Some days, the cares of this world press hard upon us and our children. Frailties become undeniable as our minds crave rest, our bodies need healing, or loved ones need our immediate care. Isolation, loneliness, financial or work pressures, and world unrest can tumble us into suffocating torrents that threaten to take our breath away. […]
David was small in stature. He had only five small stones. By any measure, David stood no chance against the Philistine Goliath. But the Lord was with David. This became an illustrative hope for me. As an adoptive mother I fretted when my twins were young. My son’s legs were twisted, his muscle tone floppy. […]
My family delights in finding older, out-of-print books on Christian education because I delight in reading them. Written by Christian pedagogues in the 1800s or earlier, such books become a time capsule for all of us interested in passing on the best of classical Christian education. In a recent find called The Discourse of Errors […]
When we raise or teach young children, we must do so with the understanding that our Christian children are simultaneously citizens of a temporal realm and citizens of a heavenly realm. In both realms they are in need of Truth. In the temporal realm, Aesop’s fables have been prized as an ideal pedagogical vehicle. They […]
Some children struggle with math. Proposed solutions abound, such as limiting struggling students’ math adventures to cooking, measuring, calculating money, and other “real-life” pursuits. But if we assume such a pragmatic approach, what do our children miss? Is there more to math than “useful” application? In a classical education we view arithmetic and mathematics as […]
Eleanor Bates Moody, a student at Westminster School in Alabama, selected the topic of “Classical Christian Education & Autism” for her senior thesis. Her questions were so thoughtfully and carefully prepared that we decided to share the interview she conducted with Cheryl. EBM: Why is classical Christian education a great option for the average child? […]
“I wish people would be more blunt with me,” my son said. “What do you mean?” I asked. Michael continued, “If they’re tired of talking with me, I wish they would just say so.” Subtleties escape many of us, but individuals with significant brain differences seem uniquely prone to missing social nuances. When teaching character […]
My mother was a quiet person. Her childhood copies of Heidi, Little Women, and Anne of Green Gables became mine. As an equally quiet child, such books gave me courage. I felt like Clara but admired the sturdy legs of Heidi. I sympathized with Beth but thrilled with Jo. I held the tenderness of Diana […]
In 1946, for the preface to How Heathen Is Britain?, C. S. Lewis shared this observation: Education is only the most fully conscious of the channels whereby each generation influences the next. It is not a closed system. Nothing which was not in the teachers can flow from them into the pupils…. A man whose […]
My son loves a good find. Antique malls and secondhand stores delight his mind. Yesterday he showed me his latest purchase, a set of old radio comedies on cassette to enjoy from his retro-tech cassette player. My daughter is the same way. She once rescued a bedraggled doll with legs dangling. Michelle gave the doll […]