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Tuesday, March 15, 2011

TOS Review: Who Is God ?and Can I Really Know Him?

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Through the different forms of media available in the world today, our children our constantly exposed to different ideas about: identity, truth, morality, beauty, and more. Some of these ideas are true, but more often they are wrong and can be destructive. We need to be able to teach our children to discern what is true in all of the competing ideas that they have surrounding them. Apologia has teamed up with Summit Ministries to bring the "What We Believe" Series a four volume series to teach your children to be able 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." Who is God? and Can I Really Know Him? is the first book in the "What We Believe" Series.



Who is God ?and Can I Really Know Him? is designed to use with children from ages 6-14. It is a hard covered textbook with 252 pages and costs $39. It is not a Bible Study although it does have a lot of Bible Study in it. It is a Worldview/Apologetics study intended to help children understand how they and others see the world around them. By understanding what we believe as Christians and why we believe it will help keep children centered on God's truth and be able to communicate it to others. This first volume in the series focuses on the person and attributes of God, His provision, His design for creation, the Fall, and His wondrous plan for our salvation. Each volume is a complete course of study and can stand on it's own although they will make more sense if read in order. Volumes 1 and 2 are available now with Volume 3 scheduled for publication this fall and Volume 4 in 2012. Each Voume can take 4-9 months to complete depending on the length of time you spend on it each day and your child's attention span. The textbook is written to the student and requires very little teacher preparation. A suggested lesson plan schedule is included and also many teacher helps and notebooking pages are available for free on the Apologia website. Also, this Spring a Notebooking Journal and Coloring book will also be available to purchase to further enhance this study.

Each chapter of the book is broken up into the following sections:



The Big Idea-Introduction to the lesson and brief overview of what the student has already learned

What You Will Do-learning objectives for the lesson

Short Story- features characters in the same age range as children studying this book that go along with the lesson and shows differing worldviews and how they change

Think About It-questions to dig deeper into the short stories

What You Need To Know-vocabulary words and definitions

Hide It in Your Heart-two Bible memory verses to be written in the notebook and memorized

Integrated Learning- articles with age-appropriate approach to interdisciplinary topics related to the main text

What Should I Do?-highlights a specific godly trait that a child should show in response to what they have learned

Prayer-enables a child to acknowledge specific attributes of God and thank Him for who He is.

Worldview Study-an ongoing study that introduces the child to the concept of worldview

House of Truth-a hands on memory aid constructed one step at a time. Can be drawn or built with items around the house. A 3 dimensional model is available for purchase from http://www.summit.org/



I know that I have mentioned before that I enjoy being able to use curriculum with all of my school aged children although it is a challenge with the large span in their ages. This study is perfect for us since it is meant for children ages 6-14. There is very little preparation involved from me. The only thing I do ahead of time is take a look at the free teacher helps and notebooking pages available on the website and print out what I would like to use. I do not use the suggested teacher schedule, but instead split up the readings in each chapter to make the lessons a good length that Alex (7) will still be paying attention. I think the book is written to be interesting for those who are reading it. The real life examples are great and at a level children can understand. We loved the example of the Big Bang theory and the brownies that made themselves (still waiting for those by the way!) The children also can relate very easily to the story of the Simmon's family and their friend Ben. There is a review in each chapter to remind the children what they have already learned. The book teaches plenty of Bible and Apologetics and also throws in Art, History, Science and many real life lessons. We are big fans of notebooking and there are great notebooking assignments for each chapter. Truly a worthwhile study you can use with your entire family!

I received a complimentary copy of Who is God? and Can I Really Know Him? for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review. I received no other compensation.


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