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jayfromcleveland

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Everything posted by jayfromcleveland

  1. You're welcome Cynthia, and thank you. Mama Lynx, I don't think people who know me in person, especially Christians, think I'm "too Christian." But after studying classic sources for 20 years, I'm convinced that Christianity has been a major influence in western culture over the last 2000 years. This is reflected in the literary quotes in S&S, which include Bible verses, quotes from the Church Fathers, moderns like Leonardo and Shakespeare, and ancient pagans like Virgil and Cicero. I'd like to hope that I tried to take an intellectually honest approach in creating S&S, unlike many mainstream secular writers today who would like sweep the historical influence of Christianity under the rug. Anyway, send me an email if you have any questions or concerns and I will give you straight answers.
  2. Hi Jean, yeah, I love those times also. A while back I was set up for some high school students (who appeared drunk or stoned). They INSISTED that Saturn was really a slide and not an actual image. So without touching anything, I stood in front of the telescope tube and blocked the image. I asked them to look around and point out the projection equipment and power supply or whatever. They remained unconvinced, and insisted that it was some sort of trick. "There are none so blind" and all that. This proves to me how much work we have to do to cure the public of all this media-induced "big ball astronomy," where everyone learns about black holes but are unaware that you can see the classical planets every clear night. take care, jay
  3. Hi Cynthia, I happened to be surfing through WTM and saw this thread. I'm assuming that was your order yesterday, which will be shipped today. Not sure who said that S&S was not a high school level course. The information in the course is uncommon today, though it was common down through history. I'm trying to "repair the ruins" with S&S and would consider it highly unlikely that a younger elementary student would be able to tackle the subject matter. Besides, there is plenty of measurement to be done in the field activities, and my 15yo son has complained that he thought it was too much work. I hope you'll be pleased! S&S was written especially for people like you, adults want to understand what's going on in the sky above. I originally intended S&S as a popular book for casual adult readers. Couldnt get it published after 10 years of banging on publisher's doors and many people persuaded me to self-publish as a homeschool curriculum. But I still hope the parents would learn also, and have heard from many who have. As far as supplementing, the plan is to record 120 hours for a Carnegie unit, which can include reading the curriculum, recording observations, and other extracurriculars, such as visiting a planetarium or astronomy club. One thing -- Jean might disagree, but I always discourage people from running out and buying a telescope. Scopes are expensive and not useful unless you know your way around the constellations and can find celestial objects. Too many people run out and buy a scope without learning the sky, and then can only find the Moon. Also, I'm personally not very interested in galaxies and nebulae, which appear as little semi-visible fuzzy patches, rather than Hubble photos. Most people (like me) are underwhelmed at the sight. So visit your astronomy club, learn the sky and learn about scopes, and decide if you care enough to invest in a scope. Also, feel free to drop me a line anytime, I'm always happy to help curriculum customers and anyone with an astronomy question. God bless, jay
  4. FWIW, my program (link below) is a Christian program with 40 pages of field activities, mostly outdoor sky observation (which is where astronomy takes place). It's recommended for 13+ but many moms have used it with students as young as 5. It's heavily illustrated and the pix do most of the teaching.
