Oh, Netflix. I adore Netflix (even after the price hike – we use it enough we’re still getting a good deal.)

One of the many things we watch on Netflix are documentaries. I adore documentaries. So do my kids. Mostly.

We use documentaries to supplement in areas we’re already learning about, learn about new things we’re just curious about, or my favorite-for educational “entertainment” on teacher sick days. Yes. You heard that right. Having a sick day? Pick out a documentary. Everyone find a cushion, open your ears, clothes your mouths and enjoy!

Documentaries can be a bit tricky though… you never know when you’re going to end up with a total dud. But mostly they’re good. We’re only on Week 8 of school but we’ve already watched many this year. Here’s a list of some of the things we’ve watched (or have in our queue, I’ll mark them.)

Science & Nature Documentaries

Saving the Ocean: Shark Reef

Secrets Beneath the Ice: Nova

National Geographic: Seas Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure

Deadly Dozen (A series of episodes about the deadliest animals on each continent.)

The Vanishing of the Bees (I’ve watched it, it’s in our queue for the kids to watch.)

Tornado Intercept (In the queue.)

National Geographic: Incredible Human Machine (I’ve watched it, it’s in the queue for the kids.)

Coral Reef Adventure (In the queue.)

400 Years of the Telescope (In the queue.)

Disney Nature: Oceans (In the queue.)

God of Wonders (In the queue.)

Historical Documentaries

National Geographic: Lewis & Clark: Great Journey West

America: The Story of  Us

National Geographic: Jamestown

The Great Ships: The Pirate Ships

China’s Terracotta Warriors

Greeks: Crucible of Civilization (In the queue.)

National Geographic: Alexander the Great (In the queue.)

Wild China (In the queue.)

Discover Atlas: China Revealed (In the queue.)

Ancient Mysteries: Forbidden City -Dynasty & Destiny (In the queue.)

The Revolution (In the queue.)

Biographical Documentaries

George Washington: American Revolutionary

In Search of Beethoven (In the queue.)

Marco Polo (In the queue.)

Here I Stand: Martin Luther (In the queue.)

History’s Mysteries: Lincoln: The Untold Stories (In the queue.)

The Lincoln Assassination (In the queue.)

Paul Revere: The Midnight Rider (In the queue.)

Previously Watched in 2011:

National Geographic: Secret Yosemite

The March of the Penguins

National Geographic: Ultimate Cat

The Blue Planet: Seas of Life: Ocean World/Frozen Seas

The Blue Planet: Seas of Life: Open Oceans/The Deep

The Blue Planet: Seas of Life: Seasonal Seas/ Coral Seas

The Blue Planet: Seas of Life: Tidal Seas/Coasts

The Natural History of the Chicken

Incredible Creatures that Defy Evolution

Science of Dogs

Atlas: Uncovering Earth: Atlantis

Esther: The Bible

National Geographic: Great Pyramid

National Geographic: Egypt: Pharoahs

As you can see, we really use Netflix to our advantage. Our favorites are clearly science and nature related – Little Prince will choose shows about animals without any prompting whatsoever – Deadly Dozen is one of his favorites! We also do like some history (though the kids are generally more skeptical of those because we’ve seen a few dry and boring ones!) We also like to watch shows that show you how things are made or work or done, like How It’s Made, Storm Chasers or Dirty Jobs. We’re either very curious over here or we just like to know many things to be know-it-alls.

Documentaries.

Don’t knock’em ’til you’ve tried’em. ; )

This is a part of the ABC’s of Homeschooling series by Dawn @ The Momma Knows. You can find all of my ABC posts here.

**Closed, winner will be drawn shortly!**

Hello my bloggy peeps! Come in and sit a spell, I have someone I want you to meet. (And there’s a giveaway at the end of this, so you’d better not scurry off too fast!)

This week the Apologia media team has paired twelve homeschooling bloggers with twelve homeschooling authors for a great big Apologia Meet & Greet Blog Hop. One of the best things about talking with Apologia over the past couple of months is that I’ve had the opportunity to step outside of my tiny little homeschool bubble and discover some really great homeschool authors and speakers. I know, I know.. and I’ve been homeschooling for how long now?? But I digress.

