Homeschooling in Lexington
Lexington Homeschool Fair - 2009
The first annual Lexington Homeschool Fair held last Saturday, June 13, 2009, at Crossroads Christian Church in Lexington, Ky. was a great success! And I don't say that just because we had somewhere around 40 vendors... not because the halls were full and the vendors reportedly very happy... not even because of the great workshops or the extremely busy Moms of the Round Table. I say that because even though in all my years of homeschooling I have known we are blessed with a great homeschooling community, I never before seen it come together such great efficiency and generosity, pooling talents and resources to create a day that leaves me with nothing less to say than, "Wow!".
We had a great fair for no other reason than we proved we can all work together, love one another, and reach outside our own circles to welcome folks of all shapes and sizes, walks and flavors, beliefs and appearances of life. We welcomed vendors ranging from the most conservative of Christian variety to the most avidly secular variety while our halls teemed with traditional homeschool moms in denim skirts alongside modern homeschooling ladies (& gentlemen!) in shorts & tees.
The Diggles, a homeschooling family here in Central Kentucky, did a great job setting a happy, lighthearted, abundant-life tone for the fair with their upbeat Christian music. Perry & Heidi Brewster of Great Books Academy kicked things off with their Homeschooling 101 Workshop, alongside Jill Evely of Sonlight, who did a workshop entitled, "A Novel Idea: How Living Books Teach." These were followed by workshops by Cindy West of Shining Dawn Books, Betty Peterson of Bluegrass United, and Aaron Zink of Learning Rx.
Perhaps the most popular feature of the entire fair was the aforementioned Mom's of the Round Table, a forum of experienced homeschool moms where one might sit down, have a cup of coffee or tea, and discuss questions & concerns they might have about homeschooling. As often as I was able to drop by the "Round Table" every seat was filled. Barbara Hayes did a great job setting it up and we were blessed with several great homeschool moms who gave generously of their time.
Moms of the Round Table
Not only are we blessed here in Lexington with a great homeschooling community, but also with an exceptional surrounding community. So many folks outside our own little community gave assistance and made contributions to make the fair possible. Half-Price Books generously filled two tables full of donated books for the fair, and if that weren't enough, donated two $25 gift certificates, as well. Cokesbury Books, Waldenbooks, Olive Garden, and The Parent Teacher Store also made generous donations. The Lexington Herald ran an article about the fair. KLOVE and Air1, along with a slew of other community calendars, helped us get the word out. And Crossroads Christian Church loaned us their wonderful facility without asking for a penny.
Best of all, we asked the Lord to be there, and I believe He was! All in all, it was a great day. Can't wait until next year!
Lexington Homeschool Fair Website
Homeschooling in Lexington
~ Your Resource for Home Education in Central Kentucky~
Should Christians Pull Their Kids From Public Schools?
***This blog is by one of my Facebook friends, Heather Morrison-Miller, a blogger and fellow homeschool mom. I am reposting it here with Heather's permission. Her Facebook page can be found here. . . . Kathy***
Homeschoolers are faced with criticism often. The most commonly asked question is "What about socialization?" This question has become something close to a joke for veteran homeschoolers, as its usually asked while our kids organize a playground full of kids into a game, or something similar! Questions about academics don't even cause us to bat an eye, as the research continues to show that homeschooled kids score consistently and significantly higher than their public school peers. Sports? No problem. Music? No problem? Art? No problem! Field trips? Every week...
But there is one question, one concern that really makes Christian homeschoolers pause and think. It is this argument, put to them by fellow Christians: shouldn't Christian parents keep their kids in schools, so those children can be witnesses to the non-Christian kids? Isn't it wrong of us, as Christians, to leave those other children without good examples? By pulling our children out, aren't we removing God and His love from the schools?
To the people who ask these questions or voice these concerns, I say that yes, these are valid concerns and good points for thought. I say that what you say makes perfect sense to me, and that I'd think the same thing myself - if - God had not called my family to do something different.
God does not call everyone to homeschool, or to place their children in private Christian schools. But - for reasons known to Him - there are some families He does call to this choice, this lifestyle.
Now, wouldn't it be nice if we could stop right there and have the argument settled? Wouldn't it be nice to be able to say, "OK, God wants this family to homeschool, this family to use private Christian school, and that family to use public school. We don't understand why God has chosen these specific paths for each family, but we trust that He knows what He's doing."
It would be very nice, indeed, but unfortunately that's not the way things usually work out.
