Getting Back into the Swing of Things

We’re almost at the end of week 3 of the New Year. With Jesse already well into his second week of schoolwork, Misha also started his schoolwork this week.

We have decided on starting him off slowly on getting used to the Switched on Schoolhouse system. He’ll be doing English Language Arts and Health Quest to get used to how the program works.

Next week he starts his group lessons with Brenda again. For most part he’ll remain pretty much unschooled for the time being. I still need to look at field trip venues for the year, but  between Co-op, Education Support Science lessons, hands-on Maths and his 2 SOS subjects, he should be fairly occupied. I still need to look into drum and horse riding lessons for him as well.

The whiteboards we got on special at Makro have been coming in very handy these days. I’ve managed to find him a set of 10 different coloured whiteboard markers so he can use the smaller board for drawing. Here he’s planning how we can add a pool to the back yard so we can survive the heat.

I slipped up a bit on my year planning this week. Forgot to check the starting dates for Honey Badger club & ice skating so we missed the  January sessions.  Fortunately I had arranged for Misha to play with Damian and Suzanne for the day so he was none the wiser that he was meant to have been at the zoo. I asked Jesse to check what's on some re-writable DVD we got side-tracked with memory lane 2003... Priceless memories...

Misha spent much of the week in his favourite camping chairs with the pets as well as doing his SOS subjects. These have been met with much less resistance this year. It seems laying off the curriculum for the last year and a bit is now paying off. He’s showing more interest as well as willingness to do schoolwork.

I have also noticed a vast improvement in his speech and vocabulary. His reading and spelling have also shown great improvement even though we haven’t been doing much of that lately.

This year we decided the boys would each have one day a week to make supper for the family. Misha be learning how to make easier meals like toasted chees sandwiches and Jesse started off learning to cook his favourite “Spaghetti Bolognaise”. Even boys need to know how to cook. I don’t want them to end up leaving home one day not knowing how to take care of themselves where meals are concerned.

Today Misha had Damian and Suzanne over to play again. He had insisted mommy must have a birthday cake for tomorrow so I baked it this afternoon and the kids decorated.

Since we missed last Friday’s homeschooler’s ice skating, we’ll be spending some time at the ice rink tomorrow before they have their first Junior Engineering session in the afternoon. This term Misha will be doing Mechanical Systems 2 and Jesse’s going to do Mechanical Engineering.

We will be closing off our week with supper at the Spur with some family and friends.

Back to School

With the boys having had 8 weeks of school holiday since the end of August, we started our new school year very early on the 2nd of January this year. Jesse still has a few assignments to finish for his first semester with Alpha Omega Academy that closes by the end of January.

Of course the joys of home educating allowed him to spend his first day of school at the ice rink and then going home and start his work in the afternoon. I had to fetch Misha from Matt in Fourways and he wasn’t particularly interested in ice skating so we headed off to the toy shop so he could spend his Christmas moneys from Granny & Opa.

Getting home in the afternoon still left Jesse with more than enough time to do his schoolwork at his leisure. I must admit I prefer it this way. No more nagging to get schoolwork done and I also don’t have to worry about having to mark his work every day. The teachers at AOA take care nitty of all the gritties that can be so time consuming, leaving us with time for stress-free fun & fellowship.

Happy New Year

WoW, another year has passed us by, with tomorrow being the last of our school holiday since the boys will have had 8 weeks of school holiday since August. Of course with Jesse having started Alpha Omega Academy on the 1st August, his first semester only finishes at the end of January and the end of our school year shifts across to the end of July.

It still amazes me how fast time flies by these days. This has been a hectic year with regards to field trips, think we may just slow down on those a little bit. Thus far I’ve only finished the holiday planning for next year and still need to do school and field trip planning.

The boys are sleeping out & I’m ending off 2012 with one last blog post wishing all our family and friends a wonderfully blessed 2013.

Recommended Article: Top universities want you to homeschool

Well even after 2 years of home educating, I still doubt at times whether we're doing the right thing home educating our boys, but this article once again set my heart at ease...

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Top universities want you to homeschool

Posted By Penelope Trunk On April 27, 2012 (12:40 am) In College, Extended classroom

It's not that top universities are telling people directly to homeschool their kids. Instead, top schools are using a selection process that gives homeschooled kids a huge advantage.

 

Here's why:
1. Good grades are a commodity, so they don't help in the admissions process.
Girls are doing so much better than boys in both standard high school courses and in standardized tests that their good grades and good scores don't get girls into good colleges. It's not enough anymore. White girls especially need a hook.

A hook is, ironically, something you are passionate about and engaged in that is outside of school. Top schools like Harvard and Stanford have always required a hook. Because when you're in a room full of smart people, smart suddenly doesn't matter—interesting is what matters.

