Choosing a Musical Instrument

As I stated in the last post, my husband and I will choose an instrument for my children to start with. This choice is just based on what we think they might be suited for. Right now, we plan on having Timothy start with the cello and Emanuela start with the violin.

However, after a year or two of instruction I would like to give my children the option to stick with the instrument we picked or choose another. God has given the human race a wide variety of abilities and affinities, and I want my children to find the perfect instrument with which to praise God. To that end, and in order to increase their enjoyment in hearing music, in the year before we begin the main curriculum I intend to teach my children about different instruments. I will not try to introduce all instruments; that would be nearly impossible. We will learn the most often used instruments in an orchestra.

I want the student to be able to recognize the instrument by sight and by sound, be able to identify the parts of the instrument, and know by what mechanism the instrument produces different notes (i.e. pressing keys, plucking strings, bowing, fingering strings, striking with a mallet, etc.) I will also give them a brief background of when the instrument was developed. There are two websites that I have found particularly useful www.dsokids.com/2001/instrumentchart.htm, and www.nyphilkids.org/lockerroom.phtml Both of these sites have information on different instrument as well as pictures and sound clips.

I plan on introducing the following instruments, one per week: violin, viola, cello, bass, flute, piccolo, oboe, bassoon, clarinet, English Horn, trumpet, trombone, tuba, French Horn, saxaphone, tympani, snare, cymbals, xylophone, glockenspiel, harpsichord, piano, organ, and harp.

The remaining weeks of the year the child will have the opportunity to further investigate instruments that intrigue him. I will try to find a person who plays that instrument, books on the instrument, and music featuring that instrument. At the end of the year he can choose which instrument to play, with the knowledge that he can change his mind later, if he wants.

This freedom to choose could be abused, and it will be up to Denis and myself to discern whether a student repeatedly switching instruments is still searching for the right one, or merely avoiding the hard work of progressing beyond the beginning stage. If we believe that the student would benefit from the discipline of sticking with an instrument they don't like for awhile more we may require it.

"Praise ye Jehovah. Praise God in his sanctuary: Praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him for his mighty acts: Praise him according to his excellent greatness. Praise him with trumpet sound: Praise him with psaltery and harp. Praise him with timbrel and dance: Praise him with stringed instruments and pipe. Praise him with loud cymbals: Praise him with high sounding cymbals. Let everything that hath breath praise Jehovah. Praise ye Jehovah."

- Psalm 150

Over and over throughout the Scriptures we are commanded to praise God with music, thus music instruction is never optional for the Christian. At the very least, all Christians should know how to sing with a hymnal. Now, I understand that God has blessed people with differing natural talent for music, but our music abilities can be strengthened with practice just as our math or linguistic abilites are. Similarly, our musical abilities can atrophy with lack of use, like any other skill. Thus, with practice, anyone should be able to sing hymns without causing major ear trauma to the surrounding listeners. I plan on teaching "psalms, hymns and spiritual songs" (Eph. 5:19) to my children. We will draw our songs from the Trinity Hymnal, Judy Rogers CDs, and Psalms for Singing, by Vic Lockman. If they are able, we can introduce harmony. We will work on basic breathing techniques, matching the proper pitch, and ennunciating. Our little chorus will work on each piece until it is respectable, and perform it (even if it is only for papi), then move onto the next piece.

Besides singing, praising God with an instrument is also commanded repeatedly in Scripture. Thus, each of my children will learn an instrument. Parents I have talked to prefer the Suzuki method. It produces the best pitch and does not require the ability to read, so the child can start in pre-school. Further, it relies on active involvement by the parent, which should make learning more fun, and keep the child accountable to practice. I am told that it is wise, after a few years, to have the student learn to sight-read as well though. I plan on choosing an instrument for my child to start with, since it is difficult for a three- or four-year old to make an informed choice. However, the student can choose to change instruments later, or add another instrument if he so chooses. In high school I will give the student the option to discontinue music training, if he chooses, but I pray that he will get so much joy and blessing out of praising the Lord with music that he will not want to stop.

