brain or his hands is dishonest.

Son, this is a long sermon for a boy of your age, but I want so much for you to be an honest man that I had to explain it to you."

I wish I knew how Father was able to say things so as to make you remember every word of it. If I could remember everything the way I remember the things Father told me, maybe I could be as smart a man as he was.

I could go on and write so much more about this book. At times I catch the boys just looking at me - their colouring sheet or quiet play put to one side as they are riveted to the story. He was a boy, just like them but he lived through so many adventures, with lessons to learn and some hard times of growing up. All of these things make this book precious and I think this will be a great series to read aloud.

For further reviews, see:
http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=281781&netp_id=278508&event=ESRCN&item_code=WW#curr

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Aug. 1, 2007

Amazing Grace Movie

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Andrew & I went out to see the movie, Amazing Grace last night and really enjoyed it. Most of you would have heard the promotional material surrounding this film. It is about William Wilberforce - a Christian politician who fought against slavery and cruelty to animals. The RSPCA even sponsored an advance screening here!

It was refreshing to see the life of a Christian man being portrayed in a film with such an excellent cast and professional team. If anything, it whetted my appetite to read more about this man. Andrew felt the same way - wanting to know how much of the drama was true to his life. I suspect that most of it was. True stories often are more interesting than fiction!!

The movie didn't hide the struggles Wilberforce had early on in his career between whether being a Christian meant he should resign from politics or not. In one scene, he is "humbly reminded" he can be religious and a political activist. I know that will be something to talk about when our children see the movie - God's calling on your life where you are.

Some of the gruesome practices of slavery were discussed and thankfully, not shown. I felt tears coming to my eyes several times as I heard of the unbearable conditions suffered by so many thousands, millions of people. It was incredible to see the hardness of the ruling class at that time and yet, a humble reminder that in so many ways we can be indifferent today. God did lay a burden on the heart of Wilberforce, and though it was a lifelong struggle, he did see that mission through. I liked what the PM, William Pitt said at one stage (and I'm paraphrasing) - because we are young, we try to do the impossible, because we are young, no one` tells us it can't be done. It was probably a dramatic inclusion but it captured a good point to think about with our boys - to use these years of youth & vigour profitably.

There was a short speech in Parliament at the end of the film. It had a fantastic point, even if the speech wasn't actually made. Normally when we think of heroes, we think of men like Napoleon (he was winning at the time). The success of these men is measured in blood. Rarely do we think of the peaceful men who have changed the world and Wilberforce is one of them.

I wonder how many men/women who were not royalty, clergy or prime ministers are buried in Westminster Abbey? The fact that Wilberforce was in such company says much about the esteem in which he was held in his own day.

So was there anything we didn't like?

I did wonder at the portrayal of John Newton. He came across as a man broken down and under the weight of his sins being a slave trader. I'm sure he was haunted by many aspects of that life, even after he became a Christian. Yet, when he wrote the song, Amazing Grace, he said ,"I once was blind and now I see". He wasn't talking about being freed after he finally wrote down his confession about the slave trade. He was talking about the freedom that comes from God when you are saved by Him. It was a shame that they blurred the line on that one and made the abolition of slavery the biggest factor.

Wilberforce's wife also wore a dress which went down rather "low" at the front. Somehow I think that was out of character with a woman of her stature in those times.

Would I let these things stop my kids seeing the movie?

Absolutely not. We would discuss them together but I think we would do some reading about Wilberforce first. I actually bought a book about William Wilberforce at the start of this year.

We will look forward to reading that before the movie comes out on DVD later in the year. Even former English PM Tony Blair thinks it is a story worth knowing!

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May. 15, 2006

Etre Et Avoir "To Be and to Have"

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"Etre et Avoir or To be and to Have" is a French film and it is subtitled in English. The teacher of this one-teacher, multi-level provinicial school has been there for about 20 years and is about to retire. What we see is a snapshot of a year in his classroom.

Knowing all this, the start of the film surprised me and this little van wound its way through ice-covered streets and the cold, wintry landscape was displayed. There was almost a slow, creaking start to the van, the children and the movie as they all climbed in, semi-frozen trying to rouse themselves for the day ahead. Snapping across to the classroom, it also doesn't seem ready for them either as all we see is the slow progression of a couple of turtles making their way across the room. What it does show, is that this is a vibrant room with various creatures inside to help with the learning process.

The teacher is there to greet them when they get to the door, they all stand behind their chairs and wait until they are allowed to sit. The classroom is divided into three learning areas with the youngest, pre-K and up in one area, the grade 2s and 3s probably and then the 5s and 6s. Most are in the top and bottom grades of the school and the teacher must divide his time between them. At one point, he is teaching the younger ones and the older ones must get on with their book work while he does this. The younger ones use giant felt markers to write with and I found that interesting as they would be easy to handle and children with a propensity to push down hard on their pencil would probably find this easier. He asks the group to rate each other's work. I thought this was done in a helpful way and could be an encouraging thing to add in our own learning experience.

