Heart of Wisdom eBooks

Read more here. I'm currently reading Heart of Wisdom and have Biblical Holidays in my stack. While I prefer printed books to eBooks, this is a great (and much lighter) option.

Review: The God of the Mundane by Matthew B. Redmond

I have a confession to make. I did not expect to enjoy reading The God of the Mundane as much as I did. I have followed Matt Redmond’s blog, Echoes and Stars, for a while, as well as his previous blog. I was there to read the posts that were the genesis of this book. Matt is a great writer, and his words prompt the reader to think. However, while part of me agreed with his premise that led to the book, another part of me was fighting it.

In the blog posts and the book, Matt addresses the current movement of radicalism in the church. He makes mention of "rock star" preachers who preach and demand that we must give up everything and move to a remote island somewhere as missionaries in order to show our faithfulness. He warns us that we make Paul the focus of the story rather than the many nameless, ordinary faithful to whom he wrote his letters. Matt questions whether people realize that God can be glorified even in the mundane lives of the majority.

Like Matt, I grew up in the South. I also grew up in an ultra-conservative denomination. The career choices of pastor or missionary were always held in great esteem and also provided proof of one’s spiritual maturity. As a little girl, I dreamed of being a missionary. I always stood up or raised my hand when pastors or speakers evoked the call of Isaiah, “Whom shall I send?” I felt the call down to my toes. Every part of me was willing, desirous, of that life no matter the trials that came with it.

When I read those initial blog posts, I admit I bristled. The emphasis on missions only intensified when I entered college ministry, and I had attended many conferences like the ones Matt seemed to be calling out. They had moved me. The insinuations that the way I had been taught and challenged by various pastors, directors, speakers could be misguided caused me to balk. It seemed, upon my first readings of the blog posts which inspired this book, that he was even making light of the Great Commission itself.

However, reading Matt’s book made me remember something. It made me remember the inside cover of a journal from college and the words I had written there. I told God that I didn’t want my life to be about fireworks...a great display of me. I wanted instead to quietly bring Glory to His name. After college, I made plans for seminary and the mission field. And, then the plans changed. Always, deep down, I felt as though I failed Him...that I missed the mark. Matt’s book helped me to let that go. Even as a homeschool mom investing all my life and time into the development of two precious people, I felt something was missing. I longed for the fireworks I had prayed against so long ago. There must be something out there--something greater I should be doing besides this, besides loving and serving my family and showing kindness and love to those around me along the way.

Matt also reminded me of Paul’s challenge in the letter to the Thessalonians: ...aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you.... Somewhere along the way I forgot that it was okay to be ordinary. I forgot that the people in the Bible stories I loved were just ordinary people, living life, having babies and caring for them, tending sheep. The extraordinary thing was their God. My God. This life is not about the great things I do for Him. It’s about showing up, in the ordinary, and allowing God to meet me here. It’s about being available for His use, however menial or small it seems to me. Soli Deo Gloria.

I enjoyed the book immensely. The stories made me think about many things in a new light. Although I do not agree completely with Matt on all points, the book fleshed out his principal theme in a way that resonated in me. It also provided freedom from a burden I had wrongly carried far too long. And, my initial apprehensions were quelled. At one point Matt makes reference to Jesus’ statement in Mark 9:41--For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward. This book was like a much needed cup of water for me, and I am grateful Matt took the time to write it.

What we're currently using...and what may soon change

Since we began our homeschooling journey, I have pieced together materials for each subject based on a great deal of research and, of course, some trial and error. I prefer this method of forming a curriculum of study rather than purchasing materials from one particular company--what is sometimes referred to as boxed curriculum. I have two main reasons for this choice: 1) Boxed curriculum usually does not fit all children. If a child is advanced or remedial in one or more subjects there is sometimes the necessity to tweak the curriculum anyway. 2) It's fun. I greatly enjoy researching and finding products that fit our needs well. 