Freedoms & Benefits of Home Educating

WoW, I can hardly believe we’re heading for the end of September and  yet another week of time-out from school. whilst Jesse is away on holiday with an old school friend he’s had since grade 1. We’ll be using this time off to complete some long needed maintenance to the house.

For us home education was meant to be an interim solution to help Misha recover from school, fix his foundation and help him catch up to his peers. However after a few months after also bringing Jesse home in January last year, daddy decided that school would no longer be an option for us.

I just love having my boys home and for us the joys of home education have proven to outweigh the sacrifices and commitments having to be made to make it possible by far. I must honestly admit, that I have questioned our decision to bring the boys home a couple of times, but when I think about the benefits of having them home I’m happy I’ve managed to stick with it.

Here are some of the benefits we’ve seen since we brought the boys home last year.

• For starters I don’t miss having to be up & out on the road early in the morning for dropping them off at school. The boys get to sleep in and work when it suits them best. At first we were up by 7am so as to start at 8am, but then the winter came & we extended sleep till 8am. Now of course they get up around 9am & do school whenever it suits them, just as long as by the end of the day their day’s tasks are complete.
• Our family relationships have improved tremendously. After 2 years at home I still have a 15 year old spending almost 2 hours a day on my lap for SOM (sit-on-mommy time) even though he has outgrown me and my lap by far. Boy do I miss those when he’s away with his friends. Overall our family is much more lively & we are all much more relaxed.
• The boys now actually get along much better and except for occasional disagreements we no longer have the constant fighting & whining in our home. It turns out that the reason they were constantly fighting was merely stress causing them to be irritable most of the time.
• Of course my body doesn’t quite agree with the rough & tumble sessions, but they love those wrestling sessions and mommy’s happy to oblige, although sometimes it borders on dangerous...
• I’m happy that we could alleviate the stress for Misha, who has picked so much damage at school. Home educating has allowed us the opportunity to unschool and allow him to recover. We were able to focus on his strengths and restore his confidence.

I was amazed at our eTV tour that Misha wanted a shot at reading the news and although the article was way beyond his reading level, he really did a good job of this one.

After only few visits to the technology co-op, Misha started showing enough confidence to present his projects.

• I love the flexibility that we have with regards to curriculum. The boys are able to learn at their own pace. We can take their learning styles, interests & talents into account when choosing curricula in order to make sure they don’t get bored or frustrated with their material.
• Jesse has just started Grade 9 with Alpha Omega Academy using their Switched on Schoolhouse Curriculum. What we love most about it is that it caters for his learning style and allows him the freedom to learn at his most productive study times & he can work wherever he’s comfortable. For the first time since we took up home education, he actually works without having to be told to do his work and if he does plan to do something in the evening, he works ahead.
• We’ve also taken up geography & science lessons with Barry Bryant from Education Support. These hands-on group lessons have been great for them. I’ve actually been sitting in some of the classes myself and the more I do that, the more I realize how school had failed me. I don’t remember any of the science he’s been teaching the boys…  
• Both boys have loved the Junior Engineering lessons they’ve been doing. Many of these lessons have been beneficial for their technology and science activities.
• This year alone, we have already done 16 field trips with another 3 to go. We’ve done loads of fun stuff and were able to de-school in order to work on restoring the boys’ love for learning.
• Last year we purchased the “Legacy Learn & Master Guitar” homeschool curriculum for them, but they didn’t enjoy it much. We were able to put it away & tried it again this year. This time we also added some friends to join in and boy are they making huge progress teaching each other now.

The boys doing their guitar lesson.

• This year we discovered that Misha is quite an artist and also that he has a gifting for music. I’ve always noticed when he touched an instrument, it never sounded like noise, but now we know he’s a natural and have started him on drum lessons. Our next aim is to get him his own drums and invest in the “Learn & Master Drums” homeschool curriculum.

Here he’s practicing at Edward’s. Not too bad for a kid that’s only been able to play once a week for the past few months.

• The boys especially love the monthly ice skating sessions where they get to socialize with their friends.

Except for twice, the boys haven't missed a session in 2 years.

• Oh and let us not forget the homeschooling horse camps at Mooikrans Equus. We sent them on their first camp last year, they just did another one last month and we’re already planning their next one for March 2013.
• I love the flexibility of our schedule that allows us to make use of out of season rates to go away as a family. We started off with a 5 weeks on 1 week off schedule, but also didn’t stick to that a 100% but most of the time we take a break when we need it. We will be taking 2 weeks at the end of October to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. I’m happy not to be bound to the  national school holidays, although we still take them into account because both boys still have friends in private school. This tends to cause a little havoc for us sometimes.
• I’m grateful to have “met” a number of very supportive home educating moms via Facebook & email forums without whom, I may have given up by now. Here I must say a very special thank you to Linnie, Taryn, Wendy,Donette. & the rest of the Hello Mornings SA Group whose support and encouraging words have picked me up many a time when I was down and out.

I’m sure if I were to think about it a little longer, I will find many more freedoms and benefits that home educating has allowed us. I may just use this list as a basis and continue to add to it as we continue home educating.

This post features on the South African Carnival of Homeschool Bloggers (SACH Bloggers) where South African home schoolers share experiences, ideas, philosophies and much more.  You can join the carnival too by heading to the South African Carnival of Homeschool Bloggers sign up page. We hope you enjoy the carnival as much as we have!

SA Home Schooling Blog Carnival September 2012 ~ The Freedoms of Homeschooling

June 2012 SACHS Blog ~ Extra Curricular Activities

Hi everyone it's time for the June South African Carnival of Homeschooling blog. This month our theme is Extra Curricular activities and moms from all over South Africa will be sharing their experiences.

Extracurricular activities are activities performed by students that fall outside the realm of the normal curriculum of school or university education and they exist at all levels of education. Activities that often involve some time & commitment outside of the regular school day, such as band and choir, are also considered extracurricular activities.

For us these activities include Chess, Music, Junior Engineering for Africa (JEFA) and Tutur/Co-op for Technology.

Misha still goes to his old school twice a week on Monday & Wednesday for an hour of chess. On Thursdays, Jesse has Technology with a tutor and the same tutor teaches Misha art & drums. After his art & drum lessons, Misha attends a Technology co-op for 8-12 year olds in Constantia Kloof. On Fridays they both attend Junior Engineering classes in Northriding for 1 & half hours. Jesse will be taking part in the Robotics competition in July.

The boys have also done some earth science courses with Barry Byrant from Education Support which they quite enjoyed.

1. Volcanoes Day 1 (12 March) & Day 2 (26 March)
2. Earth Quakes & Working with Clay (11 June)

Last month Misha checked out the Honey Badger Club at the Johannesburg Zoo. He loved it so much that I’ve signed him up to attend there once a month as from next month as well.

My boys are not very keen on sports and the highlight of our month, is the monthly ice skating at Northgate Ice Arena. Except for once this year due to sickness, my boys won’t miss this for anything.

We’ve also tried some Geography with a twist this year by joining the World Wide Culture Swap. “What is Worldwide Culture Swap?” you may ask. It is various groups of people from across the world sharing gifts & information in order to learn more about each other’s country & culture. This adds a new incentive and great excitement to learning geography when parcels are sent and received.

This year I made it a priority to add numerous field trips in order to rekindle the boys’ love for learning & still have quite a few more planned for the rest of this year.

Field trips attended & planned:

1. Bush School Ecological Study @ Mogale’s Gate (9 March)
2. Water Purification Plant, Vereeniging (22 March)
3. Sound & Light Experiments @ Tan’ Malie se Winkel (23 March)
4. Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve & Wondercaves (3 April)
5. SAASTA Telescope Building & Science Outing (3 May)
6. Steam Train Trip & Cullinan History Tour (5 May)
7. eTV Tour (24 May)
8. SAASTA Night Sky Viewing (30 May)
9. Weather Training Centre @ Irene (31 May)
10. Museum Africa & The Market Theatre (5 June)
11. Piki Tup Robinson Deep Landfills, Waterfal Depot, Fairlands Garden Site as well as Panorama Composting Site (7 June)
12. Sci Bono Science Museum (3 July)
13. The Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre – deWildt (4 July)
14. Nature Treasure Hunt @ Kloofendal Nature Reserve (12 July)
15. Maropeng (7 August)
16. Planetarium Day (3 September)
17. Cheese Farm & Spring Picnic (4 September)
18. Horses & Conservancy (2 October)
19. Scorpions – nocturnal walk @ Kloofendal Nature Reserve (6 October)
20. Babboon Rehabilitation (5 November)
21. Santarama Miniland (3 December)

We’ve had some hectic weeks so far but it has quietened down a bit. Next week we have 2 field trips again, but thereafter it may stay at 1 per month. Will see how it goes and what other opportunities present themselves.

The Horse Camp at Mookrans Equus is another long awaited event not to be missed. This year it’s scheduled from 26th August to 1st September.

All in all I think our new approach with de-schooling this year is slowly paying off. Jesse reckons he’s ready for some real learning again and has been signed up with Alpha Omega Academy to ease back into learning with English, Maths, Science, Health & Physical Education using the PC based Switched on Schoolhouse material. Misha will continue with unschooling for now until around 6th/7th grade when we’ll look into formal curriculum again. I pray that by then, the damage caused by private school will have been all repaired & he will be able to reach his full potential.

