Technology in the Homeschool: Gettin’ Your Wiki On

               

                 I spend a good deal of time gleaning the internet for information and resources to enhance our home school.  In my first year of homeschooling, I would find a website that looked promising and I’d write it down on a piece of paper so I could come back to it later if I ever needed it.  Sometimes I’d bookmark it.  Or put  a sticky on my computer.  This system started to deteriorate rapidly as my bookmark bar became overloaded and I could never find that piece of paper with the link to the really cool animation of mitosis.  I needed a solution to help me organize the cool and useful stuff I was finding.  That’s when I learned about wikis. 

             

              If you’re like me the first thing that pops into your head when you hear “wiki” is “not a credible source for research papers.”  Actually, that’s Wikipedia, which is one of about a gazillion wikis out there.   According to Wikipedia (I know, I know), a wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWIG text editor…etc…  Whatever that is.  Don’t let the HTML talk scare you, it’s easier than it sounds. It’s just a great big organization tool to help you rein in the information dragon.   I attended a full day seminar teaching home schooling parents how to utilize a Wiki in the classroom and it has revolutionized the way we organize and manage the power of the internet for school. 

               The internet fosters collaboration and the sharing of knowledge.  As a result, incredible amounts (I think the technical term is “scads”) of information and data are added to the collective intelligence each day.  For those of us who are still trying to figure out how to play 10 simultaneous games of Words With Friends this can feel very overwhelming.  Suddenly, we not only have to tend to vast amount of laundry, lesson plans and healthful meals (and WWF) but we also have to somehow conquer and harness the internet and bring it under our dominion.  A place for everything and everything in its place.    This can be a fast and steep learning curve.   Sometimes it’s tempting to just pretend it’s not there.  Like that pile of papers we’ve been meaning to go through. 

               I remember when I was in high school one of my classmates at our private school showed up in the parking lot with a new car- that had a phone in it!  A no-kidding full-sized bat phone.  We were all amazed.  This was 1989 and we all thought it was ridiculously decadent and “out there”.  Who in the world talks on the phone while they are driving?  Who would they talk to anyway?  No one has phones in their car. You can always stop at a pay phone if you need to call someone.  Or just wait till you get home, for goodness sake!  Little did we know…20 years later we would be wondering what we did before we carried phones with us everywhere we went.  Technology makes it easy for people to stay connected  in ways we might not have thought possible.  Same with the Internet.  Technology is making it easy to get information.  The problem is what to do with it once you’ve got it.  That’s where it starts to feel daunting.  A wiki can help you organize information, media, resources, discussion threads, lists and collaborate with others.  It’s very versatile.

           Let me give you a more concrete example of one way you could use a wiki.  This year my son is taking Apologia Physics.  I have set up a page on the wiki called Apologia Physics 2011-2012.  Off of that page I have all of the book chapters listed and each one links to a separate page.  So for instance, I have “Chapter 4 Motion in Two Dimensions”.  On this page I have links to the lectures for Chapter 4 from an open source online Apologia Physics Class.  So there is a link for “Lecture 1- Navigation in two dimensions” and “Lecture 2- Range Equation”.  I’ve also linked to several Khan Academy lectures and physics sites in case he needs extra clarification.

            You can do this for any course.  Last year, I took the Apologia Exploring Creation with Physical Science curriculum and found links to videos and extra resources for many of the concepts in the chapters.   So for instance, one whole page was dedicated to Chapter 3 and on that page there were links to extra material for the kids to watch.  Yes, it took some time to search and gather information to put on the wiki but it helps to have it all in one place.  Plus, you can use the information year after year because it’s always right where you left it- on the wiki.

            I could walk you through all of the steps to setting up your wiki but someone has already beat me to it.  Thank goodness.  No sense in reinventing the wheel.  Here’s a tutorial called How to Build an Educational Wiki to get you started.  

            Not many things in life are free- but your wiki can be! Sign up for an account at WikiSpaces for Educators to get your free wiki.   Be sure you make it private unless you want to have it viewable and editable by everyone.

             One thing I will mention is to pay attention to whether you are linking to an internal page or an external page.  If you find a web page or video on You Tube you want to link to your wiki you should have it open in a separate external web page opened in a new window (click the box for new window) so it isn’t stored on your wiki.  Likewise, all private pages should be linked internally. 

              I am not terribly techie so if I can do it, you can probably do it even better.  If you are just getting started here’s how I suggest you organize your (very basic) wiki:

1. Click the Edit Navigation link and delete the blue Page List widget. Now you will be able to edit the navigation bar just like you would edit a wiki page to add links and explanatory text.

If you need assistance editing a page you can watch the very helpful Wikispaces video tours.  In fact, you should probably watch it right now before your proceed. All of the “Getting Started” video tutorials are great.  I’ve also had good success with their customer service when I needed to find out the answer to a question I couldn’t ascertain from the website. 

Now that the blue page list widget is gone, type in these words- one per line- and save.

Home

School Members

Classes

Resources

RSS Feeds

Now you should see these pages in a list in your navigation bar, which is probably on your right.

