Teach With Grace and Truth

I love books. You know I do. In fact, I love books so much that I am starting a homeschool resource library in the back room of my house to justify my book collecting (and because it helps make sense of my urge to collect good books other people sadly discard)! So you know that when an opportunity to try out a book from Christian book distributor, Grace & Truth Books, arose, I was one of the first in line requesting to be able to try out one of their products. There were many worthy choices, from Seven Favorite 19th-Century Children's Stories  to Of Knights and Fair Maidens by Jeff and Danielle Myers, but the title that caught my interest was With the Children on Sundays: Through the Eye-Gate and Ear-Gate into the City of Child's-Soul. 

This 330 page book has 52 chapters, one for each Sunday of the year. Each story is a self-contained lesson on some point of Biblcal doctrine, yet is fascinating enough that you will not have to worry about your child losing interest. The stories are designed to intrigue your children, yet are meant to explain clearly and simply enough that even your youngest children might understand at least part of the concepts contained therein.

From their site:

"A giant volume, which ranks as one of history's greatest Family Worship books ever composed.  A limited number of copies are available of this book, which has been out of print many decades and is currently not being printed by anyone.  Filled with many of the most delightful family readings you'll find anywhere, from an author with great skill in presenting Bible truths in a  form which grips the eye, holds the mind's attention, and wins the heart of a child for Christ.  Many call this the finest book for family worship they have ever used."

Sounds amazing, doesn't it??

We have been using another title offered by Grace & Truth Books as our devotional during the week on and off  for a while now. The book Long Story Short is a great way to learn about the Old Testament and see how its major events and stories all point to Christ and God's Plan of Salvation. It is designed to be used for ten minutes a day, five days a week. 

With the Children on Sundays by Sylvanus Stall is an excellent option for reading together on either Saturday or Sunday, as while the stories take a little bit longer to get through and discuss, they are completely different from your usual Bible readers...they are stories about people and events outside the pages of the Bible that also point to Christ's plan and His love for us.

Our favorite story so far has been one that eloquently explained to children how God can "find" us, even after death. I know that my kids have asked the question, "But what if there's a fire or an explosion? What about all those people in the Towers at 9-11? How will God find those people?" Kids want to know these things, and while I understand what I know to be true, I am not always an expert at explaining things. This book uses the story of the scientist, Michael Faraday to explain this concept. It tells how if you dropped pure silver into acid, which would break down and completely dissolve the silver, he could pour in the correct chemicals that would cause the silver to gather together in a ball, allowing the acid to be poured off and your pure silver to be regained and collected. That is a picture of how no matter what, God can find your spirit, and bring you to Him in Heaven. WOW! I loved it...and so did my kids.

The follow-up questions helped to make the concepts more clear and allow you to turn the lessons in the book into a full-blown Bible lesson, or you can just work the questions into conversation and keep it casual. Many of the lessons have actual activities worked into the stories that you can do to illustrate the concepts even more clearly, but you always have the option of simply reading the description and picturing it in your mind, if you want to keep your lessons less formal and more like just reading together. You may find that it is your children who want to run around and find the materials, like paper clips, a magnet, a piece of paper, and then do the mentioned demonstration...just because they are interested. How exciting is that?!

Each of the 52 stories contained within this book is exceptional in its craftsmanship and message. The stories are heartfelt and very moral. Some are more adventurous than others, but all are interesting. While instructive, the stories are not what I would consider to be overbearingly preachy or off-putting. You could use them in many settings from your home, to your Sunday School, to a Co-op, or a Bible study group.

Because the stories were written in the 1800's, you can expect the vocabulary to be more challenging than the average book today. Personally, I love that aspect of the book, though some parents of very young children might find it somewhat intimidating. Being an English teacher by pre-homeschooling Mom trade, I am generally the resident dictionary, but keeping a Webster's 1828 dictionary (or other version you might own) on hand for quick look-ups solves the issue either way (though you may find some terminology that is out of date...to me quaint, not irritating). 

I have very fond memories of a summer visit to the kids' grandparents' house (when we lived in Florida and it took about 20 hours to go either way) when we listened to Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott. My boys (ages 7 and 13 at the time, Ladybug was under 1) LOVED the story (all the cousins are boys, though the main character is a girl), even though they were yelling, "Stop the tape! What does afflicted mean? What does usurper mean? What does countenance mean?" throughout the tale's reading. This did not reduce their enjoyment of the book any, but it multiplied mine, as I noticed them using their new vocabulary words frequently in the ensuing weeks.

I am thrilled that I now get to add this wholesome and useful new title to our Lifetime of Learning Library, for others to see and appreciate, and then want to purchase their own copy. The truth is, though, I will probably be keeping it in our personal library for a while...at least until we have finished all 52 of the stories! In the meantime, I am recommending that if you are on the market for wholesome titles, ones you can trust to be quality reading for yourself and your family, then head over to Grace & Truth Books and check out what they have to offer. With a name like Grace and Truth Books (three of my favorite words!), how can they go wrong?

If you'd like to check out what others on the Schoolhouse Review Crew have to say about this and other titles from Grace & Truth Books, check out the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog and read some more reviews. Other reviewers will have noted the titles they reviewed under their thumbnail photos.

Blessings,

Disclaimer: I received a copy of With the Children on Sundays for the purposes of completing this review. No other compensation was received. All opinions are my own.

Children in Church or Children's Church?

