Teaching Bible, memorization, and history doesn’t have to be dry or overwhelming; these tips help you bring each subject to life while shaping character and critical thinking.
Continue readingMaybe it's the all costumes I'm seeing these days. Or the funny graphics that show up on the internet. Or the music remixes and fan art I bump into. Or the arts and crafts and recipes people share this season. Or maybe I'm just wishing I had more time and energy to pursue my pet projects. Whatever the case, I'm noticing a lot of creative expression.
And I like it.
Homeschooling is fantastic because it can give so much time to our children to develop skills and creative ways to express themselves. Do you have a costume or cookie or creche or card your child created that you'd care to share?
~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester
I originally wanted my children to play the piano. It's so useful in worship services and can be played solo. But I couldn't seem to fit the additional teaching into our schedule.
Fortunately, we found another avenue for musical expression. I firmly believe in the many benefits music can bring (such as boosts to work ethic and self confidence), so I found a local honors band. My kids could all participate at the same time (so I only had to drive them once a week), and they loved it. I shared the story of my children and music a few years ago, including the benefits I hoped music would give them.
Justin (my youngest) really got into the trombone in high school. He even started a daring trombone group that performed at high school football games! (Read more here.)
But flipping through The Wall Street Journal last week, I found another benefit to music I hadn't considered before. A recent study suggests that musicians have better auditory processing skills than non-musicians. According to the study, people who played an instrument since the age of 16 were "significantly better than non-musicians at distinguishing sound frequencies, sound gaps and speech amid noise, tasks associated with auditory processing in the brain." From age 18 to 91, musicians demonstrated better auditory skills than their peers.
It may be that those drawn to music already have a natural ability to distinguish sounds and make sense of the sounds around them. But it makes sense that the act of learning and playing an instrument also develops these skills.
Read the rest of the (brief) article from The Wall Street Journal here: To Keep Hearing Young, Play an Instrument.
You may know that you can't fit music into your life right now. But if you're looking for another reason to get your kids started, here you go! Consider looking for a quality local youth band or orchestra, browse Sonlight's music options, and give your kids the gift of music. I am certainly glad my own children got to enjoy the wonder of making music while growing up.
Blessings,
Sarita
Isn't it odd how unremarkable and non-flashy miracles often are? There are very few "fire from heaven" moments in Scripture. Instead, we tend to witness an incredible event that simply just sort of ...happens.
There are no magical incantations or pulsating lights; no glowing orbs or eerie music; the fanfare is nonexistent. In fact, I get the feeling that if you weren't paying attention, you'd totally miss what just happened. Scripture glosses over the miracle part to merely state the factual outcome.
This reminds me of some of the amazing accounts we read in Sonlight's programs:
Why does God so often work behind the scenes and in the shadows? He's clearly involved here, so why not take a little more credit? Why not make it painfully obvious; you know, show off a bit more?
Probably because miracles are more about people than the miraculous.
God's provision and intervention is often about taking care of people, and so the person's faith and the outcome is what's important. The "magic" isn't the point. There isn't a system we should be looking for. We shouldn't get hung up on trying to figure out how to manipulate God to do something cool again. Instead, we should focus on following God where He leads. And when we do that, He takes care of us... often in an invisibly spectacular way.
There have been many times in my life when I've looked back and wondered, 'How did that work out?' God absolutely provided, but I didn't notice Him doing it at the time. I missed it because it was subtle and I wasn't paying attention.
Have you noticed when God has provided for your family? Did you recognize it at the time, or only in retrospect? Any thoughts on why God so often doesn't show off?
~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester
The thing that drew me to Sonlight originally was recognizing titles of books I had read and enjoyed as a child. Probably my favorite genre as an emerging reader was pioneer stories. One of my all-time favorite novels was Caddie Woodlawn, so I was very excited to realize it was part of Sonlight's Intro to American History program (Core E). I remembered what exciting adventures Caddie had in the 1860s on the Wisconsin frontier. I can't tell you how many times I read it when I was growing up, because I was an avid reader even then, and re-read my favorites over and over. I couldn't wait to share this wonderful story with my own children.
Finally, it was on our Read-Aloud schedule--and it was every bit as good as I remembered. What surprised me was what I got out of it. Even though I had read it several times as a young person, this time through I was reading it through the eyes and life experience of a mom.
