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The Old Schoolhouse
Magazine
Home Where They
Belong
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May 2, 2007
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 We always enjoy hearing from you all week to week.
After last week's Better Late Than Early theme, we got lots of
positive feedback, but also a few who wrote to express their
concerns about missing out on learning disabilities simply
under the guise of "they're not ready" or not challenging
children enough.
We want you all to know that we heard
you. We definitely encourage homeschool parents to provide
their children with richly stimulating educational
environments where learning is encouraged for all ages. However, what we
want people to realize is that learning isn't all about
academics. If your child is ready to read as a toddler, by all
means work with him and encourage that love of learning, but
not all children will be ready to read even by age 6 and that
doesn't mean that they have a reading problem. As a parent, it
is your responsibility to do your research and to pray for
guidance in these areas. Many a homeschool mom has beat the
doors of heaven trying to discern whether a child had an
actual learning disability or just needed more time and we
don't want to minimize those issues.
One resource that
we recommend is Homeschooling the Challenging Child by Christine Field. It addresses learning
disabilities, attention disorders, learning styles,
personality differences, and discipline issues from a
Christian perspective.
Now for this week, we want to
talk about developing your child's biblical worldview. Many
parents who don't homeschool, never realize that there are
resources available which teach science from a creation
standpoint or history which focuses on God's hand in the
events of the world. They don't even realize just how
indoctrinated most of us were with faulty science and
untruths.
As homeschool parents, we have the blessing
of being able to choose our children's curriculum and to
select materials which reflect our worldview. We can offer our
children so much more - we can offer them the
truth!
Enjoy every minute!
THM Editor
P.S. Did you receive this
week's Minute to Minute newsletter? Don't forget that you have
to subscribe in order to continue receiving it. Just click on
the blue Update
Profile link at the bottom of this email to
subscribe.
P.S.S. I almost forgot! We'd like to to
welcome Todd Wilson to our writing team for THM! He'll give us
the "male perspective" ...guess we'll have to behave
now!
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 Home Where They
Belong
Gena Suarez, TOS Publisher
What's a "biblical worldview" and why do we need one?
You hear that a lot in homeschooling circles. Perhaps the
phrase is over-used. I think in the Garden of Eden, it would
have been a moot point; there was only one view there - God's.
To a Christian, there's only one view - the one
straight from God's word. It's the only option. The bible is
not subject to private interpretation; it says what it means
and means what it says. We live in a fallen world and every
day we encounter challenges, trials. How do we handle them?
With our own personal opinions, feelings and subjective
thoughts about the matter? Anyone can do that! And you'll have
a hundred different interpretations! Or do we go to His
infallable, inerrant Word?
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be
perfect, thoroughly finished unto good works (2 Tim.
3:16-17). How much more plain can it get? We use Scripture as
our "lens" from which not only do we view but also
live - 100% of what we do, say, feel and act upon
must be governed by God's word. This results in maturity in
Christ. I pray for this over and over. Lord, make me
more like You; I've not arrived (far from it) but Lord, make
me like You! Just make me perfect like You! And you know what?
Begging God for becoming like Him is not enough. Scream for it
all you may, shout for wisdom from the rooftops, but it is all
vain unless you are willing to obey.
It starts with my obedience to His Word. If I love
Him, I will obey Him (John 14:15). We literally have to give
ourselves over to Him and die to self. His Word is not
merely paper and ink; it's life. The "secret" is
to obey this Word....obeying Christ Himself. True wisdom
starts with the fear of God (see Proverbs 1:7). Join me
in reading the 14th chapter of John today for context. And
have a wonderful, CHRIST-filled week. Let's set
our "view" on His word - and then act upon
it.
-Gena
Oh, and speaking of worldview, the
publisher of God's World News and WORLD Magazine posted an entry on my blog
asking for feedback. Please stop by and let him know what you think. I'd really appreciate
it!
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Schoolhouse Spotlight
Dena Wood, Schoolhouse Store Manager
To tell the truth, ANYTHING you
choose from the science
category (or any category
for that matter!) in The Old Schoolhouse Store will be based
on a biblical worldview! How nice is that?! However, we do
have some special favorites that we can recommend.
