Sonlight Homeschooling Blog

Feb. 8, 2013

Prepare Your Children to Thrive

By Luke

She's four. She recently found her legs, and now, standing in the airport tram, she dutifully clings to the handrail as directed. Her dad smiles down, a hand ready to catch her should she slip. Her determination is in her face and white knuckles; his joy and pride is in his smile.

I tear my attention from the happy family to look in the other direction. A young woman sits alone in the opposite car. She isn't the least bit concerned with the approaching movement of the tram. Her mind--making sense of the digital display on the device before her--is elsewhere. She doesn't notice when we start to move.

There is such joy in the potential a child carries. But we don't always want to be hovering nearby, ready to catch them should they fall. We want them to grow and step out into the world. We want our children to be winsome ambassadors for Christ where He leads them. So there is something to the easy independence typified by the young woman. But seeing her, I also felt lonely and isolated. I have no idea if she had the same experience, but in that moment, her solitude was disheartening. We want our children actively engaged with the world, not aloof in their own.

So as I wrestled with these conflicting feelings, tussling inside me, I realized this boils down to a single idea: We want our children to thrive.

You may have children who still grip the handrails of life, needing a steady hand from time to time. Or, your children may be heading out into the world on their own, where you pray they shine as lights in the world. Wherever you are in this journey, may you have grace and wisdom as you help prepare your children to thrive. Naturally, I think homeschooling is an excellent way to help facilitate this. And if you're still looking for homeschool curriculum that can take you from Preschool through High School, check out Sonlight's programs.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester

Tagged children, maturity | 2 Comments

Feb. 7, 2013

The Meetto Project Needs Your Prayers

By Sarita

I felt devastated. A missions project that John and I had funded for about five years was recently pulled due to lack of progress. I tremble to realize that one day I will stand before God and confess that although we had funded it, I hadn't covered it in prayer.

So John and I have committed anew to pray more specifically, deliberately, and fervently for the various projects we support. And guess which one came up on our list recently: The Meetto Bible Translation project! Fortunately, the Meetto project is still moving ahead, but they definitely need our prayers – John's, mine, and yours.

If you recall, back in 2009, Sonlighters around the world teamed up to fund an accelerated translation of the New Testament for the Meetto People of Mozambique. We partnered with The Seed Company, an affiliate of Wycliffe Bible Translators that works with indigenous translators to speed up the process and get quality translations to bibleless people groups faster.

Since Sonlighters funded this project, it has progressed from only four books translated in 2009 to much of the New Testament and some of the Old Testament translated today, with plans to finish the New Testament by 2016!

How neat to be part of bringing God's word to a people who lacked it.

Project Overview
Original Goal: Translate the New Testament into the Meetto language
Location: Mozambique, Africa
Number of Speakers: 1,200,000
Year Project Began: 2009
Expected Completion Date: 2016
Funded by: Sonlighters like you!
Learn more here.

Translation Progress
The team has drafted three-fourths of the New Testament (20 books). Some books are nearly finished.

They will then be carefully checked in several specific ways. Read about the six steps of translation here.

The team recently distributed booklets of Scripture for community testing. The Seed Company reports, "Several denominations and mission organizations [are using] the books of Luke and Acts, the Bible stories book, the lectionary and other translated Scripture portions in their newly planted churches." Good news indeed!

Churches starting to use the Meetto language
I was shocked to learn that churches in the area have traditionally held their services in Portuguese. It's the official language of Mozambique and is considered more prestigious than the heart language of the Meetto people. Can you imagine using one language in your everyday life, and then another less-familiar language at church?

But what an awesome blessing that churches are now using the available portions of Scripture in Meetto. People are now hearing Scripture in their own heart language! Churches are even starting to use Meetto in their regular services. The Meetto people are finding the dignity that comes with knowing God speaks their language.

The stigma against speaking Meetto is melting away in other sectors, too. People used to feel shame in speaking Meetto publicly. But The Seed Company reports that because of the influence of the translation project, "Today, advertisements and public announcements on health and AIDS in the hospitals and in the marketplace are written in Meetto."

God Uses Scripture to Change Lives
As churches across the region start using Scripture in Meetto, God continues to move.

One woman, Ancha, listened to a pastor teach from the book of Acts in Meetto. Ancha served an evil spirit and would perform healings and cast spells to earn money. The evil spirit would often fill her with anger. But the pastor led Ancha to Jesus that day.

