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Hope Chest Home School News #48 part 1: "What Do You Think?"

#1 · March 20, 2002, 12:11 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on March 20, 2002, 12:11 pm
Posted by: homenews <homenews@...>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE HOPE CHEST

Ideas and Inspiration for Home Education

Issue #48 part 1: March / April 2002

"What Do You Think?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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, mother of eight, and home school author.

Note: For the first time in a regular issue, I have used some text formatting features. I hope they came out OK on your end. Let me know if they didn't! To make it easier on your eyes, I'm also using slightly large print. So, the newsletter seems longer than usual. If you are concerned about paper and ink costs, just copy and paste it into your word processor and shrink it down.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CONTACT INFORMATION

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Personal e-mail: [email protected]

Web site: www.hopechest.homestead.com/welcome.html

Resource descriptions: www.hopechest.homestead.com/resourceorders.html

Subscription address: [email protected]

Unsubscription address: [email protected]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TABLE OF CONTENTS

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This newsletter issue has four parts. If they arrive "out of order" in your inbox, please read them in their proper sequence anyway!

Part 1: Thoughts from Virginia

• From My Heart to Yours: Thinking Skills from the Good Book

• Thinking to Be Thoughtful

• Left Brain / Right Brain

Part 2: Our Readers Write

• QUIET TIMES FOR CHILDREN by Barbara Campbell

• READING COMPREHENSION TIPS by Pam Thompson

• COMING HOME TO THINKING SKILLS by Jodi in North Carolina

Part 3: MORE Thoughts from Virginia

• On Asking "WHY?"

• The Basics of Basis

• Thinking Skills Activities and Curriculum

Part 4: The Stuff at the End

• What's New at the Knowles House?

• What's Up in the Next Issue?

• Resource Ordering Information / Reprint Permission

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FROM MY HEART TO YOURS:

Thinking Skills from the Good Book

by Virginia Knowles

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thinking skills? What's that? Is it doing analogy or categorization exercises in a workbook, or guessing what the next shape in the sequence will be? That sounds like it would boost an IQ score! Or, for a more practical approach, maybe it's figuring out what the best deal on canned peas will be using the unit pricing labels. Better yet, it's figuring out that the fresh peas are better than canned! Well, yes, those things ARE part of thinking skills education, but I'd like us to stretch our brains right now and think "out of the box" for a minute. More appropriately, I should say, let's stretch our hearts right now and think "out of this world" for a minute!

What is the source of our intelligence? Our thoughts are not random particles of energy which zip around in the form of brain waves. We are not the product of some mechanistic bang and subsequent primeval soup. We are created beings, masterpieces of divine design. Made in the image of our Creator, we have been lovingly endowed with not only brain power but spirit power. If it weren't for Adam and Eve wanting to be "know-it-alls" as smart as God, human thought would not have been so completely corrupted. Without the wisdom of God in our hearts, it is impossible to "think straight."

Isaiah 44:9-20 tells about the carpenter who has two blocks of wood. With one he crafts an idol to worship, and with the other he makes a fire to warm himself and cook his food. This is the mind of fallen man. We modern folks, Christians or not, say "DUH!" That seems to be a no-brainer. May I point out, though, that idols don't have to be made of wood! It could be anything, tangible or not, that takes the place of God in our hearts, whether for a moment or a lifetime.

People need to have both their minds and their hearts renewed with truth. It's a whole package! Our thoughts and beliefs are so closely intertwined that it's hard to say where one ends and the other begins. As we attempt to teach our children "right from the start" and spare them from delusions that may have made us stumble, we realize that we have something much more solid than opinions and factoids to base this on. We have the Word of God to teach us how to think.

If you have a good concordance, or better yet, Bible software, you can easily do a search on words like "thinking", "wisdom", "knowledge", "mind", "intelligence" and their various forms. I think this will give you a good overview about what God thinks about thinking skills. I am giving you some brief snippets of several verses right here.

"Be still, and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10

"Be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Romans 12:2

"The foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom." 1 Corinthians 1:25

"Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up." 1 Corinthians 8:1b

"The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know." 1 Corinthians 8:2

"...Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Colossians 2:3

"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." Philippians 4:8

"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God..." James 1:5

"Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." Colossians 3:2

Having our "minds set on things above" does not mean that we float around with our heads in the clouds, "too heavenly minded to be any earthly good." Instead, we will have the perspective we need to think clearly about the things we learn. We will be able to rightly evaluate literature or current events, trace God's providential workings in history, and marvel at the awesome world that the Lord has made. We will be able to make life decisions which are based on sound reasoning, instead of faulty logic. These are the foundations of true education!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THINKING TO BE THOUGHTFUL

by Virginia Knowles

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A vital part of teaching our children how to think is teaching them how to be THOUGHTFUL of others. How many times have you corrected your child for some breach of etiquette or safety, only to have them reply, "I didn't think..." They must learn to stop and think carefully for a few moments about what consequences their words and actions will have on others.

When your child makes himself a snack at night, he might take the time to think through scenarios like these:

• "If I leave this sharp knife on the table, my little brother might grab it and cut himself."

• "I should wipe up these bread crumbs so ants won't come in and crawl around on the counter."

• "I need to save the mozzerella cheese so Mom can make pizza for dinner tomorrow."

• "If I eat this ice cream in front of Dad, he might be tempted to go off of his diet."

• "If I tell my sister that her chocolate chip cookies taste gross, it will hurt her feelings."

"Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." Philippians 2:4

Being considerate in practical ways is not going to happen naturally. It takes years of constant good examples from parents, verbal explanations of why you do the things you do, training them until it becomes a habit, reminders and consequences when they forget, and a whole lot of patience all the while. But when you think of all the grief you are saving them in their future education, careers, family life and ministry, you know it's worth it!

