Heart of Wisdom Academy

Week 12, we took a much needed break. We celebrated Kason's 3rd birthday and 2 Thanksgiving celebrations.

I took the week to plan for our 2nd Semester.

Aside from my two ugly weeks of school, this has been a very enjoyable semester for everyone. We're really focusing on short lessons, good books, building character, true learning,. Not fill in the blank "learning".

For anyone who is intersted I'll post our schedule for 2nd semester for 1st grade and 4th grade:

It's not as overwhelming as it looks. Our composer for the term and Geography Songs are played during copywork. Art study is once a week. The goal is to read 1 Shakespeare play per term, not per week. I may or may not get to Plutarch, I didn't get to it last term. Spanish, typing, and science are a couple of days a week. That means we do reading/english and math every day. History is intergreated in the readings.

Year 1, Term 1Week 13
The Bible
Book of Virtues:
Peter Rabbit:
Parables from Nature:
Geography Songs:
Typing:
Aesop's Fables:
A Child's Garden of Verses: a poem every day
Geography Songs:
Math:Review
100 EZ Lessons:
Copywork:
Artist: Leonardo DaVinci
Composer: Mendelssohn
Spanish:
Typing:


Week 14
The Bible
Book of Virtues:
Aesop's Fables:
Peter Rabbit:
Parables from Nature:
A Child's Garden of Verses: a poem every day
Math:Lesson 11
100 EZ Lessons:
Spelling: Unit 1
Copywork:
Artist: Leonardo DaVinci
Composer: Mendelssohn
Spanish:
Geography Songs:
Typing:


Week 15
The Bible
Book of Virtues:
Peter Rabbit:
Parables from Nature:
Aesop's Fables:
A Child's Garden of Verses: a poem every day
Math:Lesson 12
100 EZ Lessons:
Copywork:
Artist: Leonardo DaVinci
Composer: Mendelssohn
Spanish:
Geography Songs:
Typing:


Week 16
The Bible
Book of Virtues:
Peter Rabbit:
Parables from Nature:
Aesop’s Fables:
A Child's Garden of Verses: a poem every day
Math:Lesson 13
100 EZ Lessons:
Copywork:
Artist: Leonardo DaVinci
Composer: Mendelssohn
Spanish:
Geography Songs:
Typing:


Week 17
The Bible
Book of Virtues:
Peter Rabbit:
Parables from Nature:
Aesop's Fables:
A Child's Garden of Verses: a poem every day
Math:Lesson1 4
100 EZ Lessons:
Copywork:
Artist: Leonardo DaVinci
Composer: Mendelssohn
Spanish:
Geography Songs:
Typing:

Week 18
The Bible
Book of Virtues:
Peter Rabbit:
Parables from Nature:
Aesop's Fables:
A Child's Garden of Verses: a poem every day
Math:Lesson 15
100 EZ Lessons:
Spelling: Unit 3
Copywork:
Artist: Leonardo DaVinci
Composer: Mendelssohn
Spanish:
Geography Songs:
Typing:


Week 19
The Bible
Book of Virtues:
Peter Rabbit:
Parables from Nature:
Aesop's Fables:
A Child's Garden of Verses: a poem every day
Math:Lesson 16
100 EZ Lessons:
Spelling: Unit 3
Copywork:Wolf and Kid
Artist: Leonardo DaVinci
Composer: Mendelssohn
Spanish:
Geography Songs:
Typing:


Week 20
The Bible
Book of Virtues:
Peter Rabbit:
Parables from Nature:
Aesop's Fables:
A Child's Garden of Verses: a poem every day
Math:Lesson 17
100 EZ Lessons:
Copywork:The Plane Tree
Artist: Leonardo DaVinci
Composer: Mendelssohn
Spanish:
Geography Songs:
Typing:


Week 21
The Bible
Book of Virtues:
Peter Rabbit:
Parables from Nature:
Aesop's Fables
A Child's Garden of Verses: a poem every day
Math:Lesson 18
100 EZ Lessons:
Copywork:Sheep and Pig
Artist: Leonardo DaVinci
Composer: Mendelssohn
Spanish:
Geography Songs:
Typing:


Week 22
The Bible
Book of Virtues:
Peter Rabbit:
Parables from Nature:
Geography Songs:
Aesop's Fables: A Child's Garden of Verses: a poem every day
Math:Lesson 19
100 EZ Lessons:
Copywork:Lion, Ass, and Fox
Artist: Leonardo DaVinci
Composer: Mendelssohn
Spanish:
Geography Songs:
Typing:


Week 23
The Bible
Book of Virtues:
Peter Rabbit:
Parables from Nature:
Aesop's FablesMath:Lesson 20
100 EZ Lessons:
Copywork:
Artist: Leonardo DaVinci
Composer: Mendelssohn
Spanish:
Geography Songs:
Typing:



Week 24
The Bible
Book of Virtues:
Peter Rabbit:
Parables from Nature:
Aesop's Fables:
Math:Lesson review
100 EZ Lessons:
Copywork:
Artist: Leonardo DaVinci
Composer: Mendelssohn
Spanish:
Geography Songs:
Typing:

Year 4 Semester 2Week 13
The Bible
History: Benjamin Franklin
Declaration of Independence: 4 pages
Sonlight Science:
Shakespeare: spread over the twelve week term as desired
Plutarch: spread this term's Life over the twelve week term as desired
Poetry: Emily Dickinson
Greek Gods and Heroes: Persephone
Robinson Crusoe: ch 25, 26 (not all books have chapter divisions; spend 14 weeks in this book)
Parables from Nature: The unknown land
Saxon 5/4: 48, 49, 50, 51
Drills:
English:Lesson 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
Writing Assignment (2 paragraphs):
Spelling: Unit 2 Review
Vocabulary (10 words):
Copywork: ants and grasshopper
Composer Study: Mendelssohn
Art Study: Leonardo DaVinci
Geography Songs:
Spanish 1 2 3:
Typingweb.com: Easy Home Row Words




Week 14
The Bible
History: George Washington
Declaration of Independence: 4 pages
Sonlight Science:
Shakespeare: spread over the twelve week term as desired
Plutarch: spread this term's Life over the twelve week term as desired
Poetry: Emily Dickinson
Greek Gods and Heroes: Arachne
Robinson Crusoe: 27 (end) (not all books have chapter divisions; spend 14 weeks in this book)
Parables from Nature: Knowledge not the Limit of Belief
Saxon 5/4: 52, 53, 54, 55
Drills: Lesson 11
English:20, 21, 22, 23,24
Writing Assignment(2 paragraphs):
Spelling:
Vocabulary (10 words):
Copywork: ass and lapdog
Composer Study: Mendelssohn
Art Study: Leonardo DaVinci
Geography Songs:
Spanish 1 2 3:
Typingweb.com: Easy Top Row Words


Week 15
The Bible
History: Thomas Jefferson
Declaration of Independence: 4 days
Sonlight Science:
Plutarch: spread this term's Life over the twelve week term as desired
Poetry: Emily Dickinson
Greek Gods and Heroes: Niobe
Kidnapped ch 1, 2
Parables from Nature: Training and Restraining
Saxon 5/4: 56, 57, 58, 59
Drills:
English:25, 26, Test
Writing Assignment(2 paragraphs):
Spelling: Lesson 12
Vocabulary (10 words):
Copywork: bear and bees
Composer Study: Mendelssohn
Art Study: Leonardo DaVinci
Geography Songs:
Spanish 1 2 3:
Spanish Worksheet:
Typingweb: Easy Bottom Row Words

Week 16
The Bible
History: Daniel Boone
Declaration of Independence: 4 pages
Sonlight Science:
Shakespeare: spread over the twelve week term as desired
Plutarch: spread this term's Life over the twelve week term as desired
Poetry: Emily Dickinson
Greek Gods and Heroes: Pygmalion
Kidnapped ch 3, 4
Parables from Nature: the light of truth
Saxon 5/4: 60, 61, 62, 63
Drills:
English:27, 28, 29, 30, 31
Writing Assignment(2 paragraphs):
Spelling: Lesson 13
Vocabulary (10 words):
Copywork: the boys and frogs
Composer Study: Mendelssohn
Art Study: Leonardo DaVinci
Geography Songs:
Spanish 1 2 3:
Typingweb: Easy Bottom Row Words

