CPH

Thanksgiving School–Day Four

On Thursday, we learned about the lives of people (both real and fictional) who lived around the time of the first Thanksgiving. We started with another book by Kate Waters: Sarah Morton’s Day. These books are very popular with Turkey and Bunny, because they really show what it would have been like to be a child in Pilgrim days, and because the children featured in them were actual residents of Plimoth Plantation (although these accounts are likely fictionalized). They learn everything from how they ate (children standing up), to what they wore (lots of petticoats for the girls!), to what kind of chores they had (lots of them!). And the photos are all set at Plimoth Plantation, so they really get a feeling for what the homes looked like.

As long we were learning about a Pilgrim girl, we also decided to also learn about an Indian girl in The True Story of Pocahontas. This is a “Step Into Reading” book, which made it perfect for Turkey and Bunny to practice reading aloud. They really like learning about real people, so this was a good book for them, even if they were once again confronted with some of the injustices found in history.

CPH publishes a book that we read every year–Thanksgiving: A Harvest Celebration. I really like this one because it doesn’t shy away from mentioning God, and the fact that we should still be thankful to Him, not only on Thanksgiving, but every day.

Since we had focused on Pilgrim girls, our craft was a Pilgrim girl which will eventually go into our paper plate Mayflowers. I found a package of these crafts at Jo-Anns for around $1 on clearance, and I’ll be able to use them for a few years, including with Ladybug when she starts school, so I’m very please with my find!

Hero Tales

Sonlight used to include a book in Core K called Hero Tales Volume One by Dave and Neta Jackson. Unfortunately, they swapped it out for something else before I had a chance to order, so I haven’t actually used the book in school. I *have* looked through it, though, and I think it’s a really cool idea (and from what I’ve seen, I would have preferred it way over its Sonlight replacement, I Heard Good News Today, by Cornelia Lehn, which we could just *not* get into). There are four volumes in the Hero Tales series, and each one has information on 15 heroes of the faith. There is a short biography on each, and then three short stories that recall accounts from specific life events. Volume One included stories about Martin Luther, D.L. Moody and John Wesley, among others.

This book got me thinking–wouldn’t it be great if there was a book that followed a similar format, but focused on Lutheran heroes of the faith? Sure we all know about Martin Luther, but what about the others? I know there must be someone out there qualified to write such a book (I also know that someone sure isn’t me!).

Every morning in school, we have calendar time, and we always check out our CPH church year calendar to see if there are any special commemorations that day. I can tell the children who the Biblical commemorations are for (if they don’t already know), and I can usually remember the major early church fathers, but I have to admit, I’m a little cloudy on some of the major players in Lutheran history. Johannes Bugenhagen? Fun to say, but I had to do some digging to find out who he actually was. And there are over 15 commemorations for key players in Lutheran history alone. That’s quite a lot of subject material.

Sure, I can (and often do) research the names on the calendar, but wouldn’t be great if there was a book out there, written on a middle to upper elementary school level, that could introduce our children to the men (and women–let’s not forget Katie Luther!) who shaped our church into what it is today? I could see it being useful in so many settings–Lutheran Day Schools, Confirmation classes, homeschools–so many opportunities for learning our history. I think it would be great to have a book that introduces children (and their families) to these people who may be unfamiliar, and shares how God used them to reform, share His Word, and shape, even if unknowingly, the denomination that we have today!

Lutheranism 101

I found out about a new book that CPH is publishing this fall, and I’m so excited about it! It’s called Lutheranism 101, and it covers all the key points of what it means to be a Lutheran, and what Lutherans believe.

I’m not clear if this book is meant for laypeople, or is geared more toward pastors, but I don’t care. I can see this resource being useful in so many ways! First of all, I can always use a refresher course in what my denomination is all about–no matter how much I’ve studied it, (a lot, but not nearly as much as many people I know, my husband included), I always, *always* learn something new when I read material like this. I’m no expert by any means, and I love having new insights on my faith. And it will be nice to have something a little more casual, (and injected with humor, to boot!), than, say, the Book of Concord.

I also see this being very useful in our homeschool (and I’m sure it would also be beneficial in Lutheran day schools, confirmation programs, and Sunday school programs, besides home use, and potentially adult Bible study). Based on the table of contents, it will provide us with a logical, pre-planned way to walk through the teachings of our church, and provide us with good doctrinal answers and information. I just have to wait a few more years for Turkey and Bunny to understand what we’ll be reading to spring it on them!

