Book Review: "Perelandra" by C. S. Lewis

I read the first book in this series, "Out of the Silent Planet", a while ago, but I was able to remember all of the things that I liked and didn't like about it by the end of "Perelandra". I typically love all of C.S. Lewis' books, however, I was not as fond of this series.

I loved "Mere Christianity" and "The Screwtape Letters" because I believe they have a great deal of truth. The only main thing that Lewis is missing in his descriptions of God are the knowledge that God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three distinct personages. He writes in all of his works based on the view of the Trinity. This series is no different.

I was a bit freaked out by Satan in this book. It seems too real and brings to mind the very real battle between good and evil. "Perelandra" also talks about an example of "Adam and Eve" that I found to be a bit off, which disturbed me. Also, this books discusses the Fall of Adam and Eve as evil and that if they had not suffered the Fall something better would have happened. I am not comfortable with the handling of these subjects as they are written in this book.

In some ways, this is just a story, but in dealing with serious religious subjects I often feel more of a sense of duty to keep to truth which is probably why this book series bothers me. I love his other works, but this one is OK, not fantastic.

Hurry! Pie!

Chris really wanted the pie to cool off quickly. 

That boy LOVES to eat. He is eating as much as the three of us girls altogether. He has grown 6 inches in the past year and gone up 5 shoe sizes.

Clashing Worldviews

I have been studying a book called "Understanding the Times", which is an apologetics Christian textbook about the various worldviews of the western hemisphere. It took me awhile to get a hold of this book and as I browsed the pages I was not initially interested in reading it. However, once I began reading the book I have now become completely engrossed in the idea of world views.

What is a "worldview"?
Basically a worldview is how a person's world wide perception, which includes the framework of ideas and beliefs, is used by an individual to view the world. It includes religion, philosophy, psychology, biology, etc. It really encompasses everything about how a person views how the world works.

I am still in the process of studying this book and I have an older version that does not include the Islamic worldview, which I would be very interested in studying as well. In all, I highly recommend this book! I have realized there are so many things around us that teach us and our children about other worldviews and we don't even know it!

New Age or Cosmic Humanist Worldview Examples:

• Avatar: The Last Air-bender - Teaches Reincarnation
• Phenomenon movie with John Travolta - Becoming "one" with the universe and that using more of your brain is the end purpose of life in order to become a God.
• A lot of American Indian faiths
• Johnathan Livingston Seagull book

Secular Humanist Worldview Examples:

• Dinosaur books, movies, and cartoons - Teaches evolution and Atheism.

I believe there are many others, but I can't think of them off the top of my head. It has made me readdress some of the cartoons, movies, and books my children have read/seen over the years to teach them what they are really viewing. I believe that as Christians we need to be very aware of what is being taught in the entertainment that enters our lives. I'm not necessarily saying it all needs to go, but I am saying that being aware helps to teach ourselves and our children not to be deceived. I know that not understanding this concept is part of the reason why Satan is so successful at leading people away from God.

I am not finished with this book yet, so I will post a full review when I'm done. I do hope to get the newer version too. I believe this is such an important issue to discuss with our children that I had a great discussion with my two oldest about this subject in one of those prime teaching moments on Saturday. Priceless!

P.S. I would not buy the full curriculum set as it has some anti-Mormon DVD segments.

Book Review: "The Republic" by Plato

The first two books of Plato's "The Republic" were very confusing for me. I struggled to follow the logic and figure out what exactly Socrates (the main character and teacher of Plato) is trying to argue. By book 4, I realized I was getting the hang of how the book reads and that I was following some of the logic. Book 5 brought me to a full halt as I was thoroughly disgusted by the whole "shared women and children" philosophy.

In all, I can see now where the Communist Manifesto and the Humanist Manifesto get a lot of their flawed logic from. I am still struggling with the fact that this book is part of the Great Books series. Why? Some of the analogies seem to be very compelling and true, while others are horrifyingly flawed and evil.

I was mislead by the title of the book to think this was an explanation of how a "Republic" government/society should be run, but I realized by the end that this is, in fact, an argument FOR an aristocracy government/society. This is, as Socrates would say, because I am basing my opinions on my prior knowledge of what a "Republic" is in our day and time. A democracy, in Socrates opinion, is one of the worst types of government because it allows too much freedom. Socrates argues that censorship in education, controlled birth populations, and choosing a person's vocation for them (among other ugly practices) brings about the perfect, just and happy society.

