Bible Road Trip Sale!
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Author Archives: Deanna
Accountable Kids (Review)
One of the treasures I brought home from the Great Homeschool Convention last month was a bag full of goodies from Accountable Kids. I was so impressed with this program from the moment I first stopped by their booth that I purchased boards for all four of my children, knowing that it’s something we will be using for years to come and even Nicholas would need his own place to keep track of his responsibilities. Almost everyone who has come into our home since we started the program has commented on them, and so I thought I’d take some time to share with you about how Accountable Kids has helped our family.
What is It?
Accountable Kids is a system that helps children take responsibility for the things they need to do each day. Although it has some components of a “chore chart,” it’s actually more of a time management system, because it includes things like eating meals and taking their vitamins as well as jobs like picking up toys or doing the dishes.
The main components of the program are the Progress Board and the various cards that are used with it. Without going into a detailed explanation of all the cards, let me just give a quick overview.
The “responsibility cards” tell the child what they need to do. You can trim the length to group them into different times of the day (morning, day, and evening).
At the beginning of the day, all the cards are hanging on the first peg of their board. When the child completes the action on the card, they flip it over onto the second peg. When all the cards for that group are finished, the child gets a “ticket,” which they hang on the third peg. If they complete all the responsibility cards that day, they will have earned 3 tickets, and they get a star on their “date” card (fourth peg). On the fifth ticket, we hang cards with extra jobs that they can complete on top of their regular responsibilities. When they complete one of these, they get a “bonus buck” card (which they hang behind their tickets on the third peg).
We keep all the rewards cards on our “Mini Board,” which is mounted out of the children’s reach above their boards. (There are two other kinds of cards, the “Best Behavior Card” and the “Privilege Pass,” which are also hung here.)
So I just mentioned three kinds of rewards: tickets, stars on a “date card”, and “bonus bucks.” The nice thing about these rewards is that each family can decided what those are worth. I tell you about what we did in a minute. It might sound a little complicated a first, but it’s actually pretty simple once you have it all in front of you.
Putting It to Use in Our Family
We watched the DVD with our kids, and they were eager to get started. We let anticipation build up a bit as we went through a few steps to get things ready.
Personalizing Our Boards
The first thing we did was set to work decorating their boards. I took the kids shopping and they each got to pick out some stickers. I also bought some wooden letters to put on their names, which I painted and glued on the boards when I glued the pegs in. Eric and I decided to cover them all with a coat of polyurethane (actually it took several coats) to give them a shiny finish before letting everyone decorate their own boards with the stickers they had chosen.
Prepping the Cards
Next we got out all the cards and have the kids stamp the back of them so we knew whose was whose. (The mom at the Accountable Kids booth at the convention suggested this, and it was a great idea! Not only do I know who dropped a card if I find it on the ground, it also ensures that they can’t spend anyone’s tickets but their own.)
Once the cards were all stamped, I went through and pulled out cards for the things the kids were already doing. (I wanted to make sure we got the system running smoothly before we added in any new responsibilities). I trimmed them according to what time of day I wanted to group them in, Eric and Ian hung everyone’s boards on the wall, and then we were ready to start.
Putting Accountable Kids to Work
Our first day was beautiful. The kids were excited about it all. They loved knowing what was expected of them, and they especially loved the rewards. In our house, 1 ticket = 15 minutes of screen time (either a video or computer games). Everyone worked hard, got things done, and earned all their tickets. Lovely.
The second day was enlightening. Personalities started to show. Elijah was excited to start saving up his tickets, whereas Ian was thrilled that he could buy screen time and started spending his tickets immediately.
However, then reality set in. He dragged his feet about completing his morning cards and missed out on that ticket. He spent 2 hours staring at a math page he easily could have completed in 20 minutes. It made me realize how dependent I have made him on me to push him and prod him into getting things accomplished.
After about 90 minutes, he was standing on his chair stomping his feet saying, “I want to be done NOW!” over and over and over again. I loved knowing that there were clearly established consequences for the choices he was making. I didn’t have to get upset. I didn’t have to hover over him. I just calmly reminded him that he could be done as soon as he made the decision to do what he was supposed to do. Then I went about my business. (I got so much accomplished that morning!)
Eventually I took him a drink, gave him a hug, and pointed out that he already knew the answer to the next problem. He quieted down and got right to work. We haven’t really had any problems since then. The kids don’t earn all their tickets every day, but it’s usually because things just got too busy, not because they were being defiant.
In the month that we’ve been using Accountable Kids, we have come a LONG way. I’ve added in a couple daily responsibilities for the boys, and they almost always work through their cards with a good attitude. When we are out doing other things and they miss a few cards, no one has complained about not earning a ticket, because there’s not much time for screen time on those days anyway.
I’ve awarded a few “Best Behavior” cards, which they can use like a normal ticket. The key to these cards is that they cannot be earned. I might give one to a child who comes immediately when I call them all over, rewarding his obedience and showing the others that they missed out by not obeying right away. Or if I see one of them going out of their way to help another sibling without being asked, I praise them and reward them with a Best Behavior card. They never know when I decided to use them, but it’s made it that much more special when they get one.
We haven’t implemented the entire program yet. Our boys have done a couple extra chores to earn bonus bucks, but we haven’t really emphasized that yet, so they’ve kind of forgotten about them (as have we). I think once we cash the boys’ bonus bucks in for real money they’re going to be more motivated to get that part of the program up and running.
We also haven’t had any date nights with mom or dad yet, which is the reward for getting 10 stars on their date card. (They get a star when they’ve completed every responsibility card that day.) We also haven’t used the Privilege Passes at all yet.
What We Liked
I wish I could show you the difference Accountable Kids has made in the overall atmosphere of our home. Eric and I were marveling the other night over what good attitudes everyone has and how responsible the older boys especially have become. I’m not sure I can put my finger on all the changes, but let me list of few:
- No nagging about specific chores. (We just ask them how they’re doing on their cards.)
- The kids really appreciate being “in control” of their own day. Even though we decide what their cards are, they get to choose whether they do them and get the rewards or grumble and complain and then miss out.
