• 5 Things I Appreciate About Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities"

    By Sabrina on 17 May 2012 / Curricula, High School / 7 Comments

    Was it the best of times or the worst of times??

    "It was the best of times; it was the worst of times." So begins this classic historical novel by Charles Dickens.

    But for many high school students they are likely to say, "It was the worst of books; it was a painful class."  So why am I a huge believer in reading this book with my homeschooled high schoolers?

     

    1. Charles Dickens had a way with words. Period. His vocabulary is a stretch for most high schoolers, but oh! The beauty in his style! No one should turn 18 without having read the words:

    "I would ask you to believe that he has a heart he very, very seldom reveals, and that there are deep wounds in it. My dear, I have seen it bleeding."

    Or "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known."

    Keeping a vocabulary list handy will take a lot of the confusion out of the $5 words, allowing the reader to savor the richness of Dickens' writing on the palate.

    2. While the story is fiction, the reader gets a vivid understanding of Paris at the time of the French Revolution.  We can read in a history text that 1,100 prisoners were taken out and executed in a four day period.  But when we read this fact from "inside the story," having formed emotional connections to characters who are trapped in the heart of the rioting city, we understand much more deeply the nature of peasant revolts (of which there have been so many over the centuries) and the power of the mob mentality.

    3. While the horror of the revolution is vividly portrayed, Dickens does not make it his focus.  He instead focuses on the characteristics of loyalty, honor and self-sacrifice that become evident most clearly against a backdrop of chaos and fear.  The story is immeasurably inspiring.  The conversation with the little seamstress in the last chapter of the book brings me to tears every time I read it; the tenderness with which Dickens writes this dialogue in the midst of depravity is a tribute to the triumph of love over sin.

    4. It's an uneven book. Book the First (47 pages or so) is pretty dry and somewhat hard to get through.  Huh?  Why is that something to appreciate? Because teenagers can learn that it's worth it to plug on, to persevere through a rough patch filled with confusing details about settings in order to fully experience the later story of the characters in that setting.  Book the Second is exciting, and can only be fully understood with the background information found in Book the First.  And Book the Third is so suspenseful, so precious, so inspiring that it makes the dry moments of Book the First cease to matter.  That's kind of like life, in my opinion.

    5. The plot is filled with situational irony. If you have never studied a great example of situational irony in literature, this is your moment!  (Many of the plot twists are just TOO much to take in!)

    If you would like to read A Tale of Two Cities in your homeschool but feel intimidated by the prospect, or if you want some great discussion questions and tools for understanding and appreciating this work of classic literature, look for the study guide in our EBookstore! Just $3.99, no busywork, just useful background info, vocab and comprehension work.

    What's your experience been with A Tale of Two Cities?

  • The Only RIGHT Way to Teach Literature

    By Sabrina on 16 May 2012 / High School, Literature, Personal Growth, Social Skills, Study Skills / 9 Comments

    Literature is such an important core academic class in high school for homeschoolers as well as the rest of the population.  I have reached a conclusion after many years of teaching my own children high school literature and teaching classes for hundreds of homeschooled high schoolers in our area:

    There is only ONE RIGHT WAY to teach literature.

    I am going to share that way with you now.

    I know this is the ONE RIGHT WAY because I can fast-forward the scene and enjoy where it takes me.  Let me explain:

    Any time we make a choice, we are creating consequences in our own life story.  Think of your life story burned onto a DVD, and hit the fast-forward button.....where will you find yourself down the road as the result of this choice?  Are you satisfied with the outcome you can foresee?  (Thank you, Dr. Henry Cloud, for the idea of playing your life forward!)

    If I teach my homeschooler literature in the traditional way, I will choose books that are recommended reading for high school at various grade levels, and I will choose them whether I actually understand the value of those books myself or not.  In other words, someone else chooses my child's book list; I don't know who this person is, but he or she established the curriculum I bought or created a list of books that appeared on the internet and sounded authoritative.

    Then, when my student reads those books, we will look for the commonly respected themes in the story, we will memorize the pivotal moments in the plot,  we will recognize the universally accepted symbolism in the story, and finally, we will produce a piece of writing based on a prompt someone put forth as a "good topic" for writing about this book.

