Wednesday, 12 September 2007

From Donnette's Fingers: MySpace

From Donnette's Fingers: MySpace

Readers Digest Photoshoot

Reader’s Digest Photo Shoot
Managed to get an early start this a.m. - it would have been nice if pool man had done the swamp ermmm pool yesterday, aaah it will be done today - however only AFTER the photo shoot, which will HAVE to be held inside the house as the green water in the hole that doubles as a pool won't look terribly inviting. Hopefully Master A will stay off pc's, dining room table & telephones long enough to allow this to happen.
About the photo shoot... Reader's Digest SA has done an article on HS in SA,the why's and wherefore's and the pro's and con's. Article to be published in November. Of course I was delighted at having been invited to have my say!! I think being a single working mum with loads of offspring & homeschooling some of said offspring, & just generally attempting to survive in this country has some attraction for the media. Photoshoot of myself & the kids to be done today... drat, I wish the pool was blue :)
I wish... I wish....

Reader's Digest Photoshoot

Managed to get an early start this a.m. - it would have been nice if pool man had done the swamp ermmm pool yesterday, aaah it will be done today - however only AFTER the photo shoot, which will HAVE to be held inside the house as the green water in the hole that doubles as a pool won't look terribly inviting. Hopefully Master A will stay off pc's, dining room table & telephones long enough to allow this to happen.

About the photo shoot... Reader's Digest SA has done an article on HS in SA,the why's and wherefore's and the pro's and con's. Article to be published in November. Of course I was delighted at having been invited to have my say!! I think being a single working mum with loads of offspring & homeschooling some of said offspring, & just generally attempting to survive in this country has some attraction for the media. Photoshoot of myself & the kids to be done today... drat, I wish the pool was blue :)

I wish... I wish....

Tuesday, 11 September 2007

Countries of Africa ~ Cameroon, Country Unit Study, Lesson Plans & Notebooking Pages by Donnette E Davis (Book) in Education & Language

Countries of Africa ~ Cameroon, Country Unit Study, Lesson Plans & Notebooking Pages by Donnette E Davis (Book) in Education & Language

Revelation 1 & Revelation 2 from Niell

Revelation One and Revelation Too

The other day someone said that he has two reed like rods at his home. The one’s name is Revelation One and the other one is called Revelation Too. In the rare circumstances that he believes it is appropriate to apply the rod of correction to the seat of understanding, he allows the owner of the seat to choose between Revelation One and Too.

Is this good or is this bad? Is it right or wrong? Can someone who is not yet perfect himself spank someone else who is also still in training? Is it correct to outlaw spanking? Is it perhaps wise to outlaw spanking?

Good questions. I’m glad you ask. I’m sure you have many other questions as well. It shows that you are not taking these things lightly, and that is good!

But before starting I think it is important to first make one little distinction which I don’t often hear people make. And that is the distinction between discipline and punishment.

In short, punishment is what you get for doing something wrong in the past. Discipline is given so that you will do the correct things in the future. I think it is important to take note of that.

Back to spanking – Someone said there is not a single example in the Bible of a physical spanking.

Is this true?

To this question my unambiguous response would be – Maybe!

However, I think there is more!

I would like to refer you to the interesting incident in John 9 which reads as follows in the Bester paraphrase:

As Jesus walked past a blind man, his disciples wondered whose fault it was that the man was blind. Jesus told them that it was no one’s fault, but it was a great opportunity to show what it meant to be the light of the world. So he made a special dough with his spit, applied it to and anointed the man’s eyes and then told him to go wash it. He did and he could see. So, the people started asking questions – Is it him? Is it not him? Does it just look like him? And so on.

He told them – Hey guy’s, it’s me. So how come can you now see? – they enquired. He told them about Jesus. So they wanted to see Him, but He had vanished momentarily. And because the people had no previous experience they struggled to accept that a guy born blind could be healed, so they called the Pharisees.

Needless to say, this all happened on the Sabbath.

The Pharisees arrived and in their own ignorant way continued asking the same questions that were previously asked and got the same responses.

And then, based on some form of something the Pharisees made the conclusion that Jesus could not be from God. Why? Because He didn’t keep the Sabbath.

Others said – No, a sinner won’t be able to do such signs!

And along came the division, together with the author of confusion.

Then they asked the opinion of the blind man and he told them that he reckoned that Jesus was a prophet.

