Daniel

(BOOK 13 of the 52 week Challenge)



I love the book of Daniel. The first six chapters include narrative history; the last six chapters include prophecy which is foundational for much of the end-times prophecy in the Bible.

The history portion of the book tells of the prophet Daniel who was taken from Jerusalem into captivity in Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king. Daniel and three of his friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, were chosen to learn the language and literature of the Babylonians. God gave knowledge and understanding to these young men, and they entered into the king's service; they remained there through several rulers, and God's hand was upon them at all times. Daniel rose to a high position of authority during those years.

Also during his years of service to the Babylonian rulers, Daniel had four dreams/visions of events that would take place in the future. Some of the events of Daniel's dreams have come to pass; some are still yet to occur.

I borrowed the Precept videos for the book of Daniel from a friend, and Joe and I have been enjoying watching those while we learn much about Biblical prophecy.

Latin Scholars

Zachary and Ryan took the National Latin Exam for Latin I last month, and their on-line instructor e-mailed their results yesterday.

They both received Gold Medals, and Zachary had the distinction of having a Perfect Paper.

Way to go, boys!! Your mom and dad are proud of you!!

National Latin Exam

Story of the World, Volume 4

(BOOK 12 of the 52 week Challenge)



This book is the 4th volume in Susan Wise Bauer's Story of the World series for children. I sat down to read one specific chapter of the book, and became so engaged that I ended up reading it from cover to cover over the period of a few days.

Bauer wrote her series for elementary-school-aged children, but I know several schools/curricula that utilize this series as a spine up through middle-school. TOG schedules out the series as an alternate reading resource in all 4 of their Year Plans.

We'll be covering the 20th century in history (TOG Year 4) next year, and I plan to have Zachary and Ryan read this volume over the summer to get the big picture before we begin studying the details of each of the major events in the 20th century. Catherine will read through the book as it is scheduled out on a weekly basis in TOG.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

(BOOK 11 of the 52 week Challenge)




This selection is one of the Rhetoric-level literature books in TOG Year 3, so I decided to read it again while we are covering the 19th century. Zachary and Ryan won't be in the Rhetoric-level materials until next year, so they declined joining me in this reading. Their assignment was to read Tom Sawyer.

I think the last time I read this great American novel was in high school. It chronicles the adventures of Huckleberry Finn (a teenaged boy) and Jim (a runaway slave) as they make their way down the Mississippi River on a raft in the mid-1800's. Alongside the serious issues tackled in the book (slavery, injustice, child abuse and other cruelty, etc.) is much humor. I literally laughed out loud in several places. The storyline is definitely engaging, and will keep your interest through the 300+ pages of the book.