Now for some great contributions from other moms on how they supplement their kids’ learning with extra murals:

1. "Unofficial Extra-Curricular Activities" by Elize van der Merwe at  Bearakademie has this to say: “At first I thought, oh my… only one extra-curricular activity, but then I remembered the Masters are pre-schoolers, they participate in a lot of things that are seen as extra-curricular, but is termed "unofficial" – as they don’t necessarily do it as part of a group, or a group of their own peers. So here are our unofficial-official list of extra-curricular activities...”
2. Taryn Hayes from Hayes Happenings shares in her post All About Extra Murals how they supplement their much loved literature-based curriculum with various extra curricular activities and outings.
3. Jolene van Niekerk from MonstersEd submitted 3 posts about field trips they’ve attended as part of their extra curricular activities.
   • Reef Steemers ~ “We had the opportunity to go on a steam train depo tour at Reef Steamers.  We also got to go on a short ride on one of the trains.  It was an awesome experience.”
   • Douglasdale Dairy ~ “We had the opportunity to go to Douglasdale Dairy to learn about the milk bottling process.  We also go to go on a tour of the dairy.”
   • Rhino Lion Nature Reserve ~ “We took our conservationist boys to the Rhino Lion Nature Reserve.  Since Noo is such an avid wild animal lover (thanks to my parents owning and living on a game farm) this was right up his alley.”
4. Joanne Madgwick from Castle for Keeps has a family of 7 that lives in the rolling hills of KZN in South Africa. They value family and love creating their home to be a place that not only nurtures their children but provides a place for them to grow and be individually built into a Castle that will last for eternity. They blog about parenting, education, homeschooling, training, crafts, outings, special days and celebrations among other aspects. Castle For Keeps also provides me with a platform from which I can share with others the articles I write for the Witness Newspaper on Education and Parenting - all of which are daily laying stone upon stone to create our Castle Keeps. She shares her view on extra curricular activities in her post entitled The Soul of Education.
5. In her post, Assagay Coffee Farm, Bronwyn Marcus from Three Marcus Boys shares how they joined a few homeschoolers in Pinetown KZN on a tour of the coffee farm and tasting of the coffee.
6. Melanie Grant from Mel’s Mouthful on Mothering has these pages to share
   • “I have to be intentional in my approach to physical activity.  I am not a natural physically active person, it takes lots and lots of effort to get this lazy body moving, but like I have said before - you need to be who you say you are, and what you tell your children to be.  So if I expect them to be physical then I need to be too.  So my first priority,  when it comes to extra curricular activities is - sport, movement, exercise! And this is how we do it: Homeschooling and Extra-Curricular Activities: Sport”
   • “Extra curricular activities play a vital role in bringing balance to our children.  After I have ensured that the children have lots and lots of sporting and physical activities to do, I can then focus on taking my children out into a learning environment.  Learning comes alive when there is an authentic interaction with the subject and this is where our extra curricular activities for enrichment play an important role.  I want my children to love learning.  I want them to find joy in discovering and adventuring and questioning. Sometimes they do a little too much but they are thriving in this environment.  It's all about maintaining a lifestyle of learning.  Sometimes we take notes, sometimes we do report backs, sometimes we just have fun. We never do the same thing in the same way.  But if you ask them questions about what they have learnt you will be amazed at what they remember and their experiences.”
     Homeschooling and Extra-Curricular Activities: Enrichment
   • “Creativity is not one of my strengths but I love artistic expression in different forms.  The more varied, the better.  I don't just want my children to be limited to arts and crafts, though they do that too, but I want them to experience the joy of creating whether its from a piece of wood, beads, paper or wood.  The sky is the limit.  And so where there is an opportunity for creative expression, we do it.” Homeschooling and Extra Curricular Activities in Creativity
   • I believe that though one's life as a Christian cannot be compartmentalised, it's important to ensure that my children participate in extra curricular activities that are spiritual in nature - that feed their soul, remind them of who they are in God and develop good healthy relationships with the church.  I want to encourage them to enjoy fellowship, the gathering of the saints and being part of a body - at a young age.  We study the word and pray every day with our children but if we relied only our input into their lives, they would be limited in their growth.  This gives them many opportunities to grow, to be challenged, to  learn and to have fellowship. Homeschooling and Extra Curricular Activities:  Spiritual

Now if reading all these posts has left you feeling inadequate or overwhelmed please read Melanie Grant’s additional post entitled The Lowdown on Extra Mural Activities in order to bring some balance to all these articles.

