Dealing with the awkward pause in a Challenge-level class can be, dare we say it, challenging. As tutors and as parents, our goal is to draw out the answer from our students, but how? One of the crucial elements of a meaningful conversation, oddly enough, is silence. A lengthy...
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Preface: I am writing from the perspective of my passion for music. There are countless other passions and areas of interest where the following ideas could be applied. I am not writing as if everyone should approach music a certain way. I am writing that everyone should approach his...
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A Walk through Psalms: Reminders from God As our family prepares to begin the high school years and Challenge I this fall, I have been creating quite a few checklists and filling out reminders for myself. There is something about embarking upon high school that makes me break into...
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Okay, here it is. I’m just gonna say it. We’re late. Too often. And, I hate it. I hate being late. Typically, I think we’re gonna be on time until all of a sudden we’re not. We’re leaving five, seven, ten minutes later than I expected and, ugh, we’re late again....
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Math—one of the most reviled “four-letter words” ever invented. In fact, I am surprised it made it through the editors into this article. However, this common revulsion need not be a common occurrence. Mathematics should be neither reprehensible nor detestable to any human being and in the Challenge math...
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This past weekend, I had the privilege of attending the Circe Conference: A Contemplation on Harmony. It was an amazing experience filled with a variety of wonderful lectures and workshops on big ideas about harmony. The following thoughts are my attempt to synchronize some concepts from the conference with musical...
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Not everyone has the privilege of saying they are from “the friendliest city in America” or “the Holy City of America.” Charleston, South Carolina, is my hometown and where my family roots run deep. It is where I was born, enjoyed summers at the lakes and beaches, graduated from...
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Revisiting Some Archived Articles that Have Not Been Lost, but May Have Been Forgotten and Are Worth a Fresh Read Original Post Date: July 25, 2011 I am not the most tuned-in observer in the world. Often my wife will recall the colors and decorations of a room. There...
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My child was a Memory Master for Cycle 1 and Cycle 2. Cycle 3 was going to be a cinch…or so I thought. She was confident. She flew through...
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This morning I thought of young Classical Conversations families while on an endurance bike ride. As I mulled over what I would write this month, I was struck by some interesting similarities between this long distance ride and my twenty-one years of homeschooling. With three years to go before...
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Have you ever embarked on a task only to ask yourself, “What have I gotten myself into?” When my daughter, Sage, was very young, I decided to paint her room a beautiful sage green. I quickly headed down to the local home improvement store to grab a roller brush...
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It’s summer! Hip, hip, hooray! Break out the ice tea, the sunscreen, and the books. Every summer, as my kids are soaking up the sunshine, hours of free play, and extra time with friends, I focus on three things I can’t find time to do during the school year....
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