    When we are all done and I play the scene forward in my mind, I see my grown child at a dinner party with colleagues someday where someone mentions the book title.  "Ah yes!  I read that book in high school, too."  The discussion that continues will find everyone sharing very similar experiences they had with the book, the primary focus for actual conversation being who liked the book and who didn't.  All I will have taught my child with this traditional method is to memorize what others have decided is valuable about a piece of writing, to articulate someone else's observations about it, and to decide whether or not it was fun to do those things.

    Here is the ONE RIGHT WAY to teach high school literature:

    * Choose for yourselves.  Whether you create your child's book list or you collaborate on the task, choose books that you want to immerse yourselves in.  What do you want to spend time talking about in the car?  What topics will interest you around the dinner table?  Choose books that will feed into that conversation.  Recommended reading lists are a great place to get IDEAS for books to read, but they are not definitive.  There is no book that MUST be read for a child to graduate from high school.

    * Read with your brain turned on.  It is important to pay attention to the story, the characters and the themes as you read, and a literature study guide is an irreplaceable tool if you or your student struggles to stay focused while reading.  (Check out 7 Sisters' ever-growing collection of $3.99 study guides on many classic works of literature.)  The author put those elements in there for a reason, so read aloud, or read more than once, or read with study helps at your side....whatever way enables you to read with your brain engaged.

    * Read with your SPIRIT turned on.  Knowing what the author put into the book is not enough.  It's so exciting to uncover what GOD put into the book, and reading with an attitude of openness to His agenda for us reveals those things.  Ask God to show Himself in what you are reading.  Even books by godless authors frequently contain illustrations of spiritual truth; God uses the most unlikely vessels.

    * Talk about what you've read.  Have meaningful conversations about books instead of oral review sessions.  Don't quiz your child to see if he completed the assigned chapters; TALK TO HIM about what is grabbing him in the reading.  Encourage him to articulate WHY it's grabbing him.  There are no wrong answers when you are discussing a piece of literature.

    * Allow your writing assignments to grow out of these conversations.  If you use a writing prompt you find from someone else to get you started, that's fine, but only if the prompt is a good fit for the conversation you've already been having.  If your child saw something really out-of-the-norm when she read the book, and she can articulate it and support her observations with examples from the book, GOOD FOR HER!  You don't even have to see it yourself; if she can write about it intelligently, she might be able to convince you that you simply missed those things when you were reading the same book!

    Fast-forward the scene in your mind:  ten years down the road my grown child is at a dinner party with colleagues where someone mentions a book title.  "Ah yes!  I read that book in high school, too."  Now imagine how rich the ensuing conversation will be.

    While many others in the circle "learned" the same things from that book, my child will be able to share from his personal encounter with the book.  He can INTRODUCE IDEAS that were stirred in him.  He can SHARE STORIES of how he was changed by that reading experience.  And he can EXTEND A CHALLENGE to the people around him to turn on their brains and their spirits in a deeper way the next time they pick up a book.
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    Hip Homeschool Hop Button

  • When Your Elementary-Aged Homeschooler Doesn't Like to Read

    By Sabrina on 15 May 2012 / Elementary Homeschool, Literature, Struggling Readers / 10 Comments

    It was 2006, and I was a failure.

    Everyone knows that all homeschooled children love books, right?  Not my kid!  He was in 4th grade, he had both eyes intact and functioning, and still he didn't love books.  Clearly, I was a failure.

    :)

    Ok, clearly I'm being silly!  But this is not a huge exaggeration of how it felt when my youngest just didn't like books.  I am pretty sure now that I am NOT the only homeschool mom out there to experience this, so allow me to share with you a few of the things that helped us through this crisis.

    1.  PRAYER.  That's a given.  Whenever you are frustrated about anything, the Lord is your first stop on the road to a solution.

    2.  PERSPECTIVE.  I looked at my other kids; each of them had strengths and weaknesses, interests and areas of non-interest.  I didn't think Bekah was in danger because she didn't play guitar like Jake loved to do, so why was this so upsetting to me?  Even when I looked at myself, I could see that although I didn't like sports, I wasn't crippled in life; I'd learned to take care of my body with exercise in ways that I could handle even if playing volleyball terrified me (Don't mock:  I broke a nail once and, well...I don't like to talk about it.).