So here's an argument for homeschooling.
I assume that people who think it wrong to pull Christian kids from schools are themselves Christians - else why would they care? With that in mind, I'll be using the Bible a lot. Using the Bible doesn't help much when defending against the secular world, because they don't believe it. But, since this argument is for fellow Christians, I'm going to assume that they do in fact believe the Bible.
First of all, let me assure you that Christian parents who take their children out of the public school system had already thought of these concerns long before you thought to bring them up. They were concerns for our hearts before we made our decisions.
But you know what?
God works in mysterious ways. We don't always understand His plans. We don't know why He calls certain people or certain families to do certain things while calling other people or families to do something different. But we know He knows what He's doing, don't we?
Most homeschoolers enter their homeschool careers with quite a bit of fear and doubt. It is no easy task, taking on the entire responsibility of your children's education, finding the time and resources (and money!) to teach children - at multiple levels! There are no sick days, no "I don't know, have your teacher explain it to you...", no "Finally, the kids are in school! A few moments to myself!" The decision to homeschool is not made on a whim. It is made with much thought, questioning, praying, and seeking God's will.
I can say that, personally, when we knew it, we knew it. We were supposed to homeschool. We weren't quite sure how we would manage - in more ways than one. But, we knew we were meant to do it - knew it by God's own guidance - and so we jumped in!
Very recently, however - on a couple of different occasions, actually - I have had this same argument presented to me - that Christians should leave their kids in public schools in order to be a light in the darkness. So apparently people are still having a hard time understanding that God does, in fact, call some people to remove their kids from schools.
If you're one of those people, well, this one's for you.
Think back, if you will, through all those Bible stories you've read or heard. Think of all the stories of how God sent little children out among society to be bright shining lights, witnesses of God.
Can't think of any? That's because there aren't any. Not once does God send children out on their own to be witnesses. The disciples were grown men, not ten year olds.
David was anointed as a young man, but stayed at home with his father until the time came for him to prove himself.
Samuel was dedicated to God before he was ever conceived, and when he was old enough, was placed under the tutelage of a Godly priest.
Timothy was called to great service for God, but was first raised and taught by his mother and grandmother.
Esther was a young woman with a great Godly purpose, but only after she had been raised and trained to trust God by her cousin Mordecai.
None of these people were children. They were young, yes, perhaps even teenagers. But they spent their childhood - their growing, learning years - being instructed and trained by their own families or, as in Samuel's case, by a Godly teacher.
Should we raise our children to love God, to trust Him, to seek His guidance? Absolutely. Should we send them out for 6 or more hours a day to mingle among the ungodly on their own? Not my kids!
Children have unbelieveable faith. However, they are also incredibly vulnerable and easily swayed. We send them mixed messages when we teach them about God at home and then tell them to listen to and obey their teachers at school, when often that teacher will tell them something in direct opposition to what we've been teaching them at home! They will spend over 15,000 hours of their formative years being taught un-Christian beliefs by many of their teachers.
The Bible says, "Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from Him." (Psalm 127:3)
A 1996 report by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement said that school officials "are willing to take risks and recognize that change demands time, mistakes, and a tolerance of failure." In other words, education in the public school system is a risk, where mistakes are permitted and failure tolerated!
Excuse me? God tells me that my children are a reward from Him and you want me to sent them off to a risky (in more ways than one) educational system where failure is not only tolerated but apparently accepted as the norm? I don't believe God gave me my children to sacrifice on the altar of public education!
In Matthew 22:21, Jesus says to "Give unto Ceasar what is Ceasar's, and to God what is God's." I pay my taxes to the government, but my children and their impressionable hearts and minds do not belong to a federally funded and controlled school system - they belong to God!
"All your sons will be taught by the Lord, and great will be your children's peace." ~ Isaiah 54:13
The Lord will teach my children. He will use me as an instrument to do that teaching. As parents, we will do as commanded in Deuteronomy 11:18-19:
"Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds, tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."
My children will be taught Godliness and truth in all things, all the time. They will not be tempted or led astray by teachers who "know best." They will not be exposed to core subjects watered down by politically correct, socialist agendas. They will not be taught evolution as fact. They will not be exposed to death education, immoral sex education, or "group-think" mentalities.
There are many, many times in the Bible where God's people are instructed to keep away form false, worldly teachings:
"This is what the Lord says:
Do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by signs in the sky, though the nations are terrified by them. For the customs of the people are worthless..."
