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Friday, March 13, 2009

Another Great Resource

Do you ever wonder if there is anything else that you should be teaching your child at the moment? I have, so I did some research and found a helpful book. Gail Martin wrote What Every Child Should Know. It is full of advice about devotional life, character skills, manners, safety, girlhood, boyhood, practical life, etc. I found it very helpful because it has reproducible charts that help me to know what I can work on for each age level in my home. Kendra Fletcher over at www.preschoolersandpeace.com recommended it on her recent talk she gave at a homeschooling convention. She is also full of lots of helpful and practical advice.

Friday, March 6, 2009

The Crow nd The Pitcher

I just couldn't resist sharing this Aesop fable with you all. It is found in First Language Lessons for the Well Trained Mind by Jessie Wise.


A large black crow flew over a long stretch of parched land. He grew thirstier and thirstier! At the edge of a village, he spied a large, deep pitcher at the edge of a patio. He flew down for a drink. To his dismay, there was so little water in the bottom of the pitcher that he could not reach it with his beak.
"I'll push the pitcher over and drink what spills," he thought. But the pitcher was too heavy.
"I'll stretch until I can reach the bottom of the pitcher," he said. But his neck was too short.
"I am too tired to try again," he sighed. So he hopped over into the shade of a tree to think about what else could be done.
As he rested in the cool shade, he noticed a number of large pebbles around the edge of the patio. "I know!" he said to himself. "I can pick up these pebbles one at a time and drop them into the pitcher. As they sink to the bottom, the water will rise above them. Maybe I can collect enough pebbles to make the water rise so that I can reach it."
So he collected the pebbles, one by one, and dropped them into the pitcher. Slowly, pebble by pebble, the water rose. And finally the thirsty crow plunged his beak into the water. He drank until he was full. Refreshed, he spread his wings and flew away.

Moral: Many hard things can be accomplished with patience and perseverance.