A Net in Time

Curriculum and book reviews, faith, homeschooling and more!

Highschool

My Son, If you Accept My Words

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FTC lavidge

Today I am reviewing a book for you from a mom who wanted to help her boy.  She so badly wanted him to know what God wants for him in his life.  Her original intent was not to share it.  You know though that word gets around, and so we are now able to share her words with you.  The book?  My Son, If You Accept My Words. 

My Son If you Accept my words

What I am Reviewing

My Son, If you Accept my Words is written by Sondra Lee.  Published by Westbow Press, and running at 182 pages.  Black and white photos dot the pages.  The sole purpose is to encourage young men to become the men that God calls them to be.  Learning how to live as a Christian man in a secular society is a challenge.  Helping our young men see scripture clearly and take God’s word to heart is an important step in that process.

The Details

My Son, if you accept my words cover 15 chapters.  The first nine chapters broaching on the lives of key biblical figures.  We’ll discuss Ruth, Isaac and Rebekah, Joseph, Samson, Joseph- Jesus’s Earthly Father, Mary, Hosea, Hannah and Peter.  

The last six chapters are

  • Identity Theft
  • No One Escapes
  • Guard Your Heart
  • Finish Well
  • Weathering the Storms
  • Sometimes the Journey is too Much
My Son, If you accept my words sample page

You will find KJV scripture printed out for ease of reading.  If you prefer to read in the translation of your choice it is easy to do. 

My Son, If you accept my words sample page

You’ll find that each scripture passage is followed up with an explanation.  These readings are directly based on the passage.   Occasionally the explanations were too personal, directed at her son and not a more general audience. 

My Son, If you accept my words sample page

Prayers were often included.  Prayers for God to prepare a young man’s heart, to guide his choices, and lead him throughout his life. 

My Son, If you accept my words sample page

Some of her advice is very practical. Like be discerning in what you believe, protect your reputation, give people no reason to gossip, and so forth.  Good advice for everyone, regardless of gender or age. 

I’m not going to say that I agree with everything she had to say, but there is much wisdom to be found within the pages of My Son, If You Accept My Words.  

My Son, If you accept my words sample page

Should You Get It?

I think so.  There is much that I would find useful as I guide my son toward maturity.  My prayer is that he be a solid man of God. The help that Sondra Lee provides will aid in that journey.   I haven’t read the entire book, I’m about 1/2 way through. 

The included prayers, the qualities to look for in a wife, and the abilities to develop in yourself as a young man make this a good book for a growing young man. 

I think one of the things I most appreciated was how focused Ms. Lee is to her purpose.  She pulled items out of the scripture text that I wouldn’t have previously considered as a point of manhood.  Ms. Lee worked hard to show scriptural reasoning for character traits young men need to develop.  She does the same for the traits to look for in a wife. 

Civilization’s Quotations: Life’s Ideal

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ASCOT media FTC

It is my privilege to share a treat with you today.  I got to review Civilization’s Quotations: Life Ideal.  A really cool book filled with quotes some were funny, others sad, and yet others that were profound.  Saves me time you know, to have a book at hand rather than having to search on-line for a vaguely remembered quote. Imagine this.. I now have 8000 quotes available for me, all organized and ready to for me to read, enjoy and use!

Civilization's Quotations by richard krieger

What I am Reviewing

Richard Alan Krieger put together Civilization’s Quotations: Life’s Ideal.  This is a softcover book, which contains 8000 quotes within 344 pages.  I am reviewing this on behalf of Ascot Media.

This is not an exhaustive compendium of the world’s most original quotations, but more so a collection of observations and maxim’s that caught the authors eye.   These quotes are provided in a “poetic quotation” style. You’ll find it a fun book to go through and it also serves well as a resource when searching for just the right words to use. 

quote by Gandhi

The Details on Civilization’s Quotations

The book opens with an extensive table of contents that outlines each main category with the subcategories listed under.  Some of the main categories are: 

  • Gratitude – thankfulness, praise, pleasing, value, worth
  • Work – labor, employment, occupation, business, trade, proft etc
  • Family – ancestors, home, marriage, parents, mother, father, children
  • Time – the past, the present, now, the moment, today, the future etc.
  • The world – the universe, unity, mystery
civilizations quotations table of contents

You’ll find the font is a bit small … I was happy to have my bifocals.  My 14 year old had no problems though.  

Most quotes run 1-2 lines each, occasionally longer quotes would pop up. 

Civilizations Quotations was filled with quotes were from various time periods from the far past to more recent. Not only that they were from all over the world, different genders, and various people groups. 

