(or did it once and never again)....drilled phonics sounds. Sat with "first readers" and asked my child to sound out words. Done flash cards with math facts.
But each of my kids over age 10 just knows these things.
Not all the under 10s do. Not all the kids who know these things now knew them a couple years ago.
But they picked it up somehow. Where?
I didn't have any stress sitting next to them waiting for them to sound out a word. There were no power struggles over 9+7.
I never really even drilled multiplication facts. Yeah, sometimes we play doing drills and have little competitions, calling out facts. But it's not something we do daily.
They just seem to have figured it out.
Honestly, sometimes I think I'm doing things wrong when I read the way other homeschoolers do these types of things with their kids ages 5-10.
My kids are playing Lego, building in a sandbox, playing with their pet laying hens, playing dollies, watching TV and playing computer games.
But then I read posts on the homeschool forum where someone is frustrated with a power struggle with a younger child who "doesn't get it" or is "refusing" to perform on command. I read suggestions to "make" the child perform. And honestly?
I feel grieved. And I think, it doesn't seem right. It doesn't seem natural. Yet- I know I get frustrated with my kids too--- just this morning I raised my voice to emphasize how unhappy I was that their floor was covered with Lego when no-one is playing... and that the bathroom was an absolute disaster area. I told them I wanted them to each copy the Bathroom Rules poster.
Then I went back to MY activity and smiled seeing them in my peripheral vision, cleaning their bathroom and bedroom.....
And my 12yo just brought me the Bathroom Rules poster and showed me the first few lines he's copied and asked if it was OK if he copied it that way---
in what appears to be Elvish Runes.
:giggle:
"Sure, if you can read it."
I sat down to type this and through my window can hear happy childish sounds on the back porch.
Throughout all this, my teen has been at the table doing his high school work. It's all loaded on Home School Tracker Plus, he just opens HST+ and checks his agenda, does the work and emails it to me, and marks it "done" on the agenda. Then he does the Teen homeschool forum some.
He knows all his multiplication tables. And his Algebra 2, personal finance, and all the math he needs to do his Physics. He knows how to sound out pretty much any word, but he also knows how to look it up at Dictionary.com to see the pronunciation. In fact, he knows how to find the answer to anything he questions.
Einstein is said to have said, it's a waste of brainpower to memorize anything one can look up. I still recommend the books, Einstein Never Used Flashcards, Hard Times in Paradise, and Better Late than Early (see widget in sidebar).
Imagine-- an inspiration from the blog, 22.
Today's inspiration is from the blog, 22 words and from my personal journey.
Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
no hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...
[John Lennon, 1971]
Why did John Lennon pen these words? He was a hurting person in a lost and dying world. Why is the world lost and dying? Because the Redeemer tarries out of mercy.
Mercy? We want it NOW. But He tarries for our mercy? Making us wait is mercy?
There are still hurting people out there in this lost and dying world who have not met the Redeemer. It is a mercy for Him to wait until these have the chance to hear and respond.
And sometimes instead of working to bless others with the Reality of the Redeemer, religious people work on religion. Paul answers that, in Romans. When Paul was writing, the religious people were the converted Jews who wanted everyone to perfect the Jewish laws- Jesus was a Jew and never sinned, so presumably He kept all the Jewish laws (except of course, in the gospels there are examples of Jewish laws He broke... a tiny detail to the ones who loved the law, I suppose). Paul expresses to us the folly of religion:
1-3Believe me, friends, all I want for Israel is what's best for Israel: salvation, nothing less. I want it with all my heart and pray to God for it all the time. I readily admit that the Jews are impressively energetic regarding God—but they are doing everything exactly backward. They don't seem to realize that this comprehensive setting-things-right that is salvation is God's business, and a most flourishing business it is. Right across the street they set up their own salvation shops and noisily hawk their wares. After all these years of refusing to really deal with God on his terms, insisting instead on making their own deals, they have nothing to show for it.
4-10The earlier revelation was intended simply to get us ready for the Messiah, who then puts everything right for those who trust him to do it. Moses wrote that anyone who insists on using the law code to live right before God soon discovers it's not so easy—every detail of life regulated by fine print! But trusting God to shape the right living in us is a different story— no precarious climb up to heaven to recruit the Messiah, no dangerous descent into hell to rescue the Messiah. So what exactly was Moses saying?
The word that saves is right here,
as near as the tongue in your mouth,
as close as the heart in your chest.
It's the word of faith that welcomes God to go to work and set things right for us. This is the core of our preaching. Say the welcoming word to God—"Jesus is my Master"—embracing, body and soul, God's work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead. That's it. You're not "doing" anything; you're simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That's salvation. With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: "God has set everything right between him and me!"
11-13Scripture reassures us, "No one who trusts God like this—heart and soul—will ever regret it." It's exactly the same no matter what a person's religious background may be: the same God for all of us, acting the same incredibly generous way to everyone who calls out for help. "Everyone who calls, 'Help, God!' gets help."
14-17But how can people call for help if they don't know who to trust? And how can they know who to trust if they haven't heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them? And how is anyone going to tell them, unless someone is sent to do it? That's why Scripture exclaims,
A sight to take your breath away!
