Sonlight Homeschooling Blog

Nov. 24, 2011

On Potatoes and Pilgrims - Thanksgiving Reflections

By Sarita

As I remember the roots of Thanksgiving Day, I'm humbled. We base it on the day of thanksgiving that the Pilgrims enjoyed. To put their thanksgiving into perspective, remember that they did not come off an easy year:

Their trip from England to the New Land had been delayed several times. Can you imagine the packing and unpacking involved? How unnerving and daunting for moms to provide for their families after having sold and/or packed all their possessions;
They had spent nine weeks crossing the ocean through storms in a very small vessel (think of sea sickness, cramped conditions, homesickness)
They landed in an unexpected place in a land with no access to man-made resources and unfamiliar plants to grow and eat (imagine if something broke and had to be replaced—this was not possible);
They often feared for their lives from unfriendly Indians (they built stockades and kept watch, never certain what would happen);
Out of the 102 people that sailed, 47 people died that first year. Hardly a family would have been untouched by death. They certainly struggled with doubts about whether they made the right choice (e.g., My husband/child/brother would still be alive if we had stayed in Europe).

This group of people gathered to give thanks to God for his care and his provision!

In light of this example, I offer the following list as a starting point of my own thanksgiving to God. I plan to not repeat any thanks from my thanksgiving list last year merely because it encourages me to reflect more deeply. So here is my list, in no particular order:

- Books: They provide a chance to learn and expand the mind; I'm thankful for a chance to read daily.
- Godly friends: I'm grateful for the opportunity to meet weekly with a precious sister who has wrestled for two years with incredible health issues and great pain. To hear her testimony of God's goodness and see her cling to Him is good for the soul.

Work: I know many who think of work as a negative. But I believe we are created for work (of various kinds – from employment to cooking and laundry), and that's why we get satisfaction from it. I am grateful that work is fulfilling even when it's hard.
Healthy Pregnancy: My daughter Jonelle will deliver by C-section on December 9. After two life-threatening pregnancies, I'm grateful for a scheduled C-section and the promise of new life. We're anxiously looking forward to a brother or sister for Natalia.
Thrilling results from Sonlighters' generosity last year on behalf of the needy: Last fall Sonlight families and their friends raised $157,000. As this money was doubled through a matching gift, Sonlighters sent 314,000 children in India to Bible Club. Many of these children have reportedly become believers, and I look forward to meeting some of them in heaven. I love that so many Sonlight students and families experienced the joy of giving. I heard stories of children giving up birthday presents and working hard to raise money. I think the joy that came from that must have been great.
Bird watching: Now that the frost has put my flowers to bed, I fill my bird feeder and enjoy watching the antics of my feathered friends—finches, chickadees, mourning doves, woodpeckers, nuthatches (one of my favorites) and more. Fun!
New crop: John and I planted potatoes this year. We planted one pound and figure we harvested at least twenty pounds. What a tasty increase!
Two 90-year-old parents: John's dad turned 90 this year, as did my mom. John's siblings and their spouses, his dad and his wife (John's mom died many years ago) and any grandchildren nearby met in Colorado for a family reunion. Since the family is normally quite scattered over the globe, we enjoyed seeing one another to catch up and share meals.
Homeschoolers (this one bears repeating from last year's list)—people who choose to not put their children on a school bus but rather invest in their children during the day at home—may your reward be great!

I would be interested in hearing your list. What are you thankful for?

Blessings,
Sarita

Tagged holidays | Leave a comment

Nov. 23, 2011

Science and Conspiracies

By Luke

To start: I love science. It is fascinating and fantastic.

While clearing my RSS feed this morning, I came across Seth Godin's post about conspiracy theories. He contrasted conspiracies and science, saying, "as soon as anything appears to disprove part of the theory, the theory changes." Which is an excellent summary of the power behind scientific exploration: When something fails to work, we take another look at it. Science is "falsifiable"--testable--because it is based on observable phenomenon and hypotheses.

But Godin isn't talking about scientific theories and ideas. He is talking about conspiracies, and how they are typically un-falsifiable. Godin's point is a fair observation... he just presented it poorly. Which brings up one of my "conspiracy theories" (observations) regarding science: Scientific data and ideas are too often presented rather poorly to the general public... me.

