Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Curriculum Brag

I really just wanted to take a chance and {shamelessly} brag on our homeschool curriculum, Little Hearts for His Glory. It is so wonderful! The description on the cover explains exactly all the reasons why I love it: Christ-centered, Flexible, Quick Activities, Easy to Use, Fun Ideas, and Complete Plans. I really, really enjoy all the neat, easy activities that are included.

For our History segment {which is really Biblical & God's hand throughout history}, I read from actual Scriptures that they have pieced together to make-up a complete story. Let's face it, even for an adult sometimes reading Biblical accounts can be lengthy, so it is so wise how they put together which Scriptures to read to give your child an understanding of what happened. This week, after reading about David, one of the activities included taping a drawing of Goliath's face on the wall {about 9 feet up, since that's how tall he was} and having your child pretend to be David. Tatiana took 5 rolled up socks {a.k.a. "smooth stones"} and attempted to hit Goliath in the forehead. It was so fun. We also discussed man looking at the outside and God looking at the heart. She had to look in a mirror and answer questions about her appearance, then draw a self-portrait. On a separate piece of paper, she described some of the qualities on herself on the inside. Then we taped the two together. There have been so many more neat activities that serve to reinforce the daily lesson.

Tatiana & Sienna both enjoy the weekly Rhyme/Song as well. All the songs fit with whatever is being learned & include gross motor skills to help improve body coordination. All the choices of activities and additional books are so...integrated. There's no better word to describe it. Instead of all the subjects being disjointed, they try and have everything pointing toward a central theme. Even our reading time is designed for character building. We aren't just reading some random chapter book. Everything has such distinct purpose, which I suppose is why we can learn so much in only 1-1 1/2 hours!

*I* so appreciate the weekly Scripture memorization as it helps me to "hide it in my heart" as well. I admit that in the past I have been guilty of just letting church do the Scriptural instruction and now with the help of this curriculum, I finally feel like I am fulfilling my God-given responsibility of training my child in His ways & His Word. Periodically we read from Devotions for the Children's Hour, which I highly recommend for anyone wanting to start doing devotions with their child/family. The chapters are short, only about 2 pages long and cover topics like Who is God?, Who is Satan?, The Most Important Thing a Child Can Do, Why It Helps Us to Be Punished, and many more. At the end of each chapter, there are a few questions for review as well as a simple prayer to use with your child/family. If you know me IRL and would like to look this {or any other book I mention} over, please just ask!

During this season of my life, I am really thankful too that everything is all planned out for me. I really don't have to do any pre-planning. I just open the curriculum guide & off we go! It really would be a great choice for someone who is a new homeschooler or wants to give it try, but thinks there is too much work involved. The same company also produces a Pre-K curriculum, designed for 2-5 year olds, which can be found here, that might be considered even if you don't plan on homeschooling in the future. It would give you & your child extra quality time together, learning & building a Christian foundation. I can't wait to start using this with Sienna!

I really am having so much fun & I know Tatiana is too. I am grateful to the Lord for guiding me in this decision and don't think I could've made a better one! If you have any questions about this curriculum or are considering using it, please let me know or feel free to send me a private email. Thanks for listening to my excitement & appreciation of our curriculum ;>)

1 comment:

Debbie J said...

My kids are grown and homeschooling wasn't done that much then, but boy I would now. Keep up the good work!!