How did she respond? In a huge step of faith, she brought all her evil accessories to the pastor and they burned them. Free from the power of the evil spirit, but without her former source of income, Ancha is trusting Jesus as he leads her into a new life.

Ancha's story is just one of many of how God is working.

Serious Prayer Concerns
Though the work continues on, the translation team desperately needs more workers. Two of the three primary translators have moved on to other projects, at least for now. The lone remaining translator and his assistants are praying earnestly for God to send more help.

Please pray for God to provide more primary translators, someone who can do back translation, and translation consultants.
Pray for a solution to battery power for the computers, as the solar batteries keep losing power.
Pray that churches will eagerly use the preliminary copies of God's Word and offer helpful feedback to improve the translation.
Pray for unity among denominations, as churches from various Christian traditions work together to encourage the use of the Meetto Scripture and language in church services.

And of course ... pray that God will see this work through to completion!

If you participated in the The Seed Company project in 2009, thank you! If you want more information about getting involved with Bible translation, visit www.oneverse.com. You can also head to the Meetto Project page to read updates in the future.

Let's not forget about this strategic project. I have recommitted to pray for God to bless this project and use it for His glory. Please spend time praying for this project today.

Blessings,
Sarita

Tagged Bible, giving, prayer, update | 1 Comment

Feb. 6, 2013

All Chocolate Chip Cookies are NOT the same...

By Jill

I love to bake, and cookies are my favorite thing to bake. And, chocolate chip cookies are one of my all-time favorite cookies.

I made some awesome chocolate-chocolate chip cookies last week. I used real butter, real vanilla, farm fresh eggs, real dark chocolate chunks and mixed the batter oh so gingerly so the cookies would be a melt-in-your-mouth delicacy. I scooped out rounded masses of the buttery mix, baked them on parchment paper for exactly 12 minutes and slid them on to waiting cookie racks.

Can you smell the buttery, nutty, chewy chocolatey morsels? They are crisp on the outside and gooey and rich in the inside. Oh, my...heaven in my mouth [recipe below].

Now, contrast that with a bag of store bought chocolate chip cookies. I mean, they are both cookies, they both have chocolate chips, they both are round--but what exactly is partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil and artificial flavoring?

They are not gooey. They do not melt in your mouth. But, in a pinch they will do and when you have a hankering for a cookie, they are not too bad.

While I was thinking about cookies, my brain leaped to thinking about curriculum. When you teach your kids by reading them great literature and exposing them to ideas and thoughts contained in literature, it is like the homemade chocolate chip cookie.

It is pleasing and satisfying. Kids want more--they want to dig deeper, they enjoy the experience and learn an incredible amount as they go along. Learning through literature appeals to old and young, rich and poor, eager learners and slower learners. We can learn so much through stories--we can be transported across time and space and can experience more than we could possibly experience in our own lifetime. It is rewarding and satisfying.

But, when you learn through text books, it is kind of like a store-bought cookie. It is kind of the same--but it is not really the same at all. Textbooks take a bunch of great history or science and pre-digest it in a sort of "readers-digest" format so you get the gist, but none of the passion.

Incredible events such as the explosion of the space shuttle are briefly covered, a date given, and then the article ends with something like "but even though this launch was not successful, the space program learned from their mistakes so future launches were much safer." UGH! Where is the passion? Where is the mourning? What is the point of the event? It leaves one wondering why they bothered to even read this book and how many more pages are assigned. Kind of like wondering why you are wasting your calories on a dry out-of-the-bag cookie, when you could eat a warm homemade one.

There is just no flavor, no satisfaction-- no character at all to the cookie or the text. Whether you are homeschooling or your kids are in a traditional school--please read to them.

Read them books with passion and excitement. Introduce your kids to your heroes or read classic literature to them. If you don't know where to start, ask me, ask your librarian, ask an English teacher or get a Sonlight catalog and use it for a reading list. By reading aloud to your children you can ignite their interest and imagination and strengthen family bonds. You can have true quality and quantity time with them.

Read to them and maybe whip up a batch of cookies too! It couldn't hurt!

Take care,

Jill

CHEWY DARK CHOCOLATE-CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

This is my favorite cookie to bake as needed. I make the dough into 1 oz balls with a portioner [like a small ice cream scoop], freeze and then put in freezer bags. When I want a cookie I bake at 350° for exactly 14 minutes.

