The Home School Jedi has been working on his persuasive techniques in anticipation for his editorial assignment. This week, he learned how to avoid propaganda techniques. Here are some of the topics we avoided as he wrote his piece about seeing a show at our local theatre.
Bandwagon - Everyone's going to the theatre
Flattery - Only smart people, like you, appreciate theatre and the arts
Glittering Generalities - Fulfill the American dream and see a live show
Name-calling - Don't drive all the way to NYC to see an overpriced, overhyped musical
Promises - Want to be the coolest kid in town? People will look up to you for seeing a live show
Testimonials - Tim Tebow likes the theatre
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
There's Always Drama in My Town!
Better Than Broadway
Have you ever seen a show at the Springer
Opera House, the State Theatre of Georgia? Every year, the Springer hosts a
season of musicals and dramas. Both
genres are filled with exceptional shows and extraordinary actors from
Columbus.
Another reason you should see a show at the Springer is because they are always entertaining. Ron Anderson, director of the Springer Children’s Theatre and Academy, is an extremely funny person. He has an ability to make anybody laugh. The shows at the Springer Children’s Theatre are sometimes based on books. Mr. Ron has adapted many books into plays for the stage. Two of my favorite works by Mr. Ron are Little-Baby-Snoogle-Fleejer based on the book by Jimmy Carter and Oliviatown by Allen Levi. The show that is currently on stage, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, is based on the novel by Judy Blume.
The shows at the Springer Opera
House are educational as they teach a lesson in every show. Last season’s show show, Amazing Grace, taught listeners not to judge people on the outside
or by their skin color. Damn Yankees taught the audience to be
content with who you are and what you have.
The State Theatre of Georgia is a historic landmark. Columbus should be proud to have a theatre rich with history, filled with abundant talent, and packed with entertainment. If you’ve never seen a show at the Springer, call Becky, my friend at the box office, today! You will be glad you did!
Monday, September 3, 2012
Reflections on Month #1
It has been 4 weeks since I began home schooling and I though I'd post some honest reflections about it...
Surprisingly, I am really enjoying it! I like being the one who decides what my son will learn and protecting the influences in his life. He and I have always been close, but I feel like we've grown closer this month as we've figured out this home schooling thing together.
In the beginning, I didn't give him enough work to do. I didn't think I was setting the bar low, seeing as I was moving much more quickly than he ever had in school. However, what I realized is that he honestly wanted to learn. The passion, desire, and hunger for knowledge, wisdom, and understanding that is deeply rooted in me is at his core as well. Perhaps I underestimated the young Jedi...perhaps I underestimate more people than I realize?
When God looks at us He sees His creation and He knows our potential because He gifted each one of us specifically for His purpose. My Pastor says that when God looks at us He sees a perfect 10 because He see's us through the filter of His Son, Jesus. I think I've underestimated myself.
I didn't think I could do this, any of this:
Home school, get a Masters, heck - even be a good parent. These were all things I'm genuinely surprised that I am able to do, but God isn't surprised one bit.
I journal everyday. Every single day. I cannot live without writing and I don't know why because it's only a recent discovery. Honestly, my journal is a sloppy mess and it's certainly not in the American Psychological Associate (APA) format and it's safe sitting beside my bed because it's entirely indecipherable. One of the reasons I like to journal is so I can see where I've been and how God has answered not only my prayers, but has blessed me beyond what I even knew was possible months or years after I cried out to Him.
As it hit me today that this was the one-month mark of home schooling, I flipped back to read what I wrote in my journal as I was preparing to start being a teacher. I'll admit, it wasn't pretty. That week I had two papers to write for my own school too. I'll share an excerpt with you...I was praying through Proverbs 2:
"Please Lord God, I turn my ear towards wisdom and I'm applying my heart to understanding, but I'm getting burned out. I need you in every single area of my life. I'm calling out for insight, crying out for understanding, looking for it as for silver and searching for it as for hidden treasure. Please, help me to find what I'm looking for - a greater knowledge and understanding of you Lord Jesus."
I remember clinging to the Lord that week knowing that I could not do this alone. Here I am a month later and I cannot say He's opened my eyes to vast wisdom and understanding, but I have experienced a peace that transcends all understanding (Phil 4:7). I don't feel any smarter or better equipped, but I've made it a month. I didn't make it by the skin of my teeth, hanging by a thread, or by any other cliche. I can almost say I've thrived.
God didn't underestimate me when He called me to all of this.
If He didn't underestimate His child, why would I underestimate mine?
Watch out young Jedi, God has high hopes for both of us!
Surprisingly, I am really enjoying it! I like being the one who decides what my son will learn and protecting the influences in his life. He and I have always been close, but I feel like we've grown closer this month as we've figured out this home schooling thing together.
