True Happiness

A Summer Shower by Charles Edward Perugini 1888

Personal happiness has been a big concern in our culture. Our forebearers, however, would have been surprised at our focus on happiness. They would have, instead sought to do the things and make the sacrifices that result in peace of mind and personal satisfaction. The idea of trying to do good in order to feel good is something each generation has to be taught. 

While searching the scriptures for references to happiness, I was interested to find that things relating to happiness are not exactly easy or pleasant.

Consider the Beatitudes in the gospels: Each one begins with the word "blessed", which in the Koine Greek is "happy." When you use the word "happy" in place of "blessed", it brings out the meaning in these verses in Matthew 5:

"Happy are they who mourn..."

"Happy are they who are persecuted for righteousness sake..."

These are just two of the verses that seem like contradictions to we moderns who have a shallow understanding of happiness.

"Happy are they who mourn" - Do you tend to hold back tears, not wanting to indulge in grief or sentiment? Consider Acts 20:37 when the Apostle Paul was departing: "And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul's neck, and kissed him."  We know these people can shed tears in moments of trial and pain, amd yet still have deep happiness. 

Happiness comes from things that do not always bring about giggles and smiles: reverence, chastisement,  endurance,  suffering,  reproach,  labor,  wisdom and understanding-- these are hard things!  One does not automatically think of them when they hear the word "happy".

Happy is the man who is always reverent.. Proverbs 28:14

Behold, we count them happy which endure.. James 5:11

But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: 1 Peter 3:14

If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye;  1 Peter 4:14

Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth:  Job 5:17

For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. Psalm 128:2

Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. Proverbs 3:13

It can be reasonably concluded by the study of these things, that a person under adverse circumstances, who is going through disappointments, can still be happy. Sometimes we judge a person who is always smiling and laughing as being happy, while a person who has a pensive look on his face is not happy, but the opposite can be true.

 If you have ever raised children, you know there were times when silliness had to be quickly corrected because it was the result of foolishness that could endanger the child both physically and spiritually. Mature parents need to be alert and recognize the sound of pure, good laughter and derisive mocking and sarcasm. It is good to laugh, and laughter must be for the right reasons and in the right spirit.

Teach your children to strive for personal happiness that comes from self control, willingness to learn, doing jobs well, and being polite. These things will result in a feeling of well-being. The pursuit of "feeling good" has been so strongly promoted that few people today understand what true happiness is.

The scripture references to happiness makes it a great deal easier to understand what our Founding Fathers meant by the words, "the pursuit of happiness."  It means we can gain happiness by the hard work that it takes to reach a worthy goal.

Today I think many people who have not carefully investigated the word "happy" believe they have the right to do as they please if it makes them happy, but a careful study of the concept of happiness will make it clear that happiness is something that comes from things like faithfulness, perseverance, and contentment.

Certainly, much more can be said about the subject of happiness. I have not written in detail of the way these various hard things contribute to happiness, but perhaps you may define and analyze them with your children. They need to understand how the qualities of endurance, perseverance, labor, amd suffering contribute to their happiness.

People who really understand happiness can get through the ups and downs of life without despair or bitterness. Like the spider, they start all over each time the rain washes out their work.  True happiness is derived from a deep spiritual desire to do what is good and right. We must train our thinking so that when we hear the word "happy" we know what it is really made of.

Flowers for the Home, A Cookbook, and a Wedding

Sometimes women who work at the grocery store say they want to be homemakers full time. They envison a more relaxed life. While being home may mean not being in a rush to get out the door to make it to work on time, it is an incredibly busy life.  I have a lot of interests, but find if time is spent in the daily activites of meal preparation, clean-up, care of clothing, and normal housekeeping, it amounts to a very full day.  

I once attended a Christian class for young women, in which the teacher told them not to think they are going to do nothing all day, but not to think they have to be on-the-go all day. Things must be done when they are needed, and it takes wisdom and understanding to know when it is time to sit still and read, write, or rest.

Recently i was given some fresh flowers, which is a real treat this time of year, and have enjoyed putting them in old jars and bottles to place in various spots around the house. It makes me feel like I am staying in a luxurious Inn where fresh bouquets are the usual!

Also, I have been enjoying a new book called Tea and Crumpets, which gives the history of each recipe and the famous towns and restaurants where ithe food was first served. The book includes colored photos on each page of hotels and tea rooms throughout the world.

For homeschooling, I would use this book to enrich the family knowledge and appreciation of the food and it's origin. We would include everyone in the cooking and table setting, and during the meal or tea time, would read aloud the story of each item.

This is just one aspect of home schooling that I promised to share in a homeschooling series here on my web log, but it would also be enjoyable to read aloud to ladies while having tea.  I may do that for my next ladies Bible class after the study when they are taking tea.