Pre-heat oven to 325°--Beat together in a mixing bowl till creamy:

2 sticks butter [1 cup]

2/3 C granulated sugar

2/3C brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Add: 2 eggs, one at a time beating after each one

Mix together in another bowl and then add slowly to butter mixture:

2 C flour

2/3 C baking cocoa [dry]

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp sea salt

1 package chocolate instant pudding [dry mix-4 serving size]

Stir only to combine all ingredients. Do not beat. Add:

2 Cups [12 oz] chocolate chips

1 Cup chopped walnuts or pecans [optional]

Stir till chocolate chips are combined. Do not beat or over-mix. Drop cookie dough onto greased or parchment lined cookie sheets. I make rounded Tablespoon size cookies and bake for 11-13 minutes till cookies are puffed and centers are set. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Tagged books, children, cookies, curriculum, education, family, Homeschooling, literature, reading, recipes | 2 Comments

Jan. 30, 2013

The Weight of Success

By Luke

His arms burned as he surged through the water to the finish. He hit the touch pad and looked up at the clock. A new personal best.

Swimming Touch Pad

He let himself sink back into the water. As he fought to catch his breath, a similar struggle played on his face between a smile and a frown. A personal record was cool, but it also meant that next time he'd have to swim even faster.

I've been told not everyone experiences this kind of stress. But I did. That's why I always hated competition but loved practice. With practice, I could improve. With competitions, I only set the bar a little higher... or failed to meet my previous potential.

How do you get over this mounting pressure?

You have to refocus. Barbara Postma has some very encouraging thoughts on this in her post on The Seemingly Negative Consequences of Succeeding. I very much appreciated the reminder that in such cases we need a broader perspective. I certainly needed that nudge today, after dealing with the responsibilities associated with some of my larger successes.

Have you ever felt the weight of success? Any other suggestions for handling added responsibilities?

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester

P.S. Barbara's post is one of many Other Posts of Note. If you're ever looking for more interesting, insightful, challenging, and funny content, check them out.

Tagged work | 2 Comments

Jan. 28, 2013

Homeschoolers: No longer powerless transients

By Luke

The TSA agent snatched the unopened bottle of shampoo from my wife's hands and tossed it in a nearby waste bin. The bottle had been a gift but was very much over the 3 ounce limit for liquids, gels, and aerosols. My wife had hoped for some assistance. Now, after passing through security, she was left muttering, "What a waste."

Seth Godin put it well: "Like colleges, airports see customers as powerless transients. [You'll] be gone tomorrow..."

Walk Away

If you've had to navigate the turbulence of college registration or airport security, you can likely relate. We are often treated like cattle rather than clients. We're fenced in, prodded forward, and at the whim of the authorities who dictate our fate. But it's not just colleges, where students struggle to find openings in classes they have to take. The education system, as a whole, assumes your children are theirs for the taking. The school's job is to process that batch of students and send them on their way. You are a vital participant--often the indicator of your student's success--but also a powerless bystander when it comes to your student's classroom experience.

Homeschooling changes this. Homeschooling empowers you.

Once we discover that we can influence our children's success, we take action to shape their experience. Your student is not a powerless transient. Your student is on a life-long journey of learning, and if one method isn't pointing to that end, there are other options. Your student is no longer simply a paycheck. Your student is an individual you can help point in the direction he or she is meant to fly.

Ready to consider your options? Check out our complete, customizable curriculum. With Sonlight's unmatched Love to Learn Guarantee, you won't be left muttering, "What a waste."

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester

Tagged choice, curriculum, education, options, school | Leave a comment

Jan. 25, 2013

31 Reasons to Homeschool

By Luke

My wife sent me an article about fascinating realities about education that you may not expect. If they had asked me to re-title the post, I would have labeled it 31 Reasons to Homeschool.

Here are a few things that jumped out to me:

Psychologists are drawing the conclusion that early academic learning structured around directive teaching not only inhibits creativity, but stunts a child’s natural curiosity to discover how the world works.

There are many reasons we built our preschool curriculum to be a gentle introduction to learning together. One of the big motivations, however, was to enable you and your children to discover the joy of learning. This will give you an excellent starting point for more rigorous academics in the years to come. More and more research confirms that this is the best way to approach early education.

