The Importance of Red, White, and Blue
June 30, 2021
| Be sure to scroll to the bottom to enter the contest and see the freebies of the month! |
Mercy Every Minute
Deborah Wuehler, TOS Senior Editor
A Unit Study on Freedom
Here is a very short unit study on Freedom.
Webster’s 1828 Dictionary Definition of the word, freedom:
1. A state of exemption from the power or control of another; liberty; exemption from slavery, servitude or confinement. Freedom is personal, civil, political, and religious.
Copy Work:
“All we have of freedom, all we use or know, this our fathers bought for us long and long ago.”
—Rudyard Kipling, The Old Issue, 1899
“For what avail the plough or sail, or land or life, if freedom fail?”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson, vol. 9 (Poems) [1909]
“From every mountain side, let Freedom ring.”
—Samuel F. Smith, “America” 1832
Coloring Pages:
America: https://www.coloringplanet.com/Coloring-Pages/America
Independence Day (4th of July) http://www.supercoloring.com/coloring-pages/holidays/independence-day-4th-of-july
Scriptures on Freedom:
“For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”
Galatians 5:13,14
“For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.” 1 Peter 2:15-17
Bible Memory:
“But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” James 1:25
Scripture Fulfilled regarding Freedom/Liberty in Christ:
Read Isaiah 61:1 and then read its fulfillment in Luke 4:16-21.
Prayer:
Let’s thank God for the many who paved the way before us to be able to homeschool our children in peace. Pray for our leaders. Pray for continued freedom as you keep your children Home. In Freedom. Where They Belong.
~Deborah
Did you know you can read all about homeschooling through the pages of The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine and find information on any homeschool subject through all of our back issues–at no cost? Download your FREE app at www.TOSApps.com or go to www.tosmagazine.com to read through the latest issue.
P.S. Check out these articles:
Reading and Writing with the Founding Fathers by Janice Campbell
The Classical Education of the Founding Fathers by Martin Cothran
Homeschooling Will Save America—Just Like it Did in the American Revolution by Kevin Smith
Todd Wilson
Todd Wilson, Familyman Ministries
God Bless America
Honestly, I don’t have much hope for our wonderful country that has turned its back on God . . . but I do believe that our history must be taught and recorded.
My oldest son, Ben (whom I do the Smiling Homeschooler Podcast with each week) is a history guy. He reads more than anyone I know and knows more about U.S. history than just about anyone I know.
I remember when he was thinking about what to major in during college and said, “But Dad, who cares about history? What does it really matter if I know a bunch about the past?” I didn’t have much of an answer then but told him to go with his passion. But I’ve thought about it since and have an answer to his questions.
History matters. History is a record of the truth—not an interpretation or an ever-evolving story, but a truth about facts and events. Others may say America was never founded on Christian principles . . . but they’re wrong. They may say our Founders didn’t follow the Bible, but they’re wrong. They may say that our present-day agendas were always believed but they are wrong!
History records a people who loved God and believed the Bible, founded this country and believed that a land devoid of Biblical truth would not survive.
I still don’t have a lot of hope for our great country . . . but there is no denying that America was great because our Founders depended on God. That is history.
America, America, God shed His grace on thee, and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea.
Be real,
Todd
Danika Cooley
Ideas Matter
History matters.
For years, history has gotten a bad rap. It’s been called the driest subject, the most boring subject, the subject that’s just all dates and names. History matters, though, because ideas matter. Ideas change the course of lives, generations, and countries. History for the Christian should be fascinating. After all, God rooted us in a specific time and place. We have a responsibility to steward well that which we’ve been given.
Americans have been given a constitutional democratic republic. I frequently hear that we live in a democracy, yet we do not. That’s a detail that matters—a lot. When people who know better “bend” the truth by telling us we are a part of a democracy (rather than a democratic republic with three co-equal branches of government), it can be manipulative. That’s because ideas—and labels and structure—matter a lot when it comes to important things like civics.
As homeschoolers, we have the opportunity to teach our kids that ideas matter. Through the study of history, they can see the way ideas have impacted real lives throughout history. Our kids can study history to better understand the way our government works and how their involvement is important.
Our past is important because it informs what we do now, and what we do now impacts the future. Our kids need to know and understand our Constitution, the people who wrote it, and the motives of those who want to change or disregard it. Our children need to understand their responsibilities as citizens in this democratic republic that we’ve been given.
I’m a big fan of teaching history through story. There are so many wonderful narrative biographies and history books available to us. We can study the good, the bad, and the ugly with our kids. We can talk to our children about how, as Christians, we can best fulfill our role as stewards of this great big country of ours. We can, and we should, emphasize why it matters.
Danika Cooley is the author of Help Your Kids Learn and Love the Bible (Bethany House) and Bible Road Trip™, a three-year Bible survey for preschool to high school. She is an award-winning children’s author with a new line of Christian history for 3rd to 5th graders (Who What Why Series, Christian Focus Publications) debuting in August. Grab your FREE 130-page Bible Study Tool Kit.
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Contest Corner
for the month of June
Owl Pellet Field Biology Kit
Pellets Inc
The Owl Pellet Field Biology Kit from Pellets Inc. is a great add-on activity for any science-loving household, whether homeschooling or not. The Field Biology Kit contains everything you need to dissect real owl pellets to find actual skeletons—including three pellets, a magnifying lens, plastic forceps, and a twelve-page illustrated study guide. The study guide provides an introduction about what owl pellets are and a brief explanation about owl digestion, as well as illustrations of the food web of an owl.
My younger son is ten, and while he was initially stuck on the idea we would be looking at “owl poop,” he quickly dove right in. The forceps are a perfect size for smaller hands, and he could use them to grab the smaller bones. I also grabbed an old safety pin to clean out the smaller bits of fur wrapped around some bones. This is a kit for just about anyone who enjoys digging for hidden treasures. Because there are drawings of the bones that are expected to be found, it was easy to hold the ones we did find to compare.
We dissected one of the three pellets, and it took us about half an hour once we got started to pull out all the largest pieces. This would be an excellent kit for a shorter hands-on science lesson to go with a food web, a bird, or a mammal study; however, it really can stand on its own without any additional lessons.
This is part of a review for the Owl Pellets Field Biology Kit. Read the full review on our site with much more information about using this in your homeschool.
Go to the contest page of our site where you can ENTER TO WIN the Owl Pellets Field Biology Kit.
Freebies
An Ordinary Homeschool . . . With An Extraordinary God
Deborah Wuehler gives us insight into her very ordinary homeschool, but also reveals an extraordinary God. Topics covered are guilt, weariness, financial burdens, expectations, too many activities, balancing it all, making learning stick, and more . . . don’t miss An Ordinary Homeschool . . . With An Extraordinary God.
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This freebie and more found in our TOS Annual Freebie Directory here:
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