    3.  INNOVATION.  I couldn't figure out a different way to present books so that he would love them, but I could figure out different ways to present the important material IN books so that he could learn from them anyway.  We used audio books, read-aloud, and added the movie versions of stories as appropriate for enrichment.  I found that often he could stick with the book if he had seen the movie first; having a grasp on all of the characters and the basic plot helped him stay focused on the book.  We used encyclopedia-style books; the shorter article format was much less intimidating.  We used book clubs so he had incentive to reach a goal in finishing the book with enough understanding to join in the club activities about it.  We used his love of drawing to help maintain his focus while reading; he drew the characters, he made maps of their world, he charted their progress through the story on life-path diagrams.  Using his hands to create something related to the story helped.

    4.  GOOD BOOKS.  I decided that less was more, and the quantity of books was not terribly important as long as he was reading well-written material and grabbing hold of it for himself.  Here's the closing paragraph from the book report he wrote on Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH when he was in 5th grade:

    "I loved the book; I love it a lot!  I would recommend that people who like adventurous and real-life stories with a fantasy twist would like this story.  I would like to write a book like this someday.  Wrapping it all together, this book was very good."

    5.  NOT-SO-GOOD BOOKS.  Huh?  Certain books grabbed this kid in ways that I didn't understand.  I can't explain WHY he fell in love with the Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey, but he did.  He read those books over and over again while I cringed in the most Charlotte-Mason-corner-of-my-heart.  Looking back I have no regrets; he practiced the discipline of sitting with a book for more than 30 seconds of his own free will.  He made happy memories with a book in his hands.  He learned creative vocabulary use (granted, some of the vocabulary were not real words, but that gave him phonics practice, right?).  Most importantly, he learned that BOOKS DO NOT EQUAL PUNISHMENT when he chose to read less-than-classic literature and I didn't cry audibly.

    Your turn:  Got ideas for reluctant readers?

    ===================================================

    New in our EBookstore, a study guide for Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien.  Find out why Jonah loved this book, and I loved it enough to write a multi-level study guide to go with it!  The concept of PERSPECTIVE is beautifully illustrated in this Newberry Medal winning book. Download your guide here.

  • How to Choose Books for Homeschooling High School Literature

    By Sabrina on 14 May 2012 / Curricula, High School, Homeschool Information, Literature, Struggling Readers, Teaching, Writing / 2 Comments


    Homeschooling high school literature is one of my favorite things to do, but choosing which books to read in a given academic year can be hard.  So many great books, so little time!

    Here are some tips for making those hard choices, or click for a short video blog on this same topic.

    * Pick a type of literature as a focus for the year.  American or British or World Literature, for example, or a specialty area like Great Christian Writers or Mystery Writers for a student who is especially interested in one area of study.

    * Choose 9 books, one for each month of the typical academic year.  More than 9 and it's easy to get bogged down.  Less than 9 and you may not have enough for a strong entry on your high school transcript.

    (A high school student should aim for 15-25 books read by the end of the school year, but choosing 9 for your lit class means the other 16 can be books to enhance learning in other subject areas, or simply books of his or her personal choosing; that way reading doesn't feel like it's always an assignment, but can instead be a joy in life as well.)

    * Select at least one book that you (the teacher) fell in love with when you first read it.  Your passion for the book will model a contagious attitude to your student.

    * Select at least one book that is BELOW his/her reading level.  A book that was written for children may well have levels of meaning that can be discovered by an older reader, without the difficulties of vocabulary, complex sentence structure, etc.

    * Select 2 or 3 that are a real stretch for your student.  They should practice perseverance in earning that homeschool high school literature credit!  It's very rewarding to make it to the finish line with a tough book.

    * Make use of anthologies and online sources of short stories, essays and poems to create a collection that can then be treated as a "book" on your list.  It's a money-savvy way to get curriculum.

    * Choose a story the student already knows from either a movie adaptation, or just because it's famous.  It's okay for him/her to know the ending before you begin!  And for some students (especially reluctant readers) knowing the framework first helps keep them on track.