At another point in time, we are shown the older group having a dictation lesson. I found this fascinating because the teacher watched as they were writing and even picked up that one of them had used an incorrect ending. (The benefit of an inflected language!) Right there and then he talked about the tense and what ending would be needed. It was a good example. albeit brief or doing these things as they come up. Later on in the documentary, the teacher spoke about how he has done dictation for over 30 years - he obviously has found it beneficial! I believe they corrected the work straight after they had done it. I have vague memories of doing this in primary school under the one "old fashioned" teacher I had and think something of that dying art does need to be revived today. I'm certainly glad that CM's writings have shown some of the benefits of doing dictation as it has helped me to see its value for my own children.

Sorry for the digression...

While the older children are doing their Maths and the teacher is with them, the camera cuts across to the younger ones. We see them doing some colouring (and some not so focused on it) but we also get to hear the teacher in the background. The little ones are hearing that Maths lesson, the teacher talking about fractions and multiplying even though it's not where the littles ones are up to. This sort of example did remind me of our home situation and how much the younger ones imbibe from just being around. I'm sure they benefit from having older siblings go before them.

There's also a hilarious scene over the Maths homework of one boy - everyone in the house ends up coming over and trying to chip in what the answer may be. This boy may have had problems with Maths and even been a bit on the bullying side but they also have this shot of him (he's probably about 11 or 12) backing this tractor up on their farm. He seemed so capable and sure of himself in that context. It was lovely to see the film trying to capture more facets of these children and where they were at.

Even though I thought this teacher seemed to be very passionate about his job, caring, controlled and measured in his voice and obviously able to have a great rapport with his students, I did come away with a touch of sadness. A couple of times in speaking with the older students, he seemed to almost expect them to be distanced from their parents as a natural, almost teenage thing to do. He gave his advice and I'm not sure I would agree with some of it. The extra glimpses you got of these children really showed me how much their parents and families were a part of their lives. I guess that's the bias of the homeschooling parent - seeing and dealing with the whole child.

On the whole, I thought it was really well done, thought provoking and had an endearing quality to it. Even the beautiful lulls to capture the passing of time and the coming of each season lent it an added charm.

See if your library has it or ask them to order it in!!

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Jan. 14, 2006

Narnia Reviews from my boys

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Well, my boys wanted to talk about Narnia in an email to their grandparents. After two days of typing in bursts, they are done and I thought you might like to have a look too. This one is my 8 year old's:

On Wednesday, we went and saw Narnia (Lion, Witch and Wardrobe) at the Tuggeranong cinema. It was really good. I liked it when Aslan roared because it was really loud and he looked so magnificent. I liked the battle. Peter was the oldest, Susan was next, then Edmund and then Lucy. Peter was in command of the army. First he sent lots of eagles to drop stones on the superior numbers of the enemy. (The Witch's army). Then he led the charge on the enemy. From the air, it looked like a huge triangle of men and animals. Edmund was in charge of the archers. When Peter withdrew his army to the rocky cliffs where Edmund and his men were hiding, the enemy followed. Then Edmund and his men fired and weakened the enemy even more. Peter's bodyguard and a rhino charged because Peter had been knocked off his horse and was on the ground near the other army. Peter went and came up to the Queen (Witch) herself and fought bravely. Susan and Lucy were with Aslan after he had been killed on the stone table. The stone table broke, the deep magic was fulfilled and Aslan rose back to life. They went to the Queen's castle and got all the men and animals who had been turned into stone. Aslan breathed on them and they turned back to life. Then, as Peter's army was almost defeated, Aslan roared and the reinforcements came sweeping down. The Queen's army was defeated and Aslan killed her.

After that, Peter became High King Peter the Magnificent. Susan became Queen Susan the Gentle, Edmund became King Edmund of the West Woods and Lucy became Queen Lucy the Valiant. Then Lucy was looking out of the window after the feast and saw Aslan walking down the beach. She asked Mr Tumnus where he was going. Mr Tumnus said that one minute he would be there, and the next minute he wouldn't. Aslan has other affairs to go to.

When they were grown ups in Narnia, they were hunting the white stag which if they caught it, would give them wishes. Suddenly, it went under a hedge and Peter said the horses couldn't follow so they went on foot. The they came upon a post covered in vines. It was the lamp post they had seen on their way into Narnia. They kept on going and then they stumbled back out of the wardrobe. They had turned back to kids again. Then later, at night, Lucy was trying to sneak in again when the Professor found her. He said that she wouldn't be getting in that way again. You'll be drawn there again by magic when you're needed.

