D is for Driver’s Ed

The letter D is up for this week on Blogging Through the Alphabet. Marcy from the blog Ben and Me hosts this weekly challenge. Make sure to visit her blog and read what other topics there are for the letter D.

Today, I have chosen Driver’s Ed as my D topic. Sarah is taking Driver’s Ed right now. She is 14, will be 15 next month. In New Mexico she can take Driver’s Ed as long as she is 15 before the class is over. Since she has a very busy summer, we decided to have her take it now, and then she can drive with us for the next year, until she is 16.

We have been through this before with Matthew. One of the differences was that he took Driver’s Ed while we were living in Montana. The class was $100 there, and he went through classroom, driving practice, and took all the tests to get the permit, plus the driver’s test at the end of the class.  Here in New Mexico, the class cost me $100. But, the fee just paid for classroom only. If I want her to drive with an instructor it would be another $100 for 5 hours. I told her she could just drive with us as I am not about to pay $20 an hour to drive with an instructor.

The class Sarah is taking is being held at the local High School. They had two sessions, an early morning session or an afternoon session. I decided the early morning session would work the best as we have no other activities scheduled for that time. So she has to be at the High School at 6:45am. She has two friends taking the class with her, both of whom attend the High School.

I not only drive Sarah, but I pick up her two friends as well. It turns out to be a fun ride each morning. The kids get in the car and then I get to hear about their dreams, what is going on at school that day, how class is going.

Sarah is having no trouble with the class. The first week, they spent studying the driver’s manual and then took a 100 question test. Sarah passed with only missing five. She could miss up to 30 and still have a passing score.

This is one of my few experiences dealing with anything having to do with the public high school. I have not been very impressed so far. The first day, a letter was sent home explaining the rules and giving an address to look up and print our own driver’s manual. I laughed at the couple of misspelled words I found. Then I became frustrated that the link given in the letter was a bad link. I eventually did a search and found what I was looking for. Another thing that annoyed me just a little is when Sarah told me her instructor said to not worry about grammar when writing their answers, as well as not to write long answers.

I was appalled by the ‘don’t’ worry about grammar” tidbit. I think grammar is very important and how you “practice” is what you will do. Having good grammar while writing answers for her Driver’s Ed class is important and I told Sarah she should try her best to use good grammar and write as long as she needs to for the answer.

So after the first two weeks in May, I will have a second child who has completed Driver’s Ed. Then the fun of sitting in the passenger seat for a year as Sarah chauffeurs us around. Good thing Ben is only 10 and I have 5 more years before this happens again!

Progeny Press- Study Guides for Literature

• Progeny Press
• Study Guides for Literature From a Christian Perspective
• Guides available for a variety of books
• Guides are available  for Early Elementary through High School
• As of January 2012, there are approximately 107 guides
• Guides available in three formats: Printed and bound booklet, CD Rom with interactive guide, Email attachment with interactive guide
• PDF versions are interactive, allowing your student to type directly into the computer in an Adobe Acrobat format.

We had the privilege to review two different literature guides offered by Progeny Press.  Progeny Press is a company that has been producing quality literature guides since 1992. Their guides are used by both home school families and Christian schools. The guides are written by the company owners Michael and Rebecca Gilleland as well as a variety of authors who meet strict standards. Each guide adheres to high standards of literary analysis and Biblical application.

The literature guides offered by Progeny Press teach well-written literature and help students develop and refine how they deal with man’s philosophies in relation to God’s Word. They equip students to understand writing and help enhance their reading enjoyment.  

Progeny Press study guides are unique. We often are asked what separates Progeny Press study guides from other study guides.
First and foremost, Progeny Press study guides contain and teach a Christian worldview. We do not put down other worldviews, but
we definitely promote a Christian worldview. Therefore, when we discuss the moral or ethical issues raised in a book, we do so by
taking students to the Bible as the standard by which such issues should be measured. Second, we concentrate on literary techniques and terminology so our students learn what makes a story work. We believe good readers make better writers, and we encourage students to answer questions in persuasive essay answers. Third, in all our questions we emphasize critical thinking, analysis, and comprehension. We want our children to know how to think. (Excerpt taken from Progeny Press catalog)

ClarkClan Thoughts

• Across Five Aprils Study Guide
• Email attachment PDF file $16.99

Ben (10) was who I had use the Across Five Aprils study guide. This study guide was written by Carol Clark, who is a junior high language arts teacher at Toledo Christian School. While the guide is interactive, I printed the entire guide out instead of having him use the computer. This worked well for us so Ben could work on the guide while his sister was using the computer.

