What is a King?

Kings, Queens... and Knights in Shining Armor

Here are some photos from the days we studied Kings and Queens.  This was a unit study actually done KONOS style in obedience, where we look at what it was like to live at the times when the king ruled and learned about some of the things that make a king wise and good maybe even cruel and demanding.  We looked also at what it means to serve a king, the various historical roles... historical kings and queens and how people had to obey the kings commands.   We also looked a bit into.. the consequences of disobedience and doing things outside of the law.  We read about Robin Hood and discussed the ethics of that.  I enjoyed it as much as the kids did.

Our study even included a trip to the local renaissance fair, (pictured below) something orchestrated not by me, but by by what some would call happenstance or even chance.  Me?  I believe it was orchestrated by God.


Another concept learned about was about God's kingdom and about how we are to be wearing the "full armor of God."



(see: Ephesians Chapter 6.. verses 10-18)



We learned about how there are various roles in serving in His kingdom, and how we are to always be ready to serve our King... King of Kings and Lord of Lords.


What does it mean to have a servants heart?

On a side note...

One book I read and loved was Barbara Mains' book Tales of the Kingdom.  This is a book filled with allegorical stories that I thought were simply fun to read and yet they had a deeper meaning.

It is about a city where an evil Enchanter has bewitched all the people who prefer darkness to the light, and so they sleep during the day and work at night. But the King's men and women are working throughout the city rescuing the poor and needy and bringing them to a place called the Great Park.

Throughout the story, (which has sequels of course, ) the Enchanter's men proclaim "There is no such thing as a King", but the people of the great park believe differently for they have met him, know of his love and serve him.

I thought that the book had a great lesson in these things and in how "seeing" is not always "believing," or rather that the reality of who people are and their value or worth cannot be determined by what is seen.  I have since discovered that there was some controversy over the Mains, but I do not remember what it was.  I just know I enjoyed these books as we went through our study on Kings and Queens and learned about knights and castles and chivalry.

But then there is KONOS...  We did so much with KONOS being the foundational concept over the years.
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I see KONOS has sample lesson you can check out on line.  If this is something of interest to you see: KONOS Obedience- sample.   <---If this link doesn't work check out the KONOS website.  It has been updated since my days of using it as a corriculum.

Some people find KONOS intimidating, but don't let it intimidate you. just have fun and learn as you go.  Use the ideas and then apply them to what you want to do with your family.  How can you go wrong?

Note also that we did not make our own costumes, although we did make parts.  We mostly just ramaged around at thrift stores, dress up boxes and closets.  For books, I found a lot of them, and  if not the same... I found similar books, at the library.  I can also say I had a lot of help from the librian.

Konos for me was a great outline of learning projects, lots of  ideas for making school interesting.  I think those ladies have great lists of resources and ideas and I know it was enough to get us moving into what we needed to learn and discovering new things that were interesting to us, some things that t we didn't even know was interesting until we delved into it.  KONOS was also inspiration to write reports, learn vocabulary and find out more about history we never knew or thought about before.

I recommend KONOS, mostly because it related everything we learned in an ordinary way to the incredible wisdom that comes from God in his Word.  For example, we gladly say, and we even believe as Christians that "Jesus is King;" They even posted on the corss when he was crucified that this Jesus claimed to be the King of the Jews...

But what, pray thee, do tell;  What is a "king?"Do we even know?  Do we even understand?

Here is the USA we have a president, and this is quite different from a KING or a CZAR.  If you ask me, I think that it is very good to learn the difference and understand how it is that Jesus is a wise and faithful ruler.. concerned about the welfare of his subjects, caring for them as if they were his very own.

Fencing in Spokane

Here is Spokane Fencers Unlimited Facility and one of the many fencing enthusiasts you will find there. The SFU club is a member of the United States Fencing Association, and our fencers are too. They compete in local, divisional and national competitions, win medals and even maybe someday, you will see some of them in the Olympics!In fencing there are three weapons, foil, epee and sabre. (pictured here as sabre, foil, epee)

Students beging learning to fence learn using a foil and when they have the basics of foil down, they can become experienced in epee and sabre as well. Our club does electric fencing, which means we use an electronic scoring devie to help monotor touches... When you touch your opponent on target with the sword, you score.
We also have directors who monitor each bout. They judge what is taking place on the strip and affirm the scoring and techniques each fencer uses.

