After this next week, we will be gliding into the summer routine. The best part is being able to sleep in when we want to! We always hold to some kind of routine because the kids seem to appreciate their free time when they don't have too much of it. And I don't like to spend the beginning of the new school year reviewing too much. I do drop all of this for a trip to the lake or something else that might come up.
My plan for our summer schedule is this:
Morning Quiet time - individual Bible reading and prayer
Kezzi, Hope and I are each doing the Precepts Ministries Heberews study. I bought Luke a copy of The One Year Book of Josh McDowell's Youth Devotions: A Daily Adventure in Making the Right Choices. I'm anxious to see how he'll like it. Abel and Annalise are still working through their Bible story readers with the Rod & Staff readers, although Abel did buy a new Bible at church today and I'm sure he'll want to read directly from that too.
Morning Worship & Family Read Aloud
I am hoping to have Kezzi and Hope learn enough worship songs on the piano and guitar to lead us in some singing and I'm going to print songbooks so we can all sing along. For our Read Aloud time, I have a list of books that I want to read to the kids this summer. We are working on Swiss Family Robinson right now. Here's some others I hope to get to:
Tree of Freedom
Traitor: The Case of Benedict Arnold
Rip Van Winkle
Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Robinson Crusoe
2 books left in the Narnia series...The Silver Chair and The Last Battle
finish the Ralph Moody series
The Railway Children
The Secret Garden
Table Time -
Hope still has math and science to do every day until she finishes her books.
Luke and Abel are going to practice typing and do a short drawing exercise. And Luke has to finish up some pages in his math workbook.
FREE TIME and/or WORK
Many days will be filled with free time here but we will have gardening and canning to keep up with, along with occasional yard work and housecleaning.
After Lunch - Personal Reading of choice
This will be short rest when each person can read whatever they choose.
More FREE TIME before dinner.
One day a week the boys will have more school type stuff . They requested that we do this all in one day so the rest of the days were more free.
Dictation & Spelling rules, Math review (Life of Fred books) and Botany will be the once a week subjects. We will probably also include occasional other nature study besides our botany course.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Annalise's Latest Obsession
This little volume of poetry is what Annalise has been reading and listening to most every spare minute. It has a CD that comes with it that contains some of the poems in this book. She adores this book. 
She is the kind of child that would definitely do great with the "unschooling" method of education. All I have to do is give her access to good materials and she's off learning all on her own. She frequently tracks me down to tell me about something she's read (Mom, did you know Andrew Johnson didn't learn to read until he was 14?!), read something to me or in this case recite parts of poems that she likes. As I was writing this she brought me the book and read a poem to me and told me she was going to copy it.
I think she is unschooling me.
She is the kind of child that would definitely do great with the "unschooling" method of education. All I have to do is give her access to good materials and she's off learning all on her own. She frequently tracks me down to tell me about something she's read (Mom, did you know Andrew Johnson didn't learn to read until he was 14?!), read something to me or in this case recite parts of poems that she likes. As I was writing this she brought me the book and read a poem to me and told me she was going to copy it. I think she is unschooling me.
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Update on Lily
5-14-08 - Swing on over to Lily's family blog and see some pictures along with my sister's thanks for all who prayed and helped. We had a great time in Gatlinburg this last weekend and Lily only had 1 short seizure the whole weekend! It was wonderful to see her enjoy hiking and swimming in the resort's pool.
***The Latest on 5-8-08 9pm. ~ Lily is on her way home! Apparently she hasn't had a seizure since 11:30 today, so they are sending her home.
I emailed friends and family yesterday to ask for prayer as we took my niece, Lily, to the Children's Hospital. As many of you already know, Lily has a seizure disorder, which is mostly kept under control with medication. Some of you may remember when we told you about Lily's website, put together by a generous friend.
There have been times in her life, such as two years ago, when the seizures are too numerous to deal with at home. This happened again yesterday. After a viral illness that we all had, Lily had an increase in seizures. Finally it got to the point where she needed some extra medication and oversight at the hospital.
So my mother and I accompanied my sister and Lily to the hospital yesterday. We arrived around 1:30pm. The funny thing was that Lily was in rare form on the way up there. She was constantly cracking jokes and obviously very alert and attentive to many details. One nice thing about her getting older is that she can call for help when she needs it. When we were loading up the car, she began having one and said, "Uh Oh, Aunt Lisa!" So I was able to get to her and hold her, preventing her from falling over. The down side is she shows more fear and frustration with her condition than she used to and she asks more questions about it now.
We sat in the emergency room for hours when Lori told us they were about to take them to a room so we should go on home. She wanted to snuggle in with Lily and get some sleep. We left at 6pm, expecting they were going to be taken up any minute. They were finally in a regular room and had an IV with the needed medication started at 9pm! Of course, you have to allow room for other urgent emergencies when you go to the hospital but almost eight hours seems a bit much.
