Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Reformation Day - Martin Luther Was Anti-Semitic



Today marks the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.

Like so many people we use to celebrate October 31 not with Halloween (a pagan holiday) but with Reformation Day....the celebration of Martin Luther nailing the 95 theses to the door of the church.   You know, Martin Luther...the guy who starts the Reformation and why we have a Protestant faith in the first place.  

He's a big deal...except...I started finding out some pretty unpleasant and downright disgusting stuff about him AND what he wrote about Jews.  Need some proof?....I know what you might be thinking...Hey that's Wikipedia...anybody can write that stuff...Um...except the original is here.   He's basically talking about genocide...and we celebrate him? This is the same pamphlet that would get reprinted during Nazi Germany over and over...need I say more?

As I started searching I found a lot of very knowledgable people trying to explain away the spewing of hatred in that pamphlet (and Martin Luther wrote others).  But here is the best essay I've seen about Martin Luther's "On The Jews and Their Lies" that points to the fact that he WAS  both anti-semitic and anti-Judaic.   

Now if the Martin Luther thing isn't horrible enough...there is actually a sculpture (more like a bas relief) of something called a “Judensau” or “Jew pig” carving at the Wittenberg church where Martin Luther preached!  Here's an article about these anti-semitic sculptures....because there is more than one!  


I think it's time we actually start teaching the truth about what our "church" leaders were really up to and the real church history.  I mean something is seriously broken when we make someone a hero (and teach it to our kids) who is capable of saying and inspiring such horrendous stuff.



The best quote I think is from Dr. Christopher Probst, the author of the rebuttal article, on how to deal with this:


If Protestant Christians are to sincerely proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all peoples, including Jews, such an enterprise must be entered into with full knowledge of the horrendous mistakes – indeed sins - of Christian forebears, including Luther’s.  They cannot breezily dissociate themselves from their Christian past when it saves them embarrassment and shame to do so.  Protestant Christians also believe that Jesus died for sinners.  Public acknowledgement and confession of such sins can serve as an example of integrity and humility to others and be a means to make the Good News of Christianity attractive to them.





 "But you, explain what kind of behavior goes along with sound teaching. Tell the older men to be serious, sensible, self-controlled and sound in their trust, love and perseverance.

Similarly, urge the young men to be self-controlled, and in everything set them an example yourself by doing what is good. When you are teaching, have integrity and be serious; let everything you say be so wholesome that an opponent will be put to shame because he will have nothing bad to say about us."
Titus 2:1-2, 6-8





Monday, October 30, 2017

Your Story Hour Online - When You Need A Break From TV






Need some wholesome audio books and have your kids learn at the same time?  Ya me too so I have Your Story Hour and now I just found out you can listen online.  Very CM when you are needing some rest for your vocal chords.

Your Story Hour Online




Wednesday, October 25, 2017

FREE - 470 Crockpot Recipes - Update

***Update:  I no longer can host this file so here's a link to it.

Well I don't know where I got this so I can't credit it but I know I got it for free so I thought I would pass along a great little recipe book I got like...10 years ago.

It has a lot of can of____  and cream of ______  but you can make that stuff homemade and make things even cheaper.  Since we're heading toward the holidays, I thought it would be nice to just stick stuff in the crockpot (slow cooker) in the morning and be done with dinner!


470 Crock Pot Recipes -



Friday, October 20, 2017

ACE Paces Scope and Sequence!

Ever wonder what's in a pace?  Or maybe what's coming up for your kids this year?  Or maybe you need to write a plan out for yourself or for your umbrella school?....here's the scope and sequence for k-12



Friday, October 13, 2017

Homeschool Burnout?!?! - Here's Your Fix!


Well it's that time of year again....are you struggling with keeping it all together???  Here's a repost of Renee Elison over at HomeschoolHowtos  excellent article to help you with your struggles. ;)   Here's a link to how I think you can make ACE Paces more fun


Are you SURE you have the right curriculum?


