Monday, September 3, 2007

Learning in Wartime - Our Homeschooling Year

As our school year begins in the midst of our family's medical crisis, I was encouraged by reading C.S. Lewis' Learning in Wartime from his Weight of Glory essays. Lewis was reflecting on how the seemingly mundane activities of university life could continue when it looked as if all Europe would fall:

"...how can we--continue to take an interest in these placid occupations when the lives of our friends and the liberties of Europe are in the balance?..."

But the answer is in seeing our true situation in all its perspective: "The war creates no absolutely new situation; it siply aggravates the permanent human situation so that we can no longer ignore it. Human life has always been lived on the edge of a precipice. Human culture has always had to exist under the shadow of something infinitely more important than itself. If men had postponed the search for knowledge and beauty until they were secure, the search would never have begun. We are mistaken when we compare war with "normal life." Life has never been normal..."

"The work of a Beethoven and the work of a charwoman bcome spiritual on precisely the same condition, that of being offered to God, of being done humbly "as to the Lord."...

As we begin this school year, I realize it's our most ambitious one yet in terms of workload for our 12 year old son. We are encouraging him to be more independent with managing his workload and time management, and he will be taking 4 online courses, two at the high school level.

Two resources that might be helpful for saving money on books and curricula:



Paperbackswap.com allows you to swap already read (or outgrown) paperbacks for free with other members. You only pay postage when you mail it to another member, and in return they pay postage when they send it to you. We use Paypal to print mailing labels and just mail the books by putting them in our mailbox (no trips to the post office).

Another resource we've found helpful is Homeschool Buyer's Co-op. Membership is free. They block together to obtain discounts for curriculum. Discovery's United Streaming membership is now $70 cheaper ($129 per year) because 200 people have signed up.

Homeschooling 2007-8

Latin 1 - Schola Tutorials
Intro to Great Books - Schola Tutorials
Logic - Biola Logic
Etymology / Vocabulary - CTD Northwestern
Chemistry - - CyberEd and Apologia Chemistry
Writing - - Progymnasmata through WritingAssessment.com
Math - - SkillsTutor.com, Saxon, Mathematics: A Human Endeavor
Music - : Enjoyment of Music and Norton Online Listening Lab
Art - Teaching Company A History of European Art

1 comment:

Hanley Family said...

I wish you the best for the start of the school year! And especially for the medical issues.

Thank you for the point on perspective.

Previous Latin Sayings of the Week

"Soli deo gloria." - For the glory of God alone.


Christus resurrexit! Vere resurrexit! - Christ is Risen! He is risen, indeed!



"Lex malla, lex nulla." - St. Thomas Aquinas
(A bad law is no law.)


"Cantantes licet usque (minus via laedit) eamus. " - Let us go singing as far as we go: the road will be less tedious.


"Caelitus mihi vires." - My strength is from heaven.

"Magnificat anima mea Dominum, et exsultavit spiritus meus in Deo Salvatore meo" - My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior (Luke 1:45)

In Omnibus Ipse Primatum Tenens “That in all things He (Christ) might have the preeminence.” (Colossians 1:16-18)


"Qui bene cantat bis orat." - He who sings well, prays twice - (St Augustine)

"Nos fecisti ad te et inquietum est cor nostrum donec requiescat in te." -
Thou hast made us for Thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee. (St Augustine)

"Caelitus mihi vires
." - My strength is from heaven.

"Ubi caritas et amor Deus ibi est." - Where there is charity and love, God is there.

"Nisi credideritis, non intelligetis ."

Unless you will have believed, you will not understand. - St Augustine

"Deo vindice" - With God as Protector


"Credite amori vera dicenti." - Believe love speaking the truth. (St. Jerome)


De vitiis nostris scalam nobis facimus, si vitia ipsa calcamus." - If we tread our vices under feet, we make them a ladder to rise to higher things. (St. Augustine)

Dei gratia - By the grace of God

Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum. - The Word of the Lord Endures Forever.

"Est autem fides credere quod nondum vides; cuius fidei merces est videre quod credis." - Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe. (St. Augustine)

"Deo iuvante" - with God's help

"Ut In Omnibus Glorificetur Deus." - That God may be glorified in all things

"Pax vobiscum." Peace be with you.

"Jubilate Deo." Be joyful in the Lord.

"Ille vir, haud magna cum re, sed plenus fidei." He is a man, not of ample means, but full of good faith.

"Facit enim mihi magna qui potens est." - For He that is mighty does to me great things.

"Oremus semper pro invicem." - Let us ever pray for each other.

"Distrahit animum librorum multitudo." - Seneca
A multitude of books distracts the mind.

"Nullam est nunc dictum, quod sit non dictum prius." - Terence
There is nothing said now, that has not been said before.

"Nosce te ipsum." - Plato
Know thyself.

"Non mihi, non tibi, sed nobis" - Not for you, not for me, but for us.

"Primum non nocere." - First, do no harm (Hippocrates)

"Est autem fides credere quod nondum vides; cuius fidei merces est videre quod credis." - Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe. (St. Augustine)

"Deo iuvante" - with God's help

"Ut In Omnibus Glorificetur Deus." - That God may be glorified in all things

"Pax vobiscum." Peace be with you.

"Jubilate Deo." Be joyful in the Lord.

"Ille vir, haud magna cum re, sed plenus fidei." He is a man, not of ample means, but full of good faith.

"Facit enim mihi magna qui potens est." - For He that is mighty does to me great things.

"Oremus semper pro invicem." - Let us ever pray for each other.

"Distrahit animum librorum multitudo." - Seneca
A multitude of books distracts the mind.

"Nullam est nunc dictum, quod sit non dictum prius." - Terence
There is nothing said now, that has not been said before.

"Nosce te ipsum." - Plato
Know thyself.

"Non mihi, non tibi, sed nobis" - Not for you, not for me, but for us.

"Primum non nocere." - First, do no harm (Hippocrates)

"Dei plena sunt omnia." - Cicero (All things are full of God.)