Little Women - Homeschool Blogger

Mary versus Martha--a stunning realization

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:40:00 -0600

Most of us, of course, have read the story of Mary and Martha.    I think most of us would love to be like Mary, too--but real life calls.    I'm sure some are less practical than I am, but really, SOMEBODY had to feed those men--at least 14 of them (Jesus, 12 disciples, Lazarus, and who knows how many besides).

I mean, sitting around, listening to Jesus would be awesome! I would love to be able to just sit and do that.   But doesn't someone have to cook a meal?

I have thought this way for years, until yesterday.   I was reading "Choosing the Better Part," by Joanne Calderwood, in Home School Enrichment magazine.    She just casually referred to this, as it she didn't realize how earth-shattering it was.   But what she said was--

Martha did not "have to cook the meal."    Who was she cooking for?   Jesus--the guy who could feed 5000 people on 2 fish and a little bit of bread!     Martha was all caught up in "I've got to provide for everybody," and she totally missed the fact that the provision was not her responsibility, at all.

Not that Jesus couldn't have asked her to feed them.    He certainly did use people's gifts, and ate what they served.    But He didn't NEED Martha to provide for His needs.

I haven't fully digested all the ways this works itself out, yet.    It's clear, though, that this impacts a lot of the stuff I do--it's not me finding the perfect curriculum, or helping out X person, or doing whatever that meets the needs. It's all about Jesus.

Biblical issues with Augustus Caesar's World

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:06:00 -0600

For those who care--Augustus Caesar's World does NOT do a good job of presenting topics related to Biblical history.     I understand that these ideas are fairly common, but I was very surprised to find them so very badly handled in this book, which is extremely popular in the homeschool world.   I can't believe nobody is mentioning them, at least as a caution.     (For those who don't know me, I do NOT typically go off the deep end about stuff. I just think people should be saying something like "this book is good for XYZ areas, but warn your kids about how she handles the Bible."    Better yet, make it a read-aloud, so you can discuss it on the spot.)

p. 186ff   There is a big section about the Jewish law. It starts with the somewhat typical "most of the OT was written after Babylonian captivity." (I wasn't really expecting this, from a book written as long ago as Foster's books were, I think.)

It continues with the idea that, during their time in Babylon, the Jews view of God changed from a vengeful God of war to a God of righteousness and justice.

Then it goes even further, stating that when the Jews were "just shepherds roaming the Arabian desert (???)", their god was just one of many "strange spirits which seemed to people the desert world about them," and asserts that as they traveled around, they sacrificed their children to this god, "for their protection"!!!   Then, "fearing that their desert god would have no power in this land of green pastures and villages, they adopted the local gods of the Canaanites."   I gather this is supposed to be said of Abraham, as it goes on with "later....they accepted the gods of the Egyptians."

It goes on to say that Moses "brought them to the worship of one God, whose name was Jahveh "the thunderer," whose dwelling place was the volcano Mt. Sinai...."   Etc.

p. 279
- Jesus' name meant "helper of God."
- The 2 stories telling of his birth do not agree--"not a great surprise , for they were not written until after eighty or ninety years had passed. Seen through the distance of so many years, facts lose their sharp outlines and often appear strange and mysterious"
- Matthew was a Jew, "so he connected the birth of Jesus with old King Herod, who in the Year 1, had been dead four years."   This, despite her having just said that Jesus was probably between 4 and 8yo, by year 1!

p. 286, a youthful Jesus is supposedly musing about the law and the prophets. OK, he probably DID think about them, and at least this is respectfully done, until the end: "How did they know what God wanted them to say?...But who was to judge whether a prophet was true or false?"   Implies that one cannot know.

p. 287   states that the prophets were interested in only one question "How can we live in this world with other people and be happy?" !!!

p. 289   Amos is stated to be the first book of the Bible actually written down.

p. 290-291 Hosea and Micah "saw [God] as more gentle and loving than Amos imagined him."   "And, just as they had feared, the blow fell first upon Israel."   (That's more an implication, rather than stating outright the idea that they were just speaking out based on reading current trends.)

p. 293-294 the Jews learned in Babylon (from Zoroaster) the ideas of paradise, angels, and the devil; "it was to be a heavenly kingdom...ruled over by some celestial being."