On Wednesday night, we went to see Narnia. It was the first time I had been to a cinema. I had a fun time seeing the movie. I liked it how they did everyone's character. Lucy was the most excited one. When she told the others about what she had seen, they didn't believe her. That night, she went into the wardrobe again and Edmund came looking for her. He saw Narnia as well. He saw the white witch and the witch tried to persuade him to go to her side. The white witch tried to get Edmund to bring Peter, Susan and Lucy to her. The white witch told Edmund that if he brought Peter, Susan and Lucy to her, then he could become King of Narnia. The white witch said her house was between two hills and to bring P,S and L there.

Once Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy were in Narnia they could conquer the white witch. It was told that 2 daughters of Eve and 2 sons of Adam would defeat the white witch. Aslan was a lion; a big big lion. He was as tall as Edmund. He was a leader and would help them.

The white witch came to Aslan's camp and had a talk with Aslan. After that, the white witch went away. That night, Aslan went to the witch's camp. The witch's people mocked him. The witch then said to bind him up and then she said for him to be shaved. The witch said to bring him up to her at the stone table. She killed him and then she prepared for battle. Aslan let himself be killed because he was dying in Edmund's place. Edmund had betrayed his brother and sisters and then he betrayed the white witch.

Then they had a battle. At first, Peter's army had birds drop stones on the other army. Then Peter charged and attacked the enemy. They retreated and Edmund's bowmen shot arrows and weakened the other army. Peter's bodyguard and a rhino attacked the enemy. The rhino attacked the men while the bodyguard attacked his way through the men to the white witch but got turned to stone. Peter and his men charged again. Peter was almost defeated when Aslan showed himself with a new army. Aslan had risen from the dead. The white witch had been fighting Peter and kept fighting harder when she saw Aslan. She was trying to kill Peter before Aslan came. Then Aslan killed the white witch.

THE END!!!!

That's my 7 year old's. Yes, my fingers have recovered now.

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Jan. 12, 2006

My Narnia Film Review

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Overall, I was really impressed with the movie. From the start, it went straight into the book. I think my boys had skimmed over the detail that London was being bombed in WWII so between the screen and my quiet whispering, they got a history lesson along the way.

I loved the countryside, the house, Professor and so on. Narnia was so beautifully portrayed and Cair Paravel seemed fantastic. The Fauns and beavers were so well done - they exceeded my expectations! BTW, what is it about Rupert Everett's voice? Mr Fox was valiant in his sacrifice too.

The children were characterised fairly well too. Lucy was just beautiful and you could see the awe and wonder on her face with Narnia, the belief and trust in Aslan, and the sadness and despair at his death and the plight of Mr Tumnus. Susan and Peter were done well too - I agree with Danielle here. I thought Edmund wasn't handled as well as he could have been. (Here goes the purist bit) In the book, Edmund stuffs himself silly on Turkish delight, he greedily hungers, even craves after more. The TD also has some sort of lasting effect on him. His greed, lust for power and recognition did not come through as potently as in the novel. In the book I think I felt almost a revulsion that Aslan could give up his life for so unworthy a person. How like Christ and what He did for us!

That brings me to my next point about Aslan's sacrifice. The way he walked up there and went through the jeers of all those horrid creatures was so powerful. you do get the sense that if he just opened his mouth and roared, he would have cleared out most of them. He was downcast but far from beaten.

One last point of criticism that again ( I think) took away from the glory of Aslan. When Father Christmas came back, he said he was able to "get through" that year because of the hope that the children had brought to Narnia. In the book, it puts more emphasis on the hope that comes with the arrival of Aslan.

Am I always so critical? I hope it doesn't come out that way. I always like to talk about the things I find good and the things I thought could've been done better. For instance, I loved the white witch. I always imagined her to have white painted skin but this actress knew how to exude that steely coldness without it.

The battle scenes reminded me a little of Lord of the Rings only because of the sweep-over effects. There was definitely less blood and less creepy horrible creatures though! It was so lovely to see Peter in particular standing up and growing in stature through that battle.

I could go on but this is probably enough! Anyway, for those who haven't seen it, it is well worth seeing. It is one of the best movies I have seen in a long time.

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Sep. 1, 2005

A comparison of SOTW and MoH

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This is what I wrote by way of review for the program. Please bear in mind that I am speaking candidly to my homeschooling group and don't mean to offend anyone using any other program.

I'm going to go through what I see as the strengths of Mystery of History (MoH) and what I like about it vs what I don't think we'll use and make comparisons with Story of the World (SOTW) and Truth Quest.

