Good News Club

The weekly after school Good News Club started up again on the first Tuesday of February. All through February till this last Tuesday, I taught the Bible lesson, helped with songs, did all the registration, coordination, and secretarial duties. I am relieved now that we have made it through the first set of lessons, to be able to pass on the teaching duties to another. So now my responsibilities include the coordination, registration/secretarial, and songs. It has been so awesome to watch God work in this club. We have been able to share the Gospel with 14 new students (ages 4-12) and 7 returning students (from before Christmas break), and 7 kids have prayed to accept Christ as their Savior! All in February! Not only has God been doing amazing things just with this Good News Club, but also other ministries of our church. 5 people have been accepted Christ as Savior as a result of our food pantry ministry, and 1 teen accepted Christ at the Valentine Fellowship. We have also had one baptized in our church, and two new members added in our small church of about 40 (on Sunday morning). Again, all since the beginning of the year! Not that this is something that we (the members of First Baptist Church) can personally boast of. It is not our doing but God's! So let me encourage everyone. You don't have to be great, you just have to be willing to be used of God. I truly believe that our time to share the Gospel of Christ is short. There are so many yet to be reached! What will YOU do? Are you willing to speak up though it may be inconvenient? Are you will to spend extra time in ministry for God? If you don't, WHO will? Don't wait for the right opportunity to come up to share your faith. Make the opportunity. A website that has greatly helped to equip Matt and I share God's good news is www.wayofthemaster.com and the ministry of Ray Comfort. CHECK IT OUT!!! A wise preacher once said something to the effect of the following (I will look for the exact quote): Do you desire to see others saved? If not, then you are not saved yourself. Be sure of that!

Book Review: 365 Bible Stories for Young Hearts

365 BIBLE STORIES FOR YOUNG HEARTS uses vocabulary that young children can understand without speaking down to them. The Stories are broken down into approximately one page per day. There are is a picture for almost every story/page. The pictures for the most part are realistic. This book is recommended for ages 5 and up, but I believe that it will effectively keep the attention of my almost-two-year-old, and definitely be appropriate for my three-year-old. Some of the things I liked about this book are that the story of the Fall of Man includes their punishment. The story of Cain and Abel explains that the reason for God's rejection of Cain's gift was his heart attitude. This book also includes passages from Leviticus about the rules the Israelites were to follow and their feasts that most books do not include. As I skimmed through this book (reading several of the passages, but not all), one thing I found that was not accurate was the picture of the empty tomb of Jesus that showed the grave clothes a mess like He was unwrapped instead of neat and untouched. Overall I was impressed with this book and am considering purchasing it to use with my children.

Book Review: The Jesus Storybook Bible

I have been searching for the"perfect" Bible storybook for my kids. My requirements are that it is Biblically accurate, pleasing pictures, and will keep the short attention span of my almost two year old.

The concept of THE JESUS STORYBOOK BIBLE is a good one. Pointing the child to Christ in every story throughout the Bible. However, I had a few problems with this book. I am of the opinion that children's books should be written for children, not down to children. Throughout this book I find the author writing down to children. For example, in the story of Creation instead of saying "God said 'let there be light'" the author writes "God said 'Hello light'" etc. Some of the stories, such as Noah's ark, and the temptation of Jesus, are quite abrieviated leaving out important details. Over all I would say the the lituracy of this book is, as Charlotte Mason would say, twaddle. The pictures are impressionistic and very colorful. This is not a book that I will purchase.

Benefits of Healthy Eating

We all know that we should be watchful of what we eat. Everywhere we go we are told to eat healthy from the news, to radio and TV ads, to the grocery store and packages of cereal or vegetables that say "Five a day the color way." But why should we eat healthy foods? Of course we all know its to be healthy. But most of us are healthy, or so we think. So why bother to change what isn't broke? Let's be more specific about just what eating better will do for us.

First of all there are benefits that you will notice rather quickly. They are
*weight control
*more energy
*greater mental alertness
*healthier skin, hair, and eyes and therefore a more youthful appearance
*more stable emotions,
*freedom from common digestive discomforts
*increased immunity
*injuries heal faster and better
*slower aging, and longer life.

And if that's not enough, eating healthy also helps you to avoid diet related diseases that many people develop after they turn 40 such as
*adult on-set, type 2, diabetes
*heart trouble
*high cholesterol
*osteoporosis
*some cancers
*and strokes.

So what does eating healthy mean? It's a diet that's low fat and high fiber: low in meat and dairy foods, low in refined carbohydrates, high in unrefined carbohydrates, and low sodium. I'll get into more specifics of a healthy diet as time goes on.

