Sonlight Homeschooling Blog

Apr. 12, 2012

Remember . . .

By Judy

As we sat in church last Sunday, celebrating the Resurrection, it occurred to me that Easter is all about remembering. Remembering what Christ accomplished on the cross, what He did for me.

As we sat together at dinner with family members young and old, and listened to the eldest member recount things from her past, it occurred to me that family is all about remembering.

These past couple of weeks I have been reading in the book of Deuteronomy, marveling at what value God placed on instructing the Israelites to remember. Moses rehearsed the many ways that God had met their needs and led them through difficult circumstances. Remember how the Lord your God led you ... (Deut. 8:2). Do not forget that he led you ... (Deut. 8:15). Remember the Lord your God ... (Deut. 8:18).

Helping my kids remember has long been an unwritten goal of mine. I have fond memories of growing up around multiple family dinner tables as my grandparents shared story after story of their earlier lives. What a wonderful privilege to be able to do the same with our children.

Sonlight includes some wonderful titles that encourage "remembering" ... In Grandma's Attic comes to mind (and more in that series). Little House in the Big Woods is another well-known title in this category.

What better way to teach of God's faithfulness than to help your children make "remembering" a regular part of their lives? I would encourage you to start some "remembering" with your children if you haven't already!

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

Tagged family, reading, remembering | 1 Comment

Apr. 11, 2012

1,000 Reasons to Feel Like a Failure

By Luke

The bluish hue from his monitor provides but a splash of illumination. He's hunkered down in his chair, looking for inspiration. He doesn't find any. Rather, as he flips through pages of material, he becomes more and more discouraged. He isn't nearly that put together. He doesn't provide that much value. His efforts pale in comparison. Eventually, he gives up in disgust. Why bother?

If that young man wasn't me, I'd tell him that his inputs and work is valuable. I'd remind him that he has a unique story and perspective to share. His work is meaningful because he's honing his skills and learning to help those around him. This is a process, and he's getting better.

Sadly, it is me.

While I don't use Pinterest, I can relate to the overwhelmed feeling of finding 1,000 reasons why I'm failing at all things domestic... minus the domestic part. I don't much try in that department. But the feelings spill over into my blogging and spiritual life, my hobbies and work, my relationships and marriage. It's so easy to become discouraged when I compare myself to others.

Hat Tip
Adina

The funny thing about this is that the reason we do the comparing is because we're concerned about others. We want to provide our family with more color and interest. We want to be a better spouse. We long to love our friends--and enemies--better. We're not doing this for ourselves!

If this was just about me, I'd be content. I'd move at my own pace and do the things that interest me. But there are people out there whom I hope to bless, to build up, to spur on to bigger and better things. They are the people I feel I'm letting down by not being enough.

But as April reminds us in her post: Your children want you. See, becoming a better person and developing skills is great, but what I need to somehow understand is that the people I so often try to do things for care more about being with me.

I don't understand it. But I can see it in action with how I feel about my friends and family. And April describes this desire to be with the people we love beautifully when she talks about her mom in the post.

By all means, get encouragement and ideas from blogs and forums and friends and the creative spaces on the internet. But when you start to feel like failure, go give your family a hug and spend some time with them.

You ever get overwhelmed by all the amazing things you can find on the internet?

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester

Tagged Encouragement, family | 2 Comments

Apr. 10, 2012

Why Believe Christianity?

By Robert

In an encounter in Acts, the Apostle Paul is accused of being out of his mind. Paul replies, "I am not insane ... What I am saying is true and reasonable" (Acts 26:25, NIV).

As a former atheist, I had to come to terms with a lot of issues before accepting Christ and realizing that Christianity makes a lot of sense. I recently completed a unique apologetics book that will address the case for and against Christianity via a series of diagrams and accompanying commentary. (Christian apologetics, by the way, is the rational defense of the faith.)

One chapter makes the claim that Christianity is the best explanation of reality and offers six key lines of evidence in its support. First, truth is objective and we can know reality. Second, God exists and has revealed himself. Third, the Bible is reliable. Fourth, Christ rose from the dead. Fifth, Christianity best explains reality. Sixth, religious experience supports Christianity.

