Two Valuable Animals of Highland People
Nigel B.

There are many ways people in the highlands use animals. The yaks in Tibet look like a buffalo but are a kind of ox. Their long silky hair is used for shoes, whips, and boats. People use their tails as fly chasers or ornaments. They make milk and the Tibetans use it to make cheese or butter. Their meat is usually dried or roasted.

Another good animal is the llama. Llamas are trained to haul tin, grain, and blocks of salt. They can carry up to 100 pounds, but if it is too heavy they lie down. Their wool is used for yarn or cloth. People also drink its milk or eat its meat. Even when it is dead their hides are used to make sandals and its bones can be made into weaving tools. These two animals can really help people.

 

And I am happy to report there were less tears and gnashing of teeth than usual.  (We still used ½ a box of tissues… but it’s an improvement.)

One of the best things about homeschooling is picking our children’s curriculum.  I believe the LORD has led most of our decisions about curriculum.  I do review the books, I do ask people’s experiences, but mostly I just pray.  I don’t like curriculum that is secular, or “nothing.”  With the exception of two early “begin-to-read-and-use-language-books” and our Maps, Charts, Graphs series, ALL of our curriculum, even our ARITHMETIC is now Christ-centered.  Oh, there is good “plain” stuff available.  But WHY would I use it when I can use books that point us to the Creator and the Savior?  (That is a rhetorical question.)

Hands down, in my opinion, the BEST books we use are our Rod and Staff English Language curriculum.  Review after review finds it strong and relentless.  Because the Mennonite education is groomed to be completed at an earlier age that tradition American education the publishers pack a lot more meat into the books at a quicker and less forgiving rate.  Each level is written as a spiral.  For example, all of my kids are working on verbs at the moment and stepped intervals.  It grows each year. 

It is so impressive to me. My kids are learning things I NEVER learned in 12 years of public school.  And I was in all the enriched English classes, from third grade on.  I can promise you I NEVER learned transitive, intransitive, and intransitive complete.  I never learned how to diagram and can not tell you how much more of a command of the English language I have at 40 than I did at 20. 

I never, ever, ever, ever knew the difference between lay and lie.  And I can tell you that most people I come in contact with at work (co-workers and patients) do not have command of this either.

So is that why I love this curriculum? 

Nope.

I love this curriculum because deep down, none of that stuff really matters.  I managed a Masters degree.  I married a dear man God chose for me.  I am enjoying a relationship with Christ that I never anticipated.  I have 5.625 children whom I love profoundly.  Understanding predicate nominatives and gerunds and dependent clauses are not REALLY that important.

But these publishers remembers what is.  Besides the fact that lesson after lesson uses Bible history as the material to work with they also include REAL LIFE LESSONS… like this!

All of the above photographs were taken from Rod and Staff Building Christian English Series – Building Securely, Grade 7, by Rod and Staff Publishers, Crockett, Kentucky.