Today I have the pleasure of introducing you to Clay Clarkson, husband to author Sally Clarkson, and co-author of Educating the Wholehearted Child. I had the opportunity to interview Clay (via email) and now I have the joy of sharing his answers with YOU!

And now, join me in “welcoming” Mr. Clarkson to my little blog:

First, let me say thank you to Clay for taking the time to answer my questions, and to Michelle with Apologia for setting it up. We’re all very busy and I know you two are also, so thank you for your time.

Clay, tell me, how did you and your wife decide/feel led to homeschool your children?

Our journey into a life of homeschooling was less about home education,and more about home discipleship. Sally and I both served on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ after college so we came to marriage in 1981 with strong values for building disciples. Around 1983, I read an article during my studies at Denver Seminary about “homeschooling at the kitchen table” and brought it home to share with Sally. It was our first exposure to the movement, and we both knew nearly instantly and intuitively that it would be the lifestyle we wanted for our children. It would go against the grain of our family and friends, but we felt it was a movement of God for the discipleship of children. We were “in” before we even had a child to be in it with!

What role(s) have you taken in the education of your children at home?

It would be another five years after we decided to homeschool until we actually began to formally homeschool. Sally read most of Dr. Raymond Moore’s books, and we read others by new Christian homeschoolers rapidly emerging onto the scene. Although I was initially in a default classroom mentality that thought there should be measurability and paper trails, the more we talked the more we realized that the institutional school was not the paradigm for homeschooling. We realized that God had created only one institution for the education of children—the family and the home—and that’s where we needed to start. If the home was God’s design, then learning in it should happen as naturally as living in it. Out of that thinking, the WholeHearted Learning model of home education emerged as the fullest expression of a biblical home. As a father, I was involved in the life of the home whenever I was there. It wasn’t about formal roles, but about natural relationships. The best way to know how I was actually involved in our home is to read the book.

How would you sum up the main message of “Educating the Wholehearted Child” in one or two sentences?

Educating the WholeHearted Child is a faith-shaped, God-centered, biblically-informed, Spirit-led, commonsense way for committed Christian parent to nurture, disciple, and educate the children God has entrusted to them in their own home. Those parenting ideals are not idealistic but are easily and naturally attainable through real books, real life, and real relationships. My book is a call to understand that without a “Christian home” there is no Christian home education. My book begins with a wholehearted Christian home, and ends with a wholehearted Christian child.

If a homeschool mom already has the original edition of “Educating the Wholehearted Child,” should they ‘upgrade’ to the newer Third Edition and why?

I can answer with complete integrity and confidence—absolutely, unequivocally, undeniably, unapologetically…YES! I don’t say that just to sell books. I say that because the new third edition of Educating the WholeHearted Child is everything the book should have been in its earlier incarnation, but could not have been because the book had not written me yet. As I finished this book, we graduated our fourth and final homeschooled child. I have said all that I can say, and I believe it is now the WHOLE WholeHearted Child book. There is an additional 15 years of experience, insight, shaping, and learning that is in this final version. It is 128 pages longer (50% longer than the 1996 version), completely reorganized, extensively revised and updated, with a new book list and new planning forms. It is not just a renewed book, it is a new book. It also got a total makeover in the interior layout to make it easier to read, and a new beautiful cover. I am thankful for how God used the previous edition, but I want to be remembered for the new edition. It says it all.

Clay is the Executive Director of WHM. He accepted Christ at a Campus Crusade for Christ event at the University of Texas and joined the staff of the ministry upon graduation in 1975. He married Sally in 1981. For the first 12 years of marriage, Clay ministered as a worship leader, single adults pastor, and adult ministries pastor with churches in Austria, California, and Tennessee. He moved back to Texas in 1993 to begin Whole Heart Ministries in an old farmhouse on family property in central Texas. In the spring of 1999, Clay was able to move his family back to Colorado, where their life as a family began.

And now it’s time to give away a copy of this book to one blessed blog reader!