Some advice if you decide to read this book. Read your central cannon during the time you read this book. I felt that at times the arguments Socrates makes was in direct attack of my Christian faith! It was the same way I felt when reading the Communist and Humanist Manifestos. Yet, some of the book makes a lot of sense. It takes a lot of effort, at least for me, to pick out the truth and leave behind the false. Maybe that is the purpose of reading such a book.

What I Found to be Truth

• The Allegory of the Cave - The Cave was one of the things that I found truth in, which describes the state of an unlearned person who does not know what they do not know. It is pretty interesting and I do recommend reading this part of the book.

What I Found to be False

• Book 5 - Deals with education and the sharing of women and children. It is completely appalling. It negates the need for women and men to have separate roles in life and wipes out the family completely.
• Book 10 - The Myth of Er - Deals with reincarnation and a lot of the Greek mythology.
• There are many other things, but spread throughout the text and hard to pinpoint.

Change My Blog?

I have taken a little break from writing about two of my passions - great classic books and home education. Our family typically takes June and December off from our regular education schedule. This month we have also had Sam home and so we have spent a lot of time showing her around our new city/state. Fun times! We are so glad to have her here.

I have also had a few thoughts (and some comments) about what my blog should be. I know several people who have a blog for family and a separate blog about whatever else they are passionate about - home education, motherhood, cooking, vinyl wall art, scrap-booking, jewelry, etc. I think all these are fabulous! I am reluctant to separate my blog to make one for education and one for family. My reasons are that I am all of these things together. I do not separate myself from my passions. This is a way of LIFE for us and not two different things.

I am not saying that those who have separate blogs should put everything in one. This is just my personal choice. Several months ago I added links for each family member and another row of links to home education topics. This is all I'm going to do to separate the topics...so you can subscribe or not as you wish. You can just delete the topics you don't want to read...I won't know the difference!

I hope I have not offended anyone, it is not my intention. I will make more of an effort to post family happenings along with my other passions. I know that our blog is one of the key features for staying in touch with our family that is so far away now. We love you all!

Disaster Avoided - Schultz Fire in Flagstaff, AZ

The fire that started Sunday at Schultz Pass in Flagstaff, AZ was too close for comfort for our friends and former neighbors. Our home was directly across highway 89 from the Schultz fire. This video we saw showed our neighborhood smothered in black smoke. I just can't contain the tears as I think of those beautiful forests burning!

My son camped with the scouts in the area where the fire started. We have driven through those gorgeous areas as a family and enjoyed the fresh pine smell. All gone now...

This video passes right by our former home, but you can't see the house because of smoke.

Wipeout!

Our city has a pretty decent public pool with a surfing/boogie boarding feature called "The Huna". Our kids tried it out, but I only got one on video. :-( We invited some families we have met to come too. It was pretty fun, but public pools here costs a LOT more than the ones in Arizona. So, this will not be a daily or even weekly event.

Christian is one of the only active young men in our area, so we have not found him too many "dudes" to hang out with yet. But, I don't think he is complaining.

Marshmallow Canons

Chris LOVES making things. He says he is leaning towards becoming an Engineer. I think it would be an awesome career, based on his likes, dislikes, and abilities. He and his friend took apart the Marshmallow Guns he made the other day and made this...

Father's Day

All Mike wanted for Father's Day (besides a big flat screen TV) was to have his truck detailed inside and out. So, we swapped out cars Friday and we spent all day detailing Mike's truck. It was a lot of work!

Happy Father's Day to the best dad around!

Family Pics Summer 2010

I love having photos of everyone, I just don't like BEING in the photos. Let's face it, I'm heavier than I would like to be and I'm not very photogenic. I just never look very good in pictures. This was my Mother's Day gift. I know...getting my gift on Father's Day weekend is kind of weird, but we had to wait for Sam to come visit and we had to have a day when Mike could be there, which was only THIS Saturday. It had to rain off and on today on top of everything else, thus making the humidity VERY high and my hair was just too funky. Anyway, it will have to do for this year I guess.