 

2. In your navigation bar, click on “Home”. This will take you to a page that says it does not exist yet.  Click on “Edit Page” and type an introduction of who you are and the purpose of the wiki.  For instance: “Welcome to the XYZ Home school Wiki!   Here’s where we post assignments, logs, links to websites and resources for our school. “ Save your page.

3. In your navigation bar, click on “School Members”. Click on Edit Page and type the names of your children and yourself.  One name per line.    

Highlight the first name in the list and click on “link” in the toolbar.  A box will open that has two tabs on it on the top.  One is for internal links to pages within your wiki- this is called “Wiki Link” and one to “External Links”. External links are for anything outside your wiki- like a You Tube video or a webpage address.   External links should always be opened in a new window.  Link these to internal pages with the same name as your highlighted text.

These personal pages can be used by each individual as a bulletin board where they can organize resources and fun stuff they find on the web. 

4. In your navigation bar, click on “Classes”.  Off of “Classes” make internal Wiki links to pages for each class you have and include information that will identify the specific student, subject and school year.     

For example: 8^th grade Art History- son#1- 2010-2011.

 Off of “Classes” make links to assignments, external videos, resources, finished work, etc.  (You could also put these class specific pages under each child’s section under “School Members”.)

5. In your navigation bar, make an internal link for “Resources”.  Off of this page make internal links to general subjects and topics.  For instance: Home school links, Co-op Resources, Stuff I want to read sometime, Curriculum, Inspiration, Technology,  Science, Literature, Math, Projects, Sports, Scouting, Music, Blog and Log, Administration, etc. Off of each of these you can create pages where you link to external websites, videos and  RSS Feeds.

5.  You may want to keep up with certain websites that have RSS feeds. In your navigation bar, make an internal link for “RSS feeds”.  Off of this page use the edit button and click on “Widget” to add a widget.  It will open a link where you can paste the RSS HTML  For the feeds you want to watch.

6.  If your family blogs or your have blogs you want to watch, you can make a page that keeps them all in one place.   I also link to internal logging charts I‘ve made using the “Table” button in the toolbar.  We use these to keep up with reading logs, volunteer service logs and physical fitness logs. (More on those later)

            You can use a wiki to collaborate on projects, reports, papers, or classes.  Just invite other people to join you and start working together.             

            I consider our Wiki to be “fair to middlin” as we say in the south. We use it almost daily and it serves us very well.   No doubt there is a ton more I could be doing with it and as soon as I fold this next basket of laundry I’m going to get right on it.  

            While I’m folding, I encourage you to poke around WikiSpaces for Education and give it a try. (You could also try Wet paint.) You’ll probably find ways to use a wiki that I haven’t even thought of.  If so, leave me a comment and do your civic duty of adding to the collective intelligence.  Let me know how you use your wiki in your home school!

Helping Your Kids Choose Close Friends Wisely

“The righteous choose their friends carefully but the way of the wicked leads them astray.”
Proverbs 12:26

”Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character.” 1 Corinthians 15:33

You can’t choose your children’s friends but you can help them choose close friends wisely.  One of the things that my husband and I agreed on early in our marriage was that we would parent deliberately.  We thought about all of the ways people prepare and plan for big tasks in their lives- weddings, SAT’s, medical boards, driver’s licenses- and yet how easy it is to slide into parenting without a game plan.  So, we spend a lot of time talking about how and why we are doing the things we are doing with our children.  Each phase of life requires re-evaluation and preparation.  Time is so short with them and we want to be good stewards of the responsibility He’s given us. 

Friends are one of those areas.  When kids are little it’s easy to arrange playgroups and be aware of the people they interact with, especially other children.  But as they get older, it becomes a little more difficult.  We see in Proverbs and

1st Corinthians that God has plenty to say to us about friends and how we choose them.  These are important concepts to pass on to our children.  First of all, we are told to choose our friends carefully because otherwise we may be led astray.  Next, we are warned against being deceived into thinking we can be around bad company and not be affected.  Teenagers can be especially vulnerable to both of these pitfalls.

This is where we’ve started implementing some strategies that you may want to consider as well.

1.     Pray for close Christian friends for your children.  God has been so faithful to our family in this regard.  My daughter has had three close friends move in the past two years but each one moved in just as the other was moving out.  He provided friendships in His perfect timing.    He listens and knows the desires of your heart. 

2.     Cultivate family relationships.  Friendships are very important and should be encouraged but we always have to keep in mind that our relationships with siblings and parents will last a lifetime.  Many parents in the name of “letting their children grow up” actually let them grow away from the family during the teenage years.  They buy into the myth that kids can only mature outside of their parents. I believe it’s just the opposite.  Now is the time to give them as much freedom as possible while providing as much support and guidance as possible.  

3.     Be the gatekeeper for your children’s heart. You’re the parent.  You can set ground rules about who is allowed to influence them.  This is especially important for older children who are forming worldviews.  Encourage your children to be kind and loving to all but to be very selective when it comes to forming close friendships.  You can help by observing your children’s friends and keeping an open dialog with them about what’s going on with their friendships.  Don’t be deceived into thinking that your child won’t be affected by humanistic worldviews if that’s what they hear all day from the people they are around.   We’ve had to make some difficult decisions to remove our children from certain situations where negative influences were creeping in and it has been one of the best things we’ve ever done for them.