We were recently busy at an evening wedding in a gazebo, where my DH officiated. You can see the floor glistening  from the rain, but it had stopped pouring down when we got there. An unusually warm, soft wind was swirling about and everyone was quite comfortable. The town gazebo was already lit up for the season with dozens of small lights. Quite a few men wore hats, and i noticed they automatically removed them for the prayer, an old, old sign of respect still observed.

Home Schooling With Love

Having quite a bit of experience as a homeschooler, I can stand back a little now and give some encouragement and some cautions about methods of teaching your children at home.

1.Do not forget to be a mother. Sometimes young mothers, in the middle of noise and hurry and pressure to perform well, will take on a strict teacher-mode and fail to develop closeness with her children. With anything that the children are learning, let love be the motive for it. If you love your children, you will find that you can teach them what is good and right and essential, without being harsh.  Eventually you will find that the children sense your love and concern for their well-being and will allow their will to be in harmony with yours.  Harsh, sharp rebukes can be necessary at times, but let them be so few, and for such important things, that your children will remember them well and be able to count them on one hand.

2. If you are teaching them in one room, or at one table, together, avoid holding up the whole works for 20 minutes while you try to sort out the what and why of the behavior of one child. It is not necessary to grill one of your students over and over until you get the right answer to "Why are you chewing on your pencil?" or "What did I tell you to do?"  This amounts to no more than the the methods of public schools. Sometimes a child will not hear, not remember, loose his concentration, or not understand instruction. To turn the class into an investigative judgement is to lose the entire spirit of homeschooling. Bring that child close to your side,  or take them to a private place.

Note: See first comment on this post--take the offending child to a private place and deal with bad behavior, rather than spending time in front of the other children trying to get them to straighten up. First of all, however, make sure the behavior is worth the effort, and make sure it is important enough to have an "event." Some things can be dealt with in other ways, more quickly, and some things warrant more attention.

3. Practice being a loving parent rather than a harsh ruler. Consult with older women who have homeschooled their children to find out if there is anything you can do to create more cooperation with your children, or be a more effective teacher.  My own belief is that a disobedient child makes a harsh parent, but a cooperative one puts the parents at ease.  If you as a parent have children that constantly argue or stall your lessons with bad behavior, you need to take some time out to instruct them on manners, obedience and behavior.  Instead of interrupting the class with reprimands, begin the class by setting the rules of order. Older women may have something to contribute to this subject and be able to help you become firm and loving in your teaching.

Children should love to learn, and this is largely determined by the attitude of their mother. If she approaches learning with an air of discovery, and responds to it with joy, her children will be eager learners. If mother approaches homeschooling as a grueling job that must be done, instead of with a hopeful attitude of discovering life together, homeschooling will not be a good experience. Once they have learned to read and write, and have developed a love of learning, their mother will not have to stand over them and monitor them and teach and explain every little thing. The goal of homeschooling should be to work yourself out of a job, as the children begin to work by themselves, motivated by their love of learning. Note: choose interesting curriculums and books, and find things that are not "homeschool material" to stimulate their interest in life: a magazine on home building or house plans, a book about boats, a book or video about exploration, books about the weather, etc.

4. Do not be a strict teacher during lessons, and a loving mommy after school.  Your children will see a loving mother when there is no school, and a commanding schoolmaster during class. This is no better than some of the harsh schools of old, and will not breed the kind and gentle spirit. 

5. Abandon teaching materials if you find yourself too often angry.  If this is happening, it might be time to examine the type of teaching materials, or curriculum that you use. Is there some reason that using it fails to bring joy to your heart and light to your eyes, which you could exude to your children?  Perhaps it is time to find teaching materials that will also put the Word of God in the hearts and minds of both mother and children.  Or, maybe you could write your own, putting the sunshine and love of life in it that you want your children to have in life.  

You have the freedom to come and go as you please, and I personally think home schoolers should not be afraid to show their faces in public and let the world know they exist. They spread their influence that way, as people get to see whole families together going to various functions and sights. Look for opportunities for free muscial concerts, gardenning shows, trips to government areas, scenic excursions, etc. or just plan your own events. You are not obligated to do "real school" inside the house every single day of the week.

6. Do not imitate some ineffective teaching methods. I realize parents, especially if they are first-generation homeschoolers, have a lot to overcome. They may be adopting teaching methods carried over from their own education, which are not effective. Sometimes the public school is the only structure they have known, and these may not always work in a home school situation. 

