Sonlight Homeschooling Blog

Aug. 13, 2013

Technology and Homeschooling: What Do You Think?

By Robert

My first computer--the Atari 400, released in 1979.

Ever since I got my first computer more than thirty years ago I've had an ongoing fascination with technology and its applications. I've since studied and written on the topic of philosophy of technology--a branch of philosophy concerned with all sorts of questions relating to technology.

Although I grew up in an era before the advent of the World Wide Web, cell phones in every pocket, and personal computers in nearly every home, I've done a pretty good job of keeping up with technology. In relation to education the topic of technology is of definite interest to me. Considering that Sonlight offers literature-rich curriculum, the rise of ebooks and ebook readers is also of interest. I first began reading ebooks in the '90s with the advent of the PalmPilot. Granted, my printed library of books far exceeds what I have read in ebook form.

Marshall McLuhan in the 1960s began to explore some important questions regarding technology, especially in his seminal book Understanding Media. He wrote about extensions and amputations. Technology often offers extensions. Talking with someone in person, for instance, is extended by the telephone. But McLuhan also wrote about amputations. Consequently, a phone call allows an extension of communication, but something is also lost, such as a visual reference as well as body language and other factors present when we are in face-to-face interaction.

Nevertheless, technology presents tremendous opportunities, especially in relation to education. With so much information instantly accessible, though, we must be careful to balance knowledge with what the Greeks considered a key virtue: practical wisdom.

At any rate, I'm curious as to how (or even if) you integrate technology into your homeschooling.

What kinds of technology do you use?
How often are they utilized?
Do you continue to prefer printed books or are you integrating ebooks to any extent?
What concerns, if any, do you have about the rise of technology and its implications in relation to education?
Is technology a benefit to your homeschooling? If so, how?
Are there detriments to using technology in your homeschooling?

Let us know what you think!

Robert Velarde
Author/Educator/Philosopher

Tagged computers, ebooks, education, Homeschooling, learning, literature, philosophy of technology, technology | 5 Comments

Aug. 9, 2013

Feeling Concerned? Encouragement, Mirth, and a Thought or Two

By Luke

One of my cousins from Germany is coming to live with us for a year. She'll be able to experience American culture, go to the same high school I did, and hang out with her most amazing cousins! <cough> But my wife is really concerned. She was homeschooled through high school, so the idea of sending our sweet relative into that "wretched hive of scum and villainy" is terrifying.

Also, she's not looking forward to figuring out how to navigate the halls and bureaucracy of a public school.

You may not be doing anything as dramatic as all that. But if you are feeling any trepidation about this coming year at all, I think you--like me--will find great comfort in some of these back to school prayers. I regularly need the reminder to cast my cares on the Lord. And if you're returning to homeschooling this year, and feeling overwhelmed by the more advanced things you'll need to teach, I highly recommend you check out the post The Kindergarten Box.

God is writing your student's story. I am regularly overwhelmed by the feeling of responsibility to see "my kids" turn out well. But I'm not the one making that happen. My job is to demonstrate Christ's grace in my life and let His love lead them in following Him.

That's easy to write. It's hard to live.

As Brittany and I were discussing the upcoming transition to being high school "parents/guardians," we realized we needed to figure out how the school handles their schedule. Way back in the day, I had four classes a day. It was easy. A year or two after I graduated, the school switched to an incredibly complex schedule with eight periods a day which alternated every other day unless there a half day in which case some classes were put on a difference schedule and ...honestly, it never made sense. But then it struck me. "I wonder if the current, constantly-in-flux schedules of schools are designed to prepare kids for working in retail?"

Schools were originally designed to produce factory workers. That fit with my ridged, consistent schedule in high school. But today, few kids work in factories. Most of my friends work in retail. Their schedules are constantly changing, never set, and all over the place. So too with modern school schedules. I doubt anyone sat down to create classes this way, but it certainly feels like the idea to structure a schedule in this fashion came from the retail model.

