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Posted in Homeschooling
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Vanessa asked for it, so here it is. I thought I would give a little update on my previous post and let you know how things are working out. So far things have been going very well. We began our history this year with the year 1850 and have just finished covering the Civil War and Reconstruction. I really like that we are going at our own pace this year because it has allowed us to study things in more depth that were of interest to everyone. We've also been able to add in some topics that may not have been covered in textbooks or unit studies had we chosen just one resource. I've used some information from several history readers, textbooks, and library books as well as some information from samples of unit studies that I've had on my computer for several years. I'm amazed how smoothly this has gone. The time is drawing near to have another session of prayer and see what God gives me for the balance of the school year, but thus far it has really been great. As for other subjects the kids are all doing well with their pursuits. SOS Bible is working really well for the youngest and the older kids are loving their choices as well. They each have their own personalities and interests and it is good for them to have individualized programs of study in these areas. I cannot say enough good about Teaching Textbooks math! It is really working well for us. The older children needed some in-depth review of basic math skills before they go on to higher math so I'm thankful we made that choice, and so are they. Of course Apologia science courses are awesome. We found those a few years ago and have enjoyed using them. My oldest is loving it. I've never saw him so excited about a science curriculum before we began using Apologia. I think he is finally getting answers his questions on a level that he can understand, and in depth a little more than other curricula that we used in the past. I cannot thank God enough for what he is doing in our school this year. I often wonder why we try to make a go of things on our own when He has the perfect plan for us if we will just ask! Blessings, Missy |
Posted in Homeschooling
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Life is an ever changing learning adventure! I seem to keep learning this lesson over and again, and it seems to keep coming up in different areas of life. This time the lesson is related to homeschooling. I thought I had found the curriculum that I would be using with all of my children for the rest of our homeschooling years. I have been very happy with My Father's World curriculum, but because of issues we have encountered due to the lagging economy I've had to make some changes in our homeschool. Now, rather than having the ease of a curriculum that is already planned for me, I'm doing the planning myself. I thought this was going to be an overwhelmingly difficult thing to do, but I'm finding that it isn't as tough as I thought it would be. I already knew that we would be using Apologia science for the two older children, but I wasn't sure what I would do about the youngest. Math was already set as I was able to purchase their Teaching Textbooks packages last spring. Bible was another area that I was unsure about, and Grammar was already in full swing with Easy Grammar. My main concern for the year was how to plan for history. We had been studying through history chronologically, so I knew that we needed to cover from 1850 forward. On the surface that didn't seem to be to difficult to do, but when I really began looking at what that would involve I was a little fearful. I began to pray and ask God to help me to teach the children what He wanted them to learn in school this year. I tried to put aside all of my own thoughts and fears and tried to focus on what He wanted to say to me. What I found was that He gave me a basic plan for half of the year in a period of a few days. That basic plan included books that we already had on our shelves - some purchased and others had been given to us. Some things were of concern to me in that I didn't want to gloss over important events because we didn't have the specific information I thought we would need, but God is ever faithful. Just this past week we made a trip to the library and I found seemingly all of the right books to fill in those "gaps" that I thought existed in the upcoming weeks topics. Science for the most part is solved for the youngest child. She is currently using the Elementary Apologia series we purchased for their summer courses, and will most likely use another Elementary Apologia title we have on the shelf but haven't used. My concerns over what to do for Bible were not necessary either. Ds13 is currently going through the Catechism for his Bible. Dd12 is using Polished Cornerstones that a friend passed on to us. Dd10 is using something that I thought would never again be used in our homeschooling program. What my older children hated using she loves! She's using Switched on Schoolhouse Bible. I don't know why I hadn't gotten rid of it yet, but I still had it downstairs. It was on my heart but I thought she would hate it like the older two had. I finally decided to show it to her and once she got started she has enjoyed using it. Who knew?! Anyway, it seems that my learning adventure is never ending and I'm so very thankful to have the guidance of the Holy Spirit to lead me away from what He is finished with and to what He wants for our family. Some day we may go back to My Father's World if it is His will, but for now I'm just thankful for the peace that comes from following Him. Blessings, Missy
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While most families take a summer break from school our government is hard at work in Washington. Sadly many of the things they are working on at this time are legislation that will erode our freedoms even further than they already have done. I just want to remind everyone that our responsibility as citizens does not end with a vote on election day. We have a privilege of living in a free nation with a representative government. We need to take every opportunity to express to our representatives our desires concerning legislation being considered. Here is an issue that is in the "drawing room" at this point. If we take action now and let our leaders know where we stand perhaps we can avoid the passing of legislation down the road that will restrict the freedoms we now enjoy. Health Care Reform - http://www.freeourhealthcarenow.com/ And here is an interesting article to read. It reminds me of how little we actually know about what our constitutional rights are in this nation, and how long we have stood by in constitutional ignorance while our government did what it pleased. Census questions are unconstitutional - http://newswithviews.com/Roth/laurie171.htm (Someone sent me the one about the census, so rather than copying the entire article here I've given you the link. This does not constitute an endorsement of the author or website linked.)
Some food for thought - We need to ask for wisdom from God and His intervention to keep this from happening, though we are already well on our way. "The American people will never knowingly adopt Socialism. But under the name of 'liberalism' they will adopt every fragment of the Socialist program, until one day America will be a Socialist nation, without knowing how it happened." by: Norman Thomas, (1884-1968) six-time U.S. Presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America Watch this video from the past and see how well it relates to our current nation ( I do not know anything about the person/organization who introduces the video so I am therefore not offering my support to that entity).
Bottom line? Get involved! We can save our nation from ruin and destruction, God willing, but only if we get involved and take a stand. Pray for our nation's people and our leaders: 1) Repentence - the turning away from sin and to God's ways 2) Blessing - that God would bless us and that we would bless other nations 3) Wisdom - God's wisdom for individuals, families, and our leadership to honor God in all areas of life We can make a difference. Blessings, Missy |
Posted in Spiritual
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Last night on American Family Radio we listened to the coverage of the State of the Nation with Ken Ham. If you didn't hear it on the radio it's not too late, you can still listen or watch the video at the Answers in Genesis website. Here is the link: www.answersingenesis.org/events/state-of-the-nation. Come back here and leave a comment after you listen. I would love to hear your thoughts. Blessings, Missy
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Posted in Homeschooling
A few weeks ago we had a free DVD give-away sponsored by Vision Forum Ministries. At that time I got one of the DVDs that were offered in the contest for our family. I chose the "Top Ten Questions About Genesis and Creation" DVD by Ken Ham from Answers in Genesis hoping it would be educational for the children. My family has watched this DVD several times since, and I thought it would be relevant to report to you what we think of it. I wasn't sure what to expect because I knew that it would be a lecture from one of his speaking engagements, but I must say that we all enjoyed it greatly. Ken Ham is an excellent speaker and is very engaging. He provided a great deal of information on related to the top ten questions he gets asked frequently about Genesis. He deals with questions like Where did Cain get his wife? and How did all those animals fit on the Ark? Some of the information was a little to deep for our 10 year old, but our 13 year old son found it fascinating. I think we all enjoyed it a great deal and learned a lot. The information was helpful in learning how to explain to people that the book of Genesis is not a fairy tale, but can be backed up with scientific evidence. Now if I could learn to articulate this information as well as Ken Ham does that would be awesome, but since I'm not a scientist I'll just have to make this DVD available to friends and family so that they can get the information straight from the man himself. He does a much better job of it that I ever could. Blessings, Missy   |