    * Use literature study guides to incorporate vocabulary learning, understanding of the context and the author as a person, supplemental resources and suggested writing or project ideas into your reading adventure.  I recorded a video blog on the importance of literature study guides, and I bet it will convince you to give this resource a try if you've never used a guide before.

    Our EBookstore has lots of study guides for classic works of literature available for only $3.99.

    Here's my vlog on choosing literature:

     


  • English/Language Arts in Homeschool High School

    By Vicki on 13 May 2012 / Curricula, News / 0 Comment

    Each goofy kid has different strengths in ELA

    First off, let me start right out by saying this: There is no: ONE RIGHT way to homeschool.

    OK, now that we got that out of the way, let’s talk about English/Language Arts in high school at home.

    ELA is a huge course in high school. It requires the following:

    -Reading real books and/or literature textbooks

    -Writing lots of papers of many sorts

    -Vocabulary

    -Grammar

    -Language Mechanics

    -Public Speaking

    Writing all those papers was good college prep for Hannah

    The actual numbers of books and papers varies from family to family (and/or diploma program to diploma program). The amount and level of vocabulary, grammar, mechanics, and public speaking follows the same idea- it varies from family to family.

    Let me give you an idea of what we do at the homeschool umbrella school that all the 7 Sisters joined.

    -Reading of real books

    Each year in homeschool high school, our kids read between 15-50 books (according to the grade and course level of each student). This includes at least 3 classics and can count 10 books of the Bible (yep, we count each one as a book), a few audiobooks, other books of interest.

    OR they can choose to combine literature textbooks and real books.

    We have found that using study guides for 9-14 of the real books is a BIG help to our kids- as long as the study guides inspire and enhance (not kill the joy of the book with busy work). Here's the link to our many study guides that we use with our kids.

    -Writing lots of papers of many sorts

    Each year in high school, our kids write (according to grade and course level) 2-8 five-paragraph essays, 4-8 short papers (including genres such as short stories, poetry, reports), plus a 5-page paper (some of these must be research papers in MLA and APA formats).

    -Vocabulary

    Determined by family’s goals. College bound kids concentrate on texts that will prepare them for SATs and ACTs.

    Kym's son likes to write about his missions trips

    -Grammar and Language Mechanics

    Again, determined by the family. College bound kids especially need to work hard on editing skills for college entrance exams.

    -Public Speaking

    Format determined by the family, but an absolute necessity.

    The difficulty levels of the books read, papers written, and other areas are heavily influenced by students’ capabilities. For instance, many 9th graders will need to read less complex books than can be enjoyed by 12th graders. Students with dyslexia will need to read literature from adapted sources.

    What are some important books you've had your homeschooler read?

    Our 7 Sister's literature study guides are affordable, useful, and inspirational- and don't kill homeschoolers with busywork. Starting with Sara, Plain and Tall for younger students and including Christian classics like God's Smuggler and The Hiding Place; then onto great classics like The Hobbit, Antigone, Animal Farm, and many more- your students will be blessed.

    ======================

    Here's my son, Ezra's "interview" with Ralph Waldo Emerson to get you started on great literature:

     

  • How to be a Great Homeschool Grad Party Guest

    By Sabrina on 11 May 2012 / Helping Others, High School, Holidays, Social Skills, The Home / 13 Comments

    To follow up on Allison's post on how to throw a homeschool graduation party. Here's her sister, Sabrina's ideas on how to be a great grad party guest:

     

    These next few weeks are filled with graduation parties in most of our world. Here are a few tips for enjoying those you attend as a guest (for tips on how to HOST a fabu party, see Allison's post How to Throw a Homeschool Graduation Party):

    * Most graduation parties are "open house" style which means your arrival time is not specific. Read the invitation carefully to be sure this is the case, but if it is, plan to come right near the beginning if you can and offer to help the hostess set up last-minute items or carry food out from the kitchen. That last-minute rush is stressful for a lot of hostesses, and if you come with your sleeves rolled up ready to help her, it will also relax her!

    * When offering to help, be sure you really mean it. Before you volunteer, put your pocketbook down and use the bathroom if you need to. THEN offer. Chances are your hostess has a million things running through her mind, and she will more easily put you to work right away if she sees you are ready to jump in.