- I rarely have to tell the kids “no” when they ask to watch a show. If they don’t have tickets, they don’t ask. If they do, I’m usually more than willing to let them watch because I’m grateful their jobs are done.
- Smiles! My children have become much happier, I think because of being able to take charge of their own lives. I am amazed at the difference in one in particular, whose eyes just light up at being able to see what is expected and being able to do it without a grown-up being in control.
- Overall, our house is so much tidier than it ever has been, just because I don’t have to nag the kids to pick up their things. And now that they have cards for things like sweeping and emptying the dishwasher, I feel like I’m not alone in trying to keep the household running. It’s been SO nice!
What Could Have Been Better for Our Family
I wish there had been a visual “quick start” guide for when we first put everything in motion, just because there are a lot of parts to the program and it was hard to keep them all straight at first. We watched the DVD (which was really helpful), but I am such a visual person and I wish there had been a chart I could look at to remember the different parts of the program. I started reading the book, but I haven’t gotten very far.
Aside from that however, there’s not really anything I would add or change. I am really pleased with how Accountable Kids is working for our family, and I know we’ll be using it for a long time. On a scale of 1 to 5, I would definitely give this program a 5!
Just the Facts
Accountable Kids is geared toward kids ages 3-14. (Arianna is 2 1/2 and we help her with her cards as much as she’ll let us, but it’s not something I would use with her yet if she didn’t have older siblings.)
If you’re interested in using Accountable Kids with your family, visit their website to find everything you’ll need to get started. (For our 4 kids, we bought the Basic Start-Up Kit plus 3 extra Child Kits and a mini board.) Here’s what they sell:
Basic Start-Up Kit Package (shown here), which includes a book, one child kit, and a link to the Quick-Start video online – $45- Deluxe Start-Up Kit Package, which includes everything in the basic package, plus a Family Forum board (not discussed in this review) and a mini board – $65
- Extra Child Kits, which include a natural wood Progress Board, 60 Reminder Cards, 3 blank Reminder Cards, 10 Tickets, 10 Bonus Bucks, 4 Best Behavior Cards, 2 Privilege Passes, 3 Special Date Cards, and 2 sticker sheets – $24.98 when purchased with either of the above packages
I can’t speak highly enough about this program. We had been trying to figure out a system for getting chores done and paying the kids for extra work, but we just hadn’t been able to come up with anything as simple and effective as Accountable Kids. It is exactly what we were looking for, and I’m so thankful we stumbled across it!
Comparing My Top 2 Choices for Science
As we headed into this year I found myself going back and forth between two really good choices to use as a framework for our science studies: the Young Explorers series published by Apologia, and the God’s Design for Science series published by Answers in Genesis.
They have many similarities. Both use biblical, creation-based books, which was essential for our family. Both are designed to be used by students for 1st through 8th grade. All the books I’ve seen in both series are full of beautiful color illustrations that draw students in and make them want to find out more. So what are the main differences between them?
To answer that question I spent a lot of time online trying to find out what other people’s experiences with them has been. While I found a lot of helpful reviews, I didn’t see a lot comparing the two (which was what I was really hoping to find). So I thought I’d take some time to write out some of my thoughts as I made my decision.
First, let me introduce you to each series in case you’re not familiar with one (or both) of them.
The Young Explorers Series
This popular series helps students explore God’s creation by focusing on a specific topic for an entire year. The books in the series are:
- Exploring Creation With Astronomy
- Exploring Creation With Botany
- Exploring Creation With Zoology 1 (Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day)
- Exploring Creation With Zoology 2 (Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day)
- Exploring Creation With Zoology 3 (Land Animals of the Sixth Day)
- Exploring Creation With Human Anatomy and Physiology
- Exploring Creation With Chemistry and Physics
Written at about a 5th grade level, the books are intended to be used with the entire family, from ages 6-13 (though Jeannie Fulbright, the author, recommends the last three books on this list be saved for 3rd grade and up). There are seven books, so it would take seven years to complete all of them at the recommended pace. Student notebooks are available for each book (also Junior versions) to help reinforce what is being learned.
The books are divided up into large “lessons,” most of which can be covered in about two weeks. (For example, the Zoology 1 book has 14 lessons.) The lessons do contain smaller sections with subtitles, but they aren’t specifically broken up into chunks of what to read each day.
I’ve heard people call these “living books” a la Charlotte Mason, but I think that’s a bit of a stretch. They have beautiful pictures and are written fairly conversationally, but they are still a textbook as far as I am concerned.
The God’s Design for Science Series
The other series I considered using is God’s Design for Science. The entire curriculum can be covered in 4 years, with 3 books for each year (books can be purchased separately or as sets):
- The World of Plants
- The Human Body
- The World of Animals
God’s Design for Heaven and Earth
- Our Planet Earth
- Our Weather and Water
- Our Universe
God’s Design for the Physical World
- Heat and Energy
- Machines and Motion
- Inventions and Technology
God’s Design for Chemistry and Ecology
- Properties of Matter
- Properties of Atoms and Molecules
- Properties of Ecosystems
Because it takes only 4 years to complete the curriculum, it is possible to go through every book twice, doing deeper with students as they get older. Each of the smaller books contains 35 lessons, so by doing 3 lessons a week, you easily get through the entire set of 3 books in a school year. A CD-ROM with worksheets to go along with the lessons is included in the Teacher Supplements.
What Influenced My Decision
I heard so many wonderful things about the Apologia series when Ian was younger that I just assumed we would use them. Last year we tried to use Exploring Creation With Astronomy (I had read of several families online who used it with Kindergarteners), but he definitely wasn’t ready. He’s really interested in space, but it got too tedious after a while. I stopped because I didn’t want to kill his natural love for the subject (though a few times he’s pulled it off the shelf and asked me to read a little more).
Because of that experience, I started looking into other options for science, and sometime in the middle of last year I discovered the God’s Design series, which became the only other one I seriously considered. I had a really hard time even thinking about letting go of the Apologia (Young Explorers) series, just because I know it is fantastic and so many people love it. However, when I forced myself to look at the two more objectively, the decision became much easier, and in the end I decided to go with God’s Design for Science (at least for now).