During my post on art I mentioned that one way to learn that is encouraged in the Bible is to study the "great cloud of witnesses" that proceeded us. As we study great musicians (or artitst) of the past, and their God-honoring works, we learn how to create our own music that honors God. My husband reminded me that God, as God, causes all things to glorify Him. They either glorify His goodness, mercy and grace, or are judged by Him to the glorifying of His justice. So, I was wrong to say that we should not study works that do not glorify God...since that is impossible. What I should have said, is that we want to study men and music that are worthy of emmulation, that are good witnesses. Now, none of these men or pieces will be perfect, but their needs to be something that we can learn from them that will assist us in serving God with our music.

The philosophy of humanists, buddhists and other anti-Christians is reflected in their music. Eastern music (made in a Buddhist culture) and Buddhist western musicians create music that seldom, if ever, resolves; this reflects their views that time is cyclical and meaningless, which is antithetical to reality of time as the progression and working out of God's plan, ever moving forward, through periods of tension and periods of resolution, toward the ultimate resolution at the Last Judgment. Humanist, who believe man is his own god and authority rebel against God's laws for music, especially laws of tonality. God made us to appreciate, and find beautiful, sets of notes, called keys; humanists try to create music that is not confined to keys, but it is ugly and chaotic. Some might say that we should study this music anyway in order to understand our times, and perhaps we should mention to our children that it exist, and explain the philosophy behind it, however, we must never forget that "bad company corrupts good morals" (1 Cor. 15:33); if we keep company with music that is in rebellion against God by studying and analyzing it at length, He promises that it will corrupt our music.

Thanks be to God for His common grace, not all anti-Christian composers make music that is consistent with their presuppositions. For instance, Wagner was a notorious God-hater, but some of his music is quite beautiful. One of my husband's favorites, Mussorgsky, was a drunk, but his music is beautiful and stirring, as well. Also, it is impossible for us to judge the intentions of men's hearts and thus study only those who sought to honor God; instead we must try and study music that is beautiful and creative, musicians that use the gifts God has given to create in a manner that reflects God's own Creation. This will be a rather subjective exercise. As Christians seek to redifine the classics, there will need to be a thoughtful dialogue. This is just the beginning, so with prayer that I would be thinking God's thoughts after Him, and not just echoing man's praise, I will begin to gather musicians and pieces to teach my children.

More on this in my next post. As always, your comments and suggestions are most welcome.

Elementary Math

In order to effectively fulfill our calling in the Kingdom of God, we all must learn math. One of the most important reasons is that we are charged to be good stewards of our money, and arithmetic skills allow us to make a budget, calculate unit prices, interest, returns on investments, our tithe, etc. Very basic math is also needed to wisely schedule and efficiently utilize our time, for cooking, and for simple home repairs. These and other everyday uses of math require our students to learn arthimetic, very basic geometry and pre-algebra. It is these skills that I want my children to learn by the end of 6th grade.

During middle and high school (7 - 12th grade) when the child is begining to specialize with a view to his calling, different kinds of math will be needed. All students will need to learn some economics, in order to be well-informed voters (part of taking dominion for God). Those who are going into business, law or politics will need to know more economics. Those going into business should learn math for accounting and management. Architects and carpenters need to know geometry. Computer scientists need to know mathematical logic. Researchers need to know statistics. Engineers and scientists need to know calculus. And other callings will have their own math requirements.

I would like to take a small sidebar and say that, while I will begin specializing my children's educations in 7th grade, it is not necessary that the child know what his calling is at that time. Part of discovering one's calling is prayerfully considering one's abilities and affininties. If the child is confident that he knows his calling, we can choose a course of study that fits that calling. If the child does not know his calling yet, the child can choose the path of study that most interests him (or he is best at). As he progresses in his studies his calling should be easier to discern.

