Treasures of the Snow - Literature Guide!

{Get your free literature guide at the end of this post!}

Have you read, Treasures of the Snow by Patricia St. John? We learned about it from the My Father's World: Creation to the Greeks curriculum we are using this year. This book is full of meaningful lessons and illustrates bearing the Fruits of the Spirit as the main characters choose to walk in Jesus' ways toward the end of the story.

Lately, I have been working on refining the literature guide format for our book club discussions. One goal was to streamline the material. Another goal was to have the kids put into practice applying the Principle Approach® method. This allows the kids to be more independently involved with the research, reason and relating aspects.

©Principled Academy 2013

We went through some of the guide in our group but we didn't make it through to the end of the book due to time constraints. However, the discussions we did have were rich. We mothers 

Walk Like an Egyptian? Part Two (Obelisks)

My Father's World

Creation to the Greeks

Week 11

In the My Father's World Creation to the Greeks Curriculum, we have been studying ancient Egypt. As with any curriculum, my goal is to apply Bible Principles to what we are studying about because I think it's important. I'm not sure how many of these I'll be posting but I will post as I see necessary (you can read post one here).

In week 11, one of the activities has to do with drawing an obelisk. I'd like to forewarn you that this is not a G Rated symbol!

Obelisks

My understanding from Scripture is that we are to not have anything to do with these images. And once you learn what they symbolize (a phallus) I'm fairly certain you may reconsider having your kids make one to commemorate someone or to even draw one.

SYMBOLISM OF the OBELISK

In Babylon Mystery Religion, we are told also the true meaning of the obelisk:

"Originally, the obelisk was associated with sun worship. The ancients, having rejected the knowledge of the true creator, seeing that the sun gave life to plants and to man, looked upon the sun as a god, the great life giver. To them upright objects such as the obelisk also had a sexual significance. Realizing that through sexual union life was produced, the phallus was considered (along with the sun) a symbol of life. These were beliefs represented by the obelisks.

"The word 'images' in the Bible is translated from several different Hebrew words. One of these words, 'atzebah,' means 'standing images' or obelisks (I Kings 14:23; 2 Kings 18:4; 23:14; Jer. 43:13; Micah 5:13). Another word is 'hammanim' which means 'sun images,' images dedicated to the sun or obelisks (Isaiah 17:8; 27:9).

"In order for the obelisks to carry out their intended symbolism, they were placed upright -- erect. Thus they pointed up -- toward the sun. As a symbol of the phallus, the erect position also had an obvious significance. Bearing this in mind, it is interesting to notice that when divine judgment was pronounced against this false worship, it was said that these images (obelisks) 'shall not stand up,' but would be cast down (Isaiah 27:9)…" 4.

 Resource: watch.pair.com

Well, some interesting things can be learned when holding ideas up in light of Scripture! 

Blessings!

Copyright 2012 of Principled Academy.

The duplication of articles, photos, or blog entries without the express permission of the owner are strictly prohibited.

Walk Like an Egyptian? Part One (Senet)

My Father's World

Creation to the Greeks

Wk. 9

Many years ago, I overheard part of a song playing. All I know is that it exists and the only part I recall hearing is "Walk like an Egyptian..." Perhaps you are familiar with it... perhaps you are not. I have never cared to look further into it.

But just that portion of the song alone struck me. Should we walk like an Egyptian? What does that mean? Are we walking in Egyptian steps... without even realizing it?

© Principled Academy

It's fun studying history! There are so many things to learn... the people are interesting, the way they lived is interesting...

...but it's sobering at times too. Some people did not follow God. Their education and forms of government were centered around their beliefs and those beliefs greatly affected life (and life eternal) for people.

Those things being said, I think it can be easy for all of us to do something without realizing what it is we are doing!

Senet

One of the recommended activities is to make the Ancient Egypt board game Senet. Having researched about this game, I learned that...

The word Senet means "passing." This had religious significance. The players believed that "good luck" was a blessing from their gods. The winner was the first person to pass into the afterlife by getting all their pieces off of the board.

Resource: www.eyelid.co

Also:

The game had become a talisman for the dead on their afterlife journey.This game had an element of luck to it and they believed that the successful player would receive protection from their major gods (so that would be Ra, Thoth, and sometimes Osiris).

Senet boards were found among the graves (like many other objects thought to have gone into the afterlife with the dead). This game is referred to in the Book of the Dead.

 Resource: Wikipedia

Being followers of Christ, we know there isn't truth to the beliefs the Egyptians had about this game. Just the same, this game had religious significance to people who did not worship God. If they weren't following the One True God, there is only one other option (who was behind their gods?). Therefore, why would we want to learn and teach a game which is not centered around truth? 

Blessings!

Copyright 2012 of Principled Academy.

The duplication of articles, photos, or blog entries without the express permission of the owner are strictly prohibited. 

Lot's Wife- Creation to the Greeks (MFW)

My Father's World 

Creation To The Greeks 

Week 7

I am so excited to see how God is orchestrating our studies in My Father's World Creation to the Greeks with what the church we are visiting is learning! The congregation is also studying about Abraham and Lot but is learning the Hebrew root words and it is amazing how much clearer we are understanding Scripture because of it! So much is truly lost in translation!

Albrecht Dürer
Lot and His Daughters

For instance, when we were reading in week 7 about Sodom and Gomorrah in our homeschool, we got to asking, "Why did Lot's sons-in-law not take him seriously? This question was asked in church, too, and someone commented on how perhaps Lot was not living the example the way a godly man ought to. Therefor, why would they take him seriously?