Stockton Lake and The Peacock Incident

Stockton Lake
Some ward members invited us to go to Stockton Lake yesterday. They have a boat and take turns pulling everyone around the lake on a big tube. She invites people every year, what a trooper to be in her boat all day dragging everyone around! We had an awesome time! I never fell off once and she was really pulling the broadies! I am very sore today however. LOL!

The kids loved it and got to spend time with other youth from our ward. Sam was the only one really without anybody to hang with. The older boys had jobs and didn't come to the lake. (Bummer for Sam!)

I forgot my camera and so I didn't get any pictures! Grrr! I rely heavily on my camera to capture all these awesome moments in our lives. Words just can't do it justice.

The Peacock Incident
After the lake, we quickly drove home, showered, and left again for the Court of Honor for Chris and Marly had a camp meeting that parents were supposed to attend. WHY the ward schedules two things where parents have to attend on the SAME night is beyond me, but it happens all the time it seems.

On the way home from the Court of Honor I decided to take some back roads to go pick-up Marly. I typically take the same route, but wanted to see more of  the countryside. We suddenly came upon a peacock walking down the middle of the road.

I told Sam, "Here! Take the camera and get a picture!"

She hopped out and started edging closer to get a picture. But, the peacock was not too thrilled about a young woman with a camera getting closer to him, so he started belting out these crazy honking sounds and took off flying. I have never seen a peacock fly before! It was more or less gliding from one place to another.

Anyway, it scared Sam half out of her wits and she started screaming and running for the van. Chris is nearly dying with laughter at this point. It was the most hilarious thing I've seen in awhile. A good laugh!

Here is the snapshot Sam took just before the peacock turned kamikaze.

Job Hunting Stinks!

Mike and I have been married nearly 17 years now and I have helped in one way or another financially 8 years out of the 17. My husband is an awesome provider and always works harder than many men I see. Right now, he is working 70 hours a week at the only job he could get after being laid off 18 months ago. We lost one third of our income at that time. I know our story is no worse than many others out there, it is just part of the "fourth turning" we are going through as a nation. (Read "The Fourth Turning" by Strauss and Howe.)

We have had a hard road...going to court 5 times in 15 years over Sam (costing over $20,000 for the 15 years in court/attorney fees - negating any money I received in child support), job losses, student loans, extreme medical bills ($30,000 in two years for one child) have added to our lot in life. We have always had our needs met and have had many luxuries in life - air conditioning, two cars, nice furnishings, etc. Not anything very expensive mind you, but middle of the road quality. I have felt very blessed and cherished as Mike's wife.

Unfortunately, I need to work part-time again. With homeschooling, this makes life a bit stressful and challenging. Many people say to me, "Put your kids back in school and you can work, no problem!" Anyone who really knows me understands that this is not an option for our family. We have a family plan that does not include public school. I am not judging anyone whose children are in public school as it is a great gift for nationwide literacy, it is just not for us.

So, if you know of any decent part-time jobs out there for me...please let me know! I am trying to become a substitute teacher (yeah, I hear your shock after reading the last paragraph). Missouri standards for subs is even lower than Arizona, so I qualify with a minimum of 60 credit hours of college education (I have more, but no Bachelor's degree). Please keep us in your prayers that I will be hired as a substitute teacher, this gives our family the most money for my hours worked and the most flexibility.

Thank you in advance for your prayers!

Summertime Projects!

Summer brings a lot of changes for most families, ours is no exception. We typically take June off as a family break from the regular home education schedule. This year we have already traveled to Arizona and Sam is home with us for the next few weeks. Everyone just seemed itching to do some personal projects so we made a trip to Wal-mart and Lowe's to get some supplies and here is what everyone is doing.

Duck Tape

"I don't believe in much, but I believe in Duct Tape." ~ Miles on the final episode of Lost.

Duct tape is amazing stuff! I seriously think everyone needs an abundant amount of it for emergency preparedness. We have been making luggage tags, purses, book bags, wallets, etc. Mike was so surprised that my book bag was completely made of duct tape. He just couldn't believe it!


