Sunday, April 29, 2007

Hot Resource! Miss Mason's 1908 PNEU Weekly Schedule

Scheduling the Charlotte Mason Way



I admit it. The more that we implement Miss Mason's ideas in our homeschool, the more smoothly things run and the more productive we are. This past week I have been looking at Mason's PNEU school schedules for the grade level we will be doing next year. This would be Class II, or approximately 4th-6th grades. Her schedule looks refreshing and do-able. There is plenty of food for the mind here! We are planning on Greek instead of Latin, and science over the summer, but other than that I am following her weekly subjects and time tables pretty closely. We 'school' from 8am-12:00 using
short lessons and a timer. If you've never tried this, I recommend you give it a two week trial. What do you have to lose? After a morning of concentrated effort, afternoons are for productive free time!

We are using Sonlight 5 and most of our 'Reading' will come from that. However, I'm sure we'll add in some AmblesideOnline literature titles and some library finds.


Monday
Reading---(30-60 min)
Memory Work & Poem-a-Day---(10 min)

Bible---(20 min)
Composition---(30 min)
Music & 15 min play---(30 min)

Spanish---(20 min)
Reading---(30 min)
Math---(40 min)
Copywork---(10min)

Tuesday
Reading---(30-60 min)
Memory Work & Poem-a-Day---(10 min)
Bible---(20 min)

English Grammar---(30 min)
Phy-Ed & 10 min play---(30 min)

Reading---(30 min)
Math---(40 min)
Dictation---(10min)
Spelling---(20 min)


Wednesday
Reading---(30-60 min)
Memory Work & Poem-a-Day---(10 min)
Bible---(20 min)
Composition---(30 min)
Music & 15 min play---(30 min)
Math---(40 min)

Reading---(30 min)
Spanish---(20 min)
Copywork---(10min)


Thursday -- Hands-on Day
Notebook Time---(60 min+)
Reading---(30-60 min)
Geography---(30 min)
Hymn/Folk Song---(10 min)
Art and Projects---(60 min+)

Friday
Reading---(30-60 min)
Memory Work & Poem-A-Day---(10 min)
Bible---(20 min)
English Grammar---(30 min)
Phy-Ed & 10 min play---(30 min)
Math---(40 min)
Dictation or Spelling---(10 min)
Spanish---(20 min)
Reading---(30 min)

Now that I have my fall schedule done and books purchased, I can spend the summer at the beach relaxing. We do summer science, but since we enjoy science so much, it doesn't seem like school work!


For this year's summer science, we are trying Apologia's Botany using the supplies kit from Home Science Tools. We will probably get started sometime this week. Dd has a few math lessons to finish up and that is about it. Woo hoo! She is nearly a 5th grader! ; )

***UPDATE 8/5/07
I have tweaked the above schedule a bit from the original to accommodate Sonlight 5 better. You can also download as a PDF here: http://www.keepandshare.com/doc/view.php?id=135458


Friday, April 27, 2007

Finishing Up

The year has zipped by. It's hard to believe that this week's history project was our final one! Dd chose 2 projects this week: A Famous Woman of the Civil War 3-D Report and a Civil War Photo Scrapbook.

Here are some pics of the Clara Barton (Famous Woman) report from front, back, and open views.



After reading a biography of Clara Barton from the Childhood of Famous Americans series, she was amazed by all that Clara Barton did! Great job, kiddo!


Her other project was to pick out favorite Civil War photos and put them together in a home-made scrapbook. She used the Civil War Photo postcards from Dover, and it ended up being 14 pages long! It was a fun and easy project to close our history adventure with.

Here are some pics:

Thursday, April 19, 2007

This Week's Project


We have been studying the Civil War for several weeks, reading a ton of good books, writing, and doing projects here and there. This week we made Civil War camp postcards. I had dd and her friend write imaginary postcards 'home.' After they were done addressing the postcards, we sealed them with an image of a Civil War era Andrew Jackson stamp we found on the internet.

Here dd is posing as Clara Barton, Civil War nurse. No smiles!




Sunday, April 15, 2007

Hot Resource: Noble Call

MACHE Conference



Just got back last night from the MACHE conference. It was bigger and better than ever! This year over 5,000 people registered. I'll post some pics of my friend and I and some conference highlights. (I'm in the white shirt). I enjoyed Chris Hogan's talks (no more complaining, blaming, and explaining!) and found time to do a little bit of shopping!






The goodies I bought!







Chris Hogan of www.noblecall.org



I had the opportunity to attend two of his presentations, and highly recommend his "Courageous Conversations" talk. Check out his website for more info. If you ever have a chance to hear him speak, go for it -- or just buy a couple of his DVD's!



Our Keynote Speaker was Jay Wile of Apologia Elementary Science Courses. I picked up Apologia's Exploring Creation with Botany this week-end and can't wait to get started. The course looks fantastic!



Biggest conference yet at 5,ooo plus!




I had a great time and look forward to the 2008 conference!

