Articles

Here Come The Meatballs!!

A Homeschooling Lesson In Mnemonics
By Jennie Von Eggers (Times Tales)

“HERE COME THE MEATBALLS!!” my three year old shouted as we drove through our hometown street.

I thought that an odd statement to make completely out of the blue and asked him why he had said it. In typical three-year-old fashion, he was unable to tell me. Fortunately for me, his older brothers knew what his comment meant and why he had made it.

Apparently, about a week prior, we had been driving the same road as my two older boys discussed whose turn it was to choose the sandwich at Subway. The boy with that days choosing rights was informing the other that he would be ordering the meatball sandwich, like it or not. And, just to taunt the non-meatball liking brother even more, he said, “HERE COME THE MEATBALLS!”

Fast forward one week later. As we drove past the exact same spot where the original comment was made, my 3 year old remembered and repeated it. His mind was triggered to recall the meatball comment by a particular location, which happened to be an RV place alongside the road. Now, this comes from a kid who can’t remember the name of the town we live in!

As the co-author of a mnemonic based learning tool, I was particularly intrigued to realize that my 3 year old was using “mnemonics” without even knowing it. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term “mnemonics” it is just a fancy word for the process in which the brain is triggered to remember something by association.

This got me thinking, is all learning based on “mnemonics” at some level? And, if we incorporated more mnemonic-style teaching methods, wouldn’t our children have better retention of new information?

Following are two examples of different teaching methods, one that was successful and one that was not:

Our family was approaching a  cross-country move to the deep south. As any good homeschooling Mom worth her salt would, I saw this as a great opportunity to teach about the Civil War. We cracked open a history book, read, looked at pictures and discussed the main aspects of the war. A few days later when I quizzed them about what they had learned they seem to draw a complete blank.

I can now see why they didn’t retain the information. They had no association in their current “world” with the past world of the Civil War, to make it stick in their minds. As a result of my kids’ failure to learn, I decided to teach them about the Civil War again, this time using a whole new approach.

Involving my nieces, nephews and lots of household props we created our own play, acting out the timeline of the war. They loved it and you can bet they remembered it days later when I quizzed them.

The moral?  The next time your child seems stumped or just isn’t “getting” something the way you’d like, try and find an alternative way of teaching. Find a way that they can relate to and associate the information with what is relevant to their world. Find that “trigger.” Heck, my kids can’t look at a cotton ball without thinking about those poor cotton pickers years ago. Did I mention they had to pick cotton balls off the floor?

Jennie von Eggers is co-author of Times Tales and Memory Triggers. She is a homeschool mother of 4, wife to a chef and is co-owner of  www.TimesTales.com Copyright by Jennie von Eggers.  All rights reserved. Used by permission.

by Harvey & Laurie Bluedorn.

Copyright 2002. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Trivium consists of the first three formal subjects of the seven liberal arts: Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric. This is the formal Trivium in the classical sense. This formal Trivium is an academic reflection of the more basic Biblical Trivium, the mental capacities of Knowledge, Understanding, and Wisdom. (See the list of references at the end of this article.) The classical style of education is built upon these three mental or intellectual capacities:

The first, for receiving and gathering up information – Knowledge.
The second, for arranging and connecting the information in a logical order – Understanding. The third, for putting this gathered and ordered information into practical expression – Wisdom.

Children are continually developing in Knowledge, Understanding, and Wisdom. Though these three capacities are mutually dependent upon each other, and the capacities are developing in the child from before birth, nevertheless, children pass through several developmental stages, or levels of learning, where one capacity experiences rapid growth. We will describe these stages below. Keep in mind that our age divisions are not meant as nice neat little cubicles. They are only arbitrary approximations, and they may vary greatly from child to child.

The Knowledge Level (or Grammar Stage) Before Birth through Age Twelve The child is always learning facts, relating the facts to each other, and expressing these facts and relations in practical ways. But there is nevertheless a logical and developmental order among them. During the child’s early years, (up to age ten), children are largely learning the language, building their vocabulary, and filling up their basic understanding of the world. These children need more training than they need teaching. They should be trained in self-discipline and filled with useful information. This lays a proper foundation for more formal studies later.