There are a lot of cool colors out there for Duct Tape. Here are some of the plans we used for our first projects before we started doing our own designs. Duct Tape Woven Purse and Cute Duct Tape Purse

Marshmallow Guns and Nunchucks

Chris has always loved making weapons, including wooden swords and shields. He made three different models of marshmallow guns to determine which design worked the best. Another tip he told me was to stuff the handles and the butt of the gun with TP to make the air pressure higher inside the gun.

The nunchucks are solid wood from a piece of dowel he had already. I was a little concerned about having him practice with these in the house. I wish he would have used a softer substance!

Bass Pro Shop Fun

We live on the outskirts of the city, we typically like to not live in the city. We are close to so many fun things to do! We are near the "Grandaddy" of all Bass Pro Shops...seriously, it is huge! This summer all the Bass Pro Shops are having Summer Family Camp with a lot of free stuff to do. They also have a couple of Merit Badge Classes for Boy Scouts. I took Chris last night and he got his Rifle Shooting Merit Badge...whoo hoo!

Here is a little video of the fun we had at Bass Pro Shop.

What Makes a Scholar, Academic Ability or Maturity Level?

Reference: Leadership Education by Oliver and Rachel DeMille pages 153-189

I've noticed in several Yahoo Groups that are geared towards TJED, that there are still a lot of misconceptions about what makes a Scholar student. I know it was a confusing topic for me when I first read A Thomas Jefferson Education. Then I went on to study everything I could about the subject; CD's, MP3 downloads, Forums, and books (See Leadership Education). I think I'm finally beginning to understand what Rachel and Oliver mean when they said children need to BEG to be in Scholar Phase.

Academic Ability
It is my observation that the conveyor belt focuses on academic ability as the sign that a student has completed the necessary tasks to be a completed project and receive a diploma. They answered enough questions correctly to get a 60% or higher in every class and they can now move on to adulthood. Even high achieving students are marked by their above 90% average with "honorable mention" graduation status and scholarships to college.

This focus on academic ability ingrained in our first 18 years of life is a hard thing to unlearn! It was planted and cemented into our psyche in the formative years of our life. It is almost as hard to break away from as re-learning how to walk. It is that much a part of our being that we have to literally stop and re-learn how to think about education.

What I see happening is that parents read the TJED books and they become awakened with a deep desire to learn. They always wanted to know how to think. They know that the education they received in nothing like what they want. Then they go about applying the principles of Leadership Education, but the expectations are still a conveyor belt set of expectations. When we see a child excel and read "Hamlet" we think, "AH! They are ready for Scholar Phase!"

Why does that happen? Well, most of us never read much Shakespeare and if we did it was probably a dumbed-down version which we hated being forced to read. So, in our minds this is a phenomenal feat! Our child reads Shakespeare and loves it! They must be a Scholar. (not!)

Maturity Level
Another facet of a person's full well-rounded education that the conveyor belt system completely ignores is becoming a mature young adult. I believe this is an under-valued part of determining if our child is ready for Scholar Phase. Just because my child reads for 6 hours a day does not make them ready for Scholar Phase. My daughter at age 10 was very ill and she stayed home and read all day long! Yet, she was not a Scholar, but a Love of Learner. As she grew and became more mature, she eventually and gradually became a Scholar student.

When a young adult reaches the point of wanting a Scholar Phase, they need to BEG for it! They have to really want it or they will loose their momentum and fall back into a Hate of Learning. I say this, because we lived it here in our home.

"So much of conveyor belt education is fear-based - worrying that the child will not measure up. In contrast, Leadership Education assumes that the child will not only meet but exceed basic levels of learning, and more importantly, totally exceed in certain chosen areas." ~ Leadership Education, page 161

Maturity Level Brings a Higher Academic Ability
What I learned to focus on was maturity level first, which naturally brings a higher academic ability along with it. It is nearly impossible to have a mature 15 year old who does not want to learn, grow, and be successful at life. I mean it, nearly impossible! So, if you have a youth who is struggling in their education, focus on how to help them mature first, the academics will come.