I can’t wait to actually get my hands on this book–it’s release date can’t come soon enough for me! Now I just have to decide if I’m going to pre-order, or just go to the CPH bookstore when it comes out. Look for a review here sometime this fall–I’m pretty sure I’ll have nothing but good things to say about it (can you tell I’ve studied the “look inside” feature of this book on CPH’s website several times?)!

Children in Church

I hate church nurseries. At every church I’ve attended that has *had* a church nursery, I’ve been offered, encouraged and harassed to use the nursery. I know people have good intentions, but I grew so tired of hearing people to tell me to “let myself have a break,” or “let the children come and play,” or whatever other way they so nicely suggest that my children didn’t belong/didn’t need to be/weren’t wanted in church. This is why I am so glad that they church we go to now has no nursery in sight. Places where you can take your child during the service? Yes. Staffed nursery? No. So grateful.

I truly believe (and always have) that children belong in church from the time of their baptism on. I also believe that children should be baptised within weeks, if not days, of their births, ergo, children belong in church from the time they are days (or weeks) old, hearing the Word. And don’t tell me it’s too hard, because I don’t buy it. When I had one, or even two children, mothers with more “experience” would knowingly say that I’d change my mind when they were older/more mobile, or if I had more children. Well, I’m here to tell you, I didn’t change my mind, not when I had four children four and under, not when I found out that one of my children has autism (which can make sitting through church a challenge), not when my husband is out-of-town and I have to take them all by myself, not ever. Children are part of the body of believers, they need to be taught how to worship, and they need to be in worship.

So, to everybody who talked down to me like I had no idea what parenting was like when I was a younger parent: you were wrong. I stand by my belief that children *always* belong in church. To the other parents out there who are struggling to do the right thing and keep their children in church with them, here are a few ideas for you:

  1. Sit in front. This is just common sense. If you’re sitting in the back, facing the front, when your child is loud, that loudness travels in front of you, toward all of the rows of people sitting in front of you. If you’re in front, the sound is mostly just traveling toward the pastor, and he’s usually more understanding than the people sitting in the pews.
  2. Limit distractions. I know a lot of people swear by “church bags” full of toys, books and snacks. I used to do that, too. But I found that all that stuff really just provided more distractions, more noise, and more problems when they were dropped, lost or fought over. If you *must* bring something, bring a quiet toy (stuffed animals are great at being quiet) that doesn’t rattle, sing, squeak, or have wheels that make lots of noise. Better yet, bring a church related book. A Bible story book, or one of my favorite books for toddlers–The Things I…series from CPH. I think those are actually best used at home before and after church to talk about what you will be (or what you have been) seeing and doing, but in church would be OK too, if you have to bring something.
  3. Sit in front. I know I said this once already, but I’m saying it again for a different reason. Children love to see what is happening in church. There is so much to watch and listen to, and the closer you are to the front, the better children are able to participate. Yes, you will need to whisper to them what is going on, and yes, they will need to be taught to whisper their questions to you, but this is how they learn. They need to see, hear and understand what is going on in the service–this is how they learn to be part of the service themselves when they are older.
  4. Help them participate. Help young children learn to stand when you stand, sit when you sit, and fold their hands at appropriate times. Also, a benefit of attending a liturgical church is that even small children can learn when to say the appropriate responses, and what those responses are. And young children who can’t yet read still like to follow along in a hymnal, so show them the correct page, help them turn the page at the right times, help them to learn how to treat the hymnal with respect (just as you’re probably teaching them to do with story books at home).
  5. Talk about church. Talk about how you behave in church before you go. Talk about what happened in church on your way home. Play church with stuffed animals during the week, modeling correct church behavior. The more children know what to expect, and what is expected of them, the better they will do on Sunday morning.
  6. Be consistent. Go to church *every* Sunday. Yes, there are weeks when illness makes us miss out on worship, but those instances are usually few and far between. There will be Sundays that you won’t want to go. Go anyway–these are the Sundays you need to be there the most. The more often you go, the better you children will behave, so go regularly.
  7. Leave when you need to. Even with practice and help from parents, even the best child has a Sunday with a meltdown. So, if you need to leave because your child is being a distraction, just leave, as quickly and as quietly as possible (I know this is embarrassing when you’re sitting in front, but hopefully if you’re sitting in front, and your children are engaged in the service, you’ll need to leave less often, anyway). And when you get out of the sanctuary, sit with your child, or stand if there are no seats available, but keep participating in the service. No running around, no playing with toys, no going home. Even if you’re not in the sanctuary, your child needs to learn that Sunday mornings are for worship, and if they are not willing to sit in the pew (preferably in the front), then they are going to worship in the back, where they can’t see as well, and aren’t as much a part of things. I know from experience that this is not more fun than sitting in the pew, and the child will eventually realize that in the church, where they can see and hear well, is the better place to be.

