tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79619189916315581992024-03-05T03:41:03.875-05:00Cornerstone Home LearningWe've been learning at home for fifteen years. <br>Our children learning at home are 14 and 16. <br>Our two oldest children have graduated from their homeschool years and are now in college.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger698125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7961918991631558199.post-63961553031814077722016-08-27T21:21:00.006-04:002016-08-27T21:22:30.742-04:00Dyslexia Resources That Helped Us<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I have two dyslexic children. We didn't realize the older one was dyslexic until high school, but for my youngest I was much more aware and began working with her sooner. Neither has been formally diagnosed.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">1 - Reading Reflex</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I have a friend who is a reading specialist trained in Orton-Gillingham and she recommended Reading Reflex which was so valuable for us. My daughter was about 9 when we first used Reading Reflex. This is a really affordable and practical solution for moms wondering what to do. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Reading-Reflex-Foolproof-Phono-Graphix-Teaching/dp/0684853671/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li2&tag=homeschoolcho-20&linkId=f52d2c5ba17a0afd7a2530650d3645b2" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0684853671&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=homeschoolcho-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=homeschoolcho-20&l=li2&o=1&a=0684853671" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">2 - Dyslexia Tool Kit</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> After we spent a couple years on Reading Reflex, I searched for another practical help for her to focus on reading fluency and I found The Dyslexia Tool Kit which contains 24 tools that can be implemented separately or in conjunction with others. We didn't use all of the techniques, but the ones we chose really helped her greatly.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Dyslexia-Tool-Kit-Tutors-Parents/dp/1477649220/ref=as_li_ss_il?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1472132839&sr=1-6&keywords=dyslexia&_encoding=UTF8&linkCode=li2&tag=homeschoolcho-20&linkId=63e7a07a81653852f9037c438c89e0f3" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1477649220&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=homeschoolcho-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=homeschoolcho-20&l=li2&o=1&a=1477649220" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 16.08px;"><b>3 - Short Cuts to Long Words</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; line-height: 16.08px;">She is now 14 and last year (8th grade), I wanted to focus on being able to decode long words. I found this resource - Short Cuts to Long Words by Nancy Lewkowicz - and ordered it sight-unseen. It has really helpful. The website gives an overview of the method. Looking back at the website now, I see there is a higher level of this method that I may order for her this year. </span><a class="" dir="ltr" href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thewordworkshop.com%2Fworkbks.html&h=tAQE9Eetd" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #365899; cursor: pointer; line-height: 16.08px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.thewordworkshop.com/workbks.html</a></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 16.08px;"><b> 4 - Colored Overlays</b></span><br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; line-height: 16.08px;"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Another tip that really helped my oldest son was colored overlays. He found that using a blue overlay on a white page really helped him to read better. Other dyslexics find success with different colors. I first heard of this when I was teaching school</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">. Irlen is the company that did the initial work with colored overlays, but they are expensive. At first I used colored overhead transparencies, but later I found a company at a homeschool conference that was selling colored overlay rulers. (I can't remember which company since it's been a few years now.) These are similar, although ours are in varying widths.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Reading-Highlighter-Overlays-InPrimeTime-Exclusive/dp/B01DFINTBA/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&qid=1472133929&sr=8-1&keywords=colored+overlay&_encoding=UTF8&linkCode=li2&tag=homeschoolcho-20&linkId=54e2c1526774613070069e275ef77572" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B01DFINTBA&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=homeschoolcho-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=homeschoolcho-20&l=li2&o=1&a=B01DFINTBA" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://signatures.mylivesignature.com/85727/lisaquing/54159b0c3897f7e4e04ad1bb72f77f57.png" /></a></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7961918991631558199.post-42028537598006361512016-07-06T06:00:00.000-04:002016-07-06T06:00:10.888-04:00Convention Season: In Which I Want To See Through a Child's Eyes (or Go Buy All the Books!)<h2>
<i>G.K. Chesterton and the Metaphysics of Amazement - Martin Cothran</i> </h2>
First off, who is G.K. Chesterton? According to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._K._Chesterton" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a>, Chesterton was "an English writer, poet, philosopher, dramatist, journalist, orator, lay theologian, biographer, and literary and art critic. Chesterton is often referred to as the "prince of paradox." Time magazine has observed of his writing style: "Whenever possible Chesterton made his points with popular sayings, proverbs, allegories—first carefully turning them inside out."<br />
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His name keeps coming up. Seems like everywhere I turn, someone is quoting Chesterton. So, this seminar caught my eye. I went to a seminar on Chesterton last year too. <a href="https://www.circeinstitute.org/board-speaker/martin-cothran" target="_blank">Martin Cothran</a> is an author and teacher who often speaks about classical education at this homeschooling conference.<br />
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<a href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/da/1a/2d/da1a2d40f37fa8b9fc03cb6154344835.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="309" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/da/1a/2d/da1a2d40f37fa8b9fc03cb6154344835.jpg" width="400" /></a>These notes are rather disjointed for two reasons. First, it was the last seminar on the last day of a three day conference so we were all rather mentally spent. Second, Cothran went at a breakneck speed through his information and I only got bits and pieces. The seminar was very eye-opening and I received glimmers of understanding throughout. If you want the whole talk, you can download it <a href="https://www.circeinstitute.org/store/2015-national-conference-downloads/martin-cothran-gk-chesterton-and-metaphysics-amazement" target="_blank">here </a>for $3.00.<br />
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Look at the world through a child's eyes again as a parent and one last time as a grandparent.<br />
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"The Ethics of Elfland" in <i>Orthodoxy </i>by G.K. Chesterton is the greatest chapter in the greatest book.<br />
From that chapter: <i>we all like astonishing tales because they touch the nerve of the <b>ancient instinct of astonishment</b>.</i><br />
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We are doubly handicapped now.<br />
1 - We are adults.<br />
2 - We are modern adults.<br />
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We have lost the idea that things MEAN something.<br />
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Existentialism was first seen after World War I in Europe, when the world had been torn apart physically, psychologically, and philosophically. Sartre. Camus.<br />
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Existentialists are half-right. If God does not exist, there is no meaning.<br />
<img height="216" src="https://ahs2014grendelproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/calvin3.jpg" width="640" /><br />
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Modernists/new atheists believe in the "soft" Christian values (heresy) but subtract God.<br />
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Now it is the religion of science - "scientism."<br />
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Three Aspects of Any Religion<br />
1 - Creed (set of beliefs)<br />
2 - Code or methodology (moral principles)<br />
3 - Cultic motivation<br />
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Yes, scientism is a religion.<br />
1 - Its creed is materialism.<br />
2 - Its code is the scientific method.<br />
3 - Its cultic motivation is a society with all physical questions answered.<br />
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Camus wonders why we don't commit suicide. Max Weber wrote of "the disenchantment of the world."<br />
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"Why" questions cannot be answered through science. They are only remedied by finding a purpose in life. Viktor Frankl wrote of "the importance of finding meaning in all forms of existence, even the most brutal ones, and thus, a reason to continue living." (Wikipedia)<br />
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Most children's literature takes place in the country because things have an inherent purpose in the country. (The idea of wonder) Nihilistic children's literature takes place in the city. Artificial things don't have an inherent purpose.<br />
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Lewis Carroll contrasted with Edward Lear by Chesterton<br />
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Turning reality upside down to mimic seeing it for the first time. But no, Chesterton says, you're seeing it AS IT REALLY IS. You've just forgotten. It removes the scales from our eyes,<br />
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The way back is through children's literature.<br />
<a href="http://www.mamalisa.com/images/mother_goose/heydiddlediddle_national.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.mamalisa.com/images/mother_goose/heydiddlediddle_national.gif" height="400" width="268" /></a><br />
There are things we will never know. Why the order of the world is like it is. A description is an explanation but does not answer the 'why'.<br />
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Favorite poem? <i>Hey Diddle Diddle.</i> Why is it magical?<br />
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<i>Anna Karenina</i> and <i>War and Peace</i> are the greatest novels EVER!<br />
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The English body of children's lit is unlike anything previous or anywhere else.<br />
"It's got the magic! <i>The Moffats</i><br />
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Because they woke for us a meaningful world...<br />
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By the way, everything Chesterton wrote was a first draft.<br />
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RESOURCES MENTIONED<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Reenchantment-World-Morris-Berman/dp/0801492254" target="_blank">The Re-enchantment of the World</a> by Morris Berman<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Chance-Dance-Critique-Modern-Secularism/dp/0898702291" target="_blank">Chance or the Dance: A Critique of Modern Secularism</a> by Thomas Howard<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Restitution-Man-Lewis-Against-Scientism/dp/080284491X" target="_blank">The Restitution of Man: C.S. Lewis and the Case Against Scientism</a> by Michael D. Aeschliman<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Quiet-Western-Front-Erich-Remarque/dp/0449213943" target="_blank">All Quiet on the Western Front</a> by Erich Maria Remarque<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Cosmos-Last-Self-Help-Book-ebook/dp/B004TLVNHU/ref=mt_kindle?_encoding=UTF8&me=" target="_blank">Lost in the Cosmos: The Last Self-Help Book </a>by Walker Percy<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Natural-History-Make-Believe-Principal-Britain/dp/0195038061/ref=la_B001HD06JO_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1462163323&sr=1-1" target="_blank">The Natural History of Make-Believe </a>by John Goldthwaite<br />
Samuel Butler's translations of the Iliad and the Odyssey (book of essays)<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Politically-Incorrect-American-Literature-Paperback/dp/1596980117" target="_blank">The Politically Incorrect Guide to English And American Literature</a> by Elizabeth Kantor<br />
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FURTHER READING<br />
<a href="http://www.memoriapress.com/articles/rhetoric-amazement" target="_blank">The Rhetoric of Amazement</a> by Martin Cothran - web article<br />
<a href="https://www.circeinstitute.org/podcast/quiddity-56-martin-cothran" target="_blank">G. K. Chesterton and the Metaphysics of Amazement</a>: Martin Cothran's Interview on the Quiddity #Podcast at the CiRCE Institute<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/85727/lisaquing/54159b0c3897f7e4e04ad1bb72f77f57.png" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7961918991631558199.post-45555546285988397302016-06-29T06:00:00.000-04:002016-06-29T20:13:40.981-04:00Convention Season: In Which I Understand The Will and The Appetite (or Why It's Hard to Teach Kids to Read)<br />
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<h2>
<i>Teaching Reading in the Screen Age - Andrew Kern</i></h2>
I chose this seminar because I was so inspired by <a href="https://www.circeinstitute.org/staff-speaker-consultant-teacher/andrew-kern" target="_blank">Kern</a>'s <a href="http://cornerstonehomelearning.blogspot.com/2016/05/convention-season-in-which-i-learn-to.html" target="_blank">seminar on writing</a>. I also am concerned about the difficulties in not only teaching reading nowadays but also in sustaining interest in reading.<br />
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<a href="http://www.virginiaappellatelaw.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/246/2015/05/bigstock-Woman-Holding-Traditional-Book-88312718.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://www.virginiaappellatelaw.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/246/2015/05/bigstock-Woman-Holding-Traditional-Book-88312718.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Six pages of notes! I apologize because I wrote down the nuggets I found memorable or interesting, but they don't always connect to the things I wrote down before or after. Kern does tend to speak like this, but it all makes sense in the end. I found a lot of meat in this talk, so here goes:<br />
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Use books!<br />
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Teach a child to....<br />
...pay attention.<br />
...remember things.<br />
...bring it into harmony.<br />
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Do you pause when reading to allow images to form in your mind? IMAGE-ination....<br />