7. Keep your goals in mind.  It is good to learn all kinds of facts and things, but there must be a spiritual aim undergirding it all. They must, like Jesus, grow "in wisdom, in stature, and in favor with God and man." (Luke 2:52)  If you impart a tremendous amount of knowledge toward your children and they are not maturing and  growing spiritually, you need to re-think your methods and your materials.

In My Footsteps

by Melinda Byers

8. See what response your children have to different learning methods. I am sure there are plenty of examples for this, from parents whose children responded better to one thing, than to another. Some children are better audio-learners and some enjoy learning on their own. Others are very visual and some are very hands-on active children who learn by doing. However, at the root of all this is the child's respect for you and willingness to to cooperate with you.

9. Give your children the main reason, and other reasons for home education.  It is important to bring your children to maturity so that they may one day be able to teach their own children. If you will tell them this, they may have a greater purpose for learning.There are probably many  reasons to homeschool, and these reasons can be included also. It is essential to regularly go over these reasons with your children, explaining them and discussing them with them. This way , they will see a greater purpose than just learning things.

Share your family goals with your children and they will see a greater purpose for learning. Such goals will vary from home to home, but they might include good manners, compassion for others, honesty, good work ethics, loyalty, being open to learning, discernment (knowing the difference between what is valuable, or good, and what is not), appreciation of the creation, true inner beauty, and the roles in life they might have.

Mother and Child

by Francis Coates Jones

10. Enjoy the special tendencies toward talents and interests while you teach them. Exposing them to art, poetry, music, literature, speech and drama (all appropriate, of course) can bring such a sense of creativity and peace, and absorb them expressing the exuberance they feel about life. If you appreciate these things, your children probably will too.In education, the arts are honey to a child's heart.

11.Make the atmosphere of the home a priority.  It is a mistake to conduct any kind of academic teaching in the midst of a house that is too messy and disorganized to find anything. Even a child who is reading a book on his own, needs to have peace and order around him. While it is true that some people do not care about a mess around them, and can concentrate on anything, the home, a combination of the people and the dwelling place, is a sacred place that invites the presence of Christ in its midst. 

 I believe children should be surrounded by cleanliness and beauty, so that homeschooling will be imbedded in their minds as some of the happiest times of their lives.  It might be necessary to add another homeschool subject: housekeeping, which can be taught at the end of a day in preparation for the next day. Or, should the family not be able to manage that, the homeschool day can begin with housekeeping.  This gives the mother a chance to show her children how she likes everything to be, where she likes everything to go, and what the over all "picture" of the home should be like. They should stand back and look at their work (housekeeping) and say, "it is good."

12. Encourage each child to glorify God in their appearance each day by being clean, groomed and well dressed.  There is no such thing as an ordinary day: every day is special in God's eyes, and every day is a gift. There is no "blue Monday" or "Thank goodness it's Friday". Each day is beautiful, and each child can learn to make life lovely by the way they approach a day.  If school is grueling and unpleasant, your children will count the days til the weekend, when they will be "free."  By dressing up each day and approaching it with delight, a child can enjoy Monday as much as they do Friday and "days off." 

Think a little about the atmosphere of the home, before you sit down to do the studies.  Think in terms of sight, scent, sound, touch, and taste. I know one young mother who gets tea ready for her children and when they are all settled at the table drinking from their teacups and eating their treats, she reads from a book called, "Finding Favor With God and Man."  She is selective of the lessons, seeing that they are understood by the children, and frequently asks questions about the stories she reads.  Or, she reads a moral lesson from one of the McGuffey's Readers, which shows how a child learns to be wise and have good judgement.  These are scenes that will be cherished in the minds of her children. 

The home should be the first focus of homeschooling: home first, and schooling next.

Lastly, do not neglect to listen to the older people who have already taught and raised their children. If they have looked at their own failings and can warn you of something, they have something to teach you. If they see you doing something that is harming your effectiveness in teaching your children, they may have something to say that will benefit you. 

For the most part, children will be whatever you are, yourself,  so, it is good to pay attention to your moods, your attitudes and your likes and dislikes, to see if they are connected or disconnected to the love of God and His word, and that they are being used with grace..  Homeschooling children is twofold: an education and an upbringing for the children, and training in wisdom and patience for the parents.

Although there are many things you can read about homeschooling, and many aspects of it, including academic learning, I have addressed here the aspect of homeschooling with love.

Click here to print this article.

Natural Education

Hearing

by Jessie Wilcox-Smith

Lillibeth has a post about her own experience as a child growing up in a home-school. Click here to go and read it. She has opened comments just for that post, so I hope someone will leave a comment for her!

