Lately, it seems like I’ve had a large number of folks asking again about our decision to homeschool. Nothing new…the same old questions. Old posts often get buried in the archives of theMT, so I thought I would highlight a few of them here:

What About Socialization? This is the king of all questions that homeschoolers are asked. I did my best to answer it here.

Aren’t you sheltering your kids? – A close runner-up…and mostly from those within the church. I’ve found that most people are afraid to actually voice this question (but you know they are thinking it…).

Are you sending your kids to high school? – or the real question is…”When are you going to give them a real education?” Check out the post, but also look at my response to Freda in the comments section.

Bonus Post:
My Favorite Homeschool Business – pop on over to the Ding Family blog for a good laugh!

Quietly Making Noise,
Fletch

I love movies. No…I really love movies. I always have. Some people like to read, others like to walk around art museums, others like to listen to great classical music. But for me, give me a good film and a quiet theater, and I will be lost for hours as a director shares stories, tells tales and transfers me into his created world.

As much as you might devour a great piece of literature by Twain, Tolstoy or Lewis…I enjoy soaking up 2 hours as Coppola, Lucas or Spielberg put images together to tell a story.

Here’s the deal, I’m not picky and it doesn’t matter what genre or type of movies I am watching. I am an “equal opportunity” viewer: Suspense, Mystery, Love stories, Horror, Comedy, Western, Disney, Classics, Pixar, you name it…I’ll watch it. Truthfully, I have never been a fan of Oscar winners. I prefer films that are purposeful and thoughtful, instead of the typical Academy choice based on popularity or stardom.

I realize I am breaking rank with many of my typical homeschool readers of theMT who often boycott Hollywood studios. I know others of you who only watch “Christian” movies, so I might as well continue to solidify my banishment by saying say that for the most part I enjoy “entertainment (movies) made by Christians” more than I like “Christian entertainment (movies).” Thus the title of this post and why I feel like I’ve lived silently in the movie-watching closet for years. :-W

2009 is a year of “shaking things up.” I’ve mentioned earlier that there were changes coming even in theMangoTimes and one of them was a return to chronicling the events that our family are enjoying. After listening to an interview with Scott Derrickson, reading an interview with Brian Godawa, and then enjoying Jeff Overstreet’s book, Through A Screen Darkly, I have taken the initiative and created an informal film course for the older children in my family. Basically, I’ve taken my love for good movies and introduced my kids to the art of “studying film.” They have learned to take notes during a film and then participate in a lively discussion on a variety of topics ranging from the technicality of film, to the art of storytelling, to hidden and obvious symbolism.

I’ve also found myself alone in several theaters watching/screening movies (even with the promise of popcorn, I cannot get Kendra do join me for every film ). So far it has been successful. We’ve screened eight films for discussion, choosing to watch through a director at a time and evaluate his/her personal style. We began with M. Night Shyamalan and then Tim Burton (I chose two directors that would at least keep the attention of my older boys). For me, it’s my favorite homeschool class we’ve taught! I’m not fooling myself, the boys are glad to “just watch movies” but the discussions have been rich. They are drawing deep comparisons between modern stories and great biblical themes. It has become “our” thing to watch a movie and then spend an hour or so in discussion over what we just “experienced.”

So there you have it…I’m a Hollywood movie watcher! Like Wall-E, it can be lonely at times and I’m not going to drag any of my fellow movie watchers out of the closet with me, but there are a few I can depend on for late night viewings in empty theaters… If you are ever interested in catching a flick…let me know, I’ll buy the popcorn!

Quietly Making Noise,
Fletch

Note to self…spend more time in the spelling department with her…

Quietly Making Noise (and laughing myself silly…),
Fletch

Quietly Making Noise,
Fletch

If you remember, last year Kendra and I took dual honors as the 2007 Homeschool Dad/Mom Blog winners… It even included a smashing mid-summer interview with yours truly. By the way, Kendra is nominated too, but this time Preschoolers and Peace has been nominated for a new category called The Best Nitty Gritty Homeschool Blog – Drop her a vote too!

Thanks for the nomination again this year. It’s an honor to think someone beyond my family even likes what we report about here in theMangoTimes!

Quietly Making Noise,
Fletch