from November 1, 2012
Friends, even with the help of the wonderfully efficient and
organized Jacki Young, I have been negligent in getting these notes to
you. If you are new to our little spot
here “Under the Maple Tree” then please join our little group. You will find details here about this actual
and virtual support group and our first set of notes here. In short, we meet as a small support group to
learn from one another and a good book as well as to encourage and spur one another
on in this crazy homeschooling life.
This year our book of choice is A Biblical Home Education by Dr.
Ruth Beechick. If you are interested in
joining us even if only virtually, then the book is available through Maple
Tree. Contact me, Cori, for ordering
information.
If you are following our little group online, or if you
missed the meeting in person, or if you were here and wanted to look over the
ideas and resources that we discussed then please enjoy the notes below with
thanks to the great Jacki Young.
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Beechick writes, "We must match history to the
Bible – not only its timeline and chronology, but also the principles and the
meanings we attach to it." (p.23)
It is difficult to find resources that integrate
Bible with history. Here are some suggestions:
o www.dianawaring.com – "Ancient Civilizations" curriculum and
other resources for integrating Bible and History
o History resources from Simplecharlottemason.com
o A Story of the World – keep in mind that the Bible
is treated as literature, not as core
o Mystery of History – in this curriculum the Bible
isn’t just integrated but is the core of history
Beechick encourages us to "resist the
hype" i.e. set realistic goals for history (p.39)
o Don't try to do too many activities; rather, focus
on the reading
o Notebooking and reading work well with multiple age
levels
There are benefits to reading in short spurts or in
longer chunks
o Good to stop before seeing the "glazed
look" in their eyes
o Leave them wanting more and excited to see what
happens when reading is resumed
o Reading for longer chunks allows more depth of
study
There are many benefits to using extra-Biblical
sources to study Ancient history:
o Helps us understand that the world is bigger than
Biblical history
o Integrates Bible and History to help us see
parallels – things happening at the same time in different places in world
o Helps to lend credibility to Bible
o Helps to give place in history
o Artifacts also give credibility to Bible
o Shows the contradictions between the Bible and
History eg. we know from the Bible that people were made smart (no cavemen);
this contradicts common "History"
o We need the whole picture to argue our point eg. To
discuss evolution vs the Bible
o Enables us to stand up for our beliefs even if
persecuted
o If we can stand up for our beliefs, we will
"stand before kings":
"Seest thou a man
diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand
before mean men. " Proverbs 22:29
Today, history is not necessarily taught in
society; instead, an "individual history" is emphasized
o Charlotte Mason thought history should be taught
so that students could "think justly of what is occurring today"
("Home Education", p. 169)
o Understanding history helps us to be less
self-focused
Where should a homeschooling parent start with
history? Some suggestions:
§ Integrates
Bible and "History"
§ Can be too
repetitive depending on your style/taste
o Mystery of History (available through Maple Tree)
o 50 Famous Stories by James Baldwin – stories of
heroes & famous men (available as a free ebook or on www.librivox.org for free audio download)
o An Island Story by
H.E. Marshall (Recommended on Amblesideonline.org) (also available free online)
o "Trial and Triumph" by R. Hannula –
stories of heroes of church history
Building a timeline
o Create a timeline (either on the wall or “Book of
Centuries”)
- some suggested delaying
timelines until grade 3 and later while others started them earlier
o Various websites can help you make one eg.
Knowledgequest.com
o Cori has made a timeline book; request the file if
you are interested
o Simplycharlottemason.com has 2 versions of a
"book of centuries". One is free, while the other costs but includes
categories ie. Art, culture, religion, etc.
For good history book lists, refer to the following
resources:
o Through the Ages by Christine Miller
o Amblesideonline.org
o Sonlight.com
o Cmhelp.com
o Greenleaf Press
o A Story of the World
o Heartofwisdom.com (Biblical history)
o Classicalhomeschooling.org
o See also great series like Our Canadian Girl, the Dear Canada diary series, and the Canadian Flyer series for Canadian history
Beechick's categorization of history differs from
most. It is not divided according to Jesus life/death:
1) Early Times (Creation – Abraham)
2) Kingdom of Israel
(Father Abraham – Fall of Judah)
3) Gentile Kingdoms (Captivity of Israel & Judah – God's kingdom on Earth)
- According to Beechick, the statue from
Nebuchadnezzar's dream in Daniel 2 "shows the whole history of the Gentile
world from Babylon through to the kingdom of Christ" (p.32-33)
o This image is
also studied in Precept Bible Studies for kids by Kay Arthur
We also took some time to
discuss Living books and in short these are some of the notes that we had on
them.
Living Books
What are living books?
o Whole books written by a single author where the
subject is a "favourite" of author. We can share the author's
enthusiasm for the topic as we read. (S. Schaeffer McCauley)
o Special interest books that could be fiction or
non-fiction (K. Andreola)
o A simple test of a good book is if kids are
interested after reading one page (K. Andreola)
Some examples of living books:
o Apologia books
o Andrew Lang fairy books
o Trailblazer Books by Dave & Neta Jackson
(unfortunately out of print) *Maple Tree has found a few of these still
available new – let me know if you would like a title or two.
o See also Honey for a Child’s Heart by Gladys
Hunt and Books Children Love to Read by Elizabeth Wilson for excellent
living book bibliographies.
Well, there are a few notes to get you started friends. :) I’m again looking forward
to hearing some feedback. To those of
you who were there, is there anything we
missed? I'm sure there are more resources you can recommend. If you weren’t there, what are
your thoughts? What were the take away
lessons that have challenged you or have helped in your home school
recently? Please try to post your comments directly on
the blog (rather than replying if you are receiving this as an
email) so that we can all participate in the conversation.
I will try to get the notes to you for Decemeber's meeting in the next few days and am looking forward to seeing some of you in person later this week!
Blessings,
Cori
Maple Tree Publications
905-778-9412
This week has become a tradition in the Dean house: it’s “January
Reno Week”. Over the past few years our
good daddy has booked a week off in January to be Mr. Fixit. He usually takes the time to catch up on the “Honey
Do” list and to focus on one area of the house that needs some special attention. This year it is some much needed repairs to
our basement bathroom, specifically a leaky shower. Big job.