Speaking & Vocabulary among other things.

If you don't receive Above Rubies magazine, go to www.aboverubies.org and sign up for the emails and magazine now.  It's been a real blessing to me.

In the February 2010 issue, Nancy Campbell gave her usual update concerning her family.  What really caught my eye, was a birthday tradition they do and one of their family's homeschooling activities.

First, "At each birthday, everyone gives a speech to the birthday person.  We say all the good things we feel about them, affirming them in their character qualities and blessing them...Over the years, we have noticed that these birthday person, but they have the added advantage of teaching the children to learn to give speeches.  This is preparation for learning how to "speak in the gates."  In my Above Rubies #77 editorial, I wrote about how God wants us to prepare our children to be able to speak and contend for the truth in the governing places of the city and nation.  It is in "the gates" that laws are made to affect the nation."

Second, continuing the thought, "It doesn't happen by chance.  We must prepare and train them, not only in godly convictions, but how to communicate these convictions.  Because I want our children to understand the roots of our founding fathers and our great Constitution, I decided to have a class to discuss these issues.  Each morning, Mercy [one of her daughters] six of the grandchildren, from 11-17 years come together.  Currently, I read to them from Liberty and Tyranny, A Conservative Manifesto by Mark Levin.  We rarely get through a chapter each day.  Instead, I read about 12 pages and we discuss the issues together.  I also choose new words from the chapter for them to learn  I give each a page a day with seven to ten words and their meanings plus a few quotes from what we have read.  They have to choose one of the words to write a sentence which they bring the next morning to read aloud.  Yesterday, Meadow won the prize for incorporating four new words into one sentence!  Wow!  Not to be beaten, Zadok included five of the words in one sentence today!"