One area I also see is young adults with behavior problems, yet the parent insists they are a Scholar, probably because of their age or reading level or some other academic ability. Mature young adults do not have problems with obedience to basic household rules, they do not torture a younger sibling, they do not lie, steal and sneak things. I'm sorry, but that is not what a Scholar Phase young adult looks like. When a young person acts in ways that are contrary to the lessons of Core Phase, they need more core work! If a young person cannot choose right from wrong, good from bad, and truth from falsehood....guess what?...they need to go back and work on some Core Phase values before they will ever be a successful Scholar.

This is not to say that any one is perfect, I'm not by any means. What I am saying is that major behavior problems need to be corrected before Scholar Phase can be successful.

Conclusion
When we unlearn the conveyor belt expectations and let go of our fears, turning our focus to fully "Trust the Process", our families succeed in Leadership Education. Suddenly, teenagers mature into young adults and mentoring parents get more questions about what they should study (the begging starts!). I've seen my youth turn more to my mentoring suggestions as they mature. Our family has seen a burst of energy and learning that seriously brings tears to my eyes...it is so wonderful and beautiful to see them studying so much and learning so fast.

Mistake #8 - Do Not Clearly Outline Ownership

Reference: Leadership Education by Oliver and Rachel DeMille pages 212-224

When I first read about this "mistake" I have to admit I was a little confused by it. I had never thought of who "owns" Christmas or dinner or the yard. To me these things seemed self-evident. However, after studying this subject in more depth, I realized that we really do seem to"own" certain things in our home and they are often unspoken.

For example, it is obvious to me that parents "own" the family rules, yet in some families everything is decided by the entire family. Another example would be that a child "owns" the cleanliness of their room, but for children who share rooms sometimes certain aspects of the room cleanliness belong to different roommates. It was really interesting to me to sit down and make a list of what we have as unspoken ownerships in our home.

Here is a little list:

• Garage - Dad - We are not allowed to change where things go in the garage. This is Mike's domain!
• Home Education - Each Child - We understand that "teachers teach and students educate". Each child has to choose to be educated, choose to do the work, and choose to pay the price for a quality education. Mom and Dad provide the learning environment, but each person has to do the work to educate themselves.
• Dog - Children - Mom and Dad have given ownership of Maggie the Dog to the kids. If she lives or dies, it is up to them.
• Filing Paperwork - Mom - Mike does not want to touch it and I like to know where everything is.
• Paying Bills - Mom - I like to know where every penny goes. The original bill paying/budgeting system was chosen as a couple and I implement the majority of the plan.
• Yard - Dad - Mike loves making sure the yard looks pretty and I love that he will take care of it.

These are just a few, but I'm sure you get the general idea. We have determined that this works for our family, but families are so different with different personalities that really ANY ownership will work as long as it is defined. The problem comes in when ownership is not clearly defined. When Mike and I were first married we each wanted to implement traditions from our upbringing. Some things were easy to decide to which tradition we would keep, but others were not so easy. It took time to really decide what worked best and whose tradition fit our needs. In some cases it took us 3 years to come to a happy solution.

As for this as a mistake in Scholar Phase, I thought that we needed to sit down and just generally discuss ownership of education. When we did however, the kids blew me away with their depth of understanding they already had about this. They KNEW they owned their education and that only they can educate themselves. I guess it was nice to just reaffirm that this is how it works.

Mistake #7 - Don't Have Them Mentor Younger Siblings

Reference: Leadership Education by Oliver and Rachel DeMille, pages 212-224

This is an area in which I have struggled to find "younger siblings" for my children to mentor. Last year and for the first months of this year we fostered children, which gave my children a WONDERFUL opportunity to mentor younger "siblings". I saw them blossom and have such fabulous teaching moments. Marly worked hard with Big Boy and Jabber Jaw to teach them colors, ABC's, and counting through play. Chris mentored personal hygiene through helping the little ones brush their teeth, pick out clothes, and put on their shoes. Reading aloud and playing games with these Core Phase little ones brought a great deal of happiness and purpose to our lives. It never ceases to amaze me that the family structure is perfect for mentoring of all ages!

We moved to a new state and are not currently fostering. I am at a loss in many ways to find mentoring situations for my young adults. They have volunteered to work with the nursery children at church during weekday activities and are always happy to babysit. In a way, this is almost enough.

Sam's High School Graduation

Congratulations, Sam! We just returned from Arizona after seeing Sam graduate from high school and seminary. Here are some pics!