    * Visit with the people you know, but try to introduce yourself to a couple of groups who are new to you. Graduation parties tend to be a mix of family, friends, and church....there are always a few folks you haven't met before. It's great to spend an hour with your closest friends, but it's also great to spend 5 minutes reaching out to someone new.

    * Most graduation parties are for families....whole families are invited instead of just one or two people. So if your younger children are also partying with you, remind them of good social skills before you arrive, and keep a half-an-eye on them during the party as well. If you notice their behavior getting a little too rambunctious, take them aside and gently remind them that "This is someone's home, and you need to treat it with respect," (or "That little girl may be annoying, but pouring lemonade down her back is rude"....etc.). There's nothing more awkward than being the hostess and agonizing over a child who is behaving badly while the parent is oblivious.

    * Greet the grad, but don't monopolize his time. He has probably invited a lot of people to this party, and while he wants to thank each person for coming, he can't do that if he has to have a 1/2 hour conversation with each one about his future plans. Keep things light and brief. If he can talk to you more later, he'll find you.

    * Clean up using common sense. Sometimes there are plastic cups all over the backyard. You can safely assume that if the party is winding down, the hostess would love to see the cups picked up and thrown away. You probably don't have to find her and ask for plastic cup protocol. Near the end of the party, the hostess is often exhausted, and may finally be sitting down to enjoy some food herself, and if you come and ask her something as simple as that, she may feel that SHE should get up and do it. If you just use common sense, you will probably be offering real help, and leaving her tired brain out of it.

    Just like 7 Sisters blogs are more fun when everyone comments, graduation parties are more fun when everyone pitches in to keep them running smoothly. Unlike a formal dinner party or reception, a graduation party is a great time for casual fellowship and working shoulder to shoulder to set up and clean up.

    Congratulations to all our homeschool grads, and happy partying!

    For working on social skills with younger kids, check out our Social Skills for Children.

    Got any funny graduation party stories?

  • How to Throw a Homeschool Graduation Party

    By Allison on 10 May 2012 / Healthy Living, The Home / 9 Comments

    By popular demand. Join us for this classic post from Allison.

    Tis the season to go to grad parties.  As I prepare to host my third and final high school graduation party, I was asked by a friend (who is on her first) for some ideas.  There are many ways of doing a big celebratory event like a graduation party, but the task can be daunting, especially if you have never done anything like this before.  I’ve compiled some of the ideas and tips that I’ve discovered by trial and error.  I hope they help you.
    Plan ahead: Make what you can ahead of time - Cook pork for pulled pork, ham, or  turkey days or even weeks ahead and freeze.  Do the same if you are having Italian dishes like baked ziti or lasagna.

    Prepare for bad weather: Have room inside, in the garage, or under a tent in case of rain

    Equipment: Use large electric roasters or steam pans for hot foods (meatballs for sandwiches, ziti or lasagna, pulled pork for sandwiches, turkey or ham).  Keep cold foods on ice by filling larger containers with ice and placing the bowls of food inside them.  Lids to catering trays work well for this as well as baskets with plastic liners.  Borrow large coolers to keep foods in if you cannot fit them all in your fridge, or ask a neighbor if you can stash extras in their fridge.

    Serving: If you are having an open house and people will be arriving over a long period of time and eating as they come, put smaller bowls of food out and refill periodically.

    Dessert: A cake is a beautiful and expected centerpiece for a party, but if people are not arriving and eating all at the same time, guests will either miss the chance to eat any or miss the chance to see the decorated cake uncut.  Consider cookies, brownies, or other single serve treats alone or in addition to the decorated cake.

    Beverages: If you are looking mainly for convenience, cans of soda and tea and water bottles are the way to go.  You will need to line up extra coolers or plastic bins in which to put ice and the cans.  Again, you can keep extras cooling in the fridge (if you have room) and refill your cooler/bin as it empties.  This is also something that can easily be delegated. You can ask a helpful family member or friend to purchase the beverages and bring them.  No prep is needed so it is a relatively easy way for someone to pitch in and help. The main drawback to this choice is the cost.  You will spend more buying individual servings of beverages and some may be wasted as guests pick up a can and only drink half.
    Another option is making large batches of iced tea and lemonade and serving them in large beverage servers. You can use the old standard “cooler” style servers which hold several gallons and keep the contents cold.  A prettier option is the newer 3 gallon beverage servers with pour spout.  You might not want to invest in these for one event, but if you host a lot of parties at your house they are definitely worth it.  You might also ask friends if they own one.  Most people are happy to share an item like this that they only used periodically.