While all three capacities are growing during this time, the capacity for Knowledge grows the most rapidly. We call this period of intense basic factual learning the Early Knowledge Level, because it lays the foundation for what follows, which is the more intensive period of building Knowledge. At about age nine or ten, these youngsters develop the capacity for more abstract thinking. They have reached such a state of maturity that the light bulb goes on and their capacity for Knowledge makes a growth surge into an intensive period when capacity and ability for formal academic study of Knowledge-related materials is most profitable.

They can handle abstract mathematical concepts. They can discern the difference between a noun and a verb. This may be called the Later Knowledge Level. Understanding (reasoning) skills are beginning to increase their rate of development at this level, so some might classify this as the beginning of the Understanding Level. But this is really just a warming-up period. Their Knowledge skills must become more highly developed before either their Understanding (reasoning) skills or their Wisdom (practical expression) skills can develop rapidly. While the child is in the Knowledge Level, we focus on teaching him the skills of comprehension – to accurately receive information – to gather the facts. Knowledge is imparted through telling, and demonstrating. It comes through the senses.

We develop a vocabulary of facts and rules. At this level, we do not need to separate subjects. We can combine 1) language with literature and fine arts 2) mathematics with natural sciences 3) history with geography and cultural studies. Our goal is to develop competence in the tools of inquiry: reading, listening, writing, observing, measuring.

The Understanding Level (or Logic Stage) Ages Thirteen through Fifteen

The intensive Knowledge period lasts about three years, and when it is over, Knowledge, of course, continues to grow and develop, but the capacity for Understanding – which has been developing all along – emerges as the frontrunner in this race. With a large foundation of Knowledge already laid, and the development of Understanding reaching a level of maturity, another light bulb goes on. The capacity for Understanding now makes a growth surge into an intensive period when the capacity and ability for formal academic study of Understanding-related materials is most profitable.

Youths, from ages thirteen through fifteen, begin to develop their reasoning skills. They can handle algebra and geometry. They should be developing the critical apparatus for thinking. They should be more inquisitive and analytical. Their minds should be trained to correctly reason things out – to logically evaluate presuppositions and conclusions.When the child is at this level, we teach him the skill of reasoning – to critically question, analyze, evaluate, and discern causes, motives, means, purposes, goals, and effects – to investigate the theory.

Understanding is imparted through coaching, correcting, drilling. We develop a vocabulary of relationships, order, and abstractions. Our teaching will become more sequential and systematic, separating the different branches of learning. Our goal is to develop competence in the tools of investigation: analyzing, comparing, contrasting.

The Wisdom Level (or Rhetoric Stage) Ages Sixteen through Eighteen

The intensive Understanding period lasts about three years, and when it is over, Understanding, of course, continues to grow and develop, but the capacity for Wisdom – which has been developing all along – emerges as the frontrunner in this race. When a large foundation of Knowledge and Understanding has been laid, and the developmental parts of Wisdom have reached a level of maturity, then a third light bulb goes on, and the capacity for Wisdom makes a growth surge into an intensive period when the capacity and ability for formal academic study of Wisdom-related materials is most profitable. Older youths, from ages sixteen through eighteen, begin to develop their skills in communication and application. They want to creatively and effectively express what things they have learned and to put these things into practice.

When the child is at this level, we teach him the skills of prudent judgment and effective expression – through communication and practical application. Wisdom is imparted through encouraging individual initiative and innovation, asking questions, and leading discussions. We develop a vocabulary of philosophical ideas and values. We begin to recombine the knowledge and the skills from separate disciplines. We seek the application of principles, values and goals.

The intensive Wisdom period lasts two or three years, and when it is over, Wisdom, of course, continues to grow and develop, but all three capacities – Knowledge, Understanding, and Wisdom – which have been developing all along, emerge as a fully developed team of tools.