The good news is that the seizures are decreasing and they had a pretty good night's sleep and they've been napping a lot today. Lori said the medication is making Lily groggy and a little unstable on her feet, but it is doing the intended work of getting the seizures under control. We don't know yet when they will be coming back home. Possibly tonight or tomorrow. I think the plan is to send her home with the extra medication and she will be kept on that for the next month.
I will update here in order to cut down on separate emails. Thanks for everyone's prayers and other help! To those of you who have called or emailed offers of help, I will let you know if a need arises. And I won't be shy because I'm not asking for myself.
***The Latest on 5-8-08 9pm. ~ Lily is on her way home! Apparently she hasn't had a seizure since 11:30 today, so they are sending her home.
I emailed friends and family yesterday to ask for prayer as we took my niece, Lily, to the Children's Hospital. As many of you already know, Lily has a seizure disorder, which is mostly kept under control with medication. Some of you may remember when we told you about Lily's website, put together by a generous friend.
There have been times in her life, such as two years ago, when the seizures are too numerous to deal with at home. This happened again yesterday. After a viral illness that we all had, Lily had an increase in seizures. Finally it got to the point where she needed some extra medication and oversight at the hospital.
So my mother and I accompanied my sister and Lily to the hospital yesterday. We arrived around 1:30pm. The funny thing was that Lily was in rare form on the way up there. She was constantly cracking jokes and obviously very alert and attentive to many details. One nice thing about her getting older is that she can call for help when she needs it. When we were loading up the car, she began having one and said, "Uh Oh, Aunt Lisa!" So I was able to get to her and hold her, preventing her from falling over. The down side is she shows more fear and frustration with her condition than she used to and she asks more questions about it now.
We sat in the emergency room for hours when Lori told us they were about to take them to a room so we should go on home. She wanted to snuggle in with Lily and get some sleep. We left at 6pm, expecting they were going to be taken up any minute. They were finally in a regular room and had an IV with the needed medication started at 9pm! Of course, you have to allow room for other urgent emergencies when you go to the hospital but almost eight hours seems a bit much.
The good news is that the seizures are decreasing and they had a pretty good night's sleep and they've been napping a lot today. Lori said the medication is making Lily groggy and a little unstable on her feet, but it is doing the intended work of getting the seizures under control. We don't know yet when they will be coming back home. Possibly tonight or tomorrow. I think the plan is to send her home with the extra medication and she will be kept on that for the next month.
I will update here in order to cut down on separate emails. Thanks for everyone's prayers and other help! To those of you who have called or emailed offers of help, I will let you know if a need arises. And I won't be shy because I'm not asking for myself.
Girls and Women Together
I wrote about our ladies small group's decision to start including our daughters here in this post. There were only three of us there that night when we discussed this issue. Due to a lot of different interruptions we had not met a lot since then. Last night was our first meeting in a few weeks, and boy was I surprised to count NINETEEN women/girls there! There were ten women and nine girls (mostly middle school aged).
And better yet was the fact that several of the girls talked quite a bit and quite openly!!! They shared about school experiences and asked questions about what they should do. My heart leaped for joy at the thought of building these relationships now that very well might help them through even rougher years ahead in high school and beyond. Many of us older women marveled as they filed out to go jump on the trampoline after the meeting. Some remarked that they would have never talked so freely at that age in a group of adults.
I'm really thankful that this has not been labeled a mother/daughter group because I SO treasure the women there who do not have daugthers to bring. We were trying to take down the barriers, not create others. And I'm so thankful for the variety of women there.
Can I do a little victory dance here?? I can't wait to see the fruit of this in the time to come!
And better yet was the fact that several of the girls talked quite a bit and quite openly!!! They shared about school experiences and asked questions about what they should do. My heart leaped for joy at the thought of building these relationships now that very well might help them through even rougher years ahead in high school and beyond. Many of us older women marveled as they filed out to go jump on the trampoline after the meeting. Some remarked that they would have never talked so freely at that age in a group of adults.
I'm really thankful that this has not been labeled a mother/daughter group because I SO treasure the women there who do not have daugthers to bring. We were trying to take down the barriers, not create others. And I'm so thankful for the variety of women there.
Can I do a little victory dance here?? I can't wait to see the fruit of this in the time to come!
Monday, May 05, 2008
What's Ripe at Shadybrook Acres?
This is the first time we have grown salad greens that are not bitter. Every day we are enjoying fabulous salads. I've ordered lots of different kind of lettuce seeds and we are going to experiment with a row cover to try and keep us in fresh greens all summer. 
Our first head of broccoli this season!
And our first batch of strawberries.
We continue to have a bounty of eggs.
Ripe eggs turn into chicks! Well, ok, maybe ripe is not the right word but I had to include our 7 new chicks. It was great fun when Luke came in the first morning with a new chick. Then soon after, 0n another morning, he was bringing a new one in every 20 minutes or so. Luke had them outside for a "walk" today when I took this picture. We've been raising them in a box in the school room but soon they will be placed in their new outdoor pen.
Our first head of broccoli this season!
And our first batch of strawberries.We continue to have a bounty of eggs.