p. 303-304 Jesus in the temple, stated to be at age 12 in Matthew, 14 by Luke's count, for some inexplicable reason.   Then, "Confused and puzzled over many things he had seen and heard, he found many questions he wished to ask the teachers in the Temple. They could tell him, he felt sure..."

p. 319, after several lengthy quotes picked and chosen from Jesus' teachings, "Each human being then holds the key to the Kingdom of Heaven, for it lies within."

p. 324, speaking of Paul, "He was on his way to Damascus....when, suddenly along the highway, he fell. And as he lay their in the dust and heat, he had a vision. Jesus seemed to speak to him..."   (Here, it's an implication, clearly, that he just fell, maybe hit his head or something, rather than that he saw a light and Christ, and therefore fell.)

p. 325 speaking of Paul in Rome, "because of Paul's teaching, the belief that Jesus was the Messiah or Christ, though it died out among his own people, spread ...through the Roman world."   (This is not historically true.   It was as common among Jews as among Gentiles until the Roman Emperor took it for all Rome, and then persecuted Jews.)

I haven't read the book thoroughly. My 15yo was horrified, so she showed me the first section; then I looked through the other sections that seemed to relate to Biblical teaching.

I must say that it makes me question how much she understands of other world events, given how little she seems to understand of the Bible.   (Even if she takes it from a liberal perspective, still she is not letting it speak for itself as a source.)

Using a timeline with primary children

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 17:14:00 -0500

I've seen this question a few times, and realized I had figured out a way to help kids understand what a timeline is, and how they work.    I thought it might be helpful to others, as well.

I have a little spiel I run through with my kids, the first time.    It never has taken us very long, but if my child were getting bored, we'd leave parts for another day. (I've done this 3 times.)

This is a book that helps us remember when things happened in time.

You were born on [April 3, 2002, eg].   Let's write that right here.   Here are the dates for this page, so right HERE, we'll write your name and birthdate.

Now, if we go back a few pages, we come to the dates when Mommy was born.   It's between these years (show markings at the top), so we'll write Mommy and her birthdate here.

And here's Daddy's, [January 15, 1963, eg].

If we keep paging back, we come to your grandparent's birthdays, so let's put them in here.   [Grandma X is right here: October 5, 1940;   Grandpa X.... etc.]

What do you suppose happens if we page way, way back, even to HERE?     This, right here, is when Jesus was born.   Let's write that in. [Depending on child, they can draw a Christmas tree, etc.]

So now we can see when Jesus was born, when Grandma was born, all the way to when YOU were born.

What other things do we know of, that happened a long time ago?
[They might bring something up, or I might remind them of somethings we've recently been discussing, like the Fourth of July, or Columbus Day, or whatever.]

Let's find out where that goes. Oh, here it is.   Let's write that in.

Then, for the next several times we get out the book, I find what they've put in before, and do a quick reminder. Then we add, "so, today, we read about so-and-so.   He lived around this date, so let's add him to our book."

With this method, even little kids can often get an idea of how the book works. You could do this with a wall-based timeline, too.

balance between obedience and child's needs

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 13:52:00 -0500

I seem to be on a roll, today, with the "helpful philosophical" posts.

This one was posted elsewhere, originally, in response to a question about a 6yo who is struggling with "obeying" during reading time, sitting still to do work, writing when asked (as opposed to just when she wants to), etc. I thought there was a lot here that could apply to other similar situations, as well. Hope it helps someone! :)

There is a balance at issue here, I think.

On the one hand, you do need her to obey. Some kids are really challenging, and we have to stay on top of this. It makes homeschooling hard, but it also makes us do what we would really NEED to figure out a way to do, anyways--deal appropriately with our child's behavior.

On the other hand, she is only 6yo. Many 6yos have a hard time with a variety of things, from sitting still to writing much to paying attention.