For those of you who haven't read the book, it is based on a true story. Caddie is a young girl (about 11, I think) who was permitted to pretty much grow up as a tomboy running "wild" with her brothers. She had a sister who was sickly and died when she was younger, and her father thought that she might grow up to be healthier if she was allowed to run outside in the fresh air with the boys rather than have to stay in the house doing "girl" things all the time. But then, one day, the children were rude to a visiting cousin and Caddie got into more trouble than the boys. She was sent to her room without supper. After she had been there for several hours her father came to her room to talk to her. I love what he had to say to her:
"Perhaps Mother was a little hasty today, Caddie," he said. "She really loves you very much, and, you see, she expects more of you than she would of someone she didn't care about. It's a strange thing, but sometimes we expect more of girls than of boys. It is the sisters and wives and mothers, you know, Caddie, who keep the world sweet and beautiful. What a rough world it would be if there were only men and boys in it, doing things in their rough way! A woman's task is to teach them gentleness and courtesy and love and kindness. It's a big task, too, Caddie--harder than cutting trees or building mills or damming rivers. It takes nerve and courage and patience, but good women have those things. They have them just as much as the men who build bridges and carve roads through the wilderness. A woman's work is something fine and noble to grow up to, and it is just as important as a man's. But no man could ever do it so well. I don't want you to be the silly, affected person with fine clothes and manners whom folks sometimes call a lady. No, that is not what I want for you, my little girl. I want you to be a woman with a wise and understanding heart, healthy in body and honest in mind..."
As a young girl, that passage went right over my head. I didn't remember it being part of the story at all. As a mother with young daughters, it brought tears to my eyes.
That experience helped me realize that the differences in how a person interprets or is a affected by a book are not based on age or grade level, but rather on life experience. Later I re-read Jane Eyre, and the same thing happened. I was amazed at how much I got out of it as an adult that I had either forgotten or didn't register when I read it as a teen.
Think about a book you enjoyed when you were younger. If you read it again today you would take very different things from that book, because of where you are in life today and because of your life experiences up to this point. That's what makes Sonlight so flexible for using with multiple ages--and what makes read-aloud time so rewarding for the whole family.
What childhood favorites have you re-read lately?
Enjoying the adventure,
~Karla Cook
Lifelong Learner
Previously I talked about the problems that I had trying to teach my children important character traits by reading books written specifically for that purpose. I believe the stories did not translate into real life because they didn't make any sort of positive impact on my children. They might know to never tease a weasel, but brothers were fair game!
I believe character traits are caught not taught! But, I think we can do something to make catching them a bit easier. It is somewhat of a secret, but I will share it with you....read real books! Not books designed to teach character--kids are too smart for that. But when you share real, living books with your children you will have many opportunities to talk about the characters in the books--what they did right, what they did wrong, what they should have done.
I remember when I read Little Britches to Kari and Scotty. That book is full to the brim of character lessons-most of them learned by the author, Ralph Moody when he was growing up near Littleton, Colorado around 1910. This autobiography is a wonderful account of growing up on a ranch; about responsibility and honesty and about the relationship between a father and son.
Ralph is an amazing storyteller who weaves his story like a fine tapestry. It is amazing how he remembers so well what it was like to be a child. And the lessons Ralph learns in the book are as applicable today as they were 100 years ago. Whether you homeschool or not, this is a delightful book to read aloud to your children. It will make a lasting impression on the whole family.
And who can forget about the elephant who is "Faithful, 100%"? Horton Hatches the Egg is another story where you can talk about doing what is right, about responsibility and friendship, about love, adoption and what makes a good parent. This is a great read-aloud book that brings up many character issues for you to discuss with your young children.
There are so many wonderful stories with great story lines and characters worthy of emulation or of scorn. One of our favorite biographies was Eric Liddell --the athlete the story "Chariots of Fire" was based on. He was dedicated to running and to God, yet he had to make a choice between the two. His story is inspiring and humbling; a great book to read-aloud to older elementary and middle school children.
