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Excellence in Math

1:57 PM - Apr. 1, 2009 - Wild Thoughts {0} - Add to the Wildness

I've been planning this for some time. I am an evil homeschool mom.

Today, I tested the older two using a school-style setting. I gave them the final test from last year's math module, which they completed 10 months ago. They did not have a review period beforehand. They wrote the test through the lunch hour, on empty stomachs (lunch is late today for a variety of reasons).

Banana: Scored 81.5% (46.5 out of 57)
Spazz: Scored 78% (44.5 out of 57)

The program is Systemath, and it's a great middle-years foundational program that will make all high school math much easier due to its principle-based approach. It's been remedial for me just to watch a few lessons with the kids as I keep informed of what they're doing. It has reproducible worksheets, so I can use it for all the kids, and the cost is very low. Plus, I understand the curriculum author is very accessible and helpful if you have questions about using the program.

I explained to the kids afterwards how exceptional their circumstances were compared to "standardized" educational testing, and how many kids I knew in junior high who skated through with 65% or 70%, with the knowledge right at hand and substantial review right before testing. I hope this is a major confidence-booster for them.

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© Copyright Cathi-Lyn Dyck 2005-2009

New Bible Conference!! Too Exciting!!!

7:23 PM - Mar. 11, 2009 - Wild Thoughts {1} - Add to the Wildness

For years, Dave and I have talked about starting up a Bible conference in our area. There are a lot of reasons for this idea.

--1--Need for Bible overview teaching. We were struck by New Tribes Mission's perspective on the need for people to understand the foundation of the Gospel in order to understand the Gospel itself. In their "Creation to Christ" Bible study guide, they talk about how numbers of people professed Christ, only to add Him as just another deity in their existing collection of idols. There's a truth in that for our own culture.

--2--Need for Bible teachers who "teach and leave." As one local pastor said to me, sometimes it's helpful for teachers come in from outside to simply teach a topic without any internal political agenda. Often, within a church environment, doctrine becomes part of the political fabric and the political fabric becomes part of doctrine. We've seen this problem deeply entrenched in our own church, where it has become impossible for anyone within the congregation to bring the much-needed teaching which could heal the church, because it's viewed through a distorted political lens. This is a particular problem in a small-town environment, where a shortage of people causes entrenchment in relationships and church roles.

--3--The response of believers to teaching ministries like Answers in Genesis. Christians aren't cowards. But there's a need for real-life answers. There's a type of ministry direction which attempts to connect with the culture by allowing the culture to dictate to it--what music, what attitudes, and even what spiritual content. Then there's a type of ministry that brings out what God's Word says about our culture's specifics. Because it's all in there. The Bible is sufficient.

--4--The concern of believers about the present world state. One of my husband's relatives happens to be a highly informed, world-class speaker, researcher and analyst who looks specifically at trends in globalization. He is excellent at making clear the connections between global politics, economics and religion, and showing how it affects individuals in their own corner of the world.

We also have a friend who practices Messianic Christianity and is an excellent resource for explaining things about Israel. Both the Middle East and world finances are at the center of the news...but what's the Christian perspective? We actually have local guys who know this stuff. But people don't know about them.

Anyway, the long and the short is, we're goin' for it.

Five men have stepped forward to serve as directors, and others have volunteered to help out with other aspects of the conference.
I've done a website and some graphic design, all to be released soon.
There is a host church in the works.
We have three guest speakers for our inaugural day--two regional resources and a national creation speaker.

I feel like Daffy Duck--"Woohoo! Woohoo! Woohoo!"

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© Copyright Cathi-Lyn Dyck 2005-2009

Video of our Family's Sailboat

10:28 PM - Feb. 6, 2009 - Wild Thoughts {0} - Add to the Wildness

For those of you with faster connections, here's what it's like on the Unschool Ship.

© Copyright Cathi-Lyn Dyck 2005-2009

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