Mt. Hope Academy Curricula ~ Faith

If you are just now checking in or would like quick links to previous posts in my curricula series, this is what we have so far:

• The Great Conversation (the driving themes behind my curricula choices)
• The Simplicity Version (my top picks for a basic core elementary curriculum)
• History (The Tie That Binds)
• Geography (the “where”)
• Literature: Part 1 (our history-related literature studies)
• Literature: Part 2 (the remaining literature studies)
  
  

The following are resources we use for Bible and faith-related studies:

1. I always have children’s Bibles available for the boys to read independently. We’ve been through several over the past few years, and I often purchase new ones as gifts for various occasions. These are the current favorites:
   
   Levi: 2:52 Boys Bible: The Ultimate Manual. This Bible has a few features geared toward 9-12 year old boys including “252 Track” (readings highlighting specific people, stories, and verses that show specific character qualities), interesting or funny facts, “Make It Stick” (place to write questions, thoughts, etc.), Gross! (self-explanatory), and book introductions.
   
   
   
   Luke: The Action Bible has been a huge hit at our house. The boys (especially Luke and Leif) spend large amounts of time pouring over it. It really is a stunning work of art in graphic novel format. I am looking forward to giving Luke the corresponding book The Action Bible Handbook: A Dictionary of People, Places, and Things for his birthday.
   
   Leif: The Gospel Story Bible: Discovering Jesus in the Old and New Testaments. This story Bible presents the unfolding theme of God’s redemption through Christ from Genesis to Revelation. The artwork again is gorgeous and unexpected. (This children’s Bible corresponds with Long Story Short: Ten-Minute Devotions to Draw Your Family to God which I have on my shelf but have not had a chance to use!)   
   
   
   
   
2. The Children's Illustrated Bible by Selina Hastings. I LOVE this illustrated children’s Bible—so much so that we are on our second copy because the first one fell apart from excessive attention. Unfortunately, it seems that the newer edition is much smaller and harder to read. (I haven’t seen it, so I’m not able to compare other than from the reviews on Amazon.)  The colored-pencil-like realistic illustrations are lovely. Stories also include pictures and photographs of geographical areas, people, diagrams, artwork, artifacts, architecture, maps, and details such as foods and crops. There are pages of additional information such as “Life in Cannan” and “The Patriarchs.” I appreciate all the historical background. I want my kids to understand that the Bible is part of history, be able to tie it in with our history studies, and understand the context of the stories. The boys always beg for “just one more story” when we read this Bible together.
   
   I remember reading “The Tower of Babel” right as we were studying about Mesopotamia and Ur in history and writing about ziggurats with IEW in Essentials.
   
   
   
   
3. Journey through the Bible by V. Gilbert Beers is another fantastic resource for background information, historical notes, and context. It contains more than 700 pictures and illustrations. Each page lists the Biblical reference but not the Biblical text itself, so it can be easily used with any preferred Bible version. 
   
   
   
4. Telling God's Story from Olive Branch Books (a branch of Peace Hill Press) is a phenomenal Bible series for elementary students (though I have to admit I am enjoying it as much as my boys). I have greatly appreciated this Bible curriculum focused on Jesus: who he was, what he did, and what he taught. Each year, the books have 36 short lessons covering stories Jesus told, miracles Jesus did, teachings of Jesus, the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus’ early life, Jesus’ disciples, opposition to Jesus, and the end of Jesus’ life as well as three supplemental lessons on the crucifixion. The lessons contain background information for the parent, retellings of the Biblical passages, context information for the student, and life applications. The lessons are short and designed with elementary students in mind, but they are not childish and would be informative for and enjoyed by a larger range of ages. We are on the second year and are anticipating year 3!
   
   
   
5. Sing the Word is a scripture music series that we have enjoyed for years. The CDs make scripture memory an enjoyable and easy task! The music is of an excellent quality, and I appreciate that the songs vary in style. The first CD, Sing the Word from A to Z, includes a Bible verse beginning with each letter of the alphabet. Subsequent CDs include longer passages and songs for the books of the Bible.
   
   
   
6. Hymns for a Kid's Heart is a great series for introducing children to traditional hymns and the stories behind them. The boys have also loved playing hymns on the piano with the Hymns by Faber & Faber series. The songs sound lovely even at the lower levels, and I have learned right along with the boys!
   
   
   
7. For learning about the history of the Bible as a written story, we have used How the Bible Came to Us: The Story of the Book That Changed the World. 
   