Fencing is a one-on-one sport, but as a member of the club, you are part of the SFU team.
Here is someone giving fencing their approval. Fencing attire is white and consists of fencing shoes, knee-high socks, knickers (or short pants,) a jacket, gloves and mask. Extra torso protection is common under the outerwear. For fencing electronically one must wear a lame. Lames are lightweight and made out of stainless steel fibers that conduct electricity for scoring.
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This is a typical fencing class. As you can see it is made up of of people of all ages and abilities. One thing I love about my kids being able to learn and participate in this sport is that that they do fence in age groups at times, but they are not limited to that. They also fence the experts. Everyone is always sharpening their skills, and helping others become better fencers.


Fencing, with swords, is an awesome sport. I say, "with swords," because people sometimes confuse "fencing" (with swords) with fencing (as in putting up a fence around your yard with posts and chainlink materials.) The two are vastly different.

The sport of fencing is both a great mental and physical exercise, and the ability to fence comes with much discipline and practice.

In addition to the photos of "fencing" I have included, you may want to check out the recent slideshow article on the web done by Spokaneman Review Newspaper about Spokane Fencers Unlimited, our local fencing club. You can do this by clicking on the previous link, or going to http://www.spokesman.com/soundslides/2009/nov/18/fencing/on your browser.

Thankful for Books and MAterials

We had a great homeshcool meeting for November 2009. There were about 10 of us in attendance and the topic for this month was the books we are thankful for. Appropriate as we are soon to celebrate Thanksgiving.


We discussed the books that we have loved using in our homeschooling over the years and why. I tell you, this was great to do. I know that people generally like what they know, but here we got to see the many rescources that each other uses and hear how much they really liked them and how they worked for them. It's funny too how those are the things you do not really want to part with either.. especially as you start thinking about grandkikds.

It really is a blessing when you find yourself using something you really enjoy and fun to be able to share that joy of learning with others. That is what this meeting of our little homeschooling group was about and it was great.

Some people inour group had been homeschooling a long time, others were just beginning their journey, but we all learned from each other. I can hardly wait to learn more about some of these books!

This is a great topic for a homeschool mom's gathering for sure.

I will post the list of our groups absolute favorites that we are thankful for here when I get a chance.

The Most Imprtant Thing...

What is the most important thing about life, about being a human being? What is the most important thing you can think of in this world? Whatever it is, make sure you teach your kids about it...

Oh the Places You'll go...

I have added a new link to one of my favorite sites in the Oh the Places You Will Go section. Titled, Make Toys with Your Printer, it will take you to the Toymaker! This is a website where you can print out all sorts of unique and original paper projects that turn into neat toys when you cut glue and bend them into their proper proportions. I love paper and I love toys and gadgets so this is a perfect combination for me.

I have enjoyed Marilyn's creations over the years and I hope you who are reading this page will have fun with it too. Browse around, read her journal, and if you enjoy her toys tell her "thanks." Of course you can always buy her book... maybe a nice gift for a printerless friend. I found the site one day, long ago, when I came across the Esther puppet show material.

I really enjoyed the paper puppets and dolls and the little peek a boo scene in a box. For puppets and dolls there is the Three Billy Goats Gruff and The Three Bears, the bears look more like clowns, so when I made them I cut off the hats. I like the panda palace, wind boats and spinners too. There really is so much here to like. I appreciate this lady's creativity, her use of color and her generosity in making such cool little things available... for free. You can always send her money of course... but she really does offer it all for free and for your enjoyment. You may need to purchase some cardstock for some projects.

For grown up toys she offers some pretty gift boxes and various holiday goods...(Note: for all religious persuasions.) She is into dragony things too, (as you will see.)

I do not know Marilyn personally, but I have emailed her a few" thank you"s over the years. She often writes back too. I like that she is personable and I am on her mailing list too, which often has some artsy surprises for readers. She only sends them out from time to time.

My printer is broken at the moment so I am a little jealous as I write this... ENJOY!

Freedom to Homeschool

I have a young homeschooling friend who takes a class at the public school, an advanced placement class. We were chatting a bit and I felt like it was a very interesting conversation... he told me several very interesting things, and so I thought I would post some thoughts on that conversation here for consideration. It is about homeschooling, public school and freedom of the mind to actually think.

In this particular class, (note: at this time is had only been about two weeks into the school year) they happened to be studying the Bible as literature. and this young man, a Christian young man, is rather bold in his beliefs. Having the opportunity to give a talk before the class he told them that he was a Christian and that he believed the Bible to be literally true.

Imagine that. He reminded me that this was something the teacher could never do without loosing her job, but as a student it was something he could do. Needless to say, he then continued to tell me about various encounters with people in school and what being in school was like. He said it is oppressive, much like a prison.

He told me how he had been to Russia as a visitor last year and he compared the look and feel of the people there to the look and feel of the people "stuck" in school...