Answers in
Genesis products always
offer clear and concrete answers to tough questions. If
you have questions yourself, or would simply like to be
able to express your beliefs more clearly, these books by AiG
are perfect. Russ Wilson also offers an informational
DVD
set created to help you
scientifically defend creationism. Reel Production's Incredible Creatures
that Defy Evolution and Life's Story DVD's are exciting, interesting and sure to be
enjoyed by the whole family, not to mention neighbors, youth
groups and Bible studies. These are a great addition to any
home, homeschool or church video library.
One of
our latest additions, Signs &
Seasons is an
evolution-free Christian homeschool astronomy
curriculum that teaches the traditional, Biblical basis for
timekeeping and navigation. You'll definitely want to check
this one out. With abundant resources from The Old Schoolhouse Store, you'll find it a cinch to teach from a biblical
worldview.
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The Familyman
Todd Wilson, Familyman Ministries
Hey
Mom,
Boy, I'm excited to be
a part of the THM team, although I'm feeling a little odd
being the only male writer. So let me just say right up front
that I think like a man. I don't make smiley, winky, or frowny
faces out of punctuation marks. I never LOL, quote poetry, or
talk about the beauties of childbirth. I can't - I'm a man.
But I am real and will give you a ringside seat into the real
and sometimes-ugly world of the Wilson home.
Actually, I'm not sure
I can even write a coherent sentence at the moment because I'm
sitting in our RV surrounded by seven children in a Wal-Mart
parking lot just south of Springfield, MO. We live in an RV
(and Wal-Mart parking lots) for about 3 months as we travel to
many state homeschool conventions around the country. Today,
we head for Lansing, MI for the INCH state
convention.
Actually, a Wal-Mart
parking lot is the perfect setting to discuss a biblical
worldview. The truth is, we tend to wrongly associate "a
biblical worldview" with a glossy-covered textbook, a DVD
curriculum, or a seminar where a man in a crisp, white shirt
and a patriotic tie discusses current events and the Bible.
But more accurately, a biblical worldview is passed on in
places like Wal-mart parking lots.
For example: this
morning, I'll run into Wal-Mart and return with a cartful of
stuff. Here's the worldview part. RV's park about a mile from
the store and the temptation is to leave the cart for someone
else to deal with. BUT everyone knows that the carts are to be
returned to the cart-corral. So after I've unloaded the cart,
my children will see me push the cart the mile back to its
corral, and I will have shown them a biblical worldview that
Wilsons obey the rules (that God has put in place) and put
others' needs above our own.
That's how you teach a
biblical worldview. You model biblical living to your children
on a day-to-day basis. You let them see how to trust God when
the car doesn't start, how to be kind when the lady at the
counter isn't, and how to ask forgiveness when you've just
acted like a creep.
As the old saying
goes, "More biblical worldview is caught than
taught."
That's what this man
thinks.
Be
Real!
-Todd
"The
Familyman" |
 Mercy in the Morning
Deborah Wuehler, TOS Senior Editor
Why do we love
homeschooling? Let me count the ways ... We get to teach our
children our values, our faith, and our worldview. And the
very first thing we teach them is found in the very first
chapter of Genesis; that the history of the world begins with
creation!
Another reason we love
homeschooling is that we can watch the desires, giftings, and
abilities the Lord has placed in each one and we are then able
to give them the resources and time to charge ahead in those
things. For example, our oldest son desires to go into the
field of creation science when he graduates from our
homeschool. We have been doing what we can to help him in that
direction from curriculum choices to videos, to seminars, and
other outside activities.
One of his favorite adventures was
going to Florida with his dad on a fossil dig with
Creation
Expeditions. If you have boys who love mud,
water, fossils, and adventure, this would be the trip of a
lifetime for them.
In fact, you can read about my
son's Creation Expedition fossil adventure a few years back on
his blog at HomeschoolBlogger.
So many ways to love
homeschooling, I can't even count them. But the most important
of all is that we are able to ignite the fire of love for the
truth of God's Word from beginning to end.
"Thy word is true
from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments
endureth forever."
Psalm
119:160
-Deb
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