Literature Connects Disciplines

Why study literature in the context of art, music, history, and worldview?

Excellence in Literature Handbook for Writers

“Developing intelligent comparisons between different works is one of the great tools of criticism, informed discussion, and cultural enrichment. Learning to develop such comparisons will also help to remind us that just because we have finished with one work and are moving on to another, that is no reason for setting the first one aside. As we progress through Liberal Studies, English, and Philosophy courses, we are continuing and enriching a life-long conversation with and about our culture, a process which will include more and more material for comparison and argumentative discussions.”

(From the Excellence in Literature Handbook for Writers* by Johnston and Campbell, Section 10.2)

*It’s in the proofreading stage right now, and should be available soon. At 400+/- pages, it includes detailed instructions for writing essays as well as a basic style and usage guide. I think it will be immensely useful for both high school and college.

For a short while, you’ll be able to order a beta version of the e-book. Read more about it on the Handbook for Writers page.

Blog Carnival: Summer Isn’t Over Yet

Welcome to the August 9, 2011 edition of Carnival of Homeschooling. Although a few of you are ready to
jump back into school or have already done so, others seem to be stretching those happy summer moments for as long as possible.

I suggest that you pour a frosty glass of lemonade, find a cool spot, and enjoy the delightful posts that have been submitted.

Summer fun isn’t over yet

Not quite ready for “regular school?” Tiana Krenz shares a delightful idea in Plan a Vacation, Learn Geography (Awesome FREE project!) posted at God Made Home Grown - Tiana Krenz.

Nikki Olivier invites you to journey along on an interesting family outing in I can officially call them kids! posted at Our Journey in Him, commenting, “spending time together as a family out in nature….there’s so much to learn!”

AnnieKate shares beautiful photos along with many great reasons why a garden can be a wonderful addition to homeschooling at The Gardening Homeschooler posted at Tea Time with Annie Kate.

Can you tell the difference between a plant and a weed? How about in your children’s lives? Joan Girkins presents ~Thoughts from My Garden~ (Part 4) posted at I Love Truth!.

Is it learning or is it just plain fun? Lisa Nehring offers a bit of both Summer School Shop Class posted at Golden Grasses.

Tasty treats from the garden.

In her evocative post, “Degrees of Separation” or “Your Child’s Future Sanity” posted at Sage Parnassus, Nancy reminds us to make time to touch, taste, and smell the reality around us.

Robin Phillips offers nine creative ways to connect real experiences with real learning in How To Homeschool At the Zoo: A Mini Unit Study - Crack the Egg posted at Crack the Egg Blog.

Preparing to take the plunge

Adam Faughn shared Homeschool week #3: Some of Our Preparation Steps posted at The Faughn Family of Four, saying, “We started our first week of home schooling this week, and this post shares some of the memorable steps we took to prepare for this change in our life.”

It’s awfully hard to homeschool in chaos, and it’s really not necessary when you have a built-in team of helpers. Carol J. Alexander talks about how to make it work in Getting Your Kids to Do Chores posted at Everything Home with Carol.

In This Year’s Homeschool Curriculum at her blog, MrsMamaHen.com, Conni Smith shared a rundown of the core subject curriculum her family will be using this year.

The longer you homeschool, the more likely it is that you’ll forget what you’ve taught to which child. If you do, it’s easily remedied. Elena LaVictoire presents helpful tips on Making sure they get it all covered academically and otherwise! posted at My Domestic Church.

The veterans offer tips

Is it ever too early to start reading to your child? Read Aloud … Dad presents When To Start Reading Aloud To a Child? posted at Read Aloud Dad.

It's never too early to start reading to your child.

Denise shares a great visual tool in Do You Mix Up These Words? posted at Blogging 2 Learn.

Billy Hart presents Danbury Baptist Association to Thomas Jefferson, Separation of Church and State posted at HistoricWords | American History | Founding Fathers | Politics | Faith | Quotes, saying, “The Danbury Baptist Association wrote this letter to Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson‚Äôs reply is where the phrase Separation of Church and State comes from. The Danbury Baptist Association said, ‚ÄúThe legitimate power of civil government extends no further than to punish the man who works ill to his neighbor.‚Äù”

Denise presents The (Mathematical) Trouble with Pizza posted at Let’s Play Math!, saying, “My daughter thinks her way through a challenging middle-school math problem.”

Laura O muses about learning a foreign language as a high school homeschooler.Tackle a foreign language? Which one? posted at Day By Day in Our World.

What’s it like to be the graduate of a Charlotte Mason education? Kaley Struble shares what she’s learned in Starting in the Right Direction on the ChildLightUSA blog.

Kaye Swain shared Bible Memory Verses Fun-Teaching The Ten Commandments to Our Children & Grandchildren-1 | SandwichINK for the Sandwich Generation posted at SandwichINK.com, saying, “The 10 Commandment Bible memory verses for children and grand kids was a fun summer project for my grandkids and me, but it’s also great for a homeschooling project any time in the year.”

