What I love most about checklists is the moment when I mark the last item complete. There are few things as satisfying as the sight of that ink-blackened paper, demonstrating to the world that I have met all expectations for the day. I am convinced that checklists make me...
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The Little Red Hen understood the real world. She asked for help as she planted, nurtured, harvested, milled, and baked. No one cared about helping with the work. Everyone wanted to enjoy the freshly baked bread. She rightly allowed only those who worked for the bread to enjoy it....
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Think about the word “essence.” What does it evoke? To me, it calls to mind the idea of spirit. That is, when I consider the essence of something, I think of its central nature—the permanent characteristics of a thing, its fundamental and principal foundations and the elements that make...
Read the Full Article“. . . if I were asked what, of all the things I was ever taught, has been of the greatest practical use to me, I should have to answer: the Latin Grammar. An early grounding in the Latin Grammar has these advantages: 1. It is the quickest and...
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“Men’s natures are alike; it is their habits that carry them far apart.” Confucius (551–479 BC) Habits are not set in an instant. Instead they take weeks, months, or years to form. Taking the time to develop excellent habits of the mind blesses the thinker both personally and publically....
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One of the ideas behind Challenge B is introducing students to the relationship between science and faith, represented by the books The Soul of Science and Defeating Darwinism by Opening Minds. Unfortunately, Phillip Johnson’s Defeating Darwinism is often misunderstood by both his supporters and his critics. Therefore, I want to take this opportunity to...
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Why take Latin for multiple years of Challenge? The answer is not just that it looks good on a college application. Although that is certainly one very real benefit, the principles of learning Latin are much more important. Why Authentic Latin Matters I few years ago, I heard people...
Read the Full ArticleWho does not love the wheel of catechesis first simply signified by Leigh Bortins in her diagrams fringed by circling arrows? The diagram, celebrating knowledge, understanding, and wisdom for the goal to know God and to make Him known, may morph to a more sophisticated design, but the doxology...
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“Mom, when am I ever going to get out of the grammar stage?” my eleven-year-old son asked me while reciting memory work. He wanted me to say, “When you turn twelve, you won’t have to do any more memory work,” but that is not entirely true. Although we say...
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As high school students transition to independent learners and earnestly prepare for adulthood, they must learn self-discipline in addition to a greater volume of information. Their interaction with peers is more direct and ongoing than in their previous school experience as they gather together to research for debate and...
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It started with a dirt hill. The large, unassuming pile of fill dirt occupied the back corner of our church property. To us adults it represented the unfinished nature of our construction efforts. To our children, it represented adventure, strategy, and conquest. Every Sunday after our worship service the...
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At the end of each school year, our community holds a geography fair based upon the current cycle’s Foundations memory work. This event has given students and parents an opportunity to showcase the geography memory work in a unique and creative way at our End-of-Year Performance and Awards Ceremony....
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