Hope Chest #41, part 1: Mother and Reading (Home School Newsletter)
Posted by: homenews <homenews@...>
THE HOPE CHEST: Ideas and Inspiration for Home Education
Issue #41 part 1 / May 2001
Mother and Reading
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HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!
WELCOME TO THE HOPE CHEST!
The Hope Chest Home School News is a free bi-monthly e-mail newsletter
with encouragement and
practical teaching tips. The editor is Virginia Knowles, wife of Thad,
and mother of eight, ages baby to
teen. Virginia is also author of The Real Life Home School Mom, The Best
of the Hope Chest Volumes 1,
2 and 3, and the designer of the Learners Journal. (Ordering
information is at the end of the newsletter
for these resources and several by Cindy Rushton.)
If you like this newsletter, please forward it to your friends! THANKS!!
Hope Chest contact information:
Web page: http://www.hopechest.homestead.com/welcome.html
Personal e-mail: HomeNews@juno.com
Subscription address: HopeChest-Subscribe@Associate.com
Unsubscription address: HopeChest-Unsubscribe@Associate.com
To change address, unsubscribe from your old address and subscribe from
your new address.
This newsletter is currently sent out in a few parts per issue. This is
part 1 of 3.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Part 1
FROM MY HEART TO YOURS: A Mother Reads by Virginia Knowles
HOMESCHOOLING WITH A MEEK AND QUIET SPIRIT
Interview with Teri Maxwell (by Virginia Knowles) and Book Excerpt
Part 2
POETS PEN: When Mother Reads Aloud
(Author Unknown) from Favorite Poems Old and New
Commentary by Virginia Knowles
BOOK REVIEW: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Book by Mildred Taylor, Review by Virginia Knowles
BOOK REVIEW: Any Child Can Read Better
Book by Dr. Harvey Weiner, Review by Virginia Knowles
BASIC READING INSTRUCTION by Virginia Knowles
A DOZEN WAYS TO ENTICE YOUR CHILDREN TO READ
by Virginia Knowles
Part 3
WHATS UP IN THE NEXT ISSUE?
ON OUR HOMEFRONT: Whats New at the Knowles House?
by Virginia Knowles
RESOURCE ORDERING INFORMATION
REPRINT PERMISSION
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FROM MY HEART TO YOURS:
by Virginia Knowles
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In this issue on Mother and Reading Id like to encourage you in
two areas. First, in this top section of
the newsletter, that we as mothers can be equipped spiritually,
emotionally and intellectually for home
schooling by reading well-chosen books and magazines. And second,
throughout the next section, that
we can develop in our children a love for reading that is so necessary in
obtaining a true lifelong
education.
I guess you all know by now that I am a confirmed bookaholic. Ive
heard the unbelievable statistic that
most American adults dont read even ONE book a YEAR! Maybe it was even
less than that! Can that
be true? Aside from the childrens picture books which I read by the
stack every day, I usually read at
least one full length book every week. (Id read more if I werent so
busy with eight children, but Im
thankful that I can read and nurse a baby at the same time!) Sometimes
its a library book, sometimes its
a well-loved old favorite from my bookshelf, sometimes its a loan from a
friend, and sometimes its a new
find that Ive splurged on from the Christian bookstore or the home
school catalog. There is no way that I
could write as much as I do if I werent an avid reader too.
Reading is a sustenance to me. It is the stories of men, women and
children throughout the ages,
around the globe, that testify to me, If they can do it, so can I, by
Gods grace! I like books that stretch
me, that take me beyond my four walls and bring me back again enriched
and transformed.
When I was a teenager, my favorite author was Corrie tenBoom. In my
college years, I moved on to
Elisabeth Elliots books; her novel No Graven Image indelibly shaped my
worldview and my approach to
the circumstances of life. Marriage and young motherhood brought me to
Mary Pride and Edith Schaeffer
and a pile of home schooling books by various authors. (I was
well-prepared for the first day of
kindergarten!)
One book that I have reread recently is by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay,
daughter of Dr. Francis and
Edith Schaeffer. For the Familys Sake (not to be confused with her
1980s book For the Childrens Sake)
is one of those books that took me beyond and gave me a new vision of
faith, family and community. I
should point out that I do not necessarily AGREE with everything she
says, but I appreciate the warm
wisdom that she has attained over the past 60 years. Susan grew up in a
ministry home (her parents
moved the family to Switzerland after World War II and founded LAbri
Fellowship when she was a child),
was home schooled for a time, home schooled her own children at various
times, took on the
responsiblities of LAbris London ministry with her husband Ranald, and
more. Busy, yes! In her
delightful British style of writing, she encourages us to know our
frame (what we are realistically capable
of), to provide a good enough (not always perfect) home for our
children, to prioritize our schedules and
balance our routines toward a sane and cohesive family life, and to be
involved in the bigger picture in
Gods world. Oh yes, and to always READ to our children! Thats the
kind of book I need! And so I read,
mainly in snatches, often in the bathroom.