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Burnout
The single biggest cause of homeschooling burnout is having chosen the wrong curriculum.  For most homeschoolers, veterans and beginners alike, the illusion is that you will always have perfect days in which to teach, but the reality is that you’ll seldom have even one perfect homeschooling day.  If your schooling centers on you as the teacher, it will simply slip through the cracks on days when other demands take over.  Because schooling is the one flexible/negotiable part of the day (no one is watching), it often gets put on the back burner (for far too many days, for months on end), because today we can’t do it right, using what you thought was the ideal curriculum.
Now that school is beginning again this fall, mothers are scrambling to make out their schedules, get last minute supplies, etc.  This feels exhilarating—at least, initially.  Aha—a fresh start.  But talk to those same moms one month from now and they are in tears, feeling guilty, and nothing is going according to plan.  Hubby is threatening to put the children back in public school because anything is better than the fiasco he sees going on day after day in his own home with his stressed-out wife and inconsolable children.  Because they’ve got the wrong curriculum.
Haven’t seen the big picture
Moms, by and large, because they have never been down this path before (they graduated from nursing school, or business school…), inadvertently choose and purchase curriculums that are heavily mother-dependent.  They purchase curriculum based on topics that they wish they had had in school, or books that look fabulous, or techniques that seem new and innovative and far superior to the way they were taught.  But the problem is not the content or style of the program, at all, but rather it is one of administration.  Is this curriculum going to be easy to get through each day, especially when I’m preoccupied with little Johnny who just threw up, or on an emergency phone call, or have unexpected company?  Then what happens?  What happens when I’m up all night with another child and have to sleep IN in the morning?  Let’s see—hmm—5 children times 2 “mom-isn’t-available-to-teach” hours per student equals ten wasted hours for the family that morning.
Because we have been in the movement for over 20 years as vendors, we have seen children who are now the grown products of this little daily nightmare, and it isn’t pretty.
Unit studies—the kick with a bite
In far too many cases, these idealistic theories about curriculum have been murdered by a few brutal facts—embarrassing facts.  The children didn’t get thoroughly educated—not even as much as we were educated in inferior secular schools.  Scores of excited moms who have never taught a child through all twelve grade levels tell me sentences like this: “This fall we are going to study George Washington—in fact, we’ll do a unit study on him!” The problem is that the mom doesn’t see the 12-year big picture that there are over 34,000 concepts to cover to even make your child aware of the most rudimentary components of the big wide world out there.  Giving three months to one concept just isn’t gonna cut it.  While mom is fixated on her one euphoric idea of what she will teach, time is wasting; sand literallypours through the hour glass of childhood.  What she is not aware of is that children can learn ten times faster than she can even dream up the topics, let alone provide a newly hunted down perfect book to teach it with.
Moms with extra time, huh?
Go ahead and buy all of the super-idealized curriculum you want.  But this year try teaching it in the evenings or on the weekends when you get that one “supercharged-mommy-moment” a week, but for all the remainder of the time, for all those “barely-making-it” hours, get a curriculum that your children can do without you hovering it.  Waltz onto their page on any day at any time that you want to teach them from your own academic passions—we always teach our passions best—but for all the otherdays, and the other hours, keep your children’s noses to the grindstone of an established curriculum that gets the job done without you.
Ask yourself a question: How much extra time did I have yesterday to write out lesson plans, or to thumb through a textbook to figure out what my child should be doing today?  Was it three minutes?  30 seconds?  Oops, just couldn’t get to it?  Then what makes you think you’ll have that time tomorrow?  If you must read a teacher’s edition to figure out what your child should do, you are already sunk before you start.
All the “not-so-hot” choices out there
Some love those big companies that sell you the huge textbook for every subject, so that your school curriculum can look just like the public school’s.  But quickly you’ll find that the sheer size of the books scares your kids off (they are a pain in the neck to haul around), and parents by the scores have already discovered that they are “drill and kill and over-kill” curriculums, despite the expensive packaging!  They cost too much, weigh too much, take too much preparation out of your hide, and bore your children to tears with excessive unnecessary mental labor.
Then there are the super dense spiritual curriculums.  The entire family reads this and that and does this project and that project on one character trait, together.  Fine.  Purchase those and teach one every Sabbath, or work through one for one evening a week to gather as a whole family to study.  But for two-to-six hours a day every day of the week, they require too much of mama—and too much of everyone else.  On most days, one can’t even find the whole family to study with, let alone do it.  If you use one of these programs, you’ll burn out, guaranteed.
Then there is the sensational one book for this and one book for that—the eclectic approach.  I hope you like shopping—because your children will read them and finish them on the way to the car.
