Easy foreign language

Study to show thyself approved

I love foreign languages; I had the privilege of learning to speak Czech while in the military—47 weeks, six hours a day. Because of a bit of traveling, I also have just enough French and German in my vocabulary to be quite dangerous—just don't ever ask me directions in those languages!


The amazing thing to me at the time of my schooling learning Czech was just how many other languages my native-born instructors had under their belts. When we questioned them as to how they learned all of these other tongues, they shrugged their shoulders as if we were dullards and simply replied, "We read books."


This may sound incredible, but it isn't at all. In fact, I am convinced this is the best way to learn another language. But wait, there's really more to it than that.

Discovering new cultures

First of all, you need to understand basically how a language is pronounced, some vocabulary, some basic phrases and then begin to be taught about "declension" and "conjugation"—meaning the use of verbs and nouns in different "cases"—don't worry, things become more clear as you go along.


Initially, you can just print out a few passages of scripture that you, hopefully, have memorized, or are at least very familiar with—then you print these out in the language of your choice, such as German, French or Spanish.


This year we are learning French, so here are the links I am using for our studies:


Collier's Cyclopedia of Social and Commercial Information—French Self-Taught. This portion of this important book was discovered from the Cd's from Dollar Homeschool. In just a few pages they have included everything needed to begin a pretty good understanding of the French language—even the pronunciation! We are working through the vocabulary and phrases before I begin introducing the grammar portions.

Language usage tools

I have also printed out portions of scripture that we have memorized (or will be memorizing) from the Bible in French from Bible Gateway. Genesis chapter 1, Psalm 1 and Psalm 23 are all good places to begin. As we progress together, learning a few portions a week and practicing them together, we will also be attempting to translate these passages, little-by-little. I seem to remember that Corrie ten Boom and her family learned numerous languages by translating many different versions of the Bible back and forth during their devotions.


The wonderful thing about this sort of learning is that it is almost free—and it is the way most of the world (especially Europeans) learns languages anyways.


It is much easier for an English-speaking person to learn Spanish, French, Italian, and German*. Why? Because these are all Latin-based or "romantic" tongues, just like English. (* Special Note: Extinct branches of the Romance language tree: It is believed there were Germano-Romance languages in present-day Southern Germany, Switzerland and Austria in the 11^th century A.D.) The Slavic languages, such as Russian, Polish, Czech, etc., are all Greek based—this is a little bit more of a learning curve for us Americans. And, of course, others such as Hindi, Mandarin, Japanese, etc. are languages that are certainly worthwhile, just a lot higher on the challenge scale due to their lack of "root" familiarity for most of us.

Here are some more links for further information and encouragement:


Living Language—how one family learned French through a calendar printed with scriptures.


Language Learning—this is from the same website as above, but is a quick overview of a book (which may be worth further review) advocating a more natural approach to learning other languages.

Learning together can be fun!

I never understood English grammar until I studied Czech grammar—and I have heard the same from other folks who have become "polyglots". So if you have youngsters who are a bit tentative in the area of Grammar, this type of study may be just what they need to gain a much better understanding.


Remember, learning is an adventurous journey—one we can choose to enjoy together with our young scholars.

Don't miss out on great books!

A mother reading to her children

There are so many benefits to staying home and educating one's own children that there just isn't enough space or time to list them all.


But know this, if I didn't homeschool my children, I would have missed out on one of the greatest blessings of my life; enjoying classic literature. If you are like me, reading time gets squeezed out by all of the other challenges and responsibilities that come in this journey called life, such as sending out bills, switching laundry, appointments, shopping, etc. But reading aloud to my children gives me an excuse to enjoy an exceptional novel or two and to benefit from some special time with them together!


When I was in school, I honestly don't remember the classics ever being mentioned. As I became older we were forced to read textbooks which contained some of the classics, but these were only snippets, and therefore, I never associated them with anything enjoyable—and the books they chose for these collections were by that time the dark, godless drivel that we have come to expect in our contemporary experience.


But I have since rediscovered so many good reads as I have perused them aloud to my children. I have enjoyed many of them two or three times over, since I keep having different age groups coming up!


It is one of the most wonderful things in the world to take the time to experience an uplifting or thoughtful narrative together. It has been the "glue" of our days for many years. The children beg me to read to them, and when we finish one volume they are longing and looking for the next.


In recent years I have learned that the classics that have survived and are in popular circulation are not the best ones at all—they are simply the ones we in our present thinking have been able to tolerate; the ones that can still be mass-marketed to a population that is askew to God's view of things.


I believe God has allowed us in this dark age to reap the benefits of wisdom and artistry of days gone by through the use of the Internet, specifically through the myriads of digitized books that are currently out of copyright.


Here are a few of the authors that we have recently unearthed in our searching:


Charlotte Yonge—a definitely Christian woman (homeschooled) who was a prolific writer, even some historical fiction and adventure. I understand her writing did not survive because she portrayed a sacrificial sort of Christianity in her books, with values that are out of vogue even in our churches, unfortunately.


Elizabeth Prentiss—one of her books is still in modern print, although I believe this is mainly due to the influence of Elizabeth Elliot. She wrote a number of others. She also writes of sacrificial living, and her fiction makes you reassess your reality!


Harriet Beecher Stowe—I know my dear Southern readers may take exception to her, but she was a fantastic writer—her characters are developed so well, and her sense of humor is quite entertaining! Besides her most famous novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin, she also wrote another title we plan on reading this winter, "The Mayflower".


Then there are G.A. Henty and Ballantyne—these authors are available in reprints thanks to publishers such as Preston Speed and distributors such as Vision Forum. Our second son bought the whole set of Ballantyne, and many of our children are reading through them all. Christian virtues and the Gospel are replete throughout, while not seeming "preachy" or awkward as modern Christian novels often can be. Henty and Ballantyne are both available for free download on the Net.