  5. Hi Dawn, nope, hadnt heard about the Galileoscopes. The price sure is right anyway. I would think that such a cheap scope would have sub-optimal optics and would not give a satisfying view. Also, my constant advice on scopes is -- dont bother until and unless you are proficient enough with the constellations that you can find the planets. Otherwise you look at the Moon a few times and when that gets to be a bore, the scope disappears into the closet til your next yard sale. -j
  6. Thanks ladies for your replies. Please post back if you see this. We have clouds and rain here (as usual!) :(
  7. The waxing crescent Moon will pass very close to Venus on the evening of Friday, Feburary 27 -- separated by only three lunar diameters. This conjunction of the Moon and Venus will favor the longitudes of North and South America. This is your best chance for 2009 to see a lunar conjunction of Venus. If you have clear skies this Friday, be sure to poke out your head and take a look! (More....) For the full article above, read the latest Classical Astronomy Update: http://www.aweber.com/b/1VoYZ
  8. Moon Passes Venus Tonight! The waxing crescent Moon will pass very close to Venus on the evening of Friday, Feburary 27 -- separated by only three lunar diameters. This conjunction of the Moon and Venus will favor the longitudes of North and South America. This is your best chance for 2009 to see a lunar conjunction of Venus. If you have clear skies this Friday, be sure to poke out your head and take a look! (More....) For the full article above, read the latest Classical Astronomy Update: http://www.aweber.com/b/1VoYZ
  9. When I was a 9yob, I read tons of Superman comic books. I heard all the critiques from my mom and other adults, "they'll rot your brain, you'll go blind" blah blah. What it actually did was give me a life-long love of reading. Once I liked reading comics, it was a short hop to reading "regular" books. I've spent most of my adult life reading the great books of western history (all those WTM, classical education sorts of books). So if your son likes Tintin, maybe you can find him other quality illustrated works. Be careful, there's plenty of garbage out there (e.g., many of the so-called "graphic novels.") I know that most "classical education" types will argue that visual learning is not "classical," but pragmatically, your son seems to need to develop a love of learning. I've worked with a lot of scientists and engineers for over 20 years and almost all are visual learners rather than verbal learners. I've found that most tech types (guys anyway) have notorously poor spelling and handwriting, and usually have great difficulty putting their thoughts into coherent words. It's a left brain/right brain thing. I'd encourage your son to do hands-on science projects. There's all sorts of kits from places like Tobin's Lab. You might want to check out the "Key to Geometry" series where kids learn geometry using hand drawings. Generally, I'd also ecnourage him to draw and develop that skill. FWIW, astronomy is my bag and I emphasize the visual, observational aspects of learning the sky, as opposed to the "armchair" approach used in most other curricula. IMHO, it's much more practical and interesting to learn to observe nature directly rather than just read about it in some book. Praying for your son and his success! -jay
  10. People are increasingly living in their own little virtual worlds. Ironically, they call this "social media," but it does is make people more anti-social than ever.
  11. Zee, my second son is now in 7th grade, and he read and understood the whole thing on his own as an 11yo. I've recommended S&S for ages 13 and up but a bright younger kid could follow it. Check out the sample pages at my site, you'll see that the text is heavily illustrated (2-3 per page) to give visual explanations of the subject matter. (Actually, this project started out as a comic book (i.e., a graphic novel) but languished for years since I didn't have time while raising little kids to hand-draw the whole thing. The breakthrough occurred in 2005 when I learned how to make computer graphics, which significantly sped up production and resulted in a more slick product besides.) One thing -- S&S is not intended as an "armchair" curriculum. The purpose is to get the students out looking at the sky and performing the field activities. It might be fun to read indoors, but would be too quick and easy a course if all a kid did was read the text without doing at least some of the field activities. Be advised however that many of those are directed to older students, especially mature self-starters. Thanks for your interest, if you have any questions, feel free to drop me an email directly through my site (link below). -jay
  12. Thanks again, Jean. You are very kind and a good friend! Yvonne, if you'd like to see a couple other reviews, they are linked to this page: http://www.classicalastronomy.com/Endorsements.asp Thanks everyone, jay
  13. From yesterday's Classical Astronomy Update newsletter.... http://www.classicalastronomy.com/news/anmviewer.asp?a=303&z=12 If you were fortunate enough to catch the big "Smiley Conjunction" of Venus, Jupiter and the Moon on December 1, you'll be happy to know that the Moon will soon be swinging past Venus again on New Years Eve.
  14. The Winter Solstice occurs on December 21, 2008 at 7:04 AM EST. For more information, check out the article from the recent Classical Astronomy Update, a newsletter especially for Christian homeschoolers: http://tinyurl.com/78uovs
  15. As a physics major myself, I had a prof who was an engineering physics major. My understanding is that engineering physics is an approach to pure physics that emphasizes practical, real world applications rather than fuzzy-headed theoretical stuff like particle physics or general relativity or other such "burger flipping" degrees. This is different from the engineering specialties where one concentrates on their own slice of the physics pie (e.g., mechanical, electrical). In my career experience, I've found that many MEs and EEs are brilliant in their specialty but can't think their way out of a paper bag when even a little outside. An engineering physicist should be a capable generalist that can bridge the gap between fields and answer everyone's questions without being an expert in any one area.