Helping children to learn how to worship is not always easy–at times is may seem like a never-ending task. But, one Sunday you will realize that your toddler is singing the words to the liturgy, and you will realize that your elementary-school age children are listening to the sermon, and you may even notice that your special-needs child is at his best in church, and you will know what an important and rewarding task it truly is!

Second Grade

*Disclaimer: for those unfamiliar with Sonlight, Core number does not necessarily equal grade level. I’d hate for anyone to think that I’m throwing first grade material at my second grade students just because of the number on the Core!

We’ll be embarking on our journey into second grade in just a few short weeks, and I think I’ve finally got all of our curriculum for the year sorted out.

Following last year’s introduction to world cultures, we will now be learning about world history (and geography) from creation to the fall of the Roman Empire with Sonlight Core 1. I’m especially looking forward to learning about ancient Greece with Turkey and Bunny, and I’m also excited about many of the year’s read-alouds. Even though they don’t all directly relate to our history lessons, we’re going to be reading a lot of childhood classics, starting in week one with a nostalgic favorite of mine, Charlotte’s Web.

We’ll be using Sonlight for language arts, as well. We’re about one third of the way through language arts/readers 2, so part way through the year we’ll be finishing that and starting language arts/readers 2 intermediate.

We’ll also continue to use the A Reason For… series for both handwriting and spelling. I decided not to use the transition to cursive text until next year, so both handwriting and spelling will be text B this year.

Sonlight continues to be my choice for science, as well. Like the Core, we’ll be in science 1 this year, and there are so many topics that Turkey and Bunny are excited about learning! Turkey is very excited about the astronomy aspect, and Bunny can’t wait to learn all about animals.

One change this year is that we will *not* be using Sonlight’s Bible program. I decided to go with some CPH materials for both Bible and catechism for second grade, and I’m pretty happy with what I’ve been able to come up with. We’ll read through A Child’s Garden of Bible Stories, and use the accompanying Old and New Testament workbooks for Bible, and My First Catechism and the matching activity book for catechism. You just can’t start too early (and they’ve already memorized most of the Small Catechism, anyway!).

We’re continuing to use Horizons math–level two this year. I’m pretty nervous about teaching them all the things they need to learn in second grade math, but I was nervous last year, too, and that seemed to go well, so we’ll see…

I have this year’s Sonlight electives to use, although we’ve already listened to the Bernstein Favorites CD approximately one zillion times. We’ll keep listening to the Classical Kids Collection CDs, and we’re also going to learn about Bach this year.

I’m embarking on a new subject this year, for both the children and myself. We’ll be using Prima Latina to give us a basic introduction to Christian Latin. I’m both very excited about this, as Latin is a very important element of classical education, and terrified, as I’ve never studied Latin myself. I figure we can all learn together, and if all else fails, Daddy studied Latin in college, so he can help us!

I think that’s all. It’s going to be another busy year!

“Make New Friends, But Keep The Old”

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

Book Review: “Katharina Von Bora”

I guess in the interest of full disclosure, I should admit right off the bat that I was biased going into this book, being a Missouri Synod Lutheran and all.  That being said, I love Rudolf and Marilynn Markwald’s biography of the wife of the famous Martin Luther.

This is probably the easiest to read biography I have ever come across.  I’m sure part of that is the material, but it is also due to factors such as the fact that it reads more like a novel than a biography, and the fact that there is so much humor laced into the letters shared between the Luther family that were printed in the book.

