Aug 23, 2012

Assessment and Grades for Homeschoolers (Updated for 2023)

Grading a homeschool child’s assignments requires a proper understanding of evaluation and assessment. We need to understand—and effectively communicate to our children—the expectations of each assignment. Consideration has to be made for whether the assignment is to be assessed quantitatively or qualitatively; that is, with numeric evaluation or feedback....

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Aug 22, 2012

What We Do, Well…

“What do you do?” “Well, I work in a coffee shop, but I just finished a Ph.D. in literature.” “Well, I work in sales right now, but I have a degree in biochemistry.” “Well, I’m trained as a chiropractor, but now I’m a stay-at-home mom.” “Well, I taught for...

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Aug 20, 2012

Teach Like Jesus

I sometimes cringe when I hear Jesus called a great teacher. All too often, those words are used to label Jesus as “merely” a great teacher, and He is so much more. Nevertheless, He was a great teacher. Like Jesus, the best teachers lead by example. Think about the...

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Aug 18, 2012

Hollywood: Remaking the Remakes

Hollywood is now well into an age of remakes. Almost every big movie that comes out is based on a comic book, novel, video game, or prior movie. I used to think that this was because “they’re running out of ideas,” but as it continues, I have discovered reason...

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Aug 16, 2012

What We Get Away With

A pastor friend began serving a plateaued traditional church many years ago. He helped the church grow tremendously, and the church continues to thrive under his leadership today. In the process of leading the change, he had to get rid of the old church constitution and bylaws. He persuaded...

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Aug 09, 2012

The IQ’S of Environmentalism: Education in Life, Learning, and Love

How much do you think about the quality of your homeschooling?   If you are like many of the homeschoolers I know, you probably spend a great deal of time thinking about that. In one way, this is good; we are responsible for the education of our children and...

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The IQs of Environmentalism: Education in Life, Learning, and Love

How much do you think about the quality of your homeschooling?   If you are like many of the homeschoolers I know, you probably spend a great deal of time thinking about that. In one way, this is good; we are responsible for the education of our children and...

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Aug 08, 2012

The Olympics and Classical Education

This month we are witnessing some of the greatest athletes in the world compete in the London Olympic Games.  Begun in ancient Greece to honor the Olympian gods and closely associated with the cult worship of Zeus, the Olympic Games have been viewed as the culmination of mankind’s physical...

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Aug 06, 2012

Preparing to Teach Truth, Goodness, and Beauty

In our culture today, we are starved for beauty. It is hard to find it in our art, our architecture, our literature, our music, and sometimes even in our worship. And yet, our souls and the souls of our children hunger for it. As classical, Christian home educators, we...

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Aug 02, 2012

What We Can Learn from Olympic Gold Medalist, Dave Wottle

Generation X and the Millennial Generation, as a whole, have a reputation for being unsteady and erratic. If we can see past the pre-HD quality and crooked graphics, there is certainly a lot we can learn from 1972 Olympic 800-Meter Gold Medalist, Dave Wottle. Here is a link for...

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Aug 01, 2012

Preschool Philosophers?? The Art of Asking Good Questions

I sometimes think that preschoolers make the best philosophers. In order to study philosophy, you must possess three attributes: a ton of curiosity, openness to considering new or different answers, and a relentless ability to ask questions. Mortimer Adler writes about these tiny philosophers: Children ask magnificent questions. ‘Why...

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Jul 27, 2012

What Dads Can Learn from Death and Daughters (and Sons, too)

Death necessitates catharsis. Daughters know this (and so do sons). We would do well to observe them—and learn from them—from time to time. We can learn from others, after all, even the little children. It is no coincidence that Jesus pointed to the little children as examples of the...

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