Here are the main reasons for that decision:
Clear Differentiation for Younger/Older students
The main thing on my mind as I decided which series to choose was how easy it would be to implement each one with our large family over the next several years. The differentiation for younger and older students in the God’s Design books was the main selling point for me. I know so many people who love the Apologia books, and while I agree that the content is wonderful (we have two of them and I’ve been able to look through several others), I feel like they’re just a bit advanced for younger students to go through the entire book, and we’re going to have young ones around for quite a while.
To show the difference between the two, here are lessons on flight from each book.
This page from Exploring Creation With Zoology 1 (Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day) has a lot of wonderful information, but it would be a lot for my 1st grader to take in:
In contrast, here is the page on flight from The World of Animals (one of the books in God’s Design for Life):
On the left is the “Beginners” section, which is a basic introduction to the topic, just enough for younger students. On the right, you can see the beginning of the more in-depth section for older students. The blue boxes have extra activities, some of which are appropriate for younger students, but others we’ll save for later.
It is so easy to use these books with a 1st grader. We just open the book and read the appropriate section. If we want to go more in depth, we either read further or pull out related books according to Ian’s interest. With the Apologia book I think I would probably have to read the information on my own and then just summarize it for Ian (judging by our experience with Exploring Creation With Astronomy a few months ago).
Yet it will be just as easy to use the same books in four years. Arianna will be in 1st grade that year and can stick with the Beginners section, but I won’t have to buy a new book to use with Ian in 5th grade because everything is already right there, requiring no additional lesson planning or work to coordinate what the different members of the family are studying. I love that!
Structured Lessons
When we were reading through the Astronomy book, I just read as many smaller sections as I thought Ian could handle at once, not knowing if we were really staying on schedule to get through the book in a year (though it soon became clear that I wasn’t). I suppose I could have gone through and marked out specific readings for each day, but that would have been rather time-consuming. Plus, we probably would have had to read every day to get through the entire book in a school year using the length of reading that Ian could handle.
I really like the way the God’s Design series breaks down the reading into specific material for each day. The way the reading is structured makes it really easy to know whether we are behind or if we have a little extra time to spend on topics that interest Ian.
My goal is to to do science 2 days a week. Since we want to finish 3 lessons a week to stay on schedule, sometimes I read 2 lessons in one day, which hasn’t seemed overwhelming at all. He’s also creating a notebook as we go, and the separate lessons have made it easy to decided what to write about.
4-Year Program is Easily Repeatable
If you’re familiar with my blog, you’ve probably heard me talk about how much I love “cycles” when it comes to long-term planning. I think it is extremely beneficial to give children a chance for repeating the same material at increasingly deeper levels as the grow. I like that we can cover the God’s Design series in 4 years and then repeat it before my children get to a more thorough study of individual subjects in high school. (I also am drawn to 4-year cycles because, as I said earlier, I think it will make it easier to study subjects as a family.)
Broad Scope of Science
The Young Explorers series seems to spend a disproportionate amount of time on life science as opposed to physical science. While I personally lean toward biology and anatomy, I know my boys are fascinated by things like machines and inventions, and it just seemed like those subjects got the short end of the stick with the Apologia series.
Variety Within Each Year
I appreciate Jeannie Fulbright’s desire to help students retain knowledge by pursuing deeper study and spending an entire year on each subject. Maybe it’s because I’m not as much of a science enthusiast as she is, but the thought of spending an entire year on most subjects fills me with dread.
I don’t want to skip any major parts of science with my children simply out of my own reluctance to spend such an extended period of time on them. I like the way the God’s Design series allows for flexibility as far as subjects. Although they have three similarly themed books in each set, you can actually just treat each individual book as a separate unit. If you want to do one book from God’s Design for Life and then take a break by choosing a book from God’s Design for Heaven and Earth, it wouldn’t be a problem. Even if you do the entire set (as we plan to do this year), there is still some variety built in. I decided to spend the our first term on animals, then we’ll move on to the human body, and finally we’ll finish up by studying plants in the spring.
A Final Word
Both of these series offer fantastic, God-honoring science curricula for homeschool families. While for now we are using God’s Design for Science, I will probably still collect the rest of the Young Explorers books when I see a good deal. Perhaps later on we will use them as the main part of our science studies, but for now they will be a beautiful addition to our library.
Bible Study vs. Devotional Reading
Educating the WholeHearted Child: Chapter 10 (part 2)
Last week I talked about three goals I had when it came to my children and the Bible. After some prayer, I ended up amending the third goal, which was to start encouraging Ian to have a daily devotional time on his own. It was a lesson for me in seeking the Lord’s will before making my own plans. (Back to that Word for 2014: Pray!)
As I finished Chapter 10, I noticed that the Clarksons have almost an opposite approach to mine.
“Serious, systematic Bible study is important, but it can wait until the high school years. In the childhood years, you are building spiritual appetites and habits for the Bible that will become personal commitments to serious Bible study later” (page 191).
They encourage Bible reading and developing a habit of daily devotions with younger children, but put off serious study until they are older. In some ways that makes sense to me. I really resonated with this statement:
“Too much formality risks turning the inspired Word of God into just another curriculum” (page 191).
I remember feeling that way in college. I loved my Bible classes, and I felt so blessed to be at a Christian college where God’s Word was an important part of many of my classes, but I struggled at times with it becoming in some ways like another textbook. I want to be careful to keep God’s Word as holy in our home, to not let it become “just another curriculum.”
However, I’m not sure I quite agree with what the Clarksons are saying. Without serious study I worry they will be prone to take Scripture out of context (as I see so many Christians doing). I see the early years a chance to fill my children’s minds and hearts with Scripture, and I feel that systematic study is an important part of knowing what they are reading. My approach has been to focus on the stories and principles of the Bible, learning about the Bible itself, and memorizing as much as possible, laying a foundation for when they are older and their hearts/faith have caught up.
Also, as I wrote in my “amendment” last week, I want to hold off on encouraging Ian to have a daily devotional time until I know that he is resting on his own faith. I don’t want to push him into “religious” habits that aren’t flowing from a heart that loves Jesus. On the other hand, I know God can work through those times alone in prayer and Bible reading to help that loving faith grow and develop. And I do think it’s a wonderful habit to help our children develop.
