Quote of the Day

Published September 28, 2009 by amandamarkel

God’s World

O WORLD, I cannot hold thee close enough!
Thy winds, thy wide grey skies!
Thy mists that roll and rise!
Thy woods, this autumn day, that ache and sag
And all but cry with colour! That gaunt crag
To crush! To lift the lean of that black bluff!
World, World, I cannot get thee close enough!

Long have I known a glory in it all,

But never knew I this;

Here such a passion is
As stretcheth me apart. Lord, I do fear
Thou’st made the world too beautiful this year.
My soul is all but out of me,—let fall
No burning leaf; prithee, let no bird call.

Edna St. Vincent Millay

A Day in Our School

Published September 24, 2009 by amandamarkel

Here’s what a typical school day looks like for us, for those who are interested.

9:00 a.m. We start our school day with our memory verse for the week, calendar and weather.

9:05 a.m. Bible and catechism (on Mondays, we also learn about the different parts of the Divine service, so our morning schedule on Mondays is pushed back 10 minutes).

9:20 a.m. Math

9:50 a.m. Language Arts, including reading, copywork and creative expression.

10:10 a.m. Spelling

10:20 a.m. Handwriting

10:35 a.m. Read-aloud time from our current Little House: The Rose Years book.

We’re usually done for the morning by about 10:50, and we take a break then, which includes lunchtime (and naptime for Bunny and the little ones)–that’s the beauty of homeschooling–the only schedule we have to follow is our own!

2:00 p.m. We start up again for the afternoon with History, Geography, poetry, and our Sonlight read-aloud for the week.

2:30 p.m. Science (on Thursdays, we have science experiment day).

On Wednesday afternoons, we look at a page-spread in First Thousand Words in German, on Fridays we have electives (either art or music appreciation).

P.E. is fit in in a variety of ways, including as part of spelling (you’ll have to trust me on that one), or in our down time after we’re done for the morning. It’s amazing the stuff kids are willing to do, without having any idea that it’s part of their education!

Fridays are also usually half-days for us, as we are only doing math and spelling four days a week at this point, and science is light on Fridays. That will change half-way through our school year, though, and then we’ll probably have the same schedule all five days.

On an average day, we’re done with school around 3:00 p.m. So, we have about three solid hours in the classroom every day (except Friday), which is at least twice as much time as Kindergarten took us. I hope we don’t see that kind of time doubling every year!

Book Review: "A Family Guide to the Bible"

Published September 24, 2009 by amandamarkel

A Family Guide to the Bible by Christin Ditchfield is a good resource, especially for people who are unfamiliar with certain parts of the Bible, or the history behind each book. After some introductory material, including the history, message and authority of the Bible, there is a summary of each individual book, which has the author, audience and setting, as well as the story, interesting trivia, and important words to know.

The only part of this book that I really disliked is the way Ditchfield boiled each book down into one key verse. While these are probably a good starting point for memorization, I don’t think you can simplify each book of the Bible to that point, and in some cases, the key verse given is questionable regarding whether or not it is even the focal point of the book.

I particularly liked chapter six, on how to study the Bible. I think the author made an excellent point, in that families should chose one translation of the Bible, and stick with it for the sake of consistency (although it is also mentioned that using different translations for comparison can be useful). I wish that paraphrase translations of the Bible had not been mentioned in the “choosing a translation section”–I truly believe that those versions of the Bible have no place in serious Bible study.

This book could be a very helpful tool for families trying to get a grasp on the big picture of Scripture, although my personal preference is a good study Bible.

For more on this book, visit www.crossway.org/blog

Airpower Over the Midwest

Published September 19, 2009 by amandamarkel

It’s that time of year again–the annual air show at Scott Air Force Base. Last year, we got to see the United States Air Force Thunderbirds.

They were very loud, very fast, and very impressive!

This year, we got to see the Canadian Snowbirds, a group I hadn’t even heard of before this year’s show.