For us newbies it is very important to remember these feelings result from our lack of knowledge & that these seasoned homeshool moms were also once newbies like us and through years of experience have found what works for their families. Finding that balance, takes time, sometimes through trial & error. However, their willingness to share their experiences with us will enable us to gain knowledge faster in order to eventually find that balance for our families. We shouldn’t compare ourselves with these families, instead learn from them through reading the posts in order to find ideas of what’s available to try and then set out to sift through those ideas to find those that will work for our individual families.

Thank you to all these lovely ladies for sharing their lives with us. May you go from strength to strength & be blessed in all that you do. I trust you will enjoy visiting these posts as much as I did.

This post features on the South African Carnival of Homeschool Bloggers (SACH Bloggers) where South African home schoolers share experiences, ideas, philosophies and much more.  You can join the carnival too by heading to the South African Carnival of Homeschool Bloggers sign up page. We hope you enjoy the carnival as much as we have!

SA Home Schooling Blog Carnival June 2012 ~ Extra Curricular Activities

Homeschool Tracker

Computer Based Record Keeping to Simplify Your Life!

Ok I admit, I am a bit of a control freak & the thought of the Education department possibly knocking at my door to check up on what we’ve been doing fuels my need to keep proper records of what we’ve been up to. That’s why I’ve been using the FREE version of Homeschool Tracker Basic to record all the activities for the boys this past year. I like the ability to print out reports & feel more at ease knowing that should anything ever happen to me, my boys will have a complete record of all they’ve done whilst being home educated. On it’s own the Basic version is more than enough to for basic homeschool tracking needs.

I’ve just upgraded to Homeschool Tracker Pro to check out it’s additional features. Since we’ll be going the SAT route I felt it appropriate to check out the transcription features. Needless to say, after using Homeschool Tracker Pro for a week & comparing it to the trial version of EduTrack, I think it is well worth the investment in getting the full program to record the rest of our Home Education activities until Graduation. Although EduTrack has a few features that are currently not available on Homeschool Tracker Pro, I prefer the look & feel of Homeschool Tracker Pro as well as the easy & user friendly interface & would highly recommend it for use by anyone who wishes to track their kid’s home education activities.

Homeschool Tracker is planning and organizing software designed to adapt to your particular homeschooling style in a simple yet sophisticated way. With Homeschool Tracker, lesson planning and record keeping won't consume a great part of your day. Many of the features were suggested by home educators just like you who wanted their work to be...well...flexible!

Homeschool Tracker Basic Features

• Basic Edition Never Expires
• Upgrade to PLUS at any time
• Easy Setup
• Track Attendance, Hours & Field Trips
• Manage, Copy and Reschedule Assignments
• Reading log
• Track Resources
• Generate Reports

Homeschool Tracker Pro Additional Features

• Automatic Attendance tracking based on assignments completed
• Add Holiday, Appointments & Chores
• Print Daily/Weekly/Assignment agendas
• Add schools attended, activities achievements as standardised test scores.
• Set goals & record progress
• Create Reusable Lesson Plans
• Create Courses with Weighted Grading
• Recording of Student & Teacher Journal facility
• More detailed resource tracking
• Memorisation tracking
• Generate Report Cards and Transcripts

A Great Time to Be a Husband, Parent & a Dad

By Dan Liberto, President and Co-Founder of Generation With A Name, LLC

As I write this note, the paraphrased words of Mordecai in the fourth chapter of Esther ring clearly in my mind: “Who knows but that you have come to this royal position for such a time as this.”1 Seems initially like pretty lofty stuff. But as husbands, parents, and dads, are we not sitting in the same position, overseeing the family’s royal crest? Aren’t we called to lead our families to the knowledge of Christ? Do we not have the purpose of reflecting to our family and neighbours faith, hope, and most importantly the love of Christ? These are certainly royal objectives, because they are ordained by the King of kings, our Lord Jesus Christ. But do we treat them as royal objectives?

In our nation and in the world, we are experiencing difficult times. But when light is willingly turned off, then there is no option other than darkness. We have willingly, if not purposely, promoted this darkness by limiting the Light of Christ in our daily expression. This daily expression, which is akin to Jesus’ words to take up your cross daily,2 should begin in the home and radiate out from there.

As husbands we have a unique responsibility and calling specific to the wife of our youth.3 We are to guide, protect, and satisfy her emotional and spiritual needs. Marriage is quite possibly the most intense exhibition of the second greatest commandment there is, because it is a true covenant exemplifying the unity of the triune God. The marriage covenant, as exercised in a manner consistent with Ephesians 5, truly reflects a model of love and commitment to a world that has lost its way. Furthermore, we are compelled as Christian husbands to be considerate of our wives and treat them with respect.4 There is no better example to an ailing society than a successful marriage forged by sacrifice, commitment, and love for your spouse. Who knows but that we have come to this royal position for such a time as this, to respect and fulfil the commitment to our wedding vows and serve as a shining light to a culture of quickie divorces and prenuptial agreements. There should be no doubt in the eyes of my wife that I love her, just as there is no doubt in my eyes that Jesus Christ loves His Church.