So I guess what I’m saying is I think it’s important to have both serious study and a more heart-focused devotional time. For now, I feel God is leading me to wait until Ian expresses an interest in being baptized before guiding him toward a habit of devotional reading. I suppose the best thing to do is continue to pray and seek God for wisdom in how to help my children walk along the path of faith.
Each Mentoring Monday I share my reflections on what I’ve been learning from my “paper mentors.” I am currently joining in a book discussion of Educating the WholeHearted Child by Clay Clarkson (with Sally Clarkson), so my Monday posts are all being sparked by things I’m reading in this fabulous book!
Wrapping Up Week 2 (2014-15)
As we finish up our second week of school, I am more excited than ever about this year. I wasn’t sure I was going to enjoy the first year of our history cycle as much as some of the others, but that was actually one of my favorite parts of this week. We had a lot of fun exploring different books related to our history and science subjects, as well as watching a couple videos (always Ian’s favorite part).
Bible
During our morning Bible time we continued reading Wisdom and the Millers. We read chapters 21-24 and would have finished the book except we skipped one day when we went on a field trip. Ian would love to read multiple chapters each day, but I like to keep him wanting more. After our chapter we always read a few verses in Proverbs. This week we read Proverbs 13:12-14:10.
We’re on Week 77 in Long Story Short by Marty Machowski, which continues the story of Ezra, so we didn’t move ahead in Bible Road Trip Year One (which only spent one week on Ezra).
Math
Ian finished up Year 1 of the Mathematics Enhancement Programme. We took a break partway through his Kindergarten year when it got a bit frustrating, so I wanted to be sure we finished that before diving into Year 2 for 1st grade. (The years are a bit confusing because the program is from the UK and doesn’t follow the US grading system. I’ve heard of people using Year 1 for 1st, but initially I had read that it was for Kindergarten so we started it then. If it gets to be too challenging I may stretch the material for Year 2 beyond 1st grade.)
We also did some work on learning to add 2-digit numbers using a really fun supplement called “Superhero Addition” created by a friend of mine. Ian loved it and did really well! It turns out he knows his addition facts much better than he lets on. I was so surprised by how fast he flew through the pages we did–without a single mistake! Evidently superheroes are highly motivating. He was eager to do extra math pages all week. (Thanks, Katie!)
Literature (Ambleside Online)
For poetry I took a break from A Child’s Garden of Verses to read poems to go along with our history lesson. Prayers from the Ark and The Creatures’ Choir by Carmen Bernos De Gasztold, translated by Rumer Godden contains poems written from the perspective of various animals. We made a fun game of it where I would read the poem and then the boys would guess which animal it was about. They really enjoyed it and we read at least six or seven each day.
I’m so thankful for Ambleside Online’s weekly schedules. They take a rather daunting booklist and break it down into really manageable chunks, spreading some books out over many months, which I think will really help Ian remember them better in the long run. We read everything scheduled for week two and finished “The Twelve Dancing Princesses” in Andrew Lang’s Red Fairy Book on the additional free reading list.
In addition to readings for AO Year 1, the literature program we’re reviewing had us spending the week with The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats. It was perfect timing, because the Skirball Cultural Center, which we decided to visit for a history field trip, happened to have a special exhibit on this book!
The kids loved seeing the familiar pictures and learning more about the author. I wish we’d had time to stay longer.
History Cycle
I’m generally following the lesson topics for Mystery of History, Vol. 1, though I’m not necessarily using that curriculum as designed. (Do I ever?) Week 2 covers:
- Noah and the Flood
- Ice Age
- Dinosaurs
That’s a lot to pack into one week, especially since we could spend a lot of time on each one! I prefer to use living books to teach topics whenever possible, only resorting to the textbook (which I paraphrase) when I can’t find an appropriate book. Here’s what we read this week:
Noah and the Flood
We have lots of books on this topic (see below), but I focused on Noah’s Ark by Jerry Pinkney. It’s very well written with beautiful watercolor illustrations. My favorite page is an underwater scene where sea creatures are swimming through the ruins of buildings now submerged by the flood:
“The water rose over cities and towns. Whales swam down ruined streets. Schools of fish darted through empty windows.”
We repeated many of the things we did last time we covered Noah, since the younger ones didn’t remember much. We read several of the books below (and had them all out for the children to look through on their own) and watched Greatest Adventures of the Bible: Noah’s Ark. We also talked about how people groups around the world had flood legends that seem to point back to the story of Noah. We read a page in Dinosaurs by Design by Duane Gish that shared some of these different legends, which Ian really enjoyed.
The highlight of our week was definitely visiting the Noah’s Ark Exhibit at the Skirball Cultural Center. Ian has been asking to go back ever since we first went two years ago. We noticed many new things and used up every minute of our two-hour time slot. The boys are already talking about “next time,” but since it’s well over an hour away, we may have to wait all four years until our history cycle comes around again. Then at least Nicholas will be old enough to remember it too!
Here’s our collection of Noah/Flood Books (some of these are basic preschool level books I read with Arianna and Elijah):
- The Story of Noah and the Ark illustrated by Gennady Spirin (KJV text)
- Inside Noah’s Ark by Charles Reasoner
- The Real Story of the Flood by Paul L. Maier (has a couple paragraphs at the end that reflect an unbiblical “day-age” view when talking about dinosaurs, but I just crossed those out and wrote a brief note in the margin for my kids in case they read it on their own. I really like the rest of the book.
- Noah’s Wife: The Story of Naamah by Sandy Eisenberg Sasso
- Naamah, Noah’s Wife by Sandy Eisenberg Sasso (a condensed board book of the above title, better for Arianna)
- Naamah and the Ark at Night by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
- Noah’s Crew Came 2 by 2 by Mindy MacDonald
The Ice Age
I read the page on the Ice Age from Dinosaurs by Design by Duane Gish. It was just an introduction to the topic, but that’s all I wanted this time around. I ordered Life in the Great Ice Age by Michael J. Oard, but since it hasn’t arrived yet, I think we’ll probably just save it for the next time through the history cycle.
Dinosaurs
There are so many possibilities when it comes to studying dinosaurs. I considered extending our time on this subject into next week, but Ian isn’t especially fascinated by them so I think once he’s had time to create a page for his history notebook we’ll just move on.
