Follow on FB

 Howdy, friends!

We are moving forward with our FB group to allow for more discussions.  I will start updating this blog again with helpful resources, but for now, the best way to follow any ongoing input will be to join the FB group.

Questions to ask while writing inspirements

I think there are four main things to think about when writing inspirements:

#1 and most important--how can I help the students internalize the principle for the month using this lens? How can I help them feel it? explore it? sense it? experience it? deeply discover it? (Look to classics first, classics in all artistic genres: paintings, videography, poetry, literature, scripture, dance, etc.)

#2 how can I use the different steps of "know, understand, and become" to make this possible? Generally, I like to have the knowledge a common base for everyone to do and then open up the understand and become to personal discretion.  However, I have seen it done different ways effectively so don't be afraid to follow your instinct with your group!  Try it and then evaluate how effective it was.

#3 how can I create curiosity and interest through a variety of inspirements to meet the learning styles and missions of different youth?  If you know some of the interests, passions, and missions of the youth in your group, you can write some inspirements thinking of them.

#4 How can I effectively incorporate "core" and "crust" skills? Often, for the different lenses there are different crust and core skills that go well with them (like in Marni's visual for it).  To give the youth specific ideas that are unique to particular skills can sometimes expand their minds to different possibilities of how to approach a principle using that lens.   

However, there is the wise caution from Karen's article on writing inspirements, that we should avoid overwhelming the youth with lists of inspirement ideas.  Rotating through ideas in the different months will help them see the possibilities without overwhelming them.

Karen also mentioned how to write inspirements for the different levels of learning: apprentice, journeyman, master.

Check out her article here.

Sample Outline and First Week of Inspirements

Outline for September 2017:

The Pursuit of Happiness: “DILIGENCE”

Week 1-Leadership Academy: “Diligence”--Word Study, Charlemagne and Power of the SAR (Student Accountability Report)

Week 2-Geo Conquest: Middle Ages—Black Plague, Crusades

Week 3- Eureka: Astronomy & Sir Cumference Math Moment

Week 4- Imaginative Arts: Stain Glass

Book Discussion: “A Door in the Wall”/”The Alchemist”

Movie: “Sword in the Stone” and "Hidden Figures" (with just our family, we have more options :D)

Lazar Tag/Corn Maze

Week 1:

KNOWLEDGE: “Learn”: (do all)

Do a word study on “Diligence”

Read this about Charlemagne, one of the great kings of the Middle Ages:

http://www.historyforkids.net/charlemagne.html How was Charlemagne an example of diligence?

Watch “Continue in Patience” by Uchtdorf (the Mormon Message and/or the talk) 

UNDERSTANDING: “Do”: (choose one or more of the following)

-Write a poem about what it means to be diligent

-Do a presentation on someone who was diligent or Charlemagne from above.

-Start reading “Boy Knight” for next week and tell us what you learned about diligence so far.

-Teach a class or devotional on “diligence” and incorporate something from the Book of Virtues or scriptures; tell us how it went and what you learned

-Act out a play about someone who was diligent

-Watch this about Cambry Kaylor and write a review, poem, song or come up with a plan of action that learning about her inspired you to do.  Share what you did with us.
-Find and bring a game for everyone to participate in that requires diligence (clear it with your mentor) or play it before hand and tell us what you learned about diligence while playing it.

BECOME: “Be”: (do each of these)

a) Brainstorm your goals and dreams. Pick at least three of them and come up with one idea for each of them how you can start today to work towards doing them. Write them on your SAR.

b) Pick one of them that you want to be more diligent on and write it down

c) Pick a “running partner” to report to 3 times during the week: the first time, to tell them what your goal is, the second time to tell them how you are doing and the third time to tell them what you have accomplished so far.

Sample Welcome Letter

This is the letter that I just wrote up for my own little Vanguard group in our home, just for ideas:

Welcome, fellow Vanguardians!

The “Vanguard” is the part of an army that leads out, that bears the brunt of the battle, that takes on every challenge to their force head-on.

In Vanguard, we prepare ourselves to take our future head-on, preparing our crust and cores to be strong to serve where God would have us serve and thus attaining the highest degree of happiness that we can attain!

Each of you will follow a unique quest this year as we go through three phases of growth:

1. Establish who we are and where we stand (the Middle Ages and Chivalry)
2. Grow through discovery and light (the Renaissance)
3. Apply what we have learned to move forward (the Age of Exploration)

As you can see, all the truth we learn in the world around us can be applied to change who we are! I am excited to be on this quest with each of you.

In Vanguard it is essential to create an environment of respect, of decency, of commitment. All three of these qualities will combine to make Vanguard a safe and thriving place. I look forward to creating that place with you!