Civilization's Quotations sample quotes

The quotes range from funny to serious.  I have a love of old proverbs and I thoroughly enjoy reading good quotes on a wide variety of topics. Most of them are one or two lines long, but I did notice a few that were three-four lines.  Those longer ones were in the minority. 

japanese proverb - luck is like having a rice dumpling fly into your mouth

My Recommendations

One thing I wish the book had was an index of authors. I would love to be able to find all the Japanese proverbs easily, or to find other quotes by Gandhi, Lincoln, or Atwood. 

Overall, I love books like this. I know, I’m out of the normal stream, but seriously… reading quips, lines, proverbs and so forth.. it’s good you know?  

I have a firm appreciation for the variety chosen.  Not all serious, not all just fun, it was an excellent mix. Quotes were taken from all over the world.

The variety in Proverbs makes me think of making a fun workbook of learning old proverbs and what they mean. Kinda like one I did on idioms a few years back. A great tool for teaching international students English.

Science Experiment Fails

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My son has been working through Apologia Biology over this past semester. With his studies he is engaging in a wide variety of experiments. Sometimes he deigns to let me take part and it’s a hoot sharing the wonders of discovery with him. Every once in a while though he runs into an experiment that I simply can’t find the ingredients for or that try as he might, he can’t get to work properly. Highschool science is sometimes a challenge for him. What is a lad to do then?  What does one do with science experiment fails?

Science experiment Fails

Idea Spawned

I was actually a bit stymied by this until I read a blog post where a gal mentioned her son (I think) watching youtube videos for the experiments she didn’t have the ingredients for.   Brain fart… like seriously, why didn’t I think about that???  Don’t you think it’s a fantastic idea though?

The Problem Experiment, Solution One

We ran into this one experiment that my son sent me out shopping for.  He gave me a list for some upcoming experiments, one of which was meat tenderizer.  Well, I searched London for meat tenderizer going to several different stores and calling others.  One store was positive they had some and I had a delightful chat with a young man as we searched the store, but I ended up empty handed with lots of apologies. 🙂  

I had to tell the lad that we needed to figure out an alternative for this experiment.   I had a box DNA package that I had picked up a while back that had a recipe for making DNA so he used that.  This one used a different methodology so we figured it was worth a shot.  It was part of a kit that had a number of DNA related experiments in it. I’ve linked a couple of kits below that aren’t quite the same but close.  

Solution Two

The lad had some success with this kit.  I had wanted him to do a lab report with this experiment but watching his frustration I told him to choose a different experiment.  In the meantine it was most excellent that he could watch this experiment being done by another family. 

Watching this video below I can just imagine the fun my lad will have doing the plastic rock experiment. 

It has been such fun watching other families do some of these apologia experiments, and it’s a great back up for when we have science experiment fails, or simply lack the ingredients to do them properly. 

 I urge you to check out these experiments yourself, if only!  🙂   My son really enjoyed doing this experiment I found below. 

Solution Three: Failed Science Experiments

Our third solution to failed science experiments is simply to try again.  Sometimes you miss a step, or you timed something wrong, or random chance just had it not working. So try it again!  My lad did this with a mould experiment.  The first time he didn’t cut the cheese fine enough, the second time he did but thought he’d add a twist, and the third time he did it perfectly.  His crow of delight was totally worth all the effort.  🙂

There are so many good experiments out there.  Let not the lack of ingredients stymie you. Don’t get caught up in your science experiment fail.  Watch videos, try it an alternative method or simply try it all again.  Just do it, you’ll learn so much!

alphabet

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Two Mistakes to Avoid in Homeschool Biology, Chemistry, and Physics

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This post is sponsored by College Prep Science. Copyright 2020 by Greg Landry

Do you ever struggle with knowing how to teach biology, chemistry and physics to your homeschool children?   Learn more about how to do this in this sponsored post.  Some freebies for homeschool moms are included.

homeschool biology

Homeschool biology, chemistry, and physics curriculum, labs, and classes are the core of high school science and the thrust of middle school science as it prepares homeschooled students for high school level science. As a former college professor who has also taught thousands of homeschooled high school students, I believe that we should be careful at both of those levels to avoid two common mistakes:

  1. High school level homeschooled students who are likely to be college science majors should be taught very differently than students who will likely not be science majors and students who may not be attending college. 
college prep science

We created two separate types of classes to best address the biology, chemistry, and physics needs of each group – “college prep” and “life prep.” The depth, breadth, and pedagogy of many college-prep biology, chemistry and physics classes leave many “non-science” students frustrated, uninterested, and ultimately learning very little. I find that students in this situation often miss the big picture and they don’t have an overall understanding of the subject matter that is so critical in these sciences. They can’t see the forest because they’re lost in the trees. Our “life prep” classes are basic high school level classes, enable students to see the forest, and will allow them to learn science through the lens of their God-given interests and talents.”