--most kids go through a time while learning to read when they CAN read, but it's really, really hard for them
--most kids find that the excitement of what they WANT to do carries them through hard things like writing, but without that excitement, it's too much
--many kids have trouble with things like lighting, too much excitement, too much of little brother running around playing, etc

Even for me, if something is really hard (like balancing the checkbook) I tend to put it off as long as possible. If something is hard but interesting (maybe reading a good book, or going to the zoo even though I know I will be very tired afterwards), I will push through and do it anyways. If I've been out under store lighting, with loud music, or too much kid-noise, I cannot function well.

I don't see that as an obedience issue. I see that as "let's learn to do what we need to" but also as "let ME be sympathetic to something that is genuinely hard for you."

My 2nd was my biggest struggle in this regard. I learned a couple things, over the years.
--at 6yo, she could do 45 minutes of seatwork. It could be anything from math to science, but after 45 minutes, she was DONE. She just couldn't handle any more
--I followed someone on here's advice and we did EVERYTHING orally, except hand-writing itself. If the purpose of the page wasn't handwriting, we did it orally. For her, that was HUGE. (For other kids, it might not be, but you might find some-thing else that would be good for yours.)
--I learned when she was getting upset, to stop and give her a hug. This was hard for me, because I was thinking "discipline," but what she needed (as God showed me, when I finally asked!) was love. After a bit, she can settle down and do her work. She was well past 6 before I learned this, but I think it would have worked sooner, as well.
--My sister pointed out--there is no reason to fight a 6yo over learning to spell "CAT." They will figure it out by 3rd grade or so, anyways, so why waste the effort!

For what it's worth, I think 6yo is the HARDEST age to teach. We start feeling like they need to buckle down. We wonder if they will EVER learn to read or sit, and our own reputation feels on the line. We think, "it's time NOW," but often, they are just not ready.

It is a balance, though, which you have to find for yourself, through prayer.

I'm not sure I've got it right, for us, yet.

Things I've learned about dawdling and indepencence

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 13:19:00 -0500

What do you do with a dawdler? How can you help your kids be more independent?   Very common questions amount homeschoolers, especially when the kids are between 7 and 10 or so.

We expect our preschoolers to need help and time.   Most of our teens have gotten some independence (as long as we check up on them!).    But we keep thinking our elementary kids SHOULD be doing better--and why aren't they. It would free us up so much, if they would just do what they know they should......

Kids are so different in when they can handle this.   My 1st did pretty well with a list at about 8yo. My 2nd was more like 11!      Eight years old seems to be the minimum age for most kids to start being more independent, but a lot are much later.

When my oldest was 8yo, the first thing I tried was a list.   For some reason, this really clicked with her.    She had really thought that, when she finished one thing, I would just give her another, so why rush?   When she saw that there was a specific list, and a few days later, when she figured out that as soon as she finished it she was DONE, it was a huge thing for us!

My second had a much harder time, as she continued to get distracted from the list.    She was probably 11 before she could really go through a list reliably.     For her, I found a timer to be very helpful.     I would set the timer for 20 minutes, then give her another 10 if she wanted it.    After that, the subject was over, and she moved on to the next thing. At the end of the day, the rest was "homework."

Oh, how she hated homework!    It doesn't make sense to me as an adult, but it felt very different to her.    She might have taken 20 minutes to do 5 problems during school time, but as "homework," she could do the remaining 20 problems in 5 minutes!     It may be that giving her mind a break helped her. It also, I think, was that it was so obvious that it was her own time she was wasting!

Eventually, we invested in a 3-light timer, that switches from green through yellow to red, which helped her a lot. She learned to pace her work better, and to be more aware of it passing.   She loved this, until her little sister poured water on it. Sigh.    (They cost $40, and I don't think she really needs it any more, so I may not replace it.)    For the couple of years she used it, though, it was WELL worth the money to us.

Of course, the dawdling versus independence problem exists in other areas, as well.

We have successfully used the Managers of their Chores idea, where you put each chore on a little card, then tuck them into a plastic cover that clips onto their clothes. (These are like the ones used as nametags sometimes. I think you can get them at an office store.) They are easy to stick the cards in and out of, though. The kids are reminded by the feel of the chore-pack on themselves, and they just flip the card they are using to the back when they are done.   My older kids prefer a checklist, but since we have just changed their jobs around, and they weren't doing very well at getting to them, I am insisting on the chore-packs for several weeks.   Once they get all the parts down, I won't make the older 2 use them.