In a primitive society, children learned necessary survival skills by mimicking their elders. It was essentially, learning in action. In modern times, academics are often taught rather than 'shown'- removing this type of opportunity from the educational process.

I think rich literature gives us the opportunity to, in many ways, "show" ideas to our kids.

...students who used e-books with sound effects, narration, music, and video were able to find and recite more information than the children who used a traditional printed text.

It could very well be that ebooks are the future. However, this point seems more to reinforce the idea that reading-aloud is an essential part of experiencing books. Just one more reason I'm thrilled that Sonlight's curriculum includes so many Read-Alouds.

Daydreaming is often seen as wasting time and sometimes a lack of the ability to focus. But recent research found the opposite is true.

Personally, I've spent quite a bit of time daydreaming. Glad to know doing so was such a great idea! <smile>

What points resonated with you? Do you disagree with any of the conclusions?

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester

Tagged benefits, Homeschooling | 5 Comments

Jan. 24, 2013

When Hundreds of Thousands Turned to Christ

By Sarita

What happens when a nation crumbles morally? When substance abuse and corrupt politics rule the day? When the people turn from God and seek pleasure in violent sport, gambling and womanizing? When children have to fend for themselves on the streets? When the rich abuse the poor?

In some sense, both England and France were in this position in the 1700s. Then England saw peaceful, sweeping reforms, while France spiraled into a horrific revolution.

I know I'm simplifying history here. But what was the difference between these two nations? I just read a compelling argument that John Wesley likely initiated the stunning change in England's trajectory.

A statue of Wesley preaching

Once John Wesley experienced a true "heart conversion" to Christianity, he studied the Bible, preached it, and lived it. He preached in open-air settings to the working class poor, on their way from the factories to the drinking houses. He taught the Bible to illiterate women and children. He visited those in prison. He set up programs to teach job skills to the needy. He urged the rich to care for the poor. He worked to end the African slave trade. In short, his words and deeds proclaimed the Word of God.

And in His mercy, God brought revival. God used John Wesley, along with coworkers George Whitefield, Charles Wesley and others, to reintroduce the Bible to the common people of England. As Vishal Mangalwadi puts it in The Book that Made Your World: How the Bible Created the Soul of Western Civilization:

[Wesley] believed that God's purpose for him was to open the Word of God for his nation, pointing men and women to God through Christ. This, in turn, would reclaim their homes, towns and country from paganism and corruption. Wesley's central understanding of Christianity was that individual redemption leads to social regeneration.

When ordinary people heard the Gospel preached and saw it lived out, they turned to Christ. When they turned to Christ, their whole lives changed. They gave up their drunkenness, cared for their children, cared for the poor, began to treat others as people made in the image of God.

And thus, "England after Wesley saw many of his century's evils eradicated, because hundreds of thousands became Christians. Their hearts were changed, as were their minds and attitudes, and so society—the public realm—was affected."

Wesley did not follow God half-heartedly. Nor was he a superhero. Instead, he simply sought God in earnest, preached in earnest, and served in earnest. He and his trainees adhered to a strict schedule: "eight hours a day sleeping and eating; eight for meditation, prayer and study; and eight for preaching, visiting, and social labors." And thus, he worked on behalf of the English people. And God worked wonders. Wesley even inspired the younger William Wilberforce to devote his life to the abolition of the slave trade.

Wesley's life reminds me that God uses ordinary people to change the world.

I am concerned about our own nation's direction. Out-of-control spending. Inefficient welfare systems that do limited good. Huge lobby groups profiting from their pet projects. A devaluing of marriage. Children bouncing around from one foster home to another. The murder of precious unborn children.

But God could use you, and me, our children and our grandchildren to change things. Even one person can change the direction of a society—one person committed to God, to hearing from Him and spending time in prayers, coupled with a vision to change society for God's glory.

May we be people who fear not, but focus on what brings God glory. May we choose discipline and a heart sold out for God over the comforts of stability and material accumulation.

And may we be an example for our children. So that when God is ready to use them, they are ready to serve.

May God's Kingdom come!

Blessings,
Sarita

Tagged Christianity and culture, moral values | Leave a comment

Prepare Your Children to Thrive

The Meetto Project Needs Your Prayers

All Chocolate Chip Cookies are NOT the same...

The Weight of Success

Homeschoolers: No longer powerless transients

31 Reasons to Homeschool

When Hundreds of Thousands Turned to Christ

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