    Set Up: The best plan for setting up your food tables will depend primarily on your setting.  Pick the area which works best with the size and configuration of your home and property.  Whenever possible it’s best to keep the food indoors, or at least in a screened area. Otherwise you will have to contend with bugs helping themselves to your dishes.  Also, keeping the food indoors on a hot day decreases concerns about spoilage.

    Think like a guest: Try to arrange food, plates, plastic ware, and drinks to make it easy for guests to get what they want, carry it, and find a spot to eat it.  One trick I have found very helpful goes against the standard buffet arrangement.  Place the napkins and plastic/silverware AFTER the food dishes. This way guests don’t have to juggle all of these items while serving themselves.  This also avoids wasting plastic/silverware.  Guests will only take what they need if they come to these items after they have their food.  If they must pick up their silverware first, they have to assume that they will need everything - fork, spoon, knife - even if they do not.  It’s also helpful to have the drinks located away from the food tables.  Many guests will be getting drinks throughout the party and they need to have access without getting in the way of those who are getting their food.

    Trash: Make sure you have large trash cans located in several obvious spots.  Make it easy for your guests to clean up after themselves.  If you are going the canned drink route for your beverages, also have recycle cans next to the trash cans.  Be sure to clearly label these so you don’t have to sort through the trash later.

    Have a good time: Remember, this is a celebration.  The point is for you and your guests to feel comfortable and enjoy yourselves. If any of these steps make you feel too stressed, find an easier way.  Buy deli trays; have the whole event catered; or just have beverages, chips, and dessert.   There are no rules to follow, just suggestions to help you plan your own personalized event.

  • Homeschool Mom, Dogs, and Skunks

    By Vicki on 09 May 2012 / News, Stories / 1 Comment

    Kym and Doug-not chasing dogs at the moment

    Homeschoolers don't have boring lives, in case you haven't noticed! Our 7 Sister, Kym is always getting into some adventure. The other night she had me in stitches with a running stream of txts about her dog-rescue adventure. We pasted the txts together for you, thinking it might help someone else feel more normal (or something)...

    Took a lovely walk with my hubby and dog after a long day of homeschool lessons.  We were all enjoying the peace and the breeze. Not far from home we heard a commotion. Knowing that our Stewie the Wonderdog has a few complexes and can be fearful of people, noises, and others dogs when he's on a leash, we crossed the street.  As we got closer, we realized it was our neighbors attempting to capture their runaway dog.

    Stewie suppressed his hang-ups and helped us join in the chase. 45 minutes later, we were still trying to corral the runaway dog, when along comes our neighbors’ SUV being driven by their 10-year-old!

    His explanation: He wanted to find them but was afraid to walk or ride his bike for fear of getting mugged.

    Kym's twins, who missed most of the excitement

    (Most folks don’t get mugged in our neighborhood.)

    Meanwhile the chase continues as I follow dog 15 houses around our circular neighborhood where he finally goes in the back of the houses and proceeds to give himself a roll-around bath in skunk juice.

    Finally, our neighbor employs the infamous SUV where she seats herself in the open tailgate of wagging hot dogs at the skunky dog. She finally dives at him and catches his front paws. Voila!

    We headed home, grateful Stewie wasn't skunked only to realize that I had been in close enough contact with the runaway to catch a faint scent.

    Kym with daughter of superpower of Super Smell

    I took off my homeschool-group hoodie and headed straight for the sink to scrub my hands.

     

    Eldest daughter, who if she were a superhero would have Super Smell as her super power, enters the kitchen practically gagging. She begs me to go outside and asks that whatever I do, I don't go upstairs or down.

    I banish myself to the back porch with my cell phone and kindle while my dear hubby heads out to get me peroxide (to go with the dish soap and baking soda).  He is gone...I'm in the dark with my electronics and it starts to rain. I toss my kindle fire and  my "dumb phone" in the door onto the sofa. It's getting colder and starts to pour. I head around to the front porch which at least has a little cover.

