Husband-clone Daughter

My husband-clone, first daughter sat on my lap with her feet curling around my legs as I played with her wisps of blond curls. "Alpha, beta, gamma, delta epislion, zeta, eta, theta...." She was four and I was consumed with the notion that if I homeschooled her she simply had to speak four languages. Greek, Latin, Spanish and English. Keeping her home, teaching her about God. It had been a calling. I know that God had placed homeschooling on my heart. But I live in the capital of the free world. My husband has a Ph.D. in Biology and Computer Science, not one of my extended family has less than a bachelor's degree and if I was going to homeschool, my daughter had to prove me right. She had have the best education, which I thought must be Classical.

It happens almost every time. I hear from God but do not listen. There were two trees in the garden, the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The second tree is the one of striving. It is the tree where we "go at it on our own". The tree where we grasp, grab and take. We must have it! Now! It is all there in Genesis 2:8. We know what happened when Eve wanted more, when walking with God, hearing from God, conversing with God in perfect unison, in a perfect place, wasn't enough. She grasped for more. She wanted to do it on her own.

The other tree. The one we don't discuss so much in Sunday School, is the one I know that God wants me to sit under. It is the Tree of Life. It is His tree. That is the tree where we hear from Him and we wait. He is our supplier. He has far too much integrity to give us a mission without proper equipment. We drink in His Word. Our roots grow deep soil of the bible, spending time with Him and waiting.

I did not wait on God with husband-clone daughter. I strove, I fought, I loved that little girl and held her close and taught her much but it was learning for the sake of learning. She was the super star of memory work. She did it all! I deserved a homeschool mom pageant sash. It was of no purpose because it was not of God.
God gave me special needs boy next. He broke my heart. Special needs boy could not learn. He screamed all day for years. There would be no pageant sashes awarded to me for special needs boy. There would only be looks of disgust with my apparent lack of parenting, if only they could listen to husband-clone's memory verses, then they'd know I'm a good mom. Oh the stripping God allows. Oh the pain, the horrible pain. The tears and sobs of years of difficulty. Then the great beauty of realizing that I needed to lean on the Tree of Life, to drink it in to raise my hands in praise to the God who is the Tree of Life.

As I sat under the Tree of Life, God gently showed me how wrong I had been. I had been pursuing education. I had been pursuing the world. I was good at it too. Pride. He placed a new type of learning on my heart. I had no name for it, just a yearning. The learning focused on the sweetness of God's Word, praying before choosing each subject, linking biblical truths, linking everything together into a tapestry. Submitting in prayer before decisions. Memorizing because it is profitable for drinking in God's Plan for our children and links that bring us constantly to the Tree of Life.

The new learning, it turns out, wasn't so new after all. I was shocked to hear that others had been given this calling as well. Lots of others. How is it that I hadn't even heard of it! Hebraic. It sounded so not-really-Christian. So old. But it was as if I was blowing dust off of a forgotten trunk, slowly lifting the lid and discovering a great treasure.

Hebraic education places God first. Education is about glorifying Him. It is a process of discovery! Unearthing the gems God has planted in each of us. Hebraic education steers us toward self discovery for the good of others, for the purpose of glorifying God. It promotes quietness of spirit, patience, self control, working hard and diligently. Great intellect is gained by developing a love of learning, a yearning to know, to discover, to find out more about God's creation.
That's when God placed Eden Hope Academy on my heart. A co-op that integrated timeline, Spanish, music, memory work, great science and art all into a God-inspired bundle. Not, God-inserted, God-inspired. God is part of every aspect of Eden Hope. His Word is not scattered about to placate our need to be called Christian. We worship Him. Teach the children to link events in history to what God says in the Bible, to think about how He orchestrates every event, every moment.

Special needs son thrives with Hebraic learning. He loves to learn about the bible, he integrates his thoughts about David into his own sheep. We discovered that he is a great farmer. He cannot read, or write but he can help a goat through a difficult birth and even perform successful surgeries! He thrives. He absolutely loves Eden Hope days. Strumming the ukulele builds his confidence in music, it also stimulates his gut and builds mirror neurons,-- basically occupational therapy! He sings the Spanish songs and will shout out a Spanish word he overhears at the grocery store. He thrives at Eden Hope.

Husband-clone daughter is almost fifteen. Hebraic teaching emphasizes learning life-skills. She wanted a pink I-phone. I thought it was ridiculous. But she rarely asks for anything. So, I bought her one on Craigslist. My stipulation, she had to start a business to earn it. She and her best friend, and her friend's brother, are building an Asset Forfeiture App for law enforcement. Eden Hope Academy Asset Forfeiture -- a bit of a mixed metaphore but it has a ring to it! They have schedule meetings with police, created a detailed VIN diagram, read copious books on evidence collection and App development and are planning their first trade show. They are well on their way to App success! Beyond Spanish, Advanced Anatomy, Algebra and Western Literature, all God-centered, she is learning the fundamentals of business.

