Homeschooling

Fullness of Time

November 29, 2019 By Annette1 12 Comments

This week’s Five Minute Friday word prompt is Full. Have you ever considered joining us with grabbing 5-10 minutes to write a post on a one word prompt? I find it very fun, perhaps you might too. Come along with won’t you. Let us discuss the word full in this poem on the Fullness of time.

Fullness of Time

In the fullness of time
It shall come.
So the prophets foretold.

And I will put enmity
    between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
    and you will strike his heel.
So it was foretold.
A time would come those enemies meeting.

Judah will hold the royal scepter,
And his descendants will always rule.
Nations will bring him tribute
And bow in obedience before him.
So it was foretold.
A time when David’s lad will reign.

“Bethlehem Ephrathah,
you are one of the smallest towns in Judah,
but out of you I will bring a ruler for Israel,
whose family line goes back to ancient times.”
So it was foretold.
The lowliest will eventually rule.

But the LORD will still give you proof.
A virgin is pregnant;
she will have a son and will name him Immanuel.
So it was foretold.
Miss Mary a child will bear.

A child is born to us!
A son is given to us!
And he will be our ruler.
He will be called, “Wonderful Counselor,”
“Mighty God,” “Eternal Father,”
“Prince of Peace.”
So it was foretold.
God made flesh dwelling among.

And so it was.
When the world was ready.
Easy road access everywhere.
People gathered.
A census called.
A town of Bethleham chosen.

It was all foretold.
That when all was ready.
In the fullness of time.
A saviour would be born.

Philosopher William James

November 25, 2019 By Annette1 2 Comments

“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.”. These words sum up the ideas of philosopher William James. Isn’t that an interesting statement? If you thought this way, how would it change your life?

Historical Facts about William James

New York born on January 11, 1842, this American philosopher became known as “Father of American psychology”. James had an unhurried education, and indeed it took him a while to figure out what he wanted to do. He started out with art, worked through chemisty, anatomy, etc. He worked for a while as an assistant to a naturalist until he got fed up with that and returned to medical school. Studies happened in Germany as well. Even though he was never really trained in psychology, he was the first educator to teach on the subject.

What William James believed

James was a pragmatist. A pragmatic psychology “is a philosophical movement that includes those who claim that an ideology or proposition is true if it works satisfactorily, that the meaning of a proposition is to be found in the practical consequences of accepting it, and that unpractical ideas are to be rejected.” (source)

James formed his philosophy around the idea that if it makes sense, do it.

For instance: If you are lost in a forest looking for a path. If the path looks like it goes nowhere, so you act upon that, giving up and doing nothing you have made your thought a reality. But if you are lost in the same forest and see a path that appears to end in your salvation (food, shelter) and therefore follow it and are saved. Again, you have made your thoughts a reality. Therefore we should act as if what we do makes a difference. Because what we do DOES matter.

More on James’ philosophy

The basic assumption of a pragmatist is that we learn mostly by doing. Our knowledge is only worth something to us if it is is useful. It needs to explain something, or help us do something. Once knowledge is redundant, proven incorrect, or otherwise doesn’t serve us it is forgotten.

“For James, the truth of an idea depends on how useful it is; that is to say, whether or not it does what is required of it”. Knowledge, therefore is true, if it doesn’t contradict other known truths, and works for our purposes. ….

James said “The truth of an idea is not a stagnant property inherent in it. Turth happens to an idea. It becomes true, is made true by events. Its verity is in fact an event, a process.” (source)

.When we put an idea into action, we prove it true. It only has the POTENTIAL to be true until we act upon it. That action can be by physically using it, or by using other knowledge that we know to be true as it’s point of verification. These ideas are different than facts. Facts merely exist. Our ideas about those facts can be true or not true. Ergo, back to the forest idea.

If you are in forest the fact is that the path goes somewhere, but if you believe that somewhere won’t be of aid to you, you won’t take it. And since you won’t take it, your idea about that fact makes it true. This is a simplistic explanation. Ideas that are outlandish aren’t true just because we act upon them.

Ideas need support to be true. Each idea needs to

be useful
withstand criticism
justify itself
have other evidence to weigh in it’s favour

How Does God factor in?