   
   
8. We also read various picture books of Biblical stories (often corresponding with our history studies) such as the stunning Exodus and Joseph by Brian Wildsmith and James: A Letter to the Scattered.
   
   
   
9. Last but not least, my kids LOVE Buck Denver Asks: What's in the Bible? videos. They are silly and entertaining, but jam-packed with information. We have the whole series.
   
   
   
10. I lied. One more. (Because I love an even ten.) Handel's Messiah Family Advent Reader is my favorite book for the Advent season. I shared a little more about it here. It is only available through third-party sellers on Amazon, and there were only very expensive copies available at Christmas time this past year. I thought I’d mention it now because I noticed that several less-expensive copies are available at the moment. 
    
    
    
11. Sigh. See? I did forget something! I like having the Usborne Encyclopedia of World Religions on hand when questions come up about what other people believe. 

 

I think that’s it. Until I hit “publish” and then I’ll remember something else!

Next up: Math!

Mt. Hope Academy Curricula ~ The Simplicity Version

For a variety of reasons, parents may wish for a rigorous core curriculum that is time-efficient and straightforward to implement. Possibly the integration of subjects (and exposure to more content material) will occur in travel, field-trips, child-led interests, wide-spread reading, and/or various hands-on activities. I personally believe it is wise to have a specific plan and method for the teaching of core skills, but the introduction to content can happen in many ways, particularly in the grammar stage.

Following are my top core skill curricula picks for elementary students:

:: Handwriting Without Tears—This is a solid handwriting program that works particularly well for children who struggle with handwriting. I’ve used Handwriting Without Tears for all three of my boys with great success. The workbooks make HWT easy to implement. The program begins with pre-writing instruction (my boys loved the wooden shapes and chalkboard) and goes through cursive instruction in late elementary.

:: All About Reading/ All About Spelling—I have a love-affair with All About Spelling (so much so that I signed up to be an affiliate). It is more teacher-intensive than some other spelling programs, but I believe so strongly in a solid grounding in phonics as well as the multi-sensory, mastery-based approach approach of AAS that it is my top recommendation. We are heading into level four, and I have nothing but praise for this program. All About Spelling instruction includes the memorization of phonograms and spelling rules as well as dictation of phrases and sentences and writing exercises. While there are many components to the program, the teacher’s manual is well-organized, clear, lightly scripted, and extremely easy to use—just open and go. A parent needs no additional instruction in the All About Spelling method. Lessons take just 15-20 minutes daily and can be customized for each child’s needs. There are seven levels to complete spelling instruction in the middle grades; the final level includes Latin and Greek roots.

I’ve approached reading instruction in various ways with my boys. If I feel the need to use a phonics program for Lola beyond my basic recommendations for the LeapFrog Letter and Word Factory DVDs and the incremental phonics readers by Nora Gaydos, I will be purchasing All About Reading. All About Spelling, however, may be all the formal phonics instruction needed. We’ll play it by ear. 

 
:: First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind—Written by Jessie Wise, co-author of The Well-Trained Mind, First Language Lessons is a comprehensive yet gentle introduction to language arts for the elementary student. The program is simple to use and open-and-go. It is fully scripted for the parent who appreciates the hand-holding but can be easily customized for the parent who wishes to have a more natural dialogue with the student. First Language Lessons includes copywork (and later dictation), narration, memory work (in both English grammar and poetry selections), English grammar instruction, and picture study. The lessons are quite short and include a great deal of repetition for reinforcement and review (which can be easily skipped for the child who quickly grasps the memory work). Four levels are available for elementary students.

:: The Complete Writer: Writing with Ease—Susan Wise Bauer makes writing instruction accessible for both parent and student. Bauer provides excerpts from excellent literature and non-fiction selections for narration and dictation material. The textbook gives a broad scope and sequence and how-to for grades 1-4, but the workbooks are invaluable for the time and effort they save the parent. Each workbook is a stand-alone program with parent instruction, literature passages, and workbook pages for the student. The overall text is great for understanding the big picture, but it is certainly not mandatory. My boys have loved the literature passages. Some are selections from books we have already read, and many selections have caused my boys to request the book for free-reading. Some parents may prefer to plan to schedule the books as read-alouds or assigned reading, rather than simply reading excerpts and moving on.