Then there is the hands-on, build everything you read about (pyramids under the kitchen table) approach.  This approach absorbs far too much time spent on “pyramids”—single subjects—(which a child can readily understand just by looking at a few pictures), to the exclusion of time that could have been spent on other equally important concepts/subjects.  Life isn’t just endless time on your hands.  Time spent under the table is time lost practicing a new scale on an instrument.
Then there is the “read-every-book-in-sight” curriculum.  Just read.  Tons of homeschooling families pride themselves on what good readers their children have become.  They congratulate themselves on having exceptional readers…which they mistakenly think then makes them exempt from producing anything else.  The only problem is, they just don’t know that all homeschooling families produce good readers.  This is commonplace, with few exceptions.  They can’t see it, because they live in only their own house.  Moreover, reading is not the whole picture.  What if your car only had a motor, no steering wheel, no brakes, no seats.  Math is important, writing is important, physics is important, spelling is important, each of them requiring very little reading and a great deal of doing.  The first time your child hears about atoms and molecules and has only read history books, he is apt to say “Huh?” or worse yet, start feeling the “Huh?” going on inside himself everywhere he turns.  A general education requires gaining basic familiarity with thousands of diverse concepts.
Grading your children’s work—whatever for?
If you want to grade all your children’s work, go ahead, have at it.  But they won’t grow, if you do their evaluation.  Weeks worth of stacked papers that mom will someday get around to grading trains your child in absolutely nothing.  When your children get back all your delayed grading with your meticulous and conscientious red marks, they will mindlessly throw those same papers into the trash.  Sound familiar?  If they grade their own as soon as they finish a page, they will be invested in it themselves, to their own surprise.  It is that simple.  Correcting one’s work is where all the growth takes place.  Do you really have this much extra time?  Would you not rather read a good book, or take a walk with your child?
A long ride
Go ahead, buy whatever curriculum you want, or insist upon having, but also, this year, try buying the ACE curriculum to use as your daily work horse.  You can’t see the full extent of it all now, but you’ll ride to the schooling-pasture and back to the barn every day for two to six hours a day for 12 years with this schooling business—so you’ve gotta have a dependable horse to get you there and back, unless you want a circus at your house every day, if you didn’t spend two hours last night prepping for some other scenario.
Even if your child is only exposed to this sequential, consecutive, line upon line, precept upon precept material and skips half of the fill-in-the-blanks, or merely answers the questions aloud, or even just hears them read to him by an older sibling on sick days, or isn’t multi-sensing every concept, he will be light years ahead of the child who hasn’t.  He will have at least encountered all of these thousands of concepts.  Four pace booklets a day, four concepts per booklet, 5 days a week, 36 weeks a year, for twelve years, yields 34,560 concepts.  Ta-dah !!!!  Did you catch that?  This is all done for you.  You didn’t have to even get out of your easy chair.  This year, try teaching whatever else you want on top of that—but not in place of it.  Countless very burned out families have switched to A.C.E. after trying everything else they had in mind, and the smiles have returned.  There have been no regrets!
We recommend ACE for these 12 very tight and succinct reasons:
1. ACE is taught using thin booklets: easy to haul on errands.
2. ACE is comprehensive; nothing will fall through the cracks.
3. ACE is spiritual: you won’t produce an intelligent drunk.
4. ACE is engaging, uplifting and keeps their interest both academically and spiritually: children end up loving God through their subjects.
5. ACE is self-taught, not mommy dependent: it actually happens every day, regardless of the chaos mom is embroiled in at the moment.
6. ACE is self-corrected: the student has instant feedback.
7. ACE is the curriculum for tear reduction; momma doesn’t burn out—she actually likes her children, gets dinner on the table, and wants to continue homeschooling next year.
8. ACE is priced at the low end of curriculums: you don’t have to rob a bank or incur debt to buy it.  The entire year costs less than one month’s tuition at any private Christian school.  It is so inexpensive, the grandparents can purchase it for you.  You won’t grow bitter halfway through the year because you sank 2 grand into a curriculum and now you hate the stuff but can’t possibly switch because you mortgaged the house to get it.
9. ACE trains outstanding character, woven into the full page text of every subject—not tacked on as a token at the end of the entire day just to make it look spiritual.
10. Employers love to hire ACE graduates for any type of work, because they have found year after year that these students’ cheerful work ethic is second to none.
11. ACE has been used in 135 countries; it currently educates well over 3 million children.  It is tried and true.  Children using it actually graduate—they score high on standardized tests—they get scholarships at colleges.
12. ACE is guilt free; school happens.
Have your children read history and biography and how-to books voraciously in the evenings.  Train them in domestic skills.  Teach them how to earn and save a dollar.  And turn off the TV and videos and stop the endless “goes nowhere” recreational fantasy reading, and you’ll produce super children.


Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Homeschool Philosophy?? Forget About It!



Want to know the quickest way to go crazy?  

Read about homeschool Philosophies...  


Or worse decide what homeschool philosophy you are and then inflict it upon the kids until you all burn-out...ask me how I know that one.   Are you: Classical, Charlotte Mason, Traditional (textbook), Unit Study...???    Here's the secret that new (and maybe old) homeschoolers should learn...ready...wait for it....  Don't get hung up on a homeschool philosophy.  As a matter of fact, just forget about homeschool philosophies in general and start with finding a math program that works for you and the kids.  That should keep you busy for most of your homeschool career..only slightly kidding there. 


It's pretty common knowledge from the pioneer homeschoolers that all you really needed was a math curriculum and a library card.  That's all you need...yes, really.


You don't need a fancy, schmancy, expensive curriculum that costs $1,000+  per child. Remember one room schoolhouses?  They had all levels and the teacher wasn't running around like a crazy woman, trying to find the best curriculum.  She barely had resources AND she had the older kids teach the younger kids.  She grouped the children by ability, regardless of age.  


Now you may be asking okay, BUT, what about Language Arts?  Well, here again,  you don't need a super expensive curriculum to teach reading.  You can do it quite easily with a book you probably already have....the Bible.  Guess what?  That's how the founding fathers of America were taught and they seemed to do okay....I mean, they founded a COUNTRY, you're just trying to get your kids to read. If you use technology Leap Frog Letter Factory will have them learning those ABC's super fast and their sounds (phonics).  After that move on to Leap Frog Word Factory .  We found them at the library so you may not even need to buy them.  


Penmanship?  Just start with them learning the letters of the alphabet that you write, and then move on to copying the Bible.


Grammar?  Buy an old copy of Easy Grammar Level 1 and go over a sheet a day or two once a week.  On other days use Daily Grams 5-6 for all of your scholars.  No matter how you slice it... It's the same 8 parts of speech whether you're in 3rd grade or 12th.  For laughs you can include Mad Libs for learning the parts of speech.  Just google it and you should have a ton of options for free to print.  Don't start grammar too early though (like before 10), it's a pretty abstract idea and really 
just needed  for testing more than anything else.  For Fun you can watch Schoolhouse Rock and learn the parts of speech fast and easy!...they'll even learn some US History and Science.

Spelling?  This is really used for writing and I'd say about half the kids are naturally good at it while the others...not so much.  For fun you can use Spelling Classroom or it's free version Grade Spelling.  We like Spelling Classroom better because it tracks progress AND the kids can play games that are actually fun. For an offline version just pick out words based on their abilities from the Bible and use those for spelling words.


Writing?  Well, a persuasive essay can wait until High School.  You just need them to write about their day, or who blessed them, or who can they bless?  Have the Youngers make a picture and write a sentence or two, Middles need to write a 1/2 page or so based on their skills and Olders 1-2ish pages.  These are approximates, so you'll need to figure what works for your kids.  Don't make them write book reports, they are pretty much a useless modern school invention to determine if a class of 30 kids read the book.  You live with your kids so I'm assuming you know if they read something.    If you need to figure out what they learned in a book, ask them to make a quiz for everyone to take...that's sure to crack everyone up! You could even post it over at Review Game Zone and let everyone in the house take it AND play games!


High School Writing?  Okay, now is the time for that persuasive essay.  Time to tell the difference between schmoozing and being schmoozed..aka Logic.   Writing an essay a day about everything that interests them and why!  Teenagers love to argue so put those skills to good use! ;)  


If you need to keep track of all your schooling this journal looks cool...OR just get A.C.E. Paces and let it teach while you keep things humming....just sayin'  Make sure you take the A.C.E.  free diagnostic test so you can place your kids where they need to be.  If you're doing it online I'd sit with them to make sure they are hitting the right buttons.  If you take that A.C.E. route make sure you read my post about how to make it fun and enjoyable for everyone. 



