Tapestry
of Grace
An integrated, classical approach to educating your children.
Our thoughts on:
Who
really IS the best teacher for my kids?
How
do I teach all my kids at once?
Teacher Development
Jesus said, "Count the cost."
We don't want anyone to use Tapestry and then get frustrated because it takes too much work or costs more than they expected. Tapestry is intended to be efficient and inexpensive, as compared with a lot of other homeschool programs, but homeschooling is always costly and time consuming.
In Deuteronomy 11:16-21, Moses reminded those who had long walked in the wilderness, but who were on the edge of entering the Promised Land:
"Be careful, or you will be
enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them. Then the
Lord's anger will burn against you, and he will shut the heavens so that
it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce, and you will soon
perish from the good land the Lord is giving you. Fix these words of mine
in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them
on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them
when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down
and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and
on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may
be many in the land that the Lord swore to give your forefathers, as many
as the days that the heavens are above the earth."
We believe that homeschooling is primarily about making disciples who will follow Jesus on
the Earth, until such time as they go to live with Him face to face, for
eternity.
We know that "A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher." (Luke 6:40) We have come to believe that there are two ways that we should seek to excel as homeschooling parents:
- We should be growing in our knowledge of the LORD. We need to imbibe the Word of God and be in His presence daily. We need to be constant students of God's Word, having it always ready, fixing these words of God in our hearts and minds; tying them as symbols on our hands and bind them on our foreheads. We need to feed our passion for Christ before we can hope to pass it on to our children. Our goal should be to provide an authentic (not perfect) picture of a growing Christian who is humble and dependent on God's grace alone for success.
- We need to work
hard at our jobs. We need to teach our children all day, and
(at times) into the night. As Deuteronomy above says, we need to teach when we
rise up and when we lie down, when we sit at home, and when we walk in the
road. We also need to be seeking to improve our understanding
by ongoing learning, so that we are ever-more-competent teachers, even as
we ask our children to be ever-more-interested learners. If we want our
children to be life-long learners, they need to see their teachers being
life-long learners.
Homeschooling is not really about academics in the final analysis. The best curriculum is the one that build's a child's capacity to love!
Remember 1 Corinthians 8:1-3
... Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. But the man who loves God is known by God.
James 4:6
"But he gives us more
grace. That is why Scripture says:
'God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble.' "
Perhaps the straightest path to successful home schooling is NOT through a curriculum at all!
Perhaps it's through you growing in God, loving Him and changing sin habits in your life, so that your ways are so attractive that your children desire to be just like you (and Him!). Below are our favorite resources for personal growth and development. Be warned: it's easy to get hooked!
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Developing YOUR Christian worldview
BEFORE we choose any curriculum, or any books, to be successful in home schooling, we need to heed Proverbs 4:23: "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."
These books are linked to Amazon.com for your shopping convenience. Please follow the instructions below if you are ready to shop for life-changing books, and would like to benefit Tapestry of Grace.
| Practical Theology | EVERYTHING by Jerry Bridges. Again, my first pick for the newbie would be Trusting God. Please take time to read the reviews and you'll begin to see the power of this life-changing book. Ideally, one would read it before beginning any Tapestry Year-Plan because it so well expresses of the rational for looking for the Hand of God in human history. |
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| Also life-changing for me was Jerry's Discipline of Grace. It's counterintuitive that discipline and grace should go together, but a Jerry so simply, yet masterfully demonstrates from the scriptures, to divorce the two is to be weakened in our faith and practice. This book is a yearly "must read again" book. |
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| Advanced Practical Theology | Anything by John Piper. I'd recommend you start (if you've never encountered him before) with The Pleasures of God. It is almost better to be introduced to him by tape, and once you have, and have fallen in love with his message, ALL his sermons are FREE, online! Click here for tapes or sermons. |
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| For all those times your child asks a difficult theological question, get and have on hand Bible Doctrine by Wayne A. Grudem, edited by Jeff Purswell. This is the abridged version of Grudem's Systematic Theology, which is more complete, but heavier sledding. (Jeff Purswell is a member of our church: a learned, godly, and thoughtful man! He is dean of the Pastor's College for PDI, and studied under Grudem in Theological Seminary.) Use this book as a complete course in systematic theology for an unforgettable year with Rhetoric-level students! |
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| Protestant/ Catholic Differences | For Protestant and Catholics who would like clarity on why these two streams of the church are divided, I can strongly recommend Roman Catholicism : Evangelical Protestants Analyze What Divides and Unites Us by Alister E. McGrath (Editor), John H. Armstrong (Editor). This is also listed below, in the summer after Year 1, but it would best be begun in the Spring of Year 1, when beginning a study of the early Church. |
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| Conflict Resolution | Do you struggle with anger? Is sibling rivalry rampant around your house? My favorite resource on conflict resolution comes from Peacemaker Minstries. For adults, it's a book by Ken Sande called Peacemaking for Families. For children, it's The Young Peacemaker (link is picture, right). These books have taught us how to see each conflict as an opportunity to glorify God. |
