As A Man Thinketh

This is a great little book, As A Man Thinketh, about positive thinking and attitude. I have needed to ponder this book a bit and see how to apply it better. (Free Online version in text and audio)

I agree with a great deal of this book. Our society likes to place blame on everyone but oneself. If one is poor, it is because of the economy. If one is rich, it is luck. Where is the dependence on self-reliance? Too much emphasis is placed on success in monetary forms rather than of personal morality and virtue. I like the features of this book that discuss personal responsibility and positive attitude towards one's circumstances.

One part of this book that I do not agree with is the worldview expressed through Buddhist practices of wealth simply through positive thinking and illness being solely due to impure thoughts.

There is also a rather obvious lack of God and the role of thankfulness to God for all that we have. The author mentions being "blessed", but there is no clear understanding of what is meant by that. I found this blatant omission a bit telling. The author stresses too much self-reliance and not enough reliance on God. There needs to be a balance between the two.

Week 20

Busy, busy, busy...that is life as a homeschool family. This week we went to the Grand Canyon on Wednesday with some family. It was a beautiful day!

Christian - King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table by Sir Thomas Mallory, Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (Playaway)
Marlayna - Mariel of Redwall by Brian Jacques, Salamadastrom by Brian Jacques
Me - Books - Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Do Together -

• Devotionals - Let Him Ask of God
  
• Read Aloud - Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingals Wilder
  
• Government and Freedom - Key Constitutional Concepts (Judicial Branch) Part 1 & 2
• Mathematician - Mathematicians are People Too "Count on Pascal"
  
• Musician - Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers - "Mozart", The Story of Mozart CD
  
• History - Grand Canyon feidltrip -History of the buildings, founding of the Grand Canyon, etc.
• English and Grammar - Winston Grammar - Adjectives and Adverbs, The School House Rock videos Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, Get You Adverbs Here and Unpack Your Adjectives (see Mom Notes below)
  
• Science - skipped science this week
• Fieldtrip - The Grand Canyon! We went to the Grand Canyon on Wednesday with family that stopped in to visit. Pictures coming soon!
  

Mom Notes - Instilling good grammar and writing skills in my children has been something I have worried about. Many people ask about teaching grammar using the TJED or Leadership Education method. I think that reading classic books helps a lot, but I have noticed a need for more description in my children's writings...and that is where Winston Grammar fits into our curriculum. We have actually finished the basic books before and I just go back and review things on an "as needed" basis. I asked my children to go back over a couple of journal entries and make some lists of adjectives and adverbs that could be used to enhance those particular entries. We will be going over some of these lists next week in an effort to write more descriptive journal entries.

Week 19

Ok - I've been very bad about keeping up on my homeschool posts with moving and all. But, it is never too late to get back on track...forgot to post this one on the right day.

Christian - King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table by Sir Thomas Mallory, Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (Playaway) - We let Christian go out-of-town with cousins for most of the week, so he did not get as much done this week. He did take a couple of classic books with him on Playaway.
Marlayna - Owl in Love by Patrice Kindl, Mariel of Redwall by Brian Jacques, The Shamer's Daughter by Lene Kaaberbol,
Me - Books - Emily Post's Etiquette and started Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin - Audio files at LDS-HEA - Darla Isackson, Paul Mero, Reed A. Benson, John Taylor Gatto, etc.

Do Together -

• Devotionals - Let Him Ask of God pg. 143 thru147
• Read Aloud - Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingals Wilder
  
• Government and Freedom - Mandate video on the President's of the United States, Civil War, and The New Deal
• Mathematician - Mathematicians are People Too "Galileo" pgs.45-51
  
• Musician - Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers pgs.27-34
  
• History - "Roman Empire" - Story of the World Vol. 2 pgs. 1-5 and Usborne Encyclopedia of World History pgs. 182-191
• Genealogy - Worked on my side of the 15 Generation Chart - See Mom Notes below.
  
• English and Grammar - Winston Grammar (we skipped school this day)
  
• Artist - (we skipped school this day)
  
• Science - "Ears and Eyes" - Usborne Science Encyclopedia pgs. 370-373, How the Body Works, Human Body Coloring Book
  
• Words of the Day - irreverant, meticulous, vindicate,

Mom Notes - We are loving the 15 Generation Chart! It has been so exciting to write in all the names of the ancestors we have information on. It makes it easy to see where work needs to be done. Also, we decided to highlight those born in other countries. Each country has a color - England, Canada, Ireland, France (American born are not highlighted at all) - so that we could get a visual picture for what percentage we are of each culture. We discovered that my mom's side of the family is American clear back for 9 generations! Also, I am a 4th generation Arizonan and my children are 5th generation Arizonan. How often do you find that?

Playaways from the Library

I just discovered the unique experience of using Playaways from the library. Chris really likes them. He can easily plug in a pair of ear buds and listen to classic books. Right now he is listening to Robinson Crusoe. Next, he has Tom Sawyer. They are so much easier than CD's with no scratches, fit in your pocket, and are easy for everyone to use.

Thank you Library for purchasing these and allowing the public to listen to these classic stories!

This week in Homeschooling:
I decided to try a new way to plan my Mom School each morning. I decided to focus on specific subjects as follows:

• Monday - Government and Freedom - Curriculum: The 5,000 Year Leap, Declaration of Independence, Constitution of the United States, The Making of America
  
• Tuesday - Math and Music- Curriculum: Math-U-See, Mathematicians are People Too Vol. 1 and 2, Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers
  
• Wednesday - History and Art - Curriculum: Story of the World Vol 2., Usborne Encyclopedia of World History, Genealogy
  
• Thursday - English and Grammar - Curriculum: Winston Grammar, Editor in Chief, Latina Christiana, Word of the Day
  
• Friday - Science - Curriculum: Encyclopedia of Science, Biology for Every Kid, How the Body Works, How Nature Works
  

I just started it this week, but I already feel that this is working out well for me and the kids. I use this basic subject outline to plan what is mine to teach and to inspire my children. I think I'm more inspired than they are! LOL!