As a military family, we've tried more than our fair share of churches. We have to choose a new church "home" every time we move to a new location. From small churches with congregations of under a hundred to those that could be classified as mega-churches, you can imagine the varied styles of worship we've seen. Surprisingly though, most of the churches have had one thing in common---the expectation that children would leave the "adult services" and head off to "children's church" at some point during the service. 

I've seen signs posted right next to the sanctuary doorways declaring that we should "try the excellent childcare services" (at the other end of the building) and even been discouraged by ushers when I began to walk in and settle down in a pew with our children ("Ma'am, we're taping. Don't you want to take the kids to the Children's Building? It's a lot of fun.") I am sure they were all trying to be helpful, but when you want to keep your kids with you, for whatever reason, you can start to feel a bit unwanted and distressed at how obvious it is that many churches today just don't know what to do with children, other than send them away.

Like our public school systems, churches have become places of segregation and separation, pulling families apart instead of bringing them closer together and I think that is sad. Jesus wanted the little children to come to him, not be sent out because they might be a little bit fidgety.

As you can probably tell, I did not need Curt and Sandra Lovelace's book Children in Church to convince me that having our children with us in services (for the entire service) is the right thing to do for our family (though I did enjoy reading the book). Hubby and I currently keep all of the children, ages 3-14, with us each Sunday during the entire worship service (unless there is a special circumstance). We were not always of this opinion.

There were years when Hubby was out to sea most of the time that I will admit that I looked forward to those two hours of Sunday School and church as a brief respite from the responsibility of parenting full-time. I felt that the kids were with people who cared for them and wanted to teach them about Jesus, so I enjoyed the quiet and a few moments to myself. I also admit that I felt unqualified to teach my own children about Jesus. At that point, I thought I needed an "expert" to do the job for me instead of realizing that God equips us for whatever He calls us to do.

Then about five years ago, Hubby and I came to the realization that we were being called to have our kids stay with us during church services. The reasons are many; many are similar to some shared in the Lovelaces' book, and they are personal to us. It all came down to a decision that once we moved to Virginia, we knew we wanted to find a church that was accepting of the "families worship together" ideal. What we didn't know was how difficult that would be to find.

I don't know exactly how many churches we tried, but while fairly universally most congregations were complimentary (and astounded) by our children's good behavior during services, they were also mostly uncomfortable with the idea of children being present during the sermon. Some were more concerned with the kids being bored and pointed out how much fun their children's program would be for them, and others were, to be honest, worried that the kids would disrupt their worship experience. In fact, one church we visited sent all the kids out BEFORE even one worship song was played. How's that for separating kids and adults?

We eventually found a nearby fellowship of believers who are all supportive and accepting of our decision to keep our kids with us during services. They are not actively trying to develop a family-integrated model, but they believe every family needs to decide what works best for their family. We appreciate that and hope our example might encourage others to keep their children with them as well (not that we want to put the Children's Church workers out of a job, but I am sure the volunteers wouldn't mind getting to attend services).

A while back, we found a church with an actual family-integrated service, but it is an hour and a half away and impractical to go to regularly. However, we visit from time to time and it is amazing to see all the families, the children, the parents, their neighbors, and their friends of all ages worshiping together, and to see that the idea really does work well when put into practice (and it does take lots of practice and patience).

It's not easy when you start out. Especially when you are going into it with very young children or with older kids who are used to going out for "children's church" and will miss it. When we made the decision to change our perception of kids and church, Tex was about the age where we normally started keeping our kids with us anyway...third grade. Ladybug was little and Cowboy was littler, so I started working with her first, while still dropping off Cowboy at the nursery. Ladybug's an easy goer, so it only took a few services to gain her cooperation, and Tex was already old enough to understand and be attentive with little prompting. Cowboy was a little tougher and it took about six months to get him to adjust. I really had no idea what I was doing as nobody in the church we attended at the time felt the same way we did. I wish I'd had the Lovelace's book to help give me advice in making the transition, but there was nothing like that out at the time that I knew of.

By instinct, I packed activity bags ("church bags") and found that to be a great help. A notepad, some crayons, a favorite book, a quiet toy...those things helped, though sometimes the rattling of the paper and the noises for the toys were distractions of their own (there's a learning curve as you figure out which items work best for your kids).

Then we started listening to one sermon a week during homeschool time and we practiced with the kids there. I would make them sit to listen to Charles Stanley (they still love listening to him today) and I expected the same behavior as I did in church. The benefit of practicing was that I could stop the cd to discipline them and teach them how to respond to what they were hearing, then carry on afterwards.There were a few times I had to take Cowboy out of services to discipline him, but mostly, after the initial work was done, he made the transition and has been good in services ever since. Firefly has been in regular services since the beginning---she's another easy goer. She hardly knows Children's Church exists. Boo, on the other hand, is a handful, and I have taken him out from time to time just to get a break. I am not a legalist...I just think staying together is best. 

We do send the kids out for Children's Church around Christmas and Easter so they can participate in the cantatas and plays that are inevitably practiced for during that time. We like the teachers...it's just that like the book points out: we feel it is our responsibility to be discipling our children, not someone else's. We feel they will learn best by seeing us worship and worshiping alongside us, not by attending classes or services tailored to children in another part of a building. I often tell my kids that they are practicing to be adults some day, so they should try to act like adults (in other words, not emulate toddlers or babies). I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with those services for children, I just find more value to the family-integrated corporate worship experience, and we prefer to choose the best, not just the good, as God calls us to it for our family.