Not only did this book give me a better understanding of Katie Luther’s life–the type of family she came from, her willingness to take desperate measures to leave the convent, how she came to marry Martin, and the family and home life she built for herself–I also gained a greater understanding of Martin Luther, as well as other key players in the Reformation, and the general political and religious climate of that time.

I also discovered how glad I am not to have been a wife and mother during the Reformation.  From the burden that fell on Katie’s shoulders in managing a very large household, full of family, friends, visitors and refugees (and with a very limited amount of money!), to the way she was treated by people who should have been kind to her following her husband’s death–she lived a life that I’m pretty sure I could not handle.

This is an excellent biography for anyone interested in the Reformation, the life of the Luther’s, or the birth of the Lutheran Church.

Warehouse Sale-ing

I had the opportunity to go to the CPH warehouse sale this weekend.  It was awesome!  Given that we’ve lived in this area for the better part of seven years, I can’t believe I’ve never gone before, but now you couldn’t keep me away for anything.

I really had no idea what to expect.  I went in with a list of things I was hoping to find, but in all honesty, I wasn’t really expecting to get any of it, because I had some very specific homeschooling related needs.  I found it all, though!  They had every single thing on my list, and some other stuff I had no idea I wanted. Each of the children also got to pick out two Arch books, which they were ecstatic about.

This was great for us.  Going into homeschooling, the one thing I knew after choosing Sonlight was that eventually, we would have to part ways when it came to their Bible curriculum.  A big part of the reason we chose to homeschool was so that our children could receive a Lutheran education.  While Sonlight is fine in the lower grades, once the children are a little older, it’s important to us to teach doctrinally correct religion lessons.  Knowing this, I’ve been nosing around CPH’s website, looking for ideas for religion curriculum starting at about grade two.

Well, I’d come up with five years worth of religion curriculum based on what I saw there, and after looking at all of them at the sale, I decided on three of them for our use.  So, now I have my religious curriculum planned out for grades one through four.  Next year, for first grade, we’ll be using the Egermeier’s Bible Story Book that Sonlight schedules, and then in second grade, we’ll use A Child’s Garden of Bible Stories (which my mom has had in Braille since she was a little girl, and read to me as a child) and the My First Catechism that CPH publishes.  We’ll bounce back to Sonlight and The Awesome Book of Bible Facts for grade three (and that will be the last Bible curriculum that we’ll use from Sonlight), and go with 100 Bible Stories from CPH for grade four (another book my mom read to me). I also got a junior high level curriculum called A Bible History that I haven’t quite decided when I’ll be using.  So, I still have a few gaps to fill in here and there (I’d love to find a curriculum about church history, but I don’t know if that will happen), but I have a good start for the next few years, and I saved a ton of money!

I also found a few more Christmas resources to use in our “Christmas School” unit.  One is a book called The Three Wise Women of Christmas, which tells the stories of Elizabeth, Mary and Anna.  I’ve been interested in this book since it came out, but I’d never had an opportunity to get it.  The timing is great, because I needed another story book to use at Christmas, and it can be so hard to find a book that’s different, but that also doesn’t go into the whole Santa thing.  I also got a book called Sacred Songs of Christmas, which I’d never heard of before, but is really cool.  It comes with a CD, and has the lyrics for 19 Christmas hymns, as well as a lot of beautiful pictures and Christmas quotes from different sources.  Very cool.

I also got two texture-y books for Moose:  Touch and Feel Creation and Touch and Feel Christmas.  These are two other books that I’ve been looking at getting for a while, and now, knowing about his sensory needs, they will be even more useful to us, because not only will he hear the story and look at the pictures, he interesting textures to feel on each page.

The warehouse sale was a great experience.  The selection was beyond amazing, the prices were unbelievable, and it was run very efficiently, so that check-out was a breeze.  I wish everyone lived close enough to go to this sale every year.  You can pick up so many great things, for family use, for your children, for Bible study or other personal use, and even for homeschool!

I Have a Plan!

So, after spending the last several weeks going through homeschooling catalogs and websites of all kinds, as well as talking to people online, I think I have a plan for this year!