I tried to keep it simple this week so that dinosaurs didn’t overwhelm the rest of our schoolwork. We read through What Really Happened to the Dinosaurs? by John D. Morris and Ken Ham. Then we watched The Creation Adventure Team: A Jurassic Ark Mystery and Buddy Davis Adventures: I Dig Dinosaurs! (I like the second one much better, but Ian really likes them both.)
Science
In The World of Animals (part of the God’s Design for Life curriculum from Answers in Genesis), we went deeper into our study of mammals. Ian made a collage of mammal pictures for his notebook:
We read in the textbook about spiny anteaters (echidnas) and the platypus, mammals that are unusual because they lay eggs. Ian was interested in that, so we read a little more in a book we have that also happens to be called World of Animals (by Martin Walters) We also watched an episode of Wild Kratts called “Platypus Cafe“.
Later in the week we read in the textbook about primates. There was a special section about the intelligence of primates, which reminded Ian of Koko, whom we read about in Koko’s Story by Francine Patterson. In Ian’s notebook he wanted to record that Curious George is not a monkey because he has no tail (which would make him an ape).
After reading About Mammals by Cathryn Sill, Ian also wanted to read About Rodents, so even though they weren’t covered in our textbook, we spent a little time talking about rodents. He really enjoyed learning about them because we see lots of squirrels in the park near our house, and he was processing what we read with what he’s observed there. The Life Cycle of a Beaver by Bobbie Kalman was full of great information. (We’ll be finishing it up this weekend, and then I’m planning to let the kids watch Wild Kratts “Build it Beaver.”
We still have quite a bit of time left on mammals, so I’m sure Ian will have no trouble finishing up that last notebook page.
As you can see, it was a busy week! I really enjoyed exploring these subjects with Ian and was reminded once more how glad I am that we get to homeschool!
Upcoming Reviews
We’re currently getting familiar with the following products. Watch for reviews soon!
- Accountable Kids
- Lightening Literature 1st Grade (from Hewitt Homeschooling)
- Happy Kids Songs
- Mathletics (from 3P Learning)
- UberSmart Math Facts
- “Who Created Everything” audio drama (from Wizzy Gizmo)
Valuing Scripture
Educating the WholeHearted Child: Chapter 10
“It is a deliberate choice you make to ensure your children grow up valuing the Bible as God’s revealed Word, not just consuming it like another Christian product” (page 186).
As I read through this chapter I was struck by this idea. We have tried hard to make this choice for our family. Both of our older boys received ESV Bibles with their names imprinted on the covers when they turned four. They read from them every night during our family Bible time as well as using them during school and whenever they want to read on their own. They take them to church on Sundays and share them with the kids in the 5th grade class where Eric and I teach. (We want to worship together as a family on Sundays, so we bring all our kids in with us.)
I overheard Elijah telling Arianna the other day, “When you turn four, you’ll get a real Bible too!” I love that he knows it’s a milestone in our family, and that he sees the difference between Bible storybooks (of which Arianna has plenty!) and the “real” Bible. It’s important to learn the stories, and with little ones Bible storybooks can be a great tool, but there’s nothing like the inspired Word of God.
This chapter brought to mind three two areas I want to focus on for improvement in teaching my children to value Scripture:
- I want to be more intentional about pointing out to my children that when we read, God is speaking to us. I want them to know that this is different than all the other times throughout the day when Mommy reads out loud (which happens a lot the way we choose to teach them.)
“When you read and study the Bible with your children, remind them you are carrying on a conversation with the God of the universe. When you open the Bible to read God’s words, remind them to open their hearts to hear God’s voice. Remind them often that the Bible is not just an inspired curriculum about God and the Christian life, nor is it just a heavenly storybook, but it is God speaking to the world and to them through his revealed Word” (page 186).
- I want to be sure I’m reading the Bible on my own in front of my children. I tend to try to wait until I am alone to spend time in the Word, but while that time is definitely important, it doesn’t help model for my children the importance of the Scriptures in my life.
This probably needs to wait until after I’m more established on my second goal, but I want to start encouraging at least Ian to have a personal devotion time. Right now I require all my children to lie down in their beds during “nap time,” even my 6-year old. He often does sleep, but I think I could use the first part of those two hours to help him develop a devotional habit. (After all, that’s often when I have my own devotions.) I’ll have to consider this some more, but I want to keep it in mind and start heading in that direction.
Edited: After posting this I was praying about this last goal and felt God saying to wait, not just until my children see me reading my Bible more often, but until they really start expressing their own faith. More specifically, I felt He wanted me to wait until after they have expressed a desire to be baptized. Ian could probably tell someone what it means to have faith in Jesus and have our sins forgiven, and one time he asked me when he would be baptized, but he’s never said he wanted to do so or really expressed his own faith. I think if I were to encourage devotions at this point it would be more of a religious exercise rather than time spent listening to God. So I’ll just keep this in mind for later. 🙂
Each Mentoring Monday I share my reflections on what I’ve been learning from my “paper mentors.” I am currently joining in a book discussion of Educating the WholeHearted Child by Clay Clarkson (with Sally Clarkson), so my Monday posts are all being sparked by things I’m reading in this fabulous book!
Wrapping Up Week 1 (2014-15)
Our first week flew by! I’ve decided that this year I want to write a weekly wrap-up of what we’re doing. One of my main purposes in blogging has been to have a record of what we do, and I’ve found myself looking back to old posts more frequently than I thought I would when I want to find activities or links to go with certain books or Bible studies.
So I apologize if these posts are tedious to everyone else, but they’re really going to help my scatter-brain keep track of the things we cover this year! Here’s what we did this week:
Bible
Morning Proverbs: Wisdom and the Millers (Chapters 16-20), Proverbs 13:1-12 (We just read 2-3 verse each morning and discuss them.)
Story: The exiles return to start building the temple (Ezra 1-4). We read Week 76 in Long Story Short by Marty Machowski, which lined up well with Bible Road Trip Year One Week 30. We did the BRT research, but we didn’t get through all the Bible reading because it covered the whole book of Ezra, which we’ll finish up next week. We watched the first episode of What’s in the Bible Vol. 7, “Ezra and Nehemiah,” and some extra research in the Rose Guide to the Temple. (The boys love the pictures in the Rose Guides.)