Now, back to elementary math. The situations in which we all use arithmetic rarely involve a pencil and paper. For our arithmetic skills to be useful, most of the time we have to be able to do the calculations in our head. Thus, the addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts need to be drilled until they come naturally to the student, almost automatically. Also, math, created by God, is orderly, systemmatic, and full of patterns. In order to teach math well, a text must be arranged in a manner that reflects that order and those patterns. I like the Rod & Staff math curriculum. It has tons of drills and practice worksheets (how many of them we use will depend on how much practice the student needs). It is arranged in an orderly manner, with no silliness. It is 8 years of study to learn arithmetic, basic geometry and beginning algebra. I intend to teach those 8 texts by the time the student completes 6th grade.

Literature

We teach our children to read, primarily that they might read the Scriptures, but there are many other things that the student may read and derive benefit from. Non-fiction works are also important, but in this post I shall discuss fiction works. Fiction can be encouraging, cautionary, uplifting or otherwise beneficial. Fiction can also, righteously, be read purely for fun, as long as our enjoyment of the entertainment does not interfere with our duties. Of course, if we can combine entertainment and edification in one piece of literature, all the better.

Young readers need lots of practice to increase their abilities. The books that they use to practice must, of necessity, have a small vocabulary and simple sentence structure, however, they need not, and should not, be boring! The McGuffey Readers, the Little Bear series of books and the Frog and Toad series of books are all perfect for those learning to read. They have simple words and sentences, but still contain interesting, whimsical stories, edifying lessons or both. The Early Reader Books by Dr. Suess are also largely good.

These early readers, in order that they become familiar with good literature, should be read to often. I plan on having my children in 1st and 2nd grade read to me Monday through Thursday; I will read to the child on Friday. I should read books to them that they could not read themselves, books that contain well-written and God-honoring prose and poetry. The classical curriculum that I was planning on using before I read Rushdoony's The Philosophy of Christian Curriculum, suggested reading historical fiction and fiction written during the period being studied to supplement the non-fiction history readings. I think this is a great idea. It helps the history come alive for the child and makes for a more cohesive school day. For 1st grade, Old Testament History, I could not find many such books, but I did find three:

The Cat of Bubastes by G. A. Henty
Pillar of Fire by J. H. Ingrahm
Cyrus the Persian by Sherman Nagel

I located all three books at www.graceandtruthbooks.com They have a wide selection of historical fiction for children, although I am not crazy about the way it is organized on their website.

Here are some other books that I am planning on reading to my students or having them read to me during first grade:

Three Billy Goats Gruff, Stone Soup: An Old Tale, Once a Mouse, and Dick Whittington and His Cat by Marcia Brown
A Child's Treasury of Poems by Mark Daniel (beautifully illustrated!)
A Child's Garden of Verses by R. L. Stevenson
Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter
The Babar stories by Brunhoff
The Frances stories by Russell Hoban

I welcome suggestions from you, the reader.

Foreign Language in Elementary School

Good morning!

Once again, we must start with the question, does the study of foreign language equip a student for service in the Kingdom of God?

The answer to that question depends on the language being studied and the calling of the student. The two most widely useful languages for study today are Biblical Greek and Spanish. Biblical Greek enables the student to study the New Testament in its original language, and Spanish allows the student to effectively witness to the growing number of Spanish speakers in this country, and not just the English speakers.

Elementary school is the best time to introduce a foreign language, since ability to learn a new language declines exponentially as we age. Since an elementary school child usually does not know his calling yet, I plan on teaching my young students Biblical Greek. Biblical Greek is only essential for those who wish to be preachers, evangelists or theologians, but is undoubtedly very useful for everyone who wishes to study the word of God (and we all should). Thus, studying Biblical Greek provides the most advantage for whatever calling my children pursue. Hey Andrew! Teach Me Some Greek is a nice text, and the one I plan to use. It is designed to start in Kindergarten, a rare thing for foreign language texts, and builds slowly to a thorough knowledge of the language. It also employs a copybook of the Gospel of John, so the text of the Bible is used to learn the language.

When the child reaches middle school or high school and is beginning to discover his calling, we will add a foreign language that serves this calling. Biblical Hebrew is useful for those going into the ministry, Japanese for businessmen and engineers, German (perhaps) for engineers, Russian/Arabic for military, Italian for musicians, Latin for the medical profession or for biologists, etc.