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Teach your child to handle the screens. (in the sense of creating good habits) Make a distinction between will and desire.<br />
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Nietzsche - everything living wants to live.<br />
Humans have the ability to know what we want is bad.<br />
There is a difference between what we <u>want</u> and what we <u>will</u>.<br />
<a href="http://www.phonelosers.org/images/2010_texting_book04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://www.phonelosers.org/images/2010_texting_book04.jpg" width="320" /></a>The screens appeal to the appetite. They are market-driven.<br />
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Capitalism (Marx) - desires will lead to centralization of big companies. Centralized economy --> socialism.<br />
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Strengthen the will and not the appetite. Train the will. Coaches know this. We accept this idea in sports.<br />
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<i>Strong-willed people are actually weak-willed people with strong appetites. -Charlotte Mason</i><br />
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Discipline = legalism in some people's view<br />
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We tend to encourage the teaching of reading by exciting the appetites.<br />
Instead, use white paper, black text, no distractions.<br />
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A child is a symbol of God. The eternal and unknowable "ikon".<br />
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Only the expert knows the basics of a subject. Kids can handle what is most obvious but not what is most basic.<br />
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<h2>
Three Stages of Reading</h2>
<h3>
<b>1 - Dependent</b></h3>
When? Begins in the womb. Unborn babies can hear. Read to them. Choose adult books with good language.<br />
Understanding is over-rated at this stage. Feel the flow of the language. It's complex.<br />
<i>Wind in the Willows</i> contains the best sentence ever written. The second best is in <i>Brideshead Revisited</i>. (He did not tell us what they were.)<br />
If you only read <i>Cat in the Hat</i> type books to children, the child will not be able to handle a complex thought.<br />
<h3>
2 - Decoding</h3>
This is an agonizing process of how the symbol = sound.<br />
Only a symbolic creature could invent symbols and phonics.<br />
Get to the point where you ignore the symbols for the meaning.<br />
Study a foreign language with a different alphabet.<br />
When you teach phonics simply, you are strengthening the will.<br />
Discipline!<br />
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3 - Independent</h3>
The will keeps us going when the desires fade.<br />
Reading is not a "subject." Not only is reading not a subject, there is not much difference between reading and writing.<br />
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Same Five Common Topics are for Reading and for Writing. (See <a href="http://cornerstonehomelearning.blogspot.com/2016/05/convention-season-in-which-i-learn-to.html" target="_blank">notes from other semina</a>r: <b>The Five Topics of Invention aka The Common Topics</b>.)<br />
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Use the rules like toys you get to play with.<br />
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What do these things teach us about how we learn?<br />
1 - We don't know how we learn.<br />
2 - No elemental sequence to reading.<br />
3 - We read with the mind using the senses.<br />
<h2>
GOALS</h2>
1 - Transcendent Insight<br />
2 - Think Analogously (relating to analogies)<br />
We are made to be like Him but it frustrates us that we can't be. We are analogies of God living in a creation, a work of art. The means by which we see truth is by analogies - stories. The best are the most universal.<br />
3 - Information Gathering<br />
4 - Disciplined Thinking - Translating is reading in slow motion. It focuses you.<br />
5 - Community - Friendship is more important than your job in life.<br />
6 - Wisdom. Even from the ancients.<br />
7 - Harmonic Perceptions<br />
<h2>
THREE PRINCIPLES</h2>
1 - Reading incarnates truth.<br />
2 - Reading must not be moralistic. Instead be transformed by the text.<br />
3 - If you're not willing to submit to the work of art, don't experience it.<br />
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Teach Three Stages of Reading<br />
Phonograms<br />
Practice narration.<br />
Always read above grade level.<br />
Learn a foreign language.<br />
Put story over information. Verse over prose, Aurality over silence.<br />
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FOUR ISSUES</h2>
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<ol>
<li>What should we read?</li>
<li>Why should we read?</li>
<li>What are the dangers inherent in reading? (immorality, moralism, laziness)</li>
<li>How should we read?</li>
</ol>
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Well, that's it! A lot of food for thought, although much of it seems disjointed when I type it all out. I recommend listening to this if you can find a recording or listen to anything by Andrew Kern.<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://signatures.mylivesignature.com/85727/lisaquing/54159b0c3897f7e4e04ad1bb72f77f57.png" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7961918991631558199.post-14702808029532611382016-06-22T06:00:00.000-04:002016-06-22T06:00:06.789-04:00Convention Season: In Which I Finally Feel Comfortable with the Socratic Method (or One More Time Through A Bargain for Frances)<br />
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<h2>
<i>The Socratic Method for Dummies - Become a Great Teacher - Adam Andrews</i></h2>
Adam Andrews again! Of course! I've actually heard this seminar (or nearly this same seminar) before, but as my friend and I are planning to teach our literature class this year using the Socratic Method, I figured this would be a great review and motivator. Since I've heard it before, my notes are not complete. However, here is <a href="http://cornerstonehomelearning.blogspot.com/2012/04/midwest-homeschool-convention-teaching.html" target="_blank">my blog post</a> of the first time I heard this seminar.<br />
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The Socratic method is based on the great Greek philosopher and teacher, Socrates, who said it is better to know nothing so as to ask a question to be informed.<br />
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To use the Socratic method, you need to be comfortable with your place as a co-learner with your students. This is much different from the workbook approach usually employed to teach literature with vocabulary words, comprehension questions, and optional enrichment activities.<br />
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You don't have to be an expert to use the Socratic method. Start from your own place of ignorance.<br />
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Five Conflicts<br />
Five Thematic Elements<br />
Five Elements of Plot<br />
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To decide the conflict, ask: What point in the story has the most tension?<br />
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The theme is the author's main point or reason for writing.<br />
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Adam used A Bargain for Frances by Russell Hoban to illustrate the Socratic method. A recent post on the CenterForLit blog covers this far better than I could, so I will just link you:<br />
<a href="http://www.centerforlit.com/blog/2016/4/25/picture-booksfor-high-schoolers" target="_blank">Picture Books for High Schoolers?</a><br />
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One thing I do want to know is that a good question to ask is: At what moment do we know it's going to be resolved? This is the tipping point of the story.<br />
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Whenever you have these discussions, you can ask students to defend their answers.<br />
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Teach vocabulary for discussing literature as you go through it, in the process, rather than separately.<br />
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What if you don't like the theme the author wrote about or if you disagree with it?<br />
This is a great opportunity for clarifying worldview!<br />
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I am SO looking forward to teaching literature this way in the coming year to my co-op students with <a href="http://www.centerforlit.com/ready-readers-high-school-volume-one" target="_blank">Ready Readers Volume 1</a> (which I had signed by Adam and Missy Andrews).<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/85727/lisaquing/54159b0c3897f7e4e04ad1bb72f77f57.png" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7961918991631558199.post-77657976239859572332016-06-08T06:00:00.000-04:002016-06-08T06:00:13.529-04:00Convention Season: In Which I Learn to Use Red Ink (or Writing Four Kinds of Comments)<br />
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<h2>
<i><span style="font-size: large;">How to Mark a Student Paper Like a Pro (Only Better) - Brian Wasko</span></i></h2>
I got up bright and early on Saturday morning to make it to this 8:30 AM seminar by Brian Wasko of <a href="http://www.writeathome.com/" target="_blank">Write At Home</a> which offers online writing classes. I've heard Brian speak before and enjoyed it very much. Since I teach writing classes, I thought I'd see if there were any tips or tricks Brian could share that would help me out, or at least this would let me know I'm doing things correctly.<br />
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The worst place to learn stuff is a school.<br />
<a href="http://www.e-ope.khk.ee/ek/2013/funktsionaalne_lugemine/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.e-ope.khk.ee/ek/2013/funktsionaalne_lugemine/8.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a>The average time to mark up an essay is 20 minutes. If a teacher has 150 students (as many teachers in schools do), that is 50 hours of grading time for just one essay. No wonder teachers don't assign enough writing!<br />
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Brian doesn't like the word "grade" as in "grading essays." He prefers to say "mark up" the essay since it has more of a connotation of helping kids with their writing.<br />
<h2>
Basic Paper-Marking Principles</h2>
<ul>
<li>Ink color doesn't matter. </li>
<li>Use a pen, but talk too. (Mark it up first.)</li>
<li>Think "process" (multi-step) Three drafts is often appropriate.</li>
<li>First draft emphasis is on larger issues. What is the paper saying? Get the big picture.</li>
<li>Read it through once without marking anything.</li>
<li>Limit corrections. Pick your battles. Avoid the "it makes me nuts" attitude. Leave mistakes unmarked sometimes. We're only working on a few things at once.</li>
<li>Good writing is more than grammar: Content, style, substance, mechanical</li>
<li>There is no answer key for writing. </li>
</ul>
<a href="http://comments.bmartin.cc/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/red-ink.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://comments.bmartin.cc/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/red-ink.gif" /></a><br />
<h2>
<b>Four Comment Types</b></h2>
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</div>
<b>1 - Positive Comments</b><br />
Learn to find something positive.<br />
Editing "hurts".<br />
Students may not be conscious of the good things in their writing.<br />
Sincerity matters.<br />
<br />
<b>2 - Corrective/Directive Comments</b><br />
Watch out for just noting "vague".<br />
Offer suggestions. Prefer two suggestions.<br />
Use complete sentences. (He doesn't like the comment 'frag'.)<br />
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<b>3 - Relational/Responsive Comments</b><br />
Watch for tone.<br />
Responding to content shows you care and you are "hearing" the student.<br />
Interact!<br />
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<b>4 - Summary Comments or Evaluation/Scores</b><br />
"Sandwich" method (something positive, something directive, something positive)<br />
Brief paragraph of comments.<br />
<br />
Brian showed some student papers on the screen that he asked the audience to comment on which was a fun exercise. Then he opened up the floor for questions.<br />
<br />
Q - Once the marking occurs, do you recommend a particular rubric?<br />
A - Six Traits rubrics<br />
Don't get bogged down in rubrics because of multiple items in the checklist.<br />
Customize rubrics. Weight the categories according to what you are working on.<br />
<br />
Q - What types of assignments does Write At Home give?<br />
A - Four modes - Narrative, Descriptive, Expository, Persuasive<br />
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Q - What is important in a writing curriculum?<br />
A - Two approaches: Copywork/Dictation model or "Get Creative" model<br />
<br />
I was pleased with this workshop because it confirmed for me that I am doing many things correctly as I evaluate and assess my students' writing. I disagreed with Brian on a couple of points and was encouraged to try a couple of new things as I mark up student writing in the future.<br />
<br />
Great seminar!<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/85727/lisaquing/54159b0c3897f7e4e04ad1bb72f77f57.png" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7961918991631558199.post-49019071982398797052016-06-06T00:36:00.000-04:002016-06-06T00:37:42.554-04:002016-17 Writing Classes Announced!Yes, this is what you’ve been waiting for!<br />
<br />
Class information is now available on my new website - www.wagnerwriting.com - for my 2016-17 classes. What am I offering?
<br />
http://www.wagnerwriting.com/uncategorized/2016-17-classes-announced/<br />
<br />
Two great class choices for your middle school students are available in two locations. At Lapeer Free Methodist on Tuesdays, I will be teaching the IEW method to beginning and advanced students using the compelling Medieval Theme Based book from IEW. On Mondays at Richfield Rd. United Brethren Church, I will be teaching one of my favorite Creative Writing curriculums – Wordsmith. These classes are for grades 6-9.<br />
<br />
High school students have three Tuesday options in Lapeer plus a bonus summer essay boot camp in Dryden. Once again, I will be offering my popular Academic Writing series which prepares students to write superb essays and research papers. Two new classes are on the schedule as well. First is a Response to Literature class that will enable your student to think and write analytically about literature. This class works as a stand-alone class but also fits perfectly with the co-op literature class I am teaching at Seeds of Faith Co-op. The other new class, Writing Remedies, is designed for the struggling high school student who needs a slower pace or more individualized instruction.<br />
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I am excited to add the new location in Flint and, as always, to be able to work with your students to improve writing skills.<br />
<br />
Check my <a href="http://www.wagnerwriting.com/" target="_blank">website</a> for complete details and register early to ensure these classes will be held.