I want to do quite a bit of “notebooking” with Ian this year, but I’m holding off on a Bible notebook for now. We’ll wait until we start the New Testament in a few weeks.
Arianna and I started reading through The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes, but I’m not sure if we’ll be able to keep that up. She loves the pictures, and we read through several pages at one sitting, but it’s hard to schedule anything consistently with her.
Literature (Ambleside Online)
I’ve been looking forward to starting Ambleside Online Year 1 since Ian was a toddler, and our first week did not disappoint! 
He really enjoyed the poems from A Child’s Garden of Verses each day as well as most of the readings. (He didn’t complain about any, but some he was definitely more into than others.)
We’re using Leslie Laurio’s paraphrase of Parables from Nature by Margaret Gatty because I had heard many people saying their children had a hard time with that book. I was surprised by how much Ian loved the story of the caterpillar learning to have faith about becoming a butterfly, so I think it was a good choice. I’m hoping that later on perhaps we can read the original version, once he’s gotten more familiar with the book.
Ian’s already a fan of Thornton W. Burgess, as the boys have been listening several of his books on their iPod for the last few years. So when we started reading The Burgess Bird Book, Ian was delighted to discover familiar characters were part of his school work. After we read about Jenny Wren we listened to recordings of what wrens sound like.
Grandma recently returned from a trip to the UK, so it was fun to start Our Island Story, though Ian was a little confused by the mythological beginning. I know we’ll come across many references to Greek and Roman gods in classic literature, so it was a good introduction. (We’ve talked a lot about false gods during our study of the Old Testament, so it wasn’t a completely new idea.)
We continued picking away at the Year 1 “free reads” with The Velveteen Rabbit. (We started working through this list a few months ago with Little House in the Big Woods, Peter Pan and Charlotte’s Web.) Since there wasn’t a scheduled fairy tale this week, we also started “The Twelve Dancing Princesses” in Andrew Lang’s Red Fairy Book.
I was so thankful I had gone ahead and purchased the bundle of 225 ebooks from Yesterday’s Classics a while back. Many of the books we’ll be reading with Ambleside Online are included, as well as lots of other wonderful choices for free reading.
In addition to our AO reading, we’re also reviewing a program called Lightening Literature 1st Grade, from Hewitt Homeschooling, which had us spending the week with Madeline, an old favorite of ours.
History Cycle
In addition to the Ambleside Online history selections, we’ll be lightly covering Creation through Christ in preparation for doing our own history cycle next year starting with the early church through the Reformation.
This week we read the Creation story and talked about early man. We read chapter one in Susan Wise Bauer’s Story of the World, Vol. 1 a few weeks ago, so I didn’t do much more this week besides listening to several selections on the CDs that go with Diana Waring’s History Revealed curriculum. 
(I purchased the Ancient Civilizations full CD set from Answers in Genesis and am really enjoying the fascinating information she shares!) They were more for me since they’re not quite on Ian’s level, but I chose to only have them on when he was around and I know he was listening and picking up on quite a bit.
We started a history notebook, which is going to be really simple this year, just including pictures from the Homeschool in the Woods History Through the Ages-Collection CD, which has timeline figures from every period of history. I won’t be doing anything fancy with Ian’s history notebook this year, but I wanted to start developing the habit.
As a fun extra, we watched Buddy Davis Adventures: Extreme Caving, which is a fun, Creation-based DVD that teaches a lot about caves and even has a segment on early man.
Science
This year we’re going through the God’s Design for Life curriculum from Answers in Genesis. (There are 4 years to the God’s Design for Science series, so if we like them I’m planning to use it as a cycle until all my children have gone through it at least once.) I really like the way this curriculum is designed to be used from 1st-8th grade with specific readings and activities for younger and older students. We’re going to stick with the suggestions for the lower grades unless there’s a subject Ian wants to spend more time studying.
There are three books to go through in God’s Design for Life , which fits well with the structure of our year since Ambleside Online uses three terms. During the first term of this year we’ll be going through The World of Animals. This week we read through the introductory chapters and began studying mammals. I plan on having Ian keep a science notebook as well, but we only got as far as labeling the first section. We’ll be reading about mammals for the next couple weeks, so he’s got plenty of time for notebooking.
Upcoming Reviews
We’re currently getting familiar with the following products. Watch for reviews soon!
- Accountable Kids
- Lightening Literature 1st Grade (from Hewitt Homeschooling)
- Happy Kids Songs
- Mathletics (from 3P Learning)
- UberSmart Math Facts
3-Year Bible Survey for Students (Review)
When I first started this blog most of my posts were about the Bible lessons I started doing when my oldest turned three as I sought to be intentional about discipling him. Now he’s just starting 1st grade (and there are two preschoolers and a baby coming up close behind!), and I would still say the most important part of my children’s home education is our time in God’s Word. I have several goals:
- I want them to know about the Bible (historical context, authors, genres, canonization, etc.).
- I want them to know what’s in it (where to find what they’re looking for).
- I want it to be a part of their daily lives in such a way that when they are grown they can’t imagine a day passing without being in the Word because they are eager for God to speak to them through it.
So how do I go about pursuing those goals on a day to day basis? We spend time each morning in Proverbs, and time each evening in family devotions, both times helping meet the last two goals. But now that Ian is starting 1st grade, I want a thorough, systematic way to help us meet the first one. That’s why I was SO excited to find Bible Road Trip.
What is it?
Bible Road Trip is a 3-year curriculum design to be used over and over as a child matures from preschool all the way through high school. (I love repeatable cycles!) It takes students on a journey from Genesis to Revelation, teaching about each book and helping them come to a greater understanding of the overall message of the Bible.
I have many friends who limit their homeschool Bible time to the ties they can make between the Scriptures and whatever else they are studying. While I think that is an important part of educating and discipling our children, I also think it is essential to have a time devoted specifically to studying the Bible on a systematic basis. I thought I was going to have to create my own program to take my children through the Bible the way I desired, but Danika Cooley, the author of Bible Road Trip, has put together a curriculum that leads students through God’s Word, helping them understand what they are reading.
