Permanent Things

The Blessings of Adversity and Learning through Failure

2012-01-12T08:24:00.000-06:00

As I’ve been thinking through my educational goals for 2012, I find myself reflecting on my days as an athlete. I’ve been on several teams that were undefeated in conference play, and I was always perplexed when my coach would schedule games against superior teams that were not in our conference.

“But you are endangering our perfect record,” I’d complain. He always responded, “You don’t learn anything from playing teams that are weaker than you. You always learn more when you lose than when you win. Your weaknesses are exposed and then you can get better.” He’d conclude, “I’m much less interested in having a perfect record than I am in winning the championship. To do that, we have to know where our weaknesses are.”

To a culture that teaches that preserving a child’s self-esteem is paramount, intentionally creating opportunities for failure seems counter-intuitive. But it worked. One of two things always happened when we played teams much better than we. When we got beat, we discovered our vulnerabilities and could work to improve them, which we did. And other times (far more times than I would have thought) we played better than we knew we could. We dug deep and responded to the challenge, shocking both the other team and ourselves.

The same principle applies to education, and especially to homeschooling. One of the great strengths of homeschooling is the recognition that in education one size does not fit all. We learn who our children are and what their learning styles are and we teach them the way they learn.

But this benefit of homeschooling, if not balanced, can become its greatest flaw. If we exclusively cater to our children’s strengths, they will never learn to overcome their weaknesses. John Stuart Mill once said, “A pupil from whom nothing is ever demanded which he cannot do, never does all he can.”

The ancients, as David Hicks points out, understood that adversity is a virtue. Completely rejecting this idea, moderns avoid adversity at all costs. Success, they say, breeds success. But this isn’t always true. Parents everywhere know that the only way for a child to learn to walk is to first fall—many times.

As teachers and parents, we should be mindful of the Scriptural admonition not to discourage or frustrate our children. It’s good to know what our children’s abilities are. At the same time, a steady diet of age-appropriate assignments and learning-style specific tasks will ensure that your child never exceeds expectations—yours or his.

As a team we knew we didn’t stand a chance to win some of those games, but when we tapped into some unknown source of strength and ability, when we played beyond ourselves, those were the games that made us a championship team.

Mindful of that lesson, I’ve been giving my students more and more assignments that are a little out of their league. Sometimes they fail and we both learn what areas we need to work on. But sometimes, many times, they rise to the challenge and shock me—and themselves. Those are the moments when they grow and mature by great leaps; suddenly realizing that they are much more capable than they imagined.

We all want our children to succeed. But sometimes success comes from failure, and the greatest success always comes from overcoming adversity.

Creating Family Culture through Reading Aloud

2012-01-04T15:56:00.000-06:00

This is an article I wrote back in 2010 that appeared in Home Educating Family Magazine.

The modern family is fragmented and disconnected. This fact is so obvious that it hardly warrants being stated out loud. Children are isolated and disconnected from their siblings and alienated from their parents. Families find themselves pulled in a hundred different directions at once. And the age-segregated peer culture further divides family members from one another. Experts call it the Generation Gap; I call it sad and disheartening.

How did we get this way? The answer to that question is complex, but one thing is for sure. The Generation Gap is a modern phenomenon! The 1920s gave birth to the modern youth culture, and suddenly parents and children seemed alien and foreign to one another. Children had their own culture, completely different from that of their parents—their own clothes, their own hair styles, their own language, their own music, their own books, their own pastimes, their own pop icons … Sound familiar?

And yet, it doesn’t have to be this way. And for thousands of years, it wasn’t.

One of the reasons that parents and children struggle to connect is that they do not share a common culture. In other words, modern parents and children largely do not love the same things. The answer to the fragmented modern family and the Generation Gap is to create a unique family culture.

Sharing with our children the things that we love and teaching them to love those things as well. This is the path toward family unity. Obviously, the most fundamental shared love in a Christian family is a shared love of God. Families who daily worship God together and speak often of the stories of God’s people will find themselves bound to one another in the deepest and most significant way. Reading together the stories of the saints in the Scriptures is paramount, but don’t stop there.

When I began homeschooling my children eight years ago, I knew all about the academic superiority of home education, and I was well versed in the spiritual implications of training up my children myself. However, I was completely unprepared for what has become the greatest blessing of educating my children at home: we like each other—a lot! We are bound to one another and connected to each other in ways that I could not have imagined.