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| Do you have "hurt feelings" over something someone said or did? This article is SO HELPFUL in gaining a biblical understanding of criticism from a Cross-centered perspective! Link is to the Peacemaker Ministries site! | ||
| Do you understand your role in speaking redemptively? This book is about "...about choosing our words carefully. It is about the words we say, and the words we have chosen not to say. Speaking redemptively is about being prepared to say the right thing at the right moment and exercising self-control. Speaking redemptively is refusing to let our talk be driven by passion and personal desire but communicating instead with God's purposes in view. It is exercising the faith needed to be part of what God is doing at the moment." |
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| Fear of Man and Peer Pressure | Do you struggle with the fear of man? (Answer: yes, we all do!) Do your kids struggle with peer pressure? This book is great for adults and teens. It teaches us to understand the idols of self and others, and how to see God bigger and people smaller. When People Are Big and God Is Small: Overcoming Peer Pressure, Codependency, and the Fear of Man by Ed Welch. |
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| Sin | Do you struggle with sin? Do your kids get discouraged by recurrent sin? We have an enemy: our sin natures! This book, The Enemy Within: Straight Talk About The Power and Defeat of Sin by Kris Lundgaard is (once again) for parents and teens. It is actually a 20th Century re-write (simplified for our simpler minds) of John Owen's Sin and Temptation (Classics of Faith and Devotion). Owen gets no style points, but lots of points for exhaustively mining scripture on the subject of indwelling sin. Lundgaard gets points for summarizing Owen's main ideas and choosing relevant, timely analogies and example so that Owen's message is more easily understood. |
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| Do you struggle with anger, depression, self-preoccupation, doubt, fear, long-standing sin that just can't be beat? Working for a few years with their manual on Self Confrontation has changed my life. Unless FAT HUGE books that are meaty and intense don't frighten you into leaving them on the shelf, you will need the tapes: it's daunting (but very rewarding) to work through it alone, but this manual could easily serve as your family's textbook for Bible Class for Dialectic-level students and up for an entire year. The fruit is staggering. | Check out materials from the Biblical Counseling Foundation. (Click on BCF Store.) | |
| Need to understand how your heart is a FACTORY of idols? C.J. Mahaney (my former senior pastor) does a masterful job of exposing both the power of sin in our lives and the GREATER power the Bible offers to successfully combat that sin. | Click here to see more about this powerful 3-tape series. | |
| Need help dealing each and every day with your sin in a God-glorifying yet freeing way? The gospel of Jesus Christ isn't primarily for the lost! It's for those who have been redeemed--each and every day! Learn from Mark Mullery how to Preach the Gospel to yourself every day! | Click here and read: it's free! | |
| Living the Cross-Centered Life! | CJ Mahaney's life message, which he lives and preaches at our church. Great as a gift for others or ask for it for yourself! |
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| Battling Worldliness | This thoughtful and practical discussion of movies we are invited to view will challenge and guide you as you consider before God the type and amount of video presentations your children view. We recommend it especially to parents of High Schoolers who are beginning their Year 4 study. |
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| Before viewing many of the recommended films for Year 4 (and most films produced by Hollywood today) we highly recommend that you purchase TVGuardian technology. You can purchase a separate machine that hooks up to your DVD or VHS machine, or increasingly, you can purchase this technology in newer DVD or VHS machines, such as: Sanyo and Fisher brands. | Read about or purchase TVGuardian from this link. |
Being a better parent, so you can keep discipleship as your primary home schooling goal:
| Age of Opportunity : A Biblical Guide to Parenting Teens (Resources for Changing Lives) by Paul David Tripp is one of our all-time favorites. It's especially good for parents whose children are just entering the teen years, but all parents will benefit from reading and re-reading this book. |
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| The War of Words by Paul David Tripp is a book for everyone, but especially helpful for parents when kids leave the ages when they are easily controlled, and words start to become weapons. |
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| Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp & David Powlison is another classic from the Tripp family. We read it first and were helped by its practical wisdom. A great companion book to Age of Opportunity, above. |
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| I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris gives parents and teens a place to start in a discussion of how people can seek to honor God as they wait for the perfect one He has planned for them. An international best seller. |
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| Boy Meets Girl: Say Hello To Courtship by Joshua Harris. Having successfully walked out a courtship and an early marriage, Joshua returns to write a book about that process. He draws not only on his experience but on those of many friends around him as he discusses the many wonderful forms that courtship can take. |
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General Academic Helps for ongoing development: moms need to grow, too!
2 Tim. 2:15 says,
"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman
who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of
truth."
Christian Home Schooling:
- Doug Wilson's helpful book on Classical Education and the Home School
. Now available as a digital download from Canon Press for $3.50.
General Literature:
Invitation
To The Classics will
become a favorite book in any home oriented towards the classics.
Written and edited by Louise Cowan (Editor), and OS Guinness (Editor),
it has 3-5 pages devoted to most of the major works we'll cover over
the 4 years. It's great to hand to students to introduce them to
a work they're going to read, especially since the comments are from a
Christian perspective.