Ripe eggs turn into chicks! Well, ok, maybe ripe is not the right word but I had to include our 7 new chicks. It was great fun when Luke came in the first morning with a new chick. Then soon after, 0n another morning, he was bringing a new one in every 20 minutes or so. Luke had them outside for a "walk" today when I took this picture. We've been raising them in a box in the school room but soon they will be placed in their new outdoor pen.
Saturday, May 03, 2008
Prayers Needed for TN Homeschoolers
The following resolution was sent out by one of our local homeschooling leaders. The situation here in Tennesse is very concerning. If they succeed in making the diplomas of our highschool students invalid, it will be a huge slide backward for freedom in Tennessee.
Whenever we face possible changes in the law that would make what we do illegal, I face the following choices: go to jail OR move to another state. Because complying with their wishes is just not an option. I am constantly reminded of those who have gone before us who were willing to sacrifice in order to fight for freedom. If we compromise when we shouldn't, we dishonor their lives.
In this case, I guess my kids would just have to find a way to do without a diploma. Or I suppose they could take a GED test.
I will be praying but I will not be afraid. I still believe God is God. I'm very thankful that he has placed our representative, who is a dedicated homeschooling father, in the state government at just the right time. I believe God has been preparing a people to be in the right place at the right time. And I'm sure this is just the beginning.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Written in the form of a resolution:
This is a call to prayer and fasting with regard to our efforts to pass HB 1652 and bring relief from the invalidation of Cat. IV diplomas.
Please pass it along as God leads.
Humble yourselves beforeThe Lord God Almighty
With prayer and fasting
WHEREAS, departments of Tennessee's government have voided diplomas awarded by legally operated Category IV high schools, and
WHEREAS, all remedies to this miscarriage of justice have been fully pursued with meetings held and reasonable resolution sought, but without effect, leaving changing the laws of the State of Tennesseeas the only remedy, and
WHEREAS, Representative Mike Bell has been given HB1652 which is perfectly suitable for correcting this injustice, and
WHEREAS, young Tennesseans with Category IV high school diplomas continue to step forward describing the loss of career, loss of profession, and being fired from their jobs, even though some of them have been awarded degrees from post high school educational institutions and even though their high school diplomas have been acceptable for serving in the United States Navy, the United States Marines and attending post high school educational institutions, and
WHEREAS, the Tennessee Department of Education has described Category IV high school diplomas as "Not worth the paper they are written on", and
WHEREAS, God has mercifully granted to us, even at this late hour in the 105th General Assembly, the opportunity to correct this injustice, and
WHEREAS, students, parents, grandparents, and friends who have been affected by this new policy of the Department of Education plan to contact their State Representative and ask them to support and to co sponsor the bill; they plan to come to Nashville on May 5, 2008 at 3:00 pm before the House of Representatives convenes to talk with their Representative, and
WHEREAS, the State Comptroller'sOffice issued a report analyzing "diploma mills"in Tennessee and found none existing, yet the Department of Education cites thefact that this report was prepared as if it had found diploma mills in the Category IV schools, and
WHEREAS, the Department of Education has determined to use this situation as a vehicle to take over the teacher requirements of the Category IV Church related schools and to increase the requirements for those parents who home school, and
WHEREAS, there is a God, who rules heaven and earth, and this all wise God has delegated to parents, particularly fathers, the responsibility to teach, to train, to prepare their children, and
WHEREAS, throughout recorded history civil governments have historically worked to terminate parents rights in the education of their children, and
WHEREAS, this Constitutional Republic was formed particularly for the purpose of promoting freedom of religion, so that the people so governed would be free in both their conscience and in their persons to enjoy a direct, intimate relationship with the Creator of all that is, the Lord Jesus Christ and to learn freely at His feet and from His Word,
THEREFORE, you are called this day to prepare yourselves to pray and to fast with gentle weeping and calling out in humility to our merciful God on Monday May 5, 2008 asking that our All Powerful God extend our freedom to educate our children away from the corrupting influence of those perverse, usurping men and women wishing to train our children to be dependent on the civil government rather than on God and implore your state representative that he or she work to insure that these Category IV high school diplomas be recognized by all Tennessee Departments as they are by the US Department of Defense and by colleges and universities all across our state and nation .
Whenever we face possible changes in the law that would make what we do illegal, I face the following choices: go to jail OR move to another state. Because complying with their wishes is just not an option. I am constantly reminded of those who have gone before us who were willing to sacrifice in order to fight for freedom. If we compromise when we shouldn't, we dishonor their lives.
In this case, I guess my kids would just have to find a way to do without a diploma. Or I suppose they could take a GED test.
I will be praying but I will not be afraid. I still believe God is God. I'm very thankful that he has placed our representative, who is a dedicated homeschooling father, in the state government at just the right time. I believe God has been preparing a people to be in the right place at the right time. And I'm sure this is just the beginning.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Written in the form of a resolution:
This is a call to prayer and fasting with regard to our efforts to pass HB 1652 and bring relief from the invalidation of Cat. IV diplomas.