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/85727/lisaquing/54159b0c3897f7e4e04ad1bb72f77f57.png" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7961918991631558199.post-30882954305637758042016-06-01T06:00:00.000-04:002016-06-01T06:00:01.835-04:00Convention Season: In Which We Learn to Be Biblical (or How Not to Be a Moralistic Therapeutic Theist)<h2>
<i><span style="font-size: large;">How We (Mis)Read the Bible: Being Biblical As We Try To Be Biblical - John Stonestreet</span></i></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Another speaker I heard last year was </span><a href="http://www.colsoncenter.org/about-us/about-john-stonestreet" style="font-family: georgia, utopia, 'palatino linotype', palatino, serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;" target="_blank">John Stonestreet</a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">, who is President of the (Chuck) </span><a href="http://www.colsoncenter.org/wfp-home" style="font-family: georgia, utopia, 'palatino linotype', palatino, serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;" target="_blank">Colson Center for Christian Worldview</a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">. I remembered him as a dynamic speaker and wanted to hear him again, especially in light of this topic. Lately, I seem to be surrounded by people who say God told them to do something but the thing doesn't seem to me to be very Biblical. So, what does Mr. Stonestreet have to say?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">The first thing he told us is that he has the "spiritual gift of sarcasm." That should set the tone for you right away. This seminar is not for the easily offended. I will do my best to share his ideas from my notes, but I am sure I missed some important thoughts. He also recommended a lot of resources which I will share in a list at the end of this post.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">1 - God exists (as opposed to the Naturalistic worldview)</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">2 - God is personal (as opposed to the Eastern or New Age worldviews)</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">3 - God has spoken (as opposed to the Post-modernistic worldview)</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Are we being shaped by the Bible?</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Teens today do value religion, but they mostly identify with a <b>moralistic therapeutic theism</b> which they have learned from their churches and/or parents.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Moralistic: God wants us to be good people.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Therapeutic: God wants us to feel good and be happy.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Theism: God is "there for them" but requires nothing of them.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">On the screen, John projected many images of the different views of Jesus that our culture holds.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/ef/33/7f/ef337f010d3450e595993d70a457c9f3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/ef/33/7f/ef337f010d3450e595993d70a457c9f3.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"></span><br />
<ul><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;">
<li><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Buddy Jesus - Jesus is here to bless YOU. Consumer Christianity: I shop, therefore I am. (for Christian items)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Social Justice Jesus - This Jesus is all about alleviating poverty and has the attitude that "all poverty is financial."</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Cool Jesus - Biker/hipster/etc.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Oprah Jesus - One way among many</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Political Jesus - Salvation comes through a political party.</span></li>
</span></ul>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;">
</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Jewish Rabbi Abraham Heschel – “It seems puzzling to me how greatly attached to the Bible you seem to be and how much like pagans you handle it."</span></div>
<h2>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><b>Ways We MisHandle The Bible</b></span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><b>Mistake #1 - We don't really read it. </b>We own more Bibles than ever, but most are not read.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><b>Mistake #2 - Read it without recognizing context. </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Don't take verses like Jeremiah 29:11 or Isaiah 55:8 out of context.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Bible verses are not fortune cookies.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Never read *a* Bible verse again. (Except for Proverbs)</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">For instance, the context of Matthew is Deuteronomy. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Cross-references are helpful for understanding context.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Read larger sections of the Bible, but don't take those out of context either, such as 1 Corinthians 13.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Don't take the Moral McNugget approach (credit to Philip Yancey) which divorces the meaning from the larger context. He said we squeeze it and squeeze it until out pops a 'moral McNugget'.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Don't treat Bible stories like Aesops's Fables or children will equate them in importance. He used the example of Max Lucado's Facing Your Giants as a way of taking a Bible story out of context. It's not true that just focusing on God means you will beat your giants.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><b>Mistake #3 - Read Selectively.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">We often read about Noah and the Ark but leave out the Noah Drunk in Tent story.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Can you read any novel that way? How about Les Miserables?</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><b>Mistake #4 - The "Magic" Use</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">The Bible Code. Don't look for hidden stuff until you've got the obvious stuff down pat.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Prayer of Jabez</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><b>Mistake #5 - Personalization</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Every Bible promise is NOT ours.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">The Bible is not an "answer book" like an encyclopedia.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">The Bible (and Jesus) isn't necessarily interested in answering my questions.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Which world do we actually live in and what's its story?</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">God chooses to give us the gospel in a story. The entirety of Genesis to Revelation is the gospel. </span></span></div>
<h2>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><b>On The Handling of Scripture</b></span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">1 - All but ignore chapter and verse. Better to read 45 minutes once a week than 5 minutes daily. (Except Psalms, Proverbs)</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">2 - Hold the story together as much as possible.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">3 - Read it as written. Ask the questions.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">4 - The story culminates in Christ Jesus.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">5 - Avoid forced moralisms and therapy.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">6 - It's not a book of heroes.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">7 - This is our world, from Heavens to Earth to New Heavens and New Earth.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Genesis 1-11 show the brokenness.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Revelation 7-21 show everything returned and restored.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">8 - Think "Re". Redemption and created intent.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Despair is a sin because Christ has risen.</span></span></div>
<h2>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">RESOURCES MENTIONED</span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Soul-Searching-Religious-Spiritual-Teenagers/dp/0195384776" target="_blank">Soul Searching by Christian Smith</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Eat-This-Book-Conversation-Spiritual/dp/0802864902" target="_blank">Eat This Book by Eugene Peterson</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Big-Picture-Story-Bible-Paperback/dp/1433543125" target="_blank">Big Picture Story Bible by Crossway</a> (tells one single story - best children's Bible he knows)</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0310708257/?tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=31644760997&hvpos=1t3&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12076838331736695887&hvpone=9.98&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_7cz6eup9sr_e" target="_blank">The Jesus Storybook Bible</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><a href="http://www.biblica.com/en-us/the-books-of-the-bible/" target="_blank">Biblica - "The Books of the Bible"</a> (reordered, takes out chapter/verse/columns, reads like a book)</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><a href="http://biblemesh.com/index.php?route=common/home" target="_blank">Bible Mesh online</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Restoring-All-Things-Audacious-Everyday/dp/0801000300" target="_blank">Restoring All Things by John Stonestreet</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><a href="http://www.colsoncenterstore.org/product.asp?sku=2191_DVDHeHasSpoken" target="_blank">He Has Spoken by John Stonestreet and T.M. Moore</a> (DVD)</span></span><br />
<br />
<b>For further reading:</b><br />
<a href="https://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/entry/13/22574" target="_blank">Beware Bible McNuggets</a>: WHEN READING THE BIBLE CAN BE SPIRITUALLY UNHEALTHY<br />
<a href="https://ppcstudentministries.com/2016/04/05/how-to-misread-the-bible/" target="_blank">HOW TO (MIS)READ THE BIBLE</a> (this appears to be notes on the same talk I heard)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/85727/lisaquing/54159b0c3897f7e4e04ad1bb72f77f57.png" /></a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7961918991631558199.post-26438015576095255982016-05-25T06:00:00.000-04:002016-05-25T06:00:14.998-04:00Convention Season: In Which I Learn to Ask Questions (or What are the Liberal Arts, Really?)<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Why Writing is Not a Subject and Why Every Subject Needs Writing To Be Properly Taught</i> - Andrew Kern</span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span>Last year was the first time I'd heard <a href="https://www.circeinstitute.org/staff-speaker-consultant-teacher/andrew-kern" target="_blank">Andrew Kern</a> speak. His seminar I heard then was called "How to Read a Good Book and a Hard One" which used Anna Karenina as an example. I'd never wanted to read <i>Anna Karenina</i> until hearing that talk and I was blown away by Kern's thoughts. So, I wanted to hear him again this year. When I saw he was speaking on writing integrated into the whole curriculum, I knew this was the seminar for me.<br />
<br />
Andrew Kern is founder and president of the <a href="https://www.circeinstitute.org/" target="_blank">CiRCE Institute</a>, the founding author of <i>The Lost Tools of Writing</i>, and a co-author of the best-selling book<i> Classical Education: The Movement Sweeping America</i>.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://pixabay.com/static/uploads/photo/2015/01/19/03/30/dead-tree-603671_960_720.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://pixabay.com/static/uploads/photo/2015/01/19/03/30/dead-tree-603671_960_720.jpg" width="400" /></a>Andrew seems a bit scattered as a speaker, but really that is not the case. He just takes a while to tie everything together. Let's see if I can do any justice to the six pages of notes I took in this meaty seminar.<br />
<br />
He began with the image of a tree with its branches broken on the ground. He then mentioned the tree of learning and asked what is the trunk of that tree.<br />
<br />
Next, he discussed "subjects" which at present we usually describe as the things we study in school. Do we learn subjects though? Our educational vocabulary has been hijacked.<br />
<br />
What we actually should be teaching is not random subjects, but the deliberate, imaginative, and patient teaching of the seven liberal arts. (Since he mentioned the list of seven a few times, but never gave the complete list, I looked it up. Here it is: grammar, rhetoric, and logic (the trivium) and geometry, arithmetic, music, and astronomy (the quadrivium).)<br />
<br />
Aspire to the truth, gaze upon the truth. The soul of your child needs to perceive the truth. You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.<br />
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Use logic well. Think coherent clear thoughts.<br />
Rhetoric: push the argument and specify the disagreement, but be a harmonizing person.<br />
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A liberal art is different from a subject.<br />
<a href="https://static.pexels.com/photos/4258/wood-nature-leaves-tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://static.pexels.com/photos/4258/wood-nature-leaves-tree.jpg" width="320" /></a>Science - is knowing ("to know") an area of knowledge. Branches of the tree, a domain of knowledge.<br />
Art - a way of *making* something. Taking something abstract and making it visible.<br />
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The glory of humans is that we are made in the image of a God who creates. We have not instinct, but artistry. We are incarnating a Logos.<br />
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Homer described "winged words" flying between souls. Those words still have the power to change us 2700 years later.<br />
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Humans are imitators. We are all always artists. We are expressing something always.<br />
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The liberating arts make knowledge of the truth.<br />
<br />
So, the trunk of the tree of learning is the seven liberal arts and writing (rhetoric) is the pith (the center of the trunk), Another definition of 'pith' is the essence of something.<br />
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Writing - if you can't write, you can't succeed. In modern society, you can't do anything if you can't write. "Writing is the life-giving core."<br />
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The most important thing you can teach children is to ask questions. The quality of your learning (and your life) is determined by the questions. The questions are simple, obvious, God-given.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>What is this I see?</li>
<li>What is it for?</li>
<li>How did it become what it is?</li>
<li>How did we get here?</li>
<li>How does it change?</li>
<li>How is this like that? (comparison precedes thought!)</li>
<li>How are things related?</li>
<li>What was happening around it?</li>
<li>Who has something to say about this?</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
Our souls are asking these questions before we think them.<br />
<br />
Coaching may slow you down at first. You look at what you are doing. You over-think, repeat the behavior. In the long run, you get better.<br />
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<i><b><span style="font-size: large;">Writing is thinking in Super-Slow Motion.</span></b></i><br />
When you do it more slowly, you are thinking about what you are doing.<br />
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Write before bed.<br />
<br />
Most writing is subconscious. When you write, in a way you are studying yourself.<br />
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<b>CATEGORIES FOR ANY LESSON</b><br />
<b>The Five Topics of Invention aka The Common Topics</b><br />
(a 'topic' is a place to go to get thoughts)<br />
<br />
<b>1 - Comparison</b><br />
How is this alike/different from that?<br />
Quantities, qualities<br />
<br />
<b>2 - Definition</b><br />
Who or what is that?<br />
What kind of thing is that?<br />
What are its parts?<br />
<br />
<b>3 - Circumstances/Context</b><br />
What was happening at the time?<br />
<br />
<b>4 - Relation</b><br />
Cause/Effect<br />
Why did you do that?<br />
Why is that what it is?<br />
What caused that to be?<br />
What were the effects of that?<br />
<br />
<b>5 - Authority</b><br />
What do the experts say about that?<br />