Week 17
The Bible
History: Noah Webster
Declaration of Independence: 4 pages
Sonlight Science:
Shakespeare: spread over the twelve week term as desired
Plutarch: spread this term's Life over the twelve week term as desired
Poetry: Emily Dickinson
Greek Gods and Heroes:Echo
Kidnapped ch 5, 6
Parables from Nature: Waiting
Saxon 5/4: 64, 65, 66, 67
Drills:
English:32, 33, 34, 35
Writing Assignment(2 paragraphs):
Spelling: Lesson 14
Vocabulary (10 words):
Copywork: the bull and goat
Composer Study: Mendelssohn
Art Study: Leonardo DaVinci
Geography Songs:
Spanish 1 2 3:
Typingweb: Beginner Wrap Up

Week 18
The Bible
History: John Greenleaf Whittier
Declaration of Independence: 4 pages
Sonlight Science:
Shakespeare: spread over the twelve week term as desired
Plutarch: spread this term's Life over the twelve week term as desired
Poetry: Emily Dickinson
Greek Gods and Heroes: Narcissus
Kidnapped ch 7, 8
Parables from Nature: A Lesson of Hope
Saxon 5/4: 68, 69, 70, 71
Drills:
English:Review, Test
Writing Assignment(2 paragraphs):
Spelling: Spelling 15
Vocabulary (10 words):
Copywork: cat, cock, and young mouse
Composer Study: Mendelssohn
Art Study: Leonardo DaVinci
Geography Songs:
Spanish 1 2 3:
Typingweb: Start Intermediate Course Alphabet Soup A-M

Week 19
The Bible
History: Chapter 10
Liberty Bell: 4 pages
Sonlight Science:
Shakespeare: spread over the twelve week term as desired
Plutarch: spread this term's Life over the twelve week term as desired
Poetry: Emily Dickinson
Greek Gods and Heroes: Phaethon
Kidnapped ch 9, 10
Parables from Nature: The circle of blessing
Saxon 5/4: 72, 73, 74, 75
Drills:
English:37,38,39,40,41
Writing Assignment(2 paragraphs):
Spelling: Spelling 16
Vocabulary (10 words):
Copywork: crow and the pitcher
Composer Study: Mendelssohn
Art Study: Leonardo DaVinci
Geography Songs:
Spanish 1 2 3:
Typingweb: Alphabet Soup N-Z

Week 20
The Bible
History: Chapter 10
Liberty Bell: 4 pages
Sonlight Science:
Shakespeare: spread over the twelve week term as desired
Plutarch: spread this term's Life over the twelve week term as desired
Poetry: Emily Dickinson
Greek Gods and Heroes: Orpheus
Kidnapped ch 11, 12
Parables from Nature: The law of the wood
Saxon 5/4: 76, 77, 78, 79
Drills:
English:42,43,44,45,46
Writing Assignment(2 paragraphs):
Spelling: Spelling 17
Vocabulary (10 words):
Copywork: the dog and the cock and the fox
Composer Study: Mendelssohn
Art Study: Leonardo DaVinci
Geography Songs:
Spanish 1 2 3:
Typingweb: Learn to Bust a Capital Letter

Week 21
The Bible
History:Chapter 11
Liberty Bell: 4 pages
Sonlight Science:
Shakespeare: spread over the twelve week term as desired
Plutarch: spread this term's Life over the twelve week term as desired
Poetry: Emily Dickinson
Greek Gods and Heroes: Oedipus
Kidnapped ch 13, 14
Parables from Nature: Active and Passage
Saxon 5/4: 80, 81, 82, 83
Drills:
English:47,48,49, Review, Test
Writing Assignment(2 paragraphs):
Spelling: Spelling 18
Vocabulary (10 words):
Copywork: the dogs and the hides
Composer Study: Mendelssohn
Art Study: Leonardo DaVinci
Geography Songs:
Spanish 1 2 3:
Typingweb: Learn to Bust a Capital Word