Please pass it along as God leads.
Humble yourselves beforeThe Lord God Almighty
With prayer and fasting
WHEREAS, departments of Tennessee's government have voided diplomas awarded by legally operated Category IV high schools, and
WHEREAS, all remedies to this miscarriage of justice have been fully pursued with meetings held and reasonable resolution sought, but without effect, leaving changing the laws of the State of Tennesseeas the only remedy, and
WHEREAS, Representative Mike Bell has been given HB1652 which is perfectly suitable for correcting this injustice, and
WHEREAS, young Tennesseans with Category IV high school diplomas continue to step forward describing the loss of career, loss of profession, and being fired from their jobs, even though some of them have been awarded degrees from post high school educational institutions and even though their high school diplomas have been acceptable for serving in the United States Navy, the United States Marines and attending post high school educational institutions, and
WHEREAS, the Tennessee Department of Education has described Category IV high school diplomas as "Not worth the paper they are written on", and
WHEREAS, God has mercifully granted to us, even at this late hour in the 105th General Assembly, the opportunity to correct this injustice, and
WHEREAS, students, parents, grandparents, and friends who have been affected by this new policy of the Department of Education plan to contact their State Representative and ask them to support and to co sponsor the bill; they plan to come to Nashville on May 5, 2008 at 3:00 pm before the House of Representatives convenes to talk with their Representative, and
WHEREAS, the State Comptroller'sOffice issued a report analyzing "diploma mills"in Tennessee and found none existing, yet the Department of Education cites thefact that this report was prepared as if it had found diploma mills in the Category IV schools, and
WHEREAS, the Department of Education has determined to use this situation as a vehicle to take over the teacher requirements of the Category IV Church related schools and to increase the requirements for those parents who home school, and
WHEREAS, there is a God, who rules heaven and earth, and this all wise God has delegated to parents, particularly fathers, the responsibility to teach, to train, to prepare their children, and
WHEREAS, throughout recorded history civil governments have historically worked to terminate parents rights in the education of their children, and
WHEREAS, this Constitutional Republic was formed particularly for the purpose of promoting freedom of religion, so that the people so governed would be free in both their conscience and in their persons to enjoy a direct, intimate relationship with the Creator of all that is, the Lord Jesus Christ and to learn freely at His feet and from His Word,
THEREFORE, you are called this day to prepare yourselves to pray and to fast with gentle weeping and calling out in humility to our merciful God on Monday May 5, 2008 asking that our All Powerful God extend our freedom to educate our children away from the corrupting influence of those perverse, usurping men and women wishing to train our children to be dependent on the civil government rather than on God and implore your state representative that he or she work to insure that these Category IV high school diplomas be recognized by all Tennessee Departments as they are by the US Department of Defense and by colleges and universities all across our state and nation .
Monday, April 21, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
What a Fun Weekend!
We are rolling in here at 11pm on Sunday night feeling like we have gorged ourselves on great fellowship all weekend.
Saturday night was our Passover celebration. We had a small gathering here with extended family and our dear friend, Tristan. Priscilla did the honors of reading the Passover story and added in extra research on the timetable of Jesus' crucifixion. I didn't even mind doing the boatload of dishes because Tristan made it enjoyable by playing her guitar and singing for us and the Lord while I was working. There is something very encouraging about being around people that have a love for the Lord that you can really see and feel. Everyone is going to have their issues that they are working through in an attempt to allow God to transform them. It's not about being perfect, it's about being sold out for God!
Speaking of encouraging...today after church we stopped by the home of some new friends of ours. They have a home church that meets each week. We went to our own church and then picked up pizza and headed over to their house. We got there about 1pm and didn't get home until 11 tonight. We all had a blast. The adults sat around discussing everything from current events to finding a spouse. The kids had a great time being whisked away to another house nearby to shoot guns and then back again for volleyball and frisbee. Their highest compliment is to say they feel like they are in Missouri. At around 8pm one of the ladies suggested the six of us parents who were still there all escape to Ruby Tuesdays for dinner. So we left a billion kids and young adults and went out on a spontaneous date where we laughed and talked and had a great time. We arrived home very tired but very happy.
This has charged our batteries for a busy week ahead, especially for the females in the family. This week will include a mom's homeschool meeting (while the girls go swing dancing), a MOPS moms night out (which the girls are invited to also), and a women's retreat on the weekend! Whew!
Sometimes it all seems like a lot, especially with all of the traveling back and forth. But when I take one day at a time, it's as my sister always says, "There is enough time in each day to do God's will." When there is so many people to love, it's not tiring.
A sweet friend sent me this verse in an e-card recently:
"He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. " Proverbs 11:25 - And that is the truth!