The latest thing we are trying is the workbox method. (Chores are still on the chore-pack for all kids, but 8yo has workboxes.) I used magazine boxes (about $6 or so for 3-6 of them at IKEA), on her desk. She does one, then moves to another. A couple of them have fun things. This is really helping my 8yo. My older 2 weren't interested--they are used to the checklists by now.

Can't sleep; might as well organize!

Mon, 9 Mar 2009 03:36:00 -0500

I had trouble sleeping tonight (not unusual for me), so I finally decided to get up and try a few things.

I had read earlier today about a method for organizing your child's school day by putting each item into shoe boxes, on a neat rack.    Here's the basic system: http://www.workboxsystem.com/       And here are some pictures of what it looks like in the end:   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/LeslieNelsen (Look for March 4 and again March 8.)    It looks like a really cool idea, but I didn't want to just run out there and buy a bunch of stuff that I won't use. (Starting and organizing things is easy for me, but actually DOING it is a lot harder.)

So, I looked around the house to see if I had something I could "try it out" with.    I found a bunch of magazine racks (cardboard, from IKEA, very inexpensive).    I grabbed them and put them in a row across my 3rd grader's desk.   There turned out to be 9 of them, plus 2 notebooks.    The "system" suggests 12, but that's what fits.

I was able to fill them easily:   Awana and Bible in one; a sheet with a song she loves to sing with me in the next; a card to send our state legislator; her language arts book; her math book; a jump rope; etc.   I think she'll have fun with it. It's a good visual to see where she is in her day.

Now, to figure out how to sample the idea for my K!     I need more magazine boxes, or some such!

Earlier in the evening (when I was supposed to be awake, I revamped our Managers of their Chores chore cards.    The 3rd grader had lost 1/3 of hers, and I needed to see if the other ones were still the jobs I wanted them to do.    I got all the new lists made of what each person should do when (including ME!), though I only got the cards made for 3rd grader.    K cards are still about right, though, and they are the 2 who most need them.

Now if I could just find a store that sells persistence, discipline, and keep-pushing-to-the-end-ability, we'll be in FINE shape!   :)

praying for the President

Fri, 6 Mar 2009 23:04:00 -0600

I just found out that the Presidential Prayer team does still exist. ( www.presidentialprayerteam.org )

(For those who read my previous post, I had lost touch with them and thought they did not exist, so I was hoping to post weekly prayers. However, I ran out of ideas and it became "pray again for this....." and then I ran out of computer time. I was, however, still praying.)

Let's not forget to keep President Obama in our prayers--he (and we all) desperately need it!

praying for leaders

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 13:48:00 -0600

I have been spacing the blog for a bit, but still praying. For this week, let's

pray that Pres-elect Obama's team will come together well.

Pray for unity when working on things that are godly, and that they will not be able to work together well on anything they shouldn't be doing (which, from past history, WILL come).

Pray that they will learn the things they need to about their upcoming jobs, and prepare for what they will need to do.

Pray for President Bush's exit, as well, for wisdom for the last few months, and for a good transition out of the presidency.

Blessings!

boldness before God

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 02:10:00 -0600

Moses may have been humble, but he was also bold.

At Mount Sinai, we see Moses, after the fiasco with the golden calf, going back up the mountain.   God had said (Exodus 3:3-5) "Go up....But I will not go with you, because......I might destroy you on the way. Now take off your ornaments, and I will decide what to do with you."

After some time, it seems, Moses approached the Lord. He asked for 1. someone to go with him (since the last thing God said was that He would not go; 2. to be taught God's ways, so he could know God and find favor with Him; and 3. that God would remember that the nation was God's people. Moses even said, "If your Presence does not go with us, do not send usup from here. How will anyone know that you are please with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?"   (V12-16)

So God agrees to this.

Then Moses says, "Ok, now show me your glory."   (v18--not a small request, when just a minute before he was begging for God's presence, at all.

And the Lord responds, v. 19: "And the LORD said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 20 But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live."

So, when the Lord shows his back to Moses, when he comes to Him and shows Him who He is, here is what he tells/shows Moses. This is the essentialness of God: (Ex 34)

5 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his

name, the LORD. 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD,

the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,

7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does

not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of

the fathers to the third and fourth generation."