Posted by: homenews <homenews@...>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE HOPE CHEST

Ideas and Inspiration for Home Education

Issue #48 part 1: March / April 2002

"What Do You Think?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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, mother of eight, and home school author.

Note: For the first time in a regular issue, I have used some text formatting features. I hope they came out OK on your end. Let me know if they didn't! To make it easier on your eyes, I'm also using slightly large print. So, the newsletter seems longer than usual. If you are concerned about paper and ink costs, just copy and paste it into your word processor and shrink it down.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CONTACT INFORMATION

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Personal e-mail: [email protected]

Web site: http://www.hopechest.homestead.com/welcome.html

Resource descriptions: http://www.hopechest.homestead.com/resourceorders.html

Subscription address: [email protected]

Unsubscription address: [email protected]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TABLE OF CONTENTS

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This newsletter issue has four parts. If they arrive "out of order" in your inbox, please read them in their proper sequence anyway!

Part 1: Thoughts from Virginia

• From My Heart to Yours: Thinking Skills from the Good Book

• Thinking to Be Thoughtful

• Left Brain / Right Brain

Part 2: Our Readers Write

• QUIET TIMES FOR CHILDREN by Barbara Campbell

• READING COMPREHENSION TIPS by Pam Thompson

• COMING HOME TO THINKING SKILLS by Jodi in North Carolina

Part 3: MORE Thoughts from Virginia

• On Asking "WHY?"

• The Basics of Basis

• Thinking Skills Activities and Curriculum

Part 4: The Stuff at the End

• What's New at the Knowles House?

• What's Up in the Next Issue?

• Resource Ordering Information / Reprint Permission

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FROM MY HEART TO YOURS:

Thinking Skills from the Good Book

by Virginia Knowles

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thinking skills? What's that? Is it doing analogy or categorization exercises in a workbook, or guessing what the next shape in the sequence will be? That sounds like it would boost an IQ score! Or, for a more practical approach, maybe it's figuring out what the best deal on canned peas will be using the unit pricing labels. Better yet, it's figuring out that the fresh peas are better than canned! Well, yes, those things ARE part of thinking skills education, but I'd like us to stretch our brains right now and think "out of the box" for a minute. More appropriately, I should say, let's stretch our hearts right now and think "out of this world" for a minute!

What is the source of our intelligence? Our thoughts are not random particles of energy which zip around in the form of brain waves. We are not the product of some mechanistic bang and subsequent primeval soup. We are created beings, masterpieces of divine design. Made in the image of our Creator, we have been lovingly endowed with not only brain power but spirit power. If it weren't for Adam and Eve wanting to be "know-it-alls" as smart as God, human thought would not have been so completely corrupted. Without the wisdom of God in our hearts, it is impossible to "think straight."

Isaiah 44:9-20 tells about the carpenter who has two blocks of wood. With one he crafts an idol to worship, and with the other he makes a fire to warm himself and cook his food. This is the mind of fallen man. We modern folks, Christians or not, say "DUH!" That seems to be a no-brainer. May I point out, though, that idols don't have to be made of wood! It could be anything, tangible or not, that takes the place of God in our hearts, whether for a moment or a lifetime.

People need to have both their minds and their hearts renewed with truth. It's a whole package! Our thoughts and beliefs are so closely intertwined that it's hard to say where one ends and the other begins. As we attempt to teach our children "right from the start" and spare them from delusions that may have made us stumble, we realize that we have something much more solid than opinions and factoids to base this on. We have the Word of God to teach us how to think.

If you have a good concordance, or better yet, Bible software, you can easily do a search on words like "thinking", "wisdom", "knowledge", "mind", "intelligence" and their various forms. I think this will give you a good overview about what God thinks about thinking skills. I am giving you some brief snippets of several verses right here.

"Be still, and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10

"Be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Romans 12:2

"The foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom." 1 Corinthians 1:25

"Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up." 1 Corinthians 8:1b

"The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know." 1 Corinthians 8:2

"...Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Colossians 2:3

"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." Philippians 4:8

"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God..." James 1:5

"Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." Colossians 3:2

Having our "minds set on things above" does not mean that we float around with our heads in the clouds, "too heavenly minded to be any earthly good." Instead, we will have the perspective we need to think clearly about the things we learn. We will be able to rightly evaluate literature or current events, trace God's providential workings in history, and marvel at the awesome world that the Lord has made. We will be able to make life decisions which are based on sound reasoning, instead of faulty logic. These are the foundations of true education!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THINKING TO BE THOUGHTFUL

by Virginia Knowles

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A vital part of teaching our children how to think is teaching them how to be THOUGHTFUL of others. How many times have you corrected your child for some breach of etiquette or safety, only to have them reply, "I didn't think..." They must learn to stop and think carefully for a few moments about what consequences their words and actions will have on others.

When your child makes himself a snack at night, he might take the time to think through scenarios like these:

• "If I leave this sharp knife on the table, my little brother might grab it and cut himself."

• "I should wipe up these bread crumbs so ants won't come in and crawl around on the counter."

• "I need to save the mozzerella cheese so Mom can make pizza for dinner tomorrow."

• "If I eat this ice cream in front of Dad, he might be tempted to go off of his diet."

• "If I tell my sister that her chocolate chip cookies taste gross, it will hurt her feelings."

"Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." Philippians 2:4

Being considerate in practical ways is not going to happen naturally. It takes years of constant good examples from parents, verbal explanations of why you do the things you do, training them until it becomes a habit, reminders and consequences when they forget, and a whole lot of patience all the while. But when you think of all the grief you are saving them in their future education, careers, family life and ministry, you know it's worth it!