After much researching on handwriting curricula for my oldest, I decided to abandon the “curriculum” approach by purchasing the Startwrite handwriting software (I purchased mine at www.EducationMax.com for $29.95). With this software, I can create my own handwriting assignments and print them out for my son to practice.

For the past several days, I’ve been printing out various Bible verses for my son to practice writing. So far he is really enjoying it. The key is making sure he follows the correct strokes and sequences by constantly guiding him. As he gets better, I can be a little bit more hands-off. What I like about this approach is that I can kill two birds with one stone. He is learning Bible verses and learning how to write. I make it a point to discuss the Bible verse before and after he writes. Currently I’m using the verses from Susan Hunt’s My ABC Bible Verses.

Most of the handwriting curricula have the children start on a letter first and then keep on practicing the same letter. For example, most start with the capital A and then have the children write five or more times. After learning all the capital letters then they move on to the lowercase letters. I did a similar approach with my oldest several months back but I quickly noticed that after writing the first two letters, the subsequent letters got worse and worse. The phrase “practice makes perfect” didn’t apply in this case. He also lost interest quickly. After all, it’s the same letter over and over again. With these Bible verses, they are complete sentences that offer both content and variety. He really feels a sense of accomplishment after completing each verse.

Here are some photos we recently had taken of our two little ladies, Emmaline and Calissa. It’s so different having little girls. One can dress them up to be so pretty! Of course, our boys are totally adorable… but anyway, enjoy the photos!

I recently read of the newly released Listen While We Sing recording on the blog of First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, MS. This is a four CD set of 88 great hymns played on piano by Susan Beisner, a classically trained pianist and organist.

The website describes the set as follows:

Intended to be the first of several volumes, Listen While We Sing is an excellent tool for private, family, or corporate worship. Each hymn is played with an introduction and all the verses found in Trinity Hymnal, (GCP, 1990). The insert features a cross-reference to this and several other common hymnals.

When I first read about the CD a week ago, I was very interested. The Trinity Hymnal has become our favorite hymnal, full of rich and beautiful God-glorifying hymnody. Even though my wife plays piano, I can’t exactly take that with me. This seemed like a great opportunity not only to learn new hymns without Lois’ help, but also to have lovely Christ-centered background music while I’m working and around the house.

As soon as I got the set, I copied the music into MP3 format on my laptop and got a-listenin’! And I haven’t been disappointed, listening to it nearly non-stop during the day and also at home. All of the pieces are tastefully done: neither dry and monotonous, nor overly ostentatious (sample audio is on the website). Beisner does a great job building complexity and variety in each subsequent stanza of each hymn, yet retaining a reflective tone throughout where appropriate. It’s clear both from her biography and liner notes that she as much loves these hymns for their content as she enjoys playing them.

I’m already familiar with about half of the hymns in the recording, which is great because as I am at work with my headphones, I find myself reflecting on the lyrics I can recall, or simply humming their tune. And all this without being really distracted from work, which typically happens when I listen to worship music with vocals. An additional bonus for me is that I play these from my computer or CD player and learn hymns without having to hunt-and-peck my way on our piano to figure out the tune. When I hear an unfamiliar tune, I take a glance at the song name on my computer and make a mental note. In the future, I plan to pick new hymns from the recording and learning the words from my hymnal. I expect the learning curve will be simpler for having heard the tunes over and over, especially since my sight-reading skills are not what they could be.

I’d encourage anyone who is a lover of classic hymnody to pick up a copy of this CD set. And with it, the Trinity Hymnal, if you don’t already have one; for either family, individual, or corporate singing and devotion.

Several months ago I learned a new way of cooking pasta. I tried the new method and it worked like a charm. I am so excited about it that I have share it. To cook your spaghetti noodles, bring a pot of water to a rolling boil.  Add the noodles. Turn off the heat (Yes, turn off the heat!). Cover the pot and let the noodles soak for 20 minutes. The noodles should be “al dente.” What I love about this new method is that you don’t need to keep the stove on the entire time which helps you save on some energy bill. Try it!

This is a continuation of a review of the book Why Gender Matters. To see part one, click here.

In the first part of this review, I mentioned that there were a number of points made in the first half of the book from a scientific viewpoint relating to innate differences between boys and girls. Here are some that especially intrigued me.

Hearing

Girls can hear ten times softer than boys as found in studies on newborns and teenagers. Girls’ hearing was substantially more sensitive than the boys’ in the 1,000 to 4,000 Hz range, which is the range that is important for speech discrimination. The implication of this finding is that we need to adjust our volume when we talk to boys and girls. A girl might interpret a normal tone as yelling whereas a boy might think it’s just fine. Females in general are more distracted by surrounding noise than the boys.

Visual Preference

In a study of 102 newborn babies, a baby was given a choice to look at a live young woman’s face or a dangled mobile. Researchers found that girls were more likely to look at the face whereas the boys were more likely to look at the mobile. Such difference was found in the anatomy of the eye where girls have more P cells and the boys have more M cells. P cells are responsible for seeing texture and color whereas M cells are responsible for movement and direction. This explains why girls in general like richly textured dolls and boys prefer moving trucks. Sax explains that “girls draw nouns, boys draw verbs” meaning that when it comes to drawing, girls tend to draw things or people like a family or a place with many different colors. Boys tend to draw action such as a rocket blasting off. Girls also tend to use more colors, mostly warm colors (red, green, and brown) whereas boys tend to use fewer colors, mostly cold colors (black, grey, blue).