These aren't the only reasons Christianity is "true and reasonable." Also, keep in mind that these evidences can work together to make an overall case for Christianity. In other words, each point need not be in isolation from other lines of evidence.

In the chapter, after making a case for each point, I go on to offer several objections to those six premises. This helps see arguments from different perspectives, which can help strengthen our own position as we think through criticisms of ideas we believe are true. I then offer rebuttals to the objections.

I also present diagrams and arguments from opposing viewpoints, which puts me in the position of having to defend the claims of atheists or pantheists, for instance. Some of those topics include the claims that since evil exists, God does not exist, or the arguument that belief in God is delusional.

The idea is to help us think critically about ideas and see that there are many different viewpoints to consider and evaluate. There's a great and relevant quote in the C.S. Lewis novel That Hideous Strength. One character remarks, "I suppose there are two views about everything." Another replies, "Eh? Two views? There are a dozen views about everything until you know the answer. Then there's never more than one."

One of my tasks as a curriculum writer at Sonlight is to help children think through all kinds of ideas, even if those ideas may clash with existing viewpoints. This is especially crucial as children get older, but it's a good idea to start early. Our goal at Sonlight is to educate, not indoctrinate. This means giving children the information they need to grow in their faith and equipping them to wrestle intelligently with ideas.

Why believe Christianity? It's "true and reasonable." We have good evidence in support of its claims. But this doesn't mean we can just ignore the objections. Fortunately, we have good answers!

Tagged apologetics, C.S. Lewis, Christianity, critical thinking, curriculum, education | 2 Comments

Apr. 6, 2012

It's a Good Friday

By Luke

If you follow my Other Posts of Note, you may have already seen the Sunday's Coming video. And, as I was reminded again this morning: Good Friday is only good in retrospect.

This week has been long and difficult. But today, here at the end of the work week, things seem to have finally started to slow down. The website cart appears fairly stable. The new homeschool curriculum is available. We've posted most of the 3-Week Samples. And aside from a couple of feature requests and mild tweaks, Sonia is working great!

But all that--the ups and the downs--pales in comparison to the reminder of what today is. Today is Good Friday, and Sunday is Easter. On the one hand, I'm a little bummed more people don't produce Easter Albums like they do for Christmas. I'm a little bothered that we don't have more songs relating to this incredibly important holiday. I sometimes wonder why this isn't an official holiday.

...on the other hand, this is a good thing: We haven't commercialized this one. The somber reminders and the holy joy we experience hasn't been overshadowed by ritual, routine, and self-focus. This isn't about us. This is about what Christ has done because of His great love for us. We're in the picture, to be sure, but our eyes are still drawn to Christ on the cross and the empty tomb we celebrate on Sunday.

This is a good Friday, even if we do end up with more technical glitches. This is a Good Friday because of what Christ has done!

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester

Tagged Meditation | Leave a comment

Apr. 5, 2012

Behind the Scenes: Why we revamped the 2012 IGs

By Sarita

It all began with Wayne. He took a long, hard look at Sonlight's Instructor's Guides and wondered if they had become a bit complex over the years. Were they truly the straightforward, easy-to-use homeschool guides we intended them to be?

That led to many discussions between Wayne, me, the Sonlight team and current homeschool moms. We ultimately decided to spend 2011 revising the IGs. We took what made the IGs great and reformatted the Core A-G IGs to make them (we hope!) much easier to use.

With these updated guides on the website now, I'd love to share the rest of the "behind-the-scenes" story with you in this video (if you haven't already seen it). You'll see me share with the Sonlight team last month. To skip the introductory remarks and get right into it, start at 1:26 in the video:

May God bless your faithfulness as you continue to teach your precious children! And may the coming year be your best one yet.

Sincerely,
Sarita Holzmann

Tagged Instructor's Guides, updates | Leave a comment

Mar. 29, 2012

Computers - friend or foe?

By Judy

My son began work on a computer programming course a short time ago. Since school is not his favorite activity in life, I was excited to see his interest level rise! Then I got to thinking that when I was in school, computers were relatively unheard of and there was certainly no such thing as Windows programming courses.