The program is broken up into three 32-week years, making it easy to fit into a school year with flexibility for holidays, time to catch up, or extended study:
- Year One covers the Old Testament books of Law and History
- Year Two covers the Old Testament books of Poetry and Prophecy
- Year Three covers the entire New Testament.
There are 5 separate levels of study, following essentially classical delineations:
- Preschool-Kindergarten
- Lower Grammar (Grades 1-3)
- Upper Grammar (Grades 4-6)
- Dialectic (Grades 7-9)
- Rhetoric (Grades 9-12)
For each week of study, there are assignments at each of these levels, so the entire family can be focusing on the same portion of Scripture simultaneously in ways developmentally appropriate to each students stage of learning.
Each week is broken up into two main sections. “Dig Deep” contains the bulk of the lesson:
- Researching the Word (using the Bible study books listed below)
- Reading the Word (5 daily assignments including a few comprehension questions)
- Memorizing the Word (weekly memory verse)
- Notebooking about the Word
- Praying about the Word (focusing on different countries around the world)
This is followed by a section for “Explore Further,” which includes:
- Learning More about the Word (related videos, etc.)
- Crafting Through the Word (hands-on projects to help reinforce what was learned)
Getting Started
Since Ian is in 1st grade, I’ll just be discussing how to use the program in the “Lower Grammar” stage. Here’s what we needed to collect in order to begin using Bible Road Trip:
- Bible (She recommends ESV, which is what our family uses anyway, but I think any reliable translation would work without any problems.)
- Weekly lesson plan (on the website)
Notebook pages corresponding to the weekly lesson plan (on the website)- What the Bible is All About: Bible Handbook for Kids by Frances Blankenbaker
- What the Bible is About Resources: Reproducible Maps, Charts, Time Lines & Illustrations
- Window on the World by Daphne Spraggett with Jill Johnstone (for weekly missions/prayer focus)
- 3-ring binders (one for the curriculum print-outs for me, and one for Ian’s notebook)
- Basic art supplies
There are also a few recommended resources for extra learning:
- What’s in the Bible? With Buck Denver DVD’s (We love these!)
- How the Bible Came to Us by Meryl Doney
- God’s Special Tent by Jean Stapleton
Our Experience
We spent some time on Week 1 and 2 of Year One, which cover “What is the Bible?” and “Exploring the Old Testament,” but then we jumped ahead because I want to use Bible Road Trip to enrich the boys’ study as we finish going through the Bible in our family devotions. (We started in August 2012 and are just about finished with the Old Testament period in our chronological study.) After those introductory weeks, we skipped ahead to Year Two to find the sections on Daniel so we be “on the same page,” and then we went back to Year One to finish the story of the exiles’ return in Ezra and Nehemiah.
Year Three will soon begin being posted week by week, and that’s what we plan to use for this coming school year as we head into the New Testament as a family.
What We Liked About Bible Road Trip
I like that Danika has created the program as an adaptable tool for families. “The goal is to acquaint our children with the Word of God, not to create busy work.” If the suggestions she makes for each lesson aren’t helpful, it’s not going to cause problems if you decide to skip them with your family. On the other hand, she provides some wonderful ways to engage children, especially in the “Explore Further” section of each lesson.
I think my favorite part of the curriculum, however, is the Notebooking Journal. The pages Danika has created are just stunning! They contain many full-color works of art from masters such as Van Gogh, Michelangelo, and Rembrandt. Notebooking is such a great learning tool, and these pages are going to create a beautiful record of what we have learned. Ian loves going through the Bible notebook we created during his preschool years, and I know this will be something he goes back to again and again.
(Incidentally, I first heard about Bible Road Trip when I purchased a lifetime membership to notebookingpages.com and received the Year One lesson plan pdf as a bonus. If you want to find out more about the benefits of notebooking, their website is a great place to start!)
What We Adjusted for Our Family
When going through the Bible I always have to make a decision about how I’m going to do it: book by book or chronological order? There are pros and cons to both approaches, and those are passed on when choosing a Bible curriculum.
We have been using a devotional that goes through chronologically, which I think really helps kids grasp the flow of history and see where the different stories they read in the Bible fit into the big picture. Bible Road Trip goes through book by book, so while you get a good sense of history in Year One, you miss a few things (like the stories of Daniel) that are described in the books of prophecy in Year Two. As I said above, we solved this issue by using the appropriate lessons from the Year Two curriculum since we already have a chronological framework established. When I begin the entire 3-year cycle again, I will probably just do Bible Road Trip as written, but I’m wondering if there will be some confusion with abandoning the chronological approach.
I also opted not to use the “Praying About the Word” section. It’s not that I had any issues with it; on the contrary, I thought it was a valuable addition. Still, it seemed to be completely separate from rest of the study, which made it feel like a supplementary curriculum in and of itself. We just are doing so much already that I decided to hold off on it, at least for now.
Just the Facts
Interested in starting Bible Road Trip? Here’s
- Recommended ages: preschool-highschool
- Weekly lessons plans and notebooking pages are available for free if you download each week separately!
- If you want the convenience of having the whole year in one place (great for printing the year in advance with one click!), you can purchase the Year One and
Year Two lesson plans ($20 per year) and the corresponding Notebooking Journals ($20 per year for each level: Lower Grammar, Upper Grammar, or Dialectic) as pdf files.
My Overall Impression
I’m excited to find such a valuable tool to help disciple my children. I am so thankful for the research Danika has put into Bible Road Trip and the time she has taken in making it available for other families to use. I’m sure I’ll be sharing more as we get further into our journey!
DISCLAIMER: I received the Year One Notebooking Journal for free in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations. This post contains affiliate links.
Plans for Our 2014-15 School Year
Keyword: “Plans” (Every thing in this post is subject to change!)
Recently I was part of on online conversation with some other homeschool moms and someone brought up the topic of “planning.” It’s amazing what a wide range of planning goes into different families’ school years depending on how many kids they have, what style of education they lean toward, personalities, etc. Some of them literally just go day to day, following a “delight directed” learning approach. Others want the support of a curriculum that lays out what they’re going to do each day over the 36 weeks of the school year.