Just the latest crazy idea to strike my brain. Thoughts?

And I don't know about your house, but laundry is a reality in ours. So is forgetting to set it out to dry. If you've felt you've been losing that battle, perhaps this haiku will make you smile.

Continuing in this random humor conclusion, I enjoyed this brief post about missionaries.

Finally, as we move into the weekend and more people have time to post things on Facebook, their blogs, and other dark places of the internet, I found the step-by-step guide on How to Be Outraged on the Internet to be strangely uplifting. The comments, in particular, brought tears of mirth to my eyes.

Hat Tip
Mrs. C

Lots of rather random stuff for you on this Friday afternoon. Enjoy!

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester

Tagged Encouragement, funny, musings, school | 7 Comments

Aug. 7, 2013

Just Wait Till...

By Jill

Chad, Dusty and Cris Winter of 1982

I came across my third son’s baby book this past week and I immediately was taken back over 30 years ago. He was our third son born in 4 ½ years. The year he was born was hard--very hard. We were living in Michigan and it was an extremely cold winter with many days in a row under -20 degrees. It was hard to get out of our small house with three young boys and some days the walls seemed to close in on me.

But, most days were lovely. They were filled with baby kisses, games, laughter and wonderful memories of reading to all three, waiting for Daddy to get home and teaching the baby to do a great many things.

It made me remember all the advice I got…bad advice really. Advice from people who knew me and those who didn't. “Just wait,” they’d say. “Wait till the baby is running, wait till they are teens, wait till ….” The implication was that my family was doomed to disappoint me and I was a fool to think they wouldn't.

My eldest granddaughter.

Actually, I just got some like it the other day. I had my sweet three-year-old granddaughter with me and a well meaning woman said, “Oh, she sure is cute, with that curly hair and blue eyes. Enjoy the time now, in a few years she won’t want to be seen with you.”

Really?

Those words to the wise, just like the baby book, took me back 30 years when people used to predict my three sons would become lazy menaces when they were teens. Twenty-five ago people predicted my daughter would not want to be seen with me in public in a few short years and some basically said my kids [and all kids] bring nothing but pain and sadness to a family.

I am happy to say none of their predictions came true.

I say this to encourage those of you who are in the child rearing stage right now and have nay-sayers predicting all sorts of dire consequences and heartaches in a sort of “I know better, you will see; your kids will be a disappointment, so enjoy them while they are young,” way. Or, if you are homeschooling, they like to predict your children will be uneducated, unsocialized citizens and that you are ruining them by teaching them at home.

Don’t listen and don’t worry. I firmly believe that God will equip you as you come to difficulties and chances are you will enjoy your children and grandchildren at every stage.

Oh, there may be a few rough patches. I think most families have a few, but maybe your kids will like to be around you, will enjoy your company, will still be part of the team you dream of.

I have enjoyed every stage with my kids. Sure, there may be long days or weeks, or times when you pray like crazy-- even more than normal-- that God’s will be done in their lives and for His extra protection over them. But I am here to say, looking back from the other side [my kids are all adults with homes and families of their own], that every age was a joy.

The teen years were lots of fun, with kids coming and going at all hours of the days and nights. It was exciting to see where they would go, who they would marry and what they would do. I loved listening to their hopes and dreams. I loved that I was part of their world.

The dire predictions did not come true and I don’t think they will come true as I enjoy the next generation either. I enjoy the time with my little granddaughters but I also look forward to the young ladies and women they will become. I look forward to discussing books, shopping, hiking and canning applesauce with them. I look forward to passing on our family heritage and to years and years of wonderful family times together.

Be encouraged. When you get unwanted advice, you can smile sweetly, but don’t listen. They think they have walked the road ahead of you and are warning you about the perils along the way, but what they don’t know is that you are on a different road altogether.

Take care,

Jill

Tagged children, education, Encouragement, family, priorities, reading | 7 Comments

Aug. 5, 2013

Suffrage: What Did You Learn from History?