4.     Get involved in their lives and the lives of the kids they like to be with.  Make your house the cool place to be.   The safe place for friends to hang out.  If you are cultivating family relationships your children will likely enjoy spending time with you and sharing your family life with others.   This can also be a great opportunity to be a model and show love to your children’s friends.

5.     Keep communication open so kids will feel free to come to you with questions and concerns. When kids know that you have their best interest in mind, that you will love them no matter what, and that you will speak the truth, they have freedom to view you as their best advisor.  When kids decide that their parents aren’t really that wise, available or interested, they begin to listen to their peers more and get led astray.

6.     Guide them toward places where they will likely encounter friends who will build them up and encourage them to follow Christ.  As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.   This seems like a no brainer but if your kids aren’t around other Christians it can be hard to grow.  They don’t have to do things exclusively with Christians but the people they spend the most time with are going to influence them the most.  Jesus modeled this for us.  He was very selective about the friends he brought into his inner circle but he was loving to all and spent time investing in friendships with all sorts of people.  He was in the world but not of it.    Christian schools, home school groups, church, para-church organizations and school clubs are good places to find friends for your children’s hearts. 

7.     Have frank discussions about friendships.  What is a friend? What are important qualities in a friend?  How can you be a friend to others?  What kinds of people do you think you should let into your inner circle of folks who influence you?  How can you be a friend to those who believe very differently from you without compromising your faith?  

8.     Import friends.  Find like-minded families and get together.   There are other families out there who are parenting deliberately.  You’re not the only one who is choosing to use these teenage years to grow closer to your children rather than farther apart.  Find these families and cultivate relationships.  Do whatever you need to do to make it easy for your children to develop friendships with children you believe to be good influences. 

Again, you can’t choose your children’s friends for them but you can shape their environment so they have the tools in their box they need to make wise decisions about close friends.   

“Don’t Fling me in Dat Brierpatch!”

            “Don’t fling me in dat brierpatch!” is one of our favorite family sayings.  If you are familiar with this phrase, from Uncle Remus, then consider yourself old.  You were around before the PC police censored everything that could remotely offend- like Huckleberry Finn.  I grew up in Georgia reading Joel Chandler Harris’ collections of trickster tales, animals stories and plantation folklore told in the Gullah dialect of the deep south.  The effect of my exposure to these tales was far from detrimental to me, in fact, just the opposite.  They gave me an appreciation of the life and times of slaves during the post-reconstructionist era in Atlanta.  Their wit and wisdom were qualities I admired, and as a girl, I honestly didn’t even realize that the stories were about slaves- they were just people to me.  People and a culture that I came to love.

 The stories are difficult to read because the dialogue is written phoenetically, so that the reader takes on the Gullah dialect.  Reading this way makes the stories seem that much more alive to me and as a girl they completely drew me in to the culture and times.   Fables are safe stories because they expose truth without pointing directly at the offender or the dupe. 

The story of “Don’t fling me in dat brier patch!” is one that makes me smile.   Brer Rabbit has just been bested by the tar baby and Brer Fox is laughing at him.  Brer Fox declares that he is finally going to barbeque Brer Rabbit and have him for lunch.   Employing a cunning use of reverse phychology, Brer Rabbit says, “burn me, drown me, skin me, just don’t fling me in dat brierpatch!”  of course, Brer Fox does just that and Brer Rabbit ends up right back where he was “born and bred”- the place he most wants to be- the brierpatch.

So you can see why this is a favorite family saying.  It has all kinds of uses.  We often invert it.  For instance:

Sister 1 “I’m going to go to Macy’s, want to come?”

Sister 2 “Throw me in dat Brier Patch!”

You’re already killing time reading this blog so you can take 10 minutes and read an Uncle Remus Story if you’ve never done so.  I got this one from this site: http://www.uncleremus.com/sharprabbit.html. But dat’s needer yer ner dar.