The Scales

by Jessie Wilcox Smith, 1907

The Boy In A Tree 1905

by Jessie Wilcox Smith

Child Reading on a Couch 1905

by Jessie Wilcox Smith

Three Rules for the Home

 

A Victorian Mother Surrounded by Her Children

I grew up in an era when parents were their children's authority,  protectors and teachers of values. They were concerned with some basic things that would guide us throughout our lives.  Having a conscience before God was a priority in our training, and that involved learning concepts like understanding, wisdom, instruction, in the Biblical sense. Two important things were taught by many families of the time: stay out of trouble with the law, and earn your own living.

From the New Testament comes this command, written to the members of the church in Thessalonica in the year 50 A.D. Written to people on how to behave once they become Christians, it is perfect for the home :

...study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;

That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.

 First Thessalonians 4:11-12

From this passage, many parents of the era found three rules for the home: learn to be quiet, mind your own business, and get busy.

They believed that idle hands produced mischief, and if young people were not busy, they would meddle in the lives of others or get into serious trouble in the community.  Leisure time was not considered idleness, as resting, reading, writing, sketching, walking, or in our case, a row-boat ride, was using the time productively and minding your own business.

Reading, 1865

by Jerry Barret

Study to Be

Studying is an essential part of maturing and interacting within the home, but it must be a productive type of study, not based upon worldly wisdom, but on sound doctrine, intended for learning how to behave in life. Study human behavior in the Bible, study a situation before entering into a conversation or involving yourself in a project, study the old paths, where the good walk is (Jeremiah 6:16). Observe and study the consequences and rewards of certain speech, behavior and character of people around you. 


 Learn from the distant past and the not-so-distant past, the effect of speech, a busy or idle life, meddling or minding one's own business.  The Bible says to think about these things and to meditate on them. (First Timothy 4, verse 15)

Lady Looking at Drawings 1894

by Adolphe Balimbau

Quiet

 Learning to be quiet is more than just keeping your mouth shut. It means studying a situation and determining whether or not to even mention a certain subject, or whether it is necessary to bring up a sore point or talk about a past offense, or any kind of inappropriate talk about vile or gross subjects.

We tend to enjoy  the out-going, fun-loving, talkative personality, and there is nothing wrong with that, but the quiet and gentle personality is praised by God:

...a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.

First Peter 3, verse 4

The person who has studied to have a meek and quiet spirit does not necessarily quit talking, but rather, they use wisdom in what they talk about, knowing what will produce arguments and understanding what will cause someone to stumble. A meek and quiet spirit is not a say-nothing, do-nothing attitude. It means that a person has learned when to speak, to whom to speak, and what to say, that is appropriate.  It means learning what is private and should not be spoken out loud, and not making flippant conclusions and not saying things before hearing the entire matter.Some children have the habit of walking in when a conversation is being conducted, and contributing their opinion without knowing the entire matter. Sometimes they come in at the end of a conversation and assume that it is about something that it is not, and draw false conclusions.

If you will watch the making of the film series "Wives and Daughters," you will see one of the main actresses who plays "Molly" say that her character was a young girl in the past, who, like young girls today, needed to learn what was appropriate and what was not appropriate to say, and that she had to learn not to just blurt out whatever she thought.

Mother and Son

by Pam McCabe

These things all take instruction, study, learning and understanding. Parents at home have a big job to do to train their children how to think, and they should remember the old adage: Use your mind to develop their minds.  Mothers sometimes say they are bored, lonely, lacking in adult conversation, but there is a great opportunity at home to talk to your children in an adult way to develop their thinking and train children in righteousness and the admonition of the Lord.

 A mother who longs to talk to someone needs to talk to her children, within certain appropriate boundaries, about life, about how to analyze behavior and attitudes and how to draw scriptural conclusions. The way a person speaks has a lot to do with how a person behaves. When talk is allowed to go on unfettered, and no quietness is enforced in the home, it can, at times, lead to unrestrained behavior. The tongue must be governed by wise teaching, for, as the Bible says, it guides the whole body, as a small rudder guides a great ship. (James 3) 

 
Just as the admonition to study to be quiet works in the body of believers, it creates harmony in the home. Parents need to understand that sometimes it takes a bit of effort to correct the speech of their children, from improper grammar and pronunciation to faulty beliefs, in order to establish quietness and peaceful behavior in the home. 

Hanging the Clothes

by Mildred Heatherington

 
Mind Your Own Business
Minding your own business begins with the previous principle of studying to be quiet.
 
To teach children to mind their own business, they must first be told what is not their business, and learn to distinguish between meddling and helping.  Parents are the best people to determine this within their own individual families.  To be able to mind your own business, you have to have some work and some interests that will keep you out of trouble. Minding your own business means to be busy at something that is so absorbing that the things other people are doing are faded into the distance in your mind.  To mind your own business means to think of ways to improve your manners, your skills, your thoughtfulness, your contribution to the home. To meddle means to monitor what everyone else is doing and to interfere with their progress. Parents of course are authorized to monitor their children's speech and behavior and to use it as opportunities to teach them.
 