Now, I have had the opportunity to hold this book in my hands, look through it, and start reading it. I say “start” reading it because quite simply, this book is HUGE! It is CHOCK. FULL. of goodness. Here’s an excerpt from the book description on their site:

The WholeHearted Learning model of Christian home education presented in this book is a comprehensive, uncomplicated, commonsense, biblical approach to homeschooling that integrates all required areas of study for children aged 4-14. It shows you how to use real books, real life, and real relationships to liberate learning in your home from the tyranny of textbooks, the grip of curriculum, and the rigid rule of school.

After only a few pages I thought to myself, “No, I’m going to need a highlighter for this!” So I started over and started highlighting things that stood out to me. In fact, my “you don’t write in books”  husband looked over at the page and gasped when he saw how much highlighter yellow was on the page. ;0) I have flipped ahead and scanned through the rest of the book and I can tell the whole thing is going to be good. I eagerly anticipate reading through each and every chapter. I want to go ahead and share with you a few quotes from the book, some of the things I’ve already highlighted.

Men designed schools, but God designed the home. p.13

Your home can and should be a warm, vibrant place where your children love to learn as freely and as naturally as they love to play. In fact, education should be the natural activity of every Christian home. p.14

…home education is not our primary goal–home nurture and discipleship are, and home education is simply the natural extension of those biblical priorities. p.14

Children made in God’s image are prewired to be intelligent, creative, and curious. No matter what you do (or don’t do!), God has already put within your children to question, explore, discover, and learn. p.15

A Christian home is never defined by what the children are doing; it is defined by what the parents are doing. p. 20

Rather than being the discovery of something new, we saw homeschooling as the recovery of something old–the recovery of the biblical home as God had designed it to be his primary institution for spreading righteousness from one generation to the next. p.22

You can get just a taste of what you’ll find when reading this book, and you can also see by the page numbers, just how well-stocked this book is. And that’s just from the first chapter! I’m several chapters in already. No fluff and stuff here. Deep, real, wisdom.

AND here’s how I am going to GIVE AWAY one copy of Educating the Wholehearted Child to one of my readers. DO YOU WANT ONE??

Here’s what you need to do, I’ll keep it simple.

1. To enter, leave a comment on this blog post. If you own this book or the original edition, tell me one of your favorite quotes from the book, or something valuable you learned from reading it. If you have never read this book, leave me any other quote or piece of wisdom that has helped shape the way you teach your children at home. If you don’t homeschool and are trying to win this for a friend, or any other reason, just leave me a comment tell me why you want to win this.

2. Comments will be closed at midnight, central time, Friday, August 26, 2011. One random winner will be drawn and notified by email.

3.Giveaway is only open to U.S. participants. (I am so very sorry! Legalese and all that.) =(

BUT WAIT! BEFORE YOU GO!

Click here to go back to the Hop and see ALL the authors and bloggers in Meet and Greet Blog Hop.

Click here to visit Clay & Sally’s website, Whole Heart Ministries.

Click here to visit Classic Housewife on Facebook, to subscribe to Classic Housewife via RSS or subscribe via email, or to follow on Twitter.

Thank you for joining me and don’t forget to stop by the Blog Hop to meet all of the other authors.

Hey, check out this month’s free download from Christian Audio!

This is one of those books that I have on my bookshelf, that I have started reading, that I WILL finish one day soon! But you can get the audio version free, with no catch!

**The Amazon link is an affiliate link. If you decide to buy the print version from Amazon.com, I will receive a very small commission.

My ten year old is an avid reader and believe it or not, one of the things she requested for her birthday was more books.

Books, books, books! My grandmother and her brother obliged and chipped in together on some spending money for the bookstore. (For both girls, since Drama Queen’s birthday was just a month ago.) Yesterday we went to a local bookstore that sells both used and new books and turned the kids loose.

Well..we didn’t turn them LOOSE. We made them stay in the kids’ section and we steered them away from coloring books. ;0)

The Princess was torn. She found more books she wanted to buy than she had money for. She found the American Girl section and wanted to scarf up a whole pile of those, but her budget could only afford two. I think she had half a dozen things in and out of her basket before she finally decided to get an American Girl book (Julie Tells Her Story) and an Usborne book (Starting Cooking) that came with an apron, a whisk, some measuring spoons and some other items.