I'll start by saying that as well written as I think Story of the World is, I am getting dissatisfied with it. I just feel that if I am going to spend money on a History program, I should be getting one that is more overtly Christian. Now, I am talking from the point of view of someone who has bought both the read-aloud book and the activity guide for SOTW. Story of the World gives a good overview of world history in chronological order and is very good to use with younger children. However, it is still NOT a Christian view of the world which is being put forth. Susan Wise Bauer has deliberately kept the book "open" in that religious sense so that a broad audience can use her materials.

I know that I can supplement and always add Christian perspectives with my children but two things made me stop and take stock - 1. Do I always want to be the one doing the work to provide the Christian perspective? This was the BIGGEST factor in seeking change and 2. Can I get something that my older children can pick up and read for themselves that I'll be happy with? I feel that for me, right now, Mystery of History Volume 2 fits this broader aim. My older two can focus on slightly harder read aloud texts and we are able to talk about it more than we could last year.

For those of you who haven't seen MoH yet, it still follows a chronological sequence and covers western and eastern cultures. Volume 2 goes from the Early Church to the end of the Middles Ages. Each week you are able to read a page-two pages of text from the author about the topic, there are questions suggested for younger, middles and older students and t you can do an activity suggested. There are activity sheets and maps and a book list in the back. It is an all embracing thing and I like that in some ways.

WHAT I LIKE:

I like the text and most of what I have been evaluating is how well it is written and whether I could see myself sitting there and reading this to my children. I was going to do a practice run on them today but some of them were sick so I didn't push it. :-(

I am also drawn to the fact that if I have a "bad week" with my children, I don't have to worry as I really can just stick with the book and just do that. It won't be my favourite option but I will be happy enough with that whereas I don't think I could say that with SOTW. I would still feel that we hadn't done enough because of the lack of Christian perspective and would feel worse because I didn't have the time that week to make more of it.

On the weeks where we are going "great-guns", MoH then becomes my spring board. It will help me think of other ideas for a topic or to remember that I actually have *that* book on my shelf and that it would tie in nicely here! I could focus mainly on MoH with #2 ds -as he will be 7 next year when I use it- and add other things in for #1 ds to read with me or by himself as he will be 9.

I like the maps and the fact that the sea is already coloured in - a **BIG** plus for boys who don't like colouring them in!!

Like most programs, she includes a booklist. If you are new to home educating, most programs have these and it's good to see and investigate these suggestions yourself.

WHAT I WON'T USE:

I don't want to say that these are draw-backs to the program as other people might actually think that these aspects are a "plus".

I probably won't use many of the suggested activities after each topic. I do agree with what some other people have said and think you can spend way too long doing some of these things and they may take up more time than they are worth. eg. If you go off and investigate heraldry, you could be lost for months. Now for some, that may be a great digression. We will probably use some of the suggestions but I think it can be overwhelming when you see a new program to think that you must "do it all". I certainly won't be even trying to - I have finally learnt not to do that now. I see this as a small part of the program and it's not like I'm wasting half of it by not doing these activities. With the volume of SOTW activity sheets that we just didn't do, I certainly did feel like I was wasting it.

I also think that there is often not much difference in what is considered a middle student activity or question and an upper student one. That's where Truth Quest History is good for the Upper years as it asks really penetrating questions. At the start of the Truth Quest one on Rome, it starts by asking "What is Truth?" The whole Roman Empire is then evaluated through that Biblical grid. That is so fantastic for the upper years but we are not there yet!

I won't use every topic either. I find skipping from one culture to another to try and stay in chronological "sync" too much for me and the boys. I like to spend time in one or two cultures and follow the progression of history in that place for a while -then we might switch and do that with somewhere else. For example, what's going on in medieval England and then medieval France (often they inter-relate too). We'll look at some key figures in this period of history and then we'll move on. Spending one week on India and one week on China just to see what they are up to only to skip back to France again doesn't appeal to me. Often these chapters on Eastern cultures are not long so don't despair - I have not gutted the program until I am down to hardly anything. I'm sure it must seem that way by what I've written.

So, for me, MoH vol 2 is a bit for me and a bit for the boys. I don't feel bound to use all of it but feel there's enough in there, especially in the text, to be of use to us next year. This does not mean that we will go on and use MoH Vol 3 if that comes out in time. I am looking at my immediate need for next year and think that this will really help with that. I might be fine after that to try and co-ordinate all the resources I have by myself. I am starting to take things as they come and realise that I don't need to be wedded to a program for years at a time. It is my family situation of having two smaller ones which is driving how I spend my time right now and I know in time, that will change. I will not have the "perfect curriculum" for my children nor the perfect mother to teach it to them. I have to just pray that I will make the wisest choices I can for our family as we go and that God is preeminent in that.

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