If a child has a calling that does not benefit from knowing a foreign language (shopkeeper? plumber? I am having a hard time thinking of any) he does not have to study a foreign language, and should not if it is taking time away from necessary studies. Most states and colleges require two years of foreign language for every student, no matter their vocation. To satisfy that requirement I would suggest Spanish, for the evangelism opportunities it affords. Our children will already know Spanish, having been taught it from birth by their father, who is half Cuban.

Classical Greek and Latin used to be the languages of scholarship and religion, but since that is no longer true, they are of little use and should not be focused on. English grammar and vocabulary can be learned without spending years studying Latin. The only exception to this would be those who are called to the medical or biological fields which have their own large vocabulary of words lifted directly from Latin.

We should always remeber that we are studying foreign language, not to be superior to the monolingual, or to be multi-cultural, but as a tool for subduing the earth to the glory of Almighty God.

Phonics

It is vital that a child learn to read so that he might read the Bible. We are commanded over and over to meditate on the Word of God, an activity which is much easier to do when we can actually read it on our own. Of course, there are many othre things that a child will want and need to read throughout his life, but the Bible is the most important.

Along with learning to read, a child must learn how to spell. Spelling is essential for taking notes, which improves understand of any subject. It is also vital for all written communication, and written communication helps one spread the gospel and fulfill duties as a family member, church member, citizen, friend, etc.

Now that we have easily ascertained that teaching a child how to read and spell is important, it only remains to chose the teaching method that is most effective.

Whether reading instruction should use phonics or a sight reading method is hotly debated today. I believe that the phonics method is the best way.

The sight-reading method relies on the child memorizing each individual word and internalizing phonics rules subconsciously. They argue that most adults read by sight, not sounding out each word, and that phonics rules are too confusing for children and have too many exceptions, thus the child's progress is hindered.

Now, it is true, that no matter how we learned to read, we eventually read familiar words by sight. However, it is when we encounter new words that our method of learning to read becomes important. I sight-reader can only guess at a new word based on whatever bits of phonics rules he has internalized through exposure. A phonics reader, however, will be able to sound out almost all new words easily. It is true that the sight reader will make more rapid progress initially, but once the phonics reader learns the rules, he will make much faster and easier progress than the sight reader.

Further, phonics reader has an immense advantage over the sight reader in spelling. The sight reader must memorize every word he wants to spell, while the phonics reader can just sound it out.

But what of the difficulty of learning all the exceptions to English phonics rules? Well, first of all, because of the minimal phonics education in America, most people think there are more exceptions than there actually are. For instance, I was watching a TV show on PBS designed to teach kids to read. It presented the word give as an exception to the rule that a silent e at the end of a word causes the previous vowel to use its long sound. Most people know this rule, but few know that there are actually 5 rules governing a final e in a word. One of the other 5 rules is that a silent e follows all words that would otherwise end in v, since no English word can end in a v. This is the rule that is applied to give, that is why we use the short i sound. I admit that there are many phonics rules in English, much more than in Spanish, for instance, but this is because English is a mix of Latin, French and Germanic words, and thus a mixture of their different phonics rules. However, it is still a lot easier, in the long run, to learn all the phonics rules than to learn one rule and many, many "exceptions" to that rule.

Besides, people who claim phonics is too difficult for children underestimate them. God has given children, especially young children, a marvelous capacity for learning. Children, like adults, are sinners, and as such, can be lazy, but laziness or lack of enthusiasm should not be confused with lack of ability. If we teach with enthusiasm and consistenly challenge our children there is much that they can achieve, by God's grace. If we "train a child up in the way he should go, when he is old he will not depart from it" (Prov. 22:6); he will live a life of hard work pursuing and achieving goals. However, if we do not challenge him, he will grow up to live a life of laziness and low expectations.

I intend to use The Writing Road to Reading to teach phonics, spelling and penmanship simultaneously. This makes sense to me because all three are aspects of communication and thus each will reinforce the other. The method described in this book is systematic, with drills to cement learning and lots of practice. The phonics rules in The Writing Road to Reading are not always the clearest and best, however, so I recommend The ABCs and All Their Tricks. Use this book's phonics rules whenever the two books disagree. The ABCs is also a good source of spelling lists, since it collects lists of words that demonstrate each phonics rule.

