Sonlight Homeschooling Blog

Feb. 13, 2013

Meeting a Brother in Christ Halfway Around the World

By Luke

The large room is packed with tables and people. This restaurant is, I'm told, more typical of the area. The clientele is, as best I can figure, predominately Hindu, though I'm confident there are a few Muslims as well. There is no sense of bad blood, and the servers scoop large portions of rice and curry onto plates. Everyone eats with their fingers, including the young man across from me. His motions stutter as if nervous, but he smiles at me broadly showing no other signs of ill-ease.

He introduces himself. We chat briefly about my visit to the area. Then he asks in a slightly pitched-shifted tone, "Are you a Christian?"

"I am."

His smile widens even further. "I am a Christian too!"

A moment before he asks me questions about the church I visited and tells me about his six hour commute "home" each weekend where he worships in "his" church with his parents. His smile was contagious, as was the joy of meeting a brother in Christ halfway around the world. Not that I didn't know other Christians in the area. I had visited a service with hundreds of them. But this was the first to connect with me as a fellow follower of Christ.

I've seen him a few times since that meal. Each time his glad smile turns toward me in greeting. And each time, no matter where I am, I reminded that I am not alone.

I have family here.

As you travel the world in your Sonlight books--or, if you're so blessed, physically--do you find it encouraging to learn about our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ scattered about the globe? I do.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester

Tagged Christianity, cultures, travel | Leave a comment

Feb. 12, 2013

Is Your Child Ready for Life?

By Robert

My oldest son recently turned 18. He's also graduating from high school in a few months. After a long homeschooling journey, he's not only considered an adult, but will also receive his high school diploma.

Do you have a child ready to graduate this year? In a few years? In several years? One of the concerns homeschooling parents have is, "Did we miss anything?" In other words, will our child be ready and equipped to face the world?

There's much to say on this topic, but I'd like to make three observations. First, the very fact that you are involved in homeschooling is an important indicator in relation to how much you are invested in helping your children succeed in life. You do your research, select your curriculum carefully, interact with other homeschooling parents, and continue to seek to offer the best learning tools and environment possible. This point alone will go along way toward helping your children in life.

Second, preparing your children to become well-rounded individuals is far more important than memorizing facts and regurgitating information. Homeschooling allows parents to not only serve as constant role models for children, but the content children are exposed to helps them learn what it means to live a virtuous, meaningful life, especially within the broader framework of God's Kingdom. Sonlight's emphasis on literature is key in this regard. Stories offer wonderful opportunities for teaching virtue without having to break out a boring philosophy book on ethics. Jesus knew this, which is one reason he loved to tell memorable stories.

Third, despite what some sectors of education would have you believe, there is no all-encompassing list of things every child in the world must know prior to graduating. Even if there are a few gaps in knowledge here and there, that's expected. No one knows everything. Besides, home educated children who love to learn are well prepared to continue learning throughout their lives, making it much easier for them to fill in any gaps as they grow.

Is your child ready for life? If you're invested in their education, are preparing them to become well-rounded individuals, and have helped them love to learn, then there is no doubt in my mind that your child is ready for life.

My youngest child is six, which means that my wife and I still have quite a homeschooling journey ahead of us. Will there be challenges along the way? Of course. Can we handle them as parents? We'll do our best.

How does homeschooling help you prepare your children for life?

Robert Velarde
Author/Educator/Philosopher

Tagged character, education, graduation, Homeschooling, learning, literature, parenting | Leave a comment

Feb. 11, 2013

The Simple Way to Help Your Kids Learn to Think

By Luke

My Alma Mater has a "great books" program. My wife was part of it, and so she read such works as Homer and Sayers and the Federalist Papers. But the comment that I heard again and again from her classmates was that this program had finally "taught them how to think." I couldn't understand what this meant.

I did not enroll in the program due to my incredibly slow reading ability. But I could keep up with discussions even on titles I had never read--which was most of them. They could discuss the theories of Platonic forms or debate the limits of reason or question the nature of the soul, and I happily contributed my own two bits here and there. I was homeschooled, to be sure, but so were many of my peers. What did I have that they did not?

I may have finally found my answer in a post titled The Thing Dads can do in 30 Minutes a Week that Will Drastically Improve their Kids' Education. In the original article, we read, "Whenever a beginning student clearly understands the language of the classics, I ask them if they grew up reading books aloud with their family. The answer is nearly always yes."

Over twenty years after Sonlight revolutionized the homeschool model by focusing on Read-Alouds, I finally connected the dots. I felt like I could think because my parents read to me. My parents read to me a lot. And while I may not be able to understand the classics, my parents gave me a solid foundation by reading so many books to me.

I feel like, once again, research confirms Sonlight's model. This isn't formal research, but if time-and-again the difference between a student who understands and a student who does not is that understanding comes from families that read aloud together, it is powerful evidence that reading together is key.

Help your kids learn to think by reading to them. It's simple, and fun! With all the amazing titles you'll read over the years in your Core programs, you and your children are guaranteed to love learning together. And, like me, they may learn to think without even realizing how it happened.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester

Tagged books, read-aloud, thinking | 2 Comments

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

Meeting a Brother in Christ Halfway Around the World

Is Your Child Ready for Life?

The Simple Way to Help Your Kids Learn to Think

Prepare Your Children to Thrive

The Meetto Project Needs Your Prayers

All Chocolate Chip Cookies are NOT the same...

The Weight of Success

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