Heather in Neverland Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 I am finishing up my second year here and as I look back at all the changes I have instituted I am struck by how profound the effect of 6 years of homeschooling and hangng out on these boards is in my curriculum choices for the school. Observe.... -switched bible curriculum to Children Desiring God (preschool-grade 5) -switched to a more rigorous bible sequence of intro/survey-doctrine-application for grades 9-12 -brought in Singapore math to supplement our math curriculum (grades k-8) -brought in SOTW vol 1-4 for our social studies (grades 1-4) -changed science to a physical-life-earth 3 year cycle for grades K-12 using primarily hands-on science for grades K-4 and Prentice Hall Science Explorer for grades 5-8 and God's Design for Science for grades K-8. -brought in Voyages in English for grades 1-5 and Easy Grammar for grades 6-8 -raised the bar on literature choices in grades 7-12 away from all "high interest" modern books to the classics And I am not finished yet! Am I just bragging? No (but I am bragging a little). All of these choices were made possible because of homeschooling, because of SWB's book, because of curriculum info from all of YOU ladies. So much of what I have learned on the boards is informing choices I am making on the other side of the world... choices that will affect hundreds of children in years to come. All the changes have had positive results. The teachers, students and parents are all happier with the new curriculum. Good job ladies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
specialmama Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 :D That is so awesome, Heather! I'm excited for those kids! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amber in AUS Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 That is wonderful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 :D That is so awesome, Heather! I'm excited for those kids! :D :iagree::iagree: What she said! That's great Heather! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 :hurray: Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margo out of lurking Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 -switched to a more rigorous bible sequence of intro/survey-doctrine-application for grades 9-12 Heather, would you share what you are using for this? -brought in Singapore math to supplement our math curriculum (grades k-8) Somehow, that's so fitting!:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in Neverland Posted April 21, 2011 Author Share Posted April 21, 2011 Heather, would you share what you are using for this? I'd be happy to! We consider 9th grade our "introduction" year as many incoming students have had little exposure to the Bible. So we do a survey of the Old and New Testaments using "Popular Survey of the Old Testament" and "Popular Survey of the New Testament" by Norman Geisler along with "Discover the Bible for Yourself" by Kay Arthur to give them some basic Bible study skills. In 10th grade we give them the foundations of the Christian faith with an in depth study of Acts and Romans using some of the John Stott's materials as well as "Know What You Believe" and "Know Why You Believe" by Paul Little. We follow that up with Christian ethics using the book "Ethix: Being Bold in a Whatever World" by Sean McDowell. In 11th grade we go for more life application with a class called "Design and Purpose". We use John Piper's book, "Don't Waste Your Life" for a macro view of our purpose on earth and another called "How to Stay Christian in College" to give the students some practical advice. Second semester is a class on World Religions so they will be able to see how the CHristian faith compares to other major world religions. We use a book called "The World's Religions: Worldviews and Contemporary Issues". Finally in their senior year we prepare them to defend their faith with a course in apologetics. We use "A Case for Faith" and "A Case for Christ" as well as "Evidence that Demands a Verdict". We are all really pleased with this sequence as it starts with "the basics" and goes on to more foundational things then on to real life application. It is far better than the workbook-y approach they were using for years. Hope that helps!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafiki Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 I am finishing up my second year here and as I look back at all the changes I have instituted I am struck by how profound the effect of 6 years of homeschooling and hangng out on these boards is in my curriculum choices for the school. Observe.... -switched bible curriculum to Children Desiring God (preschool-grade 5) -switched to a more rigorous bible sequence of intro/survey-doctrine-application for grades 9-12 -brought in Singapore math to supplement our math curriculum (grades k-8) -brought in SOTW vol 1-4 for our social studies (grades 1-4) -changed science to a physical-life-earth 3 year cycle for grades K-12 using primarily hands-on science for grades K-4 and Prentice Hall Science Explorer for grades 5-8 and God's Design for Science for grades K-8. -brought in Voyages in English for grades 1-5 and Easy Grammar for grades 6-8 -raised the bar on literature choices in grades 7-12 away from all "high interest" modern books to the classics And I am not finished yet! Am I just bragging? No (but I am bragging a little). All of these choices were made possible because of homeschooling, because of SWB's book, because of curriculum info from all of YOU ladies. So much of what I have learned on the boards is informing choices I am making on the other side of the world... choices that will affect hundreds of children in years to come. All the changes have had positive results. The teachers, students and parents are all happier with the new curriculum. Good job ladies. :party: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTMCassandra Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Way to go! :thumbup1::thumbup::thumbup1::thumbup: :party: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardening momma Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 We are all really pleased with this sequence as it starts with "the basics" and goes on to more foundational things then on to real life application. It is far better than the workbook-y approach they were using for years. That list looks great. When I was in high school, our Bible curriculum was workbooks. Short chapters with a list of questions at the end. Very, very easy to just go back and find the answers in the text. My senior year, our Bible teacher was the principle (he also taught the 11th/12th grade government class), and his tests were always a few of the chapter questions, word for word. Memorize those and the answers, and you had it made. Final exam was about 20-30 of the questions from the weekly tests. I just memorized all the questions/answers on all the tests and aced the final exam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 You rock. Thank you for living your calling and positively impacting so many families and children! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in Neverland Posted April 22, 2011 Author Share Posted April 22, 2011 You rock. Thank you for living your calling and positively impacting so many families and children! awww.... thank you! :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindy in C-ville Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 Love it, Heather! You're doing a fantastic job and clearly in a place of gifting and call. Still pouting a bit .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staceyobu Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 What is the childrens desiring god curriculum? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 Isn't wonderful how people working together can impact the greater good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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