When I reflect on how we got here, how this connectedness developed, I keep coming back to one thing: all those hours and days and now years spent together reading out loud.

We have read countless books together: classic children’s literature, Shakespeare plays, stories of the martyrs and saints of the past, fairy tales, fables, classic novels, Bible stories, tales of historical heroes, poetry. And at the risk of sounding like a Hallmark commercial, we have literally laughed together and cried together over these books. We’ve been on the edge of our seats in intense suspense; we’ve been deeply saddened, and we’ve been deeply encouraged. We’ve seen evil and we’ve seen goodness. We learned about the world we live in, and we learned about each other too.

These books and our discussions of them have created innumerable threads the bind our hearts together and create a common framework in which to interpret the world. These stories that we’ve encountered have become our own little personal inside jokes. My thirteen-year-old son recently said to me, “When I talk to my friends, I always think of jokes that are Shakespeare references. I know none of my friends will get the jokes, so I save them for you.” He saves his jokes to share with me! How wonderful. These inside jokes connect us to one another. Rather than feeling like the typical teen who laments that his parents just don’t “get” him, my son knows that there are some aspects of himself that no one outside of his family “gets.”

The books we read together also provide us with our own unique family language. Every time we see someone who is very pessimistic, we look at each other and say, “Puddleglum.” And my son knows that when I ask him if he’s being an Achilles or an Odysseus, I am really asking him if he is being self-focused or considering the needs of others. And all of my children have labeled the action of tricking a friend into doing something as “pulling a Tom Sawyer.”

And yet, it’s not just that we have a common language. It’s that we have a common framework to interpret reality. Having discussed at length the pessimism of Puddleglum in the Chronicles of Narnia and the glory-seeking of Achilles in The Iliad, mentioning either of their names becomes much more than family slang, it becomes a shorthand reminder of a greater spiritual truth.

We live in a time when children barely even know their parents. Family homes function as hotels with children checking in for a bed and an occasional meal. There is hardly time for passing greetings between parents and children, much less opportunity for meaningful interaction. It’s hardly surprising that most children claim not to like their parents much; they don’t even know them.

Reading aloud together provides a wonderful antidote to this disturbing reality. When I share with my children a book I love, I am teaching them who I am. And when they learn to love what I love, they learn to love me too.

While it is certainly true that the family that prays together, stays together. It is also true that the family that reads together will find itself inextricably bound to one another. In learning to love the same books, we mysteriously learn to love each other as well.

Why Christmas Trees?

2011-12-07T13:00:00.001-06:00

Interested in knowing about the origins and meaning of the Christmas tree? Wondering if Christians should decorate trees for Christmas?

Hop over to the CiRCE blog and read my post "Why Christmas Trees?"

I Read Dead People

2011-11-30T20:36:00.001-06:00

Just a reminder that I have a post on the CiRCE blog every Wednesday.

Here's this week's post: I Read Dead People

To Whom Are We Giving Thanks?

2011-11-24T09:03:00.002-06:00

Politically correct historical revisionists have long targeted the Pilgrims and Puritans, downplaying their sincere religious devotion and accusing them of everything from moral hypocrisy to acts of atrocity.

Recently I’ve noticed a new line of attack. In a public school American history textbook, several chapters are devoted to the Native Indian tribes, but only a two-sentence paragraph even mentions the Pilgrims. That’s one way to disassociate yourself with a Christian past you’d rather forget, just pretend it never happened.

Of course pc historians can’t entirely eliminate the Pilgrims from history because of our national tradition of Thanksgiving Day, which is forever tied to the story of the Pilgrims. So they did the next best thing. They eliminated God from the equation.

That two-sentence paragraph about the Pilgrims explained that on the first Thanksgiving the Pilgrims gave thanks to the Indians.

There are only 2 primary sources that describe the first thanksgiving. William Bradford in Of Plymouth Plantation makes no mention of the Indians at all. Here’s Edward Winslow’s description from Mourt’s Relation:

"our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together, after we had gathered the fruits of our labors; they four in one day killed as much fowl, as with a little help beside, served the Company almost a week, at which time amongst other Recreations, we exercised our Arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and amongst the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five Deer, which they brought to the Plantation and bestowed on our Governor, and upon the Captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful, as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want, that we often wish you partakers of our plenty."

