“Rhetoric is the use of knowledge and understanding to perceive wisdom, pursue virtue and proclaim truth” (Leigh Bortins, The Conversation, 38). If I had to sum up my favorite memories of the elementary homeschooling years, it would be “hot cocoa and buttered popcorn days.” Those were the afternoons where we would sit...
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Why should homeschoolers care about the philosophy of science? Consider the following questions: What is science? What initiates developments in scientific understandings? Is science the best way to understand our world? Are science and faith compatible? Should we base governmental policy on science? These are some of the questions...
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I have run into many people who are not interested in theology because they say it has no practical value. It is all a bunch of theory, but with no practical application. Theology, however, is one of the most practical subjects around, usable in nearly every situation, and it...
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Perhaps you are familiar with the book Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham. Carry On, Mr. Bowditch is the story of an early American merchant who spends quite a bit of his time at sea. As Mr. Bowditch sails around the world selling his wares, he teaches himself various languages....
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“Did God really say?” And so began the first debate. Satan, the original sophist, uses his crafty rhetoric for his own pleasure and benefit. His exordium, a simple question, sets the tragic events into motion. Eve’s response is most intriguing: “God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the...
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What’s In Your Classroom? The Three Essential Ingredients for a High School at Home “Homeschooling is a team sport. Our goal is not to launch our children as individuals, but to unify a family that can face the challenges and rewards of life as a team” (Leigh Bortins, The Conversation,...
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Modern culture often paints the picture that science did not begin to flourish until it was freed from the chains of religion and philosophy. Among academia today, the dominant view is that “religion” is opposed to “science,” and that scientific advances exist because great scientists of the past were...
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All the books of Scripture, both Old Testament and New, are inspired by God and useful for instruction, as the apostle says; but to those who really study it the Psalter yields especial treasure. Within it are represented and portrayed in all their great variety the movements of the human...
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A long time ago, on a peninsula far, far away, a handful of men began asking questions. These question-askers—these lovers of wisdom—realized that the simplest questions about common, everyday things and experiences could open doors to questions about all of reality. They began asking questions of their neighbors; neighbors...
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My mother has a beautiful mezzo soprano voice. When I was a child, she participated in many community choirs, and, due to my father’s deployments with the Navy, she frequently had her three little girls in tow. Because of this, I grew up learning the parts to Handel’s “Hallelujah...
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Students in the grammar stage typically enjoy repetition and memorization. Often, they especially enjoy the repetition and memorization of books or movies that, while not particularly noteworthy, are significant to them. Right now, my daughters are listening to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat soundtrack over and over...
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“We didn’t set out with a list of reasons we would homeschool in high school; rather, we pursued a life we loved” (Leigh Bortins, The Conversation, 6). Recently, I was listening to a sermon by Pastor Francis Chan. He made a statement that stuck with me even though I did...
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