Jun. 29, 2009 - Independence Day Challenge: Beat My Score
The Intercollegiate Studies Institute, ISI, reports that a random sample of Americans took a simple test designed to assess each respondent’s “knowledge of America’s founding principles and texts, core history, and enduring institutions...over 70% of Americans failed this basic test of the kind of knowledge required for informed and responsible citizenship."
Here's my score on the American Civic literacy Quiz,
"You answered 30 out of 33 correctly — 90.91 %."
I'm disappointed; my score should have been 100%. I'm not that good with money. Come on, you can do better. Take the test here, www.americancivicliteracy.org/..
American heroes risk their lives to keep freedom safe; I pray we don't waste their sacrifice through ignorance.
Jun. 25, 2009 - Free Young Student Magazines, Focus on the Family, Breakaway and Brio & Beyond
As long time subscribers to Focus on the Family magazines Breakaway and Brio & Beyond, we were saddened when we heard they were eliminated from publication. However, they are now available for free on the internet, at http://www.korministries.com/site/#brands. If you are a Christian young adult, or simply young at heart, check them out for information on student issues, music, and more. They are looking for reader feedback and ideas, so now is the time to help them with their future direction.I filled out a survey, and received a free music download.
Jun. 23, 2009 - Summer Festivals and Reading Lists
We made it through graduation, and are transitioning into our summer schedule. Last week we enjoyed a family camping trip to celebrate graduation, and we attended the Alive Festival in Ohio (www.alive.org). I especially liked performances by Point of Grace, Skillet and Hawk Nelson.
Summer is for exploring new books. I have a bit more free time, so I'm enjoying Lyn Cotes' Texas Star of Destiny historical fiction series, as well as L.A. Kelly's Tahn, Return to Alistair, and the Scarlet Trefoil.
I'm working on turning a decade old HP Jornada handheld computer into an ebook reader, so that my youngest homeschooler (who has visual challenges) can read large print electronic books. So far, we're using free software from Mobireader, and finding an overwhelming selection of free downloadable electronic books to try.
Please note: the University of Virginia eText site is changing. The new address is lib.virginia.edu/digital/collections/finding_digital.html . Their free digital collection will still be available at the old site for a short time, but after they move, you'll need the new address. I'm also investigating free public domain audio books at .librivox.org/.
May. 21, 2009 - High School Graduation, Online College
It's official; our oldest daughter is graduating from homeschool high school! Great job, Lori; we're so proud of you!
We're also very happy with your progress at Clovis Community College, taking college classes online while still in high school.
If you're interested in shortening your path to a college degree, try these free College Level Examination Program (CLEP) study resources: Free University CLEP INfo
Apr. 18, 2009 - Fight Back Against Deflating Income; Inflating Education Expenses
What about homeschooling college, in these days of deflating income and inflating education expenses? Kathleen Knudsen, Home School Enrichment, has some insights on non-traditional college:
"Tragically, in the pursuit of a college degree, untold numbers of young people have had their faith and values undermined. Unwilling to compromise on faith and values, my family hit roadblocks as we looked into options for higher education. Most options seemed to contain land mines in one of three areas—faith, cost, or accreditation. It seemed that any accredited college was either publicly funded and sponsored secular indoctrination in the classroom or solid in faith and values with an exorbitant price tag. Unfortunately, in our research, the only schools which had reasonable prices and were committed to Christ and His word were also unaccredited.
Accreditation is important. Very important. Unfortunately, the price tag on accreditation has in effect limited accredited schools to two categories: Christian but expensive or inexpensive but secular. For our family, this inspired a look into nontraditional college options. Could there be a way to gain that college credential without sacrificing the Christian foundation or busting the budget? If traditional education seemed rife with pitfalls and land mines, perhaps nontraditional was the way to go.
And that is exactly what I did. Two aspects of nontraditional education worked exceptionally well for me—online learning and credit-by-examination. A little over two years after starting my college career, I took my last test, thereby completing the requirements for my Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. For me, a combination of online courses and credit-by-examination provided an excellent answer to concerns about faith, cost, and accreditation."
Read more of this helpful article here: http://www.crosswalk.com/root/homeschool/11598466/page0/
If you’re one of the many homeschooling families feeling senselessly trapped on a tight budget—just remember, it’s not too late to start saving money! From inexpensive curriculum, affordable teaching tools, to low-cost field trips, author Melissa Morgan talks about a few ways families can save on a shoestring budget and give their children a rich education. Tune in for more on this week’s Homes School Heartbeat.
Program Listing: Click on a program title to listen online and read a transcript
Have you been naughty or nice? Will you get a digital media player for Christmas, to use during your travels? Give yourself free ebook downloads for your media player or computer:
This Christmas, may we remember the child, and remember with the wise. I can never adequately express my thanks to my Lord, Creator and King for coming to earth as the least of these, the weakest of humankind, a child from the womb of Mary.
Merry Christmas, and in the words of Tiny Tim, "God bless us every one!" All praise and honor to the king; Happy Birthday Jesus!