What do the witnesses say about that?<br />
<br />
These questions are the heart and soul of human thought. They are the life of every subject.<br />
<br />
Learn to enjoy thinking.<br />
<br />
Dante's Paradiso (written while he was in exile by the sea)<br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Much worse than uselessly he leaves the shore </span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;">(more full of error than he was before) </span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Who fishes for the truth but lacks the arts.</span></i><br />
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Every soul fishes for the truth and NEEDS THE TOOLS.<br />
<br />
We owe this to our children.<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/85727/lisaquing/54159b0c3897f7e4e04ad1bb72f77f57.png" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7961918991631558199.post-41043230043021034382016-05-18T06:00:00.000-04:002016-05-18T06:00:00.236-04:00Convention Season: In Which I Feel Validated (or The-Book-Which-Must-Not-Be-Named)<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Witches, Wizards, and Wands, Oh My! A Parent's Guide to Fantasy, Fiction, and Faith</i> - Adam Andrews</span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">A chance to hear my favorite convention speaker, Adam Andrews, is so welcome! I always leave his seminars motivated to go and teach literature RIGHT! He makes it seem so easy. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Adam and his wife Missy are the directors of </span><a href="http://www.centerforlit.com/" style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;" target="_blank">CenterForLit</a><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"> which "offers curriculum materials, online classes, live teacher-training, and parent-teacher support networks, all dedicated to helping readers understand and revel in the beauty of classic books." My friend Darlene and I are teaching a high school literature class this fall using their materials.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Beginning the seminar, Adam acknowledged that some may be attending looking to vilify fantasy literature and some may be attending hoping to validate their literature choices. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">
<a href="http://thailandpackagetours.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Playing-Golf-Wallpaper-For-Mobile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://thailandpackagetours.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Playing-Golf-Wallpaper-For-Mobile.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">A realization that Adam had while playing golf: We are all just struggling to make par (just good enough) in life. We need to "raise our eyes to the hills and look for help." In other words, our peace must come from God's provision, rather than our efforts at par.</span></span></div>
<div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">When Adam was with a good friend, he began telling him of this enlightenment he had while playing golf. But the buddy interrupted, saying how much he hates golf. Adam told him not to change the subject.</span></div>
</div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Yes, this relates to literature! The point of reading is to join a discussion with the author. Metaphorically, ask the author, "What do you want to talk about today?" and then don't change the subject. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Sit still, pay attention, and don't change the subject. It's rude to change the subject. Instead, recognize which discussion the author is having in the work of literature.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">How to we find out the author's real theme? Identify the essential issue by asking the essential questions. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Adam then related the story of an ancient king in search of wisdom regarding a war. The king's trusted advisor was dead, so he went in search of answers. Since he had driven all magicians from the land, he had to go far and in disguise, looking for a witch who could put him in touch with the spirit of his dead advisor. Having finally found a woman to call forth the spirit, he listens to the voice of his dead advisor who berates him and tells him he will lose the upcoming battle. The next day, the prophecy comes true and the despairing king takes his own life.</span></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Let's ask the essential questions. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">What does the king want? Power, control, independence from the gods.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">What kind of conflict does this story show? At least, Man vs. God and Man vs. Self.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">But an additional thing to consider is that the supernatural element in this story is incidental to the plot. This is not a story about the evils (or benefits) of witchcraft. The supernatural element here is a symbol of rebellion. This is a story about a power struggle, a rebellion against God, about human frailty. This is what we see when we look carefully and ask the right questions.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">In case you didn't recognize the story, it is a story from the Bible, found in 1 Samuel 28. The king is Saul. </span></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://media.vam.ac.uk/media/thira/collection_images/2007BP/2007BP2214.jpg" height="292" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; color: #888888; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;">Saul and the Witch of Endor Benjamin West</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">A human being is a supernatural being. So, the supernatural or the occult in art (including literature) should not be surprising. It's actually more surprising when it is absent, such as in The Hunger Games series. Materialistic art (with the absence of the supernatural) is the real sign of the decay of a civilization.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Adam referred to C.S. Lewis stating that the world must be re-mythologized before it can be saved. (I cannot find this original quote, so if anyone knows it, please comment.)</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">We have been taught that a myth is something that is not true. However, another way to define a myth is that it is larger than life and usually as true as true can be.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Salvation is a miracle. Minds and hearts that know the spiritual can hear the word of God. Recognizing the supernatural prepares our hearts for the other-worldly heart of Christ.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">The crucifixion of Jesus Christ is an occult bargain, hidden from the eyes of the materialistic. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">We need to recognize the universal urge put within us by God to "raise our eyes to the hills" where our hope comes from.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Develop a spirit of empathy rather than judgment when reading. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">At this point, Adam opened the floor to questions from the audience. Here are some excerpts from that Q&A.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">In all great books, the setting is tangential to the theme. However, issues of setting *can* be a concern. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Finally, someone asked about the book which must not be named, which Adam referred to several times in the talk. Adam recommends that we have the conversation with J.K. Rowling that she wants to have in the Harry Potter series.</span></span><br />
<span style="clear: right; float: right; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/10/27/article-2054207-01386D8A000004B0-629_468x304.jpg" height="259" width="400" /></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Uncle Tom's Cabin and The Aeneid were mentioned as books that were seen as dangerous by the public at the time of their publication.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">I asked Adam: How do you handle objections from parents to specific works of literature in a homeschool co-op setting? He recommended discussing the Socratic List (of essential questions) with the parents. Tell them that the best hope for our students is to teach them to be good readers and teach them *how* to read. (Not phonics, but discernment, is what I assume he meant looking at my notes now.)</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">He quoted someone as saying, "Every story is a bridge to the gospel." (I didn't catch the name.)</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Someone asked about the addictive nature of some book series which then makes the classics seem boring. Adam answered that when they have been taught *how* to read, a good book will delight them and a bad book will repel them.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">I highly recommend the audio of this talk, since this recap can barely scratch the surface of what Adam was communicating. If I find a link to it, I will post it. It would be worth the download fee!</span></span><br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/85727/lisaquing/54159b0c3897f7e4e04ad1bb72f77f57.png" /></a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7961918991631558199.post-50374111578266720302016-05-11T06:00:00.000-04:002016-05-11T06:00:16.484-04:00Convention Season: In Which I Begin To Cry (or Reflecting on Beauty in the Homeschool Life)<h2>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 20.79px;"><i>Beauty and Delight in the Ordinary Chaotic Homeschool </i>- Sarah Mackenzie</span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Every seat was filled at 11:30 on Friday morning as a perky </span><a href="http://amongstlovelythings.com/" style="font-family: georgia, utopia, 'palatino linotype', palatino, serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;" target="_blank">Sarah Mackenzie</a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"> greeted us all with a sincere, "I'm so glad you're all here." Sarah has six children, ages 14, 12, 10, 4, 2-1/2, and 2-1/2. She is an author and blogger that also hosts the Read-Aloud Revival podcast. Her book is called <i>Teaching from Rest: A Homeschooler's Guide to Unshakable Peace</i>. I was not familiar with Sarah before this weekend, but another mom who was with me clued me in to her and her message.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Here are some highlights from her talk. (which, by the way, made me cry, though that would not surprise my kids. They say I cry at everything.) </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">These first thoughts sound rather random written down, but I promise they were both coherent and cohesive.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Efficiency = Maximum productivity with minimum wasted effort & expense.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Homeschooling is not efficient. Nor is mothering. Relationships aren't efficient.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Twenty years from now, what will you wish you had spent more time doing? We need that long-range perspective every day.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Thoughts on consistency: Focus on doing a few important things consistently rather than consistently doing too much. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Relationships Trump Accomplishments.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Lots of quotes flavored Sarah's speech and I noted a few that I wanted to include here. Not surprisingly, many of them were from C.S. Lewis, further strengthening my resolve to read all of his writings.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><i>“It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which,if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree helping each other to one or the other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all of our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. <b>There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.</b> Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations - these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.” </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">― C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory</span></span></div>
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<div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span>Don't damage the relationship.<br />
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Moments pass me by every day. Beautiful small moments that we miss in waiting for the Big Beautiful ones.<br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<b>The books or the music in which we thought the beauty was located will betray us if we trust to them</b>; it was not in them, it only came through them,and <b>what came through them was longing</b>. </span></i><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">These things—the beauty, the memory of our own past—are good images of what we really desire; but if they are mistaken for the thing itself they turn into dumb idols,breaking the hearts of their worshippers. For they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited.”</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">― C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">"...<i>.you become what you behold.</i>" -Andrew Kern</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Very few of us need to ADD something to our homeschool day. Instead how about small shifts or tweaks that line up with our vision?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Here are the three Tweaks she recommends:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.melskitchencafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/candle3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.melskitchencafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/candle3.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">1 - Ritualize</span></b> something you are already doing to make it more meaningful and more beautiful.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">- Play music in the morning.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">- Greet your child with a hug every morning.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">- Sing the Doxology.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">- Candles at mealtimes to emphasize enjoying the moment together.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">- Poetry at breakfast (recommended book: Melissa Wiley, The Prairie Thief)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">- Habit apps </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">- Two minute mysteries</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">- Daily audio Bible readings</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">- "Listening Lunch" (Listen to audiobooks while eating. This allows Mom to eat too.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">- Fragrance!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">- Reading on the move... (take a book somewhere and read)</span><br />
<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51WE0-cjRHL._SX325_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51WE0-cjRHL._SX325_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" height="320" width="209" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>2 - Reading Aloud</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Choose Good Books</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“We do not want merely to see beauty... we want something else which can hardly be put into words- to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it. That is why we have peopled air and earth and water with gods and goddesses, and nymphs and elves.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">― C.S. Lewis</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Recommended: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Edge-Dark-Darkness-Wingfeather-Saga/dp/1400073847" target="_blank">On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson</a> (inspires heroic virtue) </span><br />
