Freedom & Simplicity Framework - Part 3

This is Part 3, the last, of this series.

Greetings from Me and My House,

PART 3 - Freedom & Simplicity Framework

OK, let's get to where the rubber meets that road. How does this theory apply? What would a study be composed of? Here's a few ideas for incorporating the Pillars into a Freedom & Simplicity framework of Wisdom, Understanding, & Knowledge.

Let's start with a Focus of The Fear of the Lord. I think this is a great Foundational Focus (and a good place to start your year), because through it you can lay the foundation for all the Pillars. There are MANY Scriptures to choose from for both your Foundational Scripture, and the direction of your Supporting Scriptures, giving you many possibilities for your Supporting Principles. How we integrate the Pillars will be determined by which of the Scriptures and Principles we've chosen. Let's take a look at some possible directions.

How can we integrate Government? What does government based on the fear of God look like? We could cover Character traits of godly self-government. We could study what godly government of the home is. How about how a church should be run? A "nation under God"?

In HisStory we can look on the chain of HisStory at the lives of people who feared God - or people who didn't. How about Nebechadnezzer, and the results of him not fearing God, then the change in his life? Or the Pilgrims? Or our Nation - our Constitution based on a people that feared God, and now lived under by people who don't.

Creation. How does Creation illustrate the fear of the Lord? "Even the wind and waves obey Him." You could take this anywhere! Or, "Go to the ant you sluggard." Or perhaps THE original creation itself. Light be! Land be! Birds be!

In Economies we could look at the blessing of the Tithe. We could look at environmental care - stewardship based on godly fear, or corrupted to nature worship.

In Dominion? (taking it back to personal application) "Whatever things you do, do them heartily as unto the Lord." Work ethic is a good place to start. Or what types of skills do you value? Or the content of those skills - what do you play, how do you draw if you fear the Lord? Are you taking Dominion to build your own kingdom or His?

I hope this has given you some fuel to get your fire started, and that you're beginning to see how a Lifestyle Education through Discipleship can be built on Universal Principles and Freedom & Simplicity methods that instill Excellence, has a curriculum built upon Wisdom & the Word - through the 7 Pillars of Wisdom, yet is uniquely designed for just your family.

At Jesus' feet,
Lisa

Freedom & Simplicity Framework - Part 2

This is Part 2 in a series.
Greetings from Me and My House,
PART 2- of the Freedom & Simplicity framework:
Are you thinking, Its easier to just give them books to read. Lisa, you recommend good ones on your website; so why should I go to the work of making this framework?

Without a framework of Principles, the content just stands alone as factual trivia; they have not learned the most important thing  Wisdom. The purpose of the framework is to disciple our children in Wisdom, Understanding and Knowledge - teaching our children to reason and apply, not just to know facts, but also know God's thoughts  in all matters pertaining to life, not just spiritual matters. To train them to look for application to their own lives, to the world around them, and to God's Kingdom - from everything they learn. To show them that there is a purpose to every study; that it's not just a waste of time, or doesn't matter if they remember it or not. To teach them to look for these principles in everything they do and come across - not just in their lessons. To develop a Biblical Worldview that is consistent in everything they do.

So our goal is to create a framework that will do that, that is consistent with our philosophy, and methodology; but is not burdensome. A framework that has an easy to follow pattern; that will produce the results we want without resulting in striving and weariness of the flesh.

Many may read the same books, but God does not want the same education for each. Many may believe the same philosophy, and follow the same methodology, but God has different life purpose for each. He desires a unique education for each family, and even within that, because of differing personalities and interests and giftings, each will receive that education slightly differently.

We can share with you a Biblical philosophy of education. We can give you Discipleship and Excellence methodologies. We can recommend excellent resources for a Biblical Worldview. We can even present a Framework pattern to fit it all in. But we cannot write your curriculum for you. We cannot plan your lessons for you. Only God can do that. And He will, through the unique circumstances He has you in. But you must be connected to Him and His Word  and committed to discipling your children in the way they should go, as they rise up and lie down, as they sit in your home and walk along the way.

In Part 1 I gave you the structure of planning the framework. In this part I'll expand on pulling it together, and in Part 3 I'll give you some ideas and examples.
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Perhaps youre saying, OK, I can find Bible passages about my topic (if there are any). And I can use a Dictionary to define my topic further and see that there really IS something related to my topic in the Bible. And SOMEHOW maybe I can pray and meditate on these Scriptures and come up with underlying Biblical Principles related, or at least find something in Haycock's Encyclopedia. But how will I EVER know what examples to use from the Pillars. I'm not very creative!

