Principle Approach is a Curriculum

This is the third of a three part series to answer why, how, and what in regards to Principle Approach education.

We often start our search for education looking for curriculum. What will we teach? What do our children need to know? The mounds of resources quickly become overwhelming. That is why I started this series discussing philosophy. Examining the reason I homeschool gives me a filter to sift the piles of books.

This universe is an amazing place. There is no way we can teach our children everything they need to know or even want to know. So how do we decide what is most important?

I invite you to visit The Curriculum Choice to read my answer...

We Didn’t Want to Leave Camp

Three weeks living out of a minivan traveling the western half of America sounded fun when we started. Our trip was good in so many ways, but we are still a bit numb from the whir of the tires carrying us mile after mile all the way from East Texas to the Washington peninsula and back again.

When we finally got to Southern Idaho, we hugged our family and traveled up to the South Hills to help the students of Aletheia Christian College (formally Albion Christian College) with a children’s camp. I helped Sunshine and Sweet Pea out of the van while Dylan and Bug ran into the lodge. Whoops and hollers echoed into the parking lot. A reunion of friends.

Tucked away for four days from stores, cell phone service, and electricity. Lights powered by a generator. Hiking down the hill to the bathroom. And hiking up mountains to find hidden snow banks among the pine trees. Glorious views and lovely people.

I haven’t had the role of camp counselor in over a decade, yet it was easy for me to love these beautiful girls. I played with them, washed dishes with them, talked with them, and prayed with them. What a blessing!

I can’t share all that happened, because it is not my story to tell, but God is working in the lives of these precious children. I am honored to have a small part in that work. One girl told me I had to be her counselor next year or she wasn’t coming. (No pressure on me or anything.)

We weren’t exactly sure what our role at the camp would be. We questioned our hasty decision to go. Now we know the seemingly endless hours on the road were worth every bump.

Principle Approach is a Method

This is the second of a three part series to answer why, how, and what in regards to Principle Approach education.

As I mentioned in the previous article, Principle Approach is a Philosophy, my purpose for education is to give my children life and hope. I want their character to be formed, so they are prepared to achieve all God has for them. I want them to love learning and worship the Creator as a result. I want them to live with an ever increasing liberty that spreads to their neighbors.

Leontine and Coco

How can these goals be achieved? There is no guarantee for my desired outcome, but there are methods that can help “produce a reflective character, one able to listen to the ‘still small voice’ of conscience which enables us to act appropriately in any circumstance.” (A Guide to American Christian Education, pg. xxi)

Conscience is an internal thing. It cannot be purchased or sprinkled over lessons. It is an issue unseen, unmeasureable. How can you educate the heart?

In Isaiah 1:18 the Lord pleads with his people,

‘Come now, and let us reason together…Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.’

By reasoning from biblical principles, lies are exposed and truth exalted. The stains of ignorance and selfishness are washed with reality and love, foundations for life.

The 4 R method elucidates this reasoning process:

1. Research God’s Word.
2. Reason from the truths identified.
3. Relate the principles to every day life.
4. Record the ideas for remembrance.

This method is not new. It is the historic method of self-education that brought an increase of liberty to America. Liberty we can reclaim for future generations by teaching our children to teach themselves.

If you would like to know more about this method, I invite you to join us at the new Biblical Principle Approach group at Our Lifestyle of Learning.

Principle Approach is a Philosophy

This is the first of a three part series to answer why, how, and what in regards to Principle Approach education.

What do you think of when you hear the word philosophy? I used to picture Plato and professors, Rodin’s sculpture of The Thinker and monks living tucked away in the mountains. Then I heard philosophy means the love of wisdom and realized I am an aspiring philosopher. I want answers to questions raised by the syncretism of my faith and my education.

During high school, my history class focused on the atrocities of mankind. The dates of wars, the horrors of slavery, and, strangely to me, the rock musicians of the 1960s. I wondered why these subjects were chosen. Were these just random events erupting here and there? Why did they happen? Why were we studying them?

Why is a philosophical question. According to Webster’s 1828 Dictionary, philosophy delves into the reason for things looking for cause and effect. And it has two purposes:

1. Philosophy endeavors to use knowledge in a practical way to bring life and hope.
2. Philosophy is supposed to enlarge our views of God and his works.

Is life found in a dry list of events on a time line? Is hope found in simply recounting the evils of mankind without seeing how those evils have been and are being overcome? If God is never even mentioned, how does that effect a student’s view of Him?

Please read the rest of my article at The Curriculum Choice…

Revealing Road Trip

My to do list whirls in circles. I’m not as good at impromptu road trips as I used to be.

The Trip

Responsibilities multiply with each child. So many individuals to care for and pack for. The pets need someone to watch over them too. Fish and dog cannot exist without food.

The list grows:

• Plan the route
• Call relatives and friends
• Email
• Laundry
• Start the pack stack
• Go shopping
• Clean the van
• Talk to Mom again
• Clean the house
• Dig out the suitcases
• Wrap up the tent
• Sigh and pray

Thursday we decided to travel to Idaho to help with a children’s camp. Spontaneous and crazy. And so much like our life a decade ago.

Dylan and I traversed the Northwest in our Volkswagen van before we came to Texas to attend a missions training school. The van was abandoned after our son joined us, but the desire to explore never left.

For two years, we’ve stuck close to home. Road trips have only taken us an hour or two away. Our neighborhood is our forest. Our backyard is our exposure to creation. Bugs and birds, caterpillars and toads remind us of the marvelous works of God. There are neighbors to love. Children to teach.

But why does my voice vanish when my friend asks, “Your heart is in Idaho, isn’t it?”

I miss the physical beauty of the majestic peaks and winding canyon, but perhaps there is more than the lure of clear lakes and hiking trails.

I think of my family and how much I miss them. I think of friends struggling in the cold desert. I think of the ideas planted in my heart while growing up there. Ideas about revival and liberty and hope.

I think of the investment we made reaching out to the hurting. It felt like it was in vain. The fruit seemed withered and dry. No amount of tears could bring it to life. Part of me died on the canyon rim overlooking the snaking river, a part I wasn’t entirely ready to give, but prayers dropped into that green valley were seeds. I don’t know if they’ve been able to grow in the rocky soil, but I do realize something I didn’t fully understand then: love is never in vain.

This trip may be the beginning of a return home, or we may continue drinking sweet tea in East Texas. No matter what happens, I know there is work to do. And by the grace of God, I will keep my hand to the plow planting seeds, dying to myself, no matter where I go.