Thursday, November 25, 2010
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Classic Thanksgiving: Art
More Classic Thanksgiving (Poetry)
"Freedom from Want"
Norman Rockwell
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Classic Thanksgiving: Poetry
Paul Laurence Dunbar
The sun hath shed its kindly light,
Our harvesting is gladly o’er,
Our fields have felt no killing blight,
Our bins are filled with goodly store.
From pestilence, fire, flood, and sword
We have been spared by thy decree,
And now with humble hearts, O Lord,
We come to pay our thanks to thee.
We feel that had our merits been
The measure of thy gifts to us,
We erring children, born of sin,
Might not now be rejoicing thus.
No deed of ours hath brought us grace;
When thou wert nigh our sight was dull,
We hid in trembling from thy face,
But thou, O God, wert merciful.
Thy mighty hand o’er all the land
Hath still been open to bestow
Those blessings which our wants demand
From heaven, whence all blessings flow.
Thou hast, with ever watchful eye,
Looked down on us with holy care,
And from thy storehouse in the sky
Hast scattered plenty everywhere.
Then lift we up our songs of praise
To thee, O Father, good and kind;
To thee we consecrate our days;
Be thine the temple of each mind.
With incense sweet our thanks ascend;
Before thy works our powers pall;
Though we should strive years without end,
We could not thank thee for them all.
-From Lyrics of Sunshine and Shadow (1905)
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
All the Days that Adam Lived
As we think about the nature, purpose, and propriety of math, I want to point you back to the way math expresses the beauty and order of the universe.
For example, did you ever stop to think about the math in the Bible?
Addition
3When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth.
4Then the days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were eight hundred years, and he had other sons and daughters.
5So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died.
Genesis 5:3-5
Fractions
27'But if it is among the unclean animals, then he shall redeem it according to your valuation and add to it one-fifth of it; and if it is not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to your valuation.28'Nevertheless, anything which a man sets apart to the LORD out of all that he has, of man or animal or of the fields of his own property, shall not be sold or redeemed. Anything devoted to destruction is most holy to the LORD.
29'No one who may have been set apart among men shall be ransomed; he shall surely be put to death.
30'Thus all the tithe of the land, of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD'S; it is holy to the LORD.
31'If, therefore, a man wishes to redeem part of his tithe, he shall add to it one-fifth of it.
32'For every tenth part of herd or flock, whatever passes under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to the LORD.
Leviticus 27:27-32
Geometry
15 This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high. 16 Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit high all around. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. 17 I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you.
Genesis 6: 15-18
What other examples can you think of?
I want to give you a challenge this week. What if, when we read Scripture, we were to pay as much attention to numbers as we do to words? How might that change the way we think about math?
Monday, November 15, 2010
Join Me Tonight!

The show, "Ready for a Classical Conversation? Welcome CEO Leigh Bortins, will be on live at 5 p.m. EST.
Friday, November 12, 2010

- Parents camp out for children's education
How do you demonstrate what your children's education is worth to you? - Home-Educated Youth and the Election
"...one thing is undeniable -- home-educated youth are dramatically changing America's political landscape." - Training Our Children to Use Technology to God's Glory
Check out Dr. David Murray's new DVD, God’s Technology, presenting a Christian response to the digital revolution. - U.S. Teens Understand the Value of Math and Science, Survey Finds
"A press release from Intel suggests there may be a disconnect between students' confidence in their abilities in science and math and the reality, given the performance of U.S. students, including in international comparisons where they tend to lag behind many other developed nations." - Morse on Redeeming Economics
Thoughts worth considering: "Mueller’s synthesis allows us to see the genuinely social arena of human life, where people are more than autonomous individuals, and where actions nevertheless remain none of the government’s business." - Homeschooled campaigner heads to Congress
Jaime Herrera, Washington state's new Congresswoman, talks about the impact of her home school background.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Veterans Day
November 11, 2010
Visit the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to find out more about the history, celebration, and significance of Veterans Day.
Take a minute to say thank you to the Veterans you know who have pledged their lives to protect this country!
Monday, November 8, 2010
Math: not just a four-letter word
Write the math equation: __________________________
How many geese did Mrs. Thompson's class see? _______

Do you find math frustrating? You're not the only one. Even those who love math themselves may struggle to pass on that "natural"ability to their children. We are surrounded by numbers. But while we work intentionally to make reading a habit and a joy for our children, we all too often neglect to give the same care to mathematics.
This week and next, I invite you to join me in challenging our culture's assertion that math is dull, irrelevant, or purpose-less. Although nothing can replace learning the basics and repeating or re-sounding them until they are mastered, as an addition, you can begin with something as simple as a creative word problem.
The website the above problem came from, KidZone Math Word Problems, has seasonally themed word problems for grades 1-5 that you can print, copy by hand, or work in your head. Make it a challenge for the whole family: don't just work these problems, create your own!
You can add illustrations, practice good handwriting, and invite your older children to make up problems for you to solve. Remember, you know they understand the material fully when they can teach it to you!
Adding a creative touch to the math problems you work every day offers you another opportunity to share (and learn!) the order, structure, and fascination of the universe with your children.
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Friday, November 5, 2010

- Election Results for Classical Education Supporters
By Robert Bortins - Prepare Your Children for School Success, by Leigh Bortins
New article on B&N Kids' Expert Circle - Outrage at banning spelling tests
"How one can do higher-order thinking in math, social studies, or any other discipline while clueless about lower-order knowledge and skills remains a mystery..." -J. Martin Rochester - Teens are still reading for fun, say media specialists
"Pleasure reading dropped 23 percent in 2008, compared with 2003, from 65 minutes a week to 50 minutes a week - with the greatest falloff for those ages 12 to 14. '...It doesn't meant they're not reading, but they're not reading using the printed page.'"