By Luke

They are an incredibly brilliant couple. One is studying some kind of computer engineering. The other is now pursuing a degree in medicine. Both are in fields with labels so advanced I can't even recall the titles.

They hadn't seen Too Late to Apologize: A Declaration (a example of a parody infinitely better than the original). From there we linked to Bad Romance: Women's Suffrage video.^* [NB: Like the original Bad Romance, this video has some less-than-happy imagery. Please preview it before showing children.]

As the video came to a close, she said, "That probably would have been more engaging if we knew more about that part of history."

I agreed. The characters in the Declaration of Independence are well-known. But the women portraying the suffrage movement were not familiar faces. "But," I said, "you know some of the history, right?"

They both looked at me blankly. "We know there was an amendment," she said.

He nodded. "They didn't teach us more than that in school."

It was my turn to consider. In my high school and college American History classes, did we ever discuss this part of history? Not that I recall.

Crazy.

These are the times I wish I had been able to use Sonlight's high school programs. Core 300 tackles suffrage and more. If you've used Core 300, did you recognize what was going on in the video?

As usual, I wanted to learn more. So I started digging. I clicked over to the video creators' page about suffrage but found little useful information. Most of it, in fact, was so "classroomified" that it numbed my brain. So I pulled out Sonlight's incredibly accessible biography on the subject, but I haven't had time to read the whole thing (let alone discuss it, which is often the best part).

The things that are currently bumping around in the back of my mind:

People use God to promote all kinds of bad ideas. This is certainly not new. Christ took issue with the religious scholars of His day who did much the same. This should be humbling to us today who, for various reasons, presume to have it all figured out. May we humbly follow Him and not simply our traditions!
I think it's ironic that Congress shut down women's right to vote in Utah after the government's attempt to reduce polygamy by that method failed. To read more about how/why women support polygamy, check out the fascinating National Geographic article The Polygamists.
I'm becoming more and more curious about the shifts and twists within the Republican and Democratic parties over the years. In the last century, things have changed that make the voting records strange for us today. Since keeping a humble attitude before God when it comes to our interpretation of Scripture is important to me, I'm not big on "voting a party line" either. Definitely something to keep learning about.
There is so much more to learn about history. But I like that even YouTube videos can spark an interest. As life-long learners, there are so many opportunities to discover more!

What did you learn about women's suffrage in school? Any knowledge-acquisition-inspiring videos you've seen recently you'd care to share?

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester

*I don't know what it is about Lady Gaga, but Bad Romance seems particularly useful for teaching history. I blogged about Revolution in France two and a half years ago.

Tagged American history, Bible, high school, politics | 4 Comments

Aug. 1, 2013

Additive or Preservative?

By Judy

I love to cook and bake and try new recipes. That can be a good or bad thing, depending on whether or not you're on the receiving end of my experimenting. :) One aspect of good food preparation is the spices that you add to enhance the flavor of the end product. Wise use of additives can bring out subtle nuances in food flavor, and accent the inherent qualities of whatever you're cooking. Over-use can destroy a dish by drowning out flavors and over-powering the natural goodness of the food you're preparing.

Preserving food is also an important practice. The ability to lock in that natural goodness of the beans and carrots growing in my garden, makes winter-time meal preparation much easier and the end product more enjoyable.

These thoughts started rolling around in my head a week or so ago as I sat eating dinner with an amazing group of ladies God has brought into my life. An accountability group of sorts, we get together and talk about life issues, spiritual struggles, and how God is working in our relationships. One of the women picked up the salt shaker off the table and joked that she added the "spice" to our group, while some of the rest of us were better at "preserving" the peace and continuity among us. As much as I love word pictures, and am constantly watching for them in my life, this one jumped out at me!