Dad reading the Holy Bible

Since many of these books are no longer available for purchase, it is worth the effort to print, bind and produce them yourself, or even to purchase a Kindle or other such reading device so that they may be accessed while away from the computer. The treasures they yield will far surpass the money or effort expended (and if we have physical books lying about, our children will be able to read and discover the rewards for themselves).


Children need food for thought—they are going to glean it from whatever is available to them. Why not offer the best—why not give them real meat from times when living the Christian life was more about giving of oneself to glorify God than getting everything from God to glorify oneself?


And why not take advantage of homeschooling and enjoy these books right along with them?!

What they forgot to tell me...

A quiet moment in time

"What do you want to be when you grow up?"


The question seemed so innocent.


I wanted to have fun—after all, I was just a little girl. I thought of how many interesting things there were to discover in the bright, big, beautiful world making use of the vast expanse of my own imagination.


So I went on my merry way and dabbled in a bit of this and that. I was sure that I was going to do something great, something that would rock the earth, and it would all be so very remarkable.


But what they failed to tell me was that playing with dollies and dishes was not just a "phase", that it might just turn out to be my life-long calling.


I ended up doing very well in school, and was told that I should get on the fast track to an Ivy League education. As a result, I planned for it, went into the military for it, expected it to be the very thing I was looking for to fulfill my heart's desires.

No place like home!

But they must have forgotten the awful truth. Somewhere, lost between the speeches on how much both motherhood and being a house-wife were slavish drudgery, they failed to mention just how much I would dearly love being at home with my own children.


They wanted me to rush off to somewhere everyday and spend time with total strangers, and bosses who were cranky, and clients who were demanding and rude, because they seemed to assume that everyone knew that this was so superior to...


...the warmth of a baby laying on my chest, fresh from the womb.


...waking myself at night just to touch the cheek of my newborn to make sure she was breathing, and catching a whiff of her intoxicating scent.


...hearing her cry and knowing that, as soon as I picked her up, she would be soothed by my caress and my voice.


...watching her discover bubbles and Popsicles.


...having more children than I was supposed to and watching them all play and laugh together.

A day of discovery

...reading more and better books and learning much more about the world than I ever did in school just by teaching my own children.


...crying as my son danced with me at his wedding—knowing that I have no regrets in raising him and spending all day long with him all of the years he was growing up.


Sure, there are days that I get ruffled and tired. But life is work—no matter what you choose as your vocation.


I'd really rather work at home.

Decided love

Almost 29 years together!

My dear husband and I will have been married 29 years this September. This is not novel in the history of the world; until recent years marriage has been considered a life-long bond.


We are both very sinful, selfish people. We have faults and foibles that both aggravate and exasperate. But every day we decide to love each other with God's unconditional love. Without any premeditation, you will find us embracing and declaring our ardour—it is a decision we are making, a choice to overlook our moments of individual pettiness and concentrate on the commitment we both made to God and each other so many years ago. As a result our love is stronger today than it was at the beginning of our journey together! We once had a plaque that read, "It doesn't matter where you go or what you have. What matters is who you have beside you. Jesus!" Jesus has been at the very center of our marriage and family-life.

A view from atop Pikes Peak

We have been duped in our modern, western culture into believing that love needs a display of emotion in order to be valid. But love is often at its most noble when there is no emotion whatsoever; it is at its very best when it is a cognizant declaration.


So it is perfectly normal and expected that sometimes we don't "feel" very loving towards our spouses or our children. For one thing, our fleshly desires are often thwarted by what we perceive as impediments to our personal happiness. But there is a higher goal than happiness; holiness is the target which we as Christians, transformed by the blood of Christ, should be aiming toward.

A moment in the life

So today, when a little one spills his juice all over his clothes five minutes before the doctor's appointment, or when faced with one of the millions of other challenges we deal with as mothers, we make a determination; to love, to cherish, and to validate and esteem these precious people God has blessed us with.


Amazing things happen when we choose to love—the emotions do come, and they overflow. Our countenance changes. Our frustration level decreases, and our joy mounts.


Jesus left us the example—He laid down His life, even though He had to fight until His sweat turned to blood, but He chose us.


His was truly a decided love.

♥More vacation pics♥

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The family trip to the top of Pikes Peak 14,110 feet

                        

Sarah and Nicole on the tram

Patience is excited!

Dad and Mom--still in love

Trying on flower girl dresses

Some of the children before the wedding

Nicole in one of the dresses she designed and sewed (and Patience)

Pretty maids all in a row...the bride, some of my girls, my granddaughter, and some friends.

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A Busy, Wonderful Time...

The entire David and Sherry Hayes' family wedding photo.

My oldest dear, wonderful son, David, was married this past weekend to his precious Julia.

I am going to brag here—I am going to tell you all how proud I am of this young man. He waited until he was 24 until before he even dated, before he even (waiting upon the Lord) discovered the woman of his heart. 

Why did he wait so long?

Because his first love is Jesus Christ, and the Kingdom of God is his passion, his vocation. It doesn't matter what the current "fads" are, within the church or without. He has a singular eye, and a singular mind. Folks questioned him, they berated him, they speculated as to why such an eligible young man would not even be dating.

But he was not moved—not even for a moment.

Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing,

and obtaineth favour of the LORD. (Proverbs 18:22)

His dear Julia is the same way. It is so precious to gain another daughter, one whose goal is to serve God, no matter where that may take her.

When they were eating the first slice of wedding cake, they gave each other small bites, politely, and after the piece was finished, they wiped each others' mouths—it was kind, and I am sure a picture of their future married life.

What a picture of the love of Christ and His church—each living completely for the other.