I've been think a lot about all the twins in the Bible lately. Why? Finding out we were going to have twins was, perhaps, the biggest shock of our lives. They have been a double blessing to our lives. There are many famous sets of twins in history, and this includes Biblical history. Want to learn some good ways to teach your kids about God's word? Check out our Family Bible Studies Guides. All the Twins in the Bible: 1. Jacob and Esau – Jacob and Esau, sons of Isaac and Rebecca, are the first twins mentioned in the Bible (Genesis 25:19-28). The story of Jacob is told in Genesis 25:19-37:36 and 42:1-50:3. The ...Read More
Archives for 2012
Modern Parables: Hidden Treasure (Review)
In my Sunday school class I just finished teaching Hidden Treasure, the first set of video lessons in the Modern Parables series. I can already tell this series is going to end up being one of the most engaging classes I've taught to date. The short film is based on the parable in Matthew 13:44, "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field." Set in a modern context, the "treasure" in this film is a reservoir of oil hiding beneath a seemingly worthless piece of property off the highway. A real estate ...Read More
Homeschooling Memorization in the Elementary Years: Charlotte-Mason Memory Box
Memory work is so important in the grammar stages of education (kindergarten-6th grade). Classical education places a high premium on memory work in the early years of school. Children have a capacity to memorize huge amounts of information at this stage. Over the last two years, I've made it a priority to make memory work a focus of our school day. We use a modified Charlotte-mason memory box (you can download printables to make your own) to keep track of our memory work and ensure we are reviewing enough. We do memory time 4 days a week (Tuesday through Friday), but we also review our newest catechism question and ...Read More
What is Classical Christian Education?
Last week I was asked to speak to the parents involved in our homeschooling co-op, Coram Deo, about what Classical Christian Education is. Below is the text of my brief explanation. Certainly more can be said about the value and distinctiveness of Classical Ed, but this was my 5-minute pitch. . . . . Nelson Mandela has rightly said that education is the most powerful weapon with which you can use to change the world. As homeschooling parents we not only have the opportunity to directly influence what our children learn, we also have the opportunity to mold them into young men and women who will be equipped to change the ...Read More
Homeschooling for the 2012-2013 School Year (what I’m doing with my kids)
The 2012-2013 school year is upon us! Some of you have already begun school, and some of you won't begin for another few weeks. We have begun school, but not in full force yet. Last year and this year again I decided to ease into school. What that means is that in July we started working on Math and then a couple of weeks later added a subject and a couple weeks later added another subject. We continue in this fashion until just after Labor Day at which point we should be at our full schedule. I like starting school this way for a couple of reasons. 1. It helps ease Bradley (and me) back into school slowly. I ...Read More
Affordable and Contextual Grammar Curriculum: Fix-It (Review)
As I've posted before, the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year brought a number of changes, namely the addition of twins to our family, which in turn caused this mama to substitute out some of the more teacher/time-intensive curriculums in favor of easy-to-implement curriculum choices. Fix it! Grammar and Editing Made Easy with the Classics is a grammar curriculum from Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW) that I didn't even know existed until the middle of last summer. My interested was piqued. I checked it out. I found a winner! The Program (5 Levels) This year we went through the first story in the book, Tom ...Read More
Fun and Accessible Art Class for Kids and Adults! (plus, a giveaway)
How is a Christian homeschool mom, who is not particularly artistically inclined and doesn't have much art history knowledge, to give her dear children some culture and art education? I'd suggest she check out See The Light's Art Class. (Yeah, you might have guessed... that mom is me). I was so excited the kind folks at See the Light gave me a chance to review the first DVD in their Art Class series. I've not been so great at providing my kids with an education in the arts, and I feel I really need to try to better with Bradley, and especially Cameron, my 3-year-old. Cameron seems to be naturally much more artistically ...Read More
10 Biblical Reasons We Should Appreciate Wine
Let's discuss some Biblical Reasons We Should Appreciate Wine. If you know me well, you know I make my own beer and wine. If you know me really well, you know I really enjoy an ice-cold mug of IPA or a nice glass of Malbec. I firmly believe wine is a good gift from God and that, while living on earth, His own Son enjoyed it. On more than one occasion I've been asked how I could possibly defend my enjoyment of alcohol being a Christian. Is wine in the Bible portrayed in a positive way? Yes. It is. I also understand there are some who believe differently than me in this matter. It is not my point here to ...Read More