The Final Finishing Level (or Stage) Age Nineteen and Up
During the next couple of years, as all of the mental capacities have been fully developed, the moral capacity of conscience – which has been developing all along, is brought to full measure. Young adults, ages nineteen and twenty, should bring these capacities into unison under the moral capacity for conscience. The capacity for accountability should be fully developed by the completion of the full Biblical age of twenty years (Numbers 14:29, etc.). Of course, all of the capacities will continue to grow, but the basic tools, which will be used throughout life, should all be developed by this time.

Applying the Trivium to Subjects

This same progression – Knowledge, Understanding, and Wisdom – applies to many other things. For example, each individual subject of study has three levels of development. First we learn the facts – that’s Knowledge. After we know a fair amount of facts, then we begin to discover the connection between the facts – that’s Understanding. After we know a fair amount of the connections between facts, then we create ways of expressing and applying the facts – that’s Wisdom.

Dysfunctions

If we fail to properly develop one capacity, or to eventually bring all capacities into balance, then we will create a learning dysfunction. Knowledge is the most basic of all. Without Knowledge of a subject, we cannot go on to build a proper Understanding or to develop Wisdom in the subject. Likewise, improper development of Understanding will hinder Wisdom, but it will also hinder the capacity to pursue Knowledge. Finally, an improper development of Wisdom will hinder the pursuit of Knowledge and Understanding. For example, if we fail to teach the basic phonics skills, we’ll artificially induce dyslexia – the inability to read well. If we fail to teach basic logic skills, we’ll artificially induce what we call dyslogia – the inability to reason well. If we fail to teach basic skills of expression and application, we’ll artificially induce what we call dyssophia – the inability to exercise good judgement.

Summary

In summary, the capacities for Knowledge, Understanding, and Wisdom are not neat little compartments with sealed doors between them. Rather, they all develop at the same time from the very beginning, yet they each pass through successive periods of intensive development, until they finally catch up with each other and work harmoniously together. These ages are only approximate, and your child may be on either side of the line.To summarize it all in one sentence: we first instruct the child in Knowledge; then we guide the youth in Understanding; then we challenge the older youth in Wisdom.

*Exodus 31:3; 35:31; 36:1; Deuteronomy 1:13,15; First Kings 7:14; Job 15:8-9; Proverbs 2:6; 3:19,20; 5:1,2; 8:12; 18:15; 23:23; 24:3,4; Daniel 1:4,17; 5:14; Ephesians 1:8,9,17,18; Colossians 1:9,10; 2:2,3; and many other places.

Harvey and Laurie Bluedorn homeschooled their 5 children from 1975-2002. They write books and curricula relating to classical education. Find out more at www.triviumpursuit.com.

by Barbara Frank

One of the many reasons I wanted to homeschool is that I didn’t want rebellious teenagers.

The homeschool magazine I read back then (before there were many homeschool magazines at all) was great for keeping me enthused and inspired about homeschooling before I was even doing it. The articles in it assured me that as long as my kids were homeschooled in a Christian home where God’s Word was taught, there would be no rebellion. In fact, more than one writer insisted that teen rebellion is not only un-biblical, but is also a product of our society, unique to our modern times.

I bought that argument completely. Besides, I was so busy keeping up with my growing family that I didn’t have time to consider the biblical stories of the Prodigal Son (rebellion) and the behavior of the Israelites in the desert (repeated rebellion). All I knew is that I didn’t want my kids to become the self-absorbed teens I’d seen in our extended family, our church and our neighborhood.

Fast-forward to 2004. I’m one of the veteran homeschoolers in my support group, where I meet homeschooling newbies who love their adorable little ones so much, who enjoy their innocence to such an extent, that they fear what will happen when their children hit their teens. One recently told me, “I can’t bear the thought that they will change into people I don’t like!”

This presents me with a dilemma. I can whitewash my response so the newbies can stay in their comfort zone, or I can be honest and risk a “shoot the messenger” situation. So if you, dear reader, want to stay in your comfort zone, I suggest you click over to another page of this site. You’re not going to like the rest of this article, because the truth is, even when you’re Christian, even when you homeschool and study the Bible together and pray together, and even when you do all those things and Dad works at home and is involved in your children’s lives on a daily basis, you will still have rebellious teenagers.