As a parent, I am truly blessed. Jackie and I have three daughters: one adolescent, one quickly approaching adolescence, and one (6-year-old) who thinks she exceeds the older two in both knowledge and authority. Since they are all girls, the nest gets a little crowded at times with all the visiting hormones. Conversely, the owner’s manual for boys presents its own set of challenges. At any rate, children in general are a blessing from God.

As parents, Jackie and I are in agreement that we are first and foremost charged with the task of teaching the knowledge of God to the next generation, starting with our children.5 As parents, Jackie and I are heirs of the gracious gift of life.6 Also as parents, we stand steadfast between our children and a broken world that is aggressively making overtures for their hearts and minds.

Tedd Tripp, in his book Shepherding a Child’s Heart,7 states, “Each child in a Christian home will at some point examine the claims of the gospel and determine whether he will embrace its truth.” He goes on to point out that we as parents need to be available to help the children pursue answers to their questions with honest scrutiny. Who knows but that I have come to this royal position for such a time as this, to unite with Jackie and shine the Light of Christ in the hearts of our children by taking literally the words of the Apostle Peter to always be prepared to give an answer to the hope we share.8 This of course extends to our actions as well, given they are never far from the adoring eyes of our children. Who knows but that we have come to this royal position for such a time as this, to show true love and respect to our wives as an example to our children (the next generation9) of God’s ways. Who knows but that we have come to this royal position for such a time as this, to clothe ourselves in the armour of God10 and protect our children from being devoured by the devil, who prowls around like a roaring lion.11 Who knows but that we have come to this royal position for such a time as this, to spend time with our children nurturing their love for Christ, quenching their inquisitive thirst with Living Water12, and answering their many questions from a Christian worldview.

The book Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters by Meg Meeker, M.D13 describes the heart of a young girl and her desire to have a relationship with her father, including actively showing your daughter that she is worth fighting for. Your daughter needs a hero, and your son needs to know that he measures up. The relationship between the daughter/son and the father is critical to show them how to focus on the Lord as their only source of hope. This is not done solely from the Paternal Pulpit. We as dads must mix in a healthy dose of humility and love. We should allow them to experience trials and the consequences that result from their choices, because it is in these challenges they will discover the true nature of God. It is in knowing God that they come to know themselves and their true worth in the eyes of God and in the eyes of their dad. But there should never be any doubt that you love them and will fight for them without hesitation and without end. As a dad, establishing a strong relationship with your daughters will facilitate her selection of a life mate who will nurture her emotionally and spiritually—just as she saw you nurture her mother.

Similarly, having a strong relationship with your son will pass down the endorsement that he is a man. This rite of passage will increase the chance that he will share your values and look to God to find his name, as John Eldredge states in his book Wild at Heart.14 He will choose a life of leadership similar to the blueprint you shared openly and freely with him as he grew in your love. Who knows but that we have come to this royal position for such a time as this—to turn off the TV, computer, and phone and to patiently talk with our children. Who knows but that we have come to this royal position for such a time as this, to lead our children through individual relationships to a commitment of faith in Jesus Christ. This commitment to Christ will equip our children to stand firm to the end and be saved as the world grows increasingly dark and the love of most grows cold.15 Who knows but that we have come to this royal position for such a time as this to provide a refuge that will keep our children strong, so they can learn to love their friends and enemies as they love themselves,16 because love covers a multitude of sins.17

Let us heed the call to refocus on the family as the core of society and to make it healthy once again by seeking the Lord earnestly through family prayer, praise, devotionals, and yes, even fasting. We are called to walk a path fraught with one battle after another as we swim against the cultural current. But if we persevere, God promises character and hope.18 What better objectives are there?

It truly is a great time to be a husband, parent, and dad. I thank the Lord for this royal appointment . . . at such a time as this.

Dan Liberto is President and co-founder of Generation With A Name, LLC, along with his lovely wife Jackie of nineteen years. Dan and Jackie have three daughters. Their ministry developed as a response to the secular attacks on children and the low rate of Biblical literacy in the Christian family. They sharpen the sword of the Spirit by emphasizing the promises of God through Biblical stories. Learn more about their ministry at TheFreedomGirls.com.