Kids are smart. They pick up more than you think. I feel we sell our kids short if we believe they can't get anything out of a "normal" sermon. I loved the Lovelace's chapter about "Drawing the Word." Each of our children has a notebook (one of the primary composition ones with space for drawing a picture and lines to write on) in their church bag and some weeks we write the sermon topic at the top of the page and ask them to draw a picture of it as they listen. Other weeks we ask them to write a few important words they hear, or to copy a verse, and others we let them draw whatever it is that is on their minds as they listen (not meaning rocket ships or horses, but how the message applies to them). You'd be amazed at the insight in those notebooks.

You'd also be surprised by the conversations in the car after services on the way home. Instead of "Oh, I dunno. David and Goliath?" in response to the question of what they did in church that day, they are contributing to serious discussions about how we are to apply the Word individually and as a family. They are really taking it to heart and making it their own. Isn't that why we take them with us to church in the first place?

I will not be one to judge anyone who has their kids in Children's Church, and I don't think this book is one to judge either. It will share scriptures you may not have thought of in reference to the issue of whether separating families when worshiping is Biblical. It will offer ideas and possibilities if you feel you might want to try keeping your kids with you in church. And it will support you with stories and encouragement as you walk down a narrower road, leading your children toward the blessings God has for you at the end of that harder road.

Sharing a Biblical basis for bringing our children into worship, but more than that – practical help to make it not only survivable, but to help us teach our children to engage in the service and worship the Lord, too.

I recommend the Lovelace's book, Children in Church, for anyone who has ever considered whether they should be sending their kids to Children's Church, and also for anyone who has not even thought about it. Maybe you should. Maybe you clicked on that link and read this review because God wants you to consider the blessings that might be waiting for you if you take this sometimes difficult, sometimes inconvenient, but inevitably rewarding step. I also recommend it for anyone who is already keeping their kids with them in church because the ideas and support within its covers are an easy read, and may provide you with some new ideas or encouragement, for either yourself or someone you may be called to talk to about the topic.

The book is only $12.00, and is worth every penny. I wish I'd had it five years ago when we made the transition. I wouldn't have felt as overwhelmed or lonely on the journey I sometimes had to make alone (Hubby was gone for a year while we were transitioning, which was very difficult for me since church services were my only break each week). It would have been helpful to have had the book from which to glean advice when facing challenges, especially with Cowboy, and it would have been helpful to have had the scriptural foundation all laid out for me so that when I had to answer questions (which I often did), I would have been able to give a better answer for our position than, "We feel called to keep the kids with us." While that's not bad, I'd rather be able to specifically support our choices, and this book will enable you to do so without having to do tons of research on your own (though nothing is wrong with that method, either...but this book is a great jump start).

If you or someone you know might benefit from some friendly, scriptural wisdom concerning children in church, I encourage you to buy a copy of Children in Church and add it to next month's reading list. I think you will be glad you did.

Here's a head's up on what each chapter contains. You can read more about the book on the Children in Church website.

1-Bringing Them In

2-Understanding the Elements

3-Counting the Cost

4-Laying the Foundation

5-Getting Ready

6-Packing the Bag

7-Drawing the Word

8-Preparing a Plan

9-Facing the Challenges

10-Growing as Disciples

Bonus: a final chapter for leaders of the church

If you'd like to see what others on the Crew had to say about this book, read the basic review at the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog, then go to the Linky page. Look for the headings under the individual photos which include the words "Children" or "Church." This will take you to other bloggers who read this book. You will also find links to reviews about other books available from Great Waters Press, the publishers of Real Men.

Blessings,

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of the book Children in Church for the purposes of writing this review. All opinions here are my own. I received no other compensation.

From Everyday Messmaking to Everyday Homemaking

"Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give aan account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden..."

Hebrews 13:17 NIV

As God's children, we must model in our relationship to Him the same behaviors we would like our children to display toward us. As parents, we should:

• Submit to authority without rebellion
• Apologize if needed.
• Do everything  without complaining
• Work on skills and character (theirs and ours)
• Work ourselves out of a job!

Parents ultimately hope their children will make wise choices from changed hearts and a desire to please God, their parents, and themselves. We want our kids to show stellar character and good judgement in their decisions...Give them opportunities to learn from mistakes when they are young, being sure that the consequences are safe and relatively temporary.

...There are some basic principles that must be understood, a foundation upon which the methods or kideas in the how-to sections of this book must be built. These include:

• Have realistic and age appropriate expectations
• Establish rules or standards.
• Have a working knowledge of family discipline.
• Tie strings to [your children's] hearts

These wise words from the first chapter of the e-book The Everyday Family Chore System byVicki Bentley will strike a chord in most parents' hearts. What parent doesn't want their child to succeed both in life (as in career and/or calling) and in character (as in the value of a good name)?

 

I know I was extremely concenrned with this ideal when I was a young mother of just one child. I only had one sibling, and he was seven years younger than me, and not to brag, but for the most part we were both pretty easy kids to raise. There wasn't a lot of discipline going on in our house. It mostly wasn't necessary, at least as I remember. We had chores and didn't always do them, but after getting in trouble enough times, I learned to do them as soon as I got home so I could spend the rest of my time doing what I wanted...OR I'd time it so that I'd do what I wanted up until about fifteen minutes before the folks were expected home and then I'd rush and unload that dishwasher and carry up that armload of clothes.