Being courteous is one form of minding your own business. When you see someone happily going about their own business of working hard, being helpful, and in general helping the family, be courteous enough to either help them in their goal or leave them alone.
 
Minding our own business is an age old tradition in a free country.  Most people want to be left alone to work at the things that interest them, and want to raise their families without government interference or regulation.  When children are raised to know how to mind their own business and not meddle or control others, they are less likely to encourage meddlesome practices in the community or government. A child raised to mind his own business is less likely to oppress others or become a tyrant.
 
Learning to mind your own business will prevent discord in marriage. When men and women learn what their own business in the home really is, they can prevent many conflicts. While it all depends on the individual, there are some women who like to be left alone to make decisions in the kitchen or the house and garden, while men might like to be left alone to work in their office, land,  shop or garage. Minding your own business involves the previous principle of being quiet when the other person is concentrating on their own work at home.
 
 

 
Work With Your Own Hands
Working with your own hands begins with the previous principles of studying to be quiet and to mind your own business.
 
No matter what your situation in life, it is important that you put your hand to something that is good and useful and productive.  Whether it is work or leisure, the important thing is that you keep your hands occupied in your own business.  A mother will be using her hands to guide her little children and teach them how to work with their own hands. A homemaker will be using her hands to clean her house. Children should not grow up having everything done for them, but should learn to be busy with their own hands. Children are eager to help and love order. Parents should seize such moments when their children want to help them fold clothes, water the garden, sweep floors or wash dishes, and avoid the tendency to think that because it is faster to do it yourself, you should not let them help. That is what a mother is home all day for: to develop her children's minds and to teach them to do things that are worthwhile.
 
Teach children to do something creative that might one day bring them a living. It is not wise to depend on future jobs being available through large companies, as so many of them may not even be there when the child is grown.  Teach them to take things apart and learn to repair them. Teach them how to create things of use, and how to work. Working with your own hands is more than giving a swipe at a table to clean it or pushing the broom carelessly to sweep. It means doing the most excellent job, above and beyond what is just necessary, and not trying to  get by with the least possible effort.


 Working with your own hands is in a sense, putting your signature on your work, as if it was an original painting or story. Your work tells others about your character, whether you are weak and not trying to do well, or whether you are trying to do the best you can and trying to make good use of time.
 
Certainly, there are volumes to be said about the concept of working with your own hands, but these are just a few things regarding working at home.  A woman who truly wants to be noble and good, will give her house the very best of herself, turning it into a masters painting with her signature on it.
 
 

Interior With Woman Reading

by Carl Larssen

 
That Ye May Have Lack of Nothing
 
When you have laid a good foundation of being quiet, minding your own business, and working with your own hands,  you'll find that you can either make what you need or sell what you have made, and will suffer less hardship in life.  To have no need of anything, one must first learn to be attentive to things that concern him, and not be wasting time being idle or meddling in other people's lives.   One thing builds upon another. Without initially learning to be quiet and mind your own business, one will find it difficult to work with his own hands.  Without working with his own hands, one will always be needy.
 
In the Lord's church, there is less suffering among the members, and less discontent, when each member finds something to do and takes his focus off others and tries instead to improve himself.
 
One of the things I am most grateful for is the early teaching I had to be resourceful and to make things from materials that were available, and to look for possible ways to do , make, invent, create, and think. The previous generation would have been too proud to ask for anything to be done for them or given to them, without first trying to find a way to do it themselves. They did not want to be a burden on anyone, and they taught their children the same beliefs.
 
These three rules for the home are not as simple as they look. Home school parents could study for months on each one and still not reach the limit of knowledge and understanding of them.
 
Study, be quiet, mind your own business, get busy, and you will find peace in the home, contentment and fulfillment in life, and you will be able to stay out of trouble with authorities and earn your own living.

Women Sewing

Sunlight and Shadow

by William Kay Blacklock, London and Edinburgh 1872-1922

I love the background scenery in this 19th century painting, which seems so much like scenes I see during trips through the country around here. In the foreground, a woman in a long white garden-party type of dress* in white muslin, with a blue ribbon on the border, sits in a brown wicker chair under an apple tree with her needle and thread, sewing. The ground is a carpet of mowed, green grass dotted with clusters of white daisies and wildflowers. The ruffled hem of her dress touches the grass, where a gentle little dog lays. An umbrella and a book are propped up to the chair, with apples fallen around them.