And then there is great historical fiction like Daughter of the Mountains, which teaches faithfulness and sticking with a job. There are antagonists you can talk about as well as characters who are good and kind. This book, like many others, gives you, the parent, an opportunity to talk about those core beliefs that you want to pass on to your children.
Another incredible 
book to read to younger children is The Bee Tree. It not only teaches natural science, but also the value of reading and the wisdom of older people.
I could go on and on because for every book I mentioned, there are scores that I didn't-- but basically I found that reading Sonlight’s read-alouds to my children was a natural way to talk about situations and characters. We could discuss their decisions and what they could have or should have done differently and what we would do if we were in their shoes. I believe this is character training at its best.
So read a book to children,
That’s my best advice...
Talking about building character
During family time is nice!
And, I would love to hear of books you have used to help teach your children the value of having a good character.
Take care,
Jill
Temperatures are dropping, the leaves have turned beautiful shades of red and gold, and I filled my wooden bowl with gourds to put in the middle of my table this week. Yes, there's no denying that the season has changed. When our children were younger, school became more and more difficult this time of year. Between the obvious changes outside the dining room window (where we did much of our school work), and the various stores who began putting up Christmas displays in late September, I fought a losing battle to keep their minds focused on spelling and math. So one year I decided to "give in" and go with the flow. Over the years I developed a "holiday school" schedule that was full of projects, celebrations, and secrets. We would set aside a couple days each week for these special activities.
Beginning in early October, we would spend Saturdays "cleaning up" our property in preparation for the coming winter months. The garden was emptied of the last root vegetables to be stored, dead vegetable and flowering plants were pulled, and a few perennials were mulched. We also spent afternoons in the kitchen making applesauce, baking bread and canning apple butter. All great Science projects!
Field Trip Suggestions: Local farm market to sample produce and pick pumpkins ... Apple orchard to pick apples for baking and saucing ... Honey farm to sample local honey and watch bees in action ... Library to find books on gardening, making applesauce, and honey bees.
Favorite Books: The Bee Tree by Patricia Polacco, The Year at Maple Hill Farm by Alice Prevenson
In November we would begin preparation for the Thanksgiving holiday. Kids love to have their art work displayed, so this was a great time of year for doing leaf rubbings, making a Thanksgiving Tree, and practicing new recipes for the upcoming holidays. All great Art and Science projects! And of course, the days of Thanksgiving week were filled with housecleaning, baking and general preparation for the big day.
Field Trip Suggestions: Go back to the local farm market to get a variety of squashes to try, and more apples for pies, crisps and breads ... Rescue Missions/Homeless Shelters especially need volunteers this time of year to cook and serve ... Craft Stores are a great place to begin Christmas gift projects.
Favorite Books: The Thanksgiving Story by Alice Dalgliesh, Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende & Harry Devlin, One-Hour Christmas Crafts by Leisure Arts.
December was filled with holiday preparations and secrets. My kids had great fun gathering gift lists from family members (who always kept younger nieces, nephews and grandchildren in mind) and working on various projects that would show up under our tree. In addition to the various church activities that Christmas brought (i.e. play practice, choir practice, caroling) we would create gift bags for friends and neighbors. We would purchase inexpensive brown paper gift bags from the local WalMart and the kids would enjoy decorating the outsides, and then filling the inside with homemade ornaments, candies and baked goods.
Field Trip Suggestions: Go back to the local farm market (if it's still open) to get a variety of squashes, sweet potatoes, and more apples for pies, crisps and breads ... Rescue Missions/Homeless Shelters especially need volunteers this type of year to cook and serve ... Deliver small gift bags to neighbors ... Check with a local nursing home to see if they would welcome a small group of children to sing carols (this was one of our favorite activities in December).
Favorite Books: Jotham's Journey by Arnold Ytreeide (a wonderful advent book published when our kids were small), The Story of Holly & Ivy by Rumer Godden, Becky's Christmas by Tasha Tudor, Winter Poems by Barbara Rogasky.
So if your kids are getting caught up in the hype and excitement of the holidays, take control of how *you* want to celebrate and incorporate some fun "holiday school" activities into your October-December. And I would love to hear some of your favorite holiday projects and book titles ... I might find a new volume to add to my holiday bookshelf for someday grandchildren!
Still on the journey ...
~Judy Wnuk
Sonlight Customer Champion