~Jeremiah 10:2-3a
"See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world, rather than on Christ."
~Colossians 2:8
"Guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith."
~1 Timothy 6:20-21
If God wants so much for us to watch out that we ourselves are not lead astray by worldly teachings, then how much more must He want us to guard our children's tender hearts and immature minds! When we send them into public schools, they are bombarded daily with those very worldy teachings we are supposed to be protecting them from!
But what about the other students? The ones not raised in Christian homes? Don't they need some sort of good example? Yes, they do. I believe this is why god has called good Christian men and women to be teachers.
Other children, however? Research says that over 80% of students in America attend a school where they feel that their faith is regularly threatened. God is all but gone from our public schools, and telling our 5th graders to go and "do what's right" is obviously not working much to help that. Children - and teenagers - are so very susceptible to peer pressure. We may think that sending Christian children into the schools is having a profound affect on the people around them, and in a few cases it is, but the unfortunate truth is that most of the time it works the other way around.
Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:33, ""Do not be misled: 'Bad company corrupts good character.'"
For this very reason, we are told in Psalm 1:1-2:
"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night."
Notice the verse didn't say "he who doesn't follow the counsel of the wicked" or "he who doesn't do what the sinners do." It says don't even be where those people are!
Proverbs 13:20 says, "He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm." A companion of fools? Like the children our children are spending 6 hours a day with in school? The children from homes where questionable morals and values are taught?
The Bible commands us to "Train up a child in the way he should to, and when he is old, he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:16) Notice that it says "when he is old", not "when he is still a child." Which brings us, in a round-about way, back to the beginning of the argument.
Are Godly people called to be witnesses to the world? Yes. Are we called to go among the sin of the world and shine as a light in the darkness? Yes - after we are mature enough in our own faith to go out into the world, being transformed but not conforming (Romans 12:2). Does God tell us to knowingly place our children, our innocent, vulnerable children, into a situation where their young and impressionable minds will be daily flooded with false and worldy teachings, and where they will be surrounded by sinful attitudes and behaviors and temptations? No, He does not.
In fact, He said "Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." (Matthew 19:14)
And do not hinder them.
Do not stand in their way, or cause them to stumble, or set any kind of barrier between the children and their relationship with God.
Well, there you go.
So, in closing, I must say that I know full well that there are those who will still try to argue against all I've just said. To them, I have only the same thing I said at the beginning. God calls some people to do one thing, other people to do another. We do not all have the same calling. If God called all the missionaries to Africa, who would minister to Asia?
As long as you are doing what God has called you to do for your family, and we are doing what God has called us to do for ours, then we're all right where we should be, and would do well to remember that God knows what He's doing far better than any of us do.
Homeschool ID Cards
Homeschoolers are truly blessed with so many discounts and opportunities available to them. Bookstores offer discounts... amusement & educational parks offer "Homeschool Days"... there are even special vacations and resort discounts for homeschoolers.
However, one of the things that they often ask for is "proof" that we are homeschoolers... some kind of letter or ID card that tells them we are not fraudulently taking advantage of these deals. Well... that presents a problem here in Lexington unless you have paid to be a part of a homeschool co-op, and if you're not in need of any of the other services offered by the co-op, it can be a steep price to pay just to obtain a "Homeschool ID Card".
So I was thrilled to find this service and to pass it along to you! The sample card above is from an online Homeschool Buyers Co-op and is easily made right from your home computer. First you have to join the co-op (which is easy & free & worth your time in so many other ways than just to get an ID Card). Then you just type in your information, upload a photo, and viola'! You are ready to print your Homeschool ID Card. You can print one for every child in your family and yourself. They even send a link to the printable page in case you have to go to the Library or somewhere else to print.
I would suggest printing it on nice, sturdy cardstock or other stiff paper. Or you could print it on regular paper and then go to the Parent Teacher Store and pay a small fee to have it laminated. You can even order a printed/laminated card from them if all this is too much trouble.
Here is the link: Homeschool Buyers Co-op - Homeschool Identification Card
I'll see you at Homeschool Days!
