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Raising Auto-Didactics

Sep29

At last a Reading Method for every child by Mary Pecci.

I just had to write about this. It constantly amazes me how effective this method of teaching reading has been for us. I found this book in the library after reading a review in Mary Pride’s book when I was teaching my oldest daughter to read. That was 1986 and I have used it with all the children.

This morning I was working with Sandy and am just amazed [again] at how this method turns the children into self-teachers. After she learned the abc song, she taught herself to recognize the individual letters. I showed her how to sing the song while pointing to each letter until she came to the letter she didn’t know. She loves to practice with her giant letter cards and her little pink binder. I wrote the alphabet on the binder cover, lower case on one side and upper on the other. The cards are cut on one corner so she can line them up all lower case or all upper case and practice by herself. I also made her a cassette tape of the alphabet song that she listened to over and over!

After reading the Moore’s Better Late Than Early book, I moved back the age I started teaching them reading to 6 instead of 4 and let them play more, coloring, etc. but the same method has worked with all six of our children that have started school so far despite vast differences in their personalities and learning styles. It also fosters the independence of self-teaching, encouraging them because they are able to practice even these most basic skills such as letter recognition on their own.

It’s just been so effective that I had to mention it. If RC gave me nothing else, it helped me value and teach the children to teach themselves~! I recently had a mom call me and say she wanted to homeschool her child. “I don’t want to spend much money and I don’t have time to teach her much myself.” I was taken aback and told my 17yo daughter about the call. She told me, “Well, mom, she sure called the right person. You hate to spend money and you love for us to learn things for ourselves!” This is the daughter who taught herself to sew and designs her own clothing. She also taught herself to braid her own hair in tiny little perfect rows all over her head and to cut my boys’ hair, too. RC just flows into all the aspects of our lives.

Love Never Fails. (a very long post studying this Word)

Sep8

Love. God is Love. Love never fails.

We are memorizing the Bible description of love:

Love is patient, Love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast. It is not proud.

That’s this week’s segment to memorize. The children repeat it after me several times, then are called upon to repeat it to me.

The Blue Letter Bible

 http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/translationResults.cfm?Criteria=love&t=KJV

reports that the English word “love” occurs 311 times in 281 verses in the King James Version of the Bible.
In it first occurrance at Genesis 27:4 and its third occurance at Genesis 29:32 it is used as a verb.

This word love is ‘ahab. Gesenius’s Lexicon, used by the Blue Letter Bible to translate the word, defines this word love:

(1)To desire, to Breathe after anything.
(2)To love a friend.
(3)To delight in anything, in doing anything.

Genesis 27:4
And make me savoury meat, such as I <b>love</b> and bring [it] to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die.

Genesis 29:32
And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me.

It is here used as a verb.The outline of its Biblical usage:

1) to love

a) (Qal)

1) human love for another, includes family, and sexual

2) human appetite for objects such as food, drink, sleep, wisdom

3) human love for or to God

4) act of being a friend

a) lover (participle)

b) friend (participle)

5) God’s love toward man

a) to individual men

b) to people Israel

c) to righteousness

b) (Niphal)

1) lovely (participle)

2) loveable (participle)

c) (Piel)

1) friends

2) lovers (fig. of adulterers)

2) to like
The outline of its Biblical usage:
1) love

a) human love for human object

1) of man toward man

2) of man toward himself

3) between man and woman

4) sexual desire

2) God’s love to His people

This word love is ‘ahabah.
The LexiConc reports that there are nineteen entries that match “love”.

Let’s skip forward to the New Testament translations from Greek.
There are ten reported uses:

love, beloved
love, charity, dear, charitably, feast of charity
brotherly love, brotherly kindness, love of the brethren
love as brethren
love their husbands
kindness, love toward man
love of money
love, kiss
love to have the preeminence
love (one’s) children.

Since the verse I quote is 1 Corinthians 13:8, let’s look at the translation/meaning of the word in this verse.

The King James Version of the Bible says:

Charity never faileth…

Charity, agape, denotes affection, good-will, love, benevolence. This is also the version of the word used in 1 John 4:8, “God is Love.”

Vine’s expository dictionary of new testament words has this to note:

In the two statements in 1Jo 4:8, 16, “God is love,” both are used to enjoin the exercise of “love” on the part of believers. While the former introduces a declaration of the mode in which God’s love has been manifested (1Jo 4:9, 10), the second introduces a statement of the identification of believers with God in character, and the issue at the Judgment Seat hereafter (1Jo 4:17), an identification represented ideally in the sentence “as He is, so are we in this world.”

Never is used in the Authorized Version of the King James as never, neither at any time and nothing at any time. An adverb defined by Strong’s as denying

absolutely and objectively- not ever.

Fails – Vines has this note about the word translated as fails:

Fall, Fallen, Falling, Fell:

“to fall out of” (ek, “out,” and No. 1), “is used in the NT, literally, of flowers that wither in the course of nature, Jam 1:11; 1Pe 1:24; of a ship not under control, Act 27:17, 26, 29, 32; of shackles loosed from a prisoner’s wrist, Act 12:7; figuratively, of the Word of God (the expression of His purpose), which cannot “fall” away from the end to which it is set, Rom 9:6; of the believer who is warned lest he “fall” away from the course in which he has been confirmed by the Word of God, 2Pe 3:17.”