As Riley has gotten older I have had to do less research...as early research has paid off in the discovery of materials that have worked well for us. Consequently, I can just stick with a series or grade progression, as she moves on. However, she will soon be entering the logic stage which will require more research on my part. 

Here is a glimpse into what we're using this year:

Bob Jones Math 4 (2nd edition)

Christian Light Education Language Arts
which includes grammar, spelling and penmanship

Elementary Greek 1

Latina Christiana 1

Writing Tales 1

We have also been using the Michael Clay Thompson Grammar Island series as a language supplement. It includes vocabulary and poetry. For history we have been using Memoria Press' Introduction to Classical Studies which combines readings from The Golden Bible, D'Aulaire's Greek Myths and Famous Men of Rome. We're also using the Sonlight 3 readers which are based on early American history as well as Mara Pratt's American History Stories. Riley is taking a class in science that is being taught by a wonderful retired science teacher. She also reads books on science topics. For art, we have taken advantage of the after school art classes offered by the Southern Cultural Heritage Center in town. She takes gymnastics and is also a girl scout.

I actually am pleased with all of these materials...some more than others, of course. The things that I am contemplating changing or at least tweaking are math and language arts. BJU Math has been the one constant in our four years of schooling. We have both enjoyed it...and yet, I feel the time has come to move to another math program. Why? Mainly because this year is such a crucial year for cementing math facts prior to moving on to higher maths. BJU has always met our needs, but this year I have found the mastery style too chunky for our needs. Though Riley is doing well with her facts, she still needs a lot of practice to build up speed in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. She has never had difficulties grasping new math concepts, but in order to practice them fully she must increase her recall of these facts. Because of that, I have decided we need to switch to a spiral math. After a lot of research, I have chosen to use Christian Light Education's (CLE) math.

Christian Light Education Math

In addition to CLE we will be using Math Mammoth as a supplement. This is a math that focuses more on a conceptual presentation. I like the mix of the two and think that using both will only heighten our math studies.

Riley has developed into a voracious reader, and it has been a joy to be able to help guide her towards worthy and quality books. Of course, I let her pick books from the library, but I have spent a lot of time filling our own personal library full of books recommended by Sonlight, Ambleside Online, and other great reading lists. My grandmother recently gave us an old Elson Reader that she found at an antique store. We have started using this reader during our school reading time, and she loves it. She actually remarked after one reading, "They don't write books like they used to." :) 

Actually, getting this reader propelled me towards looking at other vintage reading and grammar programs. I discovered, thanks to a cyberfriend, the Stepping Stones to Literature series that provides wonderful collections of great authors. The editor of this series, Sarah Louise Arnold, also co-authored a delightful grammar series entitled The Mother Tongue. Upon finding this grammar series, I knew that I wanted to find a way to work it into our studies. It looks like a fantastic way of developing great writing skills. Dan and I both have an affinity for writing, and Riley has been filling notebooks with stories since she learned to write. Consequently, a program that, in book 3, teaches composition by providing not only instruction but excellent writing examples from great authors was very appealing to me. This entire series can be found online at google books or at archive.org; however, being the old-fashioned gal that I am, I decided to track down and purchase a copy of the antique books to hold in my hands. As soon as they arrive, I will figure out how we can use them.

Curriculum/la

Okay. I'm a fairly bright person, but I must admit, rather embarrassingly, that I cannot for the life of me wrap my mind around the differences between "curriculum" and "curricula." I know that -um is singular and -a is plural...but what exactly does that mean in regards to my set of material choices? All that I piece together for the year is my curriculum, correct? But, if I am referring to a warehouse full of vendors of homeschool products, I would rightly exclaim, "My what an abundance of curricula!" Right? Where I get confused is when I am referring to different materials inside my pieced-together curriculum. Consequently you'll find me referring to said items as "programs" or simply "materials." Whenever I see someone using the word curricula (rightly or not, because how would I know) I always feel a little bit intellectually inferior. So, there...I've revealed my kryptonite. Try not to use your knowledge against me. :)

Bears, Blueberries and Bananas: Letter B Week

We decided to focus on bears this week while studying the letter B. We read lots of great books, some you can see in the middle picture below. I found some great resources on homeschoolshare's site for the book We're Going on a Bear Hunt. Sawyer loved watching the youtube of the author telling the story. 