~ Your Resource for Home Education in Central Kentucky~
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
A couple of years ago in the month of February, we visited the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio with a nice group of fellow homeschoolers. Since February is African American History Month, it seemed very appropriate, but I have to admit I had a slight bit of dread in the pit of my stomach about going. I hate what happened to African Americans in our history. I feel like their enslavement and subsequent mistreatment was a work of evil and had no place in a Christian nation. So maybe the dread I felt had to do with remembering what happened... the horror and the absolute wrong that was done. Or maybe more honestly, it had a little bit to do with wondering what I would have done had I been born a white southerner in the 1800's. Would I have been able to see past my culture to the truth? Or would I have just accepted it as something that had always been done and wasn't really wrong as long as we treated our slaves well? I hope I would have seen the horror and the truth, but honestly, I don't know what I would have done without actually living it. Hence the dread, which probably stemmed from a suppressed dose of guilt.
But I digress. As I said, I felt a bit of dread about facing the museum. We had an African American tour guide, which only added to my discomfort. I quickly became more comfortable, however, when right from the start our guide told us that the blame for slavery in the United States did not only rest with white folks. There were black slave owners, as well, and black traders, too. And neither was slavery a thing only experienced by black ancestors. Slavery has existed nearly since the beginning of time. Caucasians have been enslaved. Native Americans. Asians. Jews. All of us no doubt have an ancestor who was enslaved somewhere, at some time in history.
The whole museum is very enlightening and presented in a non-judgmental way. Probably the biggest eye opener is the exhibit on slavery in the world today. I had heard of children being snatched from their homes in third world countries and being forced into slavery. What I hadn't heard was that people are still being unlawfully enslaved today, even in the United States. Yet there they were... their faces plastered on the wall... and the testimonies of those who somehow slipped through the cracks of a lawful society and lived large parts of their lives enslaved.
I wouldn't call the trip to the Freedom Center a fun thing, but I would call it needful. I think we all need to walk through those halls and look at the faces and contemplate how blessed we are to live in relative freedom (and how important it is to preserve it). I believe that older children will get more out of this field trip than younger; however, younger children did attend with us and didn't seem bored at all. There are only a few more days left in February, but there's always March. Go visit the Freedom Center with your children. You'll be glad you did.
Homeschooling in Lexington
~Your Resource for Home Education in Central Kentucky~
Kentucky Down Under
We were relatively new to homeschooling and my husband couldn't accompany us on this trip, so we went down the night before and stayed at Wigwam Village... an experience all to itself! The big concrete wigwams didn't feel anything like a real teepee, yet when one looked out over the circle at night, you could almost imagine yourself in a real Native American village. My kids certainly had no problem with it.
At the time, the "wigwams" were old and pretty run down, a bit cold, and contained a couple of jumping crickets that were almost a deal-breaker for me (eek!), but I have learned that since then, the historic village is under new ownership and has been completely renovated. Hopefully that means they got rid of the crickets.
But anyway... the next morning those of us who actually slept (the kids) were up bright and early and ready to go to Kentucky Down Under.
The Australian-themed park did not disappoint. From the reptiles to the dingoes (but no jumping crickets!), we had a great day. We learned to dance like Aborigines, throw a boomerang, and call to a Kookaburra. We petted wallabies, touched reptiles (er... at least the kids did), and fed brightly colored birds from our hands in the aviary. And the cave "down under", Kentucky Caverns, was one of the most beautiful caves we've ever seen.
Kentucky Down Under is only a couple of hours from Lexington, so one wouldn't have to spend the night in a somewhat cold, cricket-inhabited wigwam (though it certainly is a fond memory now). April is homeschool month, meaning the tickets to Kentucky Down Under are deeply discounted for homeschool groups, no matter how small (even just one family)! My "kids" and I are thinking about going back to repeat the entire experience (even the wigwams).
Wanna go with us?
~Your Resource for Home Education in Central Kentucky~
And still she couldn't read...
A few days ago while I was out with my daughter, she asked me to buy her a bookcase. A few days before that, I'd bought her a $10.00 book, and just before that, a $17.00 book. Whew! This reading thing can get expensive.
But I am so thankful.
You see, now she's 15 years old and loves to read.... devours 800 page books without blinking an eye and then begs for more... but it hasn't always been that way. I can remember a time when I thought the child would never learn to read.
We tried all the popular reading curricula. We forced the issue. We didn't force the issue. We tried to make it fun. We exercised her work ethic. She cried. We cried. We argued. We prayed. We whined to everybody who would listen. None of it did any good. Still she couldn't read. She hated to read. She scored in the 10th and 15th percentile on every standardized test because she just couldn't read.