<span style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">TEXT GHC to 444999 for a book list (and to be added to Sarah's encouragement emails)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>3 - Relishing</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">- Spend more time with the kids.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">- Have a "Just Because We Can" Day.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">- You can skip something.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">- Do the things you know your kids will remember. (Doing them once or twice is often enough for them to say, "Remember when we used to....".)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">- The point is the connections made, NOT the learning.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Rest and Rigor? How do they work together?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Kern & Perrin say - Don't try to give your child a rigorous education. Rigor evokes the stiffness of death. Instead be diligent. <i>Diligere</i> (root word) = value highly, appreciate, prize, etc... So, not rigor, but diligence.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheWKYDg8bMOUsaLFTqsTY0tn2CxpArH2PSVS1MdQjpIGPzmKRGVop3QV8VvMkj-GVREDR8rddnb4Kaopxu5ZM5_e-81EGTpZcvk75SsJaRa2QKyWFadfomPWYDFuXHYwuiw6gUHwIBfo1L/s400/100_5005.JPG" width="400" /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life." - Charlotte Mason</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">School is not about school.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Homeschool is not about school.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It's about pursuing wisdom. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It's about becoming virtuous human beings.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It's about soul transformation. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">- Andrew Kern</span><br />
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I was really encouraged by this talk because these tweaks are things I can do and the perspective is one that I need.<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/85727/lisaquing/54159b0c3897f7e4e04ad1bb72f77f57.png" /></a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7961918991631558199.post-55058924446183452912016-05-04T06:00:00.000-04:002016-05-04T06:00:01.744-04:00Convention Season: In Which I Practice Discernment (or which seminar was the stinker)<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Immediately after the successful first seminar on teaching the reluctant writer, I headed over to </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">a seminar that was supposed to help both children and adult writers get published. My goal here was to find some information on writing that would help me personally. The three speakers were all published authors of Christian fiction. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Since I was unhappy with the seminar in general, I am leaving off the names of the speakers and the title of the seminar.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Let me first say that, after this seminar, I searched out the booth and looked at the books of these authors and they seem like perfectly fine Christian literature. My problem with the seminar was not with their books or their methods specifically.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Making me uncomfortable was the definition given in this seminar of "good literature". Here is the list of items that characterize "good literature" according to the speaker.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">-Spiritual content (meaning it is supposed to turn the person toward Jesus)</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">-The message (same thing, I suppose)</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">-Interesting</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">-Sparking good conversations</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">-Well-constructed plot</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">-Good character development (and this may not be what you are thinking it is)</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/e7/54/8b/e7548bdd54fe8a980fe19212147495e7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="350" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/e7/54/8b/e7548bdd54fe8a980fe19212147495e7.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">- Proper grammar & punctuation</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">-Quality literary style</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">-Moral tone of <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians%204:8" target="_blank">Philippians 4:8 </a></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">-Incorporates a Christian worldview</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">-Stimulates thought</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">-Positive lessons</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">-True to the period</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">-Does it glorify sin or show its horrible consequences?</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">-Does it promote worldliness or godly character?</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="clear: right; float: right; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">While I have nothing against stories that promote godly character or incorporate a Christian worldview, I do take offense to the idea that *all* "good literature" does so. I think that a discerning Christian reader can learn from many stories that fall outside of the Philippians 4:8 filter. In fact, that verse does not limit us to only things that are pure, noble, right, etc...; it merely instructs us to think about those things. If we were honestly to *only* think of those things, then why are stories such as Judges 19:22-29 or Judges 11:30-39 in the Bible?</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">The rest of this seminar was intended to encourage writers in their craft and help them get published. However it was quite general in tone and not very practical. Here are the remainder of the tips:</span></span></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Good readers make good writers. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Set the example. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Read as a family.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Discover students' interests.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Teach students to critique (other people's writing).</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Enter a contest.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Generate creative ideas.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Read in your genre. See what works, what doesn't work.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Carve out space and time to write. Decide to write. No excuses. Take your laptop wherever you go.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Continue your education. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Join a writer's group of like-minded writers. (With a warning to avoid writers who go against the "good lit" criteria above)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Write for publication, such as a blog, letters to the editor, travel articles, Sunday School take-homes (suggested for teens to do this specifically).</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Check the Sally Stewart Christian Market.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Prepare your manuscript. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Use beta readers (term was not explained). </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Send to a paid editor. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Find an agent/publisher. Do your homework first.</span></li>
</ul>
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So, there you have it - how to get published in the Christian fiction market.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/85727/lisaquing/54159b0c3897f7e4e04ad1bb72f77f57.png" /></a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7961918991631558199.post-53640934359036050402016-04-30T17:16:00.002-04:002016-05-01T15:48:31.716-04:00Convention Season: In Which I Attend The First Writing Seminar<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; line-height: 20.79px;">Getting Words on Paper: Strategies for Reluctant Writers - </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; line-height: 20.79px;"> </span>Kathy Kuhl<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; line-height: 20.79px;"> and </span>Janice Campbell</i></span></h2>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, utopia, 'palatino linotype', palatino, serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">We rolled into town mid-afternoon and got settled into our hotel room. I had to hustle to get to the first seminar by 3:30, </span><i style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, utopia, 'palatino linotype', palatino, serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Getting Words on Paper: Strategies for Reluctant Writers</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, utopia, 'palatino linotype', palatino, serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"> with </span><a href="http://www.learndifferently.com/" style="font-family: georgia, utopia, 'palatino linotype', palatino, serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;" target="_blank">Kathy Kuhl</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, utopia, 'palatino linotype', palatino, serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"> and </span><a href="http://everyday-education.com/" style="font-family: georgia, utopia, 'palatino linotype', palatino, serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;" target="_blank">Janice Campbell</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, utopia, 'palatino linotype', palatino, serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">My goal for this convention was to find as many writing seminars as possible to help me in my job as a writing teacher to homeschooled students. Since I have a number of reluctant writers in my classes, the title of this seminar caught my eye.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Kathy and Janice alternated speaking, but I didn't note who said what. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">They began by asking why the task of writing is often so hard. Some of the reasons mentioned were:</span></span></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">the physicality of the task</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">uncertainty of the writer</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">perfectionism</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">memory issues</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">To overcome this reluctance, goals should be specific. </span></span></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">We want to teach students to communicate skillfully and clearly on paper. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">We want them to be confident in various writing formats (essays, reports, etc.). </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">We want students to be able to self-edit.</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Methods we can use to accomplish our goals could be the classic<b> five-step writing process</b> or the <b>model-based writing process</b>. In either case, not every piece of writing needs to go through every step of the writing process.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><b><u>Five-step Writing Process</u></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><i>1 - Read and Research</i> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Keep reading aloud to students. Dyslexics usually have a smaller vocabulary than typical students, so combat that by pouring words into students. Learning Ally (formerly Recorded Books for the Blind) can be a resource.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><i>2 </i>- <i>Thinking on Paper aka Brainstorming</i> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">This process is like turning on a faucet. Sometimes the hot water takes a while to come through. Mind-mapping/webbing are good techniques. Try using a white board or large paper, so as not to limit ideas. Index cards work well for some thinkers. Dictation software can be helpful. They also mentioned a website called <a href="https://coggle.it/" target="_blank">Coggle It</a>, which I have not checked out. </span></span></div>
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<div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">
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<div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">
<img height="156" src="https://www.education.ne.gov/SS/CSSAP%20Modules/CSSAP%20First%20Phase%20Modules/individrights/FishBoneMap.gif" width="320" /></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><i>3 - Organize Ideas</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Number your ideas in order of quality, best ideas first.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/40/f1/88/40f188572fd3b8d8a82b8488c4f0281e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/40/f1/88/40f188572fd3b8d8a82b8488c4f0281e.jpg" width="241" /></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Think of vivid examples for supporting points.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Teach outline format.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Use graphic organizers, such as the fishbone map. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><i>4 - Writing the First Draft.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Teach patterns, such as the keyhole essay format. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Reluctant writers may simplify their first draft due to lack of spelling ability, dread of penmanship, etc... Anticipate this and counteract these problems. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Try having the student dictate or record the first draft.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Use systematic instruction to provide a foundation.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">THE MORE YOU WRITE, THE BETTER YOU GET.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Try techniques such as free writing or copywork.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><i>5 - Revise (Learn to Self-Edit)</i></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Use a rubric (scoring sheet).</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Janice Campbell has a book called <a href="http://everyday-education.com/product/evaluate-writing/" target="_blank">Evaluate Writing the Easy Way.</a></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<b style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Model-based Writing Process</b></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><i>1 - Absorb</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Read deeply, both silently and aloud.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Copy writing. (Have them begin by copying a line you have written as a model.)</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Annotate.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Give pens and paper. They suggest a <a href="http://www.jetpens.com/Uni-Jetstream-Ballpoint-Pens/ct/354" target="_blank">Jetstream</a> pen. </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Experiment to counteract sensory issues.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><i>2 - Consider (the piece of writing)</i></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">What kind of writing is this?</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Who is it written for?</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">What does it mean?</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">What if....?</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Be sure to engage students in the piece of writing before moving on to #3.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><i>3 - Transform</i></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Change THIS to THAT.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Change poetry to prose. Change Ancient to Modern. Change Essay to Letter to the Editor. Etc....</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><i>4 - Create</i></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Write something in the same form as the original.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Adapt for reluctant writers. </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Audio, play, interview, graphic novels.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><b>Special Tools and Strategies</b></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><a href="http://wvced.com/" target="_blank">William VanCleave</a> - Writing Matters</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><a href="http://www.wvced.com/a-guide-to-helping-your-child-at-home-developing-foundational-skills-in-reading-writing/" target="_blank">Diana Hanbury King's book</a> <i>A Guide to Helping Your Child at Home: Developing Foundational Skills in Reading & Writing</i></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">tablet apps</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Explicitly teach sentence skills.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Focus on process more than product.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><a href="http://www.wvced.com/words-at-work-1-basic/" target="_blank">Words at Work</a></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Card games</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><a href="http://everyday-education.com/product/perfect-reading-beautiful-handwriting/" target="_blank">Perfect Reading, Beautiful Handwriting</a> (for lefties)</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Short, sweet daily lessons</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;">TIPS:</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;">Use the "Triage" concept. Don't try to fix everything in a student's writing all at once. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;">Rank substance in writing before style and mechanics.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; line-height: 20.79px;">Encourage! Always find something to praise!</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 20.79px;"><b>Encourage! Always find something to praise!</b></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Janice Campbell's Pinterest has a <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/janicecampbell/graphic-organizers/" target="_blank">graphic organizer board</a>.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span></span>Although there was no "new" concept to me in this seminar, I loved hearing the contrast between the two writing processes. I also liked hearing the titles of books and resources that can be helpful.<br />