With love and great anticipation,

Mom :D

p.s. As we come together for our first official week of Vanguard, please think of a name that we could use to represent our group, our goals, our vision for ourselves.

Fantastic Lesson Plan Resource for Mentors

Questions about mentor training?  Here you go!

I am training to be a Seminary teacher for my church and in the training, they outline how to make a lesson plan with the purpose of teaching principles so that the youth may apply them. It involved the "crust" skills (context and content) but puts them in their appropriate place as the overall goal of teaching in Vanguard is to change "cores" and strengthen them by helping the students seek for, recognize and identify true principles in all they learn in the world around them.

I have had many people ask me, "How do I seek for principles and teach them?"
This is the way.
Check out the learning videos: New Teacher Training Resource 
I would focus on lesson #9.  The lessons can be time consuming if done in their entirety but you can skim over them to get the gist.  In fact, if you review the lessons #5-8, you will see that they have taken the three step approach of knowledge, understand and intelligence and expanded it a bit, but it is the same basic idea, incorporating the core and crust concepts as well (without identifying them as such :).)

• Understand the context and content-crust
• Identify important doctrine and principles-knowledge-core/crust
• Understand the doctrine and principles-understanding-core
• Feel the truth and importance of those doctrines and principles-deeper understanding-core
• Apply the truths in their lives-intelligence-core

 I love this!
In the above trainings, it suggests that you identify the different segments of material you want to cover and then determine which depth you want to take each one during class, since rarely can you cover all your material to application (at least I can't, by the time you want to add all those cool object lessons and application simulations :)!).

The following chart is fantastic and I can see so much potential in applying it in Vanguard!  For those who have been uncomfortable "winging it" (as I seem to do), here is a great way to start and for those of us who wing it because we feel like we have to, this is a remarkably concise way to organize and direct our lesson preparation to make it more effective.


Lesson Plan Outline

Not only would mentors benefit from this but think about what would happen for our youth if they were able to take the material they were covering and weigh and apportion inspired depth with their different areas of study!

Ahhh...the possibilities.

Sample overview of Journeyman and Master content for different lenses

I thought I would throw this out for anyone who wanted an idea of what it could look like.  We insert classics (people, books, poems, videos, etc.) wherever they fit.

Leadership Academy

Journeyman

1) 7 Habits discussion

2) Simulation to reinforce concept of month

3) Biography

Master

1) Whatever Happened to Justice?

2) Application to real world

3) Civility discussion

4) Fallacies discussion

Geo-Conquest

Journeyman

1) Focus on a continent (i.e. Feb-Africa and Australia):presentations

2) Map and timeline

3) Focus on monthly theme/principle: biography, group of people, historical event, etc

Master

1) Geo-conquest game

2) Services in area/Application project for monthly theme

3) How many countries can you name on the map? (optional :)...)

Eureka

Journeyman

1) Dr. Posin’s Giants

2) Math game

3) Experiment based on principles

Master

1) The Math Book--brief sharing moment where the youth share one thing that happened during that time frame

2) Deeper experiments about the principle--more youth led

3) Math classic project/discussion

Imaginative Arts

Journeyman

1) Artist focus--learn about the history of art 

    a) picture study 60 seconds--study, think about it, notice, etc.

    b) principle to practice (i.e. use of lines, shading)

2) Spiritual Lives of Great Composers

3) Art project

4)  Lit/Poetry project/book

Master

1) Bring their own art and showcasing what they did

2) Specialty classes

3) Literature--short story, poetry, language

4)Bring together all that was discussed during the month about the monthly theme/principle

What is the difference between the Vanguard Method and a Vanguard Group?

The Vanguard method is simply the collection of principles and truths that I have gathered with the help of others to achieve my personal goals for the education of my children:

(1) Encouraging faith in God as their ultimate mentor
and source of truth through the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ
(2) Helping them find value in their own unique mission and introduce the
to various communication styles so that they may communicate that mission to the world
(3) Helping them come face-to-face with greatness as they study the world,

history, people, and science in order to to prepare them to become future leaders in their homes, communities and society.
(4) Creating an environment of respect, decency, trust, and confidence
(5) Teaching service-oriented leadership


The principles and truths that have been put together under this umbrella term of "Vanguard method"  are universally available yet uniquely combined.  That is why I have distinguished this collection of ideas by a name...not to claim exclusivity or rights to them, but rather just to allow for a term to identify them by.


A Vanguard group is a formal group, typically for youth, that implements all the different principles and ideas outlined under the "Founding Principles" tab.  They may be implemented using methods and techniques that are as unique as the group needs.  However, the methods and techniques a group uses should always honor those principles to be considered a Vanguard group.  It is up to the individual to decide if their group that has been identified as a "Vanguard group" supports them in a manner that satisfies their family's needs or is true to the name.