But the unbelieving Jews couldn’t accept it and kept on with the same line of questioning. Later they called the man’s parents and enquired from them. Apparently nothing could change their unbelief.

But the healed man stuck to his story saying – I don’t really care what you say. I was blind, now I can see and whether you think Jesus is a sinner or not makes very little difference to me. Your religious theory cannot make me doubt.

So they called the ushers and told them to throw the man out of the Sinagoge.



So what is the point?

The point is that some people struggle to reason from principle. In the above case, the Jews and the Pharisees were examples of that. They said that because of the fact that they hadn’t seen such thing before and didn’t have a practical example – it never happened.

Back to spanking – Does it matter whether you have a practical example or not? And if there is none, can you perhaps reason from principle?

But let me give you a snippet of how God, the perfect father, disciplines. Then you can decide how this should be applied by you.

I believe that, in a large way, maybe not the only way, the Father disciplines through natural law and principles. You see those universal, non-optional laws of cause and effect are at work all of the time. (It should be noted that Natural Law is not the same as Moral Law.)

So perhaps it would be a good idea to disciple by applying the principles of natural law.

By the way, there are many other instances where there are no specific examples in Scripture, but it seems like somewhere, someone reasoned from principle and came up with conclusions, sometimes good, other times less so.

Just think of schools, even wedding ceremonies and perhaps even all these big churches that are around, and so on. Where are our examples from Scripture? I wonder…

I’m sure this is not the end, but it’s enough for now

Monday, 10 September 2007

ST Aidens Newsletter 09/11/2007

Tuesday already, hope you all had a wonderful weekend and enjoyed family time on Sunday, being Grandparents' Day. We got very busy and created a digital scrapbook for my mum who celebrates her birthday today. It came out beautifully, although we should perhaps have stuck to printing on white cardstock to keep the original look and feel. It really is a fun family activity and I am gradually adding scrapbooking sheets and notepaper to each and every activity page that we have.

In keeping with our Countries of Africa series, a few more study units have been added and these can be accessed at http://www.staidenshomeschool.com/africa/countries/Africa-Countries.html. In addition to the study units, there are individual activities, crosswords, printable and interactive online puzzles that can be done. I love our interactive Maps of Africa, and find it is a great way to learn what country belongs where. I must confess to be improving in my location of the various countries as I study more about each one... I was sad before now :) http://www.staidenshomeschool.com/africa/interactivemapofafrica.html

For younger students there is a fun Flash Challenge at http://www.staidenshomeschool.com/africa/africageographyquiz.html and if you would like your own African Geography Challenge software, you can download it at http://www.staidenshomeschool.com/africa/africancrafts/AfricanArtsnCrafts.html

While working on South African pages I stumbled upon some really good videos of Zulu dancing in Northern KZN and Zululand, a must-see for anyone who has never experienced it. http://www.staidenshomeschool.com/south_africa/zululand.html

So too did I add a beautiful rendition of the SA National Anthem sung by PJ Powers and Miriam Stickley, including Xhosa. A little bit of nostalgia :) http://www.staidenshomeschool.com/south_africa/southafrica.html

A number of additions again to copywork units on nursery rhymes. I find this is a fun way to read and practice writing short passages, very necessary when one's daughter has the attention span of a sparrow... :) I have also included sheet music and midi files for many of the nursery rhymes. http://www.staidenshomeschool.com/nursery_rhymes_poems/NURSERY-RHYMES_With_activities.html

A few new Alphabet Tracing notebooks have been uploaded to http://www.staidenshomeschool.com/alphabet/ALPHABET2.html, one with pictures and the other with a pretty pencil theme. These files are in PDF format.

I hope to have themed notebooking pages or mini-notebooks up in the next few days, I will keep you posted on that. They have been created, it's just a matter of publishing them.

That's it for today. I'm sure you'll find good use for the links I have provided. As always if there is anything you would like to see that I am not showing quick enough, please drop me a line and I will do my best to get it uploaded for you. For smaller uploaded files, links, resources and local events please join the mailing list at http://goups.yahoo.com/group/staidenshomeschooling

Have a fantastic fun and safe week.

