Books Alive!

I once cut out a comic that has a tiny little pastor sitting behind a small desk that has a looming book case behind it, towering above the pastor and the small lady he is talking to. We can only guess what she said, but he says,

“Books are not things of this world.” [Amen!]

Because of my love for books, I guess it was a no-brainer that when I got more experienced as a homeschool mom I branched out into literature unit studies with my kids. The year I did this the kids were in 9th, 7th, 5th and 1st grades, with a 3 year old thrown in for good measure! We did a study of animation and read biographies of Walt Disney and Bill Peet—and did some animation besides. We did a Robert Louis Stevenson study and read his biography and a few of his books—anyone for buried treasure? And we did a few other equally intriguing studies as well. WE all loved learning with living books!

But the planning about killed me. So, the following year it was back to textbooks. A few years later I discovered a curriculum that was literature based AND had daily lesson plans. Amazing! I mean, I literally wept for joy. And that started my love affair with Sonlight Curriculum.

There are a lot more literature based curricula out in the market place now, and people ask me all the time why Sonlight is better or how it is different. I am not an expert on all curricula, but I can tell you how Sonlight is unique.

~Reading Great Books inspires children to do their own hands on activities such as drawings, writings, making pyramids out of sugar cubes and constructing beaver dams out of sticks and mud and so on. After reading a book on Samuel Morse my kids actually made a working telegraph system that ran between their bedrooms! I stayed out of their way and was called upstairs to stand in amazement when they sent messages the 40 feet-from one end of their attic bedrooms to the other.

Many curricula have plans for moms to spend lots of time and money preparing coordinating hands on activities. And some people like that. But I believe we just need to provide a learning-rich environment and great books—that's all you need. The kids will take it from there.

~Sonlight's goal [and my personal goal] is that of creating Ambassadors for Christ that are equipped to reach THIS generation. With Sonlight's broad base of books and their detailed IG teacher notes, children are taught to "Seek first to understand, then to be understood."

I know with the well rounded education they get from Sonlight that our children have been prepared to go to a our state universities, sit with people of varying backgrounds; not be judgmental, but seek to understand where the person is coming from, then show Christ's love to that person--as an Ambassador.

I found many curricula try to advance their own agenda, but with Sonlight the information is given to you and then it is up to you to interpret it to your kids. The study notes constantly remind us to measure what this person or nation did by looking to God's word. The notes are very balanced and lead kids to learn how to think critically and not to believe something just because it is in a book.

~And, I think the thing that makes Sonlight head and shoulders above any other curriculum is the Instructor's Guides [IG]! If you are convinced that the literature approach is the way you want to go, look at Sonlight’s Instructor's Guides. They are amazing--and another benefit, you can get all the books from Sonlight so there are no fruitless trips to the library and/or the book store. The editions match the IG right down to the paragraph and page number. The IGs save you so much time, and are so complete, they are unparalleled.

And that is why if you love books, love creativity and want to raise ambassadors for Christ who can think critically, Sonlight is the perfect curriculum.

Take care,

Jill

[Pictures, top to bottom: A picture of the kids the year I wrote my own unit studies-here we are at Gettysburg; the other two pictures are ones I like of the older boys reading to the younger kids.]

Tiny Libraries...

I read this very intriguing article in USA today a couple of weeks ago that I thought you might be interested in.

Tiny Libraries Have People Thinking and Reading Outside the Box.

This is such a neat idea--individuals are making little boxes, like a big mail box, and turning them into free libraries. They work on the premise of  "Take a book, leave a book," says Todd Bol the founder of the Little Free Library movement.

This idea has taken off and Little Free Libraries can be found across the world, spreading the love of literature far and wide. some of these little libraries with just a handful of books have a great turn over. In Madison, Wisconsin Jenna Hansen has a Little Free Library in her front yard. In the past year and a half she says that "literally thousands of books have been in and out of here."

I love this idea. We have a neat library system in our small town where books from the county library are delivered to our local "Library in a Box" which is like a block of 30 lockers. We can go online and chose our books and they are delivered to the box. We get a call when the books are delivered. then we punch in a code at the box, the door opens and we get our books and go home. It is a great system and I have increased my library usage considerably since it was set up a couple of years ago.

But, maybe you live in a place where a Little Free Library would be practical? Would you like to be a Little Librarian? You can go to Little Free Library to find out more information. I actually have a limited number of children's books and would be happy to donate a couple to get you started.

Take care,
Jill

Banned Words in Lit Books, History Books and Standardized Tests--The Language Police Part 3

I finished reading "The Language Police" by Diane Ravitch yesterday and I am still reeling from what I have read in this book.  For post 1 and 2, please click on the numbers.

You would not believe that left wing and right wing pressure groups put so much pressure on the state text book people [who approve what text books to use] that text book publishers--[there are four major ones, only one a US owned company] have to be very careful they don't say anything to rile any group. Since Texas and California are HUGE textbooks suppliers and the schools can only used texts approved by the state oversight committee, they drive what is allowed in standardized tests and texts.