James wasn’t convinced that God was real, but he believed that for the person who believes in God, that belief is vital to them. He did think there was more the world than what we see, but couldn’t really be pinned down as to what that was. (check this source)

It allows a believer to lead a more fulfilling life, overcome a fear of death, be healed from illness etc. So whether or not God is real becomes inconsequential as the idea becomes truth to the person who believes. In the end it’s the experience that matters.

Reactions

Wow. I am positive there is much about how James puts his philosophy together that I don’t quite understand. To have a life built around experiences seems so radical to my mind. I was raised to think and use knowledge as a basis before the immediacy of experiences. To not put experience before thought (even though sometimes in the immediate I go with the experience. For instance, when I grab a chocolate bar as a quick fix instead of thinking my way through what I truly need, more sleep or perhaps a walk. But to have a framework of ‘act like what you do matters’ (which in and of itself is a interesting challenge), but to have experience being the trump card in life. Hmm… I don’t know. It sits wrong. What do you think of philosopher William James?

What if we did though. Live our lives, as believers, like what we do matters. Not in the pragmatic sense of James, but in a God-focused way.

For instance, it matters if we praise God for the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the house we live in, and so forth. It MATTERS that we thank him. Can we live our lives showing this difference? It makes a difference how we live our lives as believers. We need to show that attending church services, going to bible studies, and volunteering is different than being a sports fan, or a weekend shopper. We need to act like having God in our lives makes a difference. Is there room on our lives as believers to have this type of pragmatic approach?

Asking the question, what do you think?

November 24, 2019 By Annette1 Leave a Comment

Saviour thy dying love, a quiet song of worship. A person seeing what Christ did for him/her and wanting to give something back to the Lord. This worshiping person works through what they can give, to the Lord who died, and now sustains their feeble faith. A great song to offer to the Lord.

Lyrics

Savior, Thy dying love
Thou gavest me.
Nor should I aught withhold,
Dear Lord, from Thee.
In love my soul would bow,
My heart fulfill its vow,
Some offering bring Thee now,
Something for Thee.

O’er the blest mercy seat,
Pleading for me,
My feeble faith looks up,
Jesus, to Thee.
Help me the cross to bear,
Thy wondrous love declare,
Some song to raise, or prayer,
Something for Thee.

Give me a faithful heart,
Likeness to Thee.
That each departing day
Menceforth may see
Some work of love begun,
Some deed of kindness done,
Some wanderer sought and won,
Something for Thee.

All that I am and have,
Thy gifts so free,
In joy, in grief, through life,
O Lord, for Thee!
And when Thy face I see,
My ransomed soul shall be
Through all eternity,
Something for Thee.

Sylvanus Phelps penned this lovely hymn in 1862. It was originally entitled “Something, my God, for Thee.” He lived 1816-1895. A Connecticut boy he was educated at Brown University in Rhode Island. He pastored at First Baptist in New Haven, Rhode Island.

We know of four hymns that he wrote. Hemarried and had a son who went on to become a preacher, author and professor.

Comments

I love the words of this hymn, a lovely song of worship, recognizing what Christ gave to us, and what we in turn give to him.

These words strike me everytime I sing this song.

My feeble faith looks up,
Jesus, to Thee.
Help me the cross to bear,

This is me. My feeble faith needs the Lord. Without him my faith struggles to survive. But Christ sustains, and the end result of that, is want to find a way to live my life for him. Don’t you find the same?

Invested in Health

November 18, 2019 By Annette1 6 Comments

My grade nine boy has been logging all his fitness efforts this year, working on his grade nine phys ed credit. Part of that credit will include a health component. Means that I am sussing out a health credit for him. Tonight when he came home from Army Cadets he mentioned that he reached bronze level in the fitness component. He wants very much to do better at this so he’s rather invested in health. My goal is to find a curriculum that will work well for him, giving him the information he needs as he moves forward into maintaining good health and fitness.

Why is investing in health a goal?

Being physically fit and knowing what to eat to help maintain your body well helps a body is SO many ways.