Endnotes:

1. Esther 4:14, KJV.
2. Luke 9:23, KJV, Deny yourself and take up cross daily.
3. Malachi 2:13–15, 1 Peter 3:7, KJV, Importance of the marriage covenant KJV.
4. 1 Peter 3:7, KJV, Treat your wives with respect.
5. Deuteronomy 4:9–10, Psalm 78:1–8.
6. 1 Peter 3:7, “gracious gift of life,” NIV.
7. Tedd Tripp, Shepherding a Child’s Heart (Shepherd Press, 1995).
8. 1 Peter 3:15, KJV, Profess Christ in all that you do.
9. Psalm 78:1–7, KJV, Teach the next generation.
10. Ephesians 6:10–17, KJV, The full armor of God.
11. 1 Peter 5:8, KJV, Be vigilant.
12. John 4:10, John 7:37–39, Jeremiah 2:13, Revelation 22:17, KJV, God is the source of Living Water.
13. Meg Meeker, M.D., Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters (Regnery Publishing, Inc., 2006).
14. John Eldridge, Wild at Heart (Thomas Nelson, Inc. 2001).
15. Matthew 24:12–13, Stand firm till the end.
16. Leviticus 19:18, Matthew 22:39, Romans 13:9, Galatians 5:14, James 2:8, KJV, Love your neighbour.
17. 1 Peter 4:8, KJV, Love covers over a multitude of sins.
18. Romans 5:3–4, KJV, Perseverance through suffering.

Copyright 2011, used with permission. All rights reserved by author. Originally appeared in the Fall 2011 issue of The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, the trade magazine for homeschool families. Read the magazine free at www.TOSMagazine.com or read it on the go and download the free apps at www.TOSApps.com to read the magazine on your mobile devices.

Technology Group Recycling Presentations

Technology Group VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

After our last technology presentation get-together Misha finally decided that he too wanted to do a project for technology. Now that came as quite a surprize to me since he had absolutely no self-confidence when we started last year.

Today, he stepped up boldly & did his presentation. As an additional activity the kids received some reading material & had to answer a given question. He insisted on doing his own reading & gave his feedback to the group.

He has come a long way since we brought him home & is still making steady progress. Well done Sweetheart, I’m so proud of you!

 

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Pikitup Landfill Site & Depot Tour

Today we had another field trip to go with our Technology group recycling theme. We had the opportunity of visiting various Pikitup depots.

Pikitup Robinson Deep Landfills Site Field Trip VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

We met at the Robinson Deep Landfills Site and here we learnt that waste trucks are collecting waste from our homes return to deliver the waste at this site at a rate of 1,500 trucks per day. Johannesburg produces more than 1.4 million tons of waste for landfill every year. Every person in Johannesburg generates about 1.5kg  of waste per day.

Informal recyclers recover much of this material from dustbins and landfill sites. This is not ideal, firstly from the point of view of the health and safety of the recyclers. But also because the recyclable material is contaminated with other waste. After recyclable waste has been removed each layer of waste is covered by a layer of sand. Judging by the size of this landfill and with these volumes of waste it is hardly surprising that we need to rethink our wasting habits.

The gasses emitted by the waste are harmful for the ozone layer and thus it is currently channelled & burnt to save the ozone. However, we learnt that these gasses can be converted into electricity. Although renewable energy is more expensive than the electricity created from fossil fuels, negotiations are under way to supply City Power with this energy in the near future.

From here we went on to the Waterval Depot where they deal with Separation at Source. Here a team of Pikitup employees awaited us to teach us more about recycling & the importance thereof.

Pikitup Waterfal Depot Field Trip VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Recycling involves the separation of reusable waste products into special demarcated recyclable bags or containers supplied by Pikitup and various organisations. These used materials are then processed into new products to prevent reusable materials ending up in landfill sites. It also helps reduce the consumption of raw materials, reduce energy consumption also reduces air & water pollution.

We also learnt more about the Waterval Area Recycling pilot project. We also leant the importance of all residents of the country to contribute in order to save our environment.

How can we recycle at home?

• Put normal household waste and food into black bins.
• Put rinsed uncontaminated plastics, glass, tetra packs, polystyrene cartons & tins into clear bags.
• Put paper, newspaper, magazines & cardboard into the special orange bags provided.
• Make compost from garden waste & other organic waste such as vegetable peels & leftover fruit.
• Take green waste to the nearest garden site.

We need to promote the 4 R’s of Recycling:

• Rethink ~ Before you throw something away, think if there’s any way it can be reused. Can the item be used for alternative purpose or can it be given to a charity shop or children’s home? By rethinking the way we see waste we can:
  • see waste as a valuable resource
  • put valuable materials back into the manufacturing stream
  • save on raw materials
  • create job opportunities.
• Reduce ~ If you don’t need it, don’t buy it and you’ll reduce the amount of waste you generate. By reducing & separating your waste you can:
  • reduce pollution
  • help save space in landfill sites
  • help save the environment
• Reuse ~ When you buy something, choose a brand that has the least amount of packaging or the kind that can be reused, recycled or composted. Look for products that are earth-friendly. By reusing what we can, we help to:
  • protect natural resources
  • save money in households
  • cut down the volume of waste produced
  • encourage people to be creative with ideas to recycle waste
• Recycle ~ Look for products that are made from recycled material. If there’s a demand for recycled plastic products more plastic will be recycled and less will end up in landfill or polluting the environment. Recycling saves resources because less virgin material will have to be mined or grown, it reduces the effects of global warming & also helps to protect the environment.

