Posted By Tami
This blog will be silent for a period of mourning for the family of Dozer, aka Christian Drews. My heart is simply broken for this lovely family, and I am going to spend the time I would use for blogging in prayer for the Drews family. Tami |
Posted By Gena Suarez, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine
Public schools and homeschoolers have two very different ways of looking at reading. Most public schools tend to believe that reading is an important skill to have but that it doesn’t really matter what you read – just as long as you do. So, why is it important? Maybe so you can read the warnings on your prescriptions or the clauses in your healthcare plans or the terms of employment on your contract so a greedy employer can’t take advantage of you. Then there are the street and restroom signs – and the menu, of course. Homeschoolers, on the other hand, tend to believe reading is a means to an end. That end is wisdom, which means that what we read is of the utmost importance. What we put into our minds comes out in our attitudes and behavior. That’s not to say that we can’t read for relaxation or entertainment, but homeschoolers understand that even this is important – that entertainment reading does not have to be vacuous reading, that what we consider fun and funny is also a reflection of the sort of people we are and want to grow into. What we read is critical because it shapes our worldview, and our worldview determines how we will respond to life’s trials and triumphs, how we will treat others, how we will conduct ourselves every moment of every day in every situation. Here are some quotations to fuel your thinking about reading… “Education... has produced a vast population able to read but unable to distinguish what is worth reading, an easy prey to sensations and cheap appeals.” - G. M. Trevelyan “I read my eyes out and can't read half enough. The more one reads the more one sees we have to read.” - John Adams “When you have mastered numbers, you will in fact no longer be reading numbers, any more than you read words when reading books. You will be reading meanings.” - Harold S. Geneen “Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them at all.” – Henry David Thoreau “Few are sufficiently sensible of the importance of that economy in reading which selects, almost exclusively, the very first order of books. Why, except for some special reason, read an inferior book, at the very time you might be reading one of the highest order?” - John W. Foster “Read good, big important things." - Peggy Noonan “Live always in the best company when you read." - Sydney Smith “ Tammy Drennan homeschooled her sons from 1985 through 2003. She now works as a writer and tutor and maintains several web sites and blogs, including www.educationconversation.wordpress.com and www.homeschoolstarter.com |
Posted By Gena Suarez, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine
Posted By Tami
This post is in the celebration of the life of Dozer, also known as Christian to his family. Marsha and David, my heart is just broken for you. God is a mighty God, and I am lifting you up to Him. As I was reading through the blogs about Dozer's home-going, I was listening to my iPod, and the song that was playing was, "I Miss You" by Miley Cyrus. It was written in honor of her grandfather who has gone on to be with the Lord as well. Tami
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Posted By Tami
As my week goes on, I have been so filled with the Spirit of God, and I am glad He has my back all the time.
He is the same God on the mountain tops with me, and He is the same God in the valleys with me. Have a blessed day! Tami |
Posted By Gena Suarez, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine
I am SO excited about the new State History from a Christian Perspective series we have just added to the Schoolhouse Store!
These are a complete course, from a Christian perspective, for grades 3 through 12, they consists of a 2-book set which includes the Student Booklet and the Master Lesson Plans book.
With:
Students remove the text and pictures from the consumable textbook and transfer them into a project notebook which they will construct about their state. These will give your children all the tools they need for a great study of whatever State you choose! Each State is only $25.00! We have all 50 States available, you will find them all HERE. |
Posted By Gena Suarez, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine
I was sitting in my car the other day waiting for my husband while he ran into the tool store. I decided to look over the mail, to be more precise, the Costco Connection magazine that Costco members receive. I don't care for most of the stuff in it, but I was bored so I decided to thumb through the pages. I discovered that Costco has jumped on the bandwagon with their latest poll, "Should parents be certified to homeschool their children?"
Polls asking this, and similar, questions have been rampant in the aftermath of the California court case that determined whether or not parents had the right to teach their own children. Polls usually do run after all such incidents and probably will again in the future. What always stand out to me is the so called "experts" who say that parents can't possibly teach their children as well as a state approved educator. They site that these teachers are certified and experts in their field. Except that many of these expert teachers aren't actually teaching in their area of expertise. I spoke with a certified teacher this summer. He is trained in history but is teaching English. I said, "Hey, maybe you could give me a few pointers on some grammar questions I have." He replied, "I don't think so. I stink at grammar and I'm just glad I only teach the freshmen." So much for being an expert. A good teacher I'm sure, just not qualified in English. I do hope the sophmore English teacher isn't glad he only teaches the sophmores and so on. If you feel like taking the time to vote in yet another poll on homeshcooling then go to the Costco Connection page and click on the cover of the magazine where it says, September > Click Here. Click on over to page 17 of the digital magazine. You'll find the poll and the articles written by the experts on both sides of the fence. Tia Linschied Senior Editor of HSB |
Posted By Nancy in KY in Inspirational
Please pray for Marsha and her family. They lost their sweet little Dozer last night in a drowning accident. I didn't want to believe it, but then I actually read it in the news.
Marsha has been such an encouragement to so many of us and her love for and the joy she (and her husband David) takes in them just literally pours out of her blog. It reminds me so much of Steven Curtis Chapman's family and their tragic loss of Maria. I just pray that the Lord will just strengthen and comfort the Drews as they continue to face each day with hope. One step at a time. One day at a time. I saw on one of the Chapmans' interviews where they found a little picture that Maria had drawn that just said "See" on it and had some little butterflies on it. Mary Beth said that it felt like Maria was giving her a reminder to "Taste and see that the Lord is good." Psalm 34:8 I can only imagine just what a dark and difficult time this is for the Drew family, but I pray that through it all God will grant them gentle reminders of His love for them and the hope for better days. Please pray for their whole family. I'm sure they will appreciate it! Edited to add: They've posted an update on Marsha's blog and she says that they can feel themselves being held in the palm of God's hand. Also, Emily at The Learning Never Stops came up with an absolutely divinely inspired idea to send Marsha an iPod loaded with uplifting songs for the days to come. Feel free to suggest your favorites there. |
Posted By Tami
How many times have you heard that said? We are literally having a very rainy day in NC. And I am so busy with my business that I feel like God is just raining His blessings down on me.
And there are always those little "things" that happen all at one time. For me, I was expecting an order to come in today, so I could fill some orders. Somehow my order ended up in another state. So, that means I will be playing catch up when those books arrive! And I am also having good things happen and not-so-good things, too. And it is just a part of my life right now. For now, I am praising God for the rain showers and showers of blessings. How about you? Have a blessed day! Tami |
Posted By Tami
Would you like to know how well I know that little tidbit about the calendar? And if you read my last post from past week, you know that I was not happy about an editorial in a local newspaper. That led to a letter to the editor from me, and that led to some backlash online. Then, I got another dose of reality from family over the week-end. It seems that some of our family has not accepted our decision to homeschool. It is been 8 years since we started homeschooling. It breaks my heart that they view us in such a negative way. But God keeps showing me through this adversity that He is in control, and I am praying by name for those who seek to persecute me and my family. Something positive did come from my letter to the editor. Homeschool Buzz picked up on it, and they linked to it from their homepage. I am quite in awe of that. The rest of my week will be busy as I work hard on sending out orders. I want everyone to have their books as soon as possible. Have a blessed day! Tami |
I have been quite busy sending materials out to homeschool families across the country and across the world. The past two weeks have been a blur for me.