"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." Proverbs 22:6

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Learn to Expect the Unexpected!

You never know when life is going to toss something at you that you least expect.  Sometimes we can laugh about it, other times we cry, and most of the time we probably just shrug it off as nothing to worry about.  I have a somewhat cutesy, unexpected moment I'd like to share.  Caleb and I have been studying the letter "G" for two weeks.  Due to all that had to be done the week before the wedding, ahem, the wedding cake made the top of that list, we just didn't have time for school.  So, back at it we were this week...finishing up the letter "G" and all the "wonderful" library books we had about goats....the signature word for our letter of the week.  Boy, were there ever some cute goat stories....

The recommended book for the week was "Three Billy Goats Gruff."  We all remember that story, right?  'Who is that ratta-tat-tapping on my bridge?"  etc, etc....Well, I couldn't find this specific book when looking at the library index.  It was at another branch and I didn't have time to put it on hold and wait for it.  But, then I found it in a set of books available for checkout together - categorized as fairy tales.  So, I grabbed it.  These theme packs are generally the BEST!  Saves a momma a lot of hunting for the right books.

In need of additional reading material as my little munchkin LOVES to be read to, we dug into the rest of the books in this set.  Henny Penny, Jack and the Beanstalk, The Little Gingerbread Man, The Three Little Bears, The Three Little Pigs, and The Little Red Hen.

He chooses, The Three Little Pigs first.  Yeah, I like this one.  I like changing my voice and playing out the parts when I read.  He thinks I'm silly, but he's never once asked me to stop like he does if we sing or dance.  He likes my character voices I think.  ;o)

Well, we're reading along and I realize right away that this version is a little bit different.  But we keep going.  The wolf is bothering the 1st little pig, huffing and puffing, and blowing his house in.....and what happens next?  Egads!!  He gobbles up the little pig.  Unexpected?  Definitely!!  What happened to the first little pig running to the 2nd little pigs house and then to the 3rd little pigs house and then the three of them defeating the Big Bad Wolf?  Apparently, author, Paul Galdone has a different idea on just how this story should go.  Even Caleb was shocked and said, "what?  he's not supposed to eat him!"

The rest of the books in this set were all written by Paul Galdone, and yes, they all had a few differences as well....Or maybe these are ORIGINALS and I've just never heard them before.  But, Jack and the Beanstalk has a murder in it, yes, a MURDER!   He cuts off the Giants head!!  Henny Penny has a mass-murder - Henny Penny, Ducky Lucky, Loosy Goosy, etc, etc, all get eaten by the Foxy Loxy, his wife and kid's...and The Gingerbread Man?  Well, he gets eaten too, but I think we all knew that one, not a surprise there.

As I read through these books, I caught myself wanting to just gut-wrench, laugh out loud!  Why do I home school my son?  To teach him to be a servant of our Lord Jesus Christ.  To teach him to love the Lord.  Were these books even close?  Not really.  But, he managed a giggle and I did too.  We'll take them back to the library and gladly hand them back.  I nearly always skim a book before I take it out on loan, but was busy and didn't do that this time.  We've had some odd one's before, where Caleb and I each wrinkle our noses at them.  But, these I say do 'take the cake.'

My bible summarizes Matthew 25:14-30, the story about the three servants and their talents....(way too much to type here, but surely everyone is familiar with that story.)   My summary says we are to be,
"Responsible to God for our resources and talents."

Yes, as a home school mom, it is my biggest responsibility to teach my son how to best use our resources and talents.  Library books are a much needed resource for our program.  It's fun to have books to read and share the love of reading with your children, but we have to always remember to keep within the parameters of our Christian beliefs.  There are so many lovely books available that teach our children to love, share, and care for others, without having to revert back to old fairy tales that have been reduced to murder and mayhem!!   

I'm not such a prude that I can't laugh about this.  But, at the same time I must take this job seriously and with that, we will not read future books by Paul Galdone unless I have time to inspect or we receive a recommendation.

Happy Reading!

God bless
Pam

Saturday, February 5, 2011

The Beginning

Welcome to my Silver Creek Academy blog. I've been blogging for only a short time on a personal family blog since last fall. I recently saw that My Father's World curriculum users have a blog sharing system of sorts. So, I have created this blog in which I hope to better capture our home school journey. Maybe it will also encourage or assist other MFW users.

With this I say, thanks for stopping by and look for more to come!

Pam