The Pilgrims “entertained” the Indians, but there is no mention of bestowing thanks upon them. There is no question that the Pilgrims viewed good relations with the Indians as a tremendous blessing and I’m certain that they were thankful when the Indians killed 5 deer for the feast, but ultimately the Pilgrims attribute all that they have to the goodness of God.

Bradford’s journal is filled with praise and thanksgiving to God for every single trial and blessing that they experienced. And at that first feast of thanks the Pilgrims were especially grateful that God had preserved them throughout a harsh winter, illness and disease, and starvation caused by a failed attempt at communism. Over half of the Pilgrims died, and the survivors praised God.

This Thanksgiving Day let us all be mindful of the One to whom we give thanks. To God from whom all blessings flow.

Here's a Chance to Snag Some Great CiRCE Talks

2011-11-17T14:47:00.004-06:00

Right now CiRCE is having their end-of-the-year fundraiser.

The goal is to raise $50,000 by the end of the year. This will enable CiRCE to expand the number of free resources (like the ongoing FREE Lost Tools of Writing webinars!) they provide; to improve their instructional resources like workshops and retreats, and to enter the new year with a posture of strength and readiness.

So, not only do you have a great opportunity to support the work of the CiRCE Institute but you can also receive an awesome thank you gift.

For any size donation, you can download ALL of the following CiRCE talks:

1. A Contemplation of the Divine Image by Andrew Kern (2011)
2. Christian Humanism: A Faith For All Seasons by Gregory Wolfe (2011)
3. How the Trivium Prepares the Soul For College by E. Christian Kopf (2011)
4. What is Woman? A Re-examination of Feminism and the Church by Angelina Stanford (2011)
5. The Abolition of Man Applied by George Sanker (2010)
6. The Impact of Dewey, Darwin, and Descartes by Andrew Kern (2009)
7. Are Science and Religion Compatible by Martin Cothran (2009)
8. How Classical Humor Changed by Anthony Esolen (2008)
9. Is American Education a Bad Joke? by Andrew Kern (2008)
10. Reading Pagan Lit in a Christian School by Martin Cothran (2007)
11. The Business of Reading Great Literature by Vigen Guroian (2006)
12. Communication Technologies As Engines of Restlessness by Ken Myers (2007)
13. Jane Austen and Virtue Through Humor by Laura Berquist (2008)

This collection includes one of my all-time favorite CiRCE talks, Ken Myers' "Communication Technologies as Engines of Restlessness." That one was a life-changer for me.

And you can also download my talk from this summer's conference "What is Woman? A Re-examination of Feminism and the Church."

Please consider making a donation and picking up some great mp3s while you're at it.

Monday Musings

2011-11-14T16:32:00.003-06:00

Despite the fact that I have two pages of yellow legal pad filled with notes for blog posts, I haven't posted anything here in a while. Life is busy.

However, I have been posting a weekly blog on the CiRCE website, usually on Wednesdays or Thursdays. You can check out what I've been writing here.

I finished reading The Autobiography of Ben Franklin and have a least one more blog I'd like to post about that. I'm also reading David McCullough's biography of John Adams, which I am thoroughly enjoying and I've got lots of thoughts about what I'm reading. Hoping to post those soon as well.

In other news, about a week ago, Rush Limbaugh attacked and ridiculed Classical Education on his radio show. Martin Cothran of Memoria Press and Chris Perrin of Classical Academic Press both respond thoughtfully.

Martin Cothran: scroll down to November 2
Chris Perrin: click here.

Please pray for Ken Myers, of Mars Hill Audio and many of my favorite CiRCE lectures, who has had a heart attack. He appears to have had nothing short of a miraculous recovery, but do continue to pray for him. We all need much more of Ken's wisdom. (I know I do!)

Don't forget about the CiRCE Auction. Still lots of great items/events on the auction table. I even won something!

CiRCE Institute Auction

2011-10-24T20:47:00.003-05:00

It's time for the CiRCE Institute's end of the year fundraising, and this year CiRCE is kicking things off with a 10-week auction.