  1. Ten years ago I originated the “pre” classes (Pre-Biology, Pre-Anatomy & Physiology, Pre-Chemistry, and Pre-Physics) as a means of minimizing the intimidation of high school level science and preparing middle school age students for specific high school level classes – rather than generalities such as “physical science” etc. This is a significant factor as they prepare for high school level science.
College Prep Science

The thrust of our Christian / creationist worldview homeschool biology, chemistry, and physics online classes (and lab curriculum) is to give homeschooled students access to science that is focused on scientific inquiry, critical thinking, process reasoning, data collection, and the graphical and written representation of research. We want to prepare competent, confident students for their remaining high school years, their college years, and life. 

  •  “College prep” online classes for students who will likely be college science majors
  • “Life prep” online classes for students who likely won’t be college science majors or likely won’t attend college
College prep science

– Homeschool Biology – College Prep (9th-12th) – Two Semester Class
– Life Prep Homeschool Biology (8th-12th) – Two Semester Class
– Homeschool Chemistry – College Prep (10th-12th) – Two Semester Class
– Life Prep Homeschool Chemistry (9th-12th) – Two Semester Class
– Life Prep Homeschool Physics (9th-12th) – Two Semester Class
– Homeschool Human Anatomy & Physiology (9th-12th) – Two Semester Class

– Homeschool Pre-Anatomy & Physiology (6th-9th) – One Semester Class
– Homeschool Pre-Chemistry (6th-9th) – – One Semester Class
– Homeschool Pre-Biology (6th-9th) – One Semester Class
– Homeschool Pre-Physics (6th-9th) – One Semester Class
– Homeschool ACT Prep Bootcamp (8th-12th)​

College prep science

In the words of a homeschool parent…

“Greg, …what you did for our daughter will have far reaching effects. You showed her that learning can be enjoyable…”
Thankful in Indiana
Jim H.

Note: These online homeschool science classes also include lab experiments and graded lab reports in Professor Landry’s virtual homeschool science laboratory. Students attend class weekly (either live or by recording), turn-in homework, and are tested on a regular basis. These classes are all inclusive and provide students with an enjoyable, comprehensive science experience.

College Prep Science

Homeschool dad, scientist, and former college professor, Greg Landry, offers live, online homeschool science classes, Homeschool ACT Prep Bootcamp, the Homeschool Mom’s Science Podcast, in-person two day science lab intensives nationwide, freebies for homeschool moms, and student-produced homeschool print publications.

Reading Aloud with Teens

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One of my favourite things to do over the years is read books with my lad.  Everyday we’d plow through different books together, talking and laughing, learning together.  So much fun we shared.  🙂 As my lad gets older it gets harder to find the time to read together.  But reading aloud with teens is very rewarding. 

Reading aloud with Teens

I mentioned that reading aloud with teens is very rewarding.  I have given you some hints in the past, but let me tell you how.

The Main Reason: It’s fun.  Seriously.  Reading books together is fun. The conversations that ensue, the knowledge gained, the laughter shared together.  It’s so golden!  Everything spills out of the fun of reading together.

What else comes from reading together?

  • Increased vocabulary.  You can read books above the reading age of your student. 
  • Modeling reading.  The joy in learning, the wonder of new things learned. 
  • Improved comprehension. Since you are talking about what you are reading you can automatically check the level of understanding. 
  • Listening skills increase. You need to listen in order to have conversations. Since conversations are a great part of reading together it doesn’t take long for those skills to kick in.
  • Since you can read a variety of materials you can see what sparks your children’s interests. 
  • And since you are sparking their interests, you can increase their curiousity in the world around them and
  • Give them a greater thirst for learning 
  • and in the process help them to further develop their critical thinking skills. 
  • You can not only read fiction, but non-fiction books.  How to manuals, scary stories, biographies and whatever strikes your fancy.  Switch up the genres of the books you read.
  • Discuss difficult issues like divorce, abortion, racism, political correctness and more. Stories can open eyes to concerns you hadn’t thought about before and give insight into how your child thinks.
  • And since you are doing all of that… consider how much closer you and your children become as you discuss great ideas, books, and interests together.  It’s amazing.
world war 2 read-alouds

Our Latest Read Togethers

Since my son is studying World War 2 this year our focus has been on reading books about that war.   Some of these books I’ve reviewed so it’s been a pleasure to read them again. I’ve linked to reviews.

Affiliate links follow below.

Racism, heroic action, desertion, anger, pain, horror, surprising kindness, devastating brutality, mistakes by commanders, weaponry, sneakiness (in a good way), faith, and indoctrination.  All these ideas are covered by these books.  We’ve had so many discussions and pleas for just “ONE MORE chapter mom, ONE MORE!”  

Future Plans

We have plans to read additional books as well.  One of World War two planes, Anne Frank, White Rose Society and more.   So many good books around there. Every author has a different perspective and notes different things that broadens our perspective.  I’ve recently finished listening to the audio book Story of the World War II.  I’ve told my lad snippets of it and he plans to listen to it as well. 