Blessings

Donnette

Yahoo! 360° - Homeschooling in South Africa

Yahoo! 360° - Homeschooling in South Africa



Sunday, 09 September 2007

Yahoo! 360° - Homeschooling in South Africa

Yahoo! 360° - Homeschooling in South Africa

Beautiful Words to me - From Niell
The saddest words – (1 September 2007)


Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape!



Warning – In this article I am going to say a few things that might have the potential to bend you out of shape. So please be flexible. And reader discretion is advised, (but not expected.)



Someone once said “Tact is the ability to tell a man he has an open mind when he has a hole in his head”. This is not my intention.



Someone else said - "You can get into a habit of thought in which you enjoy making fun of all those other people who don't see things as clearly as you do." Something to think about.



And yet another person said – “False opinions are like false money, struck first of all by guilty men and thereafter circulated by honest people who perpetuate the crime without knowing what they are doing.” I agree.


And if you don’t agree with me, don’t worry - When too many people agree with me, I begin to suspect I'm wrong.



Let’s get started – The thief comes ONLY to steal and kill and destroy.


Did you get that? He comes only to steal and kill and destroy? That’s it! Nothing else!



So, do you know the difference between someone who gives you something and someone who steals from you?



Of course I do! – you will say with a little contempt because I ask such a basic question on the one hand, but on the other hand you’ll know there is a catch.



Then I’ll ask - Does the same person who gives also take away?



All of a sudden, if you are slightly religiously inclined your knee-jerk reaction will be to rehearse the following portion of Scripture in your mind (for some of you it might be the only portion from Scripture that you know of by heart.) – Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there: the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.



And based on your thinking you will say in a deep religious voice – Yes… Amen, Brother, sometimes the Lord gives and sometimes he takes away.


And it sounds like a good answer. But it is flawed. Why? Because it doesn’t comply with the first law of logic

How can the Lord take away without being a thief?



Good question,- you might say, after rationalizing for a few split seconds – but I have the answer. God is in control. He is sovereign. He can do whatever he pleases!



Where did you get that from? He cannot do whatever he pleases. Why not? Because it’s not His nature.



Why do I say that?



Because its true!



Why is it true?



Because I said it? No, because the Word says it. It is written that He is watching over His Word to perform it. (There are many other Scriptures to support this. Search and ye shall find.)


So why did I go through this little exercise?



Mostly because of a very sad statement someone recently made. In response to some other communication she said to me. – I wonder if my son’s father ever spares him a thought – He certainly didn't on his birthday or any other special day...



What sad words! Those words have milled through my head about two thousand times.



Why?



Because it is a typical situation where the enemy has stolen!



What has he stolen?



He has stolen a Daddy. He has stolen so many Daddies. The biggest need in the world is a need for Daddies.



This morning I read a biography (I didn’t verify the source) of a fairly well known political personality in South Africa. He was in the news recently because of certain perceptible crimes he committed.



Part of the (slightly changed to protect his identity ) biography read - …His father died at the end of World War II, after which his mother took up employment as a domestic worker. He spent his childhood moving between here and there and by age 15 took on odd jobs to supplement his mother’s income. Owing to his deprived childhood, he did not receive any formal schooling. Heavily influenced by a trade unionist family member, he became involved in politics at an early age…”



So what is the reason for this guy’s problems?



He wasn’t Fathered.



It is clear (for me at least) that his actions reflect a lack of proper Fathering. It has nothing to do with schooling, education, position or anything else.



I wish I could be his Daddy. As a matter of interest, I wish I could be the Daddy of everybody who doesn’t have one. But I can’t. Because of my own lack of Fathering, I scarcely know how do be my own children’s Daddy.



But my heart’s cry is to learn how, and then change somebody’s world!

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Yahoo! 360° - Homeschooling in South Africa

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Review of Angola Unit Study & Notebook
Review of Angola Study and Notebook by Deepak Punjabi Angola activities and notebook, Countries of Africa, Angola, is a comprehensive study of Angola which starts with a pre historical background of the different tribes settling in, it's colonial history, war of Independence, and the civil unrest that followed and the efforts to keep it stable now.

The Trans Atlantic Slave Trade is described in candid detail and the reader feels the author's emotions for the people who went thru those horrible ordeals. Students are also given activities which will stir their imagination as to how they would have dealt with a particular case in which brutal treatment is rendered to slaves on a ship, as if they were merchandise items.

This plus much more information, like, the cities, districts, indigenous languages of tribes are also given.

