We were part of a homeschooling co-op group for a year or two back in the day. We did arts and crafts and other things that groups of kids do. My sister created a clay penguin which caused some hubbub when it appeared on page 5 of Sonlight's 2008 catalog and people couldn't tell what it was.

Clay Penguin

Me?

I tried to make an eagle and was horribly frustrated when I couldn't pull it off using nothing more than a coat hanger and toothpicks to fashion the clay.

I've always been an overachiever with perfectionists tendencies. ...not an ideal combination for things like art.

And how do you console a child who has bitten off way more than he can chew and yet is devastated that his work of art isn't turning out anything like the picture and is in tears because the clay isn't doing what he wants?

I don't know because I was inconsolable at the time.

And while I haven't had to deal with someone else's inconsolable child yet, there have been times when I've wondered what I should do. Prime example:

We were talking about sin in Sunday School and I asked the kids to list off a few. The typical ones showed up: Lying, murder, stealing. I tried to make it a little more personal by reminding them that disobeying their parents or being mean to their sibling were also sins. After the lesson, one of the girls came up and told me she had thought of another sin and asked if she could write it down on the whiteboard. I let her, and she put down "drinking."

Okay... that's up for debate, but getting drunk is something we should avoid, so I let it stand. And if her parents have told her that drinking is a sin, I'm not going to disparage them.

But after class, another girl quietly approached me. She looked forlorn and distraught. In a quiet voice she asked, "May I erase that?"

My guess? At least one of her parents enjoys an alcoholic beverage now and again. Perhaps one of them even gets drunk. But whatever the case, this hit far too close to home. What's more: It wasn't helping anything.

I encouraged her to erase the offending item and watched with a twinge of pain as she vigorously removed the word.

I don't remember if she had tears in her eyes at the time. But I do now.

Homeschooling gives us an incredible opportunity to teach our children. But I'm also thankful for the opportunities to teach other people's kids because it reminds me of how many different backgrounds, perspectives and experiences we come from. It reminds me to be more cautious in my judgments, careful in my statements, and thankful that I will--by God's grace--have children of my own soon.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

The really great bloggers get hundreds of comments on every post they write. Insights, wisdom and praise gush forth from their rapt¹ audience.

I am not a really great blogger.

But every once in a while a post of mine will be flooded with responses. Yesterday's was one such post.

Just about everyone wanted to talk about the birds and bees. Which surprised me, but it shouldn't 've. Because while I know what's going on in the back of my mind when I write something, no one else does. And so my friends read my post and thought, 'Luke needs some advice on telling someone about babies!' Or, perhaps, what I wrote reminded you of something from your past that you decided to share.

Which is great.

But I actually included the birds and bees bit because I thought it was an easily recognizable situation that could introduce the idea of full disclosure. And I was thinking about full disclosure because of the next bit of information we'll be sending out about the OneVerse project.

All that to say: I was amused at how a post that was, in my mind, about something else entirely, ended up being the hottest post of the week. And along with a smile, I also got to feel like a pretty good blogger for a day despite my struggle to communicate clearly. <smile>

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

1. Now I'm confused: Is it rapt or wrapt?

...the birds and the bees

I never asked my parents where babies came from.

Somehow, before I ever realized this was a question worth considering, I had heard something from a friend that--while utterly confusing and ultimately completely incorrect--provided the answer.

Thus, I have no history to draw upon if my children were ever to ask me. But my plan is to calmly, oh, so very calmly, explain the process as scientifically and accurately as possible (while dropping enough subtle hints as to the appropriate and most beneficial social situations in which this is recommended to make a lasting impression). But I can't give them all the details. Full disclosure is simply not possible. Nor, I think, advised.

But I like giving tons of information, especially if it's a topic I'm interested in. I love laying it all out and explaining everything. In short, short and simple answers are simply too short and simply boring.

Full disclosure is impossible, however. There's just too much information, too much knowledge, too many competing views, too many options. Couple that with a desire to encourage people to act upon what they've learned, and you end up with a rather jumbled mess.

Yesterday I read a web guru who stated, emphatically, that in order to be considered an expert you must give simplistic, emphatic answers to questions. The masses, he assured me, only want simplistic. If you're too nuanced nobody'll care. You'll never reach widespread fame if you dabble in the grays. Black and white is the secret to success.

I don't think I believe him.

Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I will tell you now that I'm not going to fully disclose anything in this post.

Rather, I'll tell you that we're planning on disclosing more about the Sonlight | OneVerse project soon.

So sign up and tell your friends!

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

P.S. I realize that I didn't really mention ethics in this post. I was thinking about it so I left the title as is. Plus, it's cool. If you wanted an ethics talk, share your thoughts below and we'll get a conversation going. But this post is long as it is...

P.P.S. If you don't like my word plays, please let me know. I've been told that such things can be annoying and unhelpful, rather than fun and enjoyable. What say you?

Today, while enjoyable, was riddled and ridden with problems.

First, we found out that there was some... well... rather inappropriate content connected with one of our pages. Thankfully, that turned out to be a quick fix. But while it was there it was incredibly ironic. And funny and horrible ...all at the same time. Thank you to the customer who brought this issue to our attention!

Speaking of which, if you find something on the site that isn't quite right, please let us know by clicking on the What Bugs You? Bug on Sonlight's site to give your feedback.

Second, our web store ...er... server thingy has been acting up all day.

Then, in the middle of wresting with that--on top of our normal day-to-day activities--the power went out.

That left us standing around and chatting until our computers and phones came back online and we could get back to work. It is amazing how much we rely on computers (and therefore, electricity) these days. While we waited, I snapped a few pictures of people chatting. It's a good sign that we all get a long so well:

Some Marketing Peoples

Three Product Development Ladies

I didn't get pictures of everyone, but I thought I'd share a couple.

It looks like we've been able to resolve the issues now. Which is good. You never feel quite as productive when you're mostly just putting out fires all day.

It was a good day, just a lot of things went wrong.

Some days are just like that.

If you had such a day, I hope it all worked out by the end. And if not, may you get plenty of sleep tonight so you can tackle tomorrow with gusto!

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

I've mentioned this many times before: I struggled with reading growing up. In fact, I've much improved since college. And that's likely why, as I've written about before, I have a love for audio books.

My love for listening to books probably also harkens back to Sonlight's Read-Alouds which were foundational to my education.

Thus, I was very interested in Jerri Ann's post about reading to her son. I've seen similar questions on Sonlight's Facebook page as well: What if my child doesn't want to read and would rather I read out loud?

Me?

I tell 'em: Do it! Read to your children! Especially if they struggle with the mechanics of reading, as I did. There is plenty of time--even after college--to develop the skills necessary to find pleasure in reading to yourself.

Literacy is important. Being able to read is essential. But does that mean that we must love the act of letting our eyes flow over the page? Is that the important element of books? Is that the goal of learning?

No.

The power of books are the stories and the worlds they contain. And Sonlight's books, in particular, allow us to experience history in a powerful and memorable way. And listening is just as effective a way of learning as reading to yourself. And there is little better than spending time together listening to the same story that mom or dad is reading.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

P.S. We tried to fix an area of confusion on our site earlier today and probably just confused more people until we figured out what was wrong. But such is the life of web content <smile>. Had you visited select pages on Sonlight's website today you would have encountered this:

Limited Voting Quantities

Which reminds me: Don't forget to vote for the Sonlight catalog cover.