What can be recycled?

• Plastic
  • Plastic beverage bottles
  • Household plastic bottles (shampoo, cleaning chemicals, pool chemicals etc.)
  • Plastic shopping bags, black bags & shrink wrap
  • Buckets & crates
  • Polystyrene (disposible food containers like yoghurt, margarine, takeaways etc.)
• Glass ~ glass bottles (including alcohol)
• Cans ~ all cans & foil
• Paper ~ white paper, coloured paper, newspaper, magazines, cardboard, tetra pack, etc.

Four Good reasons to recycle, taken from the Treevolution website:

1. Every metric ton of paper recycled saves 17 trees and uses 40% less energy, and 50% less water. If all household paper/cardboard were recycled 750 000 cubic metres of landfill space would be saved a year, saving local authorities R60-million a year in collection and landfill costs. The energy saved from paper recycling in a year is sufficient to provide electricity to 512 homes for a year. (Source: Paper Recycling Association of SA)
2. Glass is 100% recyclable but it does not biodegrade. The raw materials for glass – sand, soda and lime – all have to be dug from the earth and melted together at very high temperatures. Energy is saved by recycling. The energy saved from recycling just one bottle will power a 100-watt light bulb for almost an hour. Every ton of glass recycled also saves 1,2 tons of raw materials. (Source: The Glass Recycling Company)
3. Cans are 100% recyclable. They are melted down to make new steel. This reduces the need to mine new iron ore and saves on the energy used to mine and process it. More than 36 000 tons of high-grade steel is recovered for re-smelting a year. (Source: Collect-a-can)
4. A total of 562-million PET bottles were recovered for recycling in 2007 alone. This removed 19 000 tons of plastic from landfill, but that was only 24% of the PET bottles made that year. Recycling a ton of PET containers saves 7,4 cubic metres of landfill space. And 19 x 500ml PET bottles can be recycled into enough fibre filling for a standard pillow. (Source: Petco)

Added to that, did you know:

• By recycling your daily newspaper every day forone year, you will save 7 trees.
• 1kg of plastic uses 91% less energy than recycling 1kg of paper.
• Glass can be recycled forever & never wears out.
• One recycled aluminium can saves enough energy to run a TV for 3 hours?

Pikitup Fairlands Garden Site Field Trip VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

The Fairlands Garden Refuse Site was yet another eye opener to the volumes of waste that we are responsible for, much of which is recyclable. . This site accepts all kinds of waste, including paper, plastics, glass, metal & e-waste. With a little bit of effort every citizen can contribute to making this mammoth task just a little bit easier.

Pikitup has 42 garden refuse transfer sites in the City of Johannesburg & provides containers for the disposal of light garden waste at these sites.

These garden sites are presently filled to capacity. Pikitup, the City of Joburg’s waste management entity, is working on a plan to minimise the pressure at these affected sites. While this process is underway, the company implores residents to speak to the garden site attendant on duty, who will direct them to an available garden site at which residents are able to deposit their garden waste.

These facilities were created as a service to residents to facilitate a dumping area for the disposal of light garden waste. People often refer to these sites as a dumping ground, but the reason why they are defined as refuse transfer sites is clearly evident in the fact that refuse is disposed of into containers & transferred to a disposal site or a composting site.

Pikitup Panorama Composting Depot VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Garden refuse is transferred to the Panorama Composting Site where it is converted into compost which is then sold at cheaper rates to the public. We visited this site & the Pikitup Composting Process was explained.

Compost is a mixture of decayed plants & other organic matter used for enriching soil. Almost any organic material is suitable for a compost pile. It does however, need a proper ratio of carbon-rich materials, or ‘browns” & nitrogen-rich materials, or “greens”. This is something that can also be done at home to reduce the volumes of garden refuse being dumped at the garden sites.

We all want to live in a clean, hygienic, litter-free environment. Litter destroys the environment, our health and it reduces the general quality of our lives. it is up to us to do our part to eradicate it.

Download Treevolution’s Beginner’s Guide to Recycling now to get started to doing your share for our environment. We’ve been at it for a few months now & although it can be quite a schlep to get started, once you’re into the swing of things it’s quite easy & the general waste is reduced quite drastically.