A Reason to Read Well

There is just something about reading to little brothers that helps with expression and enunciation. If there is a "reason" to read well, it only helps!

Update: Hobbies, Scripture memory, & copywork

We have been in-doors on the colder days, and on the warmer days the boys have been able to spend some time outside playing.

Something fun for Justin to do on cold days is to take old, broken appliances apart and look inside. Here he is taking apart an old radio alarm clock.

He loves to use his daddy's tools

For Christmas last year, our family was given some money. I used the opportunity to purchase a nice book to use for morning & family devotions. It is a very nice hardback book of Proverbs arranged topically. It is formatted in the King James version, so it is perfect for Scripture memory. Currently, we are in the section entitled "Reverence". We are learning Proverbs 2:1-5 right now, and the boys are just about ready to recite it without looking.I also purchased a paperback copy of the original 1911 Boyscout manual for the boys. There are all kinds of fun things to learn in this manual, and I imagine it will take a very long time to finish it. We do not read it every day...just some days. Basically it is just for fun. The boys will learn anything from chivalry to animal tracking. Of course Daddy will have a lot more to do with that type of thing than me. He is the "master" of anything outdoors!

Last but not least, both of the boys have finished their Italic writing books. They are ready for the next level; how exciting! Here is a scanned copy of Justin's "copywork". I think he did a great job!

Discussing age appropriate truths

There is a difference between being exposed to sin, and being taught about sin through a Biblical perspective.

Let me give you an example:

I think I have mentioned this before, but before the children begin their 3 R's, we cuddle together on my big bed and have prayer and Bible reading, memory verses, learn about character traits, and then I usually read to them from our book pick. Yes this is very time-consuming, but I feel it is very necessary.

I have found some classics at the library that are very interesting. The series is called "Eyewitness Classics". Anything coming from Eyewitness isn't usually from a Biblical worldview; they are just condensed versions of the classic book you are reading.
Right now we are reading Black Beauty, which has been very mild and yet enjoyable.

We read the Eyewitness version of Oliver Twist last week. Now anything by Charles Dickens is pretty depressing in my opinion, but they are true to life in his day and age. And I seriously doubt I will delve into Dickens very much with them any more until they are older, but in reading I think we were able to discuss a lot.

In his books,extreme poverty and sin brought on by lack and poverty (we all know this is a heart issue, but in his books the poverty appears to cause people to do horrible things). For an extremely sheltered child, this might be a little much. But I believe that a parent can take the mess a book makes and use it for good. My children learned that greed & selfishness and sin in general leads people down horrible paths. (and yes, I used my bookmark a couple of times to cover up some pictures that were a little "much")

I really do not know how to say what I am thinking except that I think it is important for PARENTS to be the ones to educate their children about sin issues. If I shelter my children to the degree that I avoid these things, then I am shirking my duty. Period. If I let their peers educate them, then I think that it's even worse.

My children will find out and possibly discern things in a distorted view if I decide to just avoid educating them about life.

II Peter 3:15 says "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear".

So... yes, I do read books from the library and yes, some of them are from an evolutionary or non-Biblical perspective. But I do not leave it at that.... we discuss what is wrong and where the writers are coming from. And if needed, we look up what the Bible says about it.

Of course if there is something that I feel is not appropriate to discuss, then I leave it out or cover it up.

Deuteronomy 11:19 (King James Version)
19And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up."

I want my children to have discernment. Yes, we live our lives "because the Bible says so", but in addition to that,I want them to be able to answer "why".

We live in wicked times and the world needs intelligent, bold men who are not afraid to "give an answer." I pray that the Lord will give wisdom!

Abraham Lincoln 200th Birthday

Because it is the week of Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday(February 12, 1809), we are studying his life. As we all know, he was a very fascinating man.

I had read/heard stories about him when I was a child, but there are so many more stories about him and his life that I had never heard.


The internet study resources are almost limitless!

As I type, we are listening to "OUT OF THE WILDERNESS" from Homeschool Radio Shows.



"We meet Lincoln's parents, Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks, hear the story of their courtship and marriage, and their trials and tribulations as they carve their first homestead out of the then-wilderness known as Kentucky. "



This link has a lot of information about Lincoln, videos to watch, and nice printables for the kids to complete. The boys are working on papers as they listen.

Computer practice

Here are the boys practicing their spelling words on the computer. I really appreciate Mom giving them her old computer. It has been great typing practice for them. Ryan loves to play with the paint program. Here he is creating little men. I had to save his creation.

Aren't they cute with their little faces, arms, and legs?

Slow days

Well...because of the snow, Michael being off work yesterday, and the general sense of trying to think through and write out a more organized school schedule, we have been "slow" this week with school.
Meaning... I haven't made the boys do grueling schoolwork every day, but a little here and there.
Tuesday,for example, we had our normal morning devotions and prayer time, memory verses, character studies, etc. Then I read part of Dickens' Oliver Twist, and then they did Math papers. So I guess legally (or whatever you want to call it), they had a half day.

Yesterday they worked on Language & Phonics, but they didn't even start their papers until after 3 p.m. Michael was home for most of the day except for the couple of hours he went in to Crane with his boss to work on a piece of equipment (the base was closed). So I let them wait to do those papers.

That is how it has been this week... hit and miss. But that is ok because I have been working on trying to get school organized a little better. I have been re-working our schedule to fit Ryan's preschool time into the day instead of just including him with Jonathan (as before). It seemed to work well for everyone before, but then the other day he informed me that he wanted to do school too, so of course I figured, "why not?". I didn't want to push him into doing pre-school until he was ready, and now he is ready and asking for it.