Grand processions of people
telling all the good things of God!
But not everybody is ready for this, ready to see and hear and act. Isaiah asked what we all ask at one time or another: "Does anyone care, God? Is anyone listening and believing a word of it?" The point is: Before you trust, you have to listen. But unless Christ's Word is preached, there's nothing to listen to.
18-21But haven't there been plenty of opportunities for Israel to listen and understand what's going on? Plenty, I'd say.
Preachers' voices have gone 'round the world,
Their message to earth's seven seas.
So the big question is, Why didn't Israel understand that she had no corner on this message? Moses had it right when he predicted,
When you see God reach out to those
you consider your inferiors—outsiders!—
you'll become insanely jealous.
When you see God reach out to people
you think are religiously stupid,
you'll throw temper tantrums.
Isaiah dared to speak out these words of God:
People found and welcomed me
who never so much as looked for me.
And I found and welcomed people
who had never even asked about me.
Then he capped it with a damning indictment:
Day after day after day,
I beckoned Israel with open arms,
And got nothing for my trouble
but cold shoulders and icy stares. (Romans 10, The Message)
Whiskey Wednesday
So there is Works for Me Wednesday and Waste Not Wednesday. But what if we had something called Whiskey Wednesday? Pour a little mountain moonshine (or not, that's ok, you can use your imagination) and listen to this:
She's still blogging
Ever feel like you are so busy with real life that you can't think of what to write about in a blog?
I haven't even been reading half the blogs I try to keep up with. I've been learning more about blogging, and helping Jeff with his blog. And I'm learning HomeSchoolTracker Plus and getting my teen going on his home schooling. The rest of the kids are thriving with unschooling, making mostly wise choices of their time. My 7th grader has been designing with Google Sketch-Up. Wait, that's SO last week. This week, he's exploring with Paint. In addition, he's been reading about the Reconstruction period and Westward Expansion. My younger kids have been playing Oregon Trail, reading the history book basket books and every other book they can get their hands on. They all keep up with their math workbooks on their own paces.... Okay, I gotta go back to work~ what are y'all up to? How is your school year going?
I haven't even been reading half the blogs I try to keep up with. I've been learning more about blogging, and helping Jeff with his blog. And I'm learning HomeSchoolTracker Plus and getting my teen going on his home schooling. The rest of the kids are thriving with unschooling, making mostly wise choices of their time. My 7th grader has been designing with Google Sketch-Up. Wait, that's SO last week. This week, he's exploring with Paint. In addition, he's been reading about the Reconstruction period and Westward Expansion. My younger kids have been playing Oregon Trail, reading the history book basket books and every other book they can get their hands on. They all keep up with their math workbooks on their own paces.... Okay, I gotta go back to work~ what are y'all up to? How is your school year going?
repost from my dh's blog:God’s Work in Atlanta
(from MediaArtsDad.com)Amy and I had a very encouraging time in Atlanta this last weekend and met some incredible folks. I wanted to give a shout out to these ministries and people and thank them again for their encouragement and their faithfulness in serving Jesus where they have been called.
First, a big thank you to Nate Ledbetter for sharing some time with us, showing us what they are doing at MetroMerge and FCS Urban ministries and giving us a glimpse of his heart for the people in South Atlanta. We were introduced to Nate by Christie Norwood, who it was also a pleasure to meet and get to know a little. Christie works with Charis Community Housing, which is another one of FCS Urban ministries outreaches into that neighborhood. The whole FCS Urban family of ministries is doing some great work, reaching out to people and ministering to people on many different levels in many different ways. Very encouraging and I would encourage you to take a few minutes and explore their websites.
Second, a big shout out to Anthony Carter and East Point Church. An amazing church plant intentionally reaching out into the neighborhood in an area where most of the big established churches are slowly dying, it was a breath of fresh air to get to fellowship, worship and break bread together as brothers and sisters in Christ.
We had a good time of seeking the Lord’s will for us, talking about and planning the future for our family and some good time in prayer. We skipped most of the “attractions”, but spent our time exploring the city by rail, bus and on foot, learning about the people, neighborhoods, history and what is happening now. And yes, we did a LOT of walking – through neighborhoods, down “main streets” and through various places in the city. We met quite a few people, often with just a friendly “hello”, but others we stopped and talked to for a while.
We also fell in love with Joe’s coffee house (their site is not currently up, but here) in East Atlanta Village. We kept finding ourselves ending up there for coffee or other drink and to rest and talk – even if we were on the other side of Atlanta when we decided we needed coffee!
It's still Monday, by the way.
Labor Day is past, and in the U. S. that means it's now, for everyone, time for school (if you haven't started already). The archaic school calendar that runs roughly September to June, or August to May in some locales, makes very little sense in today's modern world, but there you have it. If you aren't in school yet, why not? Put away your flip flops, pull on your big girl panties and get back with the program.
And quit blaming Monday!
(And that was my big motivational speech.)
And quit blaming Monday!
(And that was my big motivational speech.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