We knew she was smart. We'd seen evidence of that since she was a baby. (Or were we as parents imagining things?) She had decent genetics... her parents were reasonably smart people. (Or did we just think we were?) She had a dedicated mother and teacher. (Ah... maybe THAT was the problem.) Why couldn't our daughter learn to read? Why, at the age of 7 and 8, was she still struggling with the simplest books while other children read circles around her at the age of 4?
Thank God for Raymond and Dorothy Moore! Just as I was getting ready to despair of her ever becoming a decent reader, I happened upon an old cassette tape featuring a Focus on the Family interview with the couple many consider homeschool heroes. I have never been so relieved in my life as when I heard them explain that some children's brains are not ready to read at the age of 3 or 4, or even 5 or 6. Some children are 7 or 8, or even 9 or 10, before they are able to learn to read.
Such was the case with my daughter. I'd say she was a good solid ten years old before she began to read fairly well. I remember she finally found a book series that actually interested her... Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events... and we bought them all faithfully. Then one evening when she was around 12, she found herself bored and finished with her latest book and asked to borrow one of mine. I gave her a book of historical Christian Women's Fiction and she loved it! She devoured that and the two others in the series. And the rest is history.
Having a child who cannot read can be one of the hardest things for a homeschooling parent, especially one who lacks confidence in her ability to teach her children at home. But what if that same child was in a public or other traditional school? Why would we think that a school teacher charged with the education of 25 to 30 children would be willing/able to take the time to work with one struggling child? (Even if the child has a reading disability, I still firmly believe a parent is the best to teach them, after themselves having learned the best method.) If my daughter had been in public schools, I fear she would have been placed in a "slow learner's" class where she would only have learned to believe she was... well... a slow learner. Instead, she learned to read at home at her own pace and in her own way, her self-confidence unscathed, and she now does it well... very well. If she'd been allowed to believe she was a slow learner, would she have ever learned to read? Or more importantly, learned to LOVE to read? Somehow I don't think so.
Homeschooling in Lexington
~Your Resource for Home Education in Central Kentucky~
Book Swap Website
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www.paperbackswap.com
Homeschooling in Lexington
~Your Resource for Home Education in Central Kentucky~
DIVE CD's
DIVE CD's were developed to work with Saxon Math curriculum. Though they do not do the practice problems that are shown in the math books, they use similar ones that replace the practice problems. The child doesn't do the practice problems in the book, but rather does the practice problems along with the teacher on the DIVE CD and gets the same benefit from it.
The teacher on the DIVE CD is great. He presents the problems in a way that is easy to understand, while he writes on the computer screen like a chalk board. After the lesson, my kids are able to go ahead and work the Problem Set in the Saxon Math books without assistance from me unless there is something they don't understand (which, come to think of it, has never happened).
I highly recommend these CD's to anyone who is doing Saxon Math.
Homeschooling in Lexington
~Your Resource for Home Education in Central Kentucky~
The teacher on the DIVE CD is great. He presents the problems in a way that is easy to understand, while he writes on the computer screen like a chalk board. After the lesson, my kids are able to go ahead and work the Problem Set in the Saxon Math books without assistance from me unless there is something they don't understand (which, come to think of it, has never happened).
I highly recommend these CD's to anyone who is doing Saxon Math.
Are You a Homeschool Snob?
“Excuse me, but...are you Gary’s mom?”
“Yes,” I reply with a smile.
You see, those were the days before that question made me automatically wince, when Gary was still a pleasant kid who charmed everyone he met, before his TEENAGE years hit.
Unbeknownst to me they’d shown up just a few days after he turned thirteen, and on this particular day they were getting ready to crash right on top of his unsuspecting mother full-force.
She crossed her arms and pursed her lips while she went on to tell me his behavior in her class was unacceptable. He’d rolled his eyes at her, and she was considering having him thrown out of the co-op.
I was a brand new homeschool mom of less than a month. This was our second day at a homeschool co-op which I and my kids loved. I was flabbergasted and horrified by her words.
“I’ve...um...never had a problem with him before...”
“Public school...right?”
Okay, to get the full effect of this statement you have to pinch your nose and say it in a very condescending tone while holding your chin about an inch above its natural position. Go ahead. . .try it and see how it sounds. Now you get the picture.
Wait...there was more...
“At the risk of sounding like a homeschool snob...”
And she went on to sound like a homeschool snob while she tore down not only my homeschooling skills but my parenting skills as well.
I was smashed, flattened, disintegrated.