Is our preoccupation with computers, and technology in general, a good thing? As I was cruising around the Internet (yes, sitting in front of my computer) seeking other people's thoughts on the matter, I came across some intriguing comments that might just inspire some conversation in your household (I know it will in mine).

They have allowed for advances in medicine. Where would MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) technology be without them?
They allow world-wide communication almost instantly. Parents find it easier to keep in touch with college students who are hundreds of miles away. Families use them to communicate with deployed husbands, wives and children.
We no longer have personal and intimate relationships with each other. We now base ourselves to the keyboard and push "SEND".
Computers have proved a threat to national and international security.

An article I came across titled Are Computers Really Bad for Kids? had some compelling thoughts to offer even though it is a couple of years old (which would be considered "ancient" in this age of ever-changing technology). While I know next to nothing about the author, she did make one statement which I can wholeheartedly support ... If you spend a lot of time in front of a computer as a child, you'll probably increase your chances of getting a job in the future. But you may not be nearly as literate or good at math as you might have been had you read more books or played more chess.

I suspect it is safe to say that technology (computers included) can be used for good, or can be abused. Nothing profound there. Balance is always key ... certainly we want to encourage reading as much, or more, than we encourage computer time. But on a much more practical level, are computers beneficial for your homeschool ... for your family?

Each household will have to come to their own conclusions on this issue. But I would like to suggest that we have to accept that our children are growing up in an age of technology. In the arenas of work, education and even recreation, they are going to need knowledge of how to use this tool. What better time than now, under your watchful eye, to begin introducing them to the world of computing?

The "Professor Teaches" series is an affordable, easily understood software tool that will make a great addition to your homeschool. And it makes a great computer science course for your students! Professor Teaches: Microsoft Office 2010 and Windows 7 helps to build your students' skills in one of the most widely used computer application suites in the world while also learning the latest Windows operating system. I would highly recommend this for all your students as familiarity with Microsoft Office products is going to be essential for pursuing further education.

Professor Teaches: Web Pages and Graphics is a great product for teaching students fundamentals of web design and HTML, advanced HTML, and how to create and change all sorts of web pages and graphics. Perfect for those students who show an interest and propensity for web design.

Some food for thought ...

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

Tagged computer science, computers, software, technology | 1 Comment

Mar. 27, 2012

Directions to Follow... or Not

By Karla

“Turn right,” the disembodied female voice intones. “Then, take the highway.”

So we turn right and take the highway.

No, we aren’t the Jetson family but we have come to rely on the GPS receiver mounted on the dashboard, especially when we are traveling across the country or in unfamiliar big cities. We have named our GPS “Rhoda” (because it sounds like “road”) and she’s practically a member of the family and keeps us company when we travel. Sometimes we laugh at her mechanized turn-of-phrase, but what amuses us the most is when we don’t follow her instructions.

“Off route!” squawks Rhoda in alarm. “Turn around when possible.” (We like to pretend she has emotions.)

We ignore her and keep going our own way. She tolerates that for a few minutes and then she’ll nag again. “Turn around when possible.”

So we fill up with fuel (which is usually the reason we get “off route”) and return to the highway. Rhoda gently directs us in which way to turn to get headed in the right direction and then tells us, “Follow the highway for 63 miles.”

And we don’t hear from her again for 62 ½ miles.

We have discovered, though, that Rhoda doesn’t always know the way to go, especially on some of the forest service roads here in northern Idaho. She thinks she does. She’ll tell us to turn left, and if we followed her directions we would end up hurtling off a cliff! So once again we ignore her and follow our own good sense.

Rhoda reminds me a little bit of Sonlight's wonderful Instructor's Guides. In general, they are very handy tools to have "on board." The daily schedules tell me what to read when, what assignments to give my children, and how to tie it all together. Every now and then, though, I have to follow my own instincts. Maybe it's time to take a break or go a different direction. Just as our common sense can tell us when not to follow Rhoda's directions, so my own "mothering instinct" can let me know when it's time to deviate from the Instructor's Guide to best facilitate my children's learning.

I love that Sonlight is flexible that way!

Enjoying the adventure,
~Karla Cook
Lifelong Learner

Tagged customize, Encouragement, guidance, Instructor's Guides | 2 Comments