Parents using First Language Lessons for early elementary may find Writing With Ease to be redundant (particularly if doing the dictation with All About Spelling as well), but I would highly recommend the workbooks for upper elementary. The series continues in the middle grades with The Complete Writer: Writing With Skill.

::  Teaching Textbooks Math—I adore Teaching Textbooks. Yes, I do. A complete (math 3 up to pre-calculus) computer-based math program. Independent. No paper. No mess. An infinitely patient math tutor. Silly little ‘buddies’ that give instant feedback. Interactive lessons. Automatically graded lessons. Opportunities for students to watch missed math problems worked through step-by-step. Math drills in the form of a game show. A grade book available for the student to see their progress and grades. A password-protected grade book where parents can see their student’s progress, including grades, which problems were missed, how many tries the student used (many problems have two tries available), and whether the student viewed the solution after missing a problem. AND a parent can change or delete scores so that a student can re-do a lesson or specific problems. No other math program is as easy to implement as Teaching Textbooks.

Teaching Textbooks begins with Math 3, but the first level begins with the basics of addition. Many 2nd graders should be able to work their way through Math 3 and continue to work a level ‘ahead’ of their grade level. I haven’t had enough experience with early elementary math instruction to give a seasoned recommendation. I used RightStart Math early on with Levi, and I think it is an excellent foundation in math instruction, but it is teacher intensive and has many different parts and pieces to organize and keep track of. Singapore Math works well for many families and is somewhat easier to implement.

Core content curricula:

:: The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child—Susan Wise Bauer has written an incredible, accessible world history series for elementary students. We are on our second round through the four volumes, and my boys adore them. They are written in an engaging narrative form, perfect for reading aloud. The books are also available on CD, which allows children to listen to the stories in the car or during quiet time. The corresponding activity guides are well-worth the investment. They include comprehension questions, sample narrations, book lists, a large range of activities, map work, and coloring pages.

:: Christian Kids Explore Science—This science series includes Biology, Earth and Space, Chemistry, and Physics. It is a basic, systematic introduction to science for elementary students, obviously from a Christian perspective. Written by a homeschooling mom, it is realistic in its scope and sequence as well as the implementation. It has narrative style lessons, vocabulary words and definitions in the margins, review questions at the end of each lesson, and coordinating hands-on activities (with more simple alternatives for younger children). Each unit also has wrap-up review questions. The appendix offers coloring pages, additional resource lists (books, science kits, biographies and list of notable scientists to research), and answer keys.

For a more professional, colorful, exciting, and non-faith-based (but faith-friendly) science curriculum that extends through the middle grades and into high school, I am very pleased with Real Science 4 Kids. Each program (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Astronomy) contains just ten chapters, so the books would work well either as short unit studies one per year or all four books as a two-year survey of science (one per semester). (Level 1 Geology is scheduled to be released in December.)

And More:

:: Prima Latina—The study of Latin may sound intimidating, but Memoria Press materials make it a simple task. The program is easy to teach using the teacher’s manual and the CD, but the lessons are also available on DVD. Prima Latina is perfect for 2nd-4th grade students. Students can progress to Latina Christiana and then First Form Latin. Why study Latin? Read what Cheryl Lowe has to say here and here.

:: Telling God's Story—I have greatly appreciated this Bible curriculum focused on Jesus: who he was, what he did, and what he taught. Each year, the books have 36 short lessons covering stories Jesus told, miracles Jesus did, teachings of Jesus, the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus’ early life, Jesus’ disciples, opposition to Jesus, and the end of Jesus’ life as well as three supplemental lessons on the crucifixion. The lessons contain background information for the parent, retellings of the Biblical passages, context information for the student, and life applications. The lessons are short and designed with elementary students in mind, but they are not childish and would be informative for and enjoyed by a larger range of ages. Highly recommended.

My boys and I have also read and re-read The Children's Illustrated Bible. I want my children to have a grasp of the chronological narrative of the Bible as the true story of the world, and this is a perfect introduction. It has beautiful, realistic colored-pencil drawings, background historical and cultural information, and many other visual elements including pictures of geographical areas, maps, artwork, artifacts, animals, people, and architecture. You can read more reviews here, but be sure to get the earlier, larger edition.

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This is a solid line-up of curricula, but it could all be scheduled in about 4 hours of concentrated lessons daily (less for early elementary, and possibly just 4 days weekly), leaving a good portion of time to be spent in other ways according to the needs of a student or the family.