<br />
RECOMMENDED - Especially for parents of reluctant writers in upper elementary through high school<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/85727/lisaquing/54159b0c3897f7e4e04ad1bb72f77f57.png" /></a></div>
</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7961918991631558199.post-79535921787911546452016-04-04T15:02:00.002-04:002016-04-04T15:04:48.394-04:00Convention Season: In Which I Reflect on the Experience<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjANrnlRar8G1m5BfvJQdTZcG0RwJKeHW4IZoXaml32GPksSUwpOKaQQWx-GS2deBGBmGsfRlSHMeCrKhz_z3_tXyiAawUOV2h9VZJN_bLhVjGM8i6c8GaTVmsqHVZYBN65MtNgsAuiYLnb/s1600/20160331_165056.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjANrnlRar8G1m5BfvJQdTZcG0RwJKeHW4IZoXaml32GPksSUwpOKaQQWx-GS2deBGBmGsfRlSHMeCrKhz_z3_tXyiAawUOV2h9VZJN_bLhVjGM8i6c8GaTVmsqHVZYBN65MtNgsAuiYLnb/s320/20160331_165056.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vendor Hall BEFORE it opened</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
One of the highlights of my year is attending the Great Homeschool Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio. For the past five years, I've made the five-hour journey down I-75. Even the car ride is fun, since I travel along with good friends.<br />
<br />
A few days spent with some of my favorite people is one of the main reasons for loving the convention. A getaway is such a blessing. We laughed together more than I've laughed in months and months.<br />
<br />
Of course, there's the convention itself - a huge vendor hall filled with curriculum and learning materials and some of the most motivating homeschool speakers. BLISS!<br />
<br />
This year I attended ten seminars. Over the next few weeks, I'll share what I learned. My goal was to attend seminars that will help me in the writing and literature classes I teach to homeschoolers, as well as motivate me to finish the last four years and 2 months I have left before my youngest graduates. (Not that I am counting or anything!)<br />
<ol>
<li>Getting Words on Paper: Strategies for Reluctant Writers - Kathy Kuhl & Janice Campbell</li>
<li>Nurturing the Writer in Your Child/Nurturing the Writer in Yourself - The Writing Family</li>
<li>Beauty and Delight in the Ordinary Chaotic Homeschool - Sarah Mackenzie</li>
<li>Witches, Wizards, and Wands, Oh My! A Parent's Guide to Fantasy, Fiction, and Faith - Adam Andrews</li>
<li>Why Writing is Not a Subject and Why Every Subject Needs Writing To Be Properly Taught - Andrew Kern</li>
<li>How We (Mis)Read the Bible: Being Biblical As We Try To Be Biblical - John Stonestreet</li>
<li>How to Mark a Student Paper Like a Pro (Only Better) - Brian Wasko</li>
<li>The Socratic Method for Dummies - Become a Great Teacher - Adam Andrews</li>
<li>Teaching Reading in the Screen Age - Andrew Kern</li>
<li>G.K. Chesterton and the Metaphysics of Amazement - Martin Cothran</li>
</ol>
<br />
Wow, strong inspirational teaching in every seminar but one. (You'll have to stay tuned to find out which one was the stinker!)<br />
<br />
I rarely attend the keynote speakers and this year was no exception. None of them was compelling enough to skip our evening hijinks. On Thursday night, my friends and I gathered at a restaurant on the nearby city square and laughed and ate (tasteless) burgers. Friday night we ventured on the trolley across the river into Kentucky to have much better burgers and see a movie at the mall.<br />
<br />
One of the things I've learned to expect is that I "hit the wall" so to speak after hearing so much valuable information. It's just mentally exhausting. So, I've learned to plan for that ahead of time. Four seminars in a day is usually all I can manage, along with a stint in the vendor hall. Now that I've learned to expect that, it's much easier to get through the weekend.<br />
<br />
For those newbies, one thing that has made my experience easier is to bring a rolling cart. If you're heading to a convention, that's my tip!<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/85727/lisaquing/54159b0c3897f7e4e04ad1bb72f77f57.png" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7961918991631558199.post-14976453878707250002016-03-28T09:05:00.001-04:002016-03-28T09:05:18.284-04:00SUCCESS! (Sitting Still Training Victory)<br />
Yesterday, while sitting in church on Easter Sunday with my family, I realized something.<br />
<br />
They were all sitting still!!!<br />
<br />
Longtime readers of my blog may remember our family's attempts at <a href="http://cornerstonehomelearning.blogspot.com/2006/01/sitting-still-training.html" target="_blank">Sitting Still Training</a> (2006). In 2013, we <a href="http://cornerstonehomelearning.blogspot.com/2013/05/sitting-still-training-redux.html" target="_blank">revisited the attempts</a>. My youngest were 13 and 11 then. Those two are now 16 and almost 14 and can sit still!<br />
<br />
I know. They probably would have learned to do it anyway. But it still feels like success!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/85727/lisaquing/54159b0c3897f7e4e04ad1bb72f77f57.png" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7961918991631558199.post-19190984160472207302015-04-12T20:19:00.000-04:002015-04-12T20:19:06.607-04:00Professional Development at Cincinnati Convention<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoO-2klmeV3wjyENlggvy3HIGfk-s-_040sc-mRgV3axTAp_fhgWzhJ-yx4gcSnRqS13Ed7CnBqcrNw09RTOZeNc_kWa-bucAMuBPfyHfkGHmwmwWUs3hO-aqpKdeqJVNL3FrVsF78kNIf/s1600/10999805_10152860175790028_994753749647801208_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoO-2klmeV3wjyENlggvy3HIGfk-s-_040sc-mRgV3axTAp_fhgWzhJ-yx4gcSnRqS13Ed7CnBqcrNw09RTOZeNc_kWa-bucAMuBPfyHfkGHmwmwWUs3hO-aqpKdeqJVNL3FrVsF78kNIf/s1600/10999805_10152860175790028_994753749647801208_n.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
I spent the last three days at the Midwest Homeschool Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio. My main goal for attending this year was professional development for the writing classes I teach for homeschoolers. I wanted to examine as much writing curriculum as I could. I will be writing down some impressions of the curriculum I looked at, but nothing was a game-changer for me.<br />
<br />
These are the information-packed <br />
seminars I attended.<br />
<br />
<ul><a href="https://www.greathomeschoolconventions.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/ghc-MAIN-3clr-Alt.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://www.greathomeschoolconventions.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/ghc-MAIN-3clr-Alt.png" width="200" /></a>
<li>The Four Deadly Errors of Teaching Writing - Andrew Pudewa (IEW)</li>
<li>Dyslexia Remediation and a Strength Perspective: Hope and Help for Dyslexics - Beth Ellen Nash (Wings2Soar Academy)</li>
<li>George Washington: Father of Our Country - Jim Weiss (Greathall Productions)</li>
<li>Fiction as a Weapon in the Culture Wars: How to Write Back and Fight Back - Don Brown </li>
<li>Finding the Glitch When Kids Won't Write - Karen Holinga (Demme Learning/Math-U-See)</li>
<li>How to Read a Great Book and a Hard One - Andrew Kern (CiRCE Institute)</li>
<li>Danger of the Homeschool Bubble: Helping Your Kids Discover God's Purpose for Their Lives - Bob Sjogren (Cat and Dog Theology)</li>
<li>Teaching Students to Test Truth Claims - John Stonestreet (Chuck Colson Center)</li>
<li>Preparing Students for College Writing - Kim Priesmeyer (Belhaven University)</li>
<li>Quitting is Not An Option: How to be a Homeschool "Lifer" - Tina Hollenbeck (Celebrate Kids, Inc.)</li>
</ul>
<br />
I will post some thoughts on each of these seminars in the next few weeks.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/85727/lisaquing/54159b0c3897f7e4e04ad1bb72f77f57.png" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7961918991631558199.post-37403710521607744162015-01-04T22:51:00.000-05:002015-04-03T18:25:36.091-04:00Downsizing the Book Collection, or 44 Children's Books That Made the Cut (+5 more)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw-R85fhTtrbnH9q_UuIpOgDc4DpsX3DlWnTtrxGvFqltOHurk6Pwze6EU8smwVCIBk4vVil4dcrPm2C5WHEFWWu8xrQqXWGYO_11uYyTSPxbbCn7kIOTkpEKH4_-RKzCkeg3bBLjHU2Cd/s1600/jamberry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw-R85fhTtrbnH9q_UuIpOgDc4DpsX3DlWnTtrxGvFqltOHurk6Pwze6EU8smwVCIBk4vVil4dcrPm2C5WHEFWWu8xrQqXWGYO_11uYyTSPxbbCn7kIOTkpEKH4_-RKzCkeg3bBLjHU2Cd/s1600/jamberry.jpg" height="200" width="169" /></a>For a long time - most of my life, really - I've collected books, well into the thousands.<br />
<br />
Our teensy house has barely contained all these volumes. Pressure from my family and my dislike of clutter has resulted in me culling my collections quite severely.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhot2h-Fjk1Q0160-p-cGv_fAxZnXtZATY5YMiF2FP_DxSoayptevcq88Gd9y5Ds5OoCE7EiuRYuZTNXb4y-ognrqRO1Z9RKGC8b5VyI08XySiAxRoa5tg2ide7AiTZyIiVr7JWjObNaxfa/s1600/One_Morning_in_Maine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhot2h-Fjk1Q0160-p-cGv_fAxZnXtZATY5YMiF2FP_DxSoayptevcq88Gd9y5Ds5OoCE7EiuRYuZTNXb4y-ognrqRO1Z9RKGC8b5VyI08XySiAxRoa5tg2ide7AiTZyIiVr7JWjObNaxfa/s1600/One_Morning_in_Maine.jpg" height="200" width="148" /></a>I know, I know. You may be horrified at my willingness to downsize my library. However, I no longer truly believed my old mantra: You can never have too many books.<br />
<br />
I DID have too many books. I just knew it was time to let many of them go.Today was another step in that lengthy journey.<br />
<br />
Our upstairs landing once held 4 bookcases; today the landing is book-free. No worries, as I still have a bookcase in my bedroom and two in the living room. The kids own books which they keep in their bedrooms.<br />
<br />
Deciding what to keep was painful. I've sold some, given away some, and even (gasp) discarded some. (Only the really well-used ones, I promise!)<br />
<br />
I asked myself questions like these to help weed through my collection:<br />
<br />
<ul><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMe1JrRrmh0uroYP89nsInFrJxOVJrqrKL6HggyQRZENdnpZQc8RygeZQiBo3rpwo4WxSp8U6M7whuFYV9NWyBMPvacFmBk6ykLgHAk3qda1aYUI5Ym8tYKAixXNek0zGZBMEFBKqKvtUu/s1600/Chicka-Chicka-Boom-Boom-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMe1JrRrmh0uroYP89nsInFrJxOVJrqrKL6HggyQRZENdnpZQc8RygeZQiBo3rpwo4WxSp8U6M7whuFYV9NWyBMPvacFmBk6ykLgHAk3qda1aYUI5Ym8tYKAixXNek0zGZBMEFBKqKvtUu/s1600/Chicka-Chicka-Boom-Boom-.jpg" height="200" width="153" /></a>
<li>Will any of my children (currently ages 12-20) want to read this?</li>
<li>Will I personally ever read this? (I tried to be very realistic.)</li>
<li>Would a replacement be easily available if I ever wanted one?</li>
<li>Is the information in this book current and useful?</li>
<li>Can I find this information faster online?</li>
<li>Will I ever want to read this book to a grandchild? </li>
<li>(And a corollary to that is: Do I want to hold on to it until that event happens?)</li>
<li>Does this book hold special memories? (For example, was it gifted by a special person?)</li>
<li>Is the book in good enough condition to keep?</li>
</ul>
<br />
I don't need to hold on to books for emotional reasons. Well, at least not very many. (I will admit to a small box of books that fit that description.)<br />
<br />
For those that are wondering which books were deemed worthy of shelf space in my living room, here are 44 picture books that made the cut:<br />
<br />
<ol><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwI-FpKCdeAQo2zizxsMF9LrdNmldCSkfcIVkQ1c7CbGYLKZYd5tbbV9H1aw2DWjEOJLToCiA2Y9AC2FeTCVQ_jo_7pDgXSP2aufr_LQ__1wXZRdBeR2C7UDzTyDG6at-am68UVuCGMOgF/s1600/mother+goose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwI-FpKCdeAQo2zizxsMF9LrdNmldCSkfcIVkQ1c7CbGYLKZYd5tbbV9H1aw2DWjEOJLToCiA2Y9AC2FeTCVQ_jo_7pDgXSP2aufr_LQ__1wXZRdBeR2C7UDzTyDG6at-am68UVuCGMOgF/s1600/mother+goose.jpg" height="200" width="164" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ7pNCE4YMT9IdpWqWA4MoWU9O4UajoZmM2UAgpJ81NTP5j-3fgLwxRp4YmieXF8Ytjdwf6Vzx1YszfHdZ1fzxLQPL1xRdJeRcZxwnalIa3D96cY36EW_poOTWkZmTZx4DJJ8wPGsTzMYH/s1600/catskill+eagle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ7pNCE4YMT9IdpWqWA4MoWU9O4UajoZmM2UAgpJ81NTP5j-3fgLwxRp4YmieXF8Ytjdwf6Vzx1YszfHdZ1fzxLQPL1xRdJeRcZxwnalIa3D96cY36EW_poOTWkZmTZx4DJJ8wPGsTzMYH/s1600/catskill+eagle.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvFPmkldDyUc1oIxLo5VQ9wuuhGn7lPLsz9ZPBAJ_fJMLOSF1HcYcT7GCDQOGLYzxSu2AIHI8fRhmwiZ5GQ4M1uAFhIvhTRmtHXOZGzHi98Ap9weMdyRYvN-UXhp4HlOP6qcGHhGgaUFnc/s1600/i+am+a+bunny.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvFPmkldDyUc1oIxLo5VQ9wuuhGn7lPLsz9ZPBAJ_fJMLOSF1HcYcT7GCDQOGLYzxSu2AIHI8fRhmwiZ5GQ4M1uAFhIvhTRmtHXOZGzHi98Ap9weMdyRYvN-UXhp4HlOP6qcGHhGgaUFnc/s1600/i+am+a+bunny.jpg" height="320" width="173" /></a>
<li>A Squirrel's Tale by Richard Fowler (Usborne)</li>
<li>The Amelia Bedelia Treasury by Peggy Parish</li>
<li>Animalia by Graeme Base</li>
<li>Are You My Mother by P.D. Eastman</li>
<li>The Big Snow by Berta and Elmer Hader</li>
<li>The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss</li>
<li>Catskill Eagle by Herman Melville (illus by Thomas Locker)</li>
<li>Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault, illus by Lois Ehlert</li>
<li>Corduroy by Don Freeman</li>
<li>Dr. Seuss's ABC</li>
<li>The Frances Collection by Russell Hoban</li>
<li>Go, Dog. Go! By P.D. Eastman</li>
<li>The Golden Egg Book by Margaret Wise Brown</li>
<li>Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown</li>
<li>Guess How Much I Love You, by Sam McBratney</li>
<li>How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss</li>
<li>I Am a Bunny by Ole Risum, illustrated by Richard Scarry</li>
<li>I Can Draw Animals by Ray Gibson (Usborne)</li>
<li>Jamberry by Bruce Degen</li>
<li>Least of All by Carol Purdy</li>
<li>The Little Bear Treasury by Else Holmelund Minarik</li>
<li>The Little Engine that Could by Watty Piper</li>
<li>The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood</li>
<li>Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey</li>
<li>Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton</li>
<li>Millions of Cats by Wanda Ga'g</li>
<li>The Monster at the End of this Book starring Lovable, Furry Old Grover by Jon Stone</li>
<li>Mother Goose, Carolyn Wells edition (1946)</li>
<li>One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey</li>
<li>Picnic by Emily Arnold McCully</li>
<li>The Poky Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowrey</li>
<li>The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg</li>
<li>Saint George and the Dragon retold by Margaret Hodges, illus by Trina Schart Hyman</li>
<li>Sleeping Ugly by Jane Yolen</li>
<li>The Snowman by Raymond Briggs</li>
<li>The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats</li>
<li>The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf</li>
<li>Ten Apples Up on Top by Theo LeSieg</li>
<li>The Usborne First Thousand Words in Spanish by Heather Amery and Stephen Cartwright</li>
<li>The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams</li>
<li>Wait Till The Moon is Full by Margaret Wise Brown, illus by Garth Williams</li>
<li>Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein</li>
<li>Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak</li>
<li>White Snow Bright Snow by Alvin Tresselt</li>