Still, I know my mom was frustrated at times that we'd walk by piles of clothes sitting on the steps as if we didn't see that they were ours and that we didn't always get those few things she asked of us done without complaining. So, if my mom, who had to work, doesn't have all the answers, and she is my  best friend and most trusted teacher, then to whom do I go when I want to find out how to get my children to be a bit more responsive and cooperative in a GENUINE way than my brother and I were?

Well, one place you can go is Everyday Homemaking, a site established by Vicki Bentley, a veteran homeschooling mom who writes about homeschooling, homemaking, and home organization and discipline. I was pleased to have a chance to read her book about helping your children learn to be better contributors to your family by teaching them what is expected of them, then holding them accountable for those things. One valuable idea I read was something I've encountered often as a parent, and that is the need to clarify the difference between God's rules (which are unwavering) and our house rules (which can be respectfully appealed when appropriate).

I also appreciated the reminder to just say "yes" whenever possible. It's true sometimes that as moms who are often repeatedly beseiged with requests by small children, we sometimes start saying "no" just for the sake of convenience or out of habit. The truth is though that we can use those moments of requests to teach our children to accept responsibility by putting the achievement of whatever it is they wanted back upon their shoulders. "Yes, you may jump on the trampoline as soon as you pick up the sticks that fell off of the trees after last night's storm." "Yes, you may invite your friends over tomorrow for the Bookmobile if your room is clean and all of your week's school work is done by dinnertime tonight." "Sure, you may play playdoh after you finish your printing and counting papers." "No problem. You may watch Misty of Chincoteague as soon as you go out and brush Honey and Rosie and lead them around the pasture a few times each." The idea is just so good that I can go on and on about it. I know I have used it in the past, but it's something I tend to forget in the momentary urge to say, "NO! No more messy Playdoh out EVER!" It was a good reminder.

The best reminder of all in the book, however, was that children like rules. They prefer if you set the standards and they know what to expect. They also like routines. It provides structure that they need. Be honest with yourself...you benefit from it, too. So I read Vicki's ideas about setting up a chore system and I have to admit that I wasn't thrilled with the idea of me having to be the "slave driver" so to speak.

With my headaches, I am not so good at sticking to a set schedule. I never know when I will wake up with a headache and feel miserable, BUT I promised to give it a try and so I wrote out what the most important tasks to be accomplised were, just as Vicki suggested, and it really didn't amount to a lot. I will be honest and say that I started out simply...with four little ones ages 3-8, there's only so much I can hand out to them to do, or so I thought.

 

It turns out that little guys and gals LOVE to help. My Four Amigos, Ladybug (8), Cowboy (6), Firefly (4), and Boo (3) thought the chore chart we made was fabulous and if I was having a bad morning, they reminded me what had to be done. They even offered to do things I normally did! I was very impressed with them. You will note that my chart is not complex or professional, but using a markerboard did work with my crew. I am sure they'd love the whole shebang one of these days when things slow down, but for now, the markerboard suffices.

 

It is true that just as is explained in the book that you must spend some time training your new helpers about how to do their new jobs (like how to vacuum, how to make a bed properly, how to wipe the dining room table without making a mess of the floor...there are cards to explain jobs to older kids in the book, but I just had to explain things to my younger kids),

but kids are quick learners, and once mine realized that instead of a constant "Hey, it's messy...we need to pick up" coming from me they got a set routine of when things had to be clean and when there was a litle leeway to "get creative," then they completely got on board with the idea of a schedule. Even Tex, eventually, though as my only teenager at home, and my usually biggest helper, he was the least appreciative of the new routine. It sort of cramped his freeflowing style, but he adjusted.

 

It worked so well, that when we had to stop the routine for a few days due to some out of the house commitments, the kids begged to get back to their "jobs" once we had a day completely at home. Sadly, Tex had his accident during our trial of this whole routine technique, and that completely rattled things up (though my mom did mention how extra polite and helpful the kids were when they stayed with her and she continued to work on those things with them for me),

and now we are in the middle of our amazing home makeover so you know there is no routine possible with that, BUT I am completely sold on the idea of the routine and the sharing of the weekly/montly jobs. I printed my job labels and can't wait to get my laminator out to make a chart so once this makeover is through, we can faithfully maintain the wonderful organization and newness of our made-over house...so now we can go from everyday mess making to everyday homemaking.

You can purchase the Everyday Family Chore System for only $19.95. You can also purchase a companion one hour audio cd for an additional $6 about Getting Kids to Help at Home. There is a downloadable version available, but it is only a two dollars cheaper and personally, I'd rather have the print version, but you may prefer the instant download.

To see what others on the Molly Review Crew had to say about the Everyday Family Chore System, check out the Schoolhouse Review Crew Blog for more reviews about this product and others by the talented and wise Vicki Bentley.



Who is King Alfred and What Does He Have to Do With English Anyway?

When I was in college, my major was English. All teachers had to choose a major, and then have a second major in whatever type of education they were going to pursue (Elementary Ed, Middle School Ed, HS Ed). I chose English sort of by default. It's not that I was in love with grammar or writing at that point, though I was dimly aware that I was at least competent with both, but more because I liked books, and English is the stuff of which books (in this country) are made.

