How to PA...

And keep going

     First, we must examine what the Principle Approach is.  You can't proceed with something if you don't know what it is.  A principle is the ground or foundation of a thing.  An approach is a method of addressing a thing.  Simply put, the Scripture tells us to learn line upon line.  You must study the 1st, before you can go on to the second.  In Arithmetic, this seems obvious.  You can't multiply until you've learned to add.  You can't add until you've learned the value of a number.  When we speak of learning according to a 'principle approach' we simply mean that we want to learn first the foundations of a subject, and then move on to the next reasonable step, building upon that foundation, line upon line.

     In addition to this, each family has a vision, given by God, for the direction that they should take in education.  If a people without vision will perish, a home school without vision will flounder upon the seas.  Seeking the Lord for this vision and then writing it down will help keep the ship on course. 

     Second, the 'how to' must be addressed.  This looks different in every household, so I will be calling on some friends to help me give examples.  But there are a couple of things that help to facilitate this approach. 

1.  Teaching by the leading idea.  This simply means that for every lesson you teach, there is one main idea that you want to get across.  For example, in the study of Moses, you may want to start with the idea of Providence.  "God planned for, prepared, protected and provided for Moses."  This may be the entire focus of your reading of Moses for that year.  In the reading process, you simply allow your child to observe from the story how Providence is seen.  Everything else is left for another layer of study.  The following year, you may use the leading idea, "When you choose and action, you choose a consequence."  These are just suggestions, and of course, for older children, you can use a week or a month, or even a day to address one leading idea and then address another one, as you go.  Try not to get hung up on a calendar or clock schedule.  The Holy Spirit teaches us as we are teachable, not from 8:00 to 9:00.     

2.  The 4R's of learning.  Research, Reason, Relate and Record.  Using the leading idea, this process allows your student to labor over the subject matter.  You can use a number of methods to accomplish this, but the underlying idea is to have them learn to learn by this process. 

     An example of this process from our home is:

Leading Idea:  God demonstrates 'work ethic' in His acts of Creation.  This can be presented as a question:  "How does God work in Creation?"

Age level:  Preschool and up

Research:  Read Genesis 1.  Define unfamiliar terms, such as work, create, spoke/speak.  Cross reference with related verses (optional)

Reason:  Let your children observe and write their observations regarding the passage.

Relate:  During the observations, encourage your children to reflect on their own actions and examine whether they imitate God's, or how they can plan to imitate Him in the future.

Record:  Part of this has already been done, if they have written their observations.  The last part is for them to write a conclusion of what they have learned, and perhaps illustrate it.  This recording is to be kept in their notebook.  Later, they can go back to these recordings and remember what they have learned.  This is what God told the Israelites to do when they set up memorial stones.  We need a visual of what God has done in our lives, or we tend to forget.

     Another example from our house:

Learning the 7 Principles of America's Christian Heritage...

Leading Idea:  There is one God, working and governing in and through individuals.

Research:  Use T&L and begin with Individuality.  Define terms.  Use the concordance to set up a solid biblical base for the principle.  Follow the lesson assignments listed in the book, but (here's the key) only do the 1st assignment.  Complete the 4R process for this ONE assignment and then move on to the 2nd Principle, Self-Government.  Do this until you have studied the 1st assignment for all 7, and then go back and begin again with the 2nd assignments.

Reason:  For younger children, it stands to reason from this lesson on individuality that they are unique and special in God's sight, created in His image for the glory of the Lord.  For older children, it is beneficial to observe in society how individuality is encouraged or discouraged.  You can also benefit from contrasting God's idea of Individuality with collectivism, beginning, perhaps, with the Tower of Babel, and ending with Revelation (collective economy, collective religion and collective government).

Relate:  A good foundational study here could include a study of love languages, of personality types, and of spiritual gifts.  The student begins to develop a solid view of who he is and how God works in his own life, from internal to external.

Record:  This record may become valuable as children enter their teen years and they begin to grapple with the issues of growing up.

     These lessons can be done in short time frames, depending on your child's ability to concentrate.  They can take as long as you need, as well, day after day, until you've covered only the 1st lesson and can move on to Principle #2.  Using these topics at the dinner table is also a good idea, so that they can express what they are learning and hear from their dads on the subject.