The Making of America

I have a profound respect for our great country and especially for our Founding Fathers. I know that the United States of America was divinely founded for a righteous purpose and that it takes a righteous people to uphold those freedoms which we have taken for granted far too long. I have read and studied a few books and videos that I think every American needs to know in order to stop the loss of freedom, regain freedoms we have lost, and to correct our downward spiral into crisis.

I read an article titled, "The Big Crisis is Coming" and felt the truth of it fill me with a need to prepare myself, our family, and others. I hope you will read it and come up with your own knowledge of what it means to you. Our family has been studying how our country was formed and what principles it is based upon. Sadly, these principles are becoming forgotten or downright disowned by society as a whole. It takes individuals, families, communities, and churches to decide we will stand up for what is right and do all we can to preserve this blessed country of ours.

These videos are easy to understand and give an overview of Principles of Freedom found in The 5,000 Year Leap with this simple study guide.

Political Spectrum Explained



More Food for Thought:
Making of America free Webinars

New Endeavor - Springfield TJEd

I've been working diligently towards building a community where I live. Check out our new Springfield TJEd website. Here is the blurb for what we are about:

We are a coalition of family mentors working to build a community of people who value freedom. We are not affiliated with any political parties. Our goal is to promote freedom by offering opportunities to receive a Liberal Arts Education at home, in our schools, churches, and the community at large. Join us in educating ourselves, our families, and those around us.

How can we obtain a Liberal Arts Education?

A Liberal Arts Education is obtained through studying the great minds of history. A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the Twenty-First Century and The Great Conversation (Great Books of the Western World) describe how this can be achieved. The Founding Fathers studied these great minds and understood how precarious freedom would be then and in the future. Their knowledge led to the greatest expansion of free thinking and progress the world has ever seen.

Together, we can read and discuss the books the Founding Fathers discussed and the great books that have been written since their time. We can gain the knowledge they had. Through this we can retain, and even gain back, freedoms that are imperative to this great country of ours.

Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.  ~ Thomas Paine

Why should I obtain a Liberal Arts Education?

Many people feel that our country is heading in the wrong direction. Our nation is graduating people who cannot read sufficiently. The general feeling of anxiety and worry about our future, and the future of our children, permeates our everyday activities, the media, and our conversations. What better reason to learn about keeping freedom alive?

I don't know where to start.
Start with us! We have many upcoming opportunities to learn and grow together. Periodically we offer speakers on various education topics. Monthly classic book discussions are available for those wishing to meet and learn with other like-minded people.

Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed - else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die. ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower

Constituting America

I support organizations that teach Americans about America. I have read The Constitution of the United States a few times, but I heard about this undertaking by Constituting America to read the Constitution and the Federalist Papers in 90 days. I decided to take this challenge and hope that you all will too!

I'm a little behind in posting this, but I hope you'll do it with us!

Reading Schedule (Article are the Articles of the Constitution):

• Tuesday, April 20 – Read Article I
• Day 1 – Wednesday, April 21 – Blog on Article I; Read Article II
• Day 2 – Thursday, April 22 – Blog on Article II; Read Article III
• Day 3 – Friday, April 23 – Blog on Article III; Read remaining Articles (IV, V, VI, and VII) of the United States Constitution
• Day 4 – Monday, April 26 – Blog on Articles IV, V, VI and VII of the United States Constitution; Read the Amendments 1-10, Amendments 11-27
• Day 5 – Tuesday, April 27 – Blog on the Amendments to the United States Constitution; Read Federalist Paper # 1

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?