Another thing I have been working on, and Michael helped me, was to get their playroom cleaned up and put back in order. It really didn't help to send the boys in there every day and say "pick up the toys"; it overwhelmed them. It looked like a bomb had gone off in there... no kidding! Toys were practically hanging from the ceiling (well, not really but it felt that way to me!). So after a week of getting nowhere after sending them in there to do it, I decided Monday to finish the job while Michael, Justin, and Jonathan went to their Monday basketball night at church. Amidst my organizing, they walked back in the door and said that ball had been cancelled. I informed them that since I had already planned to get that room cleaned, that I was going to finish it.

So instead of leaving me there with it and traipsing off to do whatever else, he decided to help me like a good husband. It made it so much more fun. "Oops!" He would say as he chunked broken Happy Meal toys into the garbage.

The boys were supposed to stay in the living room to play, but Justin kept sneaking in there to spy on us. He is notorious for wanting to keep broken toys. "I can do something with that..." he always says. Seriously, he would keep everything and make it into a "new invention" as he puts it. We actually found one of his inventions in the deep recesses of one of their closets. It was several empty plastic bottles of various sizes taped together to look like the space shuttle. Yes, he is very entertaining, and I usually let him do that.

Anyway... I didn't mean to ramble on like this, but that is where we have been this week. Hopefully things are going back into full swing today.

Tools verses Magic Wands

Tools are very useful. If used the right way, they can fix or create things. A carpenter uses tools to build, and a plumber uses tools to fix, and a potter uses his hands (which are tools) to mold.



A magic wand performs miracles. Well... a proverbial magic wand. They really do not exist.



Home education is a tool. I am using a very beneficial tool to educate my children. I would be really naive if I thought that it was a magic wand, a fix-all tool to turn out perfect, angelic children.



I have to laugh at myself because a lot of times, I will blog about something we just learned and then my children will remind me of this very thing. For example right after I blogged about how we are teaching our children about sibling relationships, my children got into a big fuss. Nothing for me to worry about, just something we are constantly working on.



What I am getting at is that I believe education itself is a tool.... not a magic wand. I can teach until I am blue in the face, but unless it reaches their hearts... they will not conform.



Last week they learned Proverbs 1:7



"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but fools despise wisdom and instruction". May they fear the Lord and willingly receive wisdom and instruction.



May they become wise and moldable!

Paint Scraping

Josh and I (probably 1980 or so)

Josh and I April 2008

Erin and I (Nov. 2007)

I am reading Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends by the Mally siblings to the boys as part of our morning routine.

The author compared relationships to painting a house (scraping the old paint off a house before you can place a new coat of paint).

"If there are past offenses which you have never made right, you will not be able to have the right relationship with your sibling now, no matter how hard you try".

The Biblical example of Jacob and Esau was used.... how bitterness between them grew and the situation became worse with time.

"Examine yourself for any ways you may have caused bitterness in your brother or sister. Learn to look at situations from their perspective."


Some questions I asked the boys from the book:

1. Have I hurt the through unkind words or actions?



2. Have I lied to them or stolen from them.



3. Have I made fun of them or teased them?



4. Especially in front of my friends? Or their friends?



5. Have I neglected to do something that they were expecting from me?



6. Have I been hard to please?



7. Have I been angry with them or lost my temper?



8. Have I been insensitive to their feelings?



9. Have I treated them unjustly in any way?



10. Have I put my own friends and priorities ahead of them?



11. Have I gossiped about them?



12. Have I caused frustration by not noticing or praising them?



13. Have I had a competitive spirit against them?



14. Have I failed to fulfill something I said I would do?



15. Have I ignored them with an attitude of unconcern?

Josh and I did a lot of arguing growing up (just as most siblings do). Poor Erin was just plain tortured since she was too little to do anything about it... bless her heart.

I wonder sometimes how much of the conflicts were MY OWN fault. Back then I just thought Josh was a "pesky little brother".

I had a hard time seeing past my annoyances instead of looking through his lenses. Had I asked myself some of the questions above, maybe I would have been a better sister to him and perhaps I would have been much kinder and attentive to him. To be honest, I probably would not have cared. That is really sad.

We are also learning about humility. Being humble and unselfishness go hand in hand with learning how to have good sibling relationships... putting others above ourselves.

The boys are really young, but they had to answer yes to several of the questions (as did I thinking about my sibling relationships). May the Lord help us to reach their hearts in this area!

George Washington's Rules of Civility: Rule 21

Today we talked about Rule 21: "Reproach none for the Infirmities of Nature, nor Delight to put them that have in mind thereof."

I was explaining what this means, so I asked the boys if they knew what "handi-cap" means....

Jonathan said, "A hat?"

It took me a minute to figure out why he said that...it makes sense doesn't it? :-)

Carnivorous Plants!

Today we planted Justin's carnivorous plant seeds (he received from Papa & Grammy for Christmas.. thanks!).



His kit included the Trumpet, pitcher, and cobra lilies, temperature sundew plants, and the venus fly trap.

Here are a couple of videos of how they "catch" their prey..... the boys are hoping their plants will grow so they can feed them bugs. Ryan asked me if they ate candy canes. :-)

The kit included seeds for both winter and spring seasons. I don't have much of a green thumb... I hope these will work!

The last video shows a mouse "slipping" into a Nepenthes carnivorous plant.

The plant secrets a fluid that attracts "meat". The bug or animal then slips and then cannot get out (a lot of slippery fluid inside!).
The insect or animal then dies, and the plant feeds off the meat. Pretty gross!!!
We also watched a video that showed the remains of a mouse inside it (bones were gone!), but it is just disgusting so I didn't post it. Of course the boys loved it.