* [* From Notes on Galatians, by Hogg and Vine, p. 242.] So of those who seek to be justified by law, Gal 5:4, “ye are fallen away from grace.”

Your Habits: Friend or Foe

Aug30

“Sometimes beginning to live the Christian life and walk the victory walk is like an episode I saw of Third Rock from the Sun.

In this episode, Dick hits a chipmunk and is riddled in guilt [the young Christian begins his new walk riddled with guilt and condemnation]. He decides that his way of life must change so that no animal will ever again be hurt because of him or his companions.

He has authority over his roommates so he forces them to rid their lives of products that may have caused pain to animals [the young Christian trys to rid his life of all sin or what he considers to be sinful activities]

This is far more difficult than he anticipated as he had not realized the extent to which animal byproducts (shoes, pesticides for the ants, ham sandwiches, fur coats) had invaded his life and the life of his companions and he also has not anticipated that some of his companions (fellow employees) would not want to cooperate with his efforts to rid the world of these vices. [Sound familiar, little Christian?]

As some of his companions refuse his demands all together [what?! I like my surf and turf] and the others irritate each other with pointing out the minutest failings they perceive in each other’s attempts to meet the standards [can anyone say legalism, denominational rifts, etc.?] Dick begins to realize how much he himself will have to give up, i.e.; suffer for his cause.

And what if his efforts prove futile, which they do (chippy is eaten by a hawk when he has recovered and is released to the wild. Dick then kills the hawk while defending the chipmunk.)

He is unable to continue in his extremist efforts and so caves to his peers and underlings -sitting down to eat meat in a fog of pesticide.

Many times, young Christians in their extremist efforts to become all that they desire to become for the Lord, in the noblest of efforts to conform to their idea of what the image of Christ really is, forget that they cannot ride on the whims of emotion for long.

What goes up- must come down and so it is with ‘feelings’- the mountain of elation is often followed by descent into the valley of despair.

Having not been able to accomplish it all, they throw in the towel and backslide or at least come to a wrenching halt in their progress. Instead we must as more ‘perfect’ [defined as mature in vines * ] Christians, guide them into the more gradual process of replacing wrong language with right language, walking in faith instead of feelings, and moving toward the happy medium.

God has promised to bring mountains down and valleys up and to guide us in the straight [defined as level] path. Christ has done the work for us and made the yoke easy but progress is made line upon line, precept upon precept.

Precept by precept, line upon line, here a little, there a little… Isa. 28:10

It was the way I finally began to lose weight when all the diets failed to produce any visible progress. I started over and tried only one thing at a time, and I let Christ help me with that one thing. I replaced sodas with water. Then when that had become old hat, a habit, I began drinking enough water, at least 4 bottles [20 oz] daily. As that became automatic, I replaced a menu item such as fried chicken with a grilled chicken breast. Over time, I learned to push away a plate -very difficult if you were raised during the ‘clean plate club’ era- before I felt full. It felt good although it was months later when I finally stepped on the scale and it no longer swung well past 150 but stopped short of that mark. And the best part was I hardly worked at it.

Habits can be friends instead of taskmasters. [Charlotte Mason reference needed here.] The Formation of Habit

Help young Christians keep walking by slowing down the pace without dampening the enthusiasm. Let their enthusiasm rub off on you and inspire you while you teach them temperance [self-control]. God has promised that those who diligently seek him WILL be rewarded and we are. But diligently doesn’t mean working harder- it means not to ever quit.

If you become diligent, you will find persistence becomes a habit. And if you are persistent, you will get past the first faltering steps of the victory walk to run well the race that is yours for the prize that is set before you.

Feed the Spirit Introduction

Aug30

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'”

Are you starving your children? Are they hungry? I’m not talking about their bodies. I’m talking about their spirits.

Start your homeschool days with prayer and the Word to make sure you put God first. If your children leave home and require more knowledge about history or math… even if they can’t pass the G.E.D. test- you may be embarassed but that can be corrected.

But if they leave home without having the basic spiritual knowledge they need, then you have neglected your most important duty to God.

I’m so thankful that my Mama grounded me in the Word. I had hard times but I knew who to turn to in my hours of need. My faith wavered but it never failed me- in fact it only grew stronger when I grew hungry for the spiritual food I’d been fed all my childhood and searched out the Word for myself in those lean times.

Feed your children well- on the Word of God and they will NEVER go hungry. The Word says,
No one whose hope is in you
       will ever be put to shame,
       but they will be put to shame
       who are treacherous without excuse.
Psalm 25: 3

Home Schooling category

Aug30

This category will contain posts that pertain to homeschooling. We home school (homeschool) our children. Posts may refer to our own experiences in our homeschool, Ashley Christian Extension School, or it may contain information, reviews and links to the home school experiences of others. It may also contain information of interest to auto-didactic persons (autodidact: A self-taught person). Generally, anything involving education can be put into this category.