Now I have not been to school recently myself, but I have known people who went to Russia, even the same cities that this boy had been. They saw what he saw in Russia. They explained it the same way. How interesting that he saw this same dynamic in his experience at the school.

Homeschooling is freedom exercised. Freedom to choose the kind of education you have and use... freedom from the clock, freedom in how you spent or do not spend your day, your week, your calendar of things to do. It is also freedom of the mind to think, observe and question, to seek answers and to gain an understanding of the more important things in life, your family, yourself, your world and your creator, the one who loved you and gave his life so that you might live eternally in freedom from sin and death, Jesus Christ, (and you can even talk about him freely.) Public Schools, they are like "a prison." Truth is, if the son sets you free, you are free indeed! Homeschooling in America is the free exercise of many freedoms.

Yet there is school, mandatory school, we are told, a person "has to "get an education.

This all has me curious. What does one learn in school? and...Who exactly runs the classroom?

Is it law? Is it the NEA? The Union? MacGraw Hill or whatever textbook manufacturer has given the US government the lowest common denominator.. I mean, bid? If not the Bible in American schools... then what morals and values are upheld in school who decides? Who manages what is thought... and NOT? What is the "plumbline" or "objective" of public education, concerning morals, stealing... respecting authority... assault... cheating... swearing... and what will happen when you break the rule or fail to learn what IS (or maybe is NOT) being taught? What in a classroom makes right right and makes wrong wrong? Is it the textbook? The teacher?

In this case the textbook just so happened to be the Bible, but they were not looking at it as truth... and the teacher, was not the teacher but the student was giving credence to the book. A homeschooling student, a student on loan to the public school from a local homeschool at that!

This student all his life had not been to a public school. He was homeschooled, where his teachers at home were actually free to teach him things that are true and right, noble and good. Free people in the USA, free to talk about, to believe and teach their son about something better than anything he would ever learn in school, the true and living God.

Amazing.

So he told me too.. (and keep in mind this is a smart young man. He has not only been around the block, but around the world. He knows his history, his knows his English pretty well, he reads and writes and is not afraid to speak out or speak up in a class...) He told me that after he had been in school a couple of days he was called into the principals office.

He was not in trouble or anything. The principal simply asked him, "Who are you?"


It reminded me of this verse:
Phi 2:15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.

A lot of good things this year...

Homeschooling is always a challenge, but as I look to this year I can see that we have the opportunity to do a lot of cool things. It's just me and my high schooler, which equates to me being a tugboat managing a huge ship in the harbor helping him dock and go to sea again. I kinda love it, but then it's a but of a love/hate deal at times; sometimes the rough seas are not very cooperative... I am so glad to have my confidence in the Lord. He is the true overseer of it all, even teaching me things through it.

Math is a biggie this year and for the first time, my son is doing math with a real math instructor. This is very cool for him and me. We have done some textbooks, a few computer programs, and even a video math class over the years, but this is different. It's a textbook with an instructor on-line who delegates assignments and introduces lessons. Also it's a "class" made up of students in different time zones. It's been only two classes, but already I like the dimension it adds to our homeschooling day and life.

Writing is in the scope of things as well. This year my son will be writing his own book. This is being done as a video course. I am thinking that maybe I will get in on it too and have some fun learning and writing myself.

We are still reading through the Bible. This is really good. I love it and am glad to be back into the swing of doing it regularly. We never planned to stop, but it really takes up such a big chunk of time to sit and read aloud and so it fell by the wayside. Seems summer just draws you away from books if you let it, and we did, so we stopped reading daily for a while. Also he wants to go more to youth group, and of course, church is a very much a part of our community life. It is a great learning time too as our pastor teaches a lot about history (and life in general) not to mention God's word, so I pretty much think it's a huge part of the learning that goes on in our lives, for both of us.

Spelling would be good. I always say we will do spelling but it seems so tedious. I have always heard that readers become good spellers, so I hope he does a lot of reading.... and that some spelling will come in so he can improve in this area. I just have to make it happen... (tug tug tug)

Another of our great learning adventures this year will be a a sort of philosophy class tied into the film industry. We will be looking at movies comparatively and reading the book, The Universe Next Door, a worldview catalog. We are doing this as a discussion group, "a class." I am very excited about this venture too.

Then of course there is our favorite sport of all... fencing, and all that entails being part of a fantastic fencing club.

and this really is only the beginning.... their is internet stuff like graphic art pages and webpages and facebook and blogspot and technical stuff for the theater and personal gizmos and gadgets, TYPING for sure.

It is bound to be a busy year... and it's here!