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Many Religions One Truth

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World Religions class anyone?   Why would anyone want to teach their highschool student about the religions of the world?  There are many religions, but really only one truth.  Therefore, learning about the religions of the world serves as an aid to teaching my lad discernment.  In the process he will learn more about how people think. 

Many religions, one truth

Why Study World Religions

It’s a fair question.  In a day and age when people seem to believe anything they want and call it religion or faith, why study it?  Wouldn’t it be a futile gesure?  You’d never truly finish. 

But you know what?  You don’t need to study them all to gain a

  •  the faith of others better understood
  • understanding of your own faith (if any) 
  • understanding of the global village
  • a multi-disciplinary approach to study
  • a better understanding of history. 

Understanding the many religions of Others

If the only people who can understand Christianity are Christians, or the only ones who can understand Islam are Muslims, of what benefit is it?  Seriously?  If you can’t stretch yourself to understand how others think, then you miss out on opportunities to further understand each other. You will lose chances to reach for compromise, friendship and more.   Our religious identities often influence our actions upon the world and it’s people around us. 

Understand your own truth better

As you learn about the belief systems of others, you are often drawn to compare their understanding with your own.  If you compare say the Islamic belief system and honestly compare it to the Word of God (the bible) you can see where it differs, and perhaps where it is the same.  You will better understand when the bible says that the truth of God resides in us all. It will lend further credence to the bible. 

We do take the risk that some individuals might be drawn to a different belief system, a different world-view than what they currently possess.  That can be both a positive and a negative, all we can do is have open and honest discussions, pointing people to the truth found in God’s word.

Studying world religions shows us often what people do when they use general revelation to understand more about who God is.  Viewing the natural world brings us to understanding God. The twists in logic sin causes as people seek to understand God without the understanding that his specific revelation gives us.  Ligoniers has a good article on this point. 

Scripture itself not only tells us how the heavens declare his praises, but also that “Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy (Acts 14:17)”.

Many Faiths, One truth

The Global Village

Truth be told, different world-views surround us, and this world is becoming smaller and smaller all the time. We get to hear about Tsunami’s in Japan, government collapses in other countries, economic collapses, missing children, politics, terrorism etc.  It surrounds us everytime we turn around.  To help us make sense of it all, knowing what makes people tick would be a good help don’t you think?

For instance, knowing some of what I do about Hinduism and Buddhism makes me wary of the increasing populary of the mindfulness movement and the growth mindset. I have yet failed to see any biblical application of this movement. It’s good to understand it though, as understanding where it differs from the world of God gives me talking points with those espousing it. 

Understanding the faith of others helps us to live out the scriptural mandate to show kindness to others and to show integrity as we live out of faith.  The other week I wished someone Merry Christmas and she mentioned she didn’t celebrate it but enjoyed the festiveness of the season.  I followed that up asking about what she celebrated and learned alot about Ramadan.  Stuff I didn’t know before.  We had a great discussion and hopefully left each other inspired by the stories of each other.

Multi-Disciplinary Approach to Study

Since belief systems influence cultures, politics and lives, understanding them is important. Understanding the Islam belief in Jihad helps us better understand the 9-11 attacks. It helps us to understand the threat felt by those who would ignore the word of God and impose their own belief set.  Explaining the threat felt by leaders in other faith systems when their people turn to the Lord and so persecution of believers happens.  Learn to understand how religion influences culture, and ergo the actions that people take.  We can see it in political actions, in stories written, the examples used in math, how people interact with each other, and the art they draw.

The more you see the connections between all fields, the more you will see the connections to be found. a more holistic understanding of whatever subject you are learning will make your studies more enriching.  In our studies of science and history over the years, we have seen many times how faith influences actions and the directions people take in their research. 

James Baldwin quote many faiths

History More Clearly Understood

One of my favourite things to do is visit museums and other places of history. The faith that people holds in evident in much of what we save.  It can be found in the art, the artifacts, sculptures, paintings, figurines, pottery, and statues.  Religion can be found in almost everything from stories written, the sacret texts pulled together. Their convictions are based on what their belief systems are. Religion pervades society and it’s actions in so many ways, we can’t always get a clear grip on it. 

Suggested Resources

Some resources we are contemplating as we draw nearer to our world religions studies. 

quote acts 14;17

The More We Understand

How others think and why they think as they do, the better we are able to show others the truth of God. It gives us a broader view of the world we live in, in a way that devotionals can’t always.  Help your students engage in the broader world, strengthen their faith, and teach them to discern truth. Learn how one truth is found as the basis for many religions.  

Invested in Health

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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. 

Invested in health

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.

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

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. 

health and nutrition

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: 

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)

Invested in health