P1000645 The Snowbirds were very different from the Thunderbirds, but equally impressive. The Snowbirds were more…graceful, for lack of a better word. It seemed like they did more looping, more with their smoke trails (including a heart, which was awesome, but faded before we could get a picture of the whole thing), and were, in general, a little more low-key.

P1000632 Don’t get me wrong–they were still very fast, and did lots of amazing stunts, including several that made me a little nervous because they were flying so close to each other. Maybe it was just that the Snowbirds didn’t have the same volume as the Thunderbirds, but it felt much more relaxed.

P1000549 We even got to meet some of the pilots after the show, and they were so nice, and very good with children. One of them asked Turkey if he thought he’d like to be a pilot someday. Turkey’s response? “Maybe someday I’ll fly the Space Shuttle.” What can I say? He dreams big!

P1000622 Our whole family loves going to air shows, and the children were able to enjoy this one a little more because the noise level was less. They love watching all the things the planes can do–flying upside down, doing formations, swooping down and then climbing up so high–and I’m right there with them watching in amazement that anyone can learn to fly like that!

Now that we’ve seen the Thunderbirds and the Snowbirds, I’m hoping we’ll get to see the Navy’s Blue Angels before too long!

Where Were You?

Published September 11, 2009 by amandamarkel

It’s a day I’m sure we’ll never forget.

Ryan and I hadn’t even been married six months. We were still new in town, he was going to school, and I was working at Target, as the store’s operator. I spent the whole day listening to the radio and delivering updates to the rest of the employees that couldn’t leave their assignments on the floor–while everyone else stood transfixed in the break-room, watching the terror on TV.

I remember feeling like the whole thing couldn’t be real–it had to be some kind of joke of War of the Worlds proportions, or a nightmare, or something, anything but what it was–America under attack.

The was the first (and likely the last) day that I have seen Target so devoid of customers. At arguably the busiest Target in the St. Louis metro area, the parking lot was eerily empty–almost solely employees’ cars.

The phone remained silent for most of the morning–but in the early afternoon, it started ringing, and it was almost always the same question–”do you have any American flags in stock?” And for the next several weeks, that was the most asked question of everyone who called and came into the store, and for a long time, the answer was usually “no,” because we just couldn’t keep up with the demand.

Another strange thing was leaving work that day, and not hearing any planes flying overhead. My whole life, I have always lived within about 30 minutes of a fairly busy airport, and the sound of planes flying is just part of the white noise of life. So the silence that day was one more eerie aspect of a day gone horribly wrong.

For once, it didn’t matter that we didn’t have cable at home–all the networks were showing the same thing, and it’s all Ryan and I watched. And all we talked about, even with strangers. I remember going to gas up the car, (just in case), and strangers at the pumps talking about what happened, what would happen next, what the American response would be. It’s funny the way tragedy brings a sense of community, and people who have never met, and would normally never speak to each other, band together to face a common enemy.

Somehow, my oldest children know about 9/11, even though I haven’t talked to them about it yet. I guess it’s just part of American culture now–you can’t grow-up here and *not* know about it. So, we’ll probably talk about it in school today, and I’ll do my best to answer their questions without frightening them.

So, where were you? I know none of us has forgotten, and never will…

Homeschool Review: "A Reason For…"

Published September 7, 2009 by amandamarkel

We’re on our second year of A Reason for Handwriting ( we started with Book K last year, and have moved on to the now-alphabetically-sequenced Book A), and our first year of A Reason for Spelling (also Book A). Even though it’s early in the school year, I have a pretty good feeling for both programs.

I was very impressed with the way Handwriting introduced proper letter formation in Book K, using a tree-house as a guide. My children thought it was a fun way to learn, and even though Bunny still has some work to do on writing well (which is all about her rushing, and not about her understanding of what she’s *supposed* to be doing!), Turkey has excellent printing already, and they both know how letters are supposed to be written.

We’re still working on reviewing what we learned last year now that we’ve started Book A, but looking ahead, I love that we’ll be using Scripture to practice handwriting (even if the translation used isn’t my first, or even second, choice!), and I also love the fancy border sheets, which reinforce the idea that handwriting is a public way of communication, and should look nice.