Teachers are also advised on how to approach their students of different ages as to how this study should be applied.

Deepak Punjabi
Baguio City Philippines

Yahoo! 360° - Homeschooling in South Africa

Yahoo! 360° - Homeschooling in South Africa

Review of Angola Unit Study & Notebook
Review of Angola Study and Notebook by Deepak Punjabi Angola activities and notebook, Countries of Africa, Angola, is a comprehensive study of Angola which starts with a pre historical background of the different tribes settling in, it's colonial history, war of Independence, and the civil unrest that followed and the efforts to keep it stable now.

The Trans Atlantic Slave Trade is described in candid detail and the reader feels the author's emotions for the people who went thru those horrible ordeals. Students are also given activities which will stir their imagination as to how they would have dealt with a particular case in which brutal treatment is rendered to slaves on a ship, as if they were merchandise items.

This plus much more information, like, the cities, districts, indigenous languages of tribes are also given.

Teachers are also advised on how to approach their students of different ages as to how this study should be applied.

Deepak Punjabi
Baguio City Philippines

Yahoo! 360° - Homeschooling in South Africa

Yahoo! 360° - Homeschooling in South Africa

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Many of you have probably heard about the health problems Jeff & Kate Estes'
infant son has been having. This was just posted on their blog. Please pray for this little boy:

I only have a minute, so this is going to be short, but I wanted to get this out as early as possible. I met with an infectious disease specialist a little while ago. The infection in Noah's blood is Staph A. It is very possible that it is one of the drug resistant staphs such as MRSA. Staph A is bad, but resistant staph is terrible. We should know more tomorrow. In the meantime Noah isbeing treated as if this is resistant staph. He is on two incredibly powerful IV antibiotics - the dosage of one is even being increased as a result of his most recent labs. The area around his line is being cultured, and his line is going to be treated with a solution that should clean up any blood that could be clinging inside and providing a hiding place for more bacteria.

He is not considered contagious at all except to people who are immune-compromised, so visitors are still OK. I will probably be getting some testing as the doctors want to be sure that I am not even carrying this bug - being pregnant and diabetic does make me somewhat immune compromised, and they want to be a little extra cautious with me.

The large amount of Benadryl that he is recieving is making him very irate and unhappy. Each new dose puts him right to sleep for a little while, then he gets distraught and is doing a lot of crying and screaming. He had some visitors today and the distraction was great - he was very friendly while they were here and even played with one long enough for me to shower.

The last big whammy for today is that while the doctors are still considering sending him to Atlanta, it is now more likely that they will send him to Philadelphia. That is quite a hike from South Carolina, and Jeff would need to stay here with the other children. I have seen how God has sent people here to Greenville to minister to us with each new need, and I know that He can work as well in Philidelphia as he can here. Just pray that we end up in the right place at the right time, and pray for all of the logistics of insurance, transport, etc.

Please share this with your friends, prayer groups, etc. I'm hoping that by getting this out early today some of you will be able to share this in church or Sunday school tomorrow. Also, if you have a blog or website, please check out http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/BChsMamaof3/
She has created a great button with a picture of Noah. Anyone who clicks the button is directed to Noah's blog. You can put it on your blog or website - she gives directions for how to email her and get the code. This would be a great way to spread the word about Noah and we would appreciate it if you could do this.

**************** I had to stop writing to go to the treatment room for Noah's dressing change and cultures. The place where his Broviac enters his skin has been red and raised, but there is a balloon under the skin there that often causes this sort of irritated area, so no one has been concerned. There has been a little bit of drainage around the tube, and it is that drainage that was being cultured. Before a new dressing can be put in place, a little scrubby thing is used to clean the skin. When the nurse started to wash around the entry site, a large amount of pus erupted out of the site. The more she pressed, the more came out. This is troublesome as it would seem to indicate that the infection is also driven into the tissue. We don't know how deep this infection goes. This is SO, SO close to his heart. The nurses, who know and love Noah, wouldn't say much to me about this and weren't prepared to answer my questions,, but it was clear from their expressions that they were very upset. The drainage has been cultured and sent to the lab and all we can do is wait and pray. We know that he is in God's hands. We are taking this seriously but are not given over to grief or worry. Noah is as safe as he has ever been.

Love,
Kate

Friday, 07 September 2007

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Yahoo! 360° - Homeschooling in South Africa

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