The pictures above include templates from the lapbook and below are the story cards for Bear Hunt as well as the bear cards from the animal classification cards.  As you can see from the pictures his Lego minfig came along for the lesson. He's mysteriously missing his head...must have gotten too close to the bears.

Of course we made Banana Pudding, or Puddy as Sawyer refers to it. I used my grandma's handwritten recipe for the first time and had to tweak it just a little. Grandma put in the good stuff--condensed milk. Yum.

Both children had great fun making it but even more fun eating it.

I am contemplating some changes with Riley's materials, particularly math and language arts, but I'll post more on that later. This week was a hard one for the two of us, but for attitude reasons, not curriculum ones. Just like when Monday sometimes comes later in the week, sometimes the angst of returning to school after a long break shows up not in the first week back, but the week after. We made it through, though. I decided that starting next week I will be giving her a detailed list of everything that is to be completed each day. 

I am hoping this will give her some ownership in her day as she checks off items when she completes them. I'm also hoping that seeing all she has to do for the day will help her to move through the subjects a little faster, instead of dawdling. She is doing very well, though, and I was particularly impressed this week with how her writing has improved. We are using Writing Tales 1, and I am very pleased with this material. It is easy to teach, and she really enjoys it. It provides the structure she needs while still allowing for creativity. Her retelling for last week was her longest one yet, but the errors were her fewest yet. She had fun working on her final draft this week and adding in a few personal touches to the story. 

Reading my book

Final plans for the 2009-2010 school year

I actually managed to attend the huge Homeschool Expo and stay focused and on budget. No major curriculum changes occurred...amazingly. As you can see from this "final" posting of plans, changes have taken place since my original curriculum post from a few months ago. I considered pulling a "1984" and deleting my original curriculum plan posts to keep from appearing too fickle. However, since I have decided that my planning history may be helpful to someone and since our country is skating to0 dangerously close to "1984" tactics, I decided to leave it.

Bible:

Instead of Rod and Staff's Bible Nurture and Reader Series, we will be using Walking with Jesus from the Noah Plan. I love the R&S series, but since Riley is able to (and wants to) read from the Bible on her own, I wanted to find a Bible curriculum that utilized the Bible as the primary reader. Walking with Jesus does just that. It is designed to be used with children a little older than Riley. However, I feel with some simple tweaking, I will not only be able to use it this year with her, but that I will also be able to use it over again in its entirety next year.

Math:

We're still planning to use Bob Jones Math 3. This is the one program that I haven't debated...we are very happy to be continuing it. We will also be doing Calculadder drills.

Language Arts:

Classical Writing Primers--I had originally planned to complete one quarter of this program over the summer to prepare for beginning Writing Tales this Fall. However, I have since decided that I will use this full program this year and put off Writing Tales till next year. CW Primers provide a very gentle introduction into writing and also have nature study and picture study along with some light grammar and spelling instruction. The program also provides memory work passages. It truly is a beautiful product.

Stories with a View: Narrative Inspirations--I will add a lesson each week for some creative writing fun.

Christian Light Education's Language Arts--At Riley's level, I did want to supplement the light grammar and spelling provided in the Primers. I finally decided on using this program to do so after previewing it at the Homeschool Expo. I will also be using How to Teach Spelling and the Spelling Rules cards from Spell to Write and Read to teach the rules of spelling.

History:

This was one of my more difficult decisions....I had originally settled on My Father's World Rome to Reformation. However, after looking through it further, I just wasn't certain it would be the best fit for us at this time. Also, I really wanted to teach American history. So, I researched my options and decided on the Time Traveler's Cds from Home School in the Woods. Each cd provides 25 lessons filled with notebooking ideas and crafts. I have added the readers from Sonlight 3 into the mix so that her assigned reading will also focus on American history. I have purchased many history readalouds to add to the mix: The Story of the Thirteen Colonies by Guerber, A First Book in American History by Eggleston, and the first three books in the American History series by Mara Pratt. I am very excited with this change and eager to start.