Ben has really enjoyed using this study guide. He is about half way through the guide. I have been having him read the appropriate chapters, then taking about a week to complete the study questions and activities. While he does the work on his own, I then will sit down at the end of each week and go over with him all the questions and generally talk about the book and what points the literature guide has brought up.

The guide is designed for grades 5-9. Ben has had no trouble completing the guide. Ben is a child who loves vocabulary and enjoys looking up words in the dictionary, so the vocabulary parts have been fun for him. One chapter had Ben looking up important military leaders of the Civil War. I sat with him while he searched on the computer. He loved this activity. Another part of the guide has Ben mapping and explaining the strategy of the different leaders. We have a map in our hallway, and Ben has spent quite a bit of time marking places and telling me what is going on in the Civil War according to his book.

I am definitely quite impressed with the this literature guide. I like the depth that is involved, yet it is still doable, even for a young, bright, fifth grader. I liked the guide so well, I have picked out which one I would like Ben to do next.

• The Screwtape Letters Study Guide
• Email Attachment PDF file $18.99

Sarah (14) has been working through the Literature Guide for The ScrewTape Letters, by C.S. Lewis.  This guide is a high school level guide designed for grades 9-12. This guide was written by Michael S. Poteet, an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church.  While this is a PDF interactive guide, I printed the guide out so Sarah could work on it at any time during the day.

I have been having Sarah, read the chapters of the book that we are focusing on, then answer the literature guide questions. She is taking about a week to complete one section of the guide. I then sit with her and go over her answers and discuss the various questions with her. Not only is Sarah learning through this guide, but I am learning quite a bit about this book, as well.

The Screwtape Letters is a powerful book and having the study guide helps me to internalize the truth found in it. I found myself during my ladies weekly Bible study, pointing out lessons I had learned while helping Sarah through this guide. My older son had read The Screwtape Letters while he was still in high school and when we pulled it out for Sarah, he picked it up and re read the book. I wish I had known about Progeny Press guides and had used one with him before he graduated. 

I would highly recommend this literature guide. I found it to be very thorough. I was also highly impressed with the depth of scripture study involved in unraveling the mysteries of this book. We are over halfway done with this guide and I have found nothing contrary to our Lutheran teachings. This has been a huge plus for me. I am looking forward to using other Progeny Press literature guides for Sarah when we are finished with this one.

There were many TOS Crew Mates who were able to review Progeny Press Literature Guides. Visit the Crew Blog and read what they thought about the guides.

As an Independent contractor for The Old Schoolhouse and member of TOS Homeschool Crew I received Across Five Aprils, and The Screwtape Letters Literature guides  from Progeny Press for free in exchange for my honest review of their product.

Classical Academic Press–The Art of Argument

• Classical Academic Press
• The Art of Argument An introduction to the informal fallacies
• Grade level: Jr. High, Sr. High if no logic has been previously introduced
• Cost: $88.95 Basic Bundle which includes Student Book, Teacher Book and DVD Set.  Each item is also available individually.

I do not remember having studied logic in school. I know I must have been introduced to informal logic, as I know some of the terms, but I do not necessarily know what those terms mean. So reviewing, The Art of Argument, has been a fascinating education for me, as well as for my children.

To be totally honest, I was extremely excited about being able to review this book. The study of logic was one I have been wanting to start. Sarah (14), on the other hand, was completely against the program from the minute she heard what it was. I was flabbergasted as Sarah is not known for discounting any schoolwork before she gives it a try. So I sat down and talked to her about it and found out that one of her friends who attends a private Christian school had used the program last year and said it was very hard. So here we are, starting out with mom excited and Sarah very reticent.