Maintains mental energy, gives you the gas you need to work productively.
Helps maintain a healthy weight.
Assists in regulating the bodies natural energies.
Promotes strong bones and muscules
Reduced health problems saves you money long-term.
Increases your life expectancy.
Reduces your risk of injury as health bodies suffer less from balance issues, bone density problems, increases your flexibility and overall stability.
Improves your mental outlook.
Delays onset of chronic diseases.
Helps in recovery from Illness.

Steps Taken thus far

I went to The Learning House about a month back and found what I think is a curriculum that the lad will like. He’s used Apologia courses before and thoroughly enjoys them, so the Apologia health and nutrition course should fit. I found the Student workbook on Amazon (aff link). I also know that the Home School Review crew looked at this set a bit ago and the reviews were postive. I’m definitely leaning this way, but it’s good to know what my other options are so I continued looking.

Failed Attempts.

Looking for other options initially left me feeling like there weren’t any other options, at least for a grade nine lad. Finding resources for high school students invested in their health was more problematic than I thought it would be.

Since my lad is a you-tube watcher I thought I’d look there, but that was an unsuccessful venture. All I got, regardless of the search I did were videos related to sex eduction, or projects done by grade nine students (please… just don’t go there).

A member of the Homeschool Review Crew suggested I check out Fit2B and I discovered they have a Fit2B course for girls, but alas, none for boys. I have to wonder why nothing for boys? Are they only invested in the health of women?

One of my colleagues on Homeschooling Bloggers brought my attention to this meal planning for kids course that teaches healthy eating. She speaks to why she developed this course on her blog. Though this looks like an excellent course, it’s not quite what I am looking for.

My Search Continues

I found some links on-line which shows some real promise:

Health, Safety & Nutrition Worksheets list
I located this unit on Kids Health that I really like and shows promise: Health and Safety topics (K-12)
By the Numbers – Drug and Alcohol Prevention
Knowing that Canada has recently changed the food guide I thought I’d look that up. PDF’s, reports, images and more to assist.
Alison has a human health- diet and nutrition course which seems very doable.
I considered the sources I found for high school science.
Coursera has a food and health course that could be interesting.
I found this rather interesting course outline/lesson from Alberta for grade nine health.
Looking on TPT I found this ebook which I think the lad would respond well to. A guide to help him create the sort of work out he wants. Not sure though as it’s geared to be a small group activity. In talking with my lad he’d like to use the outline she provided and come up with his own thing.
Health Unit for grades 9-12 also on TPT. I’m a bit boggled by the price though, even if it looks very thorough and has good reviews. Not quite within my budget though, but for some would be worth it right?
This guide for North West Territories grade 9 health guide was interesting. Comparing it to the needs of Albertan student shows it’s uniqueness. Shows me how health can be geared to the students.

Final Result

Lindberg Human LungI honestly don’t know quite what I am going to do. I’ll be talking all these options over with my son and seeing what we work out. Mostly likely we’ll be doing a combination of things. Some PE items that he will plan out, as well as a curriculum of some sort.

I have a number of books and supplies that I’m going to use, the lad helped me pick most of them out. 🙂 It helps that he is invested in his health.

These supplies (aff link to Amazon)

Lindberg Human Heart.
Lindberg Human Lung.
The Complete Human Body.
Professor Noggin’s Human body card game.
First Aid, CPR and AED manual. Our edition is different than this. Just find one that works eh?
The Human Body workbook. The lad is technically a bit old for this, but it has some interesting activities in it.
The Anatomy Student self-test colouring book. I really got this for the hubby, but then he got busy and too tired, so repurposing for the lad.
3D Explorer – Human Body.
Lintball Leo’s not so stupid questions about your body.

When I Survey The Wondrous Cross

November 17, 2019 By Annette1 2 Comments

I have sung When I Survey the Wondrous Cross for way to many years. I’m not meaning that in a bad way. It’s just so familar I have most of it memorized. Another Isaac Watts song for you to enjoy.

Lyrics

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

His dying crimson, like a robe,
Spreads o’er His body on the tree;
Then I am dead to all the globe,
And all the globe is dead to me.

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

To Christ, who won for sinners grace
By bitter grief and anguish sore,
Be praise from all the ransomed race
Forever and forevermore.