Week 22
The Bible
History: Chapter 11
Liberty Bell: 4 pages
Sonlight Science:
Shakespeare: spread over the twelve week term as desired
Plutarch: spread this term's Life over the twelve week term as desired
Poetry: Emily Dickinson
Greek Gods and Heroes: Bellerophon
Kidnapped ch 15, 16
Parables from Nature: Daily Bread
Saxon 5/4: 84, 85, 86, 87
Drills:
English:50,51,52, 53,54
Writing Assignment(2 paragraphs):
Spelling: Spelling 19
Vocabulary (10 words):
Copywork:the farmer and his sons
Composer Study: Mendelssohn
Art Study: Leonardo DaVinci
Geography Songs:
Spanish 1 2 3:
Typingweb: Basic Punctuation

Week 23
The Bible
History: Chapter 12
Liberty Bell: 4 pages
Sonlight Science:
Shakespeare: spread over the twelve week term as desired
Plutarch: spread this term's Life over the twelve week term as desired
Poetry: Emily Dickinson
Greek Gods and Heroes: Atalanta
Kidnapped ch 17, 18
Parables from Nature: Not Lost But Gone Before
Saxon 5/4: 88, 89, 90, 91
Drills:
English:55,56,57,58,59
Writing Assignment(2 paragraphs):
Spelling: Spelling 20
Vocabulary (10 words):
Copywork:the fox and the stork
Composer Study: Mendelssohn
Art Study: Leonardo DaVinci
Geography Songs:
Spanish 1 2 3:
Typingweb: Most Common English Words

Week 24
The Bible
History:Chapter 12
Liberty Bell: 4 pages
Sonlight Science:
Shakespeare: spread over the twelve week term as desired
Plutarch: spread this term's Life over the twelve week term as desired
Poetry: Emily Dickinson
Greek Gods and Heroes: Perseus
Kidnapped ch 19, 20
Parables from Nature: Motes in the Sunbean
Saxon 5/4: 92, 93, 94,
Drills:
English:60, 61,62,63, Review, test
Writing Assignment(2 paragraphs):
Spelling: Spelling 21
Vocabulary (10 words):
Copywork: The Hare and the Tortoise
Composer Study: Mendelssohn
Art Study: Leonardo DaVinci
Geography Songs:
Spanish 1 2 3:
Typingweb: Numbers Numbers Numbers

For our devotions, we read Romans 13 concerning authority. I asked all the kids what would the house be like if there were no parents; just them. I fully expected they'd say that they would play the game all day, eat burgers and fries, watch TV, play nerf; I actually expected they'd say anything except what they said:

Peyton: She said she would take care of Kason and Kendal

Kaden: Said he would get a gun (presumably to take care of the family).

Kayle: The first thing he said he would do is to go to the store and buy diapers(not about to wash cloth diapers). He would watch the kids, feed them, change the baby. Buy them McDonald's for lunch and make them soup for dinner. Then he would get a babysitter for them, and go to a hotel and eat room-service and relax. Come home and pay bills.

I was shocked and encouraged!! They all thought of taking care of one another. In our house, we drive-home, like nothing else, the idea that you will ALWAYS be under authority. There is no such thing as "When I become an adult I'll do whatever I want". They've all said it or thought it, and we've always responded the same. You are free in Christ to do whatever he calls you to do, you aren't free to sin. You will always be under authority. Perhaps there is some morsels of responsibility permeating through their pours. Alas! There is hope for them yet!!!

Homeschooling~The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.
Let's be honest. There are ugly days and even weeks in the homeschool. So here it is.