Saturday night was our Passover celebration. We had a small gathering here with extended family and our dear friend, Tristan. Priscilla did the honors of reading the Passover story and added in extra research on the timetable of Jesus' crucifixion. I didn't even mind doing the boatload of dishes because Tristan made it enjoyable by playing her guitar and singing for us and the Lord while I was working. There is something very encouraging about being around people that have a love for the Lord that you can really see and feel. Everyone is going to have their issues that they are working through in an attempt to allow God to transform them. It's not about being perfect, it's about being sold out for God!
Speaking of encouraging...today after church we stopped by the home of some new friends of ours. They have a home church that meets each week. We went to our own church and then picked up pizza and headed over to their house. We got there about 1pm and didn't get home until 11 tonight. We all had a blast. The adults sat around discussing everything from current events to finding a spouse. The kids had a great time being whisked away to another house nearby to shoot guns and then back again for volleyball and frisbee. Their highest compliment is to say they feel like they are in Missouri. At around 8pm one of the ladies suggested the six of us parents who were still there all escape to Ruby Tuesdays for dinner. So we left a billion kids and young adults and went out on a spontaneous date where we laughed and talked and had a great time. We arrived home very tired but very happy.
This has charged our batteries for a busy week ahead, especially for the females in the family. This week will include a mom's homeschool meeting (while the girls go swing dancing), a MOPS moms night out (which the girls are invited to also), and a women's retreat on the weekend! Whew!
Sometimes it all seems like a lot, especially with all of the traveling back and forth. But when I take one day at a time, it's as my sister always says, "There is enough time in each day to do God's will." When there is so many people to love, it's not tiring.
A sweet friend sent me this verse in an e-card recently:
"He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. " Proverbs 11:25 - And that is the truth!
Sunday, April 13, 2008
The Question All Homeschoolers Get Sick Of Answering
What about socialization? My good friend at Beck's Bounty has a great post on the answer to that question.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Our Small Group Sleepover
Last Friday night we had all of the ladies and girls from our Bible study group over to spend the night. We had a great time eating, talking, watching Tim Hawkins, playing Apples to Apples and Spinergy. The only bummer was the rain since it cancelled our bonfire and smores plans.
The younger girls had fun braiding hair and staying up late talking. And we ended up getting to keep one of the girls for another night, which was a nice treat.
I had a longer night than most because I had Candace, who was home for the weekend, in my bed with me and we lay there talking until 5:30 in the morning! I knew it would be hard on my body to loose that much sleep but I counted it worth it because how often do I get a chance like that with my oldest gal.
The younger girls had fun braiding hair and staying up late talking. And we ended up getting to keep one of the girls for another night, which was a nice treat. 
I had a longer night than most because I had Candace, who was home for the weekend, in my bed with me and we lay there talking until 5:30 in the morning! I knew it would be hard on my body to loose that much sleep but I counted it worth it because how often do I get a chance like that with my oldest gal.
Nature Up Close
Right next to where I sit at the computer is a little bird feeder attached to the outside of the window with suction cups. Because it's too high off the ground to refill easily, it has been neglected and has not been in use.
It seems Mrs. Wasp thought that made it the most suitable place for her new home. So I have an up close view of her construction work. I will get to enjoy the progress throughout the season.
It seems Mrs. Wasp thought that made it the most suitable place for her new home. So I have an up close view of her construction work. I will get to enjoy the progress throughout the season. I think I can actually enjoy studying wasps when there is glass between us.
Math with Fred
This is Fred. He is making math much more fun here at Shadybrook Acres.
You can check out the Life of Fred math books here and learn fractions through calculus. I actually look forward to math every day.
You can check out the Life of Fred math books here and learn fractions through calculus. I actually look forward to math every day.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Rachel and Colin
We traveled to Missouri to see our beautiful friend, Rachel, get married. It was a cold, windy day but the wedding site was beautiful and it was worth it all! We were honored to be a part of the ceremony and to witness their first kiss. We pray for many wonderful years of blessing for Rachel and Colin and we are thankful for their faithfulness to the Lord and each other! 
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Exciting New Movie
Granny just posted about a new movie coming out that I'm SO excited about. A movie that challenges the sacred cow of Darwinism in the 'scientific' community. And it exposes what is happening to those who dare to question.
You know the old adage, those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it? Well, this is nothing new, folks. In The History of Medicine book that the boys and I are reading, you can see this happening in the earliest times of medical history. Galen wrote medical books with very little study of the human body because dissecting the human body was not allowed in his time. Later his book was used for many years and considered the authority. Even when viewing the insides of the human body contradicted it, teachers would refuse to acknowledge the errors. Evidence against their previously held belief was not enough to cause them to question the man they had set up as the "authority".
"If the corpse and the book don't agree, then the error is in the corpse! No one would dream of doubting Galen."
Then a man came along with the courage to change that.
...the grip of Galen's dead hand upon medicine will begin to weaken. It won't happen without a fight!"
A man named Vesalius fought that fight and he realized the trap they had all fallen into.
"They had repeated Galen for so long it had blinded them to the true facts."
Sound like Darwinism to me. I think Darwin's dead hand on science is beginning to weaken...but it's not going to happen without a fight. And this film is a part of that fight!