Dec. 12, 2008 - State of Emergency--Bail-Out Needed Immediately for Christian Children!
The emergency is real! Jesus is not allowed in school--why do we want our children there? Christian parents are urged to bail out of the government schools, and take responsibility for the education of their children. It is time to rescue our children from an educational system that seeks to remake Christian children into a godless image.
Of course, many, many Christian teachers try and present a faithful witness in the government schools. However, children are powerless and vulnerable to adult leadership. "Children are not little adults. Until they reach the age of 15 or so they are not capable of reasoning as an adult."--Stages of Intellectual Development in Children and Teenagers, http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/development/piaget.shtml .
"If you control the schools, you control the future...we need to march right out the front door of the Christ dishonoring, academically inferior, soul killing government indoctrination centers."--Exodus Mandate video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRGZLSVph3A .
Matthew 22:36-38 and Deuteronomy 6:5-7 give parents a Biblical mandate and responsibility in the education of their children. Read more about Christian education and government schools at http://www.eaglesnesthome.com/pagan.htm . Please join with me in prayer this Christmas that God would turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children, and that Christ would be honored in every area of our lives.
Algebra hurting your brain? Do you need to get ready for high school or college testing, CLEPs, GED, ACT or SAT exams? This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for abundant free resources:
Oct. 4, 2008 - The Science of Stem Cells, Confusion and Media Distortions
As a mom homeschooling a nine year old daughter with Septo-Optic Dysplasia (SOD--optic nerve blindness/low vision), I am concerned about media confusion and distortions in the area of stem cell research. Readers may not realize that apparently successful stem cell treatments were using adult stem cells, not fetal cells. For instance, stem cell treatments in China for optic nerve hypoplasia involved adult cells, not embryonic cells; and there is NO American ethical controversy involving adult stem cell research. (See sources such as Oregon RTL Media Myths, http://www.ortl.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=54&Itemid=128 ).
I plead with the media to clarify statements regarding stem cell treatments, and stress that successful treatments came from umbilical cord blood, which is considered adult stem cells, NOT fetal cells. This is an important distinction. Again, there is no ethical, legal or moral controversy over the use of adult stem cells, which are NOT procured by abortion.
Of course, as a parent of a child with SOD, I am in full agreement that it is too early to use this treatment on humans, without adequate animal testing. I wouldn’t even consider doing this experimental treatment on my child.I just want to avoid misconceptions; this is NOT a treatment that is being held back due to ethical concerns regarding stem cells. I know of no successful treatment for any disease that uses fetal cells; In addition to ethical concerns, fetal cells tend to grow tumors and cause other problems, making their use not only unethical (because of the callous destruction of human life) but also needlessly dangerous to the recipients. What do you think?
Aug. 29, 2008 - Americans Need to Speak Up, and Not Allow Persecution To Go On in the Dark
Persecuted Christians in the Indian State of Orissa are fleeing to forests, according to Gospel For Asia, a Christian compassion outreach organization.
"Mob violence in India's Orissa state continues to escalate, and reports coming from Gospel for Asia leaders in Orissa say that as many as 20 GFA-related churches were destroyed and hundreds of Christian families have been burned out of their homes. At least a dozen members of GFA-related churches have been murdered, but no one knows the overall death toll.
"The Christians in Orissa have fled for their lives into the forests," GFA President K.P. Yohannan said, "and some have been in hiding for three days without food or water."-- http://www.gfa.org/orissa-update
Please pray for India, and the safety of believers in the state of Orissa. Americans need to speak up, and not allow this evil to go on in the dark. Thank you for listening.
My husband Hugh and I went up to Amish country yesterday, to celebrate our anniversary. We saw the “Bridge of Dreams,” an Amish built covered bridge built on top of a crumbling old railroad bridge and trash dump—formerly the local eyesore--over the Mohican River. Members of the Knox County Horsemen’s Council came up with the idea to renew the bridge, so that the Mohican Trail could cross it, but everyone said that it couldn’t be done. The bridge was finished in 1998.
Dreams and hard work pay off, as the beautiful Bridge of Dreams, the longest covered bridge in Ohio, testifies. Hikers, horsemen, and buggies travel the bridge, but motorized vehicles are banned. Here are some detailed pictures:
Jul. 14, 2008 - Free Study Guides, Not Free of Political Correctness
During free moments over summer vacation, I've been mining for free study guides, videos, and web sites at the Federal Resources for Educational Excellence, at http://www.free.ed.gov . Search by subject, for all ages, and explore arts, music, health, physical education, history, social studies, language arts, math and science.
I previewed the Outline of U.S. History, from the U.S Department of Education site, and found it to be generally useful. However, the Outline contained historical distortions that recur when secular writers attempt to explain how Christianity has influenced history. Here is one problematic example:
"During the religious upheavals of the 16th century, a body of men and women called Puritans sought to reform the Established Church of England from within. Essentially, they demanded that the rituals and structures associated with Roman Catholicism be replaced by simpler Calvinist Protestant forms of faith and worship. Their reformist ideas, by destroying the unity of the state church, threatened to divide the people and to undermine royal authority."