History in Elementary School

"Great is Jehovah, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall laud thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts." Psalm 145: 3, 4.

The reason we teach history is that we are commanded to, and should delight in, rehearsing the mighty acts of our God to the next generation. The glory and praise of God should always be formost in our minds as we teach history. This will affect the way in which stories are told.

In Deuteronomy 6, the young son asks his father, "What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which Jehovah our God hath commanded you?" the father replies by giving the history of the Israelites deliverance from the Egyptians (notice how understanding God's Law and understand God's Providence go hand in hand). In telling this history, the father places the emphasis on God's power, providence and purpose, not on the actions of men. The Epyptians were important to the history only because of their intersection with the people of God. We should strive to teach history in this way. Our focus should be upon the mighty works of the Lord, which necessarily means that our focus will be on His Church. We study non-Christian civilizations, men, movements, and trends because they interacted with the Church, not because of any innate greatness in them; they are deemphisized and the Church is emphasized.

Speaking of a wicked man, the psalmist prays, "Let his posterity be cut off; in the generation following let their name be blotted out. ... Let them be before Jehovah continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth." Psalm 109: 13, 15. We are to honor what God honors, so why would we want to spend a lot of time studying wicked men (and cultures) that the psalmist prays would be not be remembered anymore?

The curriculum that I was planning on using before I read Rushdoony's Philosophy of the Christian Curriculum has a faithful survey of Old Testament History. It uses the Bible as the main narrative, adding supplemental books at certain points. These supplemental books discuss the Creation, Joseph, the Exodus and Esther, and also the Egyptians, Sumerians, Phoenicians, Babylonians and Persians. However, it is always clear, that learning about ungodly civilizations is for the purpose of understanding more fully God's mighty acts with respect to His people.

Unfortunately, this curriculum's second year leaves much to be desired. It focuses on the Greeks and Romans, spending significant time on Homer, Aesop and Greek myths. During this year there are only two books that focus on the early church, one of which is the Bible. In her second year curriculum this sister in Christ demonstrates a significantly skewed perspective. We do need to study Ancient Greece and Rome, since the Lord Christ was incarnate in a small town in the Roman Empire (which was heavily influenced by the Greeks), and the early church grew within the Roman Empire, despite every effort by the Romans to suppress it. However, the focus should be on the early church, not on the Greeks and Romans. The Roman Empire was only the feet of clay, but the Church, with Christ as its Head, is the mountain to which all the nations of the earth shall stream (Daniel 6).

The classical curriculm spends much time studying ancient mythology, saying that one cannot be culturally literate without knowing these things. I admit that this argument was quite persuasive to me, until I read Rushdoony. I now realize that it is foolish to try to make our children literate in a culture that hates God. We must be about building a Christian culture, a Christendom, and part of any culture is its heroes and classics. We must choose godly heroes and God-honoring classics of literature, music and art, and make our children literate in those things. Once they are steeped in truth and surrounded by a cloud of witnesses to God's faithfulness, they will have no trouble counteracting falsehood in this culture. The one who spots counterfeits, does not so much need an understanding of the history of counterfeiting or an in-depth knowledge of counterfeiting technology, as he needs a flawless knowledge of the real thing. With such a thorough knowledge of what is right, it is easy to spot even the subtlest deviation from that standard.

So, with a prayer that I would glorify God, I would like to propose a new outline of history.

This is the outline of history that I learned in state school:

1. Ancient history, meaning before Egypt, was barely mentioned, except to say that people lived a hunter-gatherer, uncivilized, near-animal existence.

2. Egypt is slightly empasized, mostly their pyramids and mummies, and then we move on to Greece and Rome. Much is made of these great empires. They are portrayed as lands where freedom and rationality reigned, and where great art, literature, and technology were created.

3. The time after the fall of Rome is know as the Dark Ages or Middle Ages. This time is not studied in terms of events, but rather a picture of life during that time is given. It is all cold, dark castles, hidden monks, savage Vikings, ignorant, squalid peasants, hunger, disease and superstition. The only light ever mentioned during this time is the Muslims, who are described as having cities full of light, art and learning.