HOW MR. RABBIT WAS TOO SHARP FOR MR. FOX

“UNCLE REMUS,” said the little boy one evening, when he had found the old man with little or nothing to do, “did the fox kill and eat the rabbit when he caught him with the Tar-Baby?” “Law, honey, ain’t I tell you ’bout dat?” replied the old darkey, chuckling slyly. “I ’clar ter grashus I ought er tole you dat, but old man Nod wuz ridin’ on my eyeleds ’twel a leetle mo’n I’d a dis’member’d my own name, en den on to dat here come yo mammy hollerin’ atter you. “W’at I tell you w’en I fus’ begin? I tole you Brer Rabbit wuz a monstus soon creetur; leas’ways dat’s w’at I laid out fer ter tell you. Well, den, honey, don’t you go en make no udder calkalashuns, kaze in dem days Brer Rabbit en his fambly wuz at de head er de gang w’en enny racket wuz on han’, en dar dey stayed. ‘Fo’ you begins fer ter wipe yo’ eyes ’bout Brer Rabbit, you wait en see whar’bouts Brer Rabbit gwineter fetch up at. But dat’s needer yer ner dar. “W’en Brer Fox fine Brer Rabbit mixt up wid de Tar-Baby, he feel mighty good, en he roll on de groun’ en laff. Bimeby he up’n say, sezee: “‘Well, I speck I got you dis time, Brer Rabbit,’ sezee; ‘maybe I ain’t, but I speck I is. You been run-nin’ roun’ here sassin’ atter me a mighty long time, but I speck you done come ter de een’ er de row. You bin cuttin’ up yo’ capers en bouncin’ ’roun’ in dis neighberhood ontwel you come ter b’leeve yo’se’f de boss er de whole gang. En den youer allers some rs whar you got no bizuess,’ sez Brer Fox, sezee. ‘Who ax you fer ter come en strike up a ’quaintance wid dish yer Tar-Baby? En who stuck you up dar whar you iz? Nobody in de roun’ worril. You des tuck en jam yo’se’f on dat Tar-Baby widout waitin’ fer enny invite,’ sez Brer Fox, sezee, ‘en dar you is, en dar youll stay twel I fixes up a bresh-pile and fires her up, kaze rm gwineter bobby-cue you dis day, sho,’ sez Brer Fox, sezee. “Den Brer Rabbit talk mighty ’umble. “‘I don’t keer w’at you do wid me, Brer Fox,’ sezee, ‘so you don’t fling me in dat brier-patch. Roas’ me, Brer Fox’ sezee, ‘but don’t fling me in dat brierpatch,’ sezee. “‘Hit’s so much trouble fer ter kindle a fier,’ sez Brer Fox, sezee, ‘dat I speck I’ll hatter hang you,’ sezee. “‘Hang me des ez high as you please, Brer Fox,’ sez Brer Rabbit, sezee, ‘but do fer de Lord’s sake don’t fling me in dat brier-patch,’ sezee. “‘I ain’t got no string,’ sez Brer Fox, sezee, ‘en now I speck I’ll hatter drown you,’ sezee. “‘Drown me des ez deep ez you please, Brer Fox,’ sez Brer Rabbit, sezee, ‘but do don’t fling me in dat brier-patch,’ sezee. “‘Dey ain’t no water nigh,’ sez Brer Fox, sezee, ‘en now I speck I’ll hatter skin you,’ sezee. “‘Skin me, Brer Fox,’ sez Brer Rabbit, sezee, ‘snatch out my eyeballs, t’ar out my years by de roots, en cut off my legs,’ sezee, ‘but do please, Brer Fox, don’t ffing me in dat brier-patch,’ sezee. “Co’se Brer Fox wanter hurt Brer Rabbit bad ez he kin, so he cotch ’im by de behime legs en slung ’im right in de middle er de brier-patch. Dar wuz a considerbul flutter whar Brer Rabbit struck de bushes, en Brer Fox sorter hang ’roun’ fer ter see w’at wuz gwineter happen. Bimeby he hear somebody call ’im, en way up de hill he see Brer Rabbit settin’ crosslegged on a chinkapin log koamin’ de pitch outen his har wid a chip. Den Brer Fox know dat he bin swop off mighty bad. Brer Rabbit wuz bleedzed fer ter fling back some er his sass, en he holler out: “‘Bred en bawn in a brier-patch, Brer Fox—bred en bawn in a brier-patch!’ en wid dat he skip out des ez lively ez a cricket in de embers.”

Cozying up with Foxe’s Book of Martyrs

The Christian Martyrs' Last Prayer by Jean-Leon Gerome, 1883

            There are some books that make you want to curl up with a cup of tea and enjoy.  Foxe’s Book of Martyrs is not one of those books.  It makes you squirm.  John Foxe lived in the 1500’s and was a student of church history.  When Bloody Mary, Queen of Scotts came to power in England, she was determined to crush the Protestant church.  Foxe, a protesting Catholic, fled to Europe.  While in exile, he began to compile the stories of Christian martyrs starting with the first martyr, Stephen, and continuing to the years preceding John Wycliffe, the Morning Star of the Reformation.  Upon Mary’s death Foxe returned to England and continued cataloguing the brutal suffering and deaths of the saints under her rule.  This compilation has been revised and added to over the years and is now called “Foxe’s Book of Martyrs”.  Newer versions include martyrs up to the twenty first century.   Page after page recounts the stories of Christians burned, boiled, cut into pieces, flogged, kidnapped, beaten, tortured, starved, imprisoned, exiled, discriminated against, and shot.

            Why would one want to read such a book- or assign it to their 9^th grader?  (This was what my 9^th grader asked.)  Actually, he is an avid reader and although martyrdom is not his favorite genre he acquiesced.  Let me back up a bit here.  Our school is classical/eclectic, in that I employ lots of different teaching methods but overall I am following the classical model of education.  This model is known for three stages of education: grammar, logic and rhetoric.  A high value is placed on studying original sources as opposed to having textbooks synthesize information and present it to you with the bias of a team of writers. A lot of time is spent teaching how to think rather than what to think.   Now, I definitely use textbooks for some of our subjects but I  also see the importance of going back to these primary documents in order to get the whole picture.  So, this means that instead of telling the kids that there were lots of Christian martyrs and that a man named Foxe wrote a book about them, we will read it.