You know the old adage, those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it? Well, this is nothing new, folks. In The History of Medicine book that the boys and I are reading, you can see this happening in the earliest times of medical history. Galen wrote medical books with very little study of the human body because dissecting the human body was not allowed in his time. Later his book was used for many years and considered the authority. Even when viewing the insides of the human body contradicted it, teachers would refuse to acknowledge the errors. Evidence against their previously held belief was not enough to cause them to question the man they had set up as the "authority".
"If the corpse and the book don't agree, then the error is in the corpse! No one would dream of doubting Galen."
Then a man came along with the courage to change that.
...the grip of Galen's dead hand upon medicine will begin to weaken. It won't happen without a fight!"
A man named Vesalius fought that fight and he realized the trap they had all fallen into.
"They had repeated Galen for so long it had blinded them to the true facts."
Sound like Darwinism to me. I think Darwin's dead hand on science is beginning to weaken...but it's not going to happen without a fight. And this film is a part of that fight!
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
We Started A New Study Today
Even though this is written for elementary kids, I can see I'm going to learn a lot too! Today we started with an excerise that taught about taxonomy by classifying shoes. When the directions said to get one shoe from every pair in the house, we knew we were in for a massive pile! It was a lot of fun and it did a great job at demonstating classification.
I'm really looking forward to this and plan to journal right along with the kids!
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
The Rewards of Exploring
I found these down by the creek this afternoon. I was so excited! My best guess is raccoon, but I'm brand new at this. At first I thought oppossum, but when I came home I checked and the oppossum has fingers more spread and a very unique back track that I did not see down there. I also saw evidence of a clam feast. If anyone else has a different idea, feel free to comment. 
I also found a track down by the spring that looked just like a cat print but it was 2" wide (not pictured here). I think it's either it's a bobcat track or a dog track without the claw marks.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Nature Study Tips
"We were all meant to be naturalists, each in his degree, and it is inexcusable to live in a world so full of the marvels of plant and animal life and to care for none of these things. "
~Charlotte Mason in Home Education
Heart of Harmony blog has a great post with links to nature coloring books or line drawings to help with illustrating your nature journals.
This morning I have read about two thirds of Kamana's The Young Naturalist and it looks like a great place to start with younger kids. Kamana sells it for under $26.00 here. So far there is only one episode of the characters sending "our thoughts out to the forest" in order to call out a character who will come and teach them some things. I will say again that I think it's easy enough to edit out these kinds of things if they are offensive to you and still get a lot of use out of the materials.
~Charlotte Mason in Home Education
Heart of Harmony blog has a great post with links to nature coloring books or line drawings to help with illustrating your nature journals.
This morning I have read about two thirds of Kamana's The Young Naturalist and it looks like a great place to start with younger kids. Kamana sells it for under $26.00 here. So far there is only one episode of the characters sending "our thoughts out to the forest" in order to call out a character who will come and teach them some things. I will say again that I think it's easy enough to edit out these kinds of things if they are offensive to you and still get a lot of use out of the materials.
Here's a list of tips inspired by our work in the Kamana program:
1. Get to know one place, even if it's only your yard or even just a tree in your yard. Pick a place that is convenient so you will visit it often, preferably daily. Practice using your senses to learn about what is around you.
2. Take it slowly and get to know one thing at a time, one plant, one bird, tree, mammal, etc. from your area. Use the range maps in the field guides to find local species. It's easy to get overwhelmed by all there is out there. If you just take a baby step at a time, you will be amazed at how much you will learn over the years.
3. Use your journal to record what you've learned or even questions you have. Don't stress about the artwork but instead focus on recording details that will help you remember and be able to identify the object in the future. Don't even spend a lot of time on your journal entries. Kamana suggests aiming for 20-30 minutes each. You are not aiming for a beautiful work of art.
4. Use field guides to sketch from. Practice the Charlotte Mason method of picture study with the pictures of the object you are journaling about. Simply look at the picture until you can see it in your minds eye, then close the book and sketch it quickly in your journal. If you need to, repeat the process until you feel you have included the major components of the illustration.
5. Also use the field guides to gather information. Again, use the Charlotte Mason method of narration. Read the information and then write from memory. Repeat as often as you need to until all important elements are included such as field marks, habitat, habits, etc. Kamana Two suggests taking notes in this manner on a scrap piece of paper and then writing your journal entry from your scrap paper.
6. Read inspirational nature literature - fiction and non-fiction. We are currently reading Freckles by Gene Stratton Porter.
7. For you homeschoolers, take a day a week to focus on nature study. It covers science, art, writing and reading. Even if that is all you did that day, it would be a day well spent. Start when your kids are young. They will be much better prepared for high school biology when they have a first-hand knowledge of many of the flora and fauna that they will study later, not to mention that learning to care about the earth will help them become better stewards of it.
