| | | The Everyday Educator
17 April 2013
In This Issue
- Letter from Janice
- Charlotte Mason was Right: Education is an Atmosphere
- Literature, Language Arts, and the Common Core Standards
- Start Planning Your Summer Reading!
- Books Boys Like link
- Resource focus: Chenier's Practical Math
- Contests and awards for students
- Subscription information: Make changes here!
| | "A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops."
~ Henry Brooks Adams
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| | Dear Friend,
I had a wonderful time meeting so many homeschoolers at the Cincinnati Homeschool Convention, and now we're gearing up for MACHE in Maryland. After that, there are four conferences in May (see the list below). If you make it to one of those, please be sure to stop by and say hello!
If you have requested copies of my slides from one of the conferences, I've discovered they are too big to e-mail, so I'm figuring out where to upload them so you can get them. As soon as they are up, I'll send a link. Thank you for being so patient!
Before I move on to homeschool topics, I would like to request prayer for Donna Beth, a dear friend who has recently been diagnosed with Stage IV cancer. She's the homeschooling momma of three sweet children, but has been very ill for the past few months and is now in a great deal of pain. She was a candlelighter at our wedding, over 30 years ago. Please pray for peace and comfort for Donna Beth and her family.
May you each have a wonderful spring (or autumn, depending on where you are).
Blessings,
Janice Campbell
Everyday-Education.com
Excellence in Literature |
| From the Blog
Education is an Atmosphere
Charlotte Mason said that “Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life,” and she was right. An extensive study published in 2010 on “Family Scholarly Culture and Educational Success” (PDF), reports that a family’s “scholarly culture – the way of life in homes where books are numerous, esteemed, read, and enjoyed” matters. I’m sure this doesn’t come as a surprise to homeschoolers, but just in case you need a reason to keep building your family’s home library, here are a few significant quotes from the report. Read more . . .
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| The books that help you most are those which make you think the most. The hardest way of learning is that of easy reading; but a great book that comes from a great thinker is a ship of thought, deep freighted with truth and beauty. ~ Theodore Parker |
| | | On Common Core
A look at the literature portion of the the Common Core Standards (CCS), with an enlightening excerpt from Hard Times by Charles Dickens.Here's an excerpt: "Instead of reading and discussing Plato or Petrarch, students will be presented with such gems as “The Cost Conundrum: Health Care Costs in McAllen, Texas” or "U.S. General Services Administration. Executive Order 13423: Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management." "Those aren't the only texts, of course, but two that struck me as particularly egregious. If the goal is to cause students to tune out and despise the art of reading, that is exactly the type of text that is needed. Rather than grappling with big, meaty ideas such as truth, justice, and integrity, students will be provided with the mental equivalent of rabbit pellets. Every trivial piece of nonsense students are forced to cover steals time from something more valuable." Read more . . . |
| | | | On Reading
Start planning your summer reading!
Other than gardening, there’s no more satisfactory activity for springtime than planning summer reading. The stack by my reading chair is already teetering, but here are the first three things I plan to read: Read more . . .
On my Pinterest page, I've been pinning a list of Books Boys Like, among other things. If you're looking for summer reading, I suggest you check these out! I've just begun the list recently, so if you have other recommendations, please feel free to share! Here's the link to that board: |
| | | | | Resource Focus for the month of April
Chenier's Practical Math Dictionary and Application Guide
I never thought I'd be offering anything to do with math, but here I am–possibly the most non-math oriented person in the world–ridiculously excited over the amazing math resource I've found. It is simple, practical, and useful, with absolutely no fluff or busywork!
My only regret is that I didn't find this while my boys were young. That's okay, though-- they will appreciate and use them as adults, too. These are the only math resources I've found that are USEFUL whether you're a student, a tradesperson, or a homeschool parent. I think you'll like them as much as I do! |
| | Join us at the conferences this year!
Our next two conferences are MACHE in Maryland and INCH in Michigan. I hope you'll stop by our booth!
Here's the schedule through May:
MACHE: Frederick, MD, Building 9, Booth 14: April 26-27
INCH: Lansing, MI: May 9-11
ENOCH: Edison, NJ: May 17-18
NCHE: Winston-Salem, NC, Booth 25: May 23-25
The Old Schoolhouse Online Expo: May 28
TPA: Wichita, KS, Booth 42: May 31-June 1
As you can see, we'll be in a lot of places this spring. I hope we can be a blessing to you. Please pray that our strength holds out for all of this! When doors open, we walk through, and are grateful for the opportunity, but this is most packed May we've ever experienced. I'm thankful, and look forward to meeting you. Please stop by the Everyday Education Booth to see us.
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| | | Although
we aren't able to screen all the contests that come across our desks, we are
sharing them here so you'll be able to check them out yourself. Contests can be
a useful motivational tool, so be sure to check them out! |
| | | 2013 AFSA National High School Essay Contest
Deadline April 15, 2013. The AFSA High School Essay Contest is an outreach initiative of the American Foreign Service Association. Established in 1999, the annual contest encourages students to think critically about a topic of global significance and the key role diplomacy plays in connecting people and ideas. In an era of rapid change, today’s youth are essential to shaping the future of foreign relations and to promoting a culture of peace and sustainability. 2013 Essay Topic |
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If you haven't yet seen the new Excellence in Literature website, I think you'll enjoy it. If you're using the curriculum, you'll find that we've hosted many of the context resources on the site, organized by level so you can easily find them. Even if you're not using EIL, you'll find good resources for literature and history study, including source documents, poetry, and more. I hope the new site makes using EIL even simpler!
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