Fall 2016
I remember sitting next to my good friend when the new CC Timeline was revealed. We were both immediately saddened and uncomfortable. What had started with 'Creation' and 'The Fall in the Garden', now said 'Age of Ancient Empires', then moved on to Creation; almost as if Creation was part of a timeline.
That felt and still feels curious. It might seem minor, but Creation is not part of any man-made age. It stands alone as the single great work of God Almighty.
In time I taught my children the new timeline, except my oldest who was in 6th grade when it rolled out. My middle girl had the option of sticking with the old or taking on the new. My youngest learned the new even though he'd memorized the old one.
Now with my youngest in 6th grade I pulled out our cycle 2 materials and have an old Grammar on the Go, a creation of one of our seasoned and respected tutors of many years. It had all the pertinent memory work in it for our campus only and was colorful and small. I'd adjusted the material that had been shifted to accommodate new printings of the costly Foundations guide, all but the Timeline. My son read the old Timeline and immediately said, "This is way more Biblical".
What started as material that unashamedly glorified our God, gradually shifted. Part was for copy-write issues we continually had since Veritas owned the cards we used, but this also coincided with Bible being dropped from the Memory Master requirements. Later Bible left the classroom all together. A component that reinforced Christian teachings at home fell by the wayside, which was disappointing since the only other place that reinforces those teachings is church. There were reasons, there always are, but what we saw as membership in our community also changed.
An opportunity was lost, passed on as a company focused more and more on marketing and agreeing with a broader ideology.
Our Grammar on the Go has a spot for Bible right along with science and Latin, which is also different from the Foundations guide. Bible was critical- essential- to our CC campus. It wasn't a separate and optional topic, it was required for Memory Master and all the kids knew it.
Sometimes things are looked at as good/better/best. That might be the case here. Could there also be the question of Who is on the throne?
I want to raise discerning Christians who aren't gradually moved away from soundness without realizing it. I want them to ask who they are serving in all things, and not start out strong yet gradually shift away from orthodoxy.
My son is learning the old timeline this year. We do CC on our own, so we can do this if we want. He knows the new one and all the dates and such--it is very good and thorough, but instead of worrying about a 15 minute song, we're chanting a little timeline we still know and love and it starts simply with Creation, The Fall in the Garden, Cain and Abel, The Flood, Tower of Babel...and it feels like we're going home.
He's also got this cycle's Bible as part of his required learning, Ephesians 6:1-24. It isn't competing with other Bible programs we're doing at church or here at home. It is coming alongside and showing that Bible matters as part of our core memory work.
In shaping minds for Christ, why should we ever pass on glorifying God?
I remember sitting next to my good friend when the new CC Timeline was revealed. We were both immediately saddened and uncomfortable. What had started with 'Creation' and 'The Fall in the Garden', now said 'Age of Ancient Empires', then moved on to Creation; almost as if Creation was part of a timeline.
That felt and still feels curious. It might seem minor, but Creation is not part of any man-made age. It stands alone as the single great work of God Almighty.
In time I taught my children the new timeline, except my oldest who was in 6th grade when it rolled out. My middle girl had the option of sticking with the old or taking on the new. My youngest learned the new even though he'd memorized the old one.
Now with my youngest in 6th grade I pulled out our cycle 2 materials and have an old Grammar on the Go, a creation of one of our seasoned and respected tutors of many years. It had all the pertinent memory work in it for our campus only and was colorful and small. I'd adjusted the material that had been shifted to accommodate new printings of the costly Foundations guide, all but the Timeline. My son read the old Timeline and immediately said, "This is way more Biblical".
What started as material that unashamedly glorified our God, gradually shifted. Part was for copy-write issues we continually had since Veritas owned the cards we used, but this also coincided with Bible being dropped from the Memory Master requirements. Later Bible left the classroom all together. A component that reinforced Christian teachings at home fell by the wayside, which was disappointing since the only other place that reinforces those teachings is church. There were reasons, there always are, but what we saw as membership in our community also changed.
An opportunity was lost, passed on as a company focused more and more on marketing and agreeing with a broader ideology.
Our Grammar on the Go has a spot for Bible right along with science and Latin, which is also different from the Foundations guide. Bible was critical- essential- to our CC campus. It wasn't a separate and optional topic, it was required for Memory Master and all the kids knew it.
Sometimes things are looked at as good/better/best. That might be the case here. Could there also be the question of Who is on the throne?
I want to raise discerning Christians who aren't gradually moved away from soundness without realizing it. I want them to ask who they are serving in all things, and not start out strong yet gradually shift away from orthodoxy.
My son is learning the old timeline this year. We do CC on our own, so we can do this if we want. He knows the new one and all the dates and such--it is very good and thorough, but instead of worrying about a 15 minute song, we're chanting a little timeline we still know and love and it starts simply with Creation, The Fall in the Garden, Cain and Abel, The Flood, Tower of Babel...and it feels like we're going home.
He's also got this cycle's Bible as part of his required learning, Ephesians 6:1-24. It isn't competing with other Bible programs we're doing at church or here at home. It is coming alongside and showing that Bible matters as part of our core memory work.
In shaping minds for Christ, why should we ever pass on glorifying God?
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