The Drama Queen was excited to go to the bookstore until we got there and she saw that they had coloring books and movies and even some toys. She tried to say, “But I can’t read and I don’t even LIKE to read!” Um – can we say blatant lie? (More like, ‘I don’t want books because I saw that toy over there.’ But Momma is too smart for that.)

After I finished helping Princess, I helped D.Q. find the easy reader section and showed her the “Step Into Reading” type books and in the end… she ended up getting more books than anyone else! She found FIVE 4$ books- one “I Can Read, Level 2″ book, “How to Train Your Dragon” based on the movie we saw this past weekend, two Barbie “Step Into Reading, Level 2″ books and two Barbie storybooks. NO SURPRISE THERE. But truly, I encouraged her in that direction because right now she is interested in Barbie and WHATEVER WORKS.

I confess, I went in with the intentions of buying one book for the Little Price (in fact he didn’t get any – he picked out a used movie instead) but I quickly found myself pouring over a ton of larger chapter books and classics that I would love to read aloud to the children. I was surprised to find that How to Train Your Dragon was actually based on the first book in a 7-book series by Cressida Cowell. I grabbed up the first two books, after flipping through and becoming infatuated with the style of writing, the scribbly illustrations and the fun font changes. It looks like a lot of fun to read and I really think the kids would enjoy it.

All in all it was a successful book run to the kids’ first “real” book store (a.k.a. not the book section at Walmart or the dollar store, and not the library.) Also, I order most of our books through the internet. I have fond memories of going to the book store regularly as a kid, and since we don’t have one in our hometown, we may have to make this a regular tradition when we visit my mom every few months, even if we just go in to get one book to read together. This one also buys back used books which would be a great way to keep our book habit going, by trading in the books we don’t like or plan on reading again.

This looks like the beginning of a beautiful tradition.

Image Credit:http://www.flickr.com/photos/guldfisken/ / CC BY 2.0

P.S. I used Amazon affiliate links of course!

Halloween: What’s a Christian to do?

Halloween. A holiday rooted in ancient pagan (meaning non-Christian) traditions, transformed by modern society into a garish and brightly colored parade of children in search of a good take. Every major tradition and symbol (the jack-o-lantern, the phrase “trick-or-treat”) represents the hoiday’s origins. Commercialism has taken that and run with it, of course. By late September, consumers can find Halloween costumes, treat bags, decorations and other paraphernalia lining the store shelves, serving as a constant reminder that Halloween is coming and we need to be ready for it. While many Christians know exactly where they stand (either on one side, avoiding and boycotting the holiday completely, or on the other side, participating in safe alternatives at churches and around the community) many others steel feel confused and pulled between the two options.

No judging here.

I want to make it clear that Christians will find no judgement here from me, regardless of what decisions you make with your family. I believe that God leads us and convicts us each on our own paths in His own timing. While He may have convicted you of something you now feel strongly about, I may not feel convicted about it at all yet, and vice versa. I also believe that as Christians we should encourage and uplift each other and not tear each other down. I encourage each of you to stand strong in your convictions for or against, and to YES go ahead and share them, because it is often through personal testimonies that the holy spirit can begin to work on someone else’s heart. I also encourage you to avoid judging others who don’t share your convictions or even outright argue them. Instead, let’s love each other just as Christ has loved us, in spite of our imperfections and sins.

More on Halloween in the Oliver household:

I already shared what Halloween looks like in our household, about how I began participating in Halloween alternatives, but a few years ago God began pulling me away from that. For the last few years we’ve been slowly building our own “Halloween” (but mostly FALL) traditions. I have found several good ideas online and in books and thought of and prayed through many of my own. I didn’t really go into a lot of detail about specific activities and traditions, because we’re going to get into that in just a minute. First, some questions and answers:

1. What do you do about trick-or-treaters? We live in the country and we always have, so we have never had to deal with trick or treaters. However, there are a few different ways I can see to go on this one. You could go out on a family date to avoid the masses. Dinner and a movie should be long enough to get you through it. You could participate and use the opportunity to reach out to the kids in your neighborhood – along with a piece of candy, you could give them an invite to your church’s next Sunday School or youth event, or something small such as a pencil or bookmark with a bible verse on it. (That option will probably get you “labeled” as the holy-roller on the corner, but it’s definitely an option.) On the other hand, you may not want to pass out candy so you don’t appear to condone the holiday–in which case you could leave a sign on your door politely saying that you don’t participate in Halloween. What would YOU do in this situation, are there any other suggestions?
2. How do your kids handle not Trick-Or-Treating with their friends and neighbors? Honestly – they handle it really well. They’ve never really cared much about traditional trick-or-treating, but they did want to go to the festival to get their share of candy. Last year we started a new tradition that we’ll probably continue until the kids get older. Since the real goal was the candy, I bought four or five different kinds of candy and put them in a tub on the top of the refrigerator. The kids got to have 2 pieces a day until they were all gone. They got to get their candy, I got to pick the candy – everybody is happy.
3. What do you do when confronted with all the Halloween costumes, decorations and other paraphernalia at the store? I take advantage of it! We may not do Halloween, but all three of my kids like to dress up and pretend. There is not better costume selection than at Halloween. Go ahead, shop those clearance aisles after Halloween is over and see what kinds of costume pieces you can find to add to the dress-up box. I also like to browse the home décor looking for items that represent fall/autumn and just skip right over the Halloween stuff.
4. What do you do when family or friends invite you to something or give your kids something Halloween related? It depends. Most likely we will turn down invitations to parties, politely explaining that we don’t participate in Halloween events. Depending on the thing my kids are given and who it is from, I may let them keep it. If it’s candy, I’ll moderate it. But if it’s something that I wouldn’t approve of, (and I’m not able to intervene before they get their hands on it) I will most likely end up getting rid of the item and apologizing to the kids while explaining my position. If someone gave my son a devil costume, we would not be keeping it. Parenting: it’s hard. But it’s what I do.

Ideas for Activities & Crafts for Fall/Halloween:

1. Many Christians choose to celebrate Reformation Day or All Saints Day in addition to or instead of Halloween. Both of these being separate holidays, I’ll being going into these in separate posts for each of them. However, you can find information about them right now, on my Holiday Celebrations page (just scroll down to their section.)
2. Holiday baking - BAKING IS ALWAYS GOOD. =D The thing about fall is there are bountiful harvests everywhere! If you don’t grow your own (I don’t) take your family out to a local farmers market or you-pick-type farm. Turn zucchini into yummy zucchini bread. Convert those pumpkins into pies, breads and chocolate chip pumpkin cookies. Be adventurous and try a new squash or fruit that you’ve never tried before. Teach your children to appreciate all that God has blessed us with.
3. Take a trip to a pumpkin farm. We have a pumpkin farm within driving distance that has mazes, playgrounds, hay rides and a huge selection of pumpkins to pick from. What a simple way to have fun together with your family! Pick out a handful of pumpkins to bake with. Go ahead, pick out some carving pumpkins too. I have so much to say about pumpkins and pumpkin carving that written a completely separate article for it – read it here!
4. Decorate for fall. As early as the 1st of October, I begin decorating for fall. I don’t go over the top with it, we don’t have much in the way of fall decorations yet. Not only am I trying to frugally add a little each year, but I’m also extremely picky about the decorations I like. I don’t want something that looks Halloweenish, but I also don’t want something that looks cottage-crafty-country-whatever. Take your time and be discerning as you shop through the store aisles. Be wise with your money. Choose pieces that you feel reflect your style and represent the changes in the seasons, giving honor and glory to God who is sovereign over them. If you’re crafty, make your own. Most importantly, just take time to enjoy God’s creation and thank Him for it.
5. Make fall crafts with your kids. Fall is abundant with craft supplies. Pinecones, fall leaves, evergreen sprigs… take your pick. From simple leaf rubbings to natural centerpieces – the options are numerous! Check out the links at the bottom of the post for specific craft ideas.
6. Take the opportunity to share a family devotional. Whether you choose to have a specific Halloween-related devotional, or seize many teachable moments to share devotionals with your children while you are out and about in God’s creation or cooking up the fruits of your labors in the kitchen – keep your eyes open for moments when you can glorify God and give Him thanks for all that He has provided. Even when you’re explaining the science behind a white and tufty dandelion head or sharp and pointy pinecone, you can give glory to God in all his wisdom for creating a world that functions to rhythmically and beautifully.
7. Read with your children. There are many wonderful stories to read with your children this time of year. Children love to be read to and it’s a great way to strengthen your bond with your children and build memories that will last forever. (Not to mention that “they” always say that children who are read to more frequently are smarter and happier!) A list of good books to read is included at the bottom of this post.