 A  path from where she sits, with trees on both sides,  leads to the shore of the little lake in the distance. The woman has black hair and is wearing a white hat with a blue ribbon that is the same shade as the ribbon edging on the skirt of her dress, and she is leaning against a red cushion on the wicker chair.  If you will click on the painting, you may be able to get a larger view, and, once you do, there should be a magnifier that allows you to see closer details of this beautiful masterpiece. This is an excellent piece of art for homeschooling. Print it out in a notebook and begin an art-appreciation book. 

I am so thankful that these paintings are being made available to this generation. I wonder if the artists knew how much their descendents and others would be blessed by them! This painting is one of the most beautifully illustrated pictures of a woman at leisure that I have ever seen.

It is possible that I will add a small beginner sewing project here, so please check back some time.

* The "garden party dress" pattern can be found at Folkwear patterns and Sensibility.com, as well as Truly Victorian.

A Morning Walk

by William Kay Blacklock

A Quiet Read

by William Kay Blacklock

Summer At Hemmingford Grey

by William Kay Blacklock

Summer 1918 by William Kay Blacklock

Springtime 1918

by William Kay Blacklock

Cotswold Village 1917

by William Kay Blacklock

 

Note: I will be including some simple beginner sewing photographs in this post when I get time. I will show you how to thread the needle and how to hold the cloth and the needle for best hand sewing results. Notice the hands on the fabric in the painting, "Sunshine and Shadows."  

Future Posts

Family Outing, by Henry John Yeend King

I'm listening to you, and hearing your requests!  I check my keyword searches regularly and find out what you are looking for. In order to keep a record of viewer requests and some of my own ideas for future posts, I'm listing them here. As they are completed I will post a link to them.

Podcast: You'll be able to click on a little link and hear some of the articles here, plus some of my favorite poetry cited, and some of my own, as well. This is particularly for the blind, who have to listen to the machine words, which are sometimes stilted and expressionless.

Homeschooling - It really should not be called "schooling," because it is more like real life, but I will try to include how to get your housework done while teaching your children how to speak, write, add and subtract (cipher), sing, recite, reason and think. 

Spencerian Penmanship - This is similar to the writing on the original Constitution of the US, but you can add your own personality to it.

What's So Daunting About a Sewing Machine? We are in the computer age now, and if you can understand your computer and all the programs offered online for producing a blog or website or design, such as paint, etc., you can understand how to use a sewing machine. If you know how to drive a car, you can run a sewing machine.

Craft Sewing: How to make a rectangular shaped decorator pillow, how to make a ruffle, and how to make an easy round pillow. Machine or hand-stitch as you like.

Beginner Sewing: Understanding a pattern, understanding fabric, and making a simple, long dress. How to add trim, such as piping, and how to install a zipper.

What Do You Do All Day?  If you hesitate to be a homemaker because you are unsure of how to fill the days and nights, there will be a lot of things here that will give you some ideas of how to make the home the best it can be, and how you will eventually prefer it over anywhere else!

Living at Home Without Children-  If you have never had children or your children are grown, you might want to have some idea of how to be a  keeper at home with purpose, even without children.

Making scented fake cakes from Styrofoam rounds and squares and silk flower petals - I have seen some of these in interior decorating stores and they are very expensive. This will show you how to use supplies from your Dollar Tree stores and make your own that is even more lovely. 

How to make a useful item from a round oat box - this will be great for children but also a pretty craft for your personal use, too,

How to make communion bread - A pictorial tutorial and recipe for unleavened bread, as close as possible to the original passover bread.Which  ingredients are acceptable, and which are not?

Refinement class and printable certificate--this is from an old class I conducted many years ago for young girls when I was homeschooling my own children.  You'll get all the points I covered, plus a certificate to fill out, which has some old-fashioned scrolls and pen art on the edges.

Planning a tea in your home:  I will just show you how to draw it all out on paper, the way I do, to plan the settings, and the menu and cook for a tea at home.

 Unmarried but desiring the home life:  Unmarried women can enjoy the Titus 2/Proverbs 31 role at home by including certain things in their lives from day to day--domestic habits and creative things that provide what the home is really supposed to provide for a human being.

Country Life - I live in the country so I tend to write from that experience. I'd like to share some of the things you can expect when you approach home making and home living from a country view, whether you live there or not.

If you can, please remind me of anything I've left out that has been suggested, or make some suggestions of your own.

Recipes:  Cottage Bread, Scottish Salmon, Sauteed Vegetables, favorite salads

Cleaning A Kitchen - from hurry-up cleaning so you can prepare a meal, to more detailed cleaning and organizing.