    Kym's son, who missed all but the smell!

    So my knight in shining van (with the peroxide) pulls in the drive at the same time as my dear son returns with his sisters.
    They hold their noses as they run by and into the house.

    Dear hubby turns off the porch light and I peel off as many layers as I can without risking arrest or embarrassment and scoot up to the shower and my bath of green slime. The next day, I ran into 7 Sister, Vicki, and she assured me that I didn’t smell too skunky then. Whew!

    If your life gets to feeling that nutty, maybe you'd enjoy doing our 7 Sisters Psychology from a Christian Worldview. Fun for anyone, but especially useful for teens needing to develop a good high school transcript.

    And the silliness continues... Here's Sabrina telling the story of Rindercella.

     

  • Homeschoolers, Psychology is:

    By Vicki on 08 May 2012 / College, High School, News / 1 Comment

    I am a 24-year veteran of homeschooling and also work as a counselor at a Christian practice.

    I'd like to tell my homeschool friends about psychology. Psychology is:

    Perception 

    Optical illusions are tricks our eyes and brains play on us. Our perception of things is affected by what we expect to see. This is psychology.

    Learning

    How we learn and what we learn is controlled by the brain, among other things. Understanding how we learn: this is psychology.

    Communication

    Understanding effective ways to speak and listen: this is psychology.

    Genetics

    Why does our body affect our moods and our moods affect our body? This is psychology.

    Needs and Motivation

    What do we need to thrive emotionally and why do we want what we want? This is psychology.

    Personality

    Who are you and what are you like? What do you like? This is psychology.

    Sleep and Dreams

    Alpha waves and REM are part of the brain's work in sleeping. This is psychology.                                     

    Helping Others

    This is my job. I love it. I love to be used by God to ease another person's pain. This is psychology.

    Help your teen discover God's handiwork in creating human brains and souls. That is the purpose of our 7 Sisters Psychology from a Christian Worldview. This 1/2 credit course help students meet transcript requirements while gaining some useful-for-life information.

    =================================================================

    Here's my talk for seniors who are getting ready to go off to college.

     

     


     

  • Intro to Psychology from a Christian Perspective by Vicki Tillman

    By Vicki on 07 May 2012 / Curricula, High School, Homeschool Information, News, Teaching / 0 Comment

    I know, I know: usually homeschoolers don't review the books THEY wrote!

    I'm going to tell you why I'm writing about Introduction to Psychology from a Christian Perspective:

    The world is often a sad and broken place. People get hurt.

    Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted and set the captives free. In my career as a counselor, I feel like I get to carry on his work in his name:

     1The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound. -Isaiah 61:1 KJV biblegateway.com

    When my oldest kids were in high school, I wanted to give them the tools to understand themselves, their fearfully- and wonderfully-made brains, the people around them, and how to be a compassionate person toward a friend in need. BUT there were NO high school-level Christian textbooks. So based on my training and work, I wrote a fun/accessible text with a theocentric perspective. We have used it consistently in co-op and umbrella school for years, now.

    Here are the important things it covers:

    -The brain and how it works                                                                                    

    Kym's oldest is in college studying Human Services. She got her feet wet in high school with this text.


    -Perception

    -Genetics

    -Learning

    -History of psychology: from ancient Egypt to today

    -Communication

    -Needs and motivation

    -Personality

    -Sleep and dreams

    -Abnormal psychology

    My #3 son is studying education in college. His courses on understanding children are good follow-ups to high school psych.

    -Christian counseling

    -Careers in psychology

    -How to help a friend in crisis

    It is a 1/2 credit college-prep course OR a 1 credit average high school course.

    The text contains enrichment activities for fun (or advanced-level credit), questions, tests, and answer keys. You can get a glimpse of some activities and questions here.

    I firmly believe that every homeschooled teen could benefit from learning the basics of psychology and helping. Click over to our bookstore and take a look. Your teen (or even you) will have a blast with this as a second-semester course!

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    A great go-along with Psychology is our FREE article Carry Each Others' Burdens by Marilyn. Marilyn shares a study we did on what REALLY helps when someone is in crisis through telling her own story. Download it today!

    Here's Sabrina's talk about Juggling Jello:

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