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I would highly recommend adding the Classical Conversations Foundations program for 1st – 6th grade students. (The program starts as early as age 4.) One could either use CC Foundations as a ‘spine’ for history and science (using only the CC history and science cards, history and science encyclopedias, and possibly related picture books and DVDs at home during the week for context) OR use The Story of the World and Real Science 4 Kids programs, as well. The Latin and grammar memory work could serve as reinforcement for the core curricula, or a parent could choose to wait until 4th grade (or above for Latin) to add in formal lessons.

For 4th grade – 6th grade students, I would highly recommend the Classical Conversations Essentials program, which could replace all language arts curricula.

I wrote extensively about the Classical Conversations programs at this link here.

Was that simple? Or overwhelming? Let me know if you have any questions!

Next Up:

Mt. Hope Academy Curricula ~ History (The Tie That Binds)

The Subject of Religion

Bible/Religion: One of the many benefits of homeschooling is the ability to teach our children from our family's worldview. The subject of religion will look different in each home, whether a family is homeschooling or not. Most of our teaching and discussions are woven into the fabric of our days and other lessons, but I do have a few specific recommendations.

Levi is reading the above Day by Day Kid's Bible. It is a simplified text, written in chronological order, divided into 365 daily readings. I am thrilled that he is able to get a feel for reading through the Bible independently. Luke is making his way through The Early Reader's Bible. He loves reading the simple stories aloud to me and prefers to read his Bible above any other book.


For Bible memory, we are still working our way through A New Commandment. I highly recommend the CDs from Sing the Word. Bible verses and passages are set to music performed with excellence. We love to listen to these CDs in the car.

From Sing the Word:

We desire to communicate the Word with music that is artfully written, performed with excellence, and age-appropriate. We strive to create music that:

*expresses the meaning of the Word
*enables people of all ages to memorize scripture quickly and permanently
*provides an aesthetically pleasing and enriching experience for kids
*appeals to adults (we don’t want mom and dad groaning every time Suzie asks for that song again!)
*cultivates an appreciation for excellent music of diverse styles
*encourages and edifies the listener in the faith

Speaking of music, we have enjoyed incorporating hymns into our days. I posted more on that subject here.

I mentioned the next Children's Bible in my post on history studies, but I thought I would mention it here, as well.

The Illustrated Children's Bible is a wonderful Bible for the whole family to share together. Perfect for integrating with the study of ancient history, this story Bible includes photographs and illustrations of geographical locations, people, animals, food, artwork, artifacts, maps, lineage, and so much more. I love the tasteful pastel illustrations.

In our history studies this year (medieval and early Renaissance), we will be using the Usborne Encyclopedia of World Religions to learn more about the faiths of other cultures and historical eras.

(All religion and Bible lesson updates will be posted with the Bible label.)

Then Sings My Soul...

The beginner piano books Levi's instructor has provided him with have been a delight this past year! The Classics books feature very simple melodies from classical pieces, perfect as an introduction to classical music and very similar to the melodies featured on the Little Einsteins show (the exact melody, in some cases). Levi memorized several of the tunes and will often walk up to the piano to play them.


My favorite, however, has been Hymns! The book includes simple versions of Jesus Loves Me; Do Lord; Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus; Holy, Holy, Holy; This Little Light of Mine; Fairest Lord Jesus; Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee; O Worship the King; What a Friend We Have in Jesus; Come Thou Almighty King; and For the Beauty of the Earth. The words are included for each of the hymns. Usually this is the first book Levi grabs when he goes to the piano to practice, and the songs I hear weeks later.

As a way to reinforce the beautiful language of the hymns he is learning for piano, I write the words on his handwriting paper and have him copy them.


We have also read a few stories from Hymns for a Kid's Heart and plan on finishing the book by the end of the year. The book features true stories of 12 hymns, a corresponding devotional for each hymn, piano music and words, as well as a short prayer and Bible verse. I am considering purchasing Christmas Carols for a Kid's Heart and Passion Hymns for a Kid's Heart for the Christmas and Easter seasons. A CD of all the hymns is included with the book. We have listened to it many times and I enjoy listening to Levi sing along.
If you are looking for an inexpensive CD of Hymns for children, check out Cedarmont Kids. 16 Hymns (including O Worship The King, Doxology, For The Beauty Of The Earth, and Amazing Grace) for under $4! We also enjoy the Songs of Praise CD. Both CDs (and others from Cedarmont Kids) have been popular with the boys.