</ol>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLdYLAUPgVCHy4PO7uhlU2VZk2kVf957XPlS3HNPJZuHKAlAIYDirs2ElvuX7tCqPSoMmW0vzeaHeKfYEXdtrbdxInZimhnqRuUcQ-ONqGZMHMiJPRTXg3sHQnPkP8ZN09QWKmlgSIvB4L/s1600/2015-01-04+22.41.03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLdYLAUPgVCHy4PO7uhlU2VZk2kVf957XPlS3HNPJZuHKAlAIYDirs2ElvuX7tCqPSoMmW0vzeaHeKfYEXdtrbdxInZimhnqRuUcQ-ONqGZMHMiJPRTXg3sHQnPkP8ZN09QWKmlgSIvB4L/s1600/2015-01-04+22.41.03.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a>Quite an enjoyable collection of picture books, don't you agree? I know there are a few greats that are not here. For example, my copies of <u>The Very Hungry Caterpillar</u> and <u>Caps for Sale</u> were worn out, so I didn't keep them. Other favorites like <u>Blueberries for Sal</u> and the oversized volumes by Richard Scarry have gone missing over time. I will probably replace those titles and others someday.<br />
<br />
For picture book aficionados, here is <a href="http://www.slj.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/SLJ_Fuse8_Top100_Picture.pdf" target="_blank">a list of School Library Journal's Top 100 Picture Books</a>. (Psst.... lots of mine are on there!)<br />
<br />
I will leave you with a picture of my picture book collection. (And yes, I do have two copies of Make Way for Ducklings. I like that book, ok?) Many other books, both fiction and non-fiction, live on that bookshelf too. I am in no danger of being book-less.<br />
<br />
But my new mantra is Only Keep the Books You Really Want.<br />
<br />
EDITED 1/10/15 - I went through another box of books I found and found 5 more picture books I want to keep.<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>My Little Golden Book About God by Jane Werner Watson (this one is inscribed from me to David April 1995)</li>
<li>Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion</li>
<li>We Were Tired of Living in a House by Liesel Moak Skorpen, illus by Doris Burn</li>
<li>Christina Katerina and the Box by Patricia Lee Gauch, illus by Doris Burn (not the new edition with different illustrations)</li>
<li>Andrew Henry's Meadow written and illustrated by Doris Burn </li>
</ol>
<br />
(evidently I like Doris Burn's illustrations)<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/85727/lisaquing/54159b0c3897f7e4e04ad1bb72f77f57.png" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7961918991631558199.post-14616847907122923912014-12-28T19:52:00.002-05:002014-12-28T19:52:46.186-05:00This Year At Co-opWe are part of a fun and practical homeschool co-op that I helped start 10 years ago. We are now in our eleventh year of co-op and my kids could not imagine homeschooling without being in co-op.<br />
<br />
Here are the classes the kids are taking this year.<br />
<br />
Suzy, age 12<br />
Creative Crafters - fun crafts<br />
BFF Club - learning how to host parties for your friends and creating friendships<br />
Babysitting - the Red Cross babysitting class<br />
Drawing Portraits - a DVD course with an art teacher to learn to draw portraits<br />
<br />
James, age 15<br />
Drafting - learning both pencil/paper drafting and CAD<br />
K'Nex Bridge Building - using K'Nex to learn about the physics of bridges<br />
Literature (Mythology) - Greek and Roman Mythology<br />
Personal Protection - Physical fitness and self-defense<br />
<br />
Emily, age 17 (her last year of co-op)<br />
What's Next - preparation for adult life (careers, bills, housing, etc...)<br />
Foundations Personal Finance - the Dave Ramsey course for teens<br />
Literature (Mythology) - Greek and Roman Mythology<br />
Choir - yup, singing in a group<br />
<br />
Since this is Emily's last year, next year I will have only two kids at co-op.<br />
<br />
If you haven't found a suitable co-op in your area, starting one may be very rewarding!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/85727/lisaquing/54159b0c3897f7e4e04ad1bb72f77f57.png" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7961918991631558199.post-1839947508418317422014-10-31T13:48:00.001-04:002014-10-31T13:53:15.319-04:00The Eve of NaNoWriMo<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghKt1nKnmkff07MRrN1pFvJelSO7zeAEdx90SxTEl2XxLH20KM76OPKaQftBFKTBAMfIwKoSlArTLkRxijZOpFNnLoTu1em1XzuhyaEbDZKDFzC6jbHVa3PCPSS7MT7o7viRHqyWZysSaC/s1600/Participant-2014-Web-Banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghKt1nKnmkff07MRrN1pFvJelSO7zeAEdx90SxTEl2XxLH20KM76OPKaQftBFKTBAMfIwKoSlArTLkRxijZOpFNnLoTu1em1XzuhyaEbDZKDFzC6jbHVa3PCPSS7MT7o7viRHqyWZysSaC/s1600/Participant-2014-Web-Banner.jpg" height="147" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">National Novel Writing Month starts tomorrow! Every year since 2009, which was my second year of participating, my kids have written novels during November.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">When I talk about NaNoWriMo, I encourage EVERYONE to participate. You may have a novel inside you and not even know it. And don't even try to tell me that you don't have time. We can compare schedules. ::::grins::::</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">If your CHILD will be participating:</span></div>
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You, the parent, will sign up your child at <a href="http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://ywp.<span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 204); color: #222222;">nanowrimo</span>.org/</a>. If you, for whatever reason, don't want to affiliate with NaNo's YWP, that's ok; you can be local participants only. Students choose their own word count goals on the YWP site. Here's a handy chart to help you choose: <a href="http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/wordcount" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://ywp.nanowrimo.<wbr></wbr>org/wordcount</a> I actually recommend higher numbers than these, starting with 1000 words per grade level. So a 7th grader could aim for 7,000. </div>
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This year, my kids have these word count goals</div>
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Emily (12th grade) - 50,000 - that's 1667 words per day</div>
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James (9th grade) - 25,000 - that's 834 words per day</div>
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Suzy (7th grade) - 7,000 - that's 233 words per day</div>
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<br />
ADULTS can write too!<br />
Moms and Dads, you can sign up too. Go to the main <span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 204);">NaNoWriMo</span> website at <a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">www.<span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 204); color: #222222;">nanowrimo</span>.org</a> and sign yourselves up! Adults all aim for the 50K word count goal.</div>
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So, my own word count goal is 50,000. I will be writing a middle grades novel entitled <span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><i>Ebenezer McCracken and the Saga of the Sphinx</i>.</span><br />
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Come on! You'll be really glad you did!<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
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<br /></div>
<div>
Many resources exist on the website. They have written novel-writing lesson plans and FREE workbooks for your students (and they are EXCELLENT) as free downloads. Very cool! <span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/resources" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://ywp.nanowrimo.<wbr></wbr>org/resources</a></span></div>
<div>
<br />
What is <span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 204);">NaNoWriMo</span>?<br />
<br />
National Novel Writing Month happens every November!<br />
<br />
It is a fun, seat-of-your-<u></u>pants novel writing event where the challenge is to write an entire novel in just 30 days. That means participants begin writing November 1 and must finish by midnight, November 30. The word-count goal for our adult program is 50,000 words, but our Young Writers Program allows participants who are 17 years old and younger to set reasonable, yet challenging, word-count goals.<br />
<br />
The only thing that matters in <span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 204);">NaNoWriMo</span> is output. It's all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.<br />
<br />
Make no mistake: you will be writing a lot of strange stuff, and some of it will be just plain bad. But that's a good thing! For 30 days, you get to lock that inner editor in the basement, let your imagination take over, and just create!<br />
<br />
As you spend November writing, you can draw comfort from the fact that, all around the world, other National Novel Writing Month participants of all ages are going through the same joys and sorrows of producing the Great Frantic Novel.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">In 2013, over 300,000 adults participated through our main site, and nearly 90,000 young writers participated through the YWP.</span></div>
<div>
www.<span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 204);">nanowrimo</span>.<u></u>org</div>
<div>
<a href="http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://ywp.<span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 204); color: #222222;">nanowrimo</span>.org/</a><br />
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Let me know if you have any questions!</div>
</div>
<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/85727/lisaquing/54159b0c3897f7e4e04ad1bb72f77f57.png" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7961918991631558199.post-34761653732593743742014-10-04T20:58:00.000-04:002014-10-04T20:58:00.324-04:00Can't Imagine Homeschooling Without Our Co-op!Another year at our h<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arvo; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25.1679992675781px;">omeschool co-op is underway. This is the eleventh year our family has done co-op and I have been on t</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arvo; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25.1679992675781px;">he leadership team the whole time. We really can't imagine our homeschool lives without co-op.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arvo; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25.1679992675781px;">How is our co-op structured? Each child chooses 4 classes from several choices offered for each age group. We break for lunch partway through the day. This provides some downtime for the kids to interact (and the moms too!). We meet every other Friday 14 times between September and April and finish up with a program at the end of the year to show what we've been learning all year. You can check out our website at </span><a href="http://www.sofhomeschool.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #99c9ff; font-family: Arvo; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25.1679992675781px; text-decoration: none;">www.sofhomeschool.com</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arvo; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25.1679992675781px;">. </span><br />
<br />
This year's class choices are:<br />
Suzy, age 12 (7th grade)<br />
Creative Crafters - a craft class for ages 10-15<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
BFF Club - a chance for girls to get to know others and to plan activities for the group to participate in. Each girl will "host" a week.<br />
Babysitting - Red Cross babysitters training<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
Drawing Portraits - learning to draw portraits (DVD-based class)<br />
<br />
Emily, age 17<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>(senior)<br />
What's Next - Life skills training<br />
Foundations Personal Finance - Dave Ramsey for teens<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
Literature - Mythology<br />
Choir - yeah, singing<br />
<br />
James, age 14<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>(9th grade)<br />
Drafting - the basics of Drafting<br />
K'Nex Bridge Bldg - physics and engineering using K'nex to build large bridges<br />
Literature - Mythology<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
Personal Protection - self defense and fitness<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/85727/lisaquing/54159b0c3897f7e4e04ad1bb72f77f57.png" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7961918991631558199.post-18862621519128092232014-10-03T11:24:00.000-04:002014-10-03T11:25:07.134-04:00We are NOT Hermits!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYQajPCqke1WbK8iq2MdPRpEmOX5kZSMO6gjrXC8xZGkS1hU2CylZys-3ay9zxH5AKPdj36OI6ajFlqqvc11vvfsoDtBStYzohPiLVdt9DO_LE9UZhssj-Cd7SP8A_FQjARhgj4esQz4Ma/s1600/hermitsunited1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYQajPCqke1WbK8iq2MdPRpEmOX5kZSMO6gjrXC8xZGkS1hU2CylZys-3ay9zxH5AKPdj36OI6ajFlqqvc11vvfsoDtBStYzohPiLVdt9DO_LE9UZhssj-Cd7SP8A_FQjARhgj4esQz4Ma/s1600/hermitsunited1.jpg" height="148" width="200" /></a>We have nothing on the calendar today because a field trip was canceled. Here's a conversation I had with my 14yo son.<br />
James: We have nothing today?<br />
Me: Well, we have lessons.<br />
James: But we're not going out of the house today?<br />
Me: No.<br />
James: Oh my gosh, we're hermits!<br />
<br />
As this post will tell you, we are quite a long way from being hermits. Now that our school year is under way, our routine is becoming second nature. Here's a glimpse at how our days (should) go.<br />
<br />
I work 20 hours a week from home on the computer. <br />
This is divided into 4 hours each day Monday through Friday, but I have the freedom to work whenever I want during each day. So, when you look at the below routine, you can imagine me shoving my 4 work hours into the "free" times. For example, while the kids are at karate, I bring my laptop and work from the karate school.<br />
<br />
Our mornings usually follow a schedule like this:<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN3Pi_F-RfY-HBdZ6mq5nlFH3Gg_XnIvSWIcBYMF_MZ3OSI_uKqxWgaSlLiS130bUayMiKwOmYkcPlrWEE11jVvwXN1sdbVSf_NxX-5ozw-FAIPE7kHRvcJNby_JEdrKWNFmVGLD1cELRJ/s1600/planner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN3Pi_F-RfY-HBdZ6mq5nlFH3Gg_XnIvSWIcBYMF_MZ3OSI_uKqxWgaSlLiS130bUayMiKwOmYkcPlrWEE11jVvwXN1sdbVSf_NxX-5ozw-FAIPE7kHRvcJNby_JEdrKWNFmVGLD1cELRJ/s1600/planner.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a>6:00 AM - Mom gets up. Get ready for the day and work before the kids get up.<br />
6:30 AM - Dad gets up<br />
7:00 AM - Alarms go off for the kids. Get up, do chores, get ready.<br />
7:30 AM - Dad leaves for work<br />
9:00 AM - Lessons begin. The bulk of their work is done in the AM.<br />
12:00 PM - Lunch and clean up kitchen.<br />
<br />
I will note that the kids NEVER get up when their alarms go off. I am working on how to make that happen. Ideas welcomed. Keep in mind that I rarely go upstairs where their bedrooms are.<br />
<br />
On Mondays and Tuesdays, we are generally home in the afternoons so the kids keep working on lessons or have free time. I am a paid supervising teacher at a homeschool partnership on Wednesday afternoons; the kids have stayed home on Wednesdays and done much the same as on Mondays and Tuesdays. James and Emily have just gotten a seasonal job that will probably keep them busy on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons for a few weeks. Suzy went with me to work this week Wednesday and she will do that if the older kids are at work.<br />
<br />
On Thursdays, I teach two writing classes and my kids are each in one of the classes. We leave at 10 AM and don't return home until dinnertime. One Thursday a month, I have scheduled as an off-day and we do not have writing class on those days. During the class they are not in, my kids work independently on assignments. After writing, they attend two karate classes - their own level and a lower level for review. We often stop at the store on Thursdays after karate.<br />
<br />
Every other Friday is homeschool co-op, so on those days we are out of the house from 9 AM to 3 PM. On the off-Fridays, we often have a field trip or park day to choose from. Lessons for the week must be done, or they don't get to attend anything special on Friday (or the weekend, for that matter).<br />
<br />
In the evenings, we have some commitments as well.<br />
Monday night - karate class at 5:30 and sometimes a lower level class at 6:15<br />
Wednesday night - James goes to Royal Rangers at 5:30 and youth group at 7:00. Emily goes to youth group at a different church at 6:15. (She has to be on track with her work in order to go.)<br />
Friday evenings are usually work time for me, but often the kids have a friend over or make plans to go somewhere.<br />
James and Emily have been learning to referee soccer games and those are usually on Tuesday and Thursday nights and Saturday mornings. They only can ref if we have no other commitments.<br />
<br />
Emily goes to Teens for Christ two Saturdays a month and is gone from about noon to midnight.<br />
<br />
I am trying to protect Tuesdays as our Stay Home Day and make no regular commitments on those days.<br />
<br />