The most recent example of this is the video Let's Talk About Evolution. I agree with much of what is presented. I raise an eyebrow, however, at the extremely vague nature of the video. I get that it was created by letting female scientists express their own opinions. Cool. But let me ask you: Can you tell when this video is talking about modification over time via natural selection, descent with modification via DNA recombination, modification via gene mutation, speciation, common descent, or abiogenesis?

I'm no scientist, but I'm pretty confident all of those are rather different areas of study. Granted, they all tie to this grand experiment, but the distinction between them has yet to be made clear in anything I've read or heard from those who promote teaching "evolution" in the classroom. My opinion: To properly teach about this important scientific idea, we must clearly distinguish between these elements.

So where does that leave me?

Happy that "despite" my strong Young Earth Creationist upbringing I'm still thrilled to learn about this subject from all angles.
Grateful that Sonlight's Science laid a solid foundation for my continued scientific education with it's heavy focus on hands-on science programs and challenges to think critically.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester

P.S. To be fair, I looked up some negative reviews of Evolution: The Grand Experiment, and there are several critiques of this work as being outdated and misrepresenting vital information. That could easily be true. Granted, the books they suggest have similar accusations leveled against them. And so it comes around again: Learning about evolution is important, but what and how we learn about it is just as important.

Tagged books, curriculum, science | Leave a comment

Nov. 22, 2011

Traditions and Non-Traditions

By Karla

As the holidays are approaching again, I've been thinking about family traditions. Maybe your family has traditions that are as set-in-stone as the "laws of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not." In my family, though, our traditions are always evolving, depending on the the situation each year. Some years we are privileged to get together with extended family. Other years we are by ourselves. Also, traditions that were important when our children were very small no longer apply now that the children are older.

I remember the first year I was away from home at college, my parents invited my future husband home with me for Thanksgiving. I told my mother to be sure and bake lots of pies because I had told my boyfriend how we always had many different kinds of pie at Thanksgiving. Mother laughed. Turns out we had only done that one other time (the previous year), but in my mind it was a tradition. She obligingly baked lots of pies that year, and she still does when we have the rare opportunity to have an extended family Thanksgiving dinner-- though, due to distance, those times have been few and far between in recent years.

Yesterday we were discussing plans for Thanksgiving with the children. It looks like this will be one of those years when we will be by ourselves. We were making plans to fix a nice dinner, and talking about other things we would like to do that day to celebrate. My youngest daughter had an idea: "Daddy could play 'Turkey in the Straw' on the piano after dinner!" (My husband is not a pianist. "Turkey in the Straw" is one of two songs he knows how to play.)

I wondered why she came up with that idea, but then I got a sneaking suspicion. "Is 'Turkey in the Straw' a Thanksgiving song?" I inquired.

"Well, duh!" she said. "It's about a turkey!"

There ya go. I think we have a new tradition that will be fun to explain in years to come when the grandchildren come along!

I've discovered that the most important tradition is that we remain flexible and just enjoy each other, regardless of who or what that might include.

What unique holiday traditions (or non-traditions) does your family have?

Counting my blessings!
~Karla Cook
Lifelong Learner

Tagged family, heritage, holidays, traditions | 4 Comments

Nov. 18, 2011

Conflict: The Lifeblood of Drama

By Luke

...and perhaps the motivation to read.

Growing up, I had no idea that lame books existed in the world. My steady diet of Sonlight titles left me with the impression that books were great. Sure, there were some I didn't care for as much. But overall? Books contained characters I loved doing meaningful things in exciting and interesting places. They overcame obstacles and enemies, persevered through hardship, and made the world a better place. I found myself cheering often.

I was completely unaware of the large swath of literature that contains no such depth.

So when I read accounts like this, I'm thankful for the background in literature my mom gave me. Though, I must say, I found much of the literature in high school AP English to be... well... less than impressive when compared to what I read growing up. If there is a drawback to reading all the great books in Sonlight's homeschool curriculum, it's that you see more clearly where other titles fall short. Which could be problematic if you're asked to give your opinion on a "classic" bit of English history.

For young children, Barney may be just the thing. But the older you get, the more important conflict becomes. Real conflict. The kind of edge-of-your-seat excitement that keeps you invested in a story. The kind of suspense that makes you beg for one more chapter! The kind of events that inspire you to take a stand.