This first youtube video is a tune I don’t often hear, but I thought it was a pretty tune and therefore thought you all might like it too, or perhaps it’s a version that YOU are familiar with. 🙂

History

lsaac Watts is the author of this lovely hymn. According to the Center for Church Music, this song was written for a communion service. It was originally called “Crucifixion to the World by the Cross of Christ”.

Watts lived from 1674 to 1748. Born in Southampton, England he became a Congregational Minister. He wrote at least 750 hymns over his lifetime. He enjoyed teaching more than preaching, and loved to train people. Preaching to a particular denomination leaning was not his interest.

He eventually took a job as a private tutor for the Hartopps, and through them got to know the Abneys. Watts lived with the Abneys for a large portion of his life.

Comments

The lyrics I found in the Cyber Hymnal contained five verses that I am very familiar with. The sixth verse is a new one to me. It’s one of the things I find fascinating with looking at the hymns. Different tradition use different verses to sing, and sometimes they add new ones, change the words, or alter the tune.

This song is no different. Watts wrote a fourth stanza he expected would get left out, and two other verses were later added. I remember a conversation I had with someone on facebook. He understood the desire of people to update hymns to today’s linguistics, but as an author he felt bad for the people who wrote the songs. What would they think of the words they wrote being changed?

I don’t know that Watts would have minded, since he changed some of the words himself. (visit the center of church music to learn more) It just might be something we want to be cognizant of when we change music to suit our present day sensibilities and understandings. It would not harm us to learn the meanings of unfamiliar words and learn to praise God using them, now would it?

Other Isaac Watts Songs:

Sticker Mosaics: Exotic Animals

November 13, 2019 By Annette1 2 Comments

You know those adult colouring books you can get? How relaxing it is to just sit and colour? It’s a fun way to keep your hands busy as your mind wanders. At least I find it so. 🙂 Sometimes it a great way to just be “busy” when you need to stop and think for a while on something. As much as I enjoy my colouring books, I’ve also discovered the joy of sticker books. Not the kid kind … but ones where I can recreate a work of art, or buildings, or in the case of today’s review: Sticker Mosaics Exotic Animals.

Being able to keep my hands busy without having to juggle pencil crayons or markers… HUGE! Why huge? Well, imagine you are killing time at a doctor’s office, sitting in a car or on public transit, attending a lecture that busy hands helps you focus on better, or whatever. Not having to mess around with paper and colouring instruments is important.

What I am Reviewing

Sticker Mosaics: Exotic Animals.
Silvio Rebelo.
Castle Point Books/St. Martin’s Press.
80 pages, Stiff paperback with flaps, Notebook size
8+ years
1252 stickers in total.

Meditation, relaxation, sticker books, exotic animals,

Reviewed for Raincoast Books.

Unbelievable animals come to life with easy sticker masterpieces.
Take your coloring to the next level by doing it with stickers instead of pencils! Each one of the 12 designs in this book has spaces for mosaic shapes that you fill in using the pages of different colored stickers in the back, allowing you to create one-of-a-kind mosaic designs. Color-by-sticker is a fun new way to express creativity and explore color, and this series gives readers the freedom to create their own unique designs, no artistic ability required.

Details of Sticker Mosaics

Silvio Rebelo has created a wonderful book! It’s notebook size makes it easy to transport anywhere. Sticker Mosaics: Exotic Animals offers 12 different animals to color by sticker. Choose from bobact, butterfly, chameleon, leopard, macaw, monkey, penguin, scorpion, toucan, elephant, flamingo or a frog. Each a bright colourful animal for you to enjoy creating.

It’s easy to find the stickers that you need, each two page sticker spread has a small image of page you are working on in the top right corner. The stickers and their colours are unique for each animal. This allows you to create a truly unique work of art that any animal lover will adore. All told you’ll find more than 1200 stickers to place.

They vary in range of difficulty. Some would be easily completed by most, others would take a more experienced hand. I would have loved for the creators to put them in order of difficulty in the book so you could work your way up. 🙂

For the difficult ones I would recommend using a tweezer to accurately place the stickers. Once placed, they stick. I was browsing the reviews on Amazon and one person said the stickers come off again, they don’t. A tweezer will give you the control and distance you need to place them well.