So far in Spelling, we’ve worked on phonics review, and it’s been very much like the Explode the Code series. The activities have been fun, and the bonus activities suggested in the teacher’s guide are geared toward every kind of learner, even kinesthetic. What I like most, though, is the way the lessons line up with the lessons in the Handwriting book. Of course, this only works if you’re using the same level of handwriting and spelling at the same time (which we are), but I think it’s a great way to reinforce the Bible passages used, and to bring in needed repetition in spelling and writing well. And why wouldn’t you link the two? It seems like a very natural way to learn, which is one of the things I love about our main curriculum, Sonlight.

I’m definitely looking forward to learning cursive and spelling harder words in the years to come with the A Reason For… books!

"Make New Friends, But Keep The Old"

Published September 6, 2009 by amandamarkel

This old Girl Scout song has been on my mind today:

Make new friends, but keep the old; one is silver and the other gold.

Bible

The reason this came to mind is because we (finally!) got a copy of The Lutheran Study Bible from Concordia Publishing House. There has been much anticipation for this replacement for the Concordia Self-Study Bible for several reasons. First, it’s the ESV translation, which is helpful, because many of our LC-MS churches have switched over to the ESV for Sunday morning readings, Bible studies, etc. More importantly, this study Bible has all of the notes/supplementary materials done by Lutheran scholars. In the old study Bible, as far as I understand, we took another publisher’s notes, and clarified some to reflect a Lutheran perspective, but for the most part, the notes were not “Lutheran.”

So, I’ve very much been looking forward to getting this new Bible. And, having looked through it a few times, it’s going to be a great tool for Bible study. But I’m left feeling a little confused as to what happens to my old Bible. I received it as a gift from my parents in 1991 (let’s try not to dwell on the fact that my Bible is almost 20 years old!), and it served me well. It’s full of highlights, notes from Bible studies and retreats in high school, and, of even more value to me, notes from all my theology classes in college.

I guess it would defeat the purpose to re-copy all the notes from one Bible to another. And I wouldn’t ever get rid of the old Bible, even if only for sentimental reasons, not even considering all the scholarly ones. But I also realize that once I really start using the new Bible, I won’t go back and look at the old one that often, even though I know it has lots of good information, and all of my favorite verses marked.

I guess I need to just start making my new “friend” mine, by taking notes, marking, and highlighting. But I won’t ever get rid of my old “friend,” either, because it truly is gold to me!

old Bible

A Great Day!

Published September 1, 2009 by amandamarkel

ry=400 On Saturday, we got to take a private tour of one of my very favorite places–Grant’s Farm. The experience was beyond awesome–we had a group picture taken with a Clydesdale, and not just any Clydesdale, but the one that kicks the football in the Budweiser TV commercials; we rode the “safari van” all around the park, including on many trails the regular tram can’t go on; we learned all kinds of cool stuff about the property from our very nice tour guide, J.R., (and saw a mysterious mansion that I didn’t even realize was there!); we fed some animals (including the buffalo, which totally made the day for me!); we got to tour Hardscrabble cabin, which usually isn’t open to the public; and once we were done with all of those fantastic things, we got to do all the usual Grant’s Farm stuff, including strolling through the Tier Garten, where the children all got to ride the brand-new carousel and feed the goats, and having a snack down at the Bauernhof (and visiting the hospitality room for a free “adult beverage” or two!).

ry=400-2

It was totally the best day ever–our family loves Grant’s Farm (we go there at least twice a year) but this was a totally different experience. As always, I was impressed with how nice all of the employees are, and how much they all seem to like their jobs. I was also very impressed with the way the tour was put together. I can’t imagine anything that would have made me enjoy myself more (except maybe if we could have actually taken a photo of the previously mentioned mysterious mansion!).

This was truly the nicest gift our family has ever received–we all had a fantastic day!

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Amanda

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