The analogy caused me to stop and think ... am I more of an additive or preservative in my relationships? Is there more value in being one over the other? Or are they equally as important? Certainly, spicy food won't last nearly as long if it's not preserved, and preserved food will be pretty bland without the benefit of flavor enhancement. But I also suspect both can be "over-used" ... balance is definitely the key. Scripture talks about both "salt that has lost its saltiness" and "preserving unity", so both are important from God's perspective.

So now I'm thinking about the various relationships with which God has blessed me. Are there ways I can add "spice" that will enhance my interactions with my children? Are there things I can do to "preserve" my relationship with my husband or other family members? What "additives" can I offer that will enhance the character qualities I see in my friend?

I challenge you this summer to think about your relationships. While your mind is free from the normal responsibilities that come with the school year, consider where you might add spice or preservatives in your interactions with others. Encourage each other and build each other up ... (I Thessalonians 5:11)

Still on the journey ...
~Judy Wnuk
Sonlight Customer Champion

Tagged Encouragement | 2 Comments

Jul. 31, 2013

Looking Good or Showing Grace?

By Luke

Something was wrong. A peer had just refused to talk to me about his problems because I was "too perfect" and wouldn't be able to relate to him.

I couldn't respond to that.

Looking back, I think the problem was that I spent too much time trying to act "like a Christian." I should have been trying to act like Christ and also consistently share about my insatiable need for His grace. See, I had taken the verse admonishing me to set an example as a call to look good. And in so doing, I had made it about me instead of Jesus. I'm not the only one. I found Emily Freeman's post "one thing your daughter doesn't need you to say" to be an uplifting exhortation (that applies to sons as well <smile>).

It's not that we shouldn't set an example. It's that the example people need to see is Christ at work in us. They need to see Him. When we put on a mask and pretend to have it all together--almost as if we no longer need a Savior now that we have been saved--we can cover up the grace He is pouring into our lives. I did. And I regret it.

Halo

Asking for forgiveness is really hard for me to do. I don't think I really sought forgiveness from someone I had wronged until I was in high school. But that's just one painful example of how to clearly see I need grace.

I fail. I don't always act like Christ. But by His grace, He is forming into His image. And His mercies are new for me every day. I would like to encourage you to forego the pretense of looking good. Strive to be like Christ, and let others see His grace at work in you when you--like me--fail to do so.

What things do you do to show your children--and others--Christ at work in you?

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester

Tagged Encouragement, forgiveness, grace | 4 Comments

Jul. 26, 2013

Feeling Stressed about the School Year?

By Luke

School begins again soon. Her Senior year. With it, her future looms ominously. She feels ill-prepared or--at best--clueless. What does she want to study? What college should she attend? What should she do with the rest of her life?

I am all too familiar with the feeling of panic a new school year drops on us. I realize you may be experiencing the weight of the future yourself. Not your future, of course; your student's. As you look at the box of Kindergarten supplies, do you, like Kate, feel very overwhelmed? If so, you are most assuredly not alone.

Be encouraged. Are your children clamoring to start school right this very moment? That's a sign you're doing it right. Do you remember your family's favorite book(s) from last year? There's something to that: You--and your children--loved that book! Did one of your children recently demonstrate trickle down learning? Homeschooling works. You CAN do this. And as much as I dislike the lesson, it's important that I remember that learning is the process, not the end result (totally infuriating, I know).

So, come on! Jump in. Continue to provide an education that is not common, but rather free from the constructs of those in political power (see 20:40 to 23:10). It's not that I fear the efforts of policy makers and education lobbyists. Homeschooling is just such a fantastic opportunity, I think this uncommon approach is something to celebrate. In other words, homeschooling is not negative. And that's great!

What encouraging things have you seen in your family that help you be excited for the coming year?

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester

Tagged Encouragement, Homeschooling | Leave a comment

Technology and Homeschooling: What Do You Think?

Feeling Concerned? Encouragement, Mirth, and a Thought or Two

Just Wait Till...

Suffrage: What Did You Learn from History?

Additive or Preservative?

Looking Good or Showing Grace?

Feeling Stressed about the School Year?

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