In the beginning, I didn't give him enough work to do. I didn't think I was setting the bar low, seeing as I was moving much more quickly than he ever had in school. However, what I realized is that he honestly wanted to learn. The passion, desire, and hunger for knowledge, wisdom, and understanding that is deeply rooted in me is at his core as well. Perhaps I underestimated the young Jedi...perhaps I underestimate more people than I realize?
When God looks at us He sees His creation and He knows our potential because He gifted each one of us specifically for His purpose. My Pastor says that when God looks at us He sees a perfect 10 because He see's us through the filter of His Son, Jesus. I think I've underestimated myself.
I didn't think I could do this, any of this:
Home school, get a Masters, heck - even be a good parent. These were all things I'm genuinely surprised that I am able to do, but God isn't surprised one bit.
I journal everyday. Every single day. I cannot live without writing and I don't know why because it's only a recent discovery. Honestly, my journal is a sloppy mess and it's certainly not in the American Psychological Associate (APA) format and it's safe sitting beside my bed because it's entirely indecipherable. One of the reasons I like to journal is so I can see where I've been and how God has answered not only my prayers, but has blessed me beyond what I even knew was possible months or years after I cried out to Him.
As it hit me today that this was the one-month mark of home schooling, I flipped back to read what I wrote in my journal as I was preparing to start being a teacher. I'll admit, it wasn't pretty. That week I had two papers to write for my own school too. I'll share an excerpt with you...I was praying through Proverbs 2:
"Please Lord God, I turn my ear towards wisdom and I'm applying my heart to understanding, but I'm getting burned out. I need you in every single area of my life. I'm calling out for insight, crying out for understanding, looking for it as for silver and searching for it as for hidden treasure. Please, help me to find what I'm looking for - a greater knowledge and understanding of you Lord Jesus."
I remember clinging to the Lord that week knowing that I could not do this alone. Here I am a month later and I cannot say He's opened my eyes to vast wisdom and understanding, but I have experienced a peace that transcends all understanding (Phil 4:7). I don't feel any smarter or better equipped, but I've made it a month. I didn't make it by the skin of my teeth, hanging by a thread, or by any other cliche. I can almost say I've thrived.
God didn't underestimate me when He called me to all of this.
If He didn't underestimate His child, why would I underestimate mine?
Watch out young Jedi, God has high hopes for both of us!
Cleaning with Ketchup
The Jedi had been reading his assignments for his upcoming science lab at the local University and in the text he found a little science project. Since we had all of the materials, we decided to give it a try.
The experiment...
The experiment: Will ketchup clean a penny?
The hypothesis? The acids found in the ketchup will clean the penny and make it shine like new.
The results?
Well, let's just say I won't be filling my bleaching trays with ketchup anytime soon!
The Jedi's hands actually absorbed the ketchup. As you can imagine, he smelled like ketchup for at least two hours despite frequent hand washing. All I can say is, "Yes, I would like fries with that."
Ta Da!!! Not all that impressive really. You can't tell from the picture, but it's a teeny tiny bit cleaner, really, it is.
When attempting to determine WHY (pray tell) the ketchup didn't do that well cleaning, these ideas came to mind:
Ketchup is a very mild acid so maybe it needed to soak overnight? (We rubbed it for 15 minutes)
Maybe it was our type of ketchup. Perhaps the absence of High Fructose Corn Syrup made a difference...after all, they use acid to make HFCS.
Maybe we had a really dirty penny?
Maybe it wasn't dirt on the penny?
The Jedi wanted to explore this further by trying hot sauce, but after the affects on his hands from the ketchup, I said no way!
The experiment...
The experiment: Will ketchup clean a penny?
The hypothesis? The acids found in the ketchup will clean the penny and make it shine like new.
The results?
Well, let's just say I won't be filling my bleaching trays with ketchup anytime soon!
The Jedi's hands actually absorbed the ketchup. As you can imagine, he smelled like ketchup for at least two hours despite frequent hand washing. All I can say is, "Yes, I would like fries with that."
Ta Da!!! Not all that impressive really. You can't tell from the picture, but it's a teeny tiny bit cleaner, really, it is. When attempting to determine WHY (pray tell) the ketchup didn't do that well cleaning, these ideas came to mind:
Ketchup is a very mild acid so maybe it needed to soak overnight? (We rubbed it for 15 minutes)
Maybe it was our type of ketchup. Perhaps the absence of High Fructose Corn Syrup made a difference...after all, they use acid to make HFCS.
Maybe we had a really dirty penny?
Maybe it wasn't dirt on the penny?
The Jedi wanted to explore this further by trying hot sauce, but after the affects on his hands from the ketchup, I said no way!
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