My current good-read-in-progress is Sally Clarksons Seasons of a
Mothers Heart, which I found this
morning at a local Christian bookstore which has started stocking home
school titles. Her earlier book,
Educating the Wholehearted Child is more down to the nitty gritty, but
this one is a vision-and-comfort
book. In other words, I know in my head most of what she shares, but I
need to be reminded over and
over again from someone with a fresh and mature perspective. Sally is
one of those wiser older (but
certainly not elderly) women I would love to have as a neighbor. Do you
know why? Wouldnt you love to
be around someone who writes, In the end, it is my prayer that you will
come away from this book with a
renewed vision for your role as a Christian mother. I want you to come
away thinking that your life has
great meaning and significance because of the stweardship of your
children that God has entrusted to
you. He has placed into your hands young lives who one day might
influence an entire generation
because of your faithfulness to Gods design for mothers.
I dont know where I first heard about Teri Maxwells new book,
Homeschooling with a Meek and Quiet
Spirit, but I knew I had to get my own copy as soon as possible! Its
true that in my own book, The Real
Life Home School Mom, I wrote a chapter called The Hallmarks of a Gentle
Spirit, but its an area in which
I continue to struggle. I appreciate that she affirmed in her book so
much that I had poured into mine. Its
nice to know we are on the same wavelength, but shes made more progress
in this area than I have! (I
am still what you would call a feisty mama, to put it politely, so this
is a topic in which I always appreciate
the insight and encouragement of others. Teri Maxwell has hit the nail
on its head. I got so excited about
this book that I asked her for an interview and permission to include an
excerpt. Thats just what youll find
in the next article!
Dear sweet sisters, whether you are home schooling or not, I
encourage you to refresh yourself with a
good book soon. If you dont have time, make time! If you invest in
yourself this way, you will be able to
pour it back out to enhance your own mothering!
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HOMESCHOOLING WITH A MEEK AND QUIET SPIRIT
Book Review and Interview with Teri Maxwell
By Virginia Knowles
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Ive already mentioned this book in the previous article, but here
are a few more tidbits before the
interview: The book is personal. Its practical. Most important, its
Biblical. For $7 plus shipping, its also
affordable!
Chapter titles: A Meek and Quiet Spirit / Undergirding / Fear and
Worry / Disorganization / Anger / Hard
Work and Dying to Self / Depression / Gratitude, Contentment and a Smile
/ The Power of a Meek and
Quiet Spirit.
Ill pipe down now and let Teri talk. First comes the interview,
and then an excerpt from the book.
Enjoy!
VK: First tell us a little about your family and how long you have
been home schooling.
TM: The Maxwell family has eight children from age twenty-four years
down to four. We began our
homeschool journey in 1985.
VK: What resources (books, tapes, web site, newsletter, etc.) do
you offer to home school families?
TM: Our web-site at http://www.Titus2.com has a wealth of practical
and spiritual encouragement.
It is the home of two message boards for Christian women. MOTHBoard
addresses scheduling topics for
those who have read and are implementing Mangers of Their Homes. Moms
Board is a forum for
discussing other Titus 2 issues.
Steve and I write free monthly e-mail articles for homeschooling
parents. The Dads and Moms
Corners address issues that are at the heart of every Christian
homeschool family. We endeavor to make
the Corners practical, encouraging, and challenging. You can sign up for
these articles and read the most
recent ones on the web-site.
At our web site, you will find sample chore charts from many
homeschooling families, school
assignment and grade forms, a sample Master Grocery list, and lots of
homeschool scheduling
testimonials.
http://Www.Titus2.com also has information on our three books: Managers of
Their Homes, A Practical
Guide to Daily Scheduling for Christian Home-School Families;
Homeschooling with a Meek and Quiet
Spirit; and Just Around the Corner, Encouragement and Challenge for
Homeschooling Dads and Moms.
VK: What topics does Homeschooling with a Meek and Quiet Spirit
cover?
TM: Homeschooling with a Meek and Quiet Spirit deals with practical
ways to combat the many areas
that rob us of our desired meek and quiet spirit. A few of these are
fear, worry, disorganization, anger,
depression, and even hard work! Homeschooling with a Meek and Quiet
Spirit also looks at implementing
the positive side of maintaining a meek and quiet spirit such as daily
time with the Lord, contentment, and
gratitude.
VK: From what personal background did you write Homeschooling with
a Meek and Quiet Spirit?