The Importance of Rest -  Shows how rest interspersed with work can be beneficial. How to relax  while housekeeping and homemaking so that you'll always feel you are on vacation,

Anxious for Nothing - anxiety and how to deal with it naturally.

You Can Be Happy - Christians are not to be complaining, unhappy people. They often carry the world on their shoulders, and feel guilty that they are even happy, but this is not proper thinking. Lessons from Philippians 4:8

The Desk- Every homemaker needs a place for writing materials that is available and stocked with everything necessary for correspondence. 

Sewing: How to make a ruffle. Ruffles are on everything these days from tablecloths to skirts. They are easy to make by hand or machine but they look very complicated.

Tea:  Thankfully, tea time is here to stay, as more and more women discover this wonderful leisure that lifts the heart, and increases the fellowship love in families and friends.

Hand made cards:  Cards are really expensive these days, but you can make them and even make your own matching envelope, with patterns provided on this post.

The Importance of Creativity in the Home--the freedom of home life makes it possible to be creative. If you do not buy everything, and if you make as many things as you can , you can keep your family income for things that you cannot make yourself.

Good Housekeeping- "What am I supposed to do all day at home?"  With just one or two principles, you can learn to see what needs to be done to provide a lovely home life for yourself and your family.

Help for the Fashion Designers  - You've probably seen the atrocities coming off the runway posing as "wearables"--what is wearable about Paris fashions?  I'll try to find some of their own painters of the 18th and 19th century and show how beautiful their clothes once were.

Homeschooling - There are plenty of publications already written about educating boys, but I'll just list a few old fashioned ideas on how to let boys be boys and develop into the men they are supposed to be. In a public school they are pegged and put in boxes and made to conform, but in home school, they have the freedom to find out how things are made, how things run, how to speak properly, how to behave like gentlemen yet retain their masculinity. There is so much to do at home that 18 years is just not enough time. It is here that they can write their own adventures, invent, and discover real life, instead of the artificial one offered them by government education.

Do You Really Need a Mentor or can you do it yourself?  I think women have the resources available to be good homemakers, cooks, housekeepers, seamstresses, and more.

Becoming a Teacher of Good Things - Things to consider when you open your home for a Titus 2 homemaking class.

The History of Doilies- These lacy rounds were not originally decorative pieces for the home. They were invented by a man with the last name of D'Oyley for another reason.

Snowflake Celebration

Check out The Pleasant Times

to participate in a special paper snowflake activity. Just post a photograph of a hand made snowflake. Directions are on her blog. Read about her special Snowflake Tea, to be posted soon,

I made a post quite a few years ago about paper snowflakes, and included a link from a man's site, who had dedicated his snowflake site and patterns to his mother, because she had taught him how to cut snowflakes from folded paper. He has quite a few free patterns on his site and some have snowmen or trees all around the snowflake.  There are some interesting sites on the web that contain photographs of snowflakes taken in the Victorian period, to show that there is not one snowflake identical to another. The Victorian houses were much like that, not having any cookie-cutter type neighborhoods. It is still difficult to find any two houses of that era exactly the same. It must have been so sweet to visit people, knowing that each house was different than ones you had seen before, and each had a character of its own.  Like the snowflake, these houses had the same form and function, but were each completely unique.

This is my contribution to the Snowflake Celebration: A hand-made  pine wreath  formed with floral pics and a glittered bell, surrounded by wired ribbon and wired-in plastic snowflakes.

Personal Reasons to Homeschool

The previous post dealt with some of the political motives of the public school system: things that are counter to the culture of the home as God would have it.  In this post I would like to show some personal reasons that you may wish to consider when homeschooling your children.

*The school system was based on a military plan of dividing children into age groups and grade levels. This is certainly not a reflection of each child's maturity and ability, nor does it echo real life. It causes peer-group language and dependence as well as a herd intinct. In this kind of system, children eat in herds, play in herds and study in herds. It is hardly as effective as the private tutoring that goes on in the home from the mother and father.  In real life, children are not born in batches of 20 or thirty all at the same time, but have exposure to different age groups. Grandparents, parents, older and younger siblings, as well as people they meet at the market or day to day moving about, provide a much more balanced socialization. 

* The structure  during the school day seems to imply that everyone will be an office worker, sitting at a desk all day.   Boys are especially harmed by this method of teaching. Boys need to be moving around, tinkering with things, building, fixing, inventing, creating and subduing the earth.   A smattering of sports thrown in does not build the character and strength that a boy needs to have in order to become a real man, husband and father.