Part of the reason Sonlight books are so exciting is because there are so many biographies. We get to witness things God has done and marvel at how He brings His followers through intense situations.

What are your favorite stories? Do they have conflict?

Looking for a book that will make you cheer? Check out The Great and Terrible Quest.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester

Fecundity: fertility; the capacity of abundant production, especially of offspring

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Tagged books, literature, reading | 6 Comments

Nov. 17, 2011

Let 'em eat ... pie!

By Judy

For one of my students, learning fractions was as natural as breathing. For another, it took some doing, but the concept was finally grasped. However, for one of my students, the concept of fractions was so much Greek, or Hebrew, or Mandarin Chinese. There was no rhyme or reason and we just couldn't seem to master the idea.

I recalled our struggles with fractions again a week or so ago as I talked with a young mom who could not seem to grasp how fractions worked herself, let alone teach them to her young son. I suggested she bake a pie!

Sometimes teaching fractions, or any other math concept, is as "simple" as getting it off the page and into your hands. Math manipulatives are great for "handling" math, but not always necessary. If you don't want to invest the money in a manipulatives kit, or need to master fractions *today*, and can't wait for a kit to arrive, you need only go as far as your kitchen.

Blueberry Pie is a favorite around our house, but you can substitute apple or cherry or any other pie that has a top crust. The crust isn't crucial to teaching how fractions work, but it does make it easier to visualize the "parts" of the whole. Once your pie is baked, explain that the finished pie is the whole. Cut the pie exactly in half. Ask your student how many halves make up the whole. Now cut the pie into fourths (aka quarters). Ask your student how many fourths make up the whole. Finally, cut your pie into eighths. Ask your student how many eights make up the whole. Simple? Yes. Fundamental? Definitely. But this basic understanding is crucial to moving ahead with fractions.

Now you can head in so many different directions. Demonstrate to your student how money is very much like fractions. Lay a dollar bill (the whole) on the kitchen counter next to the pie. Next place four quarters (fourths) next to the dollar bill. Spread a sheet of waxed paper or a paper towel on the counter next to the money and the pie. Measure out a cup (the whole) on the paper. Next measure out a quarter cup (fourths) of flour, four times, next to the whole cup. Be sure to point out how the "parts" are the same as the "whole".

The best part is yet to come! Grab a couple of plates and ask your student to serve each of you an eighth of the blueberry pie apiece. After you've enjoyed the pie (even better warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!), ask your student how many eighths are left. Take a look at the pie and point out that the empty space left by the two slices (eighths) you've just enjoyed, are equal to one-fourth of the whole pie. Be sure to speak in "fraction language" (i.e. fourths, eighths, etc...) so your student equates the term with what they see.

You've now laid the ground work for not only understanding the basics of fractions, but also adding and subtracting fractions. And it didn't require a piece of paper, a pencil, or even a calculator! However, when you're ready to put your fractions on paper, do a rough sketch of your blueberry pie up in the corner ... then begin with writing 1 (whole), 1/4 (fourths) and 1/8 (eighths). Have your student "cut" the pie and shade in the appropriate fractions as you write them on the paper.

The next time you work on fractions, use soft, flour tortillas, or one of those large candy bars that are scored in 10 or 12 blocks. You can also cut "pies" out of construction paper simply by tracing around a large dinner plate. And if you want to "watch" someone have great fun with fractions, check out our Mathtacular 3 DVD. Justin is a pro at making any math concept fun and easy to learn.

So when it comes time to teach fractions ... tell your kids you're going to teach them math in the kitchen. The fun of creating a pie and enjoying the "fruits" of your labor is a much better way to learn fractions than stressing over a math workbook. And it leaves a lasting mental connection between fractions and parts and pieces of a delicious blueberry pie.

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

PS ... This is the perfect time of year to order a math manipulatives kit or one of our Mathtacular DVDs ... they're all part of our Christmas Sale!

Tagged Christmas, fractions, manipulatives, math, MathTacular | Leave a comment

Nov. 15, 2011

Did You Learn Useful Stuff in School?

By Luke

My class nuked Cuba.