A martyr is one who “bears witness.”    The modern connotation suggests untimely death as the ultimate price borne by those who wear the title but Foxe also included the emperor Constantine, John Wycliff and Martin Luther although they died naturally. He considered their work and suffering on account of Christ to sufficiently bear witness to his saving power.   Foxe was writing as an eyewitness to many of the horrors he recounted during the turbulent times in which he lived.  

So, again, why read this book?  Well, because it reminds us that often the church thrives when it is persecuted.  And just as importantly, when the church is strong and growing, it often leads to persecution.  Early church leader, Turtullian, said it best, “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”  This seems counterintuitive.  How could Jesus’ followers be strengthened by their own suffering and destruction?  Because that’s how God said it would be. Christians are commanded to follow in the willing sufferings of Christ. “For even unto this were you called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judges righteously: Who his own self bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes you were healed” (I Peter 2:21-24).

Jesus sacrificial death was sufficient.  Christians do not have to add to the finished work of Christ. So what is the point of their sharing in His suffering and death on account of the gospel?  It is this.  The blood of the martyrs, sacrificed willingly and with joy, is the most powerful witness to the truth, love and power of Christ this side of heaven.

After reading 400 pages of the testimonies of a host of saints who followed Christ even unto death, it causes me to contemplate a couple of questions.  Am I prepared to stand firm for Christ to the end and joyfully embrace suffering, persecution and even death for the sake of the gospel?  Am I being faithful to pray for the persecuted church of today?  More importantly, if someone accused me of being a follower of Jesus, would there be enough evidence in my life to condemn me?

A Shot of Fall

            There is no complaining in Hawaii.  If you are blessed to live here, you have to overlook the few drawbacks.  One of those, for me, is that it is perpetually spring and summer.  Cry me a river, you say.  I know.  I know.  If I want fall I can get on a plane and go visit it somewhere else- that’s not PARADISE.   

           

            Usually around this time of year, mid September, my internal clock starts to become a bit unsettled.   With no crisp, cool weather and leaves starting to turn and fall, I feel a little out of sorts.  This usually doesn’t last long though because I have a pumpkin bread recipe that gives me just the shot of autumn I need.  You should give it a try.  If you’re feeling frisky you can grate your own fresh ginger and add chocolate chips.  You are the boss in your kitchen.

Drew’s “Shot of Fall” Pumpkin Bread

2 c. flour

1/2 c. butter or margarine, softened

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 (16 ounce) can of pumpkin

¼ c. apple sauce

1 t. baking soda

½ t. baking powder

½ t. salt

1 t. ground nutmeg

1 t. ground cloves

1 t. cinnamon

1 t. ground ginger- or grated fresh

Combine flour, baking powder, soda, salt and spices.  Set aside.  Beat margarine, butter and sugar till smooth.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each.  Add applesauce and pumpkin.  Beat mixture till light and fluffy.  Gradually add dry ingredients beating at a low speed until combined.  Spread into 2 lightly greased 9X5X3 inch loaf pans.  Bake at 325 for 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Cool in pan for 10 minutes and then remove to cool on a rack.  Enjoy fall. 

            

Technology in the Homeschool: Gettin’ your Tech On

            Technology moves so quickly it’s hard to keep up. Smart phones, Facebook, iPads, Twitter.  Sometimes it’s tempting to get overwhelmed, stick our heads in the sand and declare that we just aren’t going to get with it.  When my son, now 14, was 4 years old we were on the phone with Grammy and she mentioned something about the Grand Canyon to him.  “Do you know what the Grand Canyon is?” she asked him.  “No, but I know where I can find out- www.grandcanyon.com!”  This was in 2001.  I can’t imagine what the average four year old knows now.   The information age has completely leveled the educational playing field as far as knowledge acquisition goes.  If your 10 year old wants to, he can take open college classes from professors at Harvard, Stanford, Yale, MIT and countless others in just about any subject.   

            The Internet was made for lifelong, self-motivated learners, which is what many homeschoolers are.  It has shrunk the world down into a global classroom. Home schools can and should be utilizing technology as much or more than traditional schools. Things are only going to move ahead.  Technology will never regress.  You’re on the information superhighway and there are no exits.  There’s never been a better time to incorporate technology into your classroom. 

How can you do this?  I thought you’d never ask.  I just happen to have 10 ideas.

1.     Buy a keyboarding program or use the free BBC Dancemat Typing online and teach your kids to type correctly as early as possible.   Like in kindergarten.  Almost everything they do (written) for the rest of their lives will be digital.  Sure, they can hunt and peck like you do, and they’ll have to learn to text with two thumbs too, but teaching them to type with all ten fingers will be a great gift. 

2.     Elementary school age children should type, print and turn in compositions at least once every other week.   This gives them practice typing, formatting, using word processing programs and printing.  Middle and High School age children should type all compositions and research papers and should send an electronic copy to you via e-mail or upload it to a school wiki.  (I’ll write another post on school wikis).  You should give certain assignments that have time/date stamp deadlines.  This means that the assignment has to be uploaded to the wiki or in your e-mail inbox by 1200 on September 16^th or it’s late and has points taken off.  That’s real life.  It feels funny at first saying “Have you e-mailed me your paper?”  when they are sitting right next to you but it helps keep everyone on schedule.    They should also be cranking out Excel charts and Power Point presentations on a regular basis. 