Maybe.

The thing is, it depends on the teen. I’ve seen homeschooled teens sail through those years as calmly as though nothing had changed. I’ve also seen kids from wonderful Christian families turn into scary-looking, sullen people. I’ve even seen both of these happen in my own home.

The word “seen” is important, though, when it comes to teens, because what you see may or may not be what you get. Inside the young lady with the ever-changing hair color and pierced eyebrow may beat the heart of someone who is passionate about the unborn and has a sincere concern for the underprivileged of this world. Conversely, inside the young lady wearing the flowered jumper and no makeup may beat the heart of someone who is just biding her time until she is old enough to jump ship and live life her way, no matter how unbiblical her way may be.

What’s a parent to do? It’s scary to think that the loving, sweet-natured six-year-old who lives in your house may turn into someone you don’t like eight or ten years from now. What will you do if that happens?

The answer is to love that child anyway. Love is a verb, you know. No matter what you feel inside when you see your formerly winsome child with a snarl, or funny-looking hair, or even a face covered with zits, you love them with your words and with your actions (which include discipline, but that’s another article in itself). You love them even when you don’t feel very loving towards them. It’s not easy. I don’t think it can even be done without lots of prayer. But it must be done.

Because the rebellion, the strange clothes and behavior, the gangly appearance–these things will pass. For some kids, rebellion is part of the process of separating from the family. We parents know we are here to work ourselves out of a job by raising kids who grow into independent adults. Some kids can make that transition smoothly, while others have to fight their way to independence. And even the kids who sail through their teen years often surprise you with a few rebellious issues when they reach young adulthood and are out of your reach. Still, as the saying goes, this too will pass. They come through on the other side as mature versions of the little people you once knew, but this time without the dependency on Mom and Dad.

So if you’re homeschooling because you don’t want rebellious teens, I’m sorry to tell you there are no guarantees. But if you’re homeschooling because you love your kids, then you&’re on the right track, because practice in loving your kids can only help. You may have to face a time where you discover that despite your best efforts, despite years of homeschooling and a loving Christian home environment, your child has turned into someone you don’t always like very much. But hang in there and keep loving that “someone” anyway, because the best is yet to come.

“He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6 (NIV).

Note: If you are struggling with a rebellious teen, I highly recommend the book Prodigals–And Those Who Love Them by Ruth Bell Graham.

Barbara Frank is the mother of four homeschooled-from-birth children ages 12-21, a freelance writer/editor, and the author of “Life Prep for Homeschooled Teenagers.” To visit her Web site, “The Imperfect Homeschooler,” go to www.cardamompublishers.com.

By Lorraine Curry
Mistake #1

BEING TOO EASY ON OUR BOYS

Dr. Raymond and Dorothy Moore suggest that boys are not ready for formal learning until they are between 8-12 or 14. I misinterpreted this and required very, very little from my boys when they were younger. It was a mistake! My girls were read to and “taught” more consistently from a younger age, and consequently have a higher degree of literacy and mental ability, although they are not that much older than the boys. (No, I do not believe it is merely a difference of the sexes!)

Boys as well as girls will thrive with much early reading aloud, silent reading and”writing” in the form of narrating, or telling stories that Mom captures on tape or writes down. My girls did not even need a spelling class! See more in my book, EasyHomeschooling Techniques.

Mistake #2

NOT KEEPING A CONSISTENT TIME SCHEDULE

Although schooling does not have to be difficult, we fail our children greatly if we do not teach that there are time demands in life and teach them habits and consistency.

Mistake #3

STARTING A BUSINESS BEFORE HAVING A CONSISTENT SCHEDULE

Too many times my business took priority. Schooling would have received its proper time slot, had a firm schedule been in place. I have a whole chapter on business in my book. More than “go for it,” I recommend waiting!

Mistake #4

ALLOWING “PLAY” AND UNRELATED “TALK” DURING
SCHOOL TIME

These activities waste much time. Sure, social time is good, but have it before (or after) you start your school time.