Notice that the text seems to omit any concept of the doctrinal issues involved; it reduces the complex Puritans to some kind of simplistic troublemakers, upsetting the unity of the people. Perhaps the writer is heavily influenced by an outdated Marxist world view?
The Outline of U.S. History, leaves out the most important reason that Puritans gave (in original sources) for leaving Holland. As explained in Saga of the Pilgrims: From Europe to the New World, by John Harris, the Pilgrims actually traveled to America in order to escape "the great licentiousness of youth in that country," which negatively influenced their children.
I was only able to review a small snapshot of the huge database of information at Federal Resources for Educational Excellence. Yes, it contains politically correct distortions. However, the site still offers a starting point for studying history, if you supplement with more detailed, balanced information and critical thinking exercises. My point is that as parents and educators, we can use a variety of resources. We can also explore original sources, histories untainted by political correctness, and train our children to analyze various world views.
Study Puritanism in-depth, at A Puritan's Mind:
“Fifty years ago the academic study of Puritanism went over a watershed with the discovery that there was such a thing as Puritan culture, and a rich culture at that, over and above Puritan reactions against certain facets of medieval and Renaissance culture. The common assumption of earlier days, that Puritans both sides of the Atlantic were characteristically morbid, obsessive, uncouth and unintelligent, was left behind. Satirical aloofness towards Puritan thought-life gave way to sympathetic attentiveness, and the exploring of Puritan beliefs and ideals became an academic cottage industry of impressive vigour, as it still is.
North America led the way with four books published over two years which between them ensured that Puritan studies could never be the same again. These were: William Haller, 'The Rise of Puritanism' (Columbia University Press: New York, 1938); A.S.P. Woodhouse, 'Puritanism and Liberty' (Macmillan: London, 1938; Woodhouse taught at Toronto); M.M. Knappen, 'Tudor Puritanism' (Chicago University Press: Chicago, 1939); and Perry Miller, 'The New England Mind Vol I; The Seventeenth Century' (Harvard University Press: Cambridge, MA, 1939). Many books from the thirties and later have confirmed the view of Puritanism which these four volumes yielded, and the overall picture that has emerged is as follows.”--http://www.apuritansmind.com/PuritanArticles/JIPackerQuest.htm
Read more about finding primary source material from the Pilgrims (such as the journals of William Bradford Edward Winslow and others), http://eaglesnesthome.blogspot.com/2007/11/giving-thanks.html at my old blog. If you desire to study history critically from a Biblical perspective, you may also enjoy the TruthQuest History series, "American History for Young Students," as well as hundreds of other choices for inexpensive books and curriculum, at Christian Book Distributors.
Jun. 27, 2008 - Homeschooling and Charter Schools Shine in New Report, A Nation Accountable: Twenty-five Years After a Nation At Risk
Twenty-five years ago, the U.S. Department of Education published A Nation At Risk. According to the report, "about 13 percent of 17-year-olds were functionally illiterate, SAT scores were dropping, and students needed an increased array of remedial courses in college."
Now a sequal, A Nation Accountable: Twenty-five Years After a Nation At Risk, includes both sobering revelations as well as positive statements regarding homeschooling and charter schools:
"Of 20 children born in 1983, six did not graduate from high school on time in 2001. Of the 14 who did, 10 started college that fall, but only five earned a bachelor’s degree by spring 2007...Newly implemented policy proposals include scholarship programs for low-income students, the growth of homeschooling, and the creation of charter schools—all of which increase parental choice in education. And we have seen some encouraging results. We know, from emerging research on schools in Illinois and Florida, that students who attend charter middle and high schools have been substantially more likely to graduate with a standard diploma and attend college than their counterparts in traditional public schools. We know that scholarships for low-income students are boosting the achievement of inner-city African-American children." http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/accountable/accountable.pdf
Jun. 24, 2008 - Education and Homeschool Freebies and Cheapies
It's summertime; for me, that means I'm busy researching. If you have time, check out a few of the economical homeschool resources I've found. I'd love to hear from you, too! This is the place to share your great ideas, to make home education more fun and affordable!
Get a free 3-week trial of Tapestry of Grace (Ancient World), which includes information on creating your own Ancient Egypt lapbook, at http://www.tapestryofgrace.com/egypt
Homeschool mom/author (Co-author "Educational Travel on a Shoestring," "Homeschooling on a Shoestring," Practical Homeschooling columnist), shares frugal family, educational and travel resources, including literature, unit studies, special needs, teens, high school, distance education, homeschooling college, health, home learning freebies (preschool - young adult), debt-free living, avoiding business scams, writers resources, bio-ethics, abortion violence, science, creationism, intelligent design, evolution, internet safety, Biblical worldview curriculum sources and book reviews.
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