You wouldn't put diesel fuel in car intended to run on unleaded gasoline, so why feed your body the wrong food. Your body is much more important than a car! Instead, do yourself, and your family, a favor and give your body the fuel that it needs to operate the way that God intended it to.

Physical Health Websites

I have decided to combine my two blogs into this one. So here are a few sites that I recommend on Physical Health:

Nutrition
Wholesome Baby Food all you need to know about what to feed your baby
healthy food.


Fitness
PregnancywithoutPounds.com "Fast-track your way to looking fantastic, feeling full of energy and ensuring a healthy baby with the #1 Pregnancy Program…
Starting Today!" Michelle also has a program for postpartum to get you back to that prebaby state.
SixPackNow.com more than just developing six packs this site gives you what
you need to know to tone or build your muscles and lose weight by
giving you a personalized plan including what strenght training
exercises to do, what cardio exercises to do, and what to eat. A joint
membership for husband and wife is available as well as individual
memberships.


Chemical awareness
FourPointWellness important information about the physical harm that
common household chemicals cause.
The Green Guide from National Geographic has a buyer's guide to let you
know what products are safe.

Considering ideas different methods (questions from 100 Top Picks, chapter 2)

*How do you think learning should happen?
I would like to incorporate good literature instead of some textbooks, as well as hands on learning. Program/curriculum needs to be flexible to meet individual needs and desires.

*How do you want to teach or "run your school"?
1. Do you want to try to teach most of all of your children together, at least for some subjects?
Absolutely! To make the most of my time I would like to at least teach history, literature, science, and foreign languages together.
2. How much of the time do you want (or are you able ) to work directly with your children?
All morning most likely, with some time in the afternoon maybe.
3. How much of the time do you expect your children to work independently?
Currently, none to very, very little. Each year more and more so that by highschool the majority of their work may be independent.
4. Do you want to use real books (biographies, historical novels, books written about particular science topics, etc.) as part of your curriculum?
YES!
5. Do you want to include field trips? What type of field trips?
Yes! Visiting places that relate to what we are learning about and educational family vacations (such as learning USA geography by visiting all lower 48 states. Visiting historical and scientific locations).
6. Do you like to "make up" curriculum as you go, adapting to the needs and interests of your children, or do you prefer things well planned out in advance?
Some of each. A suggested guideline might be nice with flexibility to add and change what I wish.
7. Do you need a set schedule to get things done, or would you prefer more flexibility?
A fairly set schedule to provide consistency, but flexibility to deal with life's surprises.
8. Do you prefer a curriculum that is thoroughly laid out with lesson plans that tell you what to do when or do you prefer just an outline to follow?
A general outline would work well as I will probably change and adapt some as we go.
9. Any additional thoughts about how you want to operate?
I would like to "do school" year-round. I'd also like to take advantage of "outside" classes for some subjects and sports.

OK, so now how does this fit with the different educational methods? Well, Cathy Duffy, in her book, has a chart that helps you evaluate how your philosophy compares to the different methods. Here are my scores:
Traditional - 3 points =27%
Charlotte Mason - 11.5 points = 74%
Classical - 11 points = 75%
Unit Study - 12.5 point = 73%
Unschooling - 10 points = 59%
Independent Study - 5 points = 42%
Eclectic - 11 points = 61%
Umbrella Program - 4 points = 36%
(for explanations of methods please see Cathy Duffy's book, 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum.)

As you can see Charlotte Mason, Classical, and Unit Study basically tied for me. I like the literature based approach and narration of Charlotte Mason. Of the Classical method, I like the emphasis on critical thinking, communication skills, and the three stages of learning (the Trivium). And I would love to incorporate Unit Studies in teaching history, literature, and science for all three of our children.

Based on all this I have quite a list of curriculum that Cathy reviewed in her book, that I would like to explore further.

Visit www.cathyduffyreviews.com for curriculum reviews in addition to her book.

Educational goals for my children

I want my children to:
*have a strong sense of God's reality in all aspects of their education and to honor Him in all things.
*love to learn so they will become life-long self-educators.
*have an excellent knowledge of Scripture.
*have a strong Biblical worldview.
*develop excellent reading skills.
*develop excellent language and communication skills.
*develop excellent critical thinking skills.
*develop good people skills.
*develop good work and study habits.
*develop a heart to serve others.
*have a broad education that will prepare them for college and give them many possibilities for their future.
*have exposure to the arts.
*read widely from both classic and good books.
*be physically fit.
*be equipped to succeed in our modern world.