As I finished reading the book last night I came to Appendix 1 and was alternatively mad, shaking my head, reading parts out loud to Bob and actually laughing. So, for your enjoyment or for making you mad, here are some of the banned words, phrases and photos from actual state adoption committees. I have no idea how a contributing editor to a text book can even write anything that passes...

~Starting out with the first entry...

• Able-bodied (banned as offensive, replace with person who is non-disabled]
• Adam and Eve (replace with Eve and Adam to demonstrate that males do not take priority over females)
• Lumberjack (replace with woodcutter) [My comment: Are they the same thing? When I say woodcutter does that conjure up images of flannel, men with cross cut saws and floating logs down a river? Not even close in my opinion, and many of the banned words do the same thing. They take away images, smells and so much richness.]
• Birdman (banned as sexist, replace with ornithologist) [My comment--some guy on a roof with pigeons is not necessarily an ornithologist, is he?]
• Pop and Soda (regional term, may confuse child, say name brand); [My comment: The interesting thing is California bans name brands so I guess they say carbonated beverage? And that is less confusing than pop or soda?]
• Courageous (Banned as patronizing when referring to a person with disabilities.]
• Craftmanship (Banned as sexist, no replacement.)
• Cro-magnon man (Banned as sexist)
• Devil,/Satan 
• God
• East, Eastern (banned as Eurocentric when used to discuss world geography; refer to specific continent or region instead)
• Fairy (Banned because it suggests homosexuality, replace with elf) [My comment: Elves and Fairies are not the same things, and I think Fairies would not do well at making toys with Santa.]
• Fellowship (banned as sexist, replace as friendship. [My comment: Friendship of the Ring??? I don't think so!]
• Freshman (banned as sexist, use first-year student.)
• He/She/Him/ Her
• Jungle (banned, replace with rain forest, savannah)
• Man (banned as a sexist verb, as in man the pumps.)
• Middle East ( banned as Eurocentric, replace with South-west Asia--May be acceptable as a historical reference)
• Papoose (banned as demeaning to Native Americans-[My comment-but in a history book?]
• Mothering (banned as sexist, replace with nurturing, parenting)
• All Native American Tribes such as Navajo, use names they call them selves, such as Dine
• Old (banned as an adjective that implies helplessness, dependency, or other negative conceptions)
• Snowball (Banned for regional bias, replace with flavored ice. [My comment: did you ever throw flavored ice at someone on a cold day? Have a flavored ice fight?]
• Tomboy [sexist]
• Workmanship (banned as sexist, no replacement)
• Huts (banned as ethnocentric, replace with small houses [My comment: Really? Are those the same things?]

I could go on. "Balance names like Mary and John with Jose, Lashunda, Che and Ling. Do not compare humans with animals such as "eyes like a doe". Images to avoid: Women in jobs less powerful than men, women or men in stereotypical jobs such as women teachers and male doctors; Men and boy heavier and larger than women and girls; Mother comforting children, giving sympathy, hugs, kisses, hot milk at bedtime, girls playing in dresses,  Japanese people as law abiding {?}, older people who are cute, grumpy, meek, bitter, hard of hearing, rocking in chairs, baking, fishing, knitting whittling, etc.

I think you get the idea.

It makes me sad for all the children who have been educated over the past 25+ years with many/most of these bannings in place. In my opinion this is why it is so important that children are read and read for themselves real books, real literature.

Mario Vargas Llosa (novelist) has said literature offers a common denominator for understand human experience; it allows human beings to recognize one another across time and space...Nothing better protects a human being against the stupidity of prejudice, racism, religious or political sectarianism, and exclusivist nationalism than learning about other cultures and times through great literature.

Ravitch says, "Great literature does not comfort us; it does not make us feel better about ourselves. It is not written to enhance our self-esteem or to make us feel that we are "included" in the story. It takes us into its own world and creates its own reality. It shakes us up; it makes us think. Sometimes it makes us cry."

I will close for now, but I urge you if this sparks your interest at all, please get "The Language Police" and as always read to your kids. There is nothing better you can do than to share great literature with your children. If you don't know what to read, shoot me an email and I will be glad to help you.

Take care,
Jill

See other posts by going here:

See post 1 here
See post 2 here.  
See Post 3 here.

All Chocolate Chip Cookies are not the same!

I made some awesome chocolate chip cookies last week. The recipe called for roasting pecans for 10-15 minutes, then putting a bit of butter and salt on them, then grinding them up in a food processor and using this mix to replace some of the flour.

I used real butter, real vanilla, farm fresh eggs, real dark chocolate chunks and mixed the batter oh so gingerly so the cookies would be a melt-in-your-mouth delicacy. I scooped out rounded masses of the buttery mix, baked them on parchment paper for exactly 12 minutes and slid them on to waiting cookie racks. Can you see the delicately browned cookies? Can you smell the buttery, nutty chocolatey morsels? They are crisp on the outside and gooey and rich in the inside. Oh, my...heaven in my mouth. [recipe here]
Now, contrast that with a bag of Chips-Ahoy. I mean, they are both cookies, they both have chocolate chips, they both are round--but what exactly is partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil and artificial flavoring? They are not gooey, they are do not melt in your mouth, but in a pinch they will do and when you have a hankering for a cookie, they are not too bad.