Not only are there some great items up for bid (I feel so Bob Barker typing that!), but CiRCE continues to provide wonderful resources and support for those of us involved in classical education. Consider contributing to the fine work they do by making a donation or by trying to snatch up one of the cool auction items which include:

- First Form Latin from Memoria Press
- 2 curricula from The Institute For Excellence in Writing
- A collection of books from Intercollegiate Studies Institute
- 2 curricula from Classical Academic Press
- 2 music-based curricula from Professor Carol Reynolds
- 4 hours of headmaster coaching from CiRCE consultant Dr. Peter Vandre Brake
- 10 spots in a special one-time-only web-based class with Andrew Kern on “Hamlet and Creation”
- 2 spots at the 2012 CiRCE Conferece in Louisville next summer
- and much more.

How the Auction Will Work:

Each week for the next ten weeks we will offer three items upon which you can bid, one of which will always be a spot in Andrew Kern’s “Hamlet and Creation” webinar (so at the end of ten weeks all ten spots in the webinar will be filled). See the schedule below for the weeks during which each item will be offered.

The auction will be hosted by 32auctions.com and you will be able to pay your winning bid via PayPal, any credit card, or check.

To bid on the week one items, click here.

Schedule & items offered:
Week Date Items

Week 1 10/18 – 10/24 1 2012 Conference Spot, First Form Latin from Memoria Press, 1 spot in Andrew Kern’s Hamlet Webinar

Week 2 10/25 – 10/31 1 Complete LTW set, Discovering Music curriculum, 1 spot in Andrew Kern’s Hamlet Webinar

Week 3 11/1 – 11/7 Ancient-History Based writing lessons from IEW, CiRCE Conference 10th Anniversary flash drive, 1 spot in Andrew Kern’s Hamlet Webinar

Week 4 11/8 – 11/14 4 1-hour sessions of headmaster coaching with Peter Vande Brake, Exploring America’s Musical Heritage Curriculum, 1 spot in Andrew Kern’s Hamlet Webinar

Week 5 11/15 – 11/21 Book package from ISI, Latin for Children: Primer A from Classical Academic Press, 1 spot in Andrew Kern’s Hamlet Webinar

Week 6 11/22 – 11/28 2011 Conference Complete Audio Collection, 1 2012 Conference Spot, 1 spot in Andrew Kern’s Hamlet Webinar

Week 7 11/29 – 12/5 The Art of Argument Curriculum from Classical Academic Press, CiRCE Conference 10th Anniversary flash drive, 1 spot in Andrew Kern’s Hamlet Webinar

Week 8 12/6 – 12/12 Teaching the Classics DVD and Workbook from IEW, 1 spot in Andrew Kern’s Hamlet Webinar, TBD

Week 9 12/13 – 12/19 TBD, 2011 Conference Complete Audio Collection, 1 spot in Andrew Kern’s Hamlet Webinar

Week 10 12/20 – 12/24 TBD, TBD, 1 spot in Andrew Kern’s Hamlet Webinar

happy bidding!

The Emperor's Standardized Test

2011-10-20T19:47:00.002-05:00

Click here to read a blog post I wrote for the CiRCE Institute.

More Lessons from Ben: Vocabulary

2011-10-10T18:18:00.002-05:00

Young Benjamin Franklin tried his hand at poetry, but was discouraged from pursuing it as a profession by his father. His father advised him to gain skill in prose writing instead. And he did.

Later, Ben reflected that if he had continued writing poetry he would likely have a much better vocabulary because poets must come up with many synonyms of words to fit rhyme scheme or meter. Writing poetry, he suggest, would make him a better prose writer.

This is really interesting and I suspect quite true. Perhaps instead of teaching students vocabulary classes, we should have them all improving their vocabulary naturally by writing poetry.

Lessons from Ben Franklin

2011-10-06T20:07:00.003-05:00

I just finished Part One of The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. It's interesting reading and I'd like to record some thoughts about it.

The first thing that I noted was that as a child Ben received little formal education; he was mostly self-educated through reading. He laments that he wasn't exposed to a greater variety and quality of books as a child.

But he did have a copy of Plutarch's Lives, which he "read abundantly" and "still think[s] that time spent to great advantage."

This of course is particularly interesting because Charlotte Mason advocates reading Plutarch's Lives to children as well.

Here's an article by Dr. George Grant encouraging the same thing. "Why Read Plutarch?"

More thoughts later.

Education: Loving the Old Places

2011-10-05T10:49:00.001-05:00

I have a new post up at the CiRCE website.

Check it out here: Education: Loving the Old Places.