  16. Sure, of course. Test taking requires a skill set different than just plain old learning. One must be able to work quickly and not waste time spinning wheels. One must not feel pressured by seeing time slip away. Depending on the nature of the test, one must either have a large set of facts available or be able to solve new types of problems upon inspection (since tests often throw in info not part of the course). Anyway, I always lacked the above skills and therefore stunk at taking tests, which is why I had a lousy college GPA and couldn't make the cut for grad school or law school. Yet all my friends who did make it couldn't understand why a "smart" guy like me was shut out. What's even worse is that standardized tests like the GRE, LSAT, MCAT, etc include sections for reading comp, logical puzzles and other generic skill examinations that have to be done rapidly in order to score high. So today, we have a whole generation of white collar professionals that are very good at working problems like "A sits next to B but never sits next to C so what did D have for dinner last night?" After 30 years of working, I have found that college-style "blowing off studying til the last minute and then cramming for tests" is great preparation for a career in the business world, since this is what everyone really does on the job.
  17. Lisa, are you familiar with Augustine's famous "plunder the Egyptians" remark from about A.D. 400? He said this in connection with why Christians can and should utilize real-world information drawn from pagan science to the glory of God, but it can apply to anything that pertains to anything in the real world that might have first been discovered from a pagan source. This should especially be of interest ti classical homeschoolers. IMHO, this reasoning makes a lot of the silliness of the "pagan police" vanish in a puff of logic: Moreover, if those who are called philosophers, and especially the Platonists, have said aught that is true and in harmony with our faith, we are not only not to shrink from it, but to claim it for our own use from those who have unlawful possession of it. For, as the Egyptians had not only the idols and heavy burdens which the people of Israel hated and fled from, but also vessels and ornaments of gold and silver, and garments, which the same people when going out of Egypt appropriated to themselves, designing them for a better use, not doing this on their own authority, but by the command of God, the Egyptians themselves, in their ignorance, providing them with things which they themselves, were not making a good use of; in the same way all branches of heathen learning have not only false and superstitious fancies and heavy burdens of unnecessary toil, which every one of us, when going out under the leadership of Christ from the fellowship of the heathen, ought to abhor and avoid; but they contain also liberal instruction which is better adapted to the use of the truth, and some most excellent precepts of morality; and some truths in regard even to the worship of the One God are found among them. Now these are, so to speak, their gold and silver, which they did not create themselves, but dug out of the mines of God's providence which are everywhere scattered abroad, and are perversely and unlawfully prostituting to the worship of devils. These, therefore, the Christian, when he separates himself in spirit from the miserable fellowship of these men, ought to take away from them, and to devote to their proper use in preaching the gospel. Their garments, also,--that is, human institutions such as are adapted to that intercourse with men which is indispensable in this life,--we must take and turn to a Christian use. from On Christian Doctrine, Book II, Chapter 40:60
  18. Appended is some info about the upcoming conjunction with Venus, Jupiter and the Moon, from the Classical Astronomy Update newsletter. If you have clear skies this weekend, you owe it to yourself and your family to take a minute in the evening twilight to look (WARNING! CHRISTIAN CONTENT!!!) -j As reported in the previous Update, the brilliant planets Venus and Jupiter have been drawing closer in the evening sky throughout the month of November, 2008. The last week of November is the "main event," as these celestial bodies noticably change their positions with each passing night. As mentioned in previous Updates, Venus and Jupiter are the brightest "stars" in the sky, and actually the brightest celestial objects after the Sun and Moon. Jupiter and Venus come close together every year or so, and the Moon passes each of these every month. However, it is relatively rare to see all three objects so close together, especially in the evening sky. All we need is clear skies and we're all set! If you look up on Thanksgiving evening, Thursday, November 27, you will see Jupiter above and to the left of Venus, at the "11 o'clock" position from the bright evening star. By three days later, on the evening of Sunday, November 30, Venus will have swung under Jupiter, so that the latter planet is now at the "two o'clock" position from Venus. On that evening, the waxing crescent Moon will enter the scene, below and to the right of this bright pair. The last month of 2008 will begin on the evening of Monday, December 1 with the closest approach of Venus and Jupiter, joined by the closest passing of the four-day-old waxing crescent Moon. This will be a unique opportunity to see the LORD's celestial clockwork in action, so be sure to look outside to the southwest in evening twilight after sunset. Pray for clear skies if you live in the Great White North as we do! But if you live in a warm, clear sky location, you really should make it a point to take a couple minutes out of your evening to observe this event. Keep an eye on these objects throughout the first week of December. The Moon will wax away from the evening planets, heading east as it grows thicker in phase. Venus will pass to the left of Jupiter, moving higher in the southwest sky as Jupiter moves lower. To understand this event from a "God's eye view," the Earth is currently swinging around the Sun away from Jupiter, and so this planet is moving behind the Sun as seen from the Earth. Throughout December, Jupiter will inch toward the sunset a little bit each night, finally disappearing into the Sun's bright afterglow. On January 24, 2009, Jupiter will invisibly pass the opposite point from the Earth in its superior conjunction with the Sun. Meanwhile, swift Venus is emerging farther and farther from the sunset and climbing higher and higher in the evening sky. Venus will reach its maximum eastern elongation on January 14, 2009, when its apparent distance from the Sun is greatest. After that, Venus will draw again toward the Sun as it overtakes the Earth in its orbit. For the time being, on Monday, December 1, Jupiter and Venus will "pass each other on the way" as they fall along the same line of sight as seen from the surface of the Earth. Folks, again, this is an excellent opportunity to observe the clockwork of the heavens in action. Make it a point to notice Jupiter and Venus in the next couple weeks as clear skies permit. Tell your friends, family, and neighbors and share this info with your homeschool support group. People are always amazed to see the planets and this is a rare show that you won't want to miss!