Feelings

The amygdala, located deep down in the brain, is responsible for emotional activity. Emotional responses are then processed in the cerebral cortex which is located in front of the brain. In girls, connections are well established between the amygdala and the cerebral cortex. Consequently, it is easier for girls to verbalize how they feel. In boys, the connection between these two structures are fewer and most of the emotion remain in the amygdala. This explains why it is difficult for boys to explain how they feel. They simply don’t understand what it means. Writing assignments that require students to express how they feel about a certain subject work well with girls, but not with boys.

Risk Taking

In general, boys are more likely to take risks or live dangerously than girls. When boys engage in a risky activity, his sympathetic nervous system (“fight or flight” response) is activicated. This response gives a tingle, a charge, an excitement that many boys find irresistible (p. 42). Girls on the other hand respond to stress in a different way. Instead of activation of the sympathetic nervous system, the parasympathetic nervous system is activated which “causes an unpleasant, nauseated feeling rather than the “thrill” of the sympathetic nervous system.” (p. 69)

The above were some highlights of scientific the differences between girls and boys. The second half of the book focused more on cultural differences. I found the chapter on sex very disturbing as the content is rather graphic when discussing the “hook up” culture and how teenagers are engaging in casual sexual activities without a blink. I would recommend skipping this chapter, as it lends little help in truly understanding the differences between boys and girls; especially as a mother of young children.

My final thought on this book is that even though there are scientific differences between girls and boys, we should not merely look at our children based solely on these differences. In other words, do not merely say, “Well, my boy is acting this way because it has been proven scientifically that he is predisposed to such behavior since his brain is wired in a certain way.” Let’s be reminded that just because science can document differences, it cannot, in the end, truly explain them — much less help our children realize their potential as creations of God. The Lord has made us, and we are the work of His hands. It is to him we must finally go for wisdom and understanding and help in raising boys and girls for His glory.

One of my bad habits is reading too many books at the same time and never finishing any one. Does anyone else have this problem? I’m happy to say that I finished reading Leonard Sax’s book Why Gender Matters in several days.

My reason for reading this book is that I have a boy who is “100% boy” (or “300% boy” as a friend told me) and I want to acquire more information so as to better teach and serve him. Dr. Sax is a physician and a psychologist who is a proponent for single-sex education, i.e. all-girls or all-boys schools. In this book he presents many scientific research to support the fact that there are genetic and biological differences between boys and girls. He argues that these differences are not an invention of the cultural biases as many psychologists and sociologists like to believe. Thus, he offers ideas and suggestions in how to educate, discipline, and interact with both sexes.

I really enjoyed reading the first half of the book as it deals with many scientific findings in regards to how boys and girls’ brains differ. On the other hand, the second half of the book was questionable when he discussed sex, drugs, discipline, and homosexuality. In other words, I began to disagree with his various conclusions and suggestions. I also realized that my Biblical convictions on these subjects were not consistent with his findings. I especially found it difficult to think about such matters in the God-less context in which they are presented.� Nevertheless, this book was still fascinating to read.

I want to go into greater detail about some of the highlights of the book. But I don’t want this post to be too long, so I will leave you all eagerly waiting for part two…

For our math lesson today, I decided to play a card game with Matthew to help him understand the concept of greater than and lesser than. We played a game of “High-Low.” Each player draws a card, and whoever draws a higher card gets to keep the pair. Whoever ends up with the most cards wins!

My son was excited because he likes games. After about ten draws, I realized that he wasn’t very good at it. I was somewhat disappointed that his poor math skills were very apparent. As we played on, I discovered that it wasn’t about his poor math skills, but his competitiveness. He wanted to win so bad that every time he drew a card, he declared his number was greater than mine. It didn’t matter if his card was a one or nine. As long it was his, his was greater. Upon realizing this, I decided to modify the game a little bit. This time I drew both cards, and if he could tell me which card was greater, then he got to keep them. If he got it wrong, then I got to keep the cards. What a revelation! This time around he got most of them right.

I have two thoughts from this little game. The first thought is that homeschooling is very beneficial for the child because one-on-one interaction allows the teacher/parent to better assess the situation. I was able to deduce that the game didn’t reveal Matthew’s poor math skills but his competitiveness. In a classroom setting, it would be difficult to do as there are many children to one teacher. Rarely do children get one-on-one attention in that environment.

Second, I have been reading Leonard Sax’s “Why Gender Matters” (I’m currently writing a book review so stay tuned!) and how we should really understand the difference between the sexes so as to better educate our children. I chuckled when I discovered that the game we played revealed Matthew’s competitive nature, just like the book said. Boys have this innate competitiveness, so rather than going against it, parents/teachers should channel and adapt to it so as to more effectively educate them.