Autumn in the Air

I can really sense autumn in the air. Plans for the fair are on the calendar and there's a preparation going on to get started with "school." In preparation, I have come across several interesting web sources and added them to this blog under the section called Traveler's Corner.

Simply click the button and a trip can be made to see what they have going on. Mostly, I put them there so I can either have easy access per adventure I would like to return. It's so easy though, that anyone can do it, and perhaps anyone who would visit this site, would visit those too.

So what are we doing? We just finished a six week class on the US Constitution and a great little book called THE LAW by Fredric Bastiat. Math is in the works, geometry in particular as is more history and writing a novel this year. Also we are looking at doing a discussion group. Sports is a given, fencing in particular as well as being a part of the fencing club.

I am excited to swee what all transpires this year!

Another Year

Another year ahead, that is, another school year... and it's just around the corner. I can feel it in my bones, as I like to say. You can see it too, it's in the air, it's in stores everywhere. They are all decorated for the coming season of school.

To me it is the end of those long summer days. Time to be about gathering books, resources and ideas for learning. It's the beginning of a new adventure too, and I like that. After homeschooling for so long... parenting now for 27 years... the homeschool scenario is me and my youngest who is 16.

Driver's Ed is in our future, as is math and writing, at this point, what else I am unsure. One thing is certain; I look forward to seeing what the Lord has for us this year.

More later...

Essentials and Non-Essentials

My good friend posted a list of "must haves" for homeschooling and invited other people to post theirs... Here is my list:

MUST HAVES

Bible.
Parents need this for encouragement all the time. It's also good to give some wisdom to your children from it, but beware, it is easy to get distracted doing other things and you need to make this a priority.

For younger kids:The Bible Tells Me So by Mack Thomas
I too like Diana Warrings perspective on history as it pertains to the Bible.
I have only listened to her tapes, but Thank you Diana!

Scope and Sequence
These can be gotten from a book publisher or encyclopedias have them too. I used the one produced and distributed from ABEKA. This is a great reference point to help you be sure you are covering all the bases that a comprehensive curriculum or test will for each grade level if you do not use a particular curriculum.

Library Card
-indispensable

KONOS...
I like KONOS
but it needs to be updated and there are a lot of other great resources that were undoubtedly inspired by the work the ladies that created this homeschooling resource did.
I also liked the character unit study for girls called Far Above Rubies.

Encyclopedia...
Old or new, there's good stuff in them and you can read who the authors of the various articles are. Augment with the Internet and library card!

NARS High School Course Description handbook.
This one shows one how to consider real life experiences as valuable learning, but more importantly it shows you how to show that such learning meets educational requirements and how to work high school credits from your non-stereotypical school day. I think that is it full of great ideas too, like Konos, but for high schoolers. things like this are great for those moments when you have no ideas or energy left in your brain and you need help being creative.

Apologia Science
These are a treasure, one I would keep on my bookshelves. I value them because of the incredible examples of true/observable science they have within their pages. They show the marvels of creation and cover all that a typical science classroom would. It is written to the reader as if the word on the page is the teacher talking to student. I like that too.


KIDS Discover Magazine
These are little books, like magazines but each is all on one topic. There are no ads. I like the no ads approach to magazines for kids and I enjoyed the subject learning. These are jam packed full of all sorts of information on one topic. Even though evolution was in them, I like them a lot.
I like them for sparking curiosity... to find out more... which then leads you to read your encyclopedia or use your library card.

I also liked getting a magazine in the mail. It was like a surprise. I liked to be surprised as to the topic.

Animal Cards
These didn't come in the mail because we had ones someone else got that way. However, animals cards, probably even the one you get in the mail, make it fun to learn about animals and where they live and what they eat.... and how they are scientifically classified.

Institute for Excellence in Writing ( IEW)
I also liked the IEW Writing program. I liked having the help of a video instructor who was actually a good teacher, he is an excellent teacher. I also thought the lessons were interesting to the kids. They learned a lot and so did I. Thanks Andrew!


Internet Resources:
There are so many things now!
Some of my favorites have been :

Enchanted Learning.com
and s
Christian Answers.net.

I also like the lapbooks. It is like making your own little kids discover magazines!

Computer Related
Ultimate Writing and Creativity Pak- this was awesome for the littler ones, kinda a first word processor for our writing projects.

Spellbound- Spelling

Mavis Beacon Typing... we also have Mario...