  19. Thanks, but after getting a college minor in math, I think I have a glimmer by now of what geometry is about. Rather than bothering with canned curricula, I would recommend that anyone get a copy of Heath's translation of Euclid's Elements from Dover and drink from the source.
  20. My son went straight into Saxon Algebra 2, and I feel this the way to go. IMHO, classical Euclidean geometry should be a math elective. I don't agree that it should obstruct the path to trig and calc, which are algebra based. I'm sure rote memorization of theorems is fine mental discipline, but the traditional approach of formal proofs, etc goes away forever after Geometry, and does not help a student prepare for higher level math classes. From my experience, geometry was a "weed out" class. I bombed out, thus terminating my public high school math sequence. But I made up classes at community college and geometry was not on the path from algebra to calculus and beyond. I got mostly As and Bs in college. In getting my physics degree, we took a few courses in calc-based vector analysis, which essentially comprised everything from Euclidean geometry. So IMHO, geometry is a useless waste of time, but perhaps I'm biased. my two cents, jay
  21. If you actually read any of the Greek and Roman classics, it quickly becomes apparent that subjects were interconnected. This is a key factor of a classical education. For example, Vitruvius wrote on architecure, yet his book spans the entire natural world and is a great ancient source for a variety of subjects, including the quadrivium sciences. So-called "Renaissance Men" like Leonardo were simply practicing a classical education. Take Leonardo's ubiquitous "Vitruvian Man" which simply depicts human proportions in relation to a square and circle, as set forth in Vitruvius' work. It's not meant to connote some futuristic or "new age" ideas, as it is usually shown. If anyone today should be rediscovering this information, it should be classical homeschoolers.
  22. If we called our kids names like Track, Bristol, Piper, Willow and Trig, they probably wouldn't think we were homeschoolers! No offense to anyone for the following, your kids' names are your business. But when we were picking names, we were sick to death of trendy names like Kyle and Brandon and appalled by ugly, unfeminine girl names like Jordan, Taylor and Madison. We were also weary of Christian homeschoolers who couldn't think outside of the box of the same old Joshua, Jeremiah, Sarah and Rachel. We liked traditional names that were common in our generation but mostly unused in the young generation. We also wanted names that had a meaning, as in the Bible, or named after family members. So we went with: David - means "beloved," the man after God's heart. Ironically, there was a popular run on Davids after we made this choice; Richard - means "rich powerful ruler," after my wife's father; Samuel - means "heard of the LORD," after God miraculously protected him from mom's chicken pox in utero. Veronica - means "true image," after the apocryphal legend of Veronica's Veil, after my wife's aunt. Florence - means "flower," after my grandmother. Since most Christians don't use New Testament names, we were going to go with Stephen had Florence been a boy.
  23. I made a full set of chain maille armor a few years back. There are plans somewhere on the internet. I used regular galvanized wire from Home Depot. However, it was very time consuming. My kids had no patience for the work. Some might think it tedious but I found it relaxing.
  24. Hi Kate, thanks, hope you get this, not sure how these new boards work. take care, jay

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