Hello Everyone!

Are you ready for the new school year?   Or are you still very much still in the midst of your summer?

Well, I have to admit I still have one foot in summer mode although school and learning are never far from my mind.  One of the main reasons my head is still in the summer is our oldest is still on a mission trip to Peru and won’t be returning until next week, God willing.  We would covet your prayers for her, as she is in the Amazon jungle.  Her small team of college students and a few Journeyman missionaries are participating in a “storying” conference, telling the Yagua people the Bible, for the first time, as a series of stories.  How exciting is that?

A Yagua with his blowgun near Iquitos

OK, I have been a homeschool mom too long not to make a geography lesson out of this.    No, really, I mean it.

Map work:

• Chart the trip – DD flew from Atlanta, Georgia, to Miami, Florida, then to Lima, Peru.  From Lima she flew on to Iquitos.  Iquitos is a fascinating place as it is the largest city in the world with only water (not road) access.
• From Iquitos, they traveled west by boat down the Amazon approximately 43 miles, then trekked south through the jungle about three miles to the village of Catala Urco.
• Although Catala Urco is too small to see on a map, its GPS coordinates are -3.536683 – 72.758633.  If you would like to see where she is, download Google Earth .  (Based on satellite imagery, this program allows you to examine anywhere in the world!)  Type the GPS coordinates into the search box and label a ‘push pin’ Catala Urco.
• “Explore” the city of Iquitos in the Google Earth program by double- clicking on the small blue boxes.  This will enable you to view photos taken by visitors there.

Science Exploration:

• How big is the Amazon jungle?  What type of climate does it have and what kind of forest is it?
• What types of animal life does it contain?  Near the bottom on the right side of this  webpage, to hear the sound of a poison dart frog, howler monkeys, a scarlet macaw and the roar of a jaguar, click on each image.
• What types of products are made from plants found in the Amazon jungle?

Language Arts:

• Read my DD’s prayer blog.  (Mom, read first-there are some references to non-believers in her “Lives at Stake” post you might want to censor.  Just cut and paste the blog into a document and edit as necessary.)
• Questions to answer from the blog:
  • What are a few interesting characteristics about the Yagua people?
  • What are some of the preparations that had to be made before travel to a place like the Amazon?
  • What did you learn about the city of Iquitos?  How do people get from place to place without a car there?
• If you were going down the Amazon on a trip and you only could carry two backpacks, what would you need to bring with you?
• Journal the preparations for an upcoming trip as well as the trip itself.  Take pictures, as well.

I am going to stop there!  I could have kept you busy for hours. LOL

Thanks again for your prayers on behalf of my daughter, the team and the Yagua!

Warmly,

With all of the subjects and lessons that we want to teach our children, poetry may seem like an “extra” addition to an already busy schedule. At Epi Kardia, we have a different point of view. Poetry may be used to teach or compliment a variety of lessons. Considering that April is National Poetry Month, it seems like an ideal time to examine how homeschoolers can incorporate poetry in valuable, meaningful ways. Continue reading throughout this month as we discuss poetry for all ages and various subjects!

Character building has become a major buzzword in the homeschool community. For so many of us, our children’s character development takes priority over their academic pursuits because we realize that knowledge without morality is not only wasted, but it can also be dangerous. We live in a world where knowledge often creates evil situations even when the initial purpose was for good. The Internet is an obvious example as a tool for so many productive and healthy ideas, such as with this blog, but with a simple search, ungodly atrocities may be found. Is it any wonder that we strive to build Biblical character in our children above other things?

Using Poetry to Teach Character

Poetry offers awesome opportunities to focus on godly character and how we respond to people and events. Scripture provides an abundance of poetic beauty through the Psalms. This extraordinary book contains 150 lyric poems. Lyric poetry contains the emotional responses of the poet to someone or something. In the case of Psalms, the poets respond to God and His creation. This type of poetry allows for the opportunity to examine healthy, emotional responses. The world often demonstrates unhealthy emotions, whether it’s something like obsessive love or intense anger, while Scripture offers a more godly alternative. Some specific Psalms that may be used to directly discuss godly character include:

· Psalm 1 - describes what a godly person does not do or gives non-examples, such as “sit in the seat of scoffers” or “walk in the council of the wicked”

· Psalm 8 – emphasizes man’s accountability and responsibilities

· Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 143 – deal with David’s sins and his repentance; clearly demonstrate the harmfulness and seriousness of falling into sin.

