Homeschooling

Homeschooling and the American Founders

By Guest Post on August 24, 2023

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How to Retrieve the Education of the Founding Fathers

“Dad had enough gall to be divided into three parts,” opens one of America’s beloved tales, Cheaper by the Dozen, published in 1948. To the audience of the day, this colorful description would evoke a commonplace pun from the ubiquitously read Julius Caesar’s Gallic Wars, which opens “All Gaul is divided into three parts” (or Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres as the Latin student would have had to translate).

The chances are, neither you nor your children have read Julius Caesar and his famous Gallic Wars. However, your grandparents very likely did, and nearly every educated (certainly college educated) American for hundreds of years before that. What changed, and why does it matter?

What If We Would Build a Schoolhouse?

What If We Would Build a Schoolhouse?

By Guest Post on February 13, 2023

By Lisa Miller, Wife to Marlin, publisher of Plain Values Someone once told us, “If you are looking around hoping for someone to do something…

Giving Little Ones with Special Needs Room to Bloom

Giving Little Ones with Special Needs Room to Bloom

By Guest Post on February 9, 2023

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By Marlin Miller, Publisher of Plain Values

I began our first post with this question and a statement. “What do the Amish, little ones with special needs, two nonprofits, four adoptions, two one-room schoolhouses from the 1800’s and a monthly print magazine have to do with homesteading in 2023? It is the story of our family, and it is a joy to share how the Lord has pieced it together over the last twenty years.” This is the second installment of that story.

Everything we discuss and share inside Plain Values magazine is focused on loving our neighbor. From adopting a child, raising extra tomatoes and peppers, helping that neighbor build a fence or a woodshed… it’s all about living out the two greatest commandments: to love God and love your neighbor.

How Four Adoptions Led to a Magazine

How Four Adoptions Led to a Magazine

By Guest Post on January 24, 2023

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by Marlin, Plain Values

What do the Amish, little ones with special needs, two nonprofits, four adoptions, two one-room schoolhouses from the 1800s, and a monthly print magazine have to do with homesteading in 2023? It is the story of our family, and it is a joy to share how the Lord has pieced it together over the last twenty years. My name is Marlin Miller, and here we go!

The Importance of Fairy Tales for Children

The Importance of Fairy Tales for Children

By Guest Post on June 6, 2022

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by ThinkingWest

For the past year, I’ve been reading stories from classic children’s anthologies (many printed in the 1940s – 1960s era) to my kids before bed. One such collection of stories is from a series called Childcraft, which I find so aptly named since reading good stories is so critical in “crafting” children to be virtuous, imaginative, and courageous. Such stories include those iconic tales of Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm to early 20th century folk legends.

Good stories develop important mechanical aspects of language, memory, and comprehension skills, but this is only one small part of the impact reading a story has on the malleable minds of children. The reading of fairy tales is an underrated force in the development of children and accomplishes so much more than the mere mechanical aspects of reading and listening.

Should you Homeschool?

Should you Homeschool?

By Guest Post on January 31, 2022

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There’s been an explosion in the popularity of homeschooling over the last two years. Here’s why, and how you can get started with homeschooling

by Rachel Wilson

American life has changed a lot in the last two years since COVID-19 quarantines began. Two of the biggest changes are the number of Americans who now work remotely, and the number of families homeschooling. The move toward homeschooling is a response to COVID-19 as well as dissatisfaction with the public school system. In the spring of 2021, The U.S. Census Bureau conducted a survey of American households with school-age children. The survey found that 5.4% were homeschooling. This meant twice as many people were homeschooling compared to before the pandemic. When the survey was repeated just six months later in the fall of 2021, the number of homeschoolers jumped to 11.1%. [1]

Living on Purpose

Living on Purpose

By Guest Post on January 3, 2022

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by Nathan & Kim Lawson

What do we mean by that? It’s simple, really. While the rest of the world lives in fear and chaos, we refuse to participate and have intentionally chosen a different path. We are Christians raising children by leading them in a life that desires closeness with God. We both believe strongly in a lifestyle that exists in a parallel Christian society. We do this by being leaders of homeschool communities, attending church regularly, being in a small group, seeking entrepreneurial opportunities for ourselves and our kids, and sharing the truth about the world around us and the gospel to those in our “Judea”. We also are very open with demonstrating how a Christian family lives in the 21st century with our show – as people who live in the world but are not of it. While the rest of the world flails around in confusion and reactivity, we have adopted the theme: On Purpose. We live our lives with a purpose and for a purpose. We are, “Lawsons On Purpose”.