Saturday, April 07, 2007

Why is America so attracted to the DaVinci Code?

Wild and Wacky Jesus Claims
From the Associated Press - April 7, 2007
"The Easter season has an odd, new tradition: The period of reflection on the Crucifixion and Resurrection has become a popular time for marketers to roll out works - from the scholarly to the sensational - that challenge Christianity's core beliefs....
New Testament scholars and archeologists say that, the more outlandish the claims, the bigger the sales impact - which increases demand for ideas from the fringe. They are being presented to a public with little knowledge of early Christianity reading unfiltered information on the Internet, experts say....
"Now all you have to do is click on the computer screen," said Jodi Magness, a specialist in early Judaism and archaeology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "That makes it easier for people to read up about things. The public is presented with information that they cannot really evaluate."

Wednesday, April 04, 2007


Above page added 4-6-07



Scrap Mania

I'm getting ready for the upcoming homeschool conference by putting together some digital scrap templates. What does one have to do with the other? Conferences and scrapbooking? Well, I'll be out of town without kids, have access to a Starbuck's right in my hotel, I'll have my photos and laptop with me, AND an evening free. Now that adds up to S-C-R-A-P-B-O-O-K! Woo hoo! This page took me a while, but i like how it's coming together.

Monday, April 02, 2007


FORGIV'ENESS, n. forgiv'ness.
1. The act of forgiving; the pardon of an offender, by which he is considered and treated as not guilty. The forgiveness of enemies is a Christian duty.

2. The pardon or remission of an offense or crime; as the forgiveness of sin or of injuries.

3. Disposition to pardon; willingness to forgive.
And mild forgiveness intercede to stop the coming blow.

4. Remission of a debt, fine or penalty.

--From Webster's 1828 Dictionary



  • “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.” Colossians 3 :12-13
Last night a friend and I finished up our Precept study of the book of Colossians. Verses 12-13 of chapter 3 (above) challenge, admonish, and even command us to forgive others as we are also forgiven by God. Then the verse goes on. Am I kind? Am I compassionate? To children, husband, co-workers, extended family members? Am I holding a grudge against anyone who has wronged me?

  • 'The act of forgiving; the pardon of an offender, by which he is considered and treated as not guilty. The forgiveness of enemies is a Christian duty.' (Webster)

A Christian duty – how simply put and yet how profoundly true! I needed that reminder to let go of the offenses of yesterday and give each person a clean slate, just as God gives me new mercy each day.
  • '...put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other...'

“Well, you don't know WHAT the person did to me!” Yes, but God does. He will repay and judge each person according to what he has done. That isn't up to me! Is there anyone that you can't stand to be around because of an old grudge?
  • 'For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. "But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.' -Jesus speaking in Matt 6:14-15

Jesus is not in the business of making suggestions. His word regarding forgivenss is sure. My prayer this week is that I will be a woman of grace and forgiveness. Forgiveness is not natural, it has to be an intentional choice. An act of the will. It calls for trust --trust in the Lord's ultimate judgement. Every person will have to give account to God one day and stand before His judgement seat. Isn't it ironic that we so often seek grace and forgiveness from God for ourselves, but then want God's justice for everyone else. Hmmm. Can't have it both ways, can I?

Prayer:

Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting. Help me to devote myself to putting on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience by Your enabling. Remind me to forgive others, as You have forgiven me. Set me free from secret grudges and lingering bitterness. I yield them to You. Search my heart. --Psalm 139:23-24, Col 3:12-13.


Sunday, April 01, 2007

Lecture: New Modernism & the Bible (MP3)

Writer's Spotlight:
He is There and He is Not Silent

by Frances Schaeffer, 1972




reprinted from The Shelter - A Francis A. Schaeffer Site


Summary:


One of philosophy's biggest problems is that anything exists at all and has the form that it does. Another is that man exists as a personal being and makes true choices and has moral responsibility. In fact, the only sufficient answer is that the infinite-personal triune God is there and He is not silent. He has spoken to man in the Bible.



Excerpts:

"No man can live without a world-view; therefore, there is no man who is not a philosopher."(Francis A. Schaeffer, He Is There and He Is Not Silent, Ch. 1)



"He is not silent. The reason we have the answer is because the infinite-personal God, the full Trinitarian God, has not been silent. He has told us who He is. Couch your concept of inspiration and revelation in these terms, and you will see how it cuts down into the warp and woof of modern thinking. He is not silent. That is the reason we know. It is because He has spoken. What has He told us? Has He told us only about other things? No, He has told us truth about Himself -- and because He has told us truth about Himself -- that He is the infinite-personal, triune God -- we have the answer to existence." (Francis A. Schaeffer, He Is There and He Is Not Silent, Ch. 1)


"Behaviorism, and all forms of determinism, say that man is not personal -- that he is not intrinsically different from the impersonal. But the difficulty with this is first that it denies the observation man has made of himself for at least 40,000 years (if we accept the modern dating system); and second, there is no determinist or behaviorist who can really live consistently on the basis of his determinism or his behavioristic psychology -- saying, that is, that man is only a machine." (Francis A. Schaeffer, He Is There and He Is Not Silent, Ch. 1)