Mistake #5

NOT TEACHING MANNERS DILIGENTLY ENOUGH

Teach the strictest basic manners when your children are young! You can always ease up later. There are only a few that should be diligently trained. I love the Southern tradition of teaching children to say “Yes, Sir, Ma’am.” Table manners include chewing with mouth closed, not speaking while eating and waiting to eat until after prayer. Other manners are not interrupting someone who is speaking, and holding doors for the female members of the family. Some manners, such as standing when a woman comes in a room and tipping one’s hat as a greeting, seem to be obsolete,
but the basics will never be obsolete!

Mistake #6

NOT PRAYING ENOUGH

That explains itself! Let’s not take God for granted or limit Him! He is mighty and can do marvelous things in our homeschools to help overcome the struggles and discouragement we all seem to experience.

Mistake #7

FAILING TO REQUIRE A SPECIFIC NUMBER OF PAGES OF READING PER
WEEK.

We are doing this now and it is making a difference in our children’s ability to express themselves, well as in their knowledge store.

Mistake #8

NOT ENCOURAGING (ENABLING) EXTRA-CURRICULAR SUCH AS MUSIC OR
VOICE LESSONS, AS INTEREST AND APTITUDE ARE SHOWN.

We live “so far” from lessons and I “hate” to leave my home, so I did not make the sacrifices necessary for this. We have four fabulous voices and one or two that are even potentially opera “material.” I’m glad it’s “never
too late”!

Mistake #9

ALLOWING INCOMPLETE OR CARELESS WORK

It is such a temptation to do this! When the child thinks they are done with school for the day, and the mom is already doing something else, it is very difficult to make the child recopy or correct errors! But it is very important. This too is training. Good or bad, the choice is ours.

Mistake #10

ALLOWING DAILY USE OF SUGAR OR SUGAR PRODUCTS

There is such a difference in concentration when sugar is used! What is called ADD is probably no more than this! Minds really don’t work as well when diets are not their best. Concentrated nutritional products such as Barleylife can help!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

No, this is not “all” – I’ve made many more mistakes!
The bottom line is that you don’t have to be a perfect parent
to homeschool.

Lorraine Curry is the author of 5 Star Easy Homeschooling books. See more articles, FREE copywork, subscriptions, ebooks and more at http://www.easyhomeschooling.com .

By Barbara Frank

If someone offered you a million dollars in exchange for not homeschooling your children, would you take them up on it?

Recently I calculated that by staying home with my children and homeschooling them for the past 20 years, I lost between $500,000 and $1,000,000 in income.

When I left my full-time job in the early 1980’s to become a stay-at-home mom, I was making around $22,000 a year. A bit of Internet research has shown me that, had I spent the past 20 years working my way up the career ladder, I’d be making at least $40-60,000 annually now.

Do the math. Since I quit working full-time, I’ve missed out on earning well over $600,000. If I continue to pass up full-time employment in order to keep homeschooling my 11- and 13-year-old children (and God willing, that’s the plan), I stand to miss out on another $400-500,000.

Consider your own situation. Whether you’ve been homeschooling for a while, or just started recently, you’ll miss out on a substantial amount of earnings over the time you homeschool. Economists call this an “opportunity cost,” meaning what something costs you in lost opportunities. Each time you make a choice between two or more things, you incur some opportunity costs.

Lost income is probably the biggest opportunity cost of homeschooling, and my situation is not the most extreme. For example, if you have an advanced degree in law or medicine, homeschooling could cost you a six-figure amount in lost income each year. And even if you never went to college, you are likely missing out on $20-30,000 annually.

This brings us to the question: is it worth it? Does homeschooling reward your family enough to make up for the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars of income?

The answer depends on how much you value the intangible rewards of homeschooling. Looking back on the past 20 years, I think of all the memories my children and I made. There were games and projects, frustrations and solutions, fighting and forgiveness. We had so much time together, thanks to homeschooling. As my two older children have grown into adults, that time has dwindled, and has gone from daily life to occasions. How can I put a price on those years we had together?