I also love Realms of Gold by Leland Ryken. A professor at Wheaton college, Ryken discusses the Classics from a biblical perspective while teaching us to think out issues involved in the pursuit of great literature. This is a great book to have read before discussing the literature from any of our four Year-Plans.
Great new general reference for
moms of kids of all ages, and useful in all four Year-Plans: This
is an
excellent resource for moms and High Schoolers alike.
Large, easily read print make it a candidate for younger kids' text, but the vocabulary and concepts keep it in the Rhetoric range for independent reading.
Before you start Year 1:
My
all-time favorite book for interpreting all of ancient literature (indeed,
all of literature) is Heroes of the City of Man by Peter
Leithart .
Scroll down this Amazon link to see what's so great! Then, buy this
book and be amazed at the depth you and your High Schooler can get from
this year's study of ancient classics.Psssst: by the way, he
also wrote a WONDERFUL book on imagery and types in the Old
Testament. It's
called A House For My Name. Ask for it
as a birthday, Christmas, or Mother's Day gift, and then keep it handy for
Sabbath readings or bedtime munchies. Yummmm! If you're really
nice, you'll share with your High Schoolers during Year 1.
Before you start Year 2:
For Protestant and Catholics
who would like clarity on why these two streams of the church are
divided, I can strongly recommend Roman
Catholicism : Evangelical Protestants Analyze What Divides and Unites
Us by Alister E. McGrath (Editor), John H. Armstrong (Editor). See
above on WHEN to read it.
- Another favorite for literature background: Brightest
Heaven of Invention: A Christian Guide To Six Shakespeare Plays
by Peter Leithart (yes, same author as above!)
Before you start Year 3:
For those of you who are
brave enough to read/discuss the Worldview topics for 11th
+ students in Year 3, here’s a wonderful guide and resource: 20th
Century Theology: God & the World in a Transitional Age
by Stanley J. Grenz & Roger E. Olson. You will use this book as a teacher of 19th and 20th
Century theology. Diving
into it this summer will prepare you for discussions ahead, or you can
use it week by week in the coming school year.
Before you start Year 4:
If you continue to
read/discuss the Worldview topics for 11th + students in
Year 4, the same wonderful guide and resource: 20th
Century Theology: God & the World in a Transitional Age
by Stanley J. Grenz & Roger E. Olson will continue to serve you. Diving into it this summer will prepare you for discussions
ahead, or you can use it week by week in the coming school year.
As mentioned above, Worldly Amusements will help you discern which movies your family should watch in general, and also equip you to discuss elements in films we recommend this year for viewing along with Year 4 readings and literature studies.
Before viewing many of the recommended films for Year 4 (and most films produced by Hollywood today) we highly recommend that you purchase TVGuardian technology. You can purchase a separate machine that hooks up to your DVD or VHS machine, or increasingly, you can purchase this technology in newer DVD or VHS machines, such as: Sanyo and Fisher brands. Read about/purchase TVGuardian from this link. Learn more about how it works, or purchase TVGuardian directly from the manufacturers by clicking here. (A description is also posted on the NEWS Forum of our Tapestry Bulletin Board.)
Special Help with the Grammar Years:
The
Young Peacemaker by Corlette Sande. Mentioned above as
well: teaches kids biblical conflict management. VERY friendly
to them: comic book format. YOU will learn tons teaching them!
Special Help with the Dialectic & Rhetoric Years::
The
War of Words is a book for everyone, but especially helpful for
the years when words start to become weapons of deadly accuracy in the
mouths of both teens and parents. Students who read this book
and discuss it with their parents will have a biblical vocabulary to
use when discussing tensions, problems, and roiling emotions.
The
Enemy Within: Straight Talk About The Power and Defeat of Sin
by Kris Lundgaard (see above and see the reviews on this link!)
Read it and discuss it with your teens!
When
People Are Big and God Is Small: Overcoming Peer Pressure,
Codependency, and the Fear of Man by Ed Welch. See above,
and, again, read the reviews on this Amazon-linked page. This is
another wonderful book to read and discuss with your teens. Be sure
to share how God changes YOU through this book!
Tapestry of Grace benefits if you choose to buy your books from Amazon.com AND you access Amazon.com USING OUR DIRECT LINKS.
Ready to shop? Please follow these simple steps in order to benefit our ministry:
- Click on the direct link we provide through resource cover icons above.
- When the resource appears in the frame Amazon.com website, immediately add it to your shopping cart. Now, read the reviews, look at suggested alternates, and browse to your heart's content.
- Satisfied with that resource? Close the Amazon.com frame. Now you're back on this page!
- Click on your next resource's cover. After adding it to your Amazon.com shopping cart, return to our links.
- Repeat this process until your order is complete for this unit.
This is the end of our "journey through the philosophies of Tapestry of Grace." We hope you feel you know us better, and can make an informed decision about whether this program is right for you and your family. May the Lord bless, lead, and guide you in your decisions!
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