3.     Assign video reports and other digital media reports.  There are tons of resources for teaching basic film production skills.  Heck, your kids can probably figure this one out all by themselves as well.  We use iMovie, Glogster and Animoto for education. If you’re comfortable, post them to You Tube or their blog. 

4.     Start a school blog.  Thursdays are "Blog and Log" at our house. (More about logging later.) We have a private blog site that is password protected because we’re not ready for them to have an internet presence right now.  They can share the password with friends and family but no one else sees it.  They blog about whatever they want to.  A few times, I’ve assigned topics, but life is exciting.  There’s always something to blog about.  This is the modern equivalent of a creative writing journal.  It doesn’t have to be perfect or profound.  Just write.

5.     Use online quizzing and flash card sites.  I like Quia and Quizlet.   You can make your own flashcards or find ones that others have already made, develop tests, games and quizzes. I recently found  Rosetta Stone Spanish vocabulary flashcards ready made so I didn'thave to reinvent the wheel.  

6.     Take online classes.  We’ve enjoyed Veritas Scholars Academy.  My son’s classmates are from Australia, Tajikistan, Philippines, Florida, Hawaii, Pennsylvania and a fabulous teacher in California.  The kids in these types of classes are all extremely bright, articulate and self motivated.  (You have to be to be taking a Literature class from 9:00 pm-10:30!)  Flat world. 

7.     Set up a school wiki.  We use the free wikispaces for education.  You can establish a private wiki where you can compile text, images, files, movies and more.  Wikis are easy to set up.  There are tutorials on the website. 

8.     Utilize online math tutorials and practice sites.  We really like IXL.  It is a subscription site and I assign extra practice problems that correspond with their regular curriculum.  The site is fun and assures mastery of the concept before they can go further.  They just added Algebra. 

9.     Use online videos and teaching tools like Khan Academy and You Tube (with caution) to reinforce concepts.  We have had hours of entertaining science fun watching vintage Julius Sumner Miller explain physics concepts.  Google him.  He’s a gem. 

10. Use Skype to interview someone.  Everyone has Skype- right?  Arrange an interview with an expert to learn about whatever you are studying right now.

Well, that should keep you busy until my next post.  Welcome to the 21^st century.  Get with it. 

Till Death Do Us Part

2 Timothy 4:3

“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine.  Instead, to suit their own desires they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” 

Marriage is difficult.  Even under the best of circumstances, there are challenges for every couple.  Add an illness like Alzheimer’s or cancer, or an accident that leaves one partner disabled, and the stress grows exponentially.  That’s why God requires us to enter into a covenant with our spouse.  When we say “I do”, we are promising that we will stay united with our spouse in sickness or health, for richer or poorer.  It comes off the lips so easily on our wedding day but what happens when we are faced with the realities of this promise?  Countless couples are doing just that. 

This week,(9/15/11) Pat Robertson said that Alzheimer’s is a "kind of death" that makes divorce justifiable.   On air, he counseled a man that it would be understandable to divorce his wife and marry another woman. The Alzheimers had altered the wife he knew.  She was nothing like the woman he had fallen in love with years ago.  She couldn’t remember him anymore.  

Robertson’s advice is completely contradictory to everything we read in scripture.  Marriage is a depiction of Christ’s sacrificial love for us, his church. (Ephesians 5:25-32)  He promises never to leave us or forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5)  He loves us unconditionally.  Even when we have no capacity to love Him back.  In fact, that is the way we came to Him- completely without merit.  Nothing to offer.   

            If God only loved us when we were perfect and loveable, who could stand?  His glory is made manifest in the fact that He loves us, not because of the righteous things we have done but because of His mercy.  (Titus 3:5)  God is love.  Love was demonstrated to us in the crucified form of Christ.  He sacrificed his very life for His Bride, who could give nothing in return.  Our marriages should be reflections of this profound mystery. 

            In Matthew 25, Jesus tells his disciples that when they demonstrated servant hearted, sacrificial love to the “least of these” they were doing it unto Him.  He also had a harsh rebuke and condemnation for those who chose to live for self.    We are created to bring Him glory but we don’t get to decide how He will demonstrate it in our lives. Trials are God’s way of making us mature and complete, lacking nothing. (James 1:2-4)  This is a mystery, but instead of looking for a way out of a trial  we should look to the Lord to walk us through the trial so that He can be glorified all the more.           

            Husbands are told to love their wives as Christ loved the church.   (Ephesians 5:25)   This analogy makes it clear that divorce because of sickness, irreconcilable differences, decreased capacity to demonstrate love, lack of usefulness, or falling “out of love”, is not an option for believers. 

Take THAT Sock Monster!