Free Audiobook by John Piper

2011-10-03T19:53:00.004-05:00

Suddenly this blog has turned into your one-stop shop for finding out about FREE stuff!

Each month Christianaudio.com offers a FREE book download. For real free. Not sign up for a trial membership get a free audiobook and then when you lose track of time a whopping ridiculous charge will show up on your credit card statement which you will then try to dispute but end up paying anyway and then swearing that you will NEVER be suckered into one of those again-free things. No, not like that at all.

Really free. No string attached. I promise.

This month's book download is Think:The Life of the Mind and the Love of God by John Piper. I haven't listened to it yet, but it is an intriguing topic, especially for those of us who enjoy an active life of the mind and would love to listen to a book that tells us just how right we are! The book also has good reviews on Amazon.

So, click here to download. I hope we all enjoy it.

Free Lost Tools of Writing Webinar

2011-09-28T15:20:00.004-05:00

Intrigued by the Lost Tools of Writing but intimidated/confused about how to teach it?

The CiRCE Institute continues to make a great product even better. In addition to the fantastic changes in the 4th edition making the program even more teacher-friendly and easy to use, CiRCE is now offering free monthly webinars.

The first webinar, scheduled for October 14, will cover Lesson One, especially Invention (The A.N.I.), and will be taught by Certified Master LTW Teacher Renee Mathis.

I, for one, will be tuning in.

Why I Love Teaching Textbooks: Or, Homeschool Math Confessions

2011-09-27T11:35:00.000-05:00

I am not a good math teacher. There I said it.

I’ve thought long and hard about why I’m not a good math teacher. I know how to work the problems. I understand that math is really just another language. I even find myself at times fascinated by math (gasp! Don’t tell the other English teachers.).

But my real problem is a character flaw: I lack patience.

I can at times teach a math lesson with some enthusiasm that borders on excitement. But I can only do it once.

I quickly degenerate from cheerful encouraging teacher to irritated mom snapping, “What do you mean, you can’t remember how to divide?”

And that’s where Teaching Textbooks has been a real blessing in my house.

When my oldest daughter was struggling terribly in math, and after I had tried far too many different math programs, in desperation I asked my daughter to work a sample math lesson on the Teaching Textbook’s website. I will never forget her response.

Me: What do you think?
Her: Oh, I really like it.
Me: What did you like? The clear explanations? The sample problems? The visuals?
Her (uncomfortably): yeah, those were good.
Me: Well, what did you like?
Her (hesitatingly): Well… the teacher had a happy, soothing voice. And no matter how many times I had him explain the lesson, he always had a happy, soothing voice.

Ouch! Consider me convicted!

My daughter is in her third year with the happy, soothing voice, and he has never lost his cool once.

And my daughter (and now my son who started using Teaching Textbooks last year) is actually excelling in math. The explanations are clear, the lessons are short and incremental, and there is lots and lots of practice. And did I mention that the teacher is supernaturally patient!

And from a technical standpoint, the interactive nature of the lessons is very cool. She works the lesson right on the computer, gets immediate feedback, and if the answer is wrong, she can try again or watch the problem worked out for her by the happy, soothing voice. Then the program generates a grade report for me, complete with the number correct, the number of tries, and whether or not she viewed the solution.

It really is amazing. It does all the work for me. It teaches the lesson, grades the work, reviews missed problems with my student, and records it in an automated grade book. What else could I want? It’s like enrolling my child in a math class for less than 200 bucks. (Less than that when I consider that younger siblings will be reusing the program.)

The money I’ve spent on Teaching Textbooks math has been some of the best money I’ve spent in my homeschool. My children are learning math and they are enjoying it. And I don’t have to grade any math work! That’s priceless.

Things Overheard: American History Version

2011-09-26T17:25:00.003-05:00

I was eavesdropping, I mean reading, at a local coffee shop this weekend when I heard a loud, confident voice proclaim, "Well, the truth about Columbus is..."

This comment would have caught my attention under any circumstances but since I am teaching American History right now and since I just finished George Grant's lecture "Columbus Myths" I was particularly interested.

Oh, which of the many Columbus falsehoods was this young swaggering college student about to utter.

He continued, "The truth is that Columbus discovered Canada, but thought that he had discovered the West Indies. He never knew that he had actually discovered North America."

Wow. Just wow.