"...philosophy and religion deal with the same basic questions. Christians, and especially evangelical Christians, have tended to forget this. Philosophy and religion do not deal with different questions, though they give different answers and use different terms. The basic questions of both philosophy and religion (and I mean religion here in the wide sense, including Christianity) are the questions of Being (that is, what exists), of man and his dilemma (that is, morals), and of epistemology (that is, how man knows). Philosophy deals with these points, but so does religion, including evangelical, orthodox Christianity." (Francis A. Schaeffer, He Is There and He Is Not Silent, Ch. 1)


"There are not many possible answers to the three basic areas of philosophic thought, even though there is a great deal of possible detail surrounding the basic answers. It will help us tremendously -- whether we are studying philosophy at university and feel buffeted to death, or whether we are trying to be ministers of the gospel, speaking to ordinary people -- if we realize that although there are many details which can be discussed, the possible answers -- in their basic concepts -- are exceedingly few." (Francis A. Schaeffer, He Is There and He Is Not Silent, Ch. 1)


"The view that everything is chaotic and there are no ultimate answers is held by many thinking people today, but in my experience they always hold it very selectively. Almost without exception (actually, I have never found an exception), they discuss rationally until they are losing the discussion, and then they try to slip over into the answer of irrationality. But as soon as the one we are discussing with does that, we must point out to him that as soon as he becomes selective in his argument of irrationality he makes his whole argument suspect. Theoretically the position of irrationalism can be held, but no one lives with it in regard either to the external world or the categories of his own thought world and discussion. As a matter of fact, if this position were argued properly, all discussion would come to an end. Communication would end. We would have only a series of meaningless sounds -- blah, blah, blah. The Theatre of the Absurd has said this, but it fails, because if you read and listen carefully to the Theatre of the Absurd, it is always trying to communicate its view that one cannot communicate. There is always a communication about the statement that there is no communication. It is always selective, with pockets of order brought in somewhere along the line. Thus we see that this class of answer -- that all things are irrational -- is not an answer." (Francis A. Schaeffer, He Is There and He Is Not Silent, Ch. 1)


"Beginning with the impersonal, everything, including man, must be explained in terms of the impersonal plus time plus chance....Beginning with the impersonal, there is no meaning or significance to diversity. We can think of the old Hindu pantheism, which begins everything with om. In reality, everything ought to have ended with om on a single note, with no variance, because there is no reason for significance or variance. And even if pan-everythingism gave an answer for form, it gives no meaning for freedom. Cycles are usually introduced as though waves were being tossed up out of the sea, but this gives no final solution to any of these problems. Morals, under every form of pantheism, have no meaning as morals, for everything in pan-everythingism is finally equal. Modern theology must move towards situational ethics because there is no such thing as morals in this setting. The word morals is used, but it is really only a word." (Francis A. Schaeffer, He Is There and He Is Not Silent, Ch. 1)

"If we begin with less than personality, we must finally reduce personality to the impersonal. The modern scientific world does this in its reductionism, in which the word personality is only the impersonal plus complexity. In the naturalistic scientific world, whether in sociology, psychology or in the natural sciences, a man is reduced to the impersonal plus complexity."(Francis A. Schaeffer, He Is There and He Is Not Silent, Ch. 1)



"Let us notice that no word is as meaningless as is the word god. Of itself it means nothing. Like any other word, it is only a linguistic symbol -- g-o-d -- until content is put into it. This is especially so for the word god, because no other word has been used to convey such absolutely opposite meanings. The mere use of the word god proves nothing. You must put content into it. The word god as such is no answer to the philosophic problem of existence, but the Judeo-Christian content to the word God as given in the Old and New Testaments does meet the need of what exists -- the existence of the universe in its complexity and of man as man. And what is that content? It relates to an infinite-personal God, who is personal unity and diversity on the high order of Trinity." (Francis A. Schaeffer, He Is There and He Is Not Silent, Ch. 1)


"Every once in a while in my discussions someone asks how I can believe in the Trinity. My answer is always the same. I would still be an agnostic if there was no Trinity, because there would be no answers. Without the high order of personal unity and diversity as given in the Trinity, there are no answers." (Francis A. Schaeffer, He Is There and He Is Not Silent, Ch. 1)


Commercial Availability of Work:

He is There and He is Not Silent (paper - 100 pages)
Trilogy (hard - 367 pages)
The Complete Works of Francis Schaeffer (paper)
The Complete Works of Francis Schaeffer (Windows CDROM) Quotes From The Book



LINKS:
Francis A. Schaeffer: The Early Years (free mp3 lectures)

Francis A. Schaeffer: The Later Years (free mp3 lectures)

Learning to Cry for the Culture (article in Christianity Today)

The Francis A. Schaeffer Foundation
Francis Schaeffer Institute
CyberShelter
L'Abri Resources by L.G. Parkhurst Jr.