Operation Neptune- math practice and fun video game

Oregon Trail- History

Math for the Real World- Math

Math In Music-Math

Scrabble- Spelling

Carmen San Diego_ We loved these computer programs, which were probably state of the art hen we used them. Our favorite was Think Quick

and

For geography, I reccomend Google Earth



Things I would PASS on...
I PASS on most textbooks. Not all, just most. I find they are good reference material, but I prefer to let the student be the focus and not the textbook. I grew a dislike for MOST textbooks when I realized that they were often written by one or two people who had a lot of opinion to offer the readers. Children have to learn the ability to distinguish between a fact and an opinion. I kinda expected a textbook to be facts...real information.

I pass on buying those High School Advantage CD ROMS too. Not my cup of tea.
(Sorry if your the one who produced them. )



My list of Keepers...

KONOS and NARS
I like this one because it taught me and my kids that God is over every subject you study. It also has some great activity ideas to do and lists of verses that apply top various subjects and lists of books for the study of various topics at the library. Unfortunately the lists are outdated now. Still it's one I like and will keep on my shelf.

APOLOGIA SCIENCE
I think it's a great Christian reference book.

Growing and Learning

Driving is an interesting thing. While you are driving, so many things are happening all around you, you have to pay attention, to watch what you are doing and yet you can be thinking about so many things as thoughts run through your mind.

I was driving home one night and found myself thinking about homeschool verses public school or private school. It's so different, a whole different way of life. I was wondering to myself, "What is Homeschooling?" (You know, "What does the word really describe?") Not only that, I began wondering, "What is it?"
"What does it look like when kids are done with school?"
" Why do people do it?"
"Is it just a fad people get interested in, so it because they want to be "cool?"
and
"Does it make a difference in the long run?"
"Will kids perceive the experience of homeschooling as being positive or negative in the end."
"Will they think life would have been better for them, more fulkl of opportunity if they had gone to "normal" school?"
And..
"What is normal? What is normal, especially as it pertains to school and life and growing up in an ever changing world."

"Homeschool,"I am always trying to figure it out because I know it looks so different to different people and the homeschooling families I have meet, the ones I know, are each quite independent and unique. I have learned over the years that different people have different reasons for homeschooling their children, different methods different philosophy and methods too. I found myself wondering what exactly is at the core of this homeschool experience, what makes it tick and what makes it thrive, after all it's really nothing new... people have been doing it since the dawn of time...that is, teaching their kids.

As I thought more about it, I thought is was kinda funny that often people simply think of "homeschooling" as "learning everything you would in school, at home instead of in a classroom of kids somewhere in a school" But I am a homeschooling parent. I can tell you, I think somehow that notion is merely a facade. It sounds good to say that, looks good to think about that way, but it's really not that simple.

Being at home, in the family and with your family all day every day, has many dynamics school does not.. and visa-versa. I mean, what we think of as "school,"... the workings of a classroom, and all the people it takes to make a classroom happen and happen well, is intricate. Homeschooling is much simpler in many ways, however homeschooling has a lot of challenges of it's own. It has it's own intricacies. My personal experience with the government run, classroom type of public and of private "school" is such that for I am really glad to have the freedom to educate my kids to read and write at home.

"Homeschooling" (a relatively newly coined word,) has different connotations to different people. Also, contrary to what first comes to a person's mind when they think of homeschooling, it the reality that homeschooling is not just a Christian endeavor. People of every faith and even people with no religious convictions in particular do it. I am a Christian and I find that even "Christians" who homeschool, homeschool for differing reasons. All these varied people employ various language arts programs, math textbooks, etc, not to mention methods, philosophies.. etc.
IT's a mixed back of sorts you might say.

This thing called homeschooling, is an interesting thing...

As I thought about all of this, I decided I kinda liked the way Dr. Raymond Moore put it into words once, long ago, when he called the kids who have parents who teach them at home instead of sending them to school, "homegrown."

There is something to be said about being homegrown. I have never actually read completely any of Raymond Moore pioneering works, but when you been around a while, you quips of this and that here and there.

It's kind interesting to think that kids who are "homeschooled" are "home-grown," this as opposed to "commercially grown" or "mass produced in a factory" or worse, "synthesized by some man-made "chemical process." Hopefully, being homegrown, they are a kinder garden of children who, whatever kind of flower they are, will blossom into goodness and be wholesome. (How is that for an analogy?)

The reality for all of us with kids, homeschooled or not, is that kids do grow up. toddlers become children, children become in betweens or teens, teens become young adults and then men and women suddenly emerge. Things change. Kids grow up. They are not little for long. Values and ethics give children roots, and education give them wings. Eventually, they will all mature and fly away.

So, " What is homeschooling?" Now, that's an interesting point to ponder. Whatever it is, I have concluded that taking time to be with your children as they grow up is really important and "homeschooling" is one way to do that.