HomeGrownKids presents Through the Bible overview (Week 1-4) posted at Kerugma, saying, “Kerugma Family Bible reading guide for use with young children. This guide is a no-fuss, easy to implement, overview of the Bible for the whole family. Preschool to highschool, homeschool, family bible reading.”

Technology might make it easier . . .

Does technology have something valuable to contribute?

Merit K presents Back to School with Tech? posted at Mission Possible!, saying, “Modern technology has some drawbacks and dangers, but there are ways to make technology work for us as parents and educators too!”

Angela Gray presents On Digital Media in Education - Team Gray! posted at team Gray!, saying, “While public education has come to mean crowd control and classroom management, digital media could mark the return of true learning–if the teachers would just get out of the way.”

Henry shares some thoughts about the nature of education and the benefit of homeschooling in Can education be automated? Should it? on Why Homeschool.

Heartfelt reminders

Trisha Poff reminds us of the importance of taking the time to give good words to those we love in Letters Never Written posted at A Multitude of Mercies.

Remember to take time for things that matter . . .

Are you at a difficult place in life? Learn more about Homeschooling Through Sicknesses, Pregnancies and Other Distressing Times at Beyond The Silver and The Gold - A Filipino Family’s Homeschool Journey.

If you’re in the early years of homeschooling, and juggling many children of different ages, don’t worry–it won’t always be this hard. Nebby offers encouragement in Homeschooling: Some Parts Get Easier posted at Letters from Nebby.

My contribution for this carnival will be the Of Daffodils and Diesels Revisited post from the archive. It was hard to choose– there are articles on everything from literature to caregiving to learning styles to homeschooling boys– but Daffodils and Diesels is especially worth reading at the beginning of a school year. It’s important to teach the student we have, rather than teaching a particular curriculum. Enjoy!

That’s all for now. I hope you enjoyed the carnival!

Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of homeschooling using the official carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on the blog carnival index page.

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What Does Education Look Like? Part III: Immune to Elephants

Hannibal crossing the Alps with war elephants.

It’s been awhile since I posted the first two parts of this series, but the contrast between a true, living education and the stale, dead imitation that often replaces it continues to niggle at my thoughts. So here’s another brief scene that highlights the contrast.

Scene 1

The elephant turned his trunk toward the audience, and surprised them with a cold shower. The twins pressed closer to the edge of the enclosure, shaking water from their eyes. “Read us what it says, Momma,” they asked, looking at the sign on the rail.

“It’s an Asian elephant,” ventured one twin, pointing at the map.

“And it eats roots, grasses, fruit, and bark,” said the other, looking at the photos of the elephant in the wild.

The twins listened intently, eyes studying the elephant’s leathery hide, giant ears, and stringy tail, as their mother read the information. They had watched a National Geographic video earlier in the week, and had been talking about Hannibal crossing the Alps with elephants during the Second Punic War.

Scene 2

Later, another family stopped at the elephant pen. A toddler laughed and pointed, while a slightly older child tugged at her father’s arm. “Please, Daddy, can you read what it says?”

As her father began to read the information, the oldest child sighed in boredom and pulled out his iPod. He didn’t bother to look at the elephants– after all, he had learned all about them in first grade. The class had seen the giant leg bone of an elephant, felt a piece of dried elephant hide, and filled out a worksheet on the life cycle of the elephant. What more was there to know?

Inoculate: To treat with a portion (usually dead) of a virus or infective agent to prevent disease.

To think about: Why does institutional education so often inoculate students against further learning? (There’s a clue in the definition above.)

Previous posts on this topic:

Part I: What is a Chicken?

Part 2: What Does Education Look Like? A Look at Socialization

Read to Learn, Not Just for Story

Read daily, for love and for learning.

I’ve always loved to read. My earliest memories involve wonderful, imaginative stories that enriched my life. The Little Red Hen, Johnny-Go-Round, Sendak’s Wild Things, Anderson’s fairy tales, the Bobbsey Twins and Happy Hollisters were all as much a part of my life as was the freeway traffic that flowed endlessly across the street from our home, the railroad at the end of the block, and the liquor store where I bought my weekly treat– a fudgesicle, or if I was feeling flush, a 10-cent Rocket Pop. Every day I’d pack my school bag with at least two books with which to stave off inevitable boredom. Trips to the library or my favorite thrift store were highlights of my week; I knew I’d come home with at least a few more books to cherish.

Perhaps I was an odd little kid, but even then I wasn’t reading only to find out what happened in the story. I read to discover new worlds, different lives, deeper meanings in everyday matters. Read more

Advice for Friends of Caregivers

In traditional flower meanings, a pansy stands for loving thoughts.