Keep in mind this all happened at a support group...a place one can rightly expect to find support. Right? Then why do so many people find judgment instead? I hear it over and over again. Good Christian homeschool moms being torn down by other Christian homeschool moms under the guise of “helping” them. Let me tell you, Ladies, it doesn’t “help”. It hurts, and it hurts a lot. Coming up on seven years later I am still smarting from it.
I do not want you to think I’m trying to deny that Gary was a rotten kid at the time. I’ll be the first to tell you we had a problem with his attitude we were working to correct. I just wish this incident had been dealt with in a kind and gentle way. More...Christ-like...so to speak.
I went home that day and cried for hours. I called every friend I had, which wasn’t many at the time but thankfully the ones I did have were wonderful. They told me I was a good mother, I could be an effective homeschool mom, all the things I needed to hear. I thank God for these friends because I might have quit homeschooling right then and there before I even got started.
Please, Ladies, pray hard before you approach someone about their children’s behavior. I know sometimes (especially as co-op leaders) it has to be done, but it can be accomplished in a loving way that makes it clear you care about the child and you care about the parent. Two of my closest friends never hesitate to tell me when my children have misbehaved and I appreciate it. Why do I appreciate it? Because I know they love me and they love my children and truly want to help. There is no threat of losing their friendship or even their respect. They only want me to be aware of the misbehavior so I can correct it in the child. It is actually a vote of confidence in my parenting skills that they think I will deal with the situation.
We as Christians are to love one another and bear one another’s burdens, not add to them. I know people who are truly Christian but who are afraid to be around Christian people for fear of “not measuring up”. Girls, it shouldn’t be this way anywhere in the Church but especially in a support group. We are there to help each other. Otherwise, we should just go home.
Besides, you never know what God has in store. A child you deem hopeless could be one in which our Lord sees great potential.
Case in point: two or three years later this same woman was overheard still talking (gossiping) about this experience with my awful son even though he apologized to her at the time and thought he was forgiven.
Thankfully my son was blissfully unaware of this while he matured and renewed his relationship with the Lord. Over the years he grew spiritually and now feels called to missions. I recently found this paragraph on his My Space site:
…I love God more than anything and I now feel that I am called into ministry to glorify him. I plan on attending a YWAM DTS in January...(Youth With A MissionDiscipleshipTraining School), if all goes according to plan. For you all that don't know, that is a 6 month school that prepares youth for missions and opens up doors for the mission opportunities…
I’m so glad God doesn’t give up on us when we’re thirteen, or thirty, or anytime at all, even if we’re misbehaving. Aren’t you?
God bless you and have a great day.
~Your Resource for Home Education in Central Kentucky~
Still Love Larry & Bob
I just want to say that I still love Veggie Tales. If I had small children I would still buy their DVD's. Right now my baby nephews are being introduced to our hand-me-down Veggie Tales. It beats a lot of the stuff they could be watching on television. Most of what I wrote in my blog, "Rethinking Veggie Tales" was tongue in cheek. I still love Larry and Bob
.I wish my daughter had known who Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego really were, but that's not the Veggies' fault. It certainly wasn't their responsibility to teach her. I agree, as some have suggested, maybe they could contain a disclaimer that kids could understand, but I honestly doubt she would have remembered that either.
Besides, I have worse problems than whether or not my 12 year old daughter remembers a certain Bible story. Just before my oldest son went to public high school (in 11th grade) I remember him yelling through the house, "MOM! WHO WAS THAT ABRAHAM DUDE AGAIN?"
See what I mean?
But I've also overheard that same son on the phone with a distraught teenage girl who thought Jesus couldn't possibly love her, and he was able to comfort her with the Truth. Everything he told her was good solid doctrine backed up by the Word. When it counted, he knew his stuff. I can almost guarantee you my younger son would remember Rack, Shack, and Benny better than Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, but when he was faced with a teacher spouting evolutionist rhetoric his first year back in public school he remembered enough about his Apologia Science to refute her. He did it respectfully and in private, but after looking it up on the internet that die-hard liberal teacher had to acknowledge the butterfly she was espousing as proof of evolution was a fake
I believe we do the best we can to instill knowledge in our children and God takes it from there. And if they learn a good lesson from dancing vegetables why not just be thankful for it?
Y'all have a blessed Lord's day!
~Your Resource for Homeschooling in Central Kentucky~
Zoe Life
Zoe Life is my favorite thing ever! All your fruit & vegetable servings for the entire day in an all-natural powdered drink mix!
Click on image for more information.
Click on image for more information.