More resources:

1. Books

• The Pumpkin Patch Parable
• Mommy, Why Don’t We Celebrate Halloween?
• My Happy Pumpkin: God’s Love Shining through Me

1. Websites

• Halloween Ministry Resources – a great list of books, lessons and articles to read.
• Halloween Alternative Ideas for Family Fun at Kidology
• Activities for Autumn at FamilyFun

1. Craft Ideas

• Fall crafts at About.com
• Fall crafts (and some homeschooling type activities) at Enchanted Learning
• Fall crafts at Kaboose.com – I love the paper bag scarecrow!

1. Extended Reading

• What Does Your Heart Worship? (What does the bible say about worship/Halloween? Written by myself back in 2007)
  
• Christian Halloween – All Hocus Pocus?
• Halloween: Trick or Treat? (In the lefthand sidebar, click on the article under “Halloween Helps” and it will automatically download the .pdf file.)
• Halloween Thoughts
• How is Carving a Pumpking Like Being a Christian?
• Halloween – Should Christians Participate?
  

Share the Love:

What favorite activities, crafts, recipes and other fall/halloween alternative traditions do you share with your family? If you have a favorite book or craft idea that you’d like to share you can leave it in the comments. If you have a blog post that you’ve written (recently or in the past) about your family’s fall and halloween time traditions, about how God led you to your current convictions, or even about just one craft or activity that you’ve done together, feel free to share it in the MckLinky below to encourage others who are looking for direction to navigate through this can-be-tricky holiday. Include a link back to this post so that readers can easily return here and so that your readers can find their way here also. Feel free to download the image above to include in your post or sidebar. And please do spread the word!

There’s also a “backstage” type event going on at the Fan page. I’ll be posting more links and pictures there, so if you’re not a fan already, come join us!

I’m going to leave the linky open as long as I can, hopefully up through Halloween night. If I start seeing links that look spammy, I’ll start deleting them. If it gets to be too much for me to keep up with (which I don’t expect) then I’ll have to close it before Halloween.

It’s about your heart:

In the end, the decisions you make are between you and God (and your spouse if you have one) and no one else. Ultimately I believe God is more concerned about the state of your heart than about whether or not you went to a Halloween party. I believe He is most pleased and glorified when your heart is seeking His will. God sees the inmost parts of our hearts and knows their every desire. Regardless of where you stand on Halloween, regardless of what He has or has not convicted you of thus far in your life – every day including Halloween is a day the Lord has made, an opportunity to honor and worship Him and give Him all the glory. In all that you do, may God be glorified!

I’ve tried this before. Ya know, making a reading list for the new year.

It didn’t work so well.

But I’m trying again. Anyway. So there. I already have more than enough unread (and unfinished!) books on my shelf to read a different one each month. So that’s the plan.

The first one, I’m actually already a couple chapters into, so it should be an easy start, right?

• January ~ The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace *
• February ~ Praise Her in the Gates by Nancy Wilson
• March ~ Lies Women Believe by Nancy Leigh DeMoss *
• April ~ A Mom After God’s Own Heart by Elizabeth George
• May ~ The Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson
• June ~ Teach Them Diligently  by Lou Priolo *
• July  ~ Desiring God by John Piper *
• August ~ The Pleasures of God by John Piper
• September ~ Battling Unbelief by John Piper
• October ~ The Power of  Prayer in a Believer’s Life by Charles Spurgeon
• November ~ 10 Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health by Donald S. Whitney *
• December ~ Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper *

Whew! That’s not an easy list!! We’ll see how far I can get this time.

What’s on YOUR reading list for 2009? Have you read any of these? What did you think of them?