I quickly discovered that while I did enjoy reading for FUN, reading for class wasn't nearly as enjoyable. Having to read Frankenstein four times in one semester (so that we could write four different types of position papers about it) was a truly horrifying drag. Multicultural Literature class was positively torturous because every novel we read lamented about the disadvantages and horrors of not being white and/or rich (in graphic and unnecessary detail about many inappropriate behaviors, often by members of the authors' own communities) instead of focusing on overcoming and the virtues of working hard and being the person God made you to be, irregardless of race, class, or gender (if I ever taught English at the college level, that would be the class I'd teach). My poetry teacher hated me (I think because I disliked his dark and devilish poetry and said so not knowing it was his...ooops). I guess my grammar class was okay. Once I learned to look at sentence diagramming as if it were a math problem, with specific, unchanging rules, suddenly, for the first time ever, I GOT it and it turned from confusing to clever and I liked it a little bit.

Still, when you go into a major with the intent of making it the focus of your studies, shouldn't you like it just a little bit more than a little bit? I thought so and I started questioning my choice. That is until finally, in my junior year, I took a course that completely fascinated me and turned my opinion of English around. It was called: History of the English Language. It really sounds kind of boring, huh? But it wasn't. It was impressive. It made sense. It was interesting in ways I could not have predicted. It tied in all of the ideas of every history class I'd taken and all of the information I'd gleaned from various language courses, and made not only language make sense and tie together, but history, too. Wow.

For years, I've been singing the praises of this class to my older boys (and it is not just because my professor said my final exam essay was the best he'd read in all of his years of teaching, though that does improve my memory of the class a bit *smile*). My boys understand that I loved the class, and they've tried to be enthusiastic about learning what I could remember to share with them, but it has been a long time since I took that class. Then, of course, my professor was pretty amazing...and while I remember bits and pieces of the class, it's difficult to reproduce that "amazing-ness" that he had due to his vast scope of knowledge and his love for the topic.

I still have my textbooks: Our Marvelous Native Tongue by Robert Claiborne and The Story of English by Robert McCrum all these years later. They fascinated me. However, when I looked at them, thinking I could somehow use them to teach my boys what I'd thought was so interesting all of those years ago, I ran into the roadblock that actually, both of those books are kind of hard to get into and I'd forgotten too much to do a good job of deciphering the information appropriately and interestingly. The Story of English may be a bit easier to understand, but both are fairly technical, and without the extensive education and familiarity of the topic of my professor, I couldn't see how I might use the books to "turn on" the interest in our language for my boys.

Enter King Alfred's English: A History of the Language We Speak and Why We Should Be Glad We Do by Laurie G. White.

The book is written for ages 12 and up (grades 7-12), but could potentially be adapted for use with younger children (maybe engaged 8 to 12)...at least they could listen in and I am sure they would pick useful bits of information up here and there as they began taking interest...and I have no doubt they'd find the information interesting.

• You will find out why saying X-Mas isn't really sacreligious...it is a hybridization of Constantine's practice of using the Greek letters for chi and rho to stand for Christ (chi looks like X).
• You will discover that British and English aren't the same. In fact, they don't even get along.
• You will understand that English can be overwhelming sometimes because our language has over 615,000 words in the dictionary, while other languages contain between 100,000 and 200,000 words.
• You will determine the importance of the printing press and learn how the Bible being translated into English, and printed, had such a wide-spread influence.
• You will learn that many of our words and sound blends were borrowed from other languages and why so many of our words are not spelled the way they sound. 

The author provides student pages with supplementary information that turn what at first glance seems a simple book into a broadly ranging unit study (you will travel through time and all over the map). The resources are helpful, overall, though in the first chapter alone, I did find at least three links that were broken or had changed from free to needing a subscription, so those weren't helpful (and unfortunately, they were the ones I wanted to see most!).

She also provides a teacher's page with worksheets for every chapter, as well as tests for each section. These two supplements (student and teacher's pages) were an excellent addition and helped the book become more of an easily implementable course as opposed to a shorter unit study. I'd feel comfortable counting this course as a half credit high school English course on a transcript, especially when adding one of the video supplements I am suggesting below. I think it would be a fun course and an excellent way to tie together language and history...and don't we homeschoolers just love to tie it all together?? Making connections is one of my favorite things about homeschooling.

Here are a few suggested resources of my own. Perhaps you might take a look at the first one (video), and that will inspire you to want to learn more (from a Christian perspective) about our fascinating tongue and you will take me up on my (time-sensitive) offer (below) of a discount code to buy the book:

• You can watch the documentary of The Adventure of English (5 hours long) at TopDocumentaryFilms.com. I watched the WHOLE thing last night and it was fascinating and very easy to understand.
• The documentary I watched in my class long ago, The Story of English, is also available at this site. I have to be honest and say I found the other one a bit easier to watch and much of the information is the same.
• We used the book Our Marvelous Native Tongue by Robert Claiborne in my class. It goes into more depth than King Alfred, but it's a lot to wade through. It might make a suitable supplement for an enterprising, interested student...I'd stick with Alfred for most students...it's a lot more readable and easy to understand, plus you get the Christian perspective, which I appreciated.
• Here's a quick intro to the topic that helped me organize my thoughts before reading.
• Another suggestion I have, that we tend to do annually, is to watch Akeela and the Bee (about an underprivileged girl who goes all the way to the Washington D.C. Spelling Bee finals) because it does such a good job of showing how a word's origin affects its spelling...that's why the kids are allowed to ask the origin of a word. That movie always seems to get my kids in the mood for word studies.
• Notebooking Pages has some Latin and Greek word study pages.