This statement didn't even make it onto Dr. Grant's list of things people get wrong about Columbus.

I hope this guy wasn't a history major.

And on the Seventh Day God Rested: Using the Principle of the Sabbath to Organize Your School Year

2011-09-15T16:05:00.003-05:00

It's almost time for my first Sabbath Week of the 2011-2012 school year. Many people have told me that incorporating Sabbath Weeks into their schedule has saved their sanity. So, since many of us are probably feeling our first twinges of burn out, I am reposting my article about Sabbath Schooling.

May you be as blessed as I have been.

This is an article I wrote that was recently published in Home Educating Family Magazine.

“And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” Genesis 2:2-3

"Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter . . . . Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.” Deuteronomy 5:12-15

When God rested from His labor of creating the universe, He wasn’t tired. He didn’t need a break. Rather, He was modeling for us a pattern of living—-a pattern that we ignore at our own peril. We work. We rest.

Despite what our modern culture insists, rest is not a luxury; it is a necessity. If we don’t rest, we soon won’t be able to work—-at least not very well. However hard we might try, we cannot push ourselves to unlimited productivity. Ignoring our need for regular periods of rest leads to burn-out.

Ah, burn-out. There’s a word that is all too familiar to anyone who has been homeschooling for a few years. We start off the school year full of zeal and excitement. This will be the year, we tell ourselves, that we get it all done! We mark out 36 weeks of lesson plans, with a Christmas break here and an Easter break there, and we charge full steam ahead. And then, somewhere around mid-October, our engines slow down . . . considerably. The zeal and excitement have long disappeared, and now not only are we having to drag the children reluctantly through their school lessons, but we are having to force ourselves through the motions as well. The joy is gone, the exhaustion has set in, and we find ourselves wondering if Christmas break will ever get here.

But I’ve got good news: it doesn’t have to be this way! Deuteronomy 5:15 reveals a beautiful truth: “Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.” Because God has delivered His people from slavery, His people can rest. Because we are free, we can rest!

The homeschool provides a wonderful opportunity to live out this truth. Homeschoolers are free. We are not slaves of the public school system, and we can rest—-whenever we want to!

My homeschool was liberated the day I rejected the public school calendar. There is absolutely no educational benefit from following a nine-month school year with a 3-month summer break. None! In fact, to the contrary, a long summer break creates “brain drain.” Textbooks begin with review chapters because they assume that students have forgotten a large chunk of what they learned the previous year. We’ve all experienced this: trying to get school started up in the fall only to discover that our children can’t remember how to add or what a noun is.

Additionally, as much as we often crave the idea of a long break when the spring semester is dragging on, most families go slightly batty in the summer months. I can remember my mother saying every summer that she couldn’t wait for school to start back up. The truth is, usually I couldn’t wait either. Children and families thrive on a consistent daily routine.

So, if I don’t follow the public school year, what do I do? And what does this have to do with the Sabbath? I believe that the Sabbath teaches three important principles for the homeschool. 1) We are free; therefore we can rest. 2) We need regular, scheduled periods of rest. 3) My soul responds to the pattern of laboring for 6 and resting for 1.

Our God is good, and He knows what we need. We must recognize the need for rest and plan for it. Regular periods of deliberate rest keep us refreshed and joyful about our labors. It is much easier to work hard when we know that a break is coming up soon. Avoid the recipe for burn-out: pushing yourself to the point of exhaustion and then guiltily taking off a day or two. Spread scheduled breaks throughout the year.

I still homeschool for 36 weeks each year, but now I don’t try to cram those weeks into 9 1/2 months; I spread them throughout the whole year. I experimented with many different ways of organizing my school year and finally discovered a pattern that brought a rhythm of peace and joy into our lives: we homeschool for 6 weeks and then take a 1-week break that I call Sabbath Week.

I have learned the hard way that 6 weeks is my limit for productivity. I can work hard and well for 6 solid weeks, but every time I push myself beyond that number, I experience burn-out. Every time!

Sabbath Week not only keeps me from burning out, it also keeps me from stressing out. During Sabbath Week, we rest from our usual labors, and strike a balance between fun and taking care of all the things that pile up and stress us out: appointments, car repairs, house cleaning, paperwork, etc. I can avoid feeling overwhelmed by all of my responsibilities when I know that I can take care of things during Sabbath Week. I don’t have to try to squeeze more into my already full homeschool week.

