06-26-2007

Burn the Textbooks?

By Renae

book-burning.jpeg

As I begin to plan school for next year, I peruse my crammed bookshelves to see what I’ve already gathered. I have a stack of literature, curriculum, and even a new white board.

The books are wonderful: Treasure Island; Bach,The Boy from Thuringia; Tales from Shakespeare; and Carry On, Mr. Bowditch. Curriculum includes RightStart Math, Intermediate Language Lessons, English from the Roots Up, The Mighty Works of God-Divine Providence, The Easy Spanish, and The Child’s Book of Nature. We also have a devotional, Small Talks on Big Questions, and I’m considering getting Noah Plan’s Walking with Jesus for Bible. Oh, and don’t I need a grammar book? I know that a stack of books does not equal education, but, somehow, I feel secure having a list of subjects to check off.

Looking at all these subjects I tend to get overwhelmed. Then I remember God has challenged me to renew my dependence on Him, and lessen my reliance on textbooks. Dependence on anything other than God leads to bondage. How many times have I tried to teach a lesson that has no life just to get school done? I have a tendency to plow through the textbooks and call that learning. However, the Creator who made us individually knows how we learn best. He will give me wisdom to infuse creativity into our lessons, if I’ll just ask.

So here I sit crying out for grace to use this curriculum as a reference for our lessons. The Bible is the source of truth, and the Holy Spirit is the guide to life. I want to walk through the valley of scope and sequence knowing that freedom.

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7 Comments

  1. Lindsay 06-26-2007, 11:02 pm

    Renae,
    Thanks for reminding me of this truth! I needed that today!
    Blessings,
    Lindsay (from BP loop)

  2. Anna-Marie 06-27-2007, 10:02 am

    Fabulous. I keep getting off into the abyss of lesson planning and I have to work hard to keep from landing there–again. I long to make meaningful, not voluminous lessons. I still must work from the principles and not the content. Principles will always make simple lessons. My own ideas make for complicated, stuffy ones.

  3. Renae 06-27-2007, 10:56 am

    Lindsay, I am so glad that you were encouraged. Anna Marie, I agree wholeheartedly. Why do I always think more is better? Simple is good.

  4. DJ (Deb) 07-27-2007, 6:16 pm

    I thought I would “visit” you and say “hi”. I have homeschooled for 14 years. My oldest has graduated and not sure what she wants to do exactly so I have some time with her yet and also with my youngest daughter who is in 9th grade this fall.

    As I continue to prepare for the new school year, I feel the pressure to “have to” cover a similar curriculum required by my state but as I’ve been involved in the Bible Principels email list and GACE study AND reading your post above, I’m once again reminded and encouraged that I need to start from a new direction completely . . . starting with God Himself and His Word, being led by the Holy Spirit. I do believe I need to follow the laws of my state for providing a similar curriculum for our lessons but it’s no longer my starting point or main emphasis. This will be the first year I attempt to use the principles and I’m looking forward to seeing how God will work in our lessons.

    Blessings!
    DJ (Deb)
    Wife to Dave 25 years, mother to Ashlee, graduated June 2 and Brittany, 9th grade, homeschooling in Indiana for 14 years.
    “The Lord’s goodness surrounds us at every moment. I walk through it almost with difficulty, as through thick grass and flowers.” ~R.W. Barbour~
    “The goodness of God endures continually.” Psalm 52:1

  5. Renae 07-28-2007, 9:20 am

    Deb,
    I’m so glad that I encouraged you. As you rely on God to lead you I’m sure that you will exceed the requirements of your state. It will be an exciting year to see what the Father teaches us. Thanks for sharing the journey!

  6. Life Nurturing Education » Looking at the Future 04-5-2008, 9:45 pm

    [...] me to rely heavily on curriculum. At the beginning of the school year, I cried out for grace to use curriculum as a reference rather than the method of education. Now I want to act on that plea. I want to research, plan, and [...]

  7. Life Nurturing Education » Finding Life in Dry Lessons 04-5-2008, 11:58 pm

    [...] are meant to be creative, mine fail. This year, lessons are pretty much straight from the book. Commendable plans smolder in my thoughts. Our idea books are perused often, but not by me. My son has taken to [...]

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