Our first semester, is done. We are 1/3 of the way through our school year!!! I have enjoyed this year, but the last two weeks I've been overcome AGAIN, by hopelessness in teaching the twins. Learning is slow and hard, more so for my daughter. I want to know how to teach her so that she can learn. So the last two weeks I've been really researching how to help them grow in every area. I have talked to tons of people and the consensus is just wait and be patient they will catch up. A few people who know them the closest have suggested that they should be evaluated, which I agree with and am currently in the process of doing.

I am also tweaking the second semester a little for everyone.

The rational side of my brain tells me their young and it's ok, they're immature and that's ok, they're fun-loving, obedient, creative, sweet, and compassionate. They learn at their own pace and it's ok that's why you homeschool, right?

The irrational side of my brain fights the notion that something is "wrong" with them. Feeling condemned and judged that they're the only kids in Sunday-school that can't read. Insecure that people blame me, after all I'm not a "teacher"; blame my curriculum, blame my socioeconomic status, etc. etc. etc. So more times that not, I'm riddled with guilt and fear. I feel caught off guard, so I'm trying to do all this research so I can understand them and help them all the while trying not to give up...because it's very hard and exhausting.

I'm currently reading:
Homeschooling the Child with ADD(or other special needs)

Different learners : identifying, preventing, and treating your child's learning problems

Right now both of these books are very good and very encouraging.

These are a few other books I have from the library to read:

The learning disabilities trap : how to save your child from the perils of special education

The mislabeled child : how understanding your child's unique learning style can open the door to success / Brock Eide and Fernette Eide.

Learning disabilities, A to Z : a complete guide to learning disabilities from preschool to adulthood / Corinne Smith, Lisa Strick.

Turnabout children : overcoming dyslexia and other learning disabilities / Mary MacCracken.

4 Legacies of Feminism
Dennis Prager

As we approach the 50th anniversary of the publication of Betty Friedan's feminist magnum opus, "The Feminine Mystique," we can have a perspective on feminism that was largely unavailable heretofore.

And that perspective doesn't make feminism look good. Yes, women have more opportunities to achieve career success; they are now members of most Jewish and Christian clergy; women's college sports teams are given huge amounts of money; and there are far more women in political positions of power. But the prices paid for these changes – four in particular – have been great, and they outweigh the gains for women, let alone for men and for society. The first was the feminist message to young women to have sex just like men do. There's no reason for young women to lead a different sexual life than men, they were told. Just as men can have sex with any woman solely for the sake of physical pleasure, women ought to be able to enjoy sex with any man just for the fun of it. The notion that the nature of a woman is to hope for at least the possibility of a long-term commitment from a man she sleeps with has been dismissed as sexist nonsense.

Phyllis Schlafly, the original "anti-feminist," teams up with her niece in a tour-de-force defense of traditional womanhood -- don't miss "The Flipside of Feminism: What Conservative Women Know -- and Men Can't Say" As a result, vast numbers of young American women had and continue to have what are called hook-ups, and for some of them it's quite possible that no psychological or emotional price has been paid. But the majority of women who are promiscuous do pay prices. One is depression. New York Times columnist Roos Douthat recently summarized an academic study on the subject: "A young woman's likelihood of depression rose steadily as her number of partners climbed and the present stability of her sex life diminished."

Long before this study, I had learned from women callers to my radio show (an hour each week – "The Male-Female Hour" – is devoted to very honest discussion of sexual and other man-woman issues) that not only did female promiscuity coincide with depression, it also often had lasting effects on women's ability to enjoy sex. Many married women told me that in order to have a normal sexual relationship with their husbands, they had to work through the negative aftereffects of early promiscuity – not trusting men, feeling used, seeing sex as unrelated to love and disdaining their husband's sexual overtures. And many said they still couldn't have a normal sex life with their husbands.

The second awful legacy of feminism has been the belief among women that they can and should postpone marriage until they develop their careers – and that only then should they seriously consider looking for a husband. Thus, the decade or more during which women have the best chance to attract men is spent being preoccupied with developing a career. Again, I cite women callers to my radio show over the past 20 years who have sadly looked back at what they now, at age 40, regard as 20 wasted years. Sure, these frequently bright and talented women have a fine career. But most women are not programed to prefer a great career to a great man and a family. They feel they were sold a bill of goods at college and by the media.
And they were. It turns out that most women without a man do worse in life than fish without bicycles.

The third sad feminist legacy: So many women – and men – have bought into the notion that women should work outside the home that for the first time in American history, and perhaps world history, vast numbers of children are not primarily raised by their mothers or even by an extended family member. Instead they are raised for a significant part of their childhood by nannies and by workers at day care centers. Whatever feminists may say about their only advocating choices, everyone knows the truth: Feminism regards work outside the home as more elevating, honorable and personally productive than full-time mothering and homemaking.

And the fourth awful legacy of feminism has been the de-masculinization of men. For all of higher civilization's recorded history, becoming a man was defined overwhelmingly as taking responsibility for a family. That notion – indeed the notion of masculinity itself – is regarded by feminism as the worst of sins: patriarchy.
Men need a role, or they become, as the title of George Gilder's classic book on single men describes them, "Naked Nomads." In little more than a generation, feminism has obliterated roles. If you wonder why so many men choose not to get married, the answer lies in large part in the contemporary devaluation of the husband and of the father – of men as men, in other words. Most men want to be honored in some way – as a husband, a father, a provider, as an accomplished something; they don't want merely to be "equal partners" with a wife.
In sum, thanks to feminism, very many women slept with too many men for their own happiness; postponed marriage too long to find the right man to marry; are having hired hands do much of the raising of their children; and now find they are dating boy-men because manly men are so rare.
Feminism exemplifies the truth of the saying, "Be careful what you wish for – you may get it."

Our sweet, chunky, curly haired, fifth blessing and gift from God. He melts our hearts.









Five good children are an immense luxury, and to deny one's self other luxuries in order to raise them is not self-denial at all, but merely an intelligent choice of investment.
Edward Sandford Martin, The Luxury of Children

The Geography Fair was a really neat experience. I really wanted the kids to experience doing a project and making a presentation in front of others. There was about 15 kids all different ages and grades presenting their country. Each child receieved a passport when they arrived, and they went around to each display collecting stamps for their passport. Some people brought food from their country to try. At first Kyle was a little intimidated and nervous, but he did such a good job! A judge came up to him later and told him that he did a great presentation and he could tell that he did his own research. That really made our night.

Luckily; I found this poem, Maker of the Home, at Lisa's beautiful and inspiring blog. If I hadn't found this poem, the title of this post would be much more like "How to Run Away From Home". Not quite so fitting for a blog entitled Home Instead. But occasionally I feel like building a Godly home, forming character, raising children, loving my husband, all while having a gentle and quiet spirit is arduous, overwhelming, and sometimes painstakingly difficult and fruitless. I am an introvert by nature. By God's grace he allows me to live out all the "one another" scriptures; forgive one another, love one another, serve one another, be patient with one another, bear with one another,etc. etc. So it may seem like I'm an extrovert. I'm not. Not even a little. There are days when I don't feel like doing any of those things. I grow weary in doing good. I grow weary just being around people constantly. I lose sight of what it takes to build a home and give myself to others. I forget how beautiful it is to share in Christ's sufferings; to pour myself out like a drink offering. Thankfully, Joy does come in the morning and God renews my strength so I can soar high on wings like eagles. I can run and not grow weary, I can walk and not faint. I am in a much better place today. I really enjoyed this poem and reminder.



MAKER OF THE HOME


Little maker of the home,
What do you really do?
When all is said and done,
What will be said of you?
You rise each day just like the sun,
You give your life away,
And tired, you run the course again.

You need to hear Him say,
"Well done,
Oh, maker of the home,
Well done!
You labour not alone.
And though your eyes may never see,
This home you live to make,
You make for Me.

Your life a shadow seems,
Compared to what others do.
But who would catch the tears
And point to Me,
If not for you?
And when they've grown,
Imprinted on their hearts will always be,
How good, how right, to give their lives,
And build a home for Me."

- unknown