This arrangement still leaves me 10 weeks of breaks to spread throughout the year however I wish. I take 4 full weeks off for Christmas break, reducing our stress and increasing our enjoyment of the holiday season. We bake cookies and make presents, sing Christmas carols at nursing homes, perform in a Christmas pageant, attend special church services, and get all the joy we can out celebrating the birth of Christ. Not having to worry about school during those weeks keeps the stress level low and the joy high.

That leaves 6 weeks for a summer break, or a shorter 4-week summer break with 2 additional vacation weeks to be used whenever we want them: family vacations during the off-season are always fun!

Enjoying the liberty of homeschooling and instituting regular Sabbath Weeks has transformed our lives. I went from feeling overwhelmed and burnt-out to truly enjoying my time with my children and my calling to educate them. God desires joy and peace for His people, and when we seek His wisdom and embrace His principles for living we increase our joy and peace—-even in our homeschools.

I'm on Sale. Act now!

2011-09-07T19:39:00.003-05:00

The good folks at the CiRCE Institute are offering a download of my talk "What is Woman? A Re-examination of Feminism and the Church" (from the 2011 CiRCE Conference) for the low low price of $1.

I don't know how long this sale will last.

Act now! Operators are standing by...

Ernest Gaines On Writing

2011-08-31T19:05:00.004-05:00

In the same alumni magazine article on Ernest Gaines that I discussed in the last post, Mr. Gaines discussed how he learned to write.

He was born in 1933 to former slaves in a small rural Louisiana town. He was educated in a one-room schoolhouse that met only 5 months out of the year--because the children needed to be free to plant and harvest as needed.

When he was fifteen years old, he entered a library for the first time. He was immediately drawn to the masters.

He said," I learned to write by reading Homer and Shakespeare, Tolstoy and Turgenev, Faulkner and Joyce--and many others."

His advice to aspiring writers: "Read, read, read. And write, write, write."

I tend to suffer from reverse chronological snobbery (to put a spin on CS Lewis' quote). I rarely read books by authors still living. If a book has not stood the test of time, I'm just not sure that it's worth my time.

And yet, I am aware that all writing was contemporary at one time. Every story was at one time a modern story. So, I particularly appreciate this comment from Mr. Gaines.

"There will never be a better love story than Romeo and Juliet, no better war story than War and Peace and no better adventure than The Odyssey. But there are still love stories going on. And mysteries. And adventures.

"So, we have to keep writing. We have to write about our time because no one else can do that for us.

"We write to say, 'We were here.'"

E.G. and Me

2011-08-29T20:10:00.007-05:00

My alumni magazine arrived last week. It featured an article on twice Pulitzer Prize-nominated Louisiana author and former writer-in-residence of the University of Louisiana, Ernest Gaines.

Gaines' work has garnered much critical praise, but perhaps his greatest claim to fame came when Oprah Winfrey picked one of his novels for her book club. That seems to be the modern-day equivalent of a royal patronage.

I met Mr. Gaines once, at the post office of all places. And by a smiling Providence, I not only happened to be reading one of his novels at the time, I had it in my bag. I approached him, whipped out my book, told him how much I was enjoying it and asked him to sign my book. He graciously autographed my copy.

I remember clearly the way he acted in response to my praise. It struck me as odd at the time. He sort of bowed his head and said, "I'm glad you're enjoying it." But he seemed uncomfortable, slightly embarrassed even.

Almost two decades later, I recall Gaines' discomfort when I experience a similar circumstance on a much smaller scale. I'm no Pulitzer Prize-nominated author and I am certainly no darling of Oprah Winfrey, but I am a writer and people do tell me what they think of my writing.

When someone wants to talk to me about what I've written, it is a bizarre experience. I struggle to know how to respond and usually end up offering the feeble, "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

It's because much of my writing--my best writing--comes from a place of suffering. Usually intense suffering and pain. When I finally sort out the lesson, I write it down and share what God has taught me.

Of course, my readers have no idea what agony brought forth the article they read. They think they are praising me and thanking me for helping them or encouraging them in some way. And, of course, they are.

But what I hear, in that moment of shock, when someone stops me, is, "I saw those naked pictures you took of yourself." The fact that they assure me they liked what they saw, offers little comfort. I feel exposed. Suddenly I am on the most intimate terms with a stranger.