So, there you have it! The basics of our full lives!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/85727/lisaquing/54159b0c3897f7e4e04ad1bb72f77f57.png" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7961918991631558199.post-41639626951541575162014-09-05T20:03:00.000-04:002014-09-05T20:03:17.131-04:00Planning Time - Science<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK4LwPlCH8VTgCuFGlF_wlOKkB0sfvbVG3MP-1Oe0slgPp9vWykukL9ZZy8PbXEnL7Ym0R3DpbT6wZIUK7MwmSd6WYvKgqf0Xk5kF3FeoceZRp02WkRURN5Pv-VGlzoVD-VAimeXFDkYji/s1600/biology+101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK4LwPlCH8VTgCuFGlF_wlOKkB0sfvbVG3MP-1Oe0slgPp9vWykukL9ZZy8PbXEnL7Ym0R3DpbT6wZIUK7MwmSd6WYvKgqf0Xk5kF3FeoceZRp02WkRURN5Pv-VGlzoVD-VAimeXFDkYji/s1600/biology+101.jpg" /></a>Science is the bane of my homeschool. I don't like science and I don't want to teach it. I also don't like how science is taught. (This is probably the reason I dislike the subject. I was public-schooled, you know.)<br />
<br />
Emily doesn't have a science credit this year since she has nearly finished her three required science classes. She has a few experiments to finish from Chemistry that we have saved for her to do this fall.<br />
<br />
Thankfully, I found <a href="http://www.the101series.com/" target="_blank">The 101 Series</a>. This is a DVD-based curriculum that gives a nice overview of the science topics for the non-science-oriented child. James will be doing Biology 101 this year since he is a freshman. I add a dissection lab to this curriculum to round out the content. (Anyone want to teach James dissection? I. Do. Not. Do. That.)<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJdThwbAkxDbQ7gZYj3aomAj0dLHbEJsWAz7NCqgUVuvCIQgc_YvvnjGKtDhyphenhyphen0xp52PyX5wexu9Krap0hBsaPqfG0MYXcOqoapQufaFweMU7hFOZQzC9U38eb__yLSmBoMHkfUD1ad9uDB/s1600/exploratopia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJdThwbAkxDbQ7gZYj3aomAj0dLHbEJsWAz7NCqgUVuvCIQgc_YvvnjGKtDhyphenhyphen0xp52PyX5wexu9Krap0hBsaPqfG0MYXcOqoapQufaFweMU7hFOZQzC9U38eb__yLSmBoMHkfUD1ad9uDB/s1600/exploratopia.jpg" height="200" width="155" /></a>The structure I use for this curriculum is for the student to watch the DVD section of the current module and read the text pages.Suggested activities and readings are included with each module, so I usually assign some outside reading from the library and short reports to summarize the information. We complete most of the suggested activities and experiments. Sometimes a field trip is suggested. Once those activities are complete, I have the child re-watch the DVD lesson and re-read the lesson before taking the end-of-the-unit quiz.<br />
<br />
<br />
Suzy will be doing some experiment and reading from the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Exploratopia-kid-friendly-experiments-explorations-curious/dp/0316612812" target="_blank">Exploratopia</a>. We are starting with some kitchen science experiments. She will be doing experiments twice a week and writing them up on the other days.<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/85727/lisaquing/54159b0c3897f7e4e04ad1bb72f77f57.png" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7961918991631558199.post-89725097685707058182014-09-05T19:46:00.001-04:002014-09-05T19:46:43.225-04:00Planning Time - History<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNYiPzfxRQI9ds5ZtZAA6-8tVsVr1l7aWAxgwFGFHsDfW1cJYVTzPxzeVXstielTkm7K5m9fFMsWOX5CXx3bFp4FFsuJAutAd16pXUK_OiUuADWo-AwgjE7ElE5FM4c6Y7bcgGwp98Fpa1/s1600/MOHVol3_cover+(1).png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNYiPzfxRQI9ds5ZtZAA6-8tVsVr1l7aWAxgwFGFHsDfW1cJYVTzPxzeVXstielTkm7K5m9fFMsWOX5CXx3bFp4FFsuJAutAd16pXUK_OiUuADWo-AwgjE7ElE5FM4c6Y7bcgGwp98Fpa1/s1600/MOHVol3_cover+(1).png" height="200" width="144" /></a>History is easy. It's just a story.<br />
<br />
OK, it's a really long story with multiple settings and countless characters. But still a story.<br />
<br />
We use <i><a href="http://www.themysteryofhistory.info/index.shtml" target="_blank">The Mystery of History</a></i>. We are nearly done with Volume 3.<br />
<br />
We will push hard to finish Volume 4 this year so that Emily (my senior) will be able to finish it with us.<br />
<br />
When starting Mystery of History all those years ago, I had it in mind to do the whole thing TWICE before David graduated. Well, the books didn't come out fast enough for that. We made do and used other resources.<br />
<br />
Suzy and James will get to do all 4 volumes twice. That's the plan.<br />
<br />
So, for this year, we will work hard the first three weeks to finish the last few lessons of Volume 3. Then we will try to keep up the pace the rest of the year. We don't do tests or worksheets for history. It's a story and so that's how we study it.<br />
<br />
I like to reinforce the topics with videos and hands-on projects. We also work on a timeline to put everything in order.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/85727/lisaquing/54159b0c3897f7e4e04ad1bb72f77f57.png" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7961918991631558199.post-42365401993832678932014-09-01T21:10:00.000-04:002014-09-01T21:10:38.691-04:00We're still not starting school....<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1qqgWx4uS617WE-eSH5i_ifypX38u-yaiAfwkY0SmH-UlKxr8iIdbuhQHA2leJcKo7CNlZfQL9zNtHTsHE3pUtMP_A4lyfP6n458uBReH6g6qbUhQHq_2A5Z_pRYj5BaZjGtDVOb8Okai/s1600/back_to_school_or_not.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1qqgWx4uS617WE-eSH5i_ifypX38u-yaiAfwkY0SmH-UlKxr8iIdbuhQHA2leJcKo7CNlZfQL9zNtHTsHE3pUtMP_A4lyfP6n458uBReH6g6qbUhQHq_2A5Z_pRYj5BaZjGtDVOb8Okai/s1600/back_to_school_or_not.jpg" height="193" width="200" /></a>Most of Michigan's public schools begin the new school year tomorrow, Tuesday, September 2nd. Many of my homeschool friends are following suit.<br />
<br />
We, on the other hand, won't start our 2014-15 lessons until next Monday, the 8th.<br />
<br />
A friend asked me why and I gave her a couple of reasons, but as I thought about it, I realized I'd only given her part of the story.<br />
<br />
Quite a few reasons figured into my decision to wait another week before hitting the books this fall.<br />
1 - I hate starting on a Tuesday. Mondays are my best "get school done" days.<br />
2 - I have a work commitment this Wednesday and therefore will be out of the house most of that day. Great second day of school THAT would be.<br />
3 - I have NO planning done yet. I mean that. None. So, I need this week to plan.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRHZYZtPnrJmYHlbq-BtfQZo39Z4ZU8RrhM4gxyVKGGpXFLJNEiKR6lVQDKoz9dj8n4AznNTnDipFnmOCMozyP3SZTybSp04-ivDsdUs9zFiWoM1SKwP-ztWaGv2PTaQS6bFq5-w8Qazvm/s1600/homeschooling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRHZYZtPnrJmYHlbq-BtfQZo39Z4ZU8RrhM4gxyVKGGpXFLJNEiKR6lVQDKoz9dj8n4AznNTnDipFnmOCMozyP3SZTybSp04-ivDsdUs9zFiWoM1SKwP-ztWaGv2PTaQS6bFq5-w8Qazvm/s1600/homeschooling.jpg" height="126" width="200" /></a>4 - We were originally thinking about going out of town this week - until I realized that A) I have to work on Wednesday and B) We had to buy a new alternator instead of a vacation.<br />
5 - My summer hasn't been long enough! And now we have some nice weather! I don't WANNA sit inside.<br />
6 - And last, the public schoolers are starting, but that's no reason for us to copy their schedule. I don't copy their snow days, government holidays, or end of school schedule, so I don't need to worry about when the first day of public school is either.<br />
<br />
So, this week will involve lots of lesson plans. I hope to post some of that!<br />
<br />
And best wishes to all those starting their lessons on September 2nd. I'll think of you! :-)<br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/85727/lisaquing/54159b0c3897f7e4e04ad1bb72f77f57.png" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7961918991631558199.post-23964012197697633222014-08-30T15:35:00.002-04:002014-08-30T15:38:27.344-04:00The Best Writing Curriculum Ever!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzqXw2p8JBpYUYrB2VzG5kzt8FcjlRRKhTQjG2GgOe_kCpi69Xf1hEOYnyJe1wpzFG5TZbk3q3Rk9YaVNedWADSMZMFtROC4FycuPxgfBudgNMJCtqNXMWghmUf8tFXqZT5eEYhFKfnRtC/s1600/twss-d+thumb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzqXw2p8JBpYUYrB2VzG5kzt8FcjlRRKhTQjG2GgOe_kCpi69Xf1hEOYnyJe1wpzFG5TZbk3q3Rk9YaVNedWADSMZMFtROC4FycuPxgfBudgNMJCtqNXMWghmUf8tFXqZT5eEYhFKfnRtC/s1600/twss-d+thumb.jpg" height="177" width="200" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I've done a lot of research into language arts and writing curricula and the best I've found is IEW. I tried substitutes and I've tested other approaches, but I return to IEW over and over.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Why did I choose <span class="il" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 204);">IEW</span> curriculum?</b> <span class="il" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 204);">IEW</span>, or Institute for Excellence in Writing, is a very thorough and effective program that yields excellent measurable results. However, the learning curve for the instructor is steep so many </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">homeschool moms find it difficult to integrate into their homeschool routines. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">This year I am again teaching composition classes for high school and middle school and I am using IEW curriculum. (Sadly, there doesn't seem to be local interest in an elementary level class.) </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Offering these classes to homeschoolers means that I can provide quality writing instruction to students in a group setting. Parents can be assured they will progress steadily toward excellence in writing without the pressure of learning how to teach this system.</span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMBSidbotkNdBvG9zQHFtZ4w25OOZExLGrpcCcji8A-jZjt_jx9a6jenKMtBKGWuUUyf8l7iG5lOQxn3oMsTwFAxUFnHWjQY3MuVSbulE7FCIV3MkxCSdWK7yvQwSgmIPEn5G4knrASBYE/s1600/ahw-t_thumb_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMBSidbotkNdBvG9zQHFtZ4w25OOZExLGrpcCcji8A-jZjt_jx9a6jenKMtBKGWuUUyf8l7iG5lOQxn3oMsTwFAxUFnHWjQY3MuVSbulE7FCIV3MkxCSdWK7yvQwSgmIPEn5G4knrASBYE/s1600/ahw-t_thumb_0.jpg" height="200" width="174" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When you have this, you can learn from the master himself - Andrew Pudewa. Prepare yourself to be overwhelmed and confused at first. I viewed the TWSS twice and taught David and Emily the SWI-B (Student Writing Intensive) before I felt really confident about teaching these concepts.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">However, some moms don't have the advantage of a local class. So, what do they need to do? Well, if you're serious about teaching writing with this method, I'd suggest getting the <a href="http://iew.com/shop/products/teaching-writing-structure-style-dvd-seminar-seminar-workbook" target="_blank">Teaching Writing with Structure and Style (TWSS) DVD set from IEW</a>. Yes, it's expensive. I went in with a group of friends and we purchased it together. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJNvOersdmwfT8lb7qOiXKAkaIkMTCNFVx7aceG4VkMR9qm-CjcsVzcGWJne_cSMmzVDBNWmROwr8IAB6lHKF5QA26L74HBza2YMjUozgcAOS9selXVC-WU-WVJ440HBkDU98vQT8nmc4F/s1600/cbw_thumb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJNvOersdmwfT8lb7qOiXKAkaIkMTCNFVx7aceG4VkMR9qm-CjcsVzcGWJne_cSMmzVDBNWmROwr8IAB6lHKF5QA26L74HBza2YMjUozgcAOS9selXVC-WU-WVJ440HBkDU98vQT8nmc4F/s1600/cbw_thumb.jpg" height="200" width="174" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">My classes are using the Thematic books from IEW this year. The middle schoolers will be using the Ancient History-based theme book and the high school group will be working through the Character-based theme book. Last year my middle school group completed the Following Narnia theme book which turned out to be a valuable experience. These books are only suitable for use by instructors who already know the IEW system well. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Parents can skip the learning curve by choosing the SWI courses. These DVD-based courses allow your children to learn from Andrew Pudewa and work through exercises in the corresponding work binder. I would recommend watching the DVD along with your children so you understand how to complete the assignments.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">If you want help choosing IEW curriculum for your family, IEW has a helpful tool on their website <a href="http://iew.com/shop/shopping-resources/decision-tree/where-start-writing" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Students who learn to write with IEW gain confidence and skill and become excellent writers. I recommend starting now!</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXeYyRh7hH4ab5Sok4OU9FQ3q2Pay8XANRmI6HA3vW4IhqZRy_G7G6tfwhbRQodj5Jx49Yn4RnlQpV2qcN8wAhoMuQmBU48ND2-oBB1H-K0bA830IIgECHaZ23lO2G5CarO-Sljkcs6HNz/s1600/IMG_1735.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXeYyRh7hH4ab5Sok4OU9FQ3q2Pay8XANRmI6HA3vW4IhqZRy_G7G6tfwhbRQodj5Jx49Yn4RnlQpV2qcN8wAhoMuQmBU48ND2-oBB1H-K0bA830IIgECHaZ23lO2G5CarO-Sljkcs6HNz/s1600/IMG_1735.JPG" height="142" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">David at about age 8 in 2003</span></td></tr>
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For the first time in thirteen years, no one in this house is playing soccer this fall.<br />
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We've been a soccer family since my oldest child David was about six years old. (He's almost 20 now.)<br />
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Some years we'd have four soccer games on a Saturday morning, often in different locations. We've sat through hot sunny games, cold rainy games, even games that we huddled under blankets in our winter coats.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibmT_3ubglGvJoY8GLU7HxVfpjYDPkA1meEVz3FxATSLp77ErjrTgCnwmMS0vdmGkV3679bbrd-o265Efr_RuVMkrVyqKjokxx0hrWJHSWDSCm9qNWnTKras4QYQOBqlDe1Ai7DMihgod5/s1600/IMG_0381.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibmT_3ubglGvJoY8GLU7HxVfpjYDPkA1meEVz3FxATSLp77ErjrTgCnwmMS0vdmGkV3679bbrd-o265Efr_RuVMkrVyqKjokxx0hrWJHSWDSCm9qNWnTKras4QYQOBqlDe1Ai7DMihgod5/s1600/IMG_0381.JPG" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Emily after a muddy game in 2011<br />at age 14</span></td></tr>
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We've picked up colorful new uniforms and passed down old soccer cleats. We've looked for sales on Capri Sun and made last minute runs to the grocery store on game day when we forgot it was our turn for snacks. We've juggled practice schedules and decided if Mom or Dad would go to the games.<br />
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We've kept camp chairs and blankets and spare shinguards in the car. We've stocked up on water bottles. We've figured out which long sleeved shirts work best under this season's jerseys.<br />
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But not this fall.<br />
<br />
This fall we are taking a break from soccer so that the kids can concentrate on training for their black belt in Tang Soo Do karate.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixqNHVIBL3O2LJfFgRhSd75xii85ozkwxe7GFk46GQv6HV4iSS_MGEuZoUSmiwiRLNuWzXM8AfIOKLx447QBBA3xce4bQUTdaDcfV7PxxxMnrZRg19gophIt9YoAKqN-G99LOJlB7ML9gU/s1600/Soccer+Spring+07+(62).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixqNHVIBL3O2LJfFgRhSd75xii85ozkwxe7GFk46GQv6HV4iSS_MGEuZoUSmiwiRLNuWzXM8AfIOKLx447QBBA3xce4bQUTdaDcfV7PxxxMnrZRg19gophIt9YoAKqN-G99LOJlB7ML9gU/s1600/Soccer+Spring+07+(62).JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Suzy in 2007 at age 5</span></td></tr>
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The three kids still at home (ages 12, 14, and 17) are planning to test for black belt in February. They need to attend more karate classes at their PKSA school. I need to make sure they practice regularly at home.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx6WzJG2Kb5uD-AhzW1r00SsXuVYTQ-kj6s9x-zVmvTyGVAG9cMHEdBhl58EjqyI4OG-1m5lGZQgDBK2f3OS4lkYJHfifHeQS4en5f6AB6GYG5RiLXLOQZ1Dz0YdR_QzdWiiPtQUVj9Vjs/s1600/100_9345.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx6WzJG2Kb5uD-AhzW1r00SsXuVYTQ-kj6s9x-zVmvTyGVAG9cMHEdBhl58EjqyI4OG-1m5lGZQgDBK2f3OS4lkYJHfifHeQS4en5f6AB6GYG5RiLXLOQZ1Dz0YdR_QzdWiiPtQUVj9Vjs/s1600/100_9345.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">James in 2010 at age 10</span></td></tr>
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So we made the tough decision to say "no" to soccer or any other fall sports. That choice was especially hard on Suzy, the youngest, because she adores soccer and also because she has had fewer years of play than the others. She also is considering how to fit volleyball into her life and that's also a fall sport. So, there was no volleyball this year and her best friend is playing volleyball.<br />
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But it's just one season. By next spring, they will hopefully have reached their martial arts goal and will be free once again to play soccer.<br />
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And once again I'll be shivering on chilly fall mornings. I'll make sure to pack my blanket.<br />
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