YOUR HOMESCHOOL PHILOSOPHY
  • Do what works for your family
  • Homeschool during the hours that work for you, even if it's at 9pm!  Split up your homeschool hours if you need to.  A little in the morning, a little in the evenings.
  • Fun learning when you can (think weekends & evenings): If all your kids like different things to study...pick the one that's easiest for you, not them.  There's lots of them and only one of you.  You'll teach what you're interested in with enthusiasm which they will  catch on. 
  • Use technology such as streaming (documentaries, etc..) and audio books.
  • Kids need tools, not more toys.  Real jobs require real tools and knowledge.  Teach them how to fix everything....from lunch to the kitchen sink!  If they want to learn chemistry get them the REAL deal, not a toy kit (and supervise of course!)  If you don't know how to fix or make stuff, look it up on Youtube together. 
  • You are your own team!  Do everything you can together including chores...yes it will take longer but you'll have less drama about "did you do____" nonsense.


If using technology works for you...use it.  Make a Youtube channel with all the stuff you want your kids to know and let them watch it. Yes,  it may take some time - or a lot of time - but when you're sick or need a break, there it is waiting for you to access when you need it most.  *Getting on my soapbox*  make sure you have the settings set for children on Youtube, and DON'T let them watch it without supervision.  

 "For God is not a God of confusion but of peace."

1 Corinthians 14:33a ESV

Sunday, October 8, 2017

Feast Of Tabernacles (Sukkot) - Happy Birthday Jesus (Yeshua)




If you're like most Christians you've celebrated the birth of Jesus (Yeshua is his REAL name) on Dec. 25...but...did you know that he WASN'T born on Dec. 25?!?!  It was a pagan holiday that the new church changed.  

The Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) is actually when he was born and if you'd like to read more...here's a scholarly read for ya!


SO ...Happy Birthday LORD!




Around this time, Emperor Augustus issued an order for a census to be taken throughout the Empire. This registration, the first of its kind, took place when Quirinius was governing in Syria. Everyone went to be registered, each to his own town. So Yosef (Joseph), because he was a descendant of David, went up from the town of Natzeret (Nazereth) in the Galil (Galilee) to the town of David, called Beit-Lechem (Bethlehem), in Y’hudah (Judea), to be registered, with Miryam (Mary), to whom he was engaged, and who was pregnant. While they were there, the time came for her to give birth; and she gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him in cloth and laid him down in a feeding trough, because there was no space for them in the living-quarters.
In the countryside nearby were some shepherds spending the night in the fields, guarding their flocks,when an angel of Adonai appeared to them, and theSh’khinah of Adonai shone around them. They were terrified; 10 but the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, because I am here announcing to you Good News that will bring great joy to all the people. 11 This very day, in the town of David, there was born for you a Deliverer who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 Here is how you will know: you will find a baby wrapped in cloth and lying in a feeding trough.” 13 Suddenly, along with the angel was a vast army from heaven praising God:
“In the highest heaven, glory to God!
And on earth, peace among people of good will!”
15 No sooner had the angels left them and gone back into heaven than the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go over to Beit-Lechem (Bethlehem) and see this thing that has happened, that Adonai (The LORD) has told us about.” 
                                                                                               LUKE 2:1-15  CJB  Complete Jewish Bible


Friday, October 6, 2017

How To Use ACE Paces For More Than One Child - Redo





click on picture for link to buy ** no affiliation

I originally wrote a post about this eons ago and since then we've switched up how we do this.  I always recommend that you buy the Paces for each child but when hard times hit, here's something that can help.

First, You'll need to get some plastic pockets (see picture above for link)

Next, you'll need to get china markers.  These are sometimes called grease pencils.  I recommend blue because they erase easily. 

click picture for link *** no affiliation


Now all you have to do is fold the Pace in half and place it in the pocket.  Have the children use the china pens (which won't smudge like dry erase markers) and then check their work.  When it's time for a test, simply have them study the Pace score key (not the test key  or check up but the part they had been working on) and then give them the test or check up using the pocket again.  

These pockets are super durable and will last several months before you need to replace them.  The china markers are self sharpening and when you need to erase them simply use a paper napkin or paper towel.  If marks remain just take a tiny amount of olive oil on the paper napkin and erase the marks.

Happy Homeschooling!


She carefully watches everything in her household and suffers nothing from laziness.
Proverbs 31:27





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