We’re going to start with Sonlight K, but not the newcomer package, because I decided to use A Reason for Handwriting instead of Handwriting Without Tears, which is what comes with the newcomer set. (And how much does all this agonizing I’ve done over handwriting curriculum even matter? Everybody is typing nowadays. But they still need to learn to write properly!) I realize that most people who have tried Handwriting Without Tears have loved it, but I really prefer the more traditional look that is taught in A Reason for Handwriting, and I also like that the practice is done with Bible verses (even it is selections from the Living Bible. *sigh* I’ll have to see how the lessons are presented, and how easy it would be to substitute with the ESV). So, my big challenge is going to be making sure I order everything else that would have come in the newcomer package, just switching out the handwriting materials, and also adding Ready, Set, Go for the Code for additional learning to read help.

I know some people would probably recommend starting with the P 4/5 curriculum, since I’m going to be working with a four and five year old. But I’ve been over both the K and the P 4/5 materials many times, and I really think they would both be bored with the 4/5 stuff. I don’t want to sound like the typical bragging parent, but both of my older children are pretty advanced, which was partly the reason we decided to homeschool, so they could be more challenged, and I think they know most of the stuff from the 4/5 curriculum. I guess at worst we end up stretching out or repeating the K curriculum, but I really don’t think it’s going to be an issue.

As long as homeschooling goes well this year, and I feel comfortable with what I’m doing, I may look into switching out other parts of the curriculum. Not the core, obviously, because that’s the best part of Sonlight–all of the reading, and the natural learning method as far as history, geography, etc., goes. In the future, though, especially if I actually get to a curriculum fair, I think I may want to try Apologia for science (maybe starting at grade two, so I can do the astronomy, botany, and three zoology texts before general science hits in seventh grade), because I always loved science in grade school (and high school and college for that matter, except for physics, but that’s a whole other story!) and the Apologia curriculum looks really cool!

I’m also hoping to get a chance to compare Saxon math to the Horizons curriculum that Sonlight recommends, because I know it’s a tried and true method, and a lot of homeschoolers use it, so I figure I should at least check it out. Hopefully I can make that decision before we start grade one next year–that way I won’t end up doubling up on manipulatives sets (I know I could put together my own, but that idea is still intimidating to a new homeschooler like me!).

Eventually I know I’m going to want to move away from the religion that Sonlight provides, as well. I’m already adding the Lutheran Children’s ESV to our materials for this year, to beef up the Bible curriculum that they provide, and maybe some Arch books, too. I’m OK with Sonlight’s offerings (supplemented by CPH material) up through about grade two or three, but then they A.) start using Bible translations I’m not fond of, and 2.) start teaching some stuff that could be contradictory to Lutheran theology, at least from what I can tell so far. I can always fall back on CPH’s dayschool religion curriculum or *gasp* prepare my own–I was a DCE before children, after all, so if there’s anything I should be able to create on my own, that would be it!

The reading, read-alouds and Language Arts all look good to me, so no worries about replacing those. The electives look pretty good, too–certainly more about music and art appreciation than I ever learned in the early elementary years. And while I’m not using Sonlight’s number one recommendation for handwriting, and I may decide on different math and science, all of those materials are still available to order through Sonlight (and I think still eligible for the member discount), so except for the religion materials, it appears I can keep all of my business in one place. Very convenient!

I’m most excited about Sonlight’s core, though–I can’t believe how much we’ll be reading! I think I’ve looked at the book lists for almost every grade, and there are so many familiar books from my childhood that I can’t wait to share with my children. And I love the way they use “real” books to teach history, instead of just dry textbooks. I know I remember much more from the stories I read as a child, whether they were true, or just entertaining fiction, than I do from any textbook I read. I know this isn’t the only way of learning, but it is the one that makes the most sense to me, so I’m especially happy Sonlight has put together such a nice curriculum for me–I wouldn’t even know where to start doing this on my own!

I can’t believe we’ve actually made the decision to homeschool. I certainly never saw myself as a homeschooling parent. Then again, our family has always been a little unorthodox, so maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised that this seems to be such a good fit for us–we’re good at going against the grain! I’m especially grateful to my husband, because he was obviously listening to me, (at times when I didn’t even realize I was talking!), and was open minded enough not only to consider this, but to actually do a complete 180 on his opinions on homeschooling. I never even would have seriously considered homeschooling without his support, but I feel that with God calling me to do this, and Ryan’s encouragement, I’ve been set free to do something I always wanted to do, without even really knowing it at the time.