As I have said before, I have been amazed at how well the Kamana program melds with the philosophy laid down in Charlotte Mason's writings. And here's another quote to prove it:
"In Science, or rather, nature study, we attach great importance to recognition, believing that the power to recognize and name a plant or stone or constellations involves classification and includes a good deal of knowledge. To know a plant by its gesture and habitat, its time and its way of flowering and fruiting; a bird by its flight and song and its times of coming and going; to know when, year after year, you many come upon the restart and the pied fly-catcher, means a good deal of interested observations, ad of, at any rate, the material for science."
~from School Education
1. Get to know one place, even if it's only your yard or even just a tree in your yard. Pick a place that is convenient so you will visit it often, preferably daily. Practice using your senses to learn about what is around you.
2. Take it slowly and get to know one thing at a time, one plant, one bird, tree, mammal, etc. from your area. Use the range maps in the field guides to find local species. It's easy to get overwhelmed by all there is out there. If you just take a baby step at a time, you will be amazed at how much you will learn over the years.
3. Use your journal to record what you've learned or even questions you have. Don't stress about the artwork but instead focus on recording details that will help you remember and be able to identify the object in the future. Don't even spend a lot of time on your journal entries. Kamana suggests aiming for 20-30 minutes each. You are not aiming for a beautiful work of art.
4. Use field guides to sketch from. Practice the Charlotte Mason method of picture study with the pictures of the object you are journaling about. Simply look at the picture until you can see it in your minds eye, then close the book and sketch it quickly in your journal. If you need to, repeat the process until you feel you have included the major components of the illustration.
5. Also use the field guides to gather information. Again, use the Charlotte Mason method of narration. Read the information and then write from memory. Repeat as often as you need to until all important elements are included such as field marks, habitat, habits, etc. Kamana Two suggests taking notes in this manner on a scrap piece of paper and then writing your journal entry from your scrap paper.
6. Read inspirational nature literature - fiction and non-fiction. We are currently reading Freckles by Gene Stratton Porter.
7. For you homeschoolers, take a day a week to focus on nature study. It covers science, art, writing and reading. Even if that is all you did that day, it would be a day well spent. Start when your kids are young. They will be much better prepared for high school biology when they have a first-hand knowledge of many of the flora and fauna that they will study later, not to mention that learning to care about the earth will help them become better stewards of it.
As I have said before, I have been amazed at how well the Kamana program melds with the philosophy laid down in Charlotte Mason's writings. And here's another quote to prove it:
"In Science, or rather, nature study, we attach great importance to recognition, believing that the power to recognize and name a plant or stone or constellations involves classification and includes a good deal of knowledge. To know a plant by its gesture and habitat, its time and its way of flowering and fruiting; a bird by its flight and song and its times of coming and going; to know when, year after year, you many come upon the restart and the pied fly-catcher, means a good deal of interested observations, ad of, at any rate, the material for science."
~from School Education
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Candace and Michael
My beautiful girl and her talented husband. Too bad I'm not allowed to link to one of his songs that they sent to us. Maybe someday. **You can click on the picture to enlarge.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
A Busy Two Weeks
It's hard to believe it's been 2 weeks since I last posted. A lot of activity has taken place in two weeks. We've had the MOPS meeting, dinner guests, a daughter admitted to the ER, my monthly library meeting, lunch guests, an overnight camping trip for the boys and Ford, out-of-town family come to visit, Hope's first voice lesson, a birthday party to attend, the cold crops put in the garden plus all of the other parts of life that are just normal routine! Whew! And I thought spring break was actually going to be a slow time. I'm not complaining though because with the exception of the ER visit, it's been a lot of fun. Although, there were several things we had to cancel like other dinner guests that we were really looking forward to having, a picnic at a park with some local homeschooled teens and their families and we had to turn down another dinner invitation with some people we have been really hoping to get to know better. It's a bummer when there is just not enough days in the week.
The MOPS meeting was great. Spending time with those ladies took me back in time and reminded me how much disciplining children was the most important thing back then. As I remembered taking 5 kids, 6 and under, to the grocery store, I recalled how important order and control was. I am currently re-reading some of the child training books that I read when I was a younger mom to see if I could recommend them again.
Priscilla gave us a little scare. She went to visit our doctor in order to look into why she was so tired. He sent her over to the lab at the hospital to get some blood work done. She passed out and the ladies who were with her apparently thought she had a seizure because that is the news we got. Turns out she did not have a seizure and all of the blood work came back fine. What worried me is she was absolutely wiped out. Even the next morning she could barely sit up to eat and hardly had the strength to cut her toast, which was quite a difference from before her "episode". She called the doctor again and he said he was fairly certain she had mono, even though the test was negative so far. So, she has had to lay off working and she spends a lot of time sleeping. Now we are wondering if that is what Grandma had recently when she had some of the same symptoms that lasted for 5 1/2 weeks. Pris is hoping with a doctor's note to get a leave of absence at work so she will still have her job when she is well.