Don't stress out! Remember this is the Freedom & Simplicity way! You do not have to have all knowledge of all subjects and a super creative mind. Remember this is about taking on HIS yoke, not wearying our flesh.
Pray. Know Him and His Word. This is the primary thing, and will take you very far.
Become familiar with the Pillars and their composition.
Become familiar with your Resources.
Utilize, especially at first, whatever tools you need to help you become familiar with knowledge that can serve as examples: Haycock's "Encyclopedia of Bible Truths" can be a great help here, Scope & Sequences, even Curriculum Guides, if you have some good ones.
Allow the Holy Spirit to lead. Don't feel like you HAVE to find a tie-in, the perfect example, beforehand. God will lead and direct. Choose a resource and as you are reading it together, look for examples of the Principle - or the antithesis of it. Don't feel you have to tie EVERY Pillar into each Principle. This is what has burnt out so many moms in writing unit studies - and what has created some far stretches in connections. You can cover every important thing, even if you have to create its own Focus to do it. Utilize natural connections, but don't push for unnatural ones. Using underlying Biblical Principles really helps in integrating studies across the Pillars. All you are doing is looking for God's hand and plan in everything you study. His Word and His Spirit will guide you.

Each Focus will probably be studied 2-3 times within the child's education. You have time to add to it, to expand it. Even when you aren't studying that Focus/Principle, you will undoubtedly come across things that fit into it. Start a folder or Notebook and continually add to it, and you will have more depth to the topic when you restudy it, when your children are older (and need more depth). When you come across things you know you want (them) to study, even if you don't know what Focus or Principle you will teach it through, put it in a folder of its appropriate Pillar. This is your study. Leaders are Learners, and Leaders are Readers. For you to lead/ disciple your children you must be a learner and a reader, otherwise your children will not become learners or leaders.
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Lets take a look at the structure of the Pillars. This will help you see what fits in where. When looking for material to be covered, think, Where does that fit into the Pillars? Again, don't stress about it. It may fit more than one place. Just pick a logical place and plug it in - in more than one place if need be. Remember, it isn't God that tries to force life into neat little fragmented, unrelated boxes. Thats the education of the humanists.

GOVERNMENT
God is the Sovereign Ruler of all. There is also God-ordained Government under God's rule. We are first to have internal rule over ourself, then external, home/family, church, and civil governments. There is also the corruption of these - every man doing what is right in his own eyes (anarchy), tyrannical/dictatorial home or church rule, or complete State rule.

HisSTORY
HisStory is truly His Story. The Story of the earth and its inhabitants is Providential. You can see God's hand and His Plan throughout it. Because it is linear we can follow Key Links on this chain of HisStory. You can utilize the Principle Approach's Chain of Christianity (as it moves westward)  Creation, Moses & the Law, Jesus, Paul & the Early Church, the Bible in English, Columbus, the Pilgrims, the Patriots, the Pioneers, & Me  or you can adapt it or design your own. We look at these links through the P.I.P.E. of 4 Key Aspects: People (Individuals & Institutions), Ideas (Primary Documents, Literature, Art & Music), Places (Geography), and Events.

CREATION
God's Creation is orderly. It also is given to teach us - of Him and of ourselves. The 6 Days of Creation cover all areas of Science and Mathematics. You can divide them into their Days - Time, Space & Matter; Energy; Sky; Water, Land & Plants; Outer Space; Birds & Aquatic Animals; Land Animals & Man - or into: Life: human, animal, plant; Earth: surface, sky, space; Physical: physics, chemistry, technology; and Mathematics.

ECONOMIES
In Economies, we look at Stewardship, the governing and exchange of the things He has entrusted to us. This covers: stewardship, personal finances, business economics, and world economics.

DOMINION
Dominion covers the skills needed to possess the land. This includes any husbandry and life skills  physical exercise, home and land skills, artesan skills, vocational skills, etc.

The Dominion Pillar is where our cycle of Wisdom, Understanding & Knowledge circles back to Wisdom - the application of God's Principles in our own lives.

In Part 3 we will take a look at some ideas and examples to turn the theory of this framework into an application.

