When I was a college student, I was all about controversial books and movies and the like as long as they didn't step over too many boundaries. Three years into college I transferred to a very strict Christian college. We continued reading books from the "banned book list" because they were classics. These books were typically great reads. They were only banned because of their lack in political correctiveness. I just stuck my nose up at those hippies and read on...
As I had children and finished my degree in education, the banned books looked less and less scary and the novels that kids were actually reading in junior high school and high school were terrifying. What as happening to the educational system to think it's politically correct to include "gay literature" or literature that clearly shows a political agenda?
When we moved to Hawaii and saw that not only were the schools full of agendas, but that they were behind in many other things. Homeschool looked a lot more promising, and it has been.
We are reading classic novels... nothing on that banned list, but we will be soon enough. What have we read that we find to be classic and fulfilling? Well, here's just a small taste:
101 Dresses
My Father's Dragon
Bridge to Terabithia
The Boxcar Children
The Family Under the Bridge
Charlotte's Web
Any of the Magic Treehouse books
I cannot wait to sit down with my girls and read Tow Sawyer and To Kill a Mockingbird. They will forever not be banned in our house.
The following is from Alpha Omega's Daily Devotionals. Every word really back up my feelings on this issue.
Author Unknown November 18, 2011
As I stood in front of the formidable shelves of books in our local library, I wondered where to begin. Finding thought-provoking books with godly and moral values shouldn't have been so difficult, but it was. Frustrated, I prayed and asked God to help me in my search for wholesome literature for my children. "Consider the source" came to my mind. I realized God was prompting me to first study the authors, and then I would find the right books.
No matter how objective an author attempts to be, his beliefs and attitudes are reflected in the words and content he chooses to write. Studying the author's life before reading his book saves hours of reading nonsense and foolishness. I learned you couldn't always judge a book by its glitzy cover, and it was better to flip to the back panel and read the author's biography first.
Praise God, we don't have to worry about trusting the authors' words of the greatest book written — the Bible. Although God used the personalities of 35 different men to pen the words, they only wrote as God moved them: "But holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (2 Peter 1:21b). God is the author of every inspired word contained within the 66 books of the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16).
God is not only the author of the Bible, but He is also the author of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). He is the author of love, and we love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). He is the author of forgiveness who died for us while we were yet sinners (Romans 5:8). God even authored the saving work He began in us, and He will perform it until Christ returns (Philippians 1:6).
Is God the author who has influenced you the most in your life? If not, go again to the Bible and rediscover the wonder and holiness of the mighty One who wrote it. His promises are sure, and His words will guide you throughout your entire life. Not only is He the author of our beginning, but He will also be the author of the end. "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last" (Revelation 22:13).
Friday, November 18, 2011
Homeschool Military Special Gift
We are featured in this The Old Schoolhouse Magazine video. Watch for Ed and the girls a few times.
It is a honor to not only be recognized as a military family but as a homeschool family as well.
A Crafty Homeschool Christmas
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