Let me tell you about one of my favorite parts of this kind of study...seeing how words from different parts of the world/languages are similar/related/different. I always think about the Tower of Babel story, and how the similarities you find between many languages just make Biblical sense. Then again, there is the part of language that reflects the personality of the people and their situations. Take this example for the word crafty:

Crafty  < Old English

Agile  < Latin

Skillful  <  Old Norse

Undaunted  < Old French

Cardio-kleptic (heart-stealing) < Greek 

Aren't those changes in meaning and understanding for the same word fascinating? It gives you a glimpse into the heart of the people, doesn't it?

I remember in class when our teacher assigned us a research project. We were to take ten different words (he assigned them, I don't remember them all) and interview about fifty people from different areas of the US to find out what they "called" those items. I do remember one of the words was "soda" and one was "sofa." Honestly, it was fascinating to see the diversity and development of the language across the US as influenced by the peoples who settled in different areas. I heard "sofa" also called "couch," "settee," and "davenport" (seriously, davenport?) "Soda" was "pop" in the Midwest, "Coke" in the south, and "soda" in the north. Check out this graph and see for yourself. Of course, we had to discuss our findings and figure out why folks talked the way they do...why do they greet each other in a certain way, call things what they do, have a certain accent. It was a hands on learning experience that applied all we'd learned in the course so far and gave me an appreciation for language I carry with me to this day. 

All of my kids learn Greek and Latin roots, so that they can decode harder words without having to know precise definitions (we don't alwys have a dictionary handy), and all of them learn how languages relate to each other and how the way we speak reveals something about our culture and history. We will definitely be working King Alfred's English into our permanent high school curriculum.

Purchase from:

• Amazon as a Kindle book for $5.95 (least expensive option)
• From the author's website $16.95
• From Rainbow Resource for $14.95
• From CBD  $14.89 (least expensive print option)
• BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!!!!! For the first four folks who comment on my post here and tell me you want to definitely purchase this book in print format, the author has graciously offered a discount code that is good through September 2012. That's less than $8.50 for a book that will provide your child not only with an interesting and solid introduction to the nuances of where our language came from, but will also inspire them into learning more about history and its influence on language, and perhaps even other things, like music, art, and literature. If you'd like a code and you are one of the first four to respond, leave me your email addy so I can contact you with the code.

See what others on the TOS Homeschool Review Crew had to say about King Alfred's English at the Review Crew Blog.

To read some comments on the author's site from other readers, just head over to The Shorter Word.com.

You can also preview the first chapter or check out their table of contents.

By the way, if you want to learn the story of King Alfred...you will just have to get the book. You will be glad you did!

Blessings,

Disclaimer: I received a downloadable copy of King Alfred's English for the purposes of writing this review. I did not receive any other compensation. The opinions you read here are mine.

And The Winners Are...TOS Homeschool Review Crew Product of the Year Awards

As the 2011-2012 Crew year comes to a close, we are once again presenting awards to our vendors. The awards are known as the TOS Homeschool Crew Blue Ribbon Awards.

The following vendors are the recipients of the award this year. 
Click on their name to check out the Crew reviews!

*Favorite Reading Instruction Product: Reading Eggs
Favorite Writing Product: Write Shop (we did not do this review)
*Favorite Language Arts Product: Progeny Press
*Favorite Social Studies Product: TruthQuest History
*Favorite Science Product: Amazing Science
*Favorite Math Product: Math Mammoth
*Favorite Online Math Product: Math Rider

*Favorite Foreign Language Product: Visual Latin
*Favorite Fine Arts Product: Artistic Pursuits
*Favorite Christian Education Product: Apologia: Who Am I?
*Favorite Preschool Product: Before Five in a Row
*Favorite Elementary Product: All About Reading
*Favorite Middle School Product: Write with WORLD
Favorite High School Product: Excellence in Literature
Favorite College or College-Prep Product: Excellence in Literature

*Best Online Resource: Reading Eggs
*Best e-Product: Heritage History
*Best Homeschool Resource: Apologia: Educating the Wholehearted Child
Best Book, Novel, or Magazine: Apologia: How to Have a HEART for Your Kids
Best Children's Book: Amazing Animals by Design (I'd have to say The Person I Marry...it is so sweet and I want all of my kids to know it by heart).

*Best Game or Toy: Northstar Games: Wits and Wagers and Say Anything
*Best Hands-On Resource: Pitsco Education
Best Resource I Didn't Know I Needed: eMeals (I said Time Timer ...it really has helped a LOT)
*Best Customer Service: K5 Learning
Most Adaptable Resource: Creek Edge Press
Most Family-Oriented Resource: Northstar Games: Wits and Wagers and Say Anything

*Kids' Choice (favorite of CHILDREN ages 0-12): Reading Eggs
Teens' Choice (favorite of the TEENAGERS): Pitsco Education (Tex said Critical Thinking Company's Balance Math)
All Around Crew Favorite: Visual Latin  

---------------------------------------------

Each winning vendor has received this wonderful award to display with pride:

Congratulations to our winning vendors! 

---------------------------------------------------------

What we have to say about the results:

Our favorite resources were the same as many of the same ones listed above (the choices marked with an asterix reflect same responses). I have indicated a few of our differences when we really felt strongly about the choices which were different. We might have felt differently because we did not try the product, or because it just wasn't a good fit for our family, but I think you can be confident that any product on this list is a really good one (and that is not saying that the ones that didn't win are not good products...these were just the most popular).

My favorite overall resource is (in my opinion) the best homeschooling book ever...Educating the Wholehearted Child. If you haven't read it yet, please check out my review of it, then order yourself (and a friend, a difficult relative, or an interested potential homeschooler) a copy. I think it will become one of your favorite home educating books, too, and it could really change your upcoming year for the better. I try to buy one "how to" homeschooling book each year, as I feel it really keeps our home education program dynamic.

Also, my kids' all around favorite for the year (which could not win even though it deserved to since only 20 of us received this AWESOME! product) was.......TOYDLE. Check out my two reviews (Toydle Part One and Toydle Part Two, then hop on over to their website and start saving up for one for your kids for Christmas. Your kids will thank you over and over and over again...

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Many Crew Members are blogging about these awards as well.

Click here to see what they have to say.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you for sailing with us this year. It has been a great one.

We will be continuing our voyage with the TOS Homeschool Review Crew through the summer, up until Thanksgiving, when the current crew year will official end. A new Crew year will start after New Year's Day, but next year, our family plans to "stay ashore" so we can focus on notebooking, developing a Heritage Children's Library, getting certified to foster/adopt, and fixing up the old homestead...not to mention lots of reading!!

 I hope you will stick around and keep checking for more reviews all summer...there are some good ones coming up!

Blessings,

Enlarge Your World With Writing

Can I let you in on a little secret? You can't tell anyone...okay? Remember, I used to be an eighth-grade English teacher, and now I teach all grades in my homeschool, so this tiny secret could ruin my reputation. Okay. So here it is. I-don't-like-grammar.

Whew! That was difficult, but I feel much better now. Do you think less of me for disliking grammar? I hope not. I think it goes back to the fact that somehow I made it through twelfth-grade Honors English (a year early) without ever really "getting" grammar the way my brilliant peers did. I don't know...maybe my nose was buried in a fiction book hiding behind my (boring!) grammar book when they were going over dangling participles, but somehow, I really don't remember doing much grammar in school. Even so, I managed to get "As" in English, gain a reputation as a fairly good writer, and go on to major in English in college without being able to diagram a sentence. GASP!

I eventually did make it through an incredibly intense grammar course in college, learned all the whys and wherefores of the writing I had been doing by instinct (built upon hundreds and hundreds of good books read over the years), and even learned a respect for diagramming a sentence, yet once I started teaching, I still dreaded that time of the year when we had to focus on grammar. BOOOORING. The students were thinking it, I was thinking it, and I was wondering, "Why can't we just write and practice using grammar correctly instead of having to plod through this book of repetitive exercises?" Sigh.

You will not be surprised to find out that over the last thirteen years of homeschooling, I have done very little "formal" grammar instruction with my students...at least, not in the traditional sense. Oh sure, I will go over comma usage when I see a problem in someone's writing, or discuss possessives when I see someone misusing apostrophes, but I am not known for my eagerness to jump into a particular grammar program every year.

This state of grammar-phobia has left me with a bit of guilt from time to time. Did I try hard enough to help my students be good writers (because there really isn't a market for good grammar-ers, is there?)? Did I miss something? Are my kids being cheated or being left behind????

Obviously, I must think they are doing fine, or I'd change something, right? Actually, I was worried when Bubba started his college courses and had to write his first term paper. I was biting my nails mentally as I waited for the rough draft of that paper to make it into my e-mail box...and then I was blown away. His writing style was smooth, his knowledge base was immense, and his word choices were eloquent. Was all that from me? No, I don't think so. It was more likely from the many good books he read (and continues to read). I might have helped point out that he (still) needs to work on his comma usage, but you can't make a good writer like he turned out to be by doing numbered exercises in a book.

I truly do believe that they key to good writing is bound up in the quality and quantity of reading and writing you do, not the number of grammar exercises you complete. I will stand by that and take it to the bank. However, I will admit that there is a need for specifically directed teaching concerning common grammatical errors and standards of usage from time to time...don't you agree? And, I will also admit that not everybody who home educates their kids has a degree in English or taught grammar and actually got paid for it once upon a decade (or more) ago...and not everybody feels comfortable as a writer, or grammar-er (I made that word up, you know), or editor, or anything else that has to do with writing, let alone writing well.

This is where Write With World comes in. We are long time subscribers of God's World News and World Magazine. My kids of all ages have loved getting these publications in our mailbox since the early years when Bubba and I were just beginning down our home education path. Now Tex loves reading the articles, and will fill all of us in on whatever story he's recently perused, often amusing us with uplifting blurbs or amazing us with the depth of his understanding. When I heard that World Magazine was publishing a writing program I jumped at the chance for us to give it a run through, and I have not been disappointed.

This is all you need to get started with Write With World:

A student text (a teacher text is also available), a writing utensil (it should be a pencil, in my opinion...this is a pen...oops!), and a Composition notebook (cost: one dollar).

Write with WORLD exposes students to:

• reading and critical thinking that develop discernment
• contemporary subjects and professional guidance to pique interest
• flexible exercises to build confidence and skill for using today's new media
• a thoughtful and meaningful Christian worldview

Each level has four units. The units are divided into four chapters. Each chapter has five "capsules," or lessons, which can be easily completed during one week. Throughout the course, students will be introduced to (and hopefully cured of) the Top Twenty Grammar Errors (as shown by Andrea Lunsford's research), plus a few more frequent problems found in college writing. Yes, this WRITING curriculum incorporates GRAMMAR study into it. Do you think they read my mind?? I think that is just marvelous, don't you? So, using interesting, relevant, real-life writing (writing about news, life, advertising, and your own student's opinions), your student will learn to be a better writer AND a better grammar-er! ;-)

Seriously, here are some of the topics covered within just the first chapter: use your Thesaurus often (that's my favorite, so I listed it first), know your subject, using strong verbs, appropriate use of adjectives and adverbs, creating word pictures (show, don't tell), editing your own work for sentence fragments, and improving your vocabulary (by introducing new words in every lesson). That's a LOT of ground covered, and I have to tell you that it did not hurt a bit. Not one yawn was yawned, nobody cried, and everyone learned something new and useful. It's a win/win for teacher and student. Hooray!! Read more about the Write With World approach on their website.

Why don't you check out some sample pages of Chapter One of Write With World and see what you think?

Here is the Table of Contents, so you can see what else is taught, in case your interest is piqued.

I asked Tex what he thought of the program:

(since he is the one that used it...)

• This is one of my favorite writing programs so far. It is my favorite book-based program.
• I like how the book is so easy to read. It is like the teacher is talking to me. Mom says," It is very conversational."
• The assignments are interesting and make me think. Mom says, "I like how they asked students to find things to write about that they connect with instead of just requiring them to respond to someone else's prompt."
• It is written from a Christian worldview and I appreciate that. In fact, I prefer it. Mom says, "I do, too."
• The lessons have to do with many things I experience in real life, and with things that are current. I understand why I have to be able to analyze a book for college, but it was nice to be able to write about the real world and my opinions.
• I think the lessons are challenging, but not too hard. Mom was able to help me when I needed it. Mom says, "There is a Teacher's Manual, if you feel you need extra guidance. I did not use it, really."
• I like how they teach you things you need to know in the middle of the writing assignment. For example, they teach you new vocabulary in each lesson and about common writing problems, like sentence fragments. I think that grammar is not so bad when done this way. Mom says, "I completely agree. Grammar is so much more pertinent when taught within the context of real writing that YOU did."
• I am learning that I have a few things I need to work on to be a better writer, but with this program, it will be fun. Mom says, "If he likes it, how can I complain? I am grateful that he is 'turned on' about learning with this program."
• Each lesson (capsule) was pretty short. I could finish it in about 30 minutes a day. Mom says, "The assignments weren't the longest and most taxing exercises in writing that I've ever seen...think more like newsy blurbs that get you to really consider your point of view and how you say it...But then, I am thinking this is more about teaching style and critical thinking (with some grammar and mechanics thrown in), and not necessarily about practicing the usual five paragraph essay sort of thing. I would assume a family would easily be able to still fit in their more arduous writing assignments for history and/or literature around this curriculum at the higher grades without having to stop working on this program. Younger students could go more slowly, if necessary."

This is an example of one day's assignment. 

It took a bit longer than the usual, but he did type it and

he probably surfed the 'Net a bit looking for his favorite ad.

It was a toss up between Mayhem and that Star Wars kid car ad...

• What I did not like: The student text was not very eye-catching. There weren't many pictures, which surprised me since World is such a colorful magazine. I am thinking that maybe the full edition will be more flashy. The information was good, though. I agree.
• There was also no table of contents, which I wanted to use to check off which lessons I completed. I figure that will be in the final format of the book since this was a trial copy. I'd suggest putting check boxes next to each capsule's title so students like me can check lessons off as they go. I agree that this would be useful. Perhaps a suggested weekly schedule in the student book for kids to refer to might be nice, too.
• I would have preferred to try the online portion of the program. I like online activities and I think I would have been motivated by the site. I hope I get a chance to see it sometime. I am going to keep working through this text as my writing program for the rest of this school year (this is my choice). I agree wholeheartedly. The site sounds exciting, especially if you can share student writing on it. I was also disappointed that we could not try this part of the program.

Here is a close up of that one assignment:

This is the assignment...

Here is his response.

(Tex prefers to type some of his responses since he is a lefty and when his writing is slow it stifles the creative process...typing is much faster...not to mention the auto-edit function in Word. LOL. We will simply tape this in his writing journal).

Tex says that the assignment really made him think about the motivations of advertisers, especially in relation to how they influenced him. This goes right along with his Logic class (The Art of Argument) and the different fallacies...I love it when a curriculum comes together!

If your middle school student (I would actually say this could be appropriate for grades 5-9, depending on ability and prior knowledge) is languishing in their current very structured and formulaic writing/grammar program and you want to try something new OR if you are TIRED of doing those boring old grammar workbooks, but will feel guilty if you don't do something that practices grammar OR you are looking for something to really get your student to focus on their Christian worldview and how they can develop their writing to be an influence in their world, then THIS is the curriculum for which you have been waiting. Everyone else, well, you might really like Write With World, too, but those folks are going to be doing the happy dance. 

Write With World is on sale now,  and will be available for shipping during the summer of 2012, just in time for a new school year. One full year of Write With World will cost $95 (for a teacher text with online access and a non-consumable student text). You can save by purchasing both years one and two together for $165.

If you'd like to see what other TOS Homeschool Crew members thought about Write With World, please stop by the Crew Blog.

Blessings,

Disclaimer: I received a Pilot edition of the Writing With World Year One Curriculum, not including access to the online portion, in exchange for my honest review of the product here on my blog. All opinions are our own, based upon our individual experiences with the product. If you have questions concerning our use of this product or this review, please feel free to contact me or leave a comment.