It was also during our studies of the
War of 1812 that we discovered the importance of including historical ;ction
in our education. We read the book
Jeremy’s War 1812, by John Ibbitson, about
the ;ctitious personal servant of the
historical ;gure, General Isaac Brock.
While visiting Queenston Heights near
Niagara Falls, Ontario, my son suddenly
became very excited. He realized that we
were standing at the very spot described
in the novel where General Brock died
in battle. Our son was 8 years old at the
time, and he exclaimed to my husband:
“Dad! ;is is the hill the Americans had
to climb a;er crossing the river over
there! Up there—that’s where Isaac Brock
was shot! ;e road we came down to get
here is where he rode his horse from Fort
George to get to the battle. ;e Americans had to retreat over there by the cli;s
when the Natives and General Shea;e
came as backup!” His detailed description of the battle impressed upon me how
historical ;ction can bring history to life.
Our country’s motto, “A Mari usque ad
Mare” is Latin for “From Sea to Sea.” It
was taken from the King James Version
of the Bible, which reads, “He shall have
dominion also from sea to sea, and from
the river unto the ends of the earth” (Psalm
72: 8). Our National Anthem states, “God
keep our land glorious and free.”
We are so thankful for the freedoms
God has given us in Canada, and the
privilege of educating our children at
home is one of them. Home education is
legal in every province of Canada, with
each province setting its own laws gov-
erning homeschooling. We are fortunate
to have a permissive law in relation to
home education here in Ontario. We are
thankful for HSLDA of Canada for de-
fending these rights.
Because we have had to be creative
in our approach to teaching a Canadian
education while using a lot of American
curricula during the elementary years,
we were well prepared to create a designer curriculum as our daughter entered
the high school years at home this year.
Isn’t that the beauty of homeschooling?
Homeschooling . . . has
allowed us to truly walk
alongside our children as
God directs their paths.
We can take good resources and make
them better by custom ;tting them to
our children’s interests, learning styles,
and even nationality!
Susan Pickran lives in Oakville, Ontario,
Canada, with her husband and two chil-
dren. She is very thankful for her loving,
patient husband who has made it possible
for her to be a full-time wife and home-
school mom and a very part-time Regis-
tered Nurse at the local children’s hospital.
Each morning, she wakes up and is in awe
of the fact that God has given her the re-
sponsibility and privilege of educating
their two blessings. Although she enjoys
her Double-Double from the very Cana-
dian co;ee shop, Tim Hortons, she is o;en
tempted to go for a tall Caramel Macchia-
to at Starbucks!
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