True, had I remained employed all these years, we would be driving nicer vehicles, and maybe even living in a larger house on a bigger piece of property. We’d have new furniture. We would have taken expensive vacations so we could have some “quality time” with our children.

And what of our children?

They would have gone to school. Maybe they would have turned out to be as terrific as they are, but maybe not. Almost certainly we would not be as close emotionally, because we wouldn’t have had all the time together that homeschooling allowed us.

Some of them might not even be here now. Had I kept working full-time, it’s unlikely we would have had four children. The daycare expense would have been too high. Chances are we would have stopped after one or two. I don’t even want to imagine life without any of my children!

And what of the value of our homeschooling? In my area, one private school with an excellent reputation charges $12,000 annual tuition. When I first heard about that, I wondered who could afford that kind of money per child each year. But now I think, that’s not so high. My own children’s education is currently costing us $60,000 each year in lost income. That’s $30,000 per child, and it covers:

Personalized, one-on-one instruction and attention
A teacher who loves those kids more than any otherteacher would
Hand-picked books and resources
Student-led learning and exploration
No peer pressure or negative socialization
The opportunity to live and learn in the real world
Plenty of personal free time in which to grow and learn
Those are just some of the benefits for my children. There are also benefits for me, including:
Quantity time with my children, as well as quality time
The opportunity to really get to know each of my children before they grow up and leave home
No teacher conferences, PTA meetings or room-parent duties
Living by our own schedule instead of the local school’s schedule
In my heart, I can’t put a monetary value on the benefits of homeschooling; they are priceless. But any economist would tell me they are costing me $60,000 a year. My response would have to be that at that price, homeschooling is a bargain.

Barbara Frank is the mother of four homeschooled-from-birth children, a freelance writer/editor, and the author of “Life Prep for Homeschooled Teenagers”. To visit her Web site, “The Imperfect Homeschooler”, go to www.cardamompublishers.com.

by Phyllis Wheeler

In Star Trek, there’s the purely logical guy, Mr. Spock, and the purely emotional guy, who is just about any other character. Real life isn’t like that–we need to be able to function both ways, with our minds and with our emotions.

Unfortunately, learning logical thinking doesn’t just come naturally for most people. But it’s an important skill. Logic traps are everywhere.

Here’s what you can do about it: teach logic to your child. Why?

1. Your child will be able to understand cause and effect, and make better life choices. For instance, a child who understands logical consequences will be more able to counter the voices of “friends” who urge him to misuse his money and his time.

2. Your child will be a good problem-solver. Good problem-solving involves coming up with a list of options to consider. This will help later on in a range of situations, from how to deal with a plugged-up sink to what to do about a car that breaks down.

3. Your child will be better prepared to challenge advertising. He will be able to identify fallacies such as circular reasoning. For example, an advertiser might tell us, “Happy folks buy Toastie Puffs.” What he means is, “Buy Toastie Puffs, and you’ll be happy!” This is circular logic! Can your child recognize it?

4. Your child will be able to carefully consider persuasion from politicians and the media. What if a TV reporter interviews five people who say the US should allow illegal immigrants to stay? Then the reporter concludes that everyone in the state wants illegal immigrants to stay. What is the problem here? This is an error in generalizing from too small a sample group. The reporter needs opinions from a much wider sample group. Can your child see the error?

5. Your child will be able to evaluate what someone says by looking at who said it. For instance, if your dentist tells you how to take care of your teeth, you should follow his advice–he’s an expert. But if he tells you how to fix your car, you might not consider him an expert on that!

6. Your child will be able to understand how computers think. Computers think in nitty-gritty ways: if statement A is true, then do action B. Otherwise, do action C. Our brains tend to skip around in comparison. But learning to program a computer to follow a logical sequence helps the child learn to think logically, too. In the Information Age, this is a very useful skill to develop, now or later. The more your child knows about computers, the more he will be master of that device that is mastering our lives.

Kids and teens can learn logic through computer programming and create Web sites through computer curriculum from Computer Lady Phyllis Wheeler at MotherboardBooks.com