Classical Languages:

This was another source of frustration in my planning. I don't think we are quite ready to dive into a very intense Latin program yet, and I am also considering some online options for further down the road. Consequently, I was at a loss for what to do this year. I had thought of starting Greek and also a Latin word study program. Then I found a full Prima Latina set at a price I could not pass up. So, I have decided that we will be doing something rather unconventional...we will be doing both Latin and Greek this year. I don't foresee there being a problem with this since the Greek will be focusing only on learning the alphabet. After this year I will evaluate our choices, and we will decide which language to focus on next year.

Reading:

In addition to her History readers, Riley will be reading other Sonlight suggested readers for independent reading.

Electives:

Logic--MindBenders

HomeEc--Home Economics for Home Schoolers

Music--Themes to Remember

Art--Atelier and picture/artist studies

Back to School Time!

The season is upon us. It is time to once again gear up for another school year. I had planned to continue schooling through the summer, but we tossed those plans. We needed a break, and, since we had finished all planned work, we gave ourselves that break. Now it is time to begin again.

I haven't decided on an exact start date. We would have started this week except that Riley has two days of Cottonlandia Discovery Summer classes next week. We will also be leaving on Thursday for a mini-vacation. Starting and having to stop so soon would be impractical. So, we will probably begin on Aug. 5th. When we get back in the swing of things I will be posting more. There have been even more changes to our curriculum plans for the upcoming year, but I will hold off on posting them until we actually begin. Until we start, things are open for change--especially since that mini-vacation includes a trip to a huge Homeschool Expo. I am just hoping my head doesn't ex- or implode upon entering so large a space filled with curriculum and books. I am pretty content in my current plan...but there are a couple of subjects I am still researching.

So...stay tuned for the exciting adventures that are sure to follow as we begin this new school year.

What I'm Reading

Atlas Shrugged glares at me from my living room bookshelf. I really want to finish it, but, to be honest with you, with the direction our country is heading now, I'm afraid it would be far too depressing. I will eventually muster up the strength to continue...but for now I am reading other things.

The two books I'm currently reading have virtually nothing in common...but both are impacting me tremendously. Both books have provided wake-up calls regarding my two most important relationships.

Crazy Love by Francis Chan is causing me to evaluate my relationship with God and make much-needed heart changes. I will share more of this book as I get further into it.

The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands by Dr. Laura Schlessinger is a book I never envisioned myself picking up. However, a few women that I trusted recommended it very highly, so I was intrigued. This book has been rather paradigm shifting for me. Marriage quickly illuminates one's selfish tendencies. This book has revealed that dark tendency within me to an even greater degree. Wow. But, it's not been a guilt trip. Rather it has been an eye-opener with very practical advice on making positive changes.

Horse Study Field Trip

Riley and I did a short unit study on horses a while back, and I had difficulty finding a good place to plan a field trip to correlate with the study. A friend was kind enough to put me in touch with her aunt who not only agreed to let us come and see her horses but also offered to give Riley a quick lesson on riding and caring for horses. What a blessing! Riley had a wonderful time and learned a ton. She brushed the horse, watched as the bridle and saddle were put on, rode for quite a while and then led the horse for a walk. At the end of the lesson she fed the horse treats from the palm of her hand. All of these were very new experiences for her, and I was so proud of her bravery throughout.

Sawyer even got in on the action and rode around on the horse. He was deemed a natural, and it is suspected that he will one day ride bulls. This news did not surprise me in the least.

I believe that our camera has officially bitten the dust. I am grateful to at least have captured a few shots from the visit despite the camera's contrary ways. We all had a wonderful time. The lesson was exceptionally thorough as well as kindly taught and created a memory we will treasure.