Interestingly enough, while much of ancient pagan poetry has disappeared over the centuries, the beauty and truth of the Psalms continues to change hearts and teach many!

One of the greatest poems written for young men, If, is by Rudyard Kipling. Although not written from a Biblical perspective, it does contain some excellent moral lessons and great food for thought in growing from boyhood to manhood. As well, J.P. McEvoy wrote a version of this poem for girls that offers similar advice but with a more Biblical foundation.

If

by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream – and not make dreams your master;
If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on”;

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings – nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man my son!

If For Girls
by J.P. McEvoy

If you can hear the whispering about you,
And never yield to deal in whispers, too;
If you can bravely smile when loved ones doubt you,
And never doubt, in turn, what loved ones do;
If you can keep a sweet and gentle spirit
In spite of fame or fortune, rank or place,
And though you win your goal or only near it,
Can win with poise and lose with equal grace;

If  you can meet with Unbelief, believing,
And hallow in your heart a simple Creed,
If you can meet Deception, undeceiving,
And learn to look to God for all you need;
If you can be what girls should be to mothers:
Chums in joy and comrades in distress,
And be unto others as you’d have the others
Be unto you – No more, and yet no less;

If you can keep within your heart the power
To say that firm, unconquerable “No”;
If you can brave a present shadowed hour,
Rather than yield to build a future woe;
If you can love, yet not let loving master,
But keep yourself within your own self’s clasp,
And not let dreaming lead you to disaster,
Nor pity’s fascination loose your grasp;

If you can lock your heart on confidences,
Nor ever needlessly in turn confide;
If you can put behind you all pretenses
Of mock humility or foolish pride:
If you can keep the simple, homely virtue
Of walking right with God – then have no fear
That anything in all the world can hurt you-
And – which is more – you’ll be a Woman, dear.

Either of the above poems may be used to examine what to do and what not do when it comes to character. By their own right, each contains enough virtuous qualities to be an entire character unit!

So, the next time you have a character challenge with your child or simply want to instill more character, consider using poetry! If you have a favorite poem that you think could be used to demonstrate character, please respond to this blog and include the poem, or at least the poet’s name with the title.

God bless in both your poetic and your character-building endeavors,

Beth

I am not sure where it came from (or where it went, to be honest), but we used to have a small, shoebox-sized square box that had at one time probably held some type of food gift.  It had cardboard handles at the top and large red and green paisleys running around the outside. But this was no ordinary box—this was the Question Box.

After morning devotions, our routine was to head to the schoolroom and start the academic day with the kids taking their turns pulling a question pertaining to our unit study from the box.  Customarily, I would make up numbered history and science fill-in-the blank and short answer questions on the computer and print them out, making them different colors, of course.  (I also made myself a key on a separate sheet of paper.) I cut them apart and into the box they went.  I seem to remember coding them as well so we knew which were the ‘younger student’ questions and which were the ‘older.’  We would have a new boxful at the beginning of every unit, and for some reason, a big box full of new questions was always something they looked forward to.

Typically, at the start of a new unit they wouldn’t know many of the answers. (If they did not know the answer, the question went back into the box.) But they had fun guessing and, at the same time, became more interested in what they would be learning. As we progressed through the unit, they were jazzed about how they were getting more and more of the questions right, and how I had to throw in some harder questions just to keep things interesting.  By the end of the unit they usually had all of the questions, even the hard ones, answered correctly. We also had contests and sometimes received prizes (like a piece of gum or an M&M) for answering, for example, three questions in a row correctly.

This simple idea could be adapted in a variety of ways:

· The kids could create and decorate the box

· Older students could make up questions for the younger ones

· Kids could pull a ‘seat work’ assignment out of the box, such as a verse to copy or memorize, a sentence with errors to edit, a short word problem to figure out, etc.

· An older elementary, middle or high school student could pull out a person, place or event to research, write about, and present to the group (or to you)

· Even household chores for that day could be chosen from the box.