For myself, I find it incredibly helpful to have at least a rough outline that shows me where I want to be in each subject each week if I plan to complete something by the end of the year. I usually allow a lot of flexibility with weeks scheduled in for catching up, and I’m not a slave to the schedule. I just find that it really helps me to see everything laid out. (I’m a visual learner and have a hard time functioning without some sort of plan that I can see.) Plus I find that we accomplish a lot more when I have things written down.
I have found the easiest way for me to plan is to use a blank calendar. There are many available online, but this year I printed mine up from www.calendarlabs.com. I ignore the days of the week and instead use those columns for different subjects. (In the Sunday column I number the week of school that we’re on.)
The only subjects I’ve scheduled for the whole year are history and science. We’re currently reviewing a program that uses children’s literature so I’ve written in those books for this month as well as where we’ll be in our Bible study, just so I can see what we’ll be learning about at the same time. Sometimes when I see a holiday or break is coming up I’ll try to finish an extra lesson or break from a subject early just so we don’t stop right in the middle of something. (For example, in August Ian has a week of baseball camp and then a week of music camp, and we’re hoping to get away for a week in September. So I tried to make sure our science units got squeezed around those weeks.)
I didn’t write on the calendar any of the reading assignments from Ambleside Online Year 1 because those are already so nicely laid out for me it seemed like a waste of time to try to write them out again.
Here’s what we’re planning to use for 1st grade with Ian:
Bible/Character
- For morning devotions we’ll continue going through Proverbs and the Miller family books.
- For study, we plan to finish Bible Road Trip – Year 1 (review coming soon!), which will correspond somewhat with our family Bible time as we go through Old Story New by Marty Machowski
- I’m sure there will be quite a few We Choose Virtues discussions as well.
Literature
- Right now I’m reviewing Lightening Literature for 1st Grade, but I don’t plan to continue it past this month. (We’re revisiting a few of our Five in a Row favorites with it, so it’s a fun way to start the year.)
- Ambleside Online Year 1 – I don’t plan on using everything from AO as written, but I would like to try to get through all their literature and poetry selections this year.
Writing
- Spelling You See – We did the first half of Level B- Jack and Jill last year, and I think we’ll go back and finish at least that level once we finish the Lightening Literature program. (I tend to lean toward a Charlotte Mason approach when it comes to writing, so we won’t be doing much composition unless Ian expresses a desire.)
History/Geography
- I’ll be loosely starting our 4-year history cycle, covering Creation through Christ. I’m not going to be using any particular program, but I’ll be covering various stories from Mystery of History and Story of the World and incorporating several other resources to help Ian become familiar with some of the important people and events from that time period.
- For various reasons we won’t spend as much time on our history cycle as I plan to in the future, so I think we’ll also do some of the history and geography selections from Ambleside Online Year 1.
Science
- I’ve had my eye on the God’s Design for Science series from Answers in Genesis for a while, and I decided to give it a try this year. We’ll be doing God’s Design for Life which has 3 books:
- The World of Animals
- The Human Body
- The World of Plants
Math
- We’re finishing up the last week of Year 1 in the Mathematics Enhancement Programme (since we took a break mid-year when Ian started getting frustrated). Then we’ll start right in with Year 2.
- I’m currently reviewing two supplemental math programs, one online and one software program, and I’m sure we’ll continue using at least one of them until Ian has mastered his addition/subtraction facts.
Foreign Language
- Ian has been looking forward to getting back into our Salsa Spanish lessons using the Salsa materials from the Wyoming Department of Education. Luckily there are still plenty to take us through this coming year.
Arts
- Hymns: Ian is learning about 1/month on the piano, so we’ll focus on those.
- Composers: AO selections
- Music: piano, choir, hand chimes
- Art: ARTistic Pursuits (finish K-3 Vol. 2; possibly start Vol. 1)
I’m considering this a “Jr. Kindergarten” year for Elijah (who won’t be 5 until well into the fall) simply because he’s already doing so much Kindergarten work on his own and reading really well. I don’t insist that he join us for any part of school (sometimes it’s more helpful if he’s off playing with Arianna), but he manages to pick up quite a bit and I have no interest in pushing him beyond that.
The Blessing of Sharing Life With All Ages
There’s so much I could say about this group of boys, but I’ll restrain myself and leave it at this: I love this picture!
One of my favorite things about homeschooling is that my children are “socialized” in a real world setting, interacting with people of all ages rather than spending the majority of their time with one adult and 30 people born within the same 12-month span. I love going to the park with other families and watching Ian play with older boys who don’t look down on him for being six but instead teach him to play the games they like with more patience than I ever imagine pre-adolescent boys could show. All my children have been blessed by getting to spend time with other children both younger and older than themselves (as well as adults) on a regular basis.
Today, however, I realized that I have experienced a similar blessing. Our homeschool group ranges from moms who been teaching their children for decades down to those just starting the preschool phase. Some are still homeschooling their youngest children, while the older ones are now starting to teach their own children.
Just a few of my homeschooling “sisters”
As we evaluate the year we’ve just wrapped up and get our smaller support groups settled for the coming year, I’ve realized how important it is to stay connected with moms in all stages of this journey. Just as Ian learns from those older boys at the park, I gain so much from hanging out with moms whose children may be graduated or in high school. They’ve been where I am now and can offer so much in the way of encouragement and advice.
Similarly, I love getting to encourage the moms who may be only a year or two behind me. I have friends who look forward to homeschooling but right now just have a houseful of preschoolers and are overwhelmed by the thought of actually trying to find time to “do school” when their older one reaches the age for Kindergarten or 1st grade. That season is still fresh for me, so I’m able to share what’s worked for us (and what hasn’t) and point them to things that have helped me.
Sometimes it’s tempting to only spend time with moms in the same stage of life that I am in myself, but I’d be missing out on so much if I did so. I am so blessed by all the women in my life, both at church and in our school group, who are a different stages of their homeschooling journey, and I’m thankful that God has brought us together to teach, inspire, lift up, and encourage one another.
“Older women… are to teach what is good, 4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.” Titus 2:3-5