4. Out of the dark, Europe proceeds to the Renaissance, a rediscovery of the glory of the Greeks and Romans. Much is made of the flourishing of arts and learning when Europe returned to the ways of these Ancients. Very little is said about the Reformation. The motivation for the split is not given. I was taught in one class that the main reason that England is Protestant and not Catholic is that Henry VIII wanted to divorce his wife and the pope wouldn't let him. The effects of the Reformation, except the printing press, are largely ignored. Human spirit and ingenuity are showcased in the explorers

5. In describing colonial America, history classes are double-minded; the founding fathers are simultaneously portrayed as men seeking human freedom and equality, and slave-owners, indian-killers and oppressors of women. The Enlightenment is praised as a time when men threw off the shackles of religion and set people free. The bloody, horrible French Revolution is equated with the American Revolution. The North winning the Civil War is shown as another example of freedom overcoming oppression.

6. Except for Hitler and the Holocaust, World Wars I and II are largely ignored. Instead Women's Suffrage and the Industrial Revolution are highlighted. The war in Vietnam is decried, as is the development of nuclear technology, and the Civil Rights and Women's movements are praised. The Hippie culture is explored, but almost nothing is said about the rise of Communism.

Now, the classical curriculm is more God-honoring than my state-school curriculum, but it still follows the humanist timeline of the state school. It lumps the Reformation in with the Middle Ages, but spends a long time on the Enlightenment. And then there is that whole year on the Greeks and the Romans.

I would like to propose the following outline instead:

1.) Creation to the close of the Old Testament: The time when the church was confined mostly to ethnic Israel. This will studied directly from the Bible, with a few supplemental books and a lot of illustrations (since it will be for first grade).

2.) History of the Early Church: Study the Greeks and Romans only to set the stage. Study the life of Jesus and the lives of the apostles. Describe the persecution of the church by the Romans and the lives of great martyrs. Learn about Augustine and the early church councils. Describe the fall of Rome.

3.) The Church before the Reformation: Starting after the fall of Rome, learn about the development of the Eastern and Western churches, the rise of monasticism and scholasticism. Civilization in Europe during this time was largely Christian. It was not perfect, and not every individual was Christian, but the countries acknowledged the lordship of Christ. Because of this Christian basis, there are many heroes of the faith to study. Learn about the Vikings and the Muslims only in order to better understand how the Christian Europeans interacted with them. Include in this study the Renaissance. Although the Renaissance overlapped with the Reformation in time, it was the outflow of the ideas of medieval scholasticism, which attempted to mix Christianity with Greek philosophy. Thus, the Renaissance can be logically studied at this time.

4.) The Reformation and its initial effects: The Reformation is the greatest event in the history of the world since the Ressurection of Christ and the fall of Jerusalem. It is an example of God's rich grace and mighty hand reviving his church from the apostasy that it fell into through its love of pagan Greece and Rome. It is full of thrilling stories and inspiring heroes. It also was the impetus for the Age of Exploration and the founding of this country. The explorers were self-conciously attempting to fulfill the Great Commission, and the founders of this country were largely reformed Puritans, trying to build a Christian civilization. The colonists will be saved for next year, but the explorers will be covered this year.

5.) Early America: This year will cover Jamestown and the Pilgrims, the causes of the American War for Independence, the events of that War, the founding documents of this country. The War of 1812. The westward expansion. The Gold Rush. The rise of humanism and unitarianism in the US, and its effects on the country. The "Endarkenment" in Europe will be studied mainly to show its spread to and effect on the United States. The Great Awakenings, when God sent revival to this country, will be studied, as well as the Industrial Revolution.

6.) The War Between the States and the Rise of Tyranny: Before the War Between the States, we were the United StateS, a group of united, but distinct states. After the Civil War we have become a large country under an increasingly tyrannical civil government. We will learn the causes of the War Between the States (not slavery) and the major events thereof. We will follow the decline of the church in the U.S. and the subsequent effects on the policy and culture of this country. The World Wars, Cold War, and Muslim terrorist will be studied. The Civil Rights and Womens Movements, the rise of Communism, Socialism and Imperialism will be studied, always with an eye to their theological foundations.