As I have been slowly cleaning my way through the school room this summer, I came across some of our Middle Ages questions that would be appropriate for late Primary (K-2^nd), Intermediate (3^rd – 5^th) or early Preparatory (6^th-8^th) students. The last five or so would be suitable for Preparatory and/or Secondary (9^th-12^th) students. The answers are in parentheses after the questions:

1.  What is the name of the part of a castle that is a tower, often round, with many stories?  There, nobles slept, ate and planned.  Soldiers lived on lower stories with the dungeon below.  (keep)

2.   Between 1100 and 1300 AD, large groups of knights, nobles and even some peasants (and children!) traveled from Europe to the Middle East to try and take possession of the Holy Lands from the Turks.  These trips were called the ___________.  (Crusades)

3.  What are two popular games played today that originated during the Middle Ages? (chess and checkers)

4.  During the Middle Ages, craft _________ were set up to make sure their members were properly trained as apprentices and produced high quality goods. (guilds)

5.  From what disease in the 1300’s did about a third of all the people in Europe die? (Black Death or Bubonic Plague)

6. What was the name of a legendary king who ruled a Kingdom where people were peaceful and content? He came to represent the ideals of justice, peace and honor.  (King Arthur)

7.  Large, rural estates were called _________.  (manors)

8.  A craftsman who made tools, weapons and cooking utensils from iron was called a _______. (blacksmith)

9.  Books were copied by hand, one by one, usually by ___________.  (monks)

10.  In manor houses, people used ___________ to cover walls, to keep out drafts, and/or to divide rooms.  (carpets and tapestries)

11. What were musicians called who traveled around the country, played, sang and told stories at special feasts and other events? (minstrels)

12.  ________ traveled great distances to buy and sell goods. (Traders or merchants)

13.  A special design each knight carried on a shield or his clothing that helped knights tell each other apart in battle was called a  _____ __ ____. (coat of arms)

14.  What were pictures called that were painted directly onto wet plaster?  (frescoes)

15.  What was a mechanical device called that hurled heavy objects into the air, at or over castle walls during an attack?  (a catapult)

16.  The ________ ________ was a survey completed in 1086 of nearly all the lands in England and was conducted by officials of King William the First (also known as William the Conqueror).  (Domesday Book)

17.  Dried plant seeds, roots and/or leaves that were used to flavor foods or make not-so-fresh meat taste better (and were quiet expensive) were called ________.  (spices)

18.  The _________ was one of the most highly skilled craftsman of the middle ages, combining the jobs of architect, builder, engineer, and sculptor today, working on all stages of a building project.  (mason)

19.  Many ________ and _________ were used as medieval remedies for sickness and disease.  (plants and herbs)

20. What was depicted by the famous Bayeux Tapestry? (The Bayeux Tapestry depicts the famous Battle of Hastings in 1066, when the Norman invader William, Duke of Normandy, challenged Saxon King Harold. William’s forces won the battle; henceforth, he was called William the Conqueror.)

21.  Briefly describe the feudal system. (Vassals gave loyalty and service to lords in exchange for land and military protection)

22. Describe the concept of chivalry. (Chivalry is a group of character qualities thought to be exhibited by the perfect knight, including loyalty, honesty, courage, and courteousness—especially towards women.)

23. Describe the Magna Carta and its significance, as well as the circumstances under which it was signed. (The “Great Charter” was the first document in English history that forced a monarch to be subject to the law and provided for the creation of a strong parliament. King John, a wicked and greedy king who had levied incredibly high taxes, was forced to sign it by his rebellious barons in 1215 in Runnymede, England. Once it was signed, the barons again swore fealty to King John, not realizing the king had no intention of keeping the agreement.)

24. Name at least one key character from the Middle Ages and describe why he or she was historically significant. (This has many possible answers! Among them: Alfred the Great: a noble and wise ruler who bought about an educational revival in England; King John: [see above]; Joan of Arc: a young French girl who rallied the French against the English and who victoriously led the French army in battle. She was eventually captured and burned at the stake as a witch; Charlemagne: French ruler, Charles the Great, who controlled most of west and central Europe and presided over what was called the Carolingian Renaissance; Genghis and Kublai Khan: Grandfather and Grandson, these Mongolian leaders ruled over much of Asia and almost to Europe. Although Buddhist, they were tolerant of most religions other than Islam. Kublai did much to encourage literature and the arts.)

25. Who were the Moors? (A nomadic people from Northern Africa, the Moors descended from Arabs and Berbers who had moved into the Holy Lands and spent many years fighting the English during the Crusades. They are known for their goal to spread Islam across the world and for their magnificent, unusual architecture.)

Please feel free to use these questions in your school, and have fun making up some of your own!  (And if anyone wants to send in their questions, we will post them.  Many hands make light work, you know.)

Enjoy your week!

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