I have just spent what may be my smartest $50.00 in a long while.  At least it’s the most satisfying (after the dehydrator, of course.)  120 pairs of Sock Locks!  Four different colors for four different family members.  My troubles are over.  I have lost an inordinate amount of time sorting socks and trying to find homes for orphans….well, let’s see here.  Exactly how much time have I lost – in just 1 year of sock sorting?  Thankfully, I am a home school mother and so I have been brushing up on my math skills.   Let’s work this out.

8 loads of laundry per week X 52 weeks = 416 loads per year

416 loads x 20 minutes sorting socks and getting frustrated = 8320 minutes

8320 hours / 60 minutes per hour = 139 hours

139 hours / 24 hours per day = 5.75 days! 

            Folks, that’s too much time.  I’m not doing it anymore.  I draw the line today.   This evening I Googled “sock sorter” hoping that someone still manufactures those little plastic sock rings.  Hallelujah!  Yes, you can buy them in bulk.  There is a truckload winging its way to my door as we speak.

            It is a common fact that there is a sock monster that lives in every home.  Especially when there are teenage boys afoot. It is a veritable sock sucking vortex from some unseen netherworld.  I constantly buy 12 packs of socks for my son and he’s constantly telling me he doesn’t have any.  I have no idea what happens to them.  I’ve tried every kind of organization thing (except sock locks).  We’ve bought special ones with black toes just for him.  I’ve punished all socks- matched or unmatched by throwing them all out and starting over again.  Hmmm, this might have contributed to the problem...I’ve even threatened to ban socks altogether- for goodness sake we live in Hawaii!  No one needs socks here.  All to no avail.  I keep ending up with a half a basket of mismatched socks and hardly any happy pairs.  So, I am hanging my hopes on you, sock locks.  Please don’t let me down. 

Never Forget

“The LORD foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. 
 But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.” Psalm 36:10-11

  Beside this verse in my Bible I have written- “Sept 15, 2011 read aloud at church after WTC, Pentagon, PA tragedy.”

  We were living at Camp Pendleton in southern California where my husband was stationed.  Our children were little- preschool age.  My brother-in-law, also a Marine, called me and told me to turn on the TV.  I knew instinctively that our lives would change from that day forward.  I knew we would go to war.

Ten years and, for our family, 4 deployments later, we are still a country at war.   My children, and countless others, have never known any other life. I have been so thankful, however, that we are a military family at this time in history.  Never before has the military family been so supported and provided for.  There are countless programs for children and families to help ease the pain of deployment and handle the challenges of reunions.  We have been blessed by overwhelming love and appreciation from friends, family, and church and sometimes even strangers.  The American people seem to understand the profound sacrifice that is being made by such a small percentage of our population, and I am grateful.  So, as difficult as it is to look at footage and be reminded of the horrific events of September 11, 2001, we must.  We cannot forget. We cannot become comfortable.  We have an obligation to remember and continue to support those who willingly put their lives on the line, and families on hold for the good of the country- whether they are in the military, law enforcement, firefighting or dispatchers. 

I recently read an article in Time magazine, sent to me by dear friends of ours.  It is called the New Greatest Generation and it details the resilience of military members who have returned home to lead and serve in their communities.  It is an encouragement to me.  God allows good things to come from bad circumstances.  As Joseph said to his brothers, who had sold him into slavery years before, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Genesis 50:20. 

We mourn the lives lost on September 11^th but we are not without hope.  We also rejoice knowing that for many people, that event became the guidepost marking a time in their life when they either encountered God for the first time or renewed their faith in Jesus.  Tragedy points us to our frailty and to God’s saving power. 

Dehydrated and Loving It

          My husband and I did lots of fun stuff during our 5 year honeymoon before kids.  We cooked together and entered county fairs.  M. won first place in Monterey County for his vanilla ice cream and I  picked up an award or two at the San Diego fair.  I was reminiscing about those fun years and remembered that we made beef jerky quite often.  As I rummaged around in my recipe box I found several more recipes we need to try again- Pulled Mints and Fortune Cookies- but no jerky recipe.  Fortuntely, I have Alton Brown on speed dial (he's from Alpharetta, you know.)

           I found a recipe of his online (I was kidding about speed dial.) and HG and I went to work.  It always cracks me up when I read a recipe online and in the comments section people say stuff like, " I don't eat meat so I just substituted celery for this recipe and I don't understand why it turned out horrible."  or "I followed the recipe exactly but I added the following 5 ingredients and left out these 3.  Tastes great."  Well, that's exactly what I did to Alton's recipe.  I am the boss in my kitchen.

           I like Alton, but he has some kooky ideas sometimes- funny hair too.  His recipe called for using air filters and a box fan to dry the meat.  Extra points to him for being inventive, but it's not happening here.  We made the first batch using very lean top sirloin and dried it at 150 degrees in the oven overnight.  Now, we live in Hawaii.  Meat is expensive but electricity is like solid gold. I haven't received this month's bill yet but  I hate to see how much that batch is going to cost me.  So- like any girl who wants to save money, I decided to buy an $80.00 dehydrator.  It was on sale for $60.00 and I got free shipping with Amazon, so I've already saved $20.00! (400+ people liked this one enough to leave positive comments on it.)
        
