Home schooling with WISDOM

Supporting traditional home schooling, where parents have control over what is taught to their children, how it is taught, and when it is taught.

Marriage has taken a beating, and it has more than a bleeding nose.

We have all known of marriages that seemed doomed from the beginning, and sure enough didn’t survive the test of time. But something has changed. Many strong and healthy mar-riages that have been an example to others have collapsed. Christian matrimony has not been immune to attack. What is going on and why now more than ever?

Committed couples are suffering the same difficulties that are afflicting our world. As Christians, we may think ourselves separated from present culture, but we are ill affected, aware of it or not. We are living in a world where pleasure, entertainment, and the avoidance of suffering are top bill. Man is at the center of this worldly culture. We live in the “disposable society”. Cultural forces and destructive spirits have the marital camp surrounded. But isn’t the devout Christian immune? Doesn’t faith insulate us and protect us?

By this time of year you will likely have developed a pattern or routine in your home-school day to accomplish your selected program of studies.  Your children engage themselves with the various subjects that you assign them, most often with the help of a text book or other written resource.  Depending on your child’s age and ability, the reading in these books may be done by your child, or you may be the one to read and explain the material to your eager learner. 

I would venture to say that most people have enough interest in robots that they would give a few moments of their time to allow themselves the amusement of watching robots in action. Beyond this, I have observed that fewer people actually have enough interest in robots to wrestle with how they work and to learn what their abilities and their limitations are. I think that there also exists a middle-ground camp of those who imagine that they might have an interest in robots but they are just not sure of ‘where to start’.  

My parents began homeschooling me in grade 1, but I'm sure they never thought at the time that they would continue to do so right up until high school. We took a rather eclectic approach, which means that we drew resources from various places and put together our own curriculum to meet our (my) needs. It worked very well for us, but as I neared high school, my parents began to feel a certain amount of apprehension. Were they doing the right thing? Personally, I was very excited about homeschooling through high school, and told my parents that this was what I wanted to do. We discussed together what I wanted to study before I graduated, and although my parents had their own requirements I had to fulfill, I was able to direct my own education to certain extent. Because what we'd been doing so far had been working for us, it only made sense to continue in that way.

I love looking at the snow fall ......when I am warm in my house and don’t have anywhere to go. I guess it would be more accurate to say that certain days and certain times I appreciate the snow a lot more than other days. When the kids were younger, we lived in Kelowna. It snowed a lot more than what I was used to and when it snowed, the temperatures were refreshing. Unlike here in Alberta where it feels like it is white for at least 6 months of the year. We started a tradition in our family years ago of drinking hot chocolate and eating timbits on the first day of snow. I would also give my son’s mini marshmallows to eat but before they ate them I would have them count them first. What they thought they were doing was making sure that they were given the same amount of marshmallows. Whether they knew it or not, they were doing Math. Once they mastered counting by 1’s then we worked on counting by 2’s and then 5’s and so on. When a Math pattern is discovered the brain starts to remember information that has been taught to them.That is one of the amazing things about teaching a young brain, they can always learn more!

How many containers do you need to fill a science program?  Peculiar question, huh?  Perhaps I should ask:  How many weekends does it take to fill your science program containers? 

Welcome to the first edition of Terry’s “Terrific Learning Connections” (and Tender Loving Care, too) for WISDOM Families.

I’ll share great links, contests and connection opportunities for WISDOM Families and Students monthly. I usually share a lot of these ideas on Facebook but want to open it up to the entire Family of WISDOM Home Schoolers.

Ken Noster Classical Education (click here to download - 53mb)

Ken Noster High School - A Basis for Advanced Education (click here to download - 65mb)

Ken Noster High School and Beyond - Chart your Course (click here to download - 37mb)

Find out more about how WISDOM can be part of your home school journey.

Tiger WoodsA serious golfer, when his game starts going out of control, immediately reflects on the basics of the game and then focuses on himself and disciplines his mind, body and will in order to correct any bad habits that may be causing the downfall of his game. He may even ask help from a friend and make himself accountable to this person help him carry out a set plan for improving.

We live in hectic times, and Christians are not immune. When we realize our life is starting to get out of control, we should do no less than a serious golfer. We also should immediately go back to the basics of Christian living. Then we must take charge of our thinking, and exercise our will to change or break any bad habits, form good habits and limit our wants.

When a nun complained to Mother Teresa about not having enough time to care for all her patients, Mother Teresa responded by saying that means you must spend more time praying....

 
 
 
 
Part of The Gilbertine Institute