Hebraic learning is Christian learning. It is pointing, linking, discovering, memorizing, learning, mentoring, shepherding children to Christ. Eden Hope Academy is still young. God continues to pour His vision into it. Our symbol is the Tree of Life. It is to remind us every day to listen to God, to give Him our days and to follow Him.

Classical vs. Hebraic Homeschooling

As you journey into homeschooling, you'll probably hear about Classical education.  Classical is the predominant homeschooling technique.  Many groups add Christian to Classical.  Its roots originated in the 300's BC with Greek philosophers.  The men in Plato, Aristotle and Socrates' era were trying to build quality servants of the state.  Men who would understand the foundations of government/business... and serve well.  The Grammar stage, little guys until age 12, is where children are only capable of memorization.  They are given memory verses, facts, songs and more, all to help them memorize.  Classical educators believe that making links, developing thoughts, etc. is not possible or at least should not be encouraged until the child is filled with facts.  Memory for the sake of intelligence and empowerment for success.  At age 12, the child is encourage to start using the memory work he has learned.  Dialectic classes are geared toward discussion and connection.  Rhetoric classes, high school level, are geared toward encourage maturity and growth and finally the student teaching and commanding the work.

"Stick in the sand" is a common Classical phrase.  The thought is that young children do not need to explore, discover, find... they simply need a stick, sand, and a teacher telling them what to memorize.  Latin is the predominant language in Classical co-ops or schools.  Classical co-ops are great for children who can sit still and memorize.  Many add in a little Christianity and some add science activities and art.

In Genesis, God formed Adam and breathed His Spirit into him.  After, God commanded Adam to go out and take dominion over the animals and land and name the animals.  This is so significant.  God, the Creator of the Universe, gave Adam naming rights.  God then walked with Adam in the cool of the day.  I wonder what they discussed.  Did they laugh at the length of the giraffe's neck?  Did God gently redirect Adam when he made incorrect assumptions?  Roughly 4000 years before the advent of Classical education, God was allowing Adam to explore, make connections and discover.  God built a relationship with Adam and he encouraged Adam to seek Him.

Hebraic education is about seeking God first.  Education is to discover God's universe, His plan for our lives, to edify others, and bring us closer to Him.  Children at Eden Hope explore, discover, experience, and touch.  We have memory work, but it is never random.  Each week's history sentence is connected to the timeline, geography, science and most importantly the bible.  For example, when we study the Fall of Rome, we make cement, a Roman discovery, in science and discover reinforced concrete, we memorize the causes of the Fall, such as the rapid decline of morality, taxes, military expansion... and relate it to Jeremiah 44.  Little ones' moms read them the passage and they draw out what they have heard.  Their drawing, or recreation, cements (pardon the pun) the information in their minds.  Our LINKitTOme! section is a lesson that relates the history, bible, science and geography to today.  In LINKitTOme for this page, we relate Jeremiah 44 to latter day Romans.  The people sneered and screamed at Jeremiah that while they gave offerings to the Goddess of Earth their lives were well.  Jeremiah responded that God's patience had finally ended and He would restore the people after cleansing the land.  The bible states that God prunes those whom He loves, he chastens those who are His.  When we are pruned by God, when those difficult times bring us grief or hardship, we should thank God for his hand of correction and redirection.

Eden Hope is about building relationships.  We honor the bible by finding passages that relate to our work.  Our goal is to make God and the bible the go-to place for our children for the rest of their lives.  Hebraic education is about learning God's plan for our children's lives. We believe that this life is our training ground for our new life after death.

Eden Hope's history cards are my children's "reward" activity!  Pearl tapioca can be painted grey for stones, blue for bubbles or left white for snow.  I know this because one of our students creates his history cards using so many creative mediums.  Students recreate the history by drawing, making pop-ups, sculpting or using their mom's tapioca on the font of the card.  On the back, students link the history.  This is always a small trial for our little ones at first.  By the end of the first month they are shouting out connections as you drive, as you shop... It is so much fun!  For example, we studied King Herod the Great this year.  We linked him to his on King Herod Antipas, who was linked to John the Baptist.  King Herod the Great built Masada, so we linked him there and then turned to card 70 where we discuss the siege of Masada.  The children are thrilled when they finally get to Masada and see a little picture or the name King Herod.  Little guys use lots of mommy's help, but if you look at the pics on the blog you'll see how much fun even three-year-olds love presenting their cards.

Eden Hope's History CD is a great way to memorize history in order.  It is a funny, catchy song that engages the children and moms can't get out of their mind at 3am.

We learn Spanish because it is a beautiful, practical language.

Strumming the ukulele builds mirror neurons and is an excellent crossing-the-midline activity.  Ukuleles are also a small, fun instruments that are a wonderful precursor for playing all stringed instruments.