So, when I was thinking about cookies, it made me think of curriculum. When you teach your kids by reading them great literature and exposing them to ideas and thoughts contained in literature, it is like the homemade chocolate chip cookie. It is pleasing and satisfying. Kids want more--they want to dig deeper, they enjoy the experience and learn an incredible amount as they go along. Learning through literature appeals to old and young, rich and poor, eager learners and slower learners. We can learn so much through stories--we can be transported across time and space and can experience more than we could possibly experience in our own lifetime. It is rewarding and satisfying.


But, when you learn through text books, it is kind of like a store-bought cookie. It is kind of the same--but it is not really the same at all. Textbooks take a bunch of great history or science and pre-digest it in a sort of "readers-digest" format so you get the gist, but none of the passion. Incredible events such as the explosion of the space shuttle are brieffly covered, a date given, and then the article ends with something like "but even though this launch was not successful, the space program learned from their mistakes so future launches were much safer."

UGH! Where is the passion? Where is the mourning? What is the point of the event? It leaves one wondering why they bothered to even read this book and how many pages more are assigned. Kind of like wondering why you are wasting your calories on a Chips Ahoy, when you could eat a Mrs. Fields cookie. There is just no flavor, no satisfaction-- no character at all to the cookie or the text.

Whether you are homeschooling or your kids are in a traditional school--please read to them. Read them books with passion and excitement. Introduce your kids to your heroes or read classic literature to them. If you don't know where to start, ask me, ask your librarian, ask an English teacher or get a Sonlight catalog and use it for a reading list. Use this summer to ignite your child's interest and imagination and to strengthen family bonds and have true quality and quantity time with them. Read to them and maybe whip up a batch of cookies too! It couldn't hurt!

Take care,
Jill

Recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Homeschool? Me? I don't know everything...

And some mornings I wonder if I know anything at all.

I hear this question a lot:

"How can I homeschool, I don't know everything? I am not a teacher."

I want to ask you, “Does anyone know everything?” I mean, I probably know a lot of stuff you don’t know, and you probably know a lot of stuff I don’t know, and yet we are functioning adults and do quite well.

We do not need to know everything in order to teach our children. We can learn right along with them. And, we really do not need to teach them everything they need to know by the time they are 18. Haven’t you learned a LOT since you were 18? I bet you thought you knew a lot when you were that age and now you realize how little you knew then. More frightening yet, is how little you know now. It seems like the more we learn, the more we realize we don't know. But, maybe that is a discussion for another day.

Take heart! Teachers don’t know everything either. Doctors, lawyers, rocket scientists—they don’t know everything either. In fact, and this is the honest truth, I talked to a rocket scientist last year. She and her rocket scientist husband were going to homeschool their five year old so she called me for advice.

I was mentioning how she could teach using literature and how effective that can be. She didn’t know she should be reading aloud to their children! I mean can you believe that? Here is a rocket scientist, someone who we think should know it all, or at least know a LOT, and I was giving her advice about reading aloud to her children in order to develop language skills, family closeness and to transfer core beliefs. She didn't know that. She learned something new that day and so did I.

No one knows everything.

Also, if you really get stumped, help is pretty close. I have found that there are people in my community that can help if chemistry or calculus is more than you can teach. There are community college classes that students as young as 14-15 can take. There are co-ops and other opportunities—tutors if you need them and the amount of help you can get on line or with DVD's and the like is staggering.

Maybe one of the best lessons your children will learn is that "we are not quitters" and "you're never too old to learn something new." I think if our kids see that someone as ancient as mom or dad can tackle Algebra 2 for the first time, surely they can do anything they set their minds to.

You don’t need to know everything. What you need is a strong desire to enable your child to learn as much as he can in the time you have him home. You can help him pursue his desires and encourage him as he struggles though something that does not come easy. You can learn Calculus along with him if you need to, or have him take it away from home.

Homeschooling does not mean that you know everything or that you have to teach everything. I loved it when my kids would say, “You didn’t know that, did you Mom?” And I didn’t. We learned it together.

What a blessing, to learn along side of your children.

Sometimes you teach, sometimes you learn, sometimes you tutor or mentor and sometimes you bring in outside help.

You can do it. You can homeschool. Take the first step now and don’t worry about chemistry labs and foreign language. You can worry about that when the time comes. And when the time comes you will be surprised how many different ways there are to accomplish an incredible high school education without going to a traditional school. You can do it-I know you can.

Take care,

Jill

[Photos: High school student Cris with book written and illustrated by Cris; Chad and Dusty in middle school working on school work, Scotty learning outdoor cooking.]