Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Where is God?—TOS review

Company:  Apologia

Product:  Where is God?  And can I really know Him?

Price:  $39.00

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The Bible is the most important part of our homeschooling curriculum.  It is the first subject we do every day.  That way, if we don’t get to anything else, we have done the most important stuff.    I received the book  Who is God?  And Can I really Know Him? from Apologia to review.  

I think know that our culture is drifting farther and farther away from God.  Because of this I want my children to have a foundation of truth on which to base their lives.  I want our family to be radically different than the normal family.  You can even think we’re crazy if you want.  As long as it’s crazy for God.   The media is everywhere and I think it is very important to teach our children the difference between what the ideas of the times and the truth. 

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Who is God? is the first in a series titled What We Believe from Apologia Press.   These words are from the Apologia website about this new curriculum.

The "What We Believe" Series is an outstanding way to teach your child the essential beliefs of the Christian faith, but it’s so much more! With this student-directed, Bible-based curriculum, your children will learn how to use Scripture as a lens through which to view the world around them—to see everything the way God sees it—and know the truth.

This is a hardback textbook that really impressed me when I received it.  It is easy to use for all ages.   The text is written directly to the student so children can do it on their own if you choose.  Our family has chosen to go through the book together so we can discuss openly the biblical truths taught.  

You can work through the curriculum at your own pace.  The Bible verses are taken from NIV Bible but several Bibles were used to make the vocabulary easier for younger children.   I think one reason a lot of people do not read the Bible is because it is hard to understand unless it is written at a level that you understand. 

Each chapter of the book contains several parts:

  • The Big Idea
  • What you will do
  • Short Story
  • Think About it
  • Words you need to Know
  • Hide it In your Heart
  • Integrated Learning
  • What Should I do
  • Prayer
  • Worldview study
  • House of Truth

Each Chapter is designed to take two weeks if you do the curriculum 3 days a week.  Because we work on memory verses on some days of the week, we didn’t get to do it three days every week.  In the beginning of the book there is a very descriptive section on How to Use This Book.  It was invaluable to us.

The Lessons included are:

Where Am I Building my Life?

How Can I Know What’s True?

What is God Like?  Part 1

What is God Like? Part 2

Who are the Father, the Son, and The Holy Spirit?

If God Created the World, Why isn’t it Perfect?

Why did God create Me?

Will God meet all my needs?

Why does Sin keep me from knowing God?

Is Jesus the Only Way to God?

Our favorite part of the lessons was the short story. 

Another aspect that I really like is that it encourages notebooking.  I love notebooking.  We feel like it is a great way to remember what you learn.  It also allows you to look back and see all of the hard work the student has done.

For the Words you Need to Know, we used index cards to write the definitions on.  I love that the definitions are right in the book and the kids could use them as copywork.   It amazed me that after reading the short story and talking about the lesson, that they already knew the meanings of the words without me telling them first.  

We also used the Memory Verses (Hide it in your Heart) as copywork. 

There are four books in the What We Believe series, Who is God?, Who am I?, Who is my Brother? (available in 2011), and What on Earth can I do? (Available 2012)

I am so excited about this series.  I think each book will probably take us about a year to do if we do a Lesson a month.  By the time we are finished with the entire series, I feel that my children will have the foundation for life that we feel is so important.    I believe that God provides what we need and this book arrived at just the right time in my children’s education.  

Apologia is committed to providing creation based curriculum to homeschool families.  You can read their mission statement here.   You can also read about the scholarships they offer homeschool students on the same page.  I love that there are scholarships available for our children without sending them to public school. 

The only negative thing I have to say about Apologia is I had trouble with the website when I was using the search box.  Everything I typed in the box came up as “Not found”.  I had no other trouble with the website.   You can download their catalog or request a free one on the website.   The catalog talks about a What we believe notebooking journal  and Coloring Book that is coming out soon to go with these books.   These are not on the website yet but look for them soon.

Our Family gives Who is God? and Can I really Know Him?

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Smiley guide:

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1 Smiley - Product not really for our family. Probably wouldn’t buy. This really should probably be a frown face but we hate to be negative.

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2 Smileys - Would maybe buy this product if on sale. Not a great fit for our family.

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3 Smileys - We really liked this product and would probably recommend this to friends and fellow homeschoolers.

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4 – Smileys – Definitely would buy this if the budget would allow. We suggest you check this out to see if it is a fit for your family.

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5 Smileys – Would sell the family pets to get this one (just kidding). A must have for our family and we think you should get it too.

To see what my fellow crew mates have to say about this this product, click here. For giveaways,and other great stuff, please check out the TOS Homeschool Crew blog by clicking below.

Please note:  I received this product for free in exchange for my honest opinion in this review.  No other compensation was provided.  Thank you to Apologia and TOS for this opportunity.

1 comment:

Rodna Allman said...

I can't wait to get this book!
I am stopping by from the Blog Walk.

I know I am behind, but I am catching up.

I am already following you.

Would love a follow back, if you are not already.

http://trainingchildrenupforchrist.blogspot.com/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Training-Children-up-for-Christ/172207506164174?sk=wall

Thanks. Have a great day.

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