TM: Because I have walked the homeschooling path for many years, I
know first-hand the struggle for
a meek and quiet spirit. The memories from my early homeschooling years
of often being worried and
angry rather having a meek and quiet spirit are unpleasant for me. My
prayer is that as I share the work
the Lord has done in my heart, mostly through homeschooling, others would
be encouraged that He can
do the same for them. I also desire that they could learn from the
lessons He has taught me so that they
would begin to have a meek and quiet spirit long before I did.
The journey to a meek and quiet spirit is a life-long one. I am
still on it. I can look at where I was
angry and yelling to where I am occasionally frustrated with
irritated tones in my voice to where I
want to be the fruit of the Spirit always evident. I dont want you to
think I have totally arrived at a meek
and quiet spirit. I havent! I also dont want you to believe this book
will change you overnight. It will not;
only Jesus Christ works in hearts! I do want to offer hope that the path
to a meek and quiet spirit is a
worthy one to travel.
VK: Is there anything else that you would like to share to encourage
home school moms?
TM: I think homeschooling moms are a wonderful group of women! There
isnt a more determined,
dedicated set of women in the entire world! They have chosen an
unpopular, difficult path that comes with
little outside encouragement. Yet, they have set their faces on obedience
to the Lord and what they know
is best for their children no matter what it costs them personally! May
each homeschooling moms heart
and home be encouraged and strengthened as she seeks to have a meek and
quiet spirit.
~~~
OK, now here is the excerpt, which, fittingly for this issue on
Mother and Reading describes a scene
of Teri teaching her firstborn son about phonics.
~~~
I remember sitting down with my third grader for his first
homeschool read out loud session. One
reason we had decided to homeschool was that this son was having trouble
with reading. The pace at
school moved too fast, and he was being left behind with a very negative,
reluctant attitude toward
reading.
I was looking forward to the opportunity to help my son develop a
love for reading. We were simply
going to slow down to a pace he could reasonably manage. We would read
out loud together, snuggled
up on the couch side by side, and I would be right there to help him over
the rough spots -- no pressure!
That day, as he began to read, it didnt take long until he was
stuck on a simple word. Sound it out, I
said. Nothing came from him. Come on, Nathan. What did your teacher
tell you about how these letters
sound? He attempted the word, but the vowel sound wasnt right. Try
again, Son. He did -- the same
way he had before! Finally, in exasperation, I said the word for him,
and we continued.
By the end of those first fifteen minutes of my dream homeschooling
life, I had become a very
frustrated mother. I was close to tears. Rather than being patient and
loving, I had been short and
irritable. I expected my seven-year-old son to sound out the very words
he had struggled with at school! I
felt I had failed. I wondered whether I was wise to take on this job of
homeschooling. Maybe I just wasnt
cut out for it.
The next day I awoke with renewed enthusiasm. I knew it would be
better, because I would be
mentally prepared for the struggles our reading session would present.
Sadly, even with that knowledge, I
continued to lose patience with my son when we read together.
It wasnt long before I was on my knees crying out to the Lord over
the sin in my life during those daily
fifteen minutes of reading. If homeschooling was to privde sweet,
precious moments with my son, and if
he as to make progress in learning to read, I needed a change of spirit!
Not only that, but I deeply desired
a meek and quiet spirit to replace the irritable, impatient, sometimes
even angery one I was displaying.
The Lord showed me that my reactions during the reading sessions
were sin. 1 Corinthians 13:4 tells
me, Charity suffereth long, and is kind. My love (charity) was not
long suffering or kind. I needed to
confess my sin to my Lord Jesus Christ (1 John 1:9). I also had to ask
my sons forgiveness. As I prayed
about our reading time, the Lord prodded me to develop a plan for those
sessions. It went like this. When
Nathan came to a word he didnt know, I encouraged him to sound it out.
If he didnt have any idea where
to start, I would very slowly begin sounding it out for him. Then, he
was to sound out the word after me.
The Lord also showed me that I needed to praise Nathan abundantly
for every little word he read
correctly. I am not a gushy kind of person, so this felt very
artificial to me. However, that little boy
beamed as he worked through his readers, while his mom lavished on him,
Good boy, Nathan. Thats it.
Wonderful. Keep it up!
What a difference a simple change in my spirit generated. No longer
was I pushing for my agenda,
feeling frustrated when progress wasnt realized according to my
expectations. Rather, I had found I need
to see my wrong behavior as sin, deal with it biblically, and seek the
Lord for solutions to the difficulties. I
felt new joy, sitting by Nathan as he did his reading, once the Lord
brought me from having a frustrated
spirit to having a meek and quiet spirit.
Can you guess what happened once my spirit changed? Within a few
short weeks, Nathans reading
had improved immensely. Soon he became a fluent reader and came to
thoroughly enjoy reading, even
doing it during his free time.