Do take your time and place them carefully. Most of mine I did well, but messed up just a bit. Still looks good from a distance.

The perforated sheets means you can later display them if you would like, or could send along for friends and family to enjoy. A gift perhaps?

Should you get it?

Of course you should make Sticker Mosaics: Exotic Animals part of your relaxation time. You’ll like the heavy paper and the vibrant colours of each sticker, and you’ll find that they stick well. Find the sticker, place the sticker, and ease your mind. Let your busy hands and quiet thoughts bring some relaxation in your life.

Good Books to Read

November 11, 2019 By Annette1 2 Comments

So I’ve spent the last four days battling a nasty cold. I spent Friday sleeping. Saturday reading, Sunday dozing off and on, reading, and finding an appetite returning, and today I’ve just been VERY grumpy and blowing my nose a lot. I know WAY too much information eh?

The biggest benefit of being sick is the uninterrupted time to just read. No feeling guilty, just needed time to heal and read. It’s good that!

Do I like the headaches and being only to read in small doses? Not really. I’d rather just read all day long, but headaches from head colds precluded that. All that preamble to say I found some good books to read.

We are all Greta

I have a review coming for We are All Greta which is why I read it. I have to say I read it with a fair bit of skepticism. I still feel a bit skeptical about it all, but she does make a person think a bit about the state of the earth we live on. This book isn’t written by Greta but is based on her passion for climate change. The author wants us to think about how we can save the world in a large number of ways. She is thought-provoking, but not really answer giving. Stay tuned for the full review.

Salvation in Death

I am not actually finished Salvation in Death. I’m currently about 1/2 way through. I am a fan of J.D. Robb. Her writing style connects with me. A touch of romance, with a huge mystery works well for me. This book has sat on my shelf for the past year begging to be read but I never really had the opportunity. Our short camping trip earlier this year wasn’t long enough for me to get to it! Priest gets murdered, and the hunt is on for the killer. Lieutenant Eve Dallas is a fascinating detective, and her hubby well.. yum! Not too scary, with not too gruesome of details, just an excellent murder mystery fit for a Sunday afternoon.

The Revolt

My son was gifted this book by his gramma and read it last year. When he was finished he said “Mom, you should read this book, it’s interesting.” Since it was sitting at the top of my “read for fun pile” it was the first I grabbed up.

I recalled when my lad started The Revolt, he said it was hard to read at first. Once he got about 1/3 of the way through he started to talk about how he was enjoying it. I had the same reaction. Took me a while to get past the authors’ style of writing, he gave it a real Old English feel, I started to enjoy the story. Learning about John Wycliffe’s early life as a scholar and teacher. Understanding why the time was right for the Reformation to occur. Politics, disease and abuse all set the scene. Recommeded reading for anyone interested in the early years of the Protestant church.

Another Quest for Celeste

I admittedly, as does my son, remember with fondness A Nest for Celeste. We so enjoyed this book, it was so good. I eagerly awaited readaing Another Quest for Celeste. It was a good read, it wasn’t as good as the first book. The involvement of Abe Lincoln didn’t happen until at least half-way through, and honestly could have been the story of any boy back in the day.

BUT it was the story of Abe Lincoln, having to deal with a difficult father. Abe Lincoln with a step-mom who pushed him to learn to read and write, who encouraged his academic endeavors. It was Abe Lincoln, who as a child, walked miles to borrow books from anyone around.

And through Celeste we see the beauty and danger of river boat travel, and the majesty of the forests with their abundant wildlife, and different modes of transport. Read this book if only to see the beautiful drawings within.

The Raging Storm

Book 6 in the “A Vision of Shadows”series by Erin Hunter, The Raging Storm is a good read. Thoroughly enjoyed this read. The lad and I have enjoyed the Warrior Cat series from the very start. There have been odd bits that haven’t worked well, but overall, it’s a good series with a fairly predictable pattern. The cats have learned and grown over the course of the series.

In this particular book the cats have to learn to work together not only as individual clans but also as a joined unit. Can they put aside their squabbles to work with each other so they can save everyone? Read the book and find out! 🙂

Homeschooling

Fullness of Time

Fullness of Time