We related that thought about Lot to a scene in the movie Fly Wheel (if you haven't seen it yet, I think you ought to look into it). There is a scene where a car dealership owner is convicted about cheating customers out of their money and he is correcting a salesman about a scam he just pulled on a young gal purchasing a car. The salesman wasn't taking the owner seriously at first. Why? Because he learned from the owner how to scam. Our kids *got* the example.

In our homeschool discussion, we asked "Why did Lot's Wife look back?" Well, why did she? And why was she turned into a pillar of salt when she could have been turned into anything? I share the answer to the first question and some thoughts on the second question in the free downloadable notebook pages which you can get here.

Blessings!

 

PS

Please let me know if these notebook sheets are a help to you or not. This way I know how to best I invest my time. Thanks!

Copyright 2012 of Principled Academy.

The duplication of articles, photos, or blog entries without the express permission of the owner are strictly prohibited.

Sumerians- Streams of Civilization

Creation to the Greeks

Week 2

We are learning so much from this book! History is so, so interesting!

On page 34 in Streams of Civilization, we were reading ideas about the Sumerians being the first people after the Flood to develop a written language. They also state that the Sumerians were the first to use a wheeled vehicle to help them move heavy objects, etc. 

© Principled Academy
The Ark of Noah painting by the American artist Edward Hicks (1780-1849)

Hmmm??? These statements caused us to pause and ponder and we had an interesting discussion. Wouldn't Noah have had wheels and other tools for constructing the ark? That was a rather large construction project. Wouldn't his sons have introduced their written language to other people after the Flood? Likely they had one before the flood.

This book also refers to a variety of literary works the Sumerians came up with. So, I decided to apply the Principle Approach® method of teaching to this portion. Why? Because I think it's important for my children to learn and recognize that the literary elements are God's idea... not man's. So I created a notebook page for this portion of the Streams of Civilization study. You can download my free Principle Approach® lesson about this by going here. 

I hope this enriches your Creation to the Greeks studies, too!

Blessings!

 

The Holy Land- Bible W9, Q1

I am very excited about how the timing has worked out for us to learn about the Holy Land while using two different curricula. This is my first double-purpose post where I am blogging about both The Noah Plan and Creation to the Greeks lessons in our homeschool.

Note: I am still using the Noah Plan because I love it! However, since there aren't any families using the Noah Plan (that I know of) in our area, I wanted to use My Father's World as well so I'd have something in common with other families in our area. That being said, I am still using the Bible Principles to build upon our lessons in the My Father's World curriculum.

So... I covered the Bible Principle and Leading Idea with all of my children (because this is something for all ages to learn). When teaching the Noah Plan lesson (using a simple map of the Holy Land), my older kids reviewed it. Then my younger one colored and listened as I expanded on this lesson with my older kids using the lesson from Creation to the Greeks (which consists of a more detailed map of the Holy Land). 

© Principled Academy

© Principled Academy

 This works so well as the Creation to the Greeks lesson ends up building upon what my older ones have already learned via The Noah Plan (Isa 2810: (KJV) For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little....) And that right there is part of what the Principle Approach method is about!

You can download your free Noah Plan notebooking pages... this one has a traceable title and this one does not. You can go here to download and print out a copy simple map of the Holy Land for an answer key.

I also created a notebooking page for the Creation to the Greeks week 3 lesson which is combined with the Noah Plan lesson. You can download it for free here.

I like that my kids are mapping about the Holy Land because it helps to make the history in the Bible a reality (these events actually happened in these places to these people).

How has this post helped you? Please leave a comment letting us know.

Blessings!

The Feast of Booths!

Our family is learning about the Biblical Feasts! Our journey began last year around December and is moving forward during our school year with our My Father's World Creation to the Greeks studies. 

There is a lot to research! We have been blessed with meeting a few families and learning about the feasts from them. We have also been researching articles on the web, reading Celebrating Biblical Feasts, and going to the Bible for answers.

This is our first year celebrating The Feast of Booths (aka Sukkot) and we are enjoying so much what we are learning and why it is significant for today's Christians to keep this feast.

Here is our Sukkah (our booth).

© Principled Academy

One reason to stay in a booth (or tent) is to be reminded about the Exodus- how God delivered 

The Tanglewoods' Secret- Literature Guide

We are reading The Tanglewoods' Secret as a part of our My Father's World: Creation to the Greek's curriculum. I love reading aloud to our children; we typically do this in the evening as extra special family time.

I want to do more than read through the chapters with my children. I want to do more than just discuss what we have read. I want to dig into the Word of God with them to learn the principles regarding what we just read. I want to discuss the characters and have a way to make note of how they change through the story...

©  Principled Academy

So, I am creating The Tanglewood's Secret Bible Principles Literature Guide. I am having my 3rd, 6th and 7th graders take written notes as we discuss the book and Bible Principles. I'm having my 1st grader join the discussion, too, but draw about something that was read. Our 6th grader is creating coloring pages for our Kindergartner and Preschooler to color while they listen to the story.

When taking the time to discuss Bible Principles, I am sewing seeds of truth within my children's hearts. I am teaching them how to turn to Scripture to search for answers about ideas, behaviors, heart attitudes, etc. This helps reinforce the teachings of Scripture. I believe this is so important because education is more than just about the *academics* and more than just *enjoying literature.* It's about teaching our children truths and we find truths in Scripture.

Would you like one too? For a limited time, you can get if for free by having my blog posts delivered to your e-mail or RSS Feed. Sign up today so you don't miss a post! I'll be posting the link to the first five chapters on Monday September 10th!

Please also take the time to *like* my facebook page. Thank you!

Blessings!