When you have a friend who is caregiving, there are a few things to remember. Caregiving is something that will come to most of us at some point, perhaps only for a short while, but possibly for decades. Whether you’re the caregiver or a friend of a caregiver, it helps to know a bit about what it’s like. If you missed the first article on this topic, you may want to read it for a little more information on the subject.

Here are a few comments and suggestions that come from my experience and the experiences of caregiving friends. Please feel free to comment if you have additional ideas.

It’s not that your caregiving friends don’t want to see you, it’s just that getting an elderly or disabled person ready to go and out of the house requires so much energy and focus that we have to carefully choose where we go, what we do, and how long we stay.
Even if you don’t think we’ll be able to come to an event, it’s still nice to hear about things and have the option of coming if we can make it.
The children of caregivers don’t always get to go out and do as many things as other children. Inviting them to share an event or experience with your family can give them a delightful memory. Read more

Carnival of Homeschooling: The Beach Reading Edition

The homeschool carnival makes great beach reading.

I’m delighted to host the June 22, 2010 edition of Carnival of Homeschooling! It may be summer, but homeschoolers never stop thinking and learning. To celebrate the season, let’s imagine that we’re at a lovely beach with waves breaking, a gentle breeze blowing, and palm trees rustling. Now…. relax and read while your dear children build sand castles!

Read more

Caregiving for Homeschool Families: Don’t Go Into It Lightly

Homeschool families are notoriously family-friendly, but I’ve recently been hearing questions and concerns about caregiving while homeschooling, so I thought I’d share a few thoughts here. Most of the people who have asked questions have been thinking about their parents or grandparents and have options available other than in-home caregiving, so I’ll mostly address things to consider in deciding whether or not to opt for in-home caregiving.

I was raised by my grandparents, so caregiving arrived early for me. My husband Donald and I cared for my grandfather (actually step-g) from 1989 until he passed on from complications of Alzheimer’s disease in 1993, and have been caring for my grandmother ever since. The observations I’ll share are based on my experiences and those of my caregiving friends during the past couple of decades and may not apply to everyone. Perhaps they’ll help as you consider what might lie ahead for your family.

You Gain
- You learn to be flexible and patient.
- Your children can become better acquainted with the person you’re caring for, and bless them by helping out.
- You learn that people are more important than perfect schedules.
- If you’re caring for an elder who is still mentally sharp, you can take the opportunity to learn from them.
- You gain friends who understand some of what you’re going through.
- You learn that a sense of humor can make an awkward or unpleasant situation bearable.
- You learn not to rely on yourself, but on the Lord.
You Lose Read more

Thankful Thoughts on Freedom, England, Homeschool, and Writing

Dear Readers,

I sometimes come upon a thought so well expressed that I just have to share it! Today’s guest post is the editor’s letter from the Writing-World.com newsletter, and it’s reprinted here with the kind permission of the author, Moira Allen.

This Thanksgiving, my husband and I were deeply aware of the many things we have to be thankful for — chief among them being the fact that we are once again living in the United States. As most of you know, we spent 15 months in England, pursuing (but not precisely living) a lifelong dream. Those 15 months made us appreciate so many things that, as Americans, we take for granted.

Freedom, for example. One thing I’ve always taken for granted is
that if a civil authority (e.g., the police) wishes to enter my
home, a warrant is required to do so, issued by a judge and only on
presentation of “just cause.” Not so in England! Any number of
“civil authorities,” including social workers, council
representatives, “wheelie bin police,” and quite possibly the
vegetable seller down the street can legally enter one’s home for
any number of reasons (including things like whether you’re
importing an illegal variety of potato — which admittedly wasn’t
something we worried about overmuch). Read more

Carnival of Homeschooling- The NaNoWriMo Edition

Preface

Don't miss our Thanksgiving Sale!

Welcome to this hundred-and-umpteenth Carnival of Homeschooling! Because November is National Novel Writing Month (also known as NaNoWriMo or nano), and I’m over 10,000 words into the writing process (and can’t think of anything but writing, writing, and more writing), I thought it would be appropriate to format this Carnival as sections of a book. I even consulted the Chicago Manual of Style for an authoritative list of book parts!

Introduction

For me, homeschooling is first and foremost a heart matter. In Mangled Schedules and Grateful Hearts, an article I wrote for Home School Enrichment magazine, you can read how a father’s presence and influence can shape a family school. Enjoy! Read more

Motivation: What Gets People Moving?

Before you start school this year, you may want to consider motivation. What is the most effective way to encourage your children to study and learn?

Some of us (ahem–me, anyway) respond well to doing things I find intrinsically interesting, but can coerce myself into doing tedious stuff (balancing checkbooks, anyone?) by the promise of a hot-fudge sundae at the end. Not sure about the quality of work! My boys sometimes did hard stuff just because they were interested, but balked at what I thought was easy and quick. Daniel Pink’s video talk for TED is an interesting look at some detailed studies on motivation and the effect of rewards. Very interesting!

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