*Girls are harmed by the school system because they spend 12 years in an instutition that does not prepare them for real life. It prepares them to be feminists, seeking employment. . When they do get interested in boys in that institution, it is not for marriage, but for fun.  Twelve years of public school prepares them for nothing but further education. There is something wrong with a system that takes 12 years out of a persons life and when it is over they still need MORE education. These young people end up institutionalized for almost 18 years. By the time they are 22,  they are still not qualified for anything unless they have work experience.   Before you put your child in public school, ask them how they will end up. They always ask homeschoolers that question, so you might as well ask them the question back:  If I put my child in your system for 12 years, does it guarantee that he will be qualified for real life?  Add all the questions you like. 

*Preferences in clothing, music, friendships, matters of faith, food, and other things, are developed in those crucial years  of public schools. Parents have a right to raise their children with their own beliefs and tastes in things.  Daughters should not grow up to differ extremely with their mothers, and boys should want to be just like their fathers.  The public school will not create the strong bonds between children and parents that are essential for happy childhoods.  There are many things that happen socially, in the schools that are detrimental to a child's sense of well-being.  Children often come out of public school with a heightened sense of fear about everything, rather than the reassurance they can receive in the home from parents who teach them God's loving care and protection.

*The differences between male and female are not emphasized as much as they would be in the home. Boys do not learn about the real nature of girls, and girls do not learn how to understand boys.  Girls and boys in schools are not educated with a sense of who they are and what their male or female role will be. The schools are now trying to blur the differences between male and female, rather than emphasise them and treat these differences as something unique and wonderful. This sameness creates confusion about their identity.    Homeschool parents have the opportunity to raise their daughters as feminine women, and the boys as masculine men.

*Creativity, personal development and manners are stifled in the public school because they are limited to the courses that are prescribed to them,  Although they claim there is choice of courses and subjects, those choices are limited to the things chosen already in the public schools.  Homeschool helps the children find their own interests, as parents are more alert to their needs.

*Only parents can love their children the way they should be loved. Public schools and teachers can only give a tenth or less of the care that a child really needs.  When you compare the enormous amount of things available to a child in homeschool, and the life skills they can acquire in the home, the public schools are inadequate to teach our precious children. 

*People wonder what happened to our country, and how it was changed from  being ruled by Constitutional Law, into a land where all the leaders did just what was right in their own eyes. Every year the schools graduate thousands of new voters, all steeped in liberal beliefs, prepared to usher in new social programs, and vote for candidates which  destroy free enterprise and turn our country towards leninism, marxism and communism.  The one who has the children will determine the future of the country.

*Special interests of the children can be cultivated at home. If your child likes piano or hockey or art, they can spend many more hours in that pursuit, and all other subjects can be taylored to that interest.There is a lot more time to develop talents.

*Building a relationship with your children takes time. The Bible says you should teach your children as you sit in your house and as you walk by the way. You cannot teach them if they are away in someone else's house or institution all day. It does not mean you will be reading books all the time. You can increase your social life, too, by learning about hospitality and inviting people to your home. Children have to prepare for it and there is greater joy in their lives from giving , rather than receiving. 

*You dont have to be a professional teacher or know a vast amount in order to be a suitable teacher for your children. You just have to love them and be tuned in to them. You cant really perceive your child's needs if he is away from you all day.  Mothers teach their children how to speak the language, how to behave in the family and all about good habits.  Mothers training is very effective.

*Reading and writing are not such huge secrets that it should cost thousands of dollars a year to teach. There are 26 letters of the alphabet, with 44 sounds. You can easily make colorful flashcards with these letters and sounds and train your children to read phonetically.  Numbers are not a big secret either. Any parent who can count to a hundred can teach his child how to use numbers and combinations of numbers. I have seen paents that I honestly had my doubts about, but today, their children can read and write and are upstanding young people, already developing their own businesses.

*Fathers need to train their sons in a business so that by they are grown, they can produce and sell and  have an income so that they can have their own home.  There are many ways to train boys in business so that they can earn a living for their own families.

*The school system is not a system "of the people." Once you are in it, you have to obey their rules, follow their standards and study their curriculum. There is never a vote on what is best for the children, as it is all decided higher up in the organization. There is no such thing as "independent school system" , although it says so on all their signs. They are all connected to one big government education complex. Changes are very difficult to make.  In homeschool, you can fathom what your child is or is not responding well to, and change your approach.  You have the liberty of trying an assortment of teaching materials, outings and activities.

*You have your children during the most teachable hours of the day and the most formative years of their lives. Why give your child's mind over to another system, when the system that is the most natural is the family?  Public schools take our little ones and form their minds, leaving the parents to clean up the house, feed them, and clothe them.  Parents are the best teachers for their children.

*In the end, parents hope to give their children an optimistic, can-do attitude toward life. They want to pass on their faith and their talents. They have a right to do this. Homeschooling provides the time that it takes to do that.