PrincipledMom™

This week we are back to our lessons. (I am trying to get out of the habit of calling it "school".) Princess G held two thumbs up and said, "All right! School is the best!" WOW! That surprised me. I guess we are doing better than I even thought!

This week we will cover (she is 7.5 years old):
Bible: the Tower of Babel--unified rebellion
English: Writing & Spelling Road to Reading and Thinking, McGuffey reader (I'm pondering Raquel's post on English), Daily Grams
History: this week we are studying along with Bible the ancient culture of Hammurabi and the Tower of Babel
Geography: Earthquakes as part of Earth's crust
Math: continue in Ray's Arithmetic--multiplication
Literature: Continuing the study of the solar system
Art: beginning our study of books as art

Princess S is 4 and will be along with us from time to time and she will work on her phonics as well.

At the end of the week I'll discuss in more detail about what principles we discussed in all these subjects and how I approached and reinforced it.

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All Principle Approach teachers must create a notebook of their own. This is what we teach from, along with reference materials and original documents. I thought I'd share about mine in hopes that others will do the same.

My oldest is 7 1/2 and we are in our third year of home educating.
Here is what my notebook contains (in order):

At the front: my home educating constitution
my week-at-a-glance calendar listing all the subjects on one page
dividers for all subjects
In each divider I have my lesson plan pages (done a week on one page), 4-R work, notes and printouts, maps and other resources from my studies.

I keep all this in one 2.5 in. binder.

I have many notebooks already--two for literature, two for history and one for each of the others. I pull from those to put in my Teacher's Notebook so I can have all the material I need quickly accessible. As we continue our studies I will eventually have lots of notebooks for each subject because I will have many years of study on each subject. As my body of knowledge grows, so will my notes (and my "wall of notebooks!").

Eventually we will have a whole library of references, notes and materials we can draw from as we study together. I know kids who came home from college to get their notebooks on certain subjects because they were so thorough. I think that's amazing and I look forward to that kind of work together as a family.

Because we don't just fill notebooks, we fill our hearts and minds. The notebooks simply manifest all the work done on the inside.

I try to make my notebook as neat and complete as possible, as an example to my DD. I don't compare my work to hers but I just let her see it and look through it, noting the clean pages, neat handwriting and the even margins. She can see the standard without being corrected and it helps her see what's expected in a practical way.

I would love to hear how you organize your teaching materials. I know I still have a lot to learn.

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Science is a terrific subject to view from the Bible because, like mathematics, science is orderly and predictable. Here are ten reasons I encourage you to study science from the Biblical Principle Approach.

1. Science reveals God's character: His order, His majesty, His creativity His consistency.
2. You can study things in-depth, at your own pace. You can stop along the way and cover things as you desire, without being bound to a textbook's schedule.
3. Science illustrates God's idea of government and affords children an appreciation of, and sense of responsibility for, creation (i.e. stewardship).
4. God has many character lessons to teach us from natural science, such as diligence, patience and fruitfulness.
5. Learning from whole to parts helps us study science in an orderly and easily understandable way.
6. Principles can be taught to the youngest children, making it very easy to teach science to multiple grades. You simply add to the principles each year, highlighting what the children need to know at their own level.
7. Learning science from the Principle Approach gives us a greater appreciation for God and His creation because we study in-depth, receiving inspiration from the Holy spirit and becoming "lively teachers", not just textbook readers.
8. Writing and defining science vocabulary gives students an appreciation for language. (And it's a great way to sneak in some latin!)
9. Accurate, excellent notebook work becomes future reference material because it becomes a part of the child's body of knowledge and not just a worksheet that's ccompleted and tossed.
10. The child learns to love science and will teach himself as he or she learns the study skills necessary to master the subject.

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I am taking this outline from a Biblical Principle Approach course my mother took in the mid-80's. I hope you find it helpful in creating your science lessons.

from David Holmes, Christian Heritage Academy

American Christian Course Development in the Natural Sciences
1. Develop an American Christian Philosophy
2. 4-R the course title
a. Define the vocabulary and properties which make up the basis for the subject
b. Research the vocabulary from scripture
c. Write a brief course description
3. Deduce the biblcal origin of the subject
4. deduce the biblical purpose of the subject
5. Begin to deduce the principles or rudiments of the subject
6. Uncover the American Christian History of the subject
a. Identify God's providence in the discovery and development of the subject
b. develop a timeline showing relationship between the subject, America, the Bible, Christianity and America's Gospel purpose
c. Research individuals who demonstrate God's providence in the American Christian history of the subject
7. Write American Christian course goals
8. Write a course overview with an approximate time schedule
9. Develop an introductory unit which will lay the foundation for the entire course
10. Develop each succeeding unit until the course is complete

When developing the units, look for the following types of information:
a. Does any of the information in this unit apply to the five statements of an American Philosophy of American Science (see next post)?
b. Are there biblical principles or concepts which need to be stressed?
c. Do any comparisons need to be made between the Christian and pagan (evolution) perspectives on this subject?
d. Does any part of this section fit into the Chain of Christianity moving westward? If so, how can it be stressed? Does it need to go on a timeline?
e. Are there any individuals who made significant contributions to this section? Do these individuals demonstrate American Christian character?
f. What vocabulary words need to be defined by the students for this section? Do these words need to be researched biblically?
g. What is the biblical purpose for this section and how can proper responsibility or stewardship be taught? What is the application of the subject?
h. What principles of the subject should be stressed in this section?
i. Are there other goals which should be met from a study of this section?
j. What facts are necessary for a basic understanding of the subject?
k. Develop questions which will cause the students to use the 4-R's.
l. Develop test questions which will test for learning levels above knowledge
11. Emