Two great posts on setting up a homeschool schedule

SETTING UP A SCHOOL SCHEDULE ~ 1


SETTING UP A SCHOOL SCHEDULE ~ 2

I wish I had read something like this when I was starting out homeschooling!! Oh the liberation of being 'flexible'!

Love is not a place...

Very challenging article on missions.

http://lionofzambia.blogspot.com/2010/03/article-from-pastor-mbewes-blog.html

Quote of the week

"We may listen to a sermon with pleasure, while the impression produced on us is only temporary and short-lived. Our hearts, like the “stony ground,” may yield a plentiful crop of warm feelings and good resolutions. But all this time there may be no deeply-rooted work in our souls, and the first cold blast of opposition or temptation may cause our seeming religion to wither away. Alas! There are many such hearers! The mere love of sermons is no sign of grace."

~ J.C. Ryle

HT to Deb for highlighting this on her facebook. It's here to remind myself! How I love to attend a good conference or series of meetings, and have my affections roused, but I must endeavor through earnest prayer and with the help of the Holy Spirit not to be only a hearer.

J C Ryle for children

Having read and benefitted from some of J C Ryle's books, including 'Holiness',and his commentary on Matthew, I was pleased when someone recommended this little gem of a book to me.




It's become a definite favourite in our family - we are currently on our second reading.
Written in a very easy-to-grasp style it can be read to children as young as 4 or 5 and still capture the attentions of a 10+ year old. Full of gospel truths, one can almost picture J C Ryle giving these addresses to children in a firm, but gentle and winsome manner. I wholeheartedly recommend this book for use in family devotions or even as a bedtime story book.
I'm not sure if it has been shortened, but you can read the stories online HERE!

Adhd - does it really exist?

ADD/ADHD. The term used for this condition has changed over the years, yet the symptoms remain the same. In fact, the term “ADD” is no longer used. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 4th Edition (DSM-IV) now uses only the term “AD/HD”. There is talk that when the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 5th Edition is released that the term will be changed again.

Regardless of what it is called…we have a struggling child: inattentive and impulsive, sometimes high energy in addition. Do they have a hearing problem? Is it that red punch I allowed them to have at that party? Is it simply sin and they refuse to bridle their tongue? Am I doing a poor job at parenting?

These are just a few of the questions that run through the mind of a parent of a child with the symptoms of AD/HD. While we still do not know the exact cause of AD/HD, researchers strongly suspect that it is a real physical issue of a chemical delivery difficulty of the neurotransmitter Dopamine to the frontal cortex of the brain. It appears to be genetic and run in families.


I was constantly asking myself those questions, trying to figure out why some of our children were struggling with their behavior. The environment was the same, the teacher was the same (ME!), the principal was the same (my husband!), the Biblical discipline was the same; in fact it was often more consistent with the struggling ones!

Consistency is important. However, as with most children with special needs, it is not the only answer. Consistency is essential in child training, but if your child has the challenges that AD/HD brings, they will ALWAYS struggle with these weaknesses. If you are being consistent in your Biblical child training and your child isn’t responding appropriately for their age level, there could be a physiological problem.

Bonnie Klein



Read the rest here:-




http://www.nathhan.com/addklein.htm

Quote of the week

... several recent research studies have shown that for every 50 minute class period, only 28% of that time is spent in engaged learning. That means that for every subject in school, the students only spend about 14 minutes being taught or involved in learning activities. The rest of the time is wasted on lining up, changing classes or rooms, taking books out, putting books away, dealing with discipline issues, answering unimportant questions, handing out papers, handing out assignments, giving homework assignments, explaining what is expected, and lecturing on topics unrelated to actual academic learning.


The subjects covered in school are math, social studies, science, physical education, language arts, foreign language, health and arts. Generally, arts and physical education alternate, as do science and health. Thus, in a typical school day, the students only have 84 minutes of actual learning time, that's less than an hour and a half each day. They are gone seven hours to receive less than an hour and a half of instruction and actual learning.



Here is what one classroom teacher writes in her weblog:


As individuals, with some notable exceptions, I like every one of my 180-or-so students this year. But en masse, they make me freakin' crazy! They assume that any time there are not actual words coming from my mouth, they have permission to talk. I then spend 3 minutes getting everyone back on task, only to be interrupted by a request to sign something, a phone call, or a p.a. announcement. Actual time spent teaching is probably 3% of the class period.



Though she is guessing, if her calculations are correct, the time our neighbors spend at school equals only about nine minutes of instruction the entire day. Giving the schools the benefit of the doubt, we'll stick to the hour and a half calculated in the scientific research studies.

Jeannie Fulbright (See APOLOGIA SCIENCE)