I'm really getting addicted to time spent outdoors in the woods and fields. Even in the midst of all of this activity, I have still found some time to be outdoors. I dragged my poor cousin all over the place and she is used to flat land, not all of these crazy Tennessee hills! The thing that is intriguing me the most is the many sorts of holes I find all over the place. I keep wondering what made them all. I'm still pathetically unobservant though. Today, I was taking Abel to show him a cool animal den, walking along the route I had been on many times, and he showed me one I had never seen even though it had been right under my nose the whole time. The idea of animals surviving without any help from man has always fascinated me. Another current mystey that we are trying to solve is finding out which bird has a certain song, Annalise says it sounds like "tin-ker toy, tin-ker toy". The next time I hear it, I'm just going to have to drop everything and go stalking.
One more thing I just have to tell about is my weekly women's meeting. We recently decided to allow our daughters to be a part of the small group. We just got talking one night about our concerns with the whole youth culture and one thing led to another and before you knew it we were talking about having the girls meet with us each week so we could study the Bible and fellowship all together, without any segregational walls. And believe it or not, I was not the one who suggested it. Ok, I know you don't believe it, but it is true nevertheless. We've only had one meeting since then, but we had a great time. The girls all enjoyed it too. The great thing was that my girls enjoyed the mother of the woman who hosts the Bible study as much as the other young girls. I'm so excited about this weekly meeting and other fun things we are planning to do together.
The MOPS meeting was great. Spending time with those ladies took me back in time and reminded me how much disciplining children was the most important thing back then. As I remembered taking 5 kids, 6 and under, to the grocery store, I recalled how important order and control was. I am currently re-reading some of the child training books that I read when I was a younger mom to see if I could recommend them again.
Priscilla gave us a little scare. She went to visit our doctor in order to look into why she was so tired. He sent her over to the lab at the hospital to get some blood work done. She passed out and the ladies who were with her apparently thought she had a seizure because that is the news we got. Turns out she did not have a seizure and all of the blood work came back fine. What worried me is she was absolutely wiped out. Even the next morning she could barely sit up to eat and hardly had the strength to cut her toast, which was quite a difference from before her "episode". She called the doctor again and he said he was fairly certain she had mono, even though the test was negative so far. So, she has had to lay off working and she spends a lot of time sleeping. Now we are wondering if that is what Grandma had recently when she had some of the same symptoms that lasted for 5 1/2 weeks. Pris is hoping with a doctor's note to get a leave of absence at work so she will still have her job when she is well.
I'm really getting addicted to time spent outdoors in the woods and fields. Even in the midst of all of this activity, I have still found some time to be outdoors. I dragged my poor cousin all over the place and she is used to flat land, not all of these crazy Tennessee hills! The thing that is intriguing me the most is the many sorts of holes I find all over the place. I keep wondering what made them all. I'm still pathetically unobservant though. Today, I was taking Abel to show him a cool animal den, walking along the route I had been on many times, and he showed me one I had never seen even though it had been right under my nose the whole time. The idea of animals surviving without any help from man has always fascinated me. Another current mystey that we are trying to solve is finding out which bird has a certain song, Annalise says it sounds like "tin-ker toy, tin-ker toy". The next time I hear it, I'm just going to have to drop everything and go stalking.
One more thing I just have to tell about is my weekly women's meeting. We recently decided to allow our daughters to be a part of the small group. We just got talking one night about our concerns with the whole youth culture and one thing led to another and before you knew it we were talking about having the girls meet with us each week so we could study the Bible and fellowship all together, without any segregational walls. And believe it or not, I was not the one who suggested it. Ok, I know you don't believe it, but it is true nevertheless. We've only had one meeting since then, but we had a great time. The girls all enjoyed it too. The great thing was that my girls enjoyed the mother of the woman who hosts the Bible study as much as the other young girls. I'm so excited about this weekly meeting and other fun things we are planning to do together.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
A New Place to Serve
A new opportunity has come my way that I am so excited about. The MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) ministry which meets at our church is in need of a mentor. Last week I saw the request for a mom with older kids to be a mentor for this group and my heart leaped. I can't think of anything I would love more than a chance to encourage young moms who are in a culture that is at war with family values.
I came home and emailed the leader who had put the request out, told her a little about me and gave her a list of other women in the church she could talk to about me. We emailed back and forth and today I went to look for her after church. I had just turned and asked someone if they knew who she was so they could possibly point her out to me and she had just walked up and said she was who I was looking for. We talked for a bit and I'm going to their meeting this week to start finding out what I can do to help. So far I know they need someone to be there, to listen, to give godly advice, to sometimes speak and lead devotions. I can't wait!
I came home and emailed the leader who had put the request out, told her a little about me and gave her a list of other women in the church she could talk to about me. We emailed back and forth and today I went to look for her after church. I had just turned and asked someone if they knew who she was so they could possibly point her out to me and she had just walked up and said she was who I was looking for. We talked for a bit and I'm going to their meeting this week to start finding out what I can do to help. So far I know they need someone to be there, to listen, to give godly advice, to sometimes speak and lead devotions. I can't wait!
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