8 Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped. 9 "O Lord, if I have found favor in your eyes," he said, "then let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin, and take us as your inheritance."

Then we skip over to Numbers 14. A few weeks or months later, Israel arrives at the edge of the Promised Land, but they refuse to go in. By this point, God's anger is really kindled--

11 The LORD said to Moses, "How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them? 12 I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they."

Moses' response was 2-fold:

1. Lord, your honor is at stake. Everybody knows what you did. If you slaughter them in the desert, they will all think you couldn't fulfill your promise. Your reputation is in danger.

but moreso, Moses takes what God told him, previously:

2. "Now may the Lord's strength be displayed, just as you have declared:" [you told me you were this way, Lord, now carry through]

18 'The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does

not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the fathers to the third

and fourth generation.' 19 In accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people,

just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now."

And the Lord forgives them, as Moses requests. To be sure, there are still consequences, but God does as Moses asks.

Moses has begged God to show him the essence of His character, and God does so: He is compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, yet He does punish sin.

And Moses turns around and throws it back up to God, later: God, you said you would be this way; now show this character that you proclaimed for yourself, in this situation.

There is a strong reliance on God's word, there, but none-the-less, an incredible boldness, to cast God's own words almost against Him. Yet there's also a trust in God's character--the faith that God will back up who He has claimed to be.

Much to ponder, there--much room for my faith to grow.

what we need to do, now

Fri, 7 Nov 2008 15:33:00 -0600

I've been thinking a lot after the recent elections, and various postings I've seen on other forums.

One thing I think we ALL have to find a way to do now is to work together.

I am saddened by the massive divisiveness this election has brought, with hard feeling on so many sides. I hope Black Americans will be able to get beyond the victim mentality after this, and will not feel so disenfranchised, but I think we conservatives have to work on the same things. Eg, we have complained that the media focused only on the negatives of our country. Now we are on the other side, and we need to find a way to focus on what is good, what God is doing, and how we can be involved. (Not that we can't be the opposition when needed, but we need to show the example of how we wish we had been treated over the past 8 years.)

We are in difficult times right now in a lot of ways, and our own infighting is not going to help anybody. There seem to be pluses and minuses to every situation, and we need to be much in prayer for our government.

Indeed, we needed to be much more in than we have been over the past few years, I think. It is one of about 3 commandments specifically given to us in Scripture about how we are supposed to relate to our government, but I think that as long as things seem to be going "reasonably" well, we forget about this. I was so disappointed when the Presidential Prayer emails stopped, right after the last election. I think it's a matter that we should all be concentrating on, a lot.

I have said before, and think it must be true, that we are better off with a "bad" President and the people of God praying, than we are with a "good" President and the people of God complacent. (I am not saying that either Bush or Obama are either "bad" or "good," but I do think that we have fallen down badly in our job of praying for our leaders.)

I don't have the contacts the Presidential Prayer list used to have, re. specific items on the President's schedule, but I would like to try to make a prayer list each week. Even if it winds up somewhat repetitive (most of our problems do seem to persist), I am hoping it will remind us all to be in prayer for our President and other leaders. (And, if I forget, please, somebody, remind me! :) )

So, to get us going, let's us pray, this week, for:

President Bush: for a good wrap-up, and wisdom in the last 2 months
for godly leadership and setting up a smooth transition
for understanding of how to move on from here
for wisdom in dealing with our current financial situation

President-elect Obama: For wisdom in choosing counselors
to continue to think about reaching across the aisles
for a smooth transition
for wisdom in dealing with our current financial situation

For our other leaders:
For Democrats: for wisdom and godly decisions about what to focus on now
to understand what is truly important for our country
For Republicans: for wisdom in understanding what went wrong
for a re-focusing on what is truly important
for leadership that can explain their positions to others
For the media: (who are our leaders, though we may not think like that)
to focus on what is important and godly
to know when to holler
to help bring unity back to our country

For all of our country: to heal the wounds of the last years (from 2 to 100, depending which)
for economic stability
for kindness to one another
to be drawn, through it all, to the God who loves us, in truth