Yes, embarrassed even. I get it now. Ernest Gaines had exposed his soul to me and I was talking about it loudly and nonchalantly in the post office. As if complimenting his writing was as insignificant as telling him I liked his shirt.

Oh, don't get me wrong. I'm sure he liked the praise. I do too. Knowing that other people have been blessed and helped by the things I've learned has aided my own healing. God has been kind to show me that my suffering has meaning.

It's just strange and hard to know how to respond. Because when I say, I'm glad you liked it, I'm really saying, I'm glad you liked me.

Even now, it's difficult for me to hit Publish Post on my screen. One more intimate thought on display. One more hidden part exposed. Be kind.

Charis' First Grade (2011-2012)

2011-08-24T22:51:00.020-05:00

Using Memoria Press's Classical First Grade Curriculum with some additions of my own, including my own version of AO Year One.

Math: Rod and Staff Math 1
Phonics: Classical Phonics, SRA Phonics 2
Reading/Literature: Story Time Treasures and More Story Time Treasures, Veritas Press First Favorites and a variety of readers and picture books
Language Arts: MP Copybook II, MP Spelling, New American Cursive Book 1
Bible: OT Mother Stories and NT Mother Stories, Westminster Catechism for Young Children
Science/Nature Study: Christian Liberty Nature Reader Book One, Burgess Bird Book, Among the ______ People readers
Art Study: Great Pictures and Their Stories Book One
Fairy Tales/Folk Tales/Fables: My Book House vol. 3
History: My own American History using picture books.
Irish Dance

Isabella's 7th Grade (2011-2012)

2011-08-24T22:37:00.013-05:00

Math: Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra
French: First Start French Book One
Science: Life Science (Bob Jones)
American Studies: (Integrated Humanities class covering History, Literature, and Government) King's Meadow American Culture, Omnibus III selections, American literature selections. This is a twice-weekly class that I teach to a group of homeschoolers.
Bible: Grace Unknown, Westminster Shorter Catechism
Grammar/ Writing: Easy Grammar Plus, IEW US History Based Writing Lessons/ Lost Tools of Writing
Art Study: Great Pictures and Their Stories Book 7
Irish Dance

Eli's 9th Grade (2011-2012)

2011-08-24T22:26:00.008-05:00

Ninth Grade Classes:

Math: Teaching Textbooks Algebra I (part II)
Latin III: Henle Latin (Units 8-14, to finish the book and the last of the Latin grammar at last!)
Logic II: Traditional Logic II
Science: The Sciences: An Integrated Approach
American Studies: (Integrated Humanities class covering History, Literature, and Government) King's Meadow American Culture, Omnibus III selections, American literature selections. This is a twice-weekly class that I teach to a group of homeschoolers.
Theology: Covering the theological development in America from the Puritans to the 1900s. (taught by our Pastor)
Writing: Lost Tools of Writing and IEW's US History Based Lessons plus writing across the curriculum.

What is Woman? A Re-examination of Feminism and the Church

2011-08-11T12:12:00.004-05:00

A few weeks ago I gave a talk at the CiRCE conference. The theme of the conference was What is Man? so I spoke about What is Woman?

God really blessed my talk, and some interesting things have come my way since the conference. I'll keep you posted. Right now I'm immersed in more research (the fun part) for my book on the same topic.

The full (7,000 word) article of my CiRCE talk is currently being featured on the CiRCE website. What is Woman? A Re-examination of Feminism and the Church.

Also, the mp3 download of my talk is now available at the CiRCE website as well.

Memoria Press Classical First Grade Curriculum

2011-08-04T10:24:00.005-05:00

After I wrote in my review of MP's Kindergarten program that I would like to continue with the program, but couldn't afford it, the good folks at Memoria Press sent me a review copy of the First Grade Curriculum. It arrived yesterday, and Charis and I are so excited!

It continues with a strong emphasis on the fundamental skills of reading, writing, and math. I especially like the continued study of phonics, complete with integrated spelling lists of words with new sounds, as well as reading practice in classic children's literature. No stilted readers here.

Charis will be reading the good stuff! I can hardly believe that she will be reading Little Bear to me today.

I'm going to combine the MP lesson plans with my own version of Ambleside Online Year One. Charis is very excited and is looking forward to a fantastic first grade year.

A big thank you to Memoria Press and look for my full review at the end of the school year.