At Jesus' feet,
Lisa

Freedom & Simplicity Framework - Part 1

Greetings from Me and My House,

Studying all the various philosophies and methods of teaching children can be confusing, and their structures rigid and daunting; so many great things to do, so little time to plan it, let alone fit it all together, let alone accomplish it. I think this is just where God wants us. It forces us to seek God for His easy yoke, if we dont want to burn out, and arent unfaithful by seeking the easy way out. His way comes together so much better than the striving of the flesh that we can easily get caught up in. Homeschool burnout is probably one of the greatest problems among moms that teach their own. And many fluctuate between these two, in an unending circle of burnout (trying to do what they think they should according to some book or list) and easy way out (giving up and doing little or nothing, or just going from one thing to the next with no unity or tying it together). Finding that place of excellence in spirit, that is neither the laziness of the flesh, nor the burden of the soul, requires something that does not come naturally to us.

Yet following the Spirit need not be blindly going from day to day not knowing what youre doing until you wake up and seek God for the day. Our God is a God of order and a God of direction, and many times He even gives direction in advance and set patterns to follow. Sometimes He will disciple us through others, sometimes on His own.

We have found that having a framework to help us plan our studies allows excellence, yet through Freedom and Simplicity. Perhaps these guidelines can help you to not get burnt out, nor take the easy way out. Perhaps they will spur you to seek God for your own way in Him.


Freedom and Simplicity framework for Wisdom, Understanding, and Knowledge

This framework takes us through the Three Seasons of Learning  Wisdom, Understanding, and Knowledge. Through Wisdom a house is built, by Understanding it is established; by Knowledge the rooms are filled.... Proverbs 24:3-4

Wisdom:  This is the Foundation. It gives us the Big Picture, based on the definition of Wisdom is seeing from God's perspective. How does God view ---? What does God think about ---? What does God want us to learn about ---? It gives our study the solid foundation of a Biblical viewpoint, and a reason for learning it. The framework we follow for this is determining our Focus of study, a Foundational Scripture for that Focus, and the Principle it teaches.

Focus: Determine the focus of your study. Seek God for this. It may be one  or several for the year. He may show you the big picture of all the various topics first, or perhaps He will direct your plans for one, before being shown the next. These Focuses can be anything - a character trait, a time-period in HisStory, an aspect of Creation, a book or chapter or passage of the Bible, .....

Foundational Scripture:  Find a Scripture passage that represents your Focus. Perhaps you'll have one right from the start. If not, use **Naves Topical Bible, **Strongs Concordance, and/or **Websters 1828 Dictionary definitions to help you find related Scriptures, and choose the most appropriate, that conveys your Focus the best.

Foundational Principle:  What is the principle, the main idea you want them to learn through this Focus? Again this may be plain from your Focus and/or Foundational Scripture. More than likely you will need to study the various Scriptures, look up definitions, and most of all PRAY. What is the key lesson God would have your family to learn from this study? Ruth Haycock's **Encyclopedia of Bible Truths may also be of help in finding these Foundations.

Understanding:  This is the Framework. It gives our study structure, and provides the walls to hang the information on.

Supporting Scriptures:  Find other Scriptures on the topic, that reinforce and build on the Foundational Scripture. Here again, your Naves, Strongs, 1828 Dictionary, and Encyclopedia of Bible Truths will guide you.

Supporting Principles:  Find leading aspects that reinforce and build on the Foundational Principle. The study of the Foundationals, and the Supporting Scriptures will lead you to these. (You may not determine any of the Principles until this stage, and then choose the one that is the overlying Foundational Principle.)

Knowledge:  This is the precious and pleasant riches that fill the rooms. It is the details and facts that illustrate and serve as examples of the Principles. It is the crowning touch that makes the house a home; that gives substance to the theory of the Wisdom and Understanding.

Examples and Illustrations from the 7 Pillars of Learning:  How is the Principle illustrated in Government? In HisStory? In Creation? In Economics? In Dominion? Biblical examples? (In addition, Bible has been covered in the Wisdom & Understanding steps, and will also be integrated into the rest, as will Communications.)

By dividing the different Pillars into various aspects, it will be easier to see what fits where. Don't stress if you don't have examples from all of the Pillars; just find what fits. Allow God to direct; Pray. He will bring things across your path at just the right time that will fit just what you need. Perhaps not always what you think you need, but what He knows you need. For example, in a study of the Fear of the Lord, I had thought it would be nice to include a biography but I didn't really have any idea of whose life really exemplified this trait that I wanted to use. In some other reading, I just happen to come across the quote from Charles Finney, "What would it take to change the world? A handful of men that feared nothing but God and hated nothing but sin." We decided to read a biography on Finney to see why he felt this way.


At Jesus' feet,
Lisa
CONTINUED IN PART 2  - We will cover the various aspects of the different Pillars and how to plan this Knowledge aspect.

** = Resources available through Me and My House ministries.