           HG is an accomplished sous chef and she recommended making a batch and adding teriyaki.  We split the batch and made half regular Alton and half teriyaki.   Sure enough, the teriyaki was hands down the favorite.  This jerky is even better than the honeymoon years recipe!  (If you're going to try it we made a full recipe of Alton's and then used one part Alton's and one part Teriyaki sauce.)

             Did you know that you can make beef jerky out of ground beef?  I didn't until this week.  You add a ton of salt and spices and then use a cookie press to extrude the meat.  It looks wretched but actually tastes very good.  Not as good as Half Alton/Half Teriyaki though.  It was an interesting process so I thought I'd take some pictures to show you how easy it is.  Ours dried in about 6 hours.  We dehydrated apples and applesauce (fruit leather) but we ate it before I could take after pictures.
  
           I feel like Lewis and Clark over here.  Give me a week and I think I could dry enough food to last us the winter.  One of my little fears about homeschooling was that I might become one of "those" counter cultural homeschooler people who like to grind their own wheat, drink unpasturized milk and stuff.  I don't think making jerky counts so I'm doing okay there.  (And hugs to my homeschooling friends who do all of the above!)

        

The Amazing Collection: The Pentateuch

             Beginnings are important.  Knowing the history of something gives us a much deeper understanding of it.  The same is true of the Bible.  We often read the same books of the Bible over and over again because they are familiar and comforting but sometimes we miss out on the bigger picture and nuances in those books because we aren’t familiar with how it all began.  That’s why it is important to study the historical books of the Old Testament, the Pentateuch.  They tell us where we came from and where we are going.  All the way back in the first chapters of Genesis we start to see answers to life’s questions: How was the earth created? Who were the first people?  How did we get into such a terrible state of sin?  What is God’s plan for the world?  What is God’s plan for me?  God’s redemptive plan for mankind is laid out in the beginning and we can follow it all the way from Genesis to Revelation.

The Bible is an amazing collection of 66 books written over 2,000 years.   The first five books of the Old Testament form a complete literary unit called the Pentateuch, meaning, “five scrolls”. The Pentateuch is foundational to all the rest of scripture.   It is also called The Books of the Law , The Books of Moses and The Torah.   Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy are sequential.  Each book picks up where the last one left off.   For many years, the Pentateuch was Israel’s only scripture.  Israelites were to meditate upon it (Joshua 1:8), teach it to their children (Deuteronomy 6:4-6 and read it publicly (Nehemiah 8:1).  It is eluded to thousands of times in the Old and New Testament. 

  God promised Abraham that his family would become a great nation, his descendants would be given land and that his descendant would bless all the families of the earth (Genesis 12:1-3).  In the New Testament, Jesus is revealed as the long awaited descendant- the Messiah.  In the Pentateuch, we see pictures of Jesus. In Genesis, the book of beginnings, we see that Jesus is the Seed of Eve and the Ram at Abraham’s altar.  In Exodus, the book of deliverance, we see that Jesus is our Passover Lamb.  In Leviticus, the book of holiness, He is Our High Priest.  Numbers is the book of unbelief, and we see Jesus as the Cloud by day and Pillar of Fire by night.  In Deuteronomy, the book of obedience, Jesus is the City of our Refuge. 

              Would you like to have a better understanding of the Bible?  A great way to start would be to join us as we study the five foundational books of the Pentateuch.  You haven't missed much- we've only had one meeting so far.  Come join us at 7 pm on Wednesday evenings at First Presbyterian Church of Honolulu. The study lasts for five weeks (till Oct 12). Childcare is available. 

A Blogophyte Gets Her Wings

I've heard that every time a bell rings, a blogger gets her wings- or something like that.  Actually, there are over 152 Million blogs on the Internet. As of 2010, there were two blogs created each second.  So, I'm sharing my debut second with someone else.  Frankly, I've wondered what I could possibly blog about that would add to a hill of beans.  Some days, it's not much.   I've struggled for a while about the purpose of blogging- is it purely narcissism, another tiny voice among millions saying "look at me!" or is it a legitimate platform that can be productive and add to life?

 There are both kinds out there.   I've come to the conclusion that yes, blogging can be a bit self serving but it also has a very positive place in today's society.  We are all created for community.   I get a lot of enjoyment from social media like Facebook because I get a lot of enjoyment from other people.   It's always a bit intriguing to me when I hear someone say that they aren't interested in the details of other people's lives.  After all, that's the way you become and remain friends.  I've been able to maintain relationships with dear friends in a way that wasn't possible before- and strengthen relationships with people I am around all of the time. Those connections are powerful.
To me, it's a great blessing.  I've also found that I get a lot of enjoyment out of reading about some of the more pedestrian topics people write about on blogs.  To me, that's real life.  It's not all epiphany.  There's a lot of simplicity and even monotony.  The joy, though is seeing God at work in the mundane.  

So, welcome to my blog. Why is it called Sparkle Girls?  I'll explain that in another blog.  (Got to conserve topics, you know.)   I'm hopeful that my mother will read it and possibly my husband.  I'm planning to write about things that interest me- especially homeschooling, military life, life in the Spirit, Hawaii and of course, Sparkle Girls.