Deuteronomy 6:6-7 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
About 4 weeks into Sonlight's Core 200 curriculum, I began to realize that the history topics are really a bit too mature for Alexis. Going into it, I did not comprehend how tough the content would be to absorb/take. The History of God's Kingdom is a hard subject matter to read about day after day. Oddly, I had a preconceived notion that this history of the roots of the early church would consist of good times and bad - growth and suffering, which it does, but the emphasis feels as though it is on the suffering. Until now, I was not even aware of the continuous persecution and atrocities performed against Christians in the early church. I mistakenly believed that I was perfectly knowledgeable about the martyrdom which took place within and outside of the Roman Empire era, the Crusades, and more. However, as usual, Sonlight brings history to life quite clearly. Reality of the new church is harsh, and that gets S.P.E.L.L.E.D. out well in Core 200. It became clear real fast, that I would have some adjustments to make in order to make this Core work for my daughter.
Truthfully, I almost walked away from Core 200 altogether It is not that I dislike this curriculum, actually quite the opposite. It just simply includes an overwhelming amount of harsh truths/content that makes my daughter uncomfortable. I wondered if setting the Core down for a few years would be the easiest thing to do -then just start over - somewhere. I had not a clue what I would replace it with though. Thoughts kept rushing through my head remembering the time spent praying before we chose this Core and the discussions I had about it with my daughter.. I was just sure that God was pointing us in this direction. What to do...
Still wanting to use an Apologetics type of curriculum, I found my new search coming up empty. So, after much seeking and even more prayer, I believe that we are to continue to proceed with Sonlight Core 200 - but--- with some balance. All along, the plan was to work with Alexis in Bible and History lessons. I will continue to do this and will screen the history books to tone down the brutality. This makes for a much shorter lesson. In order to build back some content, I am adding The Mystery of History (Volume II and probably some of Volume III) in bits and pieces. I like their gentleness so far, however, it seems to be at the opposite end of the "blunt" spectrum from Sonlight,. I would like Alexis to have something in the middle of both. It is my hope to achieve this, as I strongly feel that this history should not be entirely glossed over, but for her sake, it needs to be palatable.
In addition to the book censoring, ;-) I've added a Hands and Hearts History Kit (Ancient Greece and Rome,) which will be used throughout the first semester, although it is most fitting used in the beginning of the year. Alexis has loved other Hands and Hearts History kits in the past, and so far, this one looks just as great as the others. We will also include several of the hands on activities that The Mystery of History includes in their book. I noticed that quite a few of them seem to be for younger children - which we will pass on, but I do like a decent amount of their hands-on supplements. We also will try to incorporate movies from Netflix where applicable. We did this for Cores 5 and 6 and loved it - however, I am finding it difficult to find filtered movies for this Core. The most benign movie about Nero I've found was a 1951 movie called Quo Vadis. Alexis was less than impressed with the acting, so I gave her a pass on it. I'll admit after reading The Flames of Rome, the movie felt like a bad representation of the book. Next up- That the World May Know, Faith Lessons on the Early Church: Conquering the Gates of Hell.
All this to say, as we finish week 6 of school, we are finding our own with History this year. I know my sweet daughter will grow in her faith and knowledge of Christ without including every last detail of a church history full of fallen sinners. Perhaps her gentle spirit needs more time to process how ugly it can get without Jesus in the picture. As for me, I am finding the full content of the Sonlight Core 200 curriculum completely riveting. We are both growing.
1 Peter 3:15-16
About 4 weeks into Sonlight's Core 200 curriculum, I began to realize that the history topics are really a bit too mature for Alexis. Going into it, I did not comprehend how tough the content would be to absorb/take. The History of God's Kingdom is a hard subject matter to read about day after day. Oddly, I had a preconceived notion that this history of the roots of the early church would consist of good times and bad - growth and suffering, which it does, but the emphasis feels as though it is on the suffering. Until now, I was not even aware of the continuous persecution and atrocities performed against Christians in the early church. I mistakenly believed that I was perfectly knowledgeable about the martyrdom which took place within and outside of the Roman Empire era, the Crusades, and more. However, as usual, Sonlight brings history to life quite clearly. Reality of the new church is harsh, and that gets S.P.E.L.L.E.D. out well in Core 200. It became clear real fast, that I would have some adjustments to make in order to make this Core work for my daughter.
Truthfully, I almost walked away from Core 200 altogether It is not that I dislike this curriculum, actually quite the opposite. It just simply includes an overwhelming amount of harsh truths/content that makes my daughter uncomfortable. I wondered if setting the Core down for a few years would be the easiest thing to do -then just start over - somewhere. I had not a clue what I would replace it with though. Thoughts kept rushing through my head remembering the time spent praying before we chose this Core and the discussions I had about it with my daughter.. I was just sure that God was pointing us in this direction. What to do...
Still wanting to use an Apologetics type of curriculum, I found my new search coming up empty. So, after much seeking and even more prayer, I believe that we are to continue to proceed with Sonlight Core 200 - but--- with some balance. All along, the plan was to work with Alexis in Bible and History lessons. I will continue to do this and will screen the history books to tone down the brutality. This makes for a much shorter lesson. In order to build back some content, I am adding The Mystery of History (Volume II and probably some of Volume III) in bits and pieces. I like their gentleness so far, however, it seems to be at the opposite end of the "blunt" spectrum from Sonlight,. I would like Alexis to have something in the middle of both. It is my hope to achieve this, as I strongly feel that this history should not be entirely glossed over, but for her sake, it needs to be palatable.
In addition to the book censoring, ;-) I've added a Hands and Hearts History Kit (Ancient Greece and Rome,) which will be used throughout the first semester, although it is most fitting used in the beginning of the year. Alexis has loved other Hands and Hearts History kits in the past, and so far, this one looks just as great as the others. We will also include several of the hands on activities that The Mystery of History includes in their book. I noticed that quite a few of them seem to be for younger children - which we will pass on, but I do like a decent amount of their hands-on supplements. We also will try to incorporate movies from Netflix where applicable. We did this for Cores 5 and 6 and loved it - however, I am finding it difficult to find filtered movies for this Core. The most benign movie about Nero I've found was a 1951 movie called Quo Vadis. Alexis was less than impressed with the acting, so I gave her a pass on it. I'll admit after reading The Flames of Rome, the movie felt like a bad representation of the book. Next up- That the World May Know, Faith Lessons on the Early Church: Conquering the Gates of Hell.
All this to say, as we finish week 6 of school, we are finding our own with History this year. I know my sweet daughter will grow in her faith and knowledge of Christ without including every last detail of a church history full of fallen sinners. Perhaps her gentle spirit needs more time to process how ugly it can get without Jesus in the picture. As for me, I am finding the full content of the Sonlight Core 200 curriculum completely riveting. We are both growing.
1 Peter 3:15-16
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.
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