Welcome

1 Apr 2021

My name is Christy Knockleby. I am a homeschooling mother, author, and obsessive bookworm. I’m the type of person who gets interested in something and then spends multiple years reading everything I can get my hands on about the topic, sharing random details about the topic with everyone I meet. You can follow my Facebook page to share in the fun.

I teach online classes through Outschool. I have a variety of short courses on history, mythology and looking at the Bible from a secular academic perspective. I have published two books, available online through various bookstores including my own little bookstore here:

A Secular Bible Study is a guide for homeschoolers who want to look at the Bible as a work of literature from an ancient time. Also available through Bookshop.org.
The Edge of the Circle is a novel about homeschooling teenagers in Alberta, exploring Shakespeare, forgiveness and Wicca. Also available through Bookshop.org.

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Christy's Houseful of Chaos

1 day ago

Flowers! We have flowers on our front yard again. I am delighted. ... See MoreSee Less

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Christy's Houseful of Chaos

2 days ago

It is a Saturday morning, and I'm sitting do to do some writing. Before I can start on my book writing, I need to just clear my mind of the myriad of other thoughts.I want to start off by saying that I very strongly believe we all need to take action to protect ourselves and others from Covid. I believe it is important that not resume "life as normal" too quickly and that we not spread this deadly disease. But, I'm also very concerned with how my province is implementing regulations.Ontario is going into a more serious phase of lockdown but the police departments are saying they won't be stopping random people to check why they are out of their houses, despite just being given the authority to do so. On one hand, giving them the authority is unconstitutional and it is good to see the police departments saying they won't enforce bad laws. On the other hand, is it concerning to see police departments saying they won't necessarily do what they've been told to do?Everything is a muddle. Stores are allowed to be open but not to sell products deemed non-essential. So dollar stores have some aisles blocked off. The problem is, what is non-essential to one person is essential to others. School supplies are considered non-essential, even though families are discovering that their children will be doing school at home for a lot longer than originally expected. Now, I grew up in a household that had an abundance of stationary products at all times and I could probably homeschool my kids for a decade with just the resources we have here now, but not all houses are like that. Curbside pick up is available at some places for those with cars (and having a cell phone makes it easier) and ordering online is possible for those who can afford it but there's lots of people who need access to dollar store supplies for schoolwork. So.... grrr for having those stores open but unable to sell those particular supplies.Life is complicated and muddled and I want our province to do more to help prevent the spread but I also want them to be thoughtful in how it is done. Closing things down needs to be accompanied by a universal basic income so that people can afford to pay their rent and buy what they need. Having some stores open needs to be accompanied by paid sick leave. Shifting how education is provided needs to be accompanied by massive increases in funding for it so that they can provide necessary extras. ... See MoreSee Less

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Christy's Houseful of Chaos

4 days ago

I love the different styles of academic articles I'm reading. Some will start as though we actually knew what happened in the late 8th century BCE. Others will start will start by outlining the different arguments as part of ongoing debates with other scholars.Others will start with explaining their data.... "if we look at 37 different marriage contracts to see what terms are used for the bride and whether the parents of the bride and groom are involved in the negotiations, we can draw some assumptions about the relative ages of those getting married..." or "if we look at a couple dozen pottery fragments, extrapolate the size and shape of the pottery from curves, and then compare...." or "by looking at the age of the livestock at the time they were butchered we can draw conclusions about the economic situation of this village....".It is really weird moving between reading the different styles of articles. When I go from reading the technical stuff to reading the papers or books that just present their conclusions, I feel a bit disoriented, like "what happened? How did they get these conclusions?"As I contemplate how I'll write a novel about the late 8th century BCE, I realize one of the hard parts is going to be settling on what positions I take in some of the major debates. In a novel I won't be able to say "oh, well this guy argues this and this other guy argues this....". I can't say "maybe Hezekiah did a bunch of reforms and maybe he didn't" or "maybe Sennacherib attacked Jerusalem twice and maybe he didn't." I'll have to just commit to one of those, knowing I could be wrong. Yikes. ... See MoreSee Less

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Christy's Houseful of Chaos

5 days ago

Today is going to be my second attempt at boiling birch sap down to syrup. I am so grateful for my husband who keeps challenging us to do different things and learn different skills. He decided to order the spigots this year so we could collect sap.I also want to find a good sorrel soup recipe and actually make use of the sorrel I have grown in the garden. It's one of those plants I planted because it sounded neat but I've never actually used it.We replaced our couch recently and instead of taking our old broken one to the curb, my oldest son disassemble it for parts. As a result we've learned more about the structure and interior of the couch. Now I want to use some of those spare parts to build a cat climbing tree.So many projects.... so little time! On top of this I continue working on my writing project. Today I'll be reading through notes on neo-Assyrian administrative systems trying to wrap my head around what sort of influence they held in the Levant in 706 BCE.But all of this seems so petty and insignificant, so self-indulgent when I think of the world at large. The university in my city has declared bankruptcy and is being gutted, with dozens and dozens of programs closing. So many people I know are affected by this.And then there are the larger problems.... Covid, increased economic inequality and police violence (in the States in particular, but here as well). How do we go on with life? How can we break free of our every day life to help enact change? ... See MoreSee Less

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Christy's Houseful of Chaos

6 days ago

I had a fun conversation with the good folks over at Good Enough Homeschool.Listen to this episode from Good Enough Homeschool on Spotify. Author, homeschooler, and teacher Christy Knockleby discusses secular Bible study in the homeschool. ... See MoreSee Less

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