While studying the Cuban Missile Crisis in Honors American History, our teacher broke us into two groups, one to promote history by arguing against nuking the island, and one to try to persuade the class to eliminate the threat. I was put in the group that argued for launching our own missiles before our enemies had a chance.

I'm not going to say that I single-handedly swayed the vote, but we launched the missiles. A great victory for us. I remember my teacher being upset that the class had resorted to violence.

That was a fun opportunity to practice persuasive rhetoric, but aside from fear, I learned nothing about the historical situation. The motivations, observations, and negotiations that took place were lost. I don't think we ever discussed it. Instead, we were told that missiles were being assembled near our coast and asked to debate the merits of a first strike. Of course violence was the proper response!

I thought about Cuba after reading a thought-provoking post about immigration and realized that I know next to nothing about the issues surrounding border control. My class never discussed Ellis Island and the civil unrest of major immigration. Instead, we discussed nuking an island. Had we actually learned about the situations of history (and not just the events), I'd feel a little more capable of making informed decisions about what to support today. As it is, I'm told that people are crossing the border--things are terrible in Mexico--and these illegal immigrants being misused here. But without any lessons from history, any decision feels about as rash as a first strike.

When was the last time I learned anything substantial about immigration?

20 years ago, in Sonlight's Core D and Core E.

I was under the age of 10. Sonlight did a great job of introducing me to the issue, but there's a reason ten-year-olds don't vote. But now I wonder: Isn't a complete lack of knowledge about an issue a good reason to give pause?

While chatting about this with a friend, he asked, "Did you ever learn anything about the national budget in school?"

No. I didn't.

As a life-long learner, this isn't barrier. I can learn. But I'm struck by just how much I learned through Sonlight, even as a young child, and how little I learned when I finally went to "real" school. I'm not alone, as I see many comments from parents who talk about how much they love Sonlight because of all the stuff they learn. But I thought I'd bring it up again: Did you learn useful stuff in school? Have you been enjoying learning (or relearning) the whys--and not just of the whats--of history?

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester

Tagged education, high school, history, learning | 8 Comments

Nov. 14, 2011

Life, the Universe, and Everything: An Observation

By Luke

As a homeschooler, I love learning. I relish bumping into new mysteries of life as much as seeing something unknown become clear. I like watching contested ideas bounce back and forth between their promoters and detractors. Ambiguity is as enjoyable as clarity, as long as I'm seeing progress. But every once in a while, I feel like someone who's been told that "42" is the answer, but that the meaning of such an answer is outside anyone's grasp.

I feel this most acutely in math and science. There is so much in both those areas of study of which I am hopelessly ignorant. I peaked in math at Calculus and science capped out in Physics. So I get very lost very quickly when people start talking about the math behind, say, The Fabric of the Cosmos. Then the science gets fuzzy because I can't recall ever hearing an explanation of how galaxies formed after the big bang, especially since stuff appears to be accelerating away from itself. Have you heard anything about this? What did I miss in high school?

Then I watch Martin Hanczyc's TED talk about life and non-line and I find my mind spinning again. 'What about the "information" he mentioned at the start of his talk (which reminds me of Cosmic Fingerprints)? The presenation seems to fit beautifully with the pro-life movement, if we're going to consider--even remotely--that oil and water is "life like," but I get the feeling Hanczyc wouldn't go there with me. Isn't life more than simple chemical reactions? I get the point that energy keeps us going, but that isn't life... right?'

And so I find that life-long learning continues to be fantastic, but there comes a point where my ignorance and the sheer volume of information is overwhelming. Where do I start? Where do I find the information I'm interested in? And how do I think more clearly about life, the universe, and everything with my ever limited time?

That is one huge benefit to having curriculum: Someone has already taken the time to gather great resources and lay them out for you. The information may be out there in the world somewhere, but there's real beauty in the organization of the information so I don't have to wade through the seas of muck surrounding a topic of interest.

What fascinating topic has caught your attention recently?

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester

Tagged curriculum, learning, math, science | 2 Comments

On Potatoes and Pilgrims - Thanksgiving Reflections

Science and Conspiracies

Traditions and Non-Traditions

Conflict: The Lifeblood of Drama

Let 'em eat ... pie!

Did You Learn Useful Stuff in School?

Life, the Universe, and Everything: An Observation

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