Archive for March, 2005
Begin at the beginning
Author: principledmom
1) to implant the Christian idea of man and government, based on theimportance of individual character and internal government2)to inspire productivity and encourage diligence3) to gain freedom from pagan thinking and instill biblical reasoning4) to claim my heritage of the American Christian Republic and to take my place on the chain of Christianity, furthering the Gospel
There are weekly definitions and volumes of 4-R'ing to be done and I'm glad they label them in the margins for me to get in the habit.The questions are challenging. This week I am beginning at the beginning, dealing with the questions Noah Webster, the Father of American Education, says are critical to know before I can perform any rational reasoning. He says
Now reasoning, unaided by revelation, cannot answer these questions. The
experience of the Pagan world has long since proven this point. Revelation alone
furnishes satisfactory information on these subjects....In all that regards
faith and practice, the scriptures furnish the principles, precepts and rules by
which you are to be guided....all rational hope of future happiness depends on
an exact conformity of conduct to the commands of God revealed in the sacred
oracles.
Why was I made?
What is my duty?
P.s. If you have FACE's hist/geog curriculum guide you can use the 8th grade rudiments outline as a guide. It's really very helpful. Or you can go by the outline in Rose's A Guide to American Christian Education.
read comments (0)The most excellent way
Author: principledmom
In my quiet time with the Lord a year or so ago I felt that this is the passage I was to stand on as a home educating mom.
2:1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with
thee;
Pro 2:2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart
to understanding;
Pro 2:3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for
understanding;
Pro 2:4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid
treasures;
Pro 2:5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the
knowledge of God.
Pro 2:6 For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and
understanding.
Pro 2:7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to
them that walk uprightly.
Pro 2:8 He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his
saints.
Pro 2:9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity;
yea, every good path.
I receive so much from this passage. I love the picture it gives of searching and digging for wisdom. You must really pursue it. You must be diligent and toil and desire it desperately. Then wisdom is found and two things happen: one, you appreciate it because you worked so hard for it, and two, you pleased the Lord by following His Scripture. I want that to be said of me--that I pursued God's wisdom with passion and persistence.
I don't mean man's wisdom or earthly knowledge. I mean the wisdom the comes from seeking God and His Word. When you seek God's wisdom then the earthly wisdom will come too. I want make sure that I'm not spending all my time preapring my children with education and not enough time sitting with them at the feet of the Master. I received a wonderful quote from R.C. Sproul today.
Once again we need to get back to the standard. Can you teach your children the Bible? If the answer is yes, you are ready to homeschool. If the answer is no, then you must devote every moment you have to becoming trained to teach your children the Bible,... If you don't know the Bible, learn the Bible.
Lord, help me teach my children to know You, to love You, to know Your voice better than they know my own. Help me to teach them the most excellent way--the way of the Saviour.
Biblical principles of mathematics
Author: principledmom
Mathematics is one of my favorite subjects to discover using the Biblical Principle Approach to education. It reveals God's character and nature in such an understandable way. God uses the language of math to give us insight into who He is. Math is infinite. It is orderly. It is predictable. It is universal and unchangeable. It is so easy for me to see God's image in math.
One more thing I want to highlight. On p.239-240 of James Rose's book, A Guide to American Christian Education, the author discusses the "Principle for Solving Problems." In Isaiah 33:22, God reveals Himself as judge, lawgiver and king. (This triune principle is repeated many times--in the Trinity, in our civil government, in our homes.) This applies to mathematics as planning, application and checking. These steps apply to any problem at any time. When Princess G understands this she can solve any problem because she understands the principle behind it.
This is but one example of the difference between PA and other Christian forms of education. We don't just stick a Scripture on it and call it "Christian education." PA seeks out the foundational principle behind the subject and glorifies God in everything. It is not a method, it is a philosophy of government, and hence, of education. For more information read here. And check out Lisa's thoughts on this subject.
Abigail and arithmetic
Author: principledmom
We are full steam ahead in our study of Abigail. As we go through the book we are gleaning principles and learning about colonial life and character. The principle we are highlighting is America's Heritage of Christian Character. And she's not short on godly character. What a wonderful example of godly womanhood!
What I like about this book is that it starts with her childhood (in the first person) and Princess G can really relate to her. She has enjoyed learning about life as a colonial child (see the hornbook picture below). And of course we enjoy hearing about her family's faith.
Abigail had a dilemma that we can all relate to--keeping a promise that she should not have made. It created a teachable moment to discuss what Princess G would do and what God's Word says about that. And G really enjoys predicting what will happen next. As we go through the book we make notes on character, setting, plot, theme and style. We also color pages and other things to add to our notebook.
In arithmetic I introduced Roman numerals with the principle that math reveals the nature of God. It is universal and unchangeable. And all people everywhere have mathematics. It is a dependable link to our past. The principles that govern math have been the same since time began. So it doesn't matter what character you use to represent the concept of five; it is always the same. We played with numbers and had fun discovering the answers.
This week we will continue Abigail and continue our review of multiplication tables. We have a cassette tape with the facts 1x1 to 10x10 set to music. The repetitive raps are driving me CRAZY in the car but she's learning them, so we listen (and listen, and listen...).
My BPA top ten
Author: principledmom
I have my favorites, aside from the fundamentals (Bible, Red Books, Rudiments Handbook and 1828 dictionary). There are things I think no PA homeschooler should be without. Of course it was hard to narrow it to just ten!
- Dr. Rose's A Guide to American Christian Education--can't say enough about how great it is. It helps me plan my lessons, gives me source suggestions and encouragement from other homeschool parents.
- The New England Primer--amazing little (really!) reprint filled with wonderful materials. Included are prayers, Bible questions (that would stump most parents!), catechisms and alphabet scriptures. Even small children can memorize the alphabet this way.
- The Book of Life--volumes that expand the scriptures and give great details.
- Intrepid Books--wonderful American Christian History series that expands the 7 principles each year
- Ray's Mathematics--my favorite mathematics curriculum
- Encyclopedia of Bible Truths (4 volumes)--provides hundreds of scriptures on every topic you can think of. This helps me focus on presenting the topic and not so much on trying to find the right foundational scripture.
- Isaac Watts' Divine and Moral Songs for Children--get the tape and the book. The poetry and the melody are invaluable. The moral themes teach children not to fight, to choose Christ and to share, along with many other concepts.
- Blue Backed Speller--Noah Webster's speller for elementary children
- Arnold Guyot's Physical Geography--Christian view of geography beautifully written and illustrated. ACHI also offers a helpful set of map outlines for mapwork. These are very helpful.
- McGuffey Readers--reprints of the 1800's series. Excellent readers with beautiful etchings.
With these selections you can teach all the subjects with excellence. I could add more but I tried to keep it to ten. And I didn't mention all the great literature because that would take too much room. What are your must-haves for elementary kids?