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New Items History & Culture Ancient Egypt Why bother with teaching history from a Christian worldview? Recently at a home school conference a concerned dad asked me a very good question “Why bother with teaching history from a Christian worldview? Is it necessary? Isn’t that getting a little overboard?” All good questions. We all have had doubts as to the importance and relevance of teaching history from a Christian worldview. After all, when we were in the public system learning history they taught us about the Romans, and in Sunday School they taught us about the Romans. But they are not the same Romans. Or are they? Lets take a quick look at just a few of the discoveries we can make when we first study an overview of the Old Testament and then bring in “real history”. Xerxes was a cruel Persian king who fiercely killed large masses of people. When we discover that this tyrant was also Queen Esther’s husband, we get a clearer picture of why she was so afraid to approach her husband and tell him of the plot Haman had against her people – the Jews. When we look at the Egyptians and their gods and what they stand for, and then realize that the plagues that our God sent out against Pharaoh and his fellow Egyptians were aimed at the Egyptian Gods. They worshiped frogs, and so there were an abundance of frogs, they worshipped the sun and the day became dark. Each time He sent another plague, it was to show His power over these ineffective gods. When we study the Romans, we see that when Christ came to earth, it was indeed the fullness of time. We learn that the reason the Romans were not happy with Jesus and the Jews was not that they worshipped a god, but they would worship only the one true God. The Romans worshipped many gods including Caesar, but no one god exclusively. So when the Jews said that they worshipped only one, they excluded Caesar. The Romans were tolerant of anyone who believed what they did, but were not tolerant of anyone who’s beliefs were different from theirs. Sound vaguely familiar? History does repeat itself. History is a fascinating study when you remember that it is His Story. And He has left many exciting facts for us to discover both in Biblical history and secular history. And those Romans? They are both the same. It just took me awhile to realize it. Novels & Such Elementary Novels General Historical Fiction World 1800's 200's - 900's Ancient History Canada Early American History Greece Middle Ages Modern Times Rome US Civil War Vikings World War Reading is such a vital part of our everyday lives. With reading we can use our imaginations and go to far away places, do heroic deeds, and still come home in time for lunch. We can get to know other people better, try on different cultures, learn more about ourselves, our values and our faith, eat delicious foods, fly with the Wright Brothers, and re-discover the telephone with Alexander Graham Bell. Such is the stuff of good books. This is where we want our children to be when they read. Where the imagination is full and challenged and still guided to higher ideals. Children will hunger for good reading if that is what they are accustomed to. They will gravitate to poor writing and the junk foods of literature if that is what they are given to read as a steady diet. The reading list contained in these webpages are examples of good reading that your child can read and that you can share with your child. Sharing reading aloud with another person is a very special experience. We read with our children as a habit every night when they were younger. Many families read aloud to their teens as well as to their younger children. Perhaps the most important part of learning to read is learning to love reading, and this is what happens when you read together. You model reading enjoyment to them. Some of the books we enjoyed most will be found in the lists on the next few web pages. Some of them will be found in the science or social studies (especially history) section. The books over the next few pages are obviously only some of the good reading available. If you are in doubt as to where to begin, grade levels are given only to act as a rough guideline for you and your child. Children, like adults, like to read at various levels during the day. They need some reading that is easy, which helps to build fluency. Reading at their own level helps to build confidence and reading more challenging material helps to build character. A rule of thumb for which book is right for a child is if they have trouble with five or less words on a page, it is probably the right level!