This is a very broad outline. I hope to flesh it out and refine it as I learn more about history, myself, and collect materials to teach history to my children.

Stay tuned. :-)

Geography

Geography sets the stage for the study of history, current events and for missionary work. If we desire to spread the Kingdom of God throughout all the earth, it is essential that we know what the earth looks like, and some basic cultural traits of the tribes of the earth. Knowing georgraphy adds understanding and interest when we hear current events, when we pray for missionaries and when we study history. Further, knowing how to read a map is a necessary tool in many life situations.

Students can, and should, learn the basic facts of world geography in elementary school. This will allow them to put all of their historic and current events learning into a spatial context. There are 6 inhabited continents; I intend to teach one per year in grades 1 - 6. The Geography Coloring Book is the method I prefer. It is fun, since kids love to color. It requires them to spend a long time looking at the maps, in order to color them, which should aid them in memorizing the look of the world. It includes political and topographical maps, maps of large and small areas and many facts that can be used for drill.

I intend to start with North America, because that is home to my students. South America will be next, because it has the least to memorize of any continent. Next will be Europe since we will be studying European history that year. Next will be Australia and the Oceania. The last two years will be Africa and then Asia, which I chose to be last since they have the most countries, and thus the most information to learn.

Young children need an introduction to the abstract concept of maps, so I intend to use Me on the Map as the first part of the first year of geography. It goes outward from a map of a little girl's room, up to a map of the whole world.

This systemmatic study of geography will be interrupted in order to serve the needs of history class. When I introduce a new map in history, the student will trace that map in the corresponding geography time in order to thoroughly familiarize himself with the area we are studying.

My Beginnings with Art History

So...I have been working on selecting artists and pieces for my elementary school children to learn. I want them to be able to recall biographical facts about the artists and to be able to identify the pieces (and interesting facts about some of the pieces) on sight. We will mostly study Christian artists, to observe what God enabled them to achieve and how their faith affected their work. We also learn about art techniques by studying the artist who developed them and important pieces that showcase them. Some of the artist we study will not be Christians, but in those cases, there must be a compelling reason to showcase art that wasn't created to honor God. Care needs to be taken with these artist to show the results of their presuppositions.

Thus far I have only outlined a year's worth of study. Here is what I have so far:

Byzantine and Romanesque (illustrated manuscripts, Bayeux tapestry, mosaic)
Gothic Art (stained glass, cathedrals)
Cimabue
Giotto de Bondone (Lamentation, Death of St. Francis, Adoration of the Magi)
Donatello (St. Mark, David in marble, The Penitent Magdalene (I really like this sculpture; I can really empathize with her need for a Savior), the Feast of Herod)
Fra Angelico (Annunciation, Madonna and Child with Angels, Christ Resurrected and Maries at the Tomb, Crucified Christ with St. John the Evangelist, etc.)
Jan van Eyck (Arnolfini, Rolin, Ghent, Crucifixtion and Last Judgment)
Heironymous Bosch (Death and the Miser, Ship of Fools, Christ Carrying the Cross, The Last Judgment)
Leonardo da Vinci (Mona Lisa, Last Supper, Study of Hands, Lady with an Ermine)
Albrecht Durer (Portrait of Mother, St. Michael fights the dragon)

Leonardo da Vinci's faith is the subject of much debate. Many believe that he was a sodomite, but I am skeptical of these reports because it serves the homosexual agenda to claim a great man as one of their own. He may have been a sodomite, but I will need more than an accusation which never resulted in a conviction and a series of apprentices (a very common practice at the time) as proof before I would believe such slander. But, whatever the truth is, he was instrumental in the development of techniques for showing distance and for softening the lines in portraits. He was also a very dedicated and diligent worker. It is these positives that I am attempting to showcase in the pieces I chose to study.

I will add to this list later. Now I am going to move on to history and geography for the first year.