I took a very slow, gentle approach to this book. I read the book out loud to her instead of assigning her to read the pages herself and then discuss. We went over vocabulary out loud as we read. I even started out by having her do the question pages out loud with me.  During the Introductory, What is Logic? section and the beginning of Unit 1 Sarah warily went along with me. I noticed her starting to become more and more interested by the time we reached the “Dialogue on Logic…and Propaganda”  which is in the form of a play between Socrates and a girl named Tiffany.

When we reached the first Fallacy, Ad Hominem Abusive, she was hooked. She admitted that she does enjoy the book so far. She has said it is not as “hard” as her friend made it sound. I reminded Sarah, that she is 14 and her friend is 13 and studied the book last year at 11 and 12.

What surprised me completely though was Ben (10). Ben was in the room listening while I was reading the first few introductory lessons to Sarah. Then he apparently was listening intently during the first Fallacy, because as I was asking and discussing the questions with Sarah, Ben piped up with very complete, well thought out answers. He is now constantly on the look out for examples of the Fallacies we have studied.

We usually read the chapter out loud together and discuss the questions. Then we will watch the video series, available as a supplement, that corresponds to the fallacy we are studying. Watching this video adds a great deal to our understanding by providing a deeper level of discussion and more examples.  The video is set up like a panel board discussion, with four students and two adult facilitators. It is not fancy, but provides valuable insights and produces better discussions than I can come up with myself.

The Teacher’s Edition was the same as the student book, except for having answers printed on the worksheet pages. This made it easy to teach, as I was always on the same page as the kids and could see everything, in full size, they had in their books.

I would highly recommend The Art of Argument by Classical Academic Press. The use of skits involving Socrates inject humor into the lesson. My kids found the “advertisements” that illustrate the different Fallacies to be entertaining. I feel this is a very solid informal logic curriculum.

Many of my Crew Mates also reviewed The Art of Argument. Visit the Crew Blog to read what they thought of the program.

As an Independent contractor for The Old Schoolhouse and member of TOS Homeschool Crew I received The Art of Argument, Student book, Teacher Edition and Disk 1 from Classical Academic Press for free in exchange for my honest review of their product

C is for Chimes

      This week for Blogging Through the Alphabet the letter is C. Marcy from the blog Ben and Me is endeavoring to blog through the entire alphabet and invited others to join her. Visit Marcy’s blog and read her C word and then visit the other blogs that are participating.

     Chimes! This week my chosen word is Chimes. Our church has a children’s chime choir. Ben and Rebekah are members and Sarah is a helper. This has been a new experience for my kids but they really love it.

     Ben and Rebekah love to go to chimes. They run in, see their friends, play a little bit, then get to work. The Chime Choir this year is a very young one. They range in age from 6 to 11. The  two 11 year olds have played before, but the other 8 are brand new. The director is gently teaching them the staff, what notes are on the staff, music timing, and watching her. It is so fun to hear the Chimes  play, and see the smiles on the kids faces when they  get to the end of the song.

     Because the players are new and fairly young, we usually have a couple mothers and my daughter Sarah around to help. Sarah plays piano and Hand Bells (can you guess what my H word will be). The little girls who are six love to have Sarah help them.  The Chime Choir director, who is also my kids piano teacher, the Hand Bell Choir Director and Pastor’s wife, relies on Sarah to help both before and after Chimes by getting out and putting away the chimes and music.

     Chime Choir has really stretched Ben and Rebekah in their music playing. They both take piano lessons, and chimes is another way to access their musical training. I like that some of the problems they are having with timing while playing the piano can be worked out through playing chimes. Learning to count and stay in rhythm is learned through chimes. If you play your note early, you mess the rest of the choir up, so timing becomes very important. My kids have learned to watch their music and follow along so they know when it is their turn to play their note.

     The best part of Chime Choir though, is that the kids have the opportunity to add to the church’s worship through their music. They are learning reverence and the joy of raising songs of praise to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Chime Choir is one way that this is accomplished.

Conflict…Resolved

     I walk in the door to church. One lady is just looking outside and makes an innocuous comment about somebody else having left. My heart immediately sinks. I want to turn around and go home before even starting to help. I know there is a conflict going on and I have a very good idea of what it is.

     Conflict! Conflict is inevitable. Everybody is unique with their own thoughts and ideas. When opposite ideas collide, conflict happens. That is what happened at church today.  Two different ideas of how to cook the meat for the dinner tomorrow. Workers for Christ focusing on the unimportant, whose way to cook it is better, rather than the important, working together to raise money for missions.

     I stayed, quickly determined what the problem was, and got down to work. Putting the tablecloths out, setting up the table with the offering basket, opening can after can of beans, all the while feeling the underlying tension. I am sad that two ladies, who both love the Lord and want to work for his Kingdom, are at odds.

      Then it is determined that a meeting of all who are working should be held to decide with a vote how to cook the meat. 8 ladies convene, 2 immediately start to state their case. I raise my hand and state that I have something to say. I tell them that before any more discussion occurs, we need to pray. So we pray with thanksgiving that God has allowed us this opportunity to work to raise money for the mission of furthering the Kingdom of God. And, we pray that we will be given clear heads and be able to make good decisions.

     When we finish praying the atmosphere has relaxed. We are able to calmly and rationally discuss the issue at hand. A compromise is struck.

      It is hard to believe that something as mundane as how to cook meat can cause such dissension. 1 Peter says that Satan prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. I saw an example of that today. Two beautiful, smart, Christian ladies, with two different ideas and no desire to compromise. But, after praying and asking God’s guidance, they were able to continue to work together. Only by the grace of God is this possible.

One of Those Days!

     It has been one of those days. One of those days when I thought everything was going to go so well, and I was wrong.

     Today, I was up early to get Sarah and two of her friends to Driver’s Ed by  6:45am. I was on a roll. I got granola made and cooking in the crockpot. We were on time for the class. I came home, wrote a few things, checked my e-mail, all was going well.

     Then it fell apart. I think a lot of it was my fault. I did not stop what I was doing on the computer, but directed Ben and Rebekah with my back to them. Consequently, they both messed around, knowing mom was not paying much attention to what they were doing.

     After I picked up Sarah, it  was time to start our school day. Because I had not been on top of things, chores did not get done. This means a messy house and dishes in the sink and an overflowing trash can today.

     Rebekah has “lost it’ about 3 times today. Not wanting to get started. Taking forever to do one math page (over 40 minutes). Throwing two or three fits and having to sit in her room by herself until she apologizes. Also, her nagging little habits are much worse today. She is constantly whistling, when told that it is during school hours and she will either have to stop whistling or go outside to continue, she stops. But then the humming starts. She is constantly asking for help today, even though she does not need it.

     My schedule. I did not follow the schedule and I can tell. Rebekah really needs the security a schedule provides. It is now noon and I have taken the time to write a quick schedule for the rest of the day. Then as each item is completed, Rebekah can check off what is done and see what she has left.  This is helping, but it is still a struggle.

     Tomorrow  I plan on sticking with our schedule for school and not sabotaging myself by messing around with other things. I hope and pray the day will go better.

B is for Birthday Blogging Through the Alphabet

     For this week my Blogging Through the Alphabet post I am choosing B to stand for Birthday. I have a very special reason for this as today is my son Matthew Jr.’s 19th birthday.  Marcy from the blog Ben and Me hosts  Blogging Through the Alphabet. Be sure to visit her blog to read her B word and then visit a few others as well.

      I asked Matthew the other day how it was to have been and adult for a year now. He said it was mostly good with only a few problems here and there.  This birthday for Matthew is also a strange feeling one for me. I was 19 when I had Matthew, so it is strange to think he is that old!

     Matthew is also one very busy guy. He is going to school full time, taking 17 credits this semester. He is also working at a local grocery store as a stocker. Most weeks he ends up with 30-36 hours.  He is also a volunteer firefighter. All of this means he really has to budget his time to get it all done. I am amazed at how he does it all.

     I am very proud of him for many reasons. He works hard at whatever he is doing, whether school, work, or firefighting. He also regularly attends church, when he is not working, all on his own. He will take the time to visit with his grandparents and great-grandmother. He even took the time to go shopping for great-grandma while I was gone for a month.

      This is not a post to say that Matthew is perfect. He is definitely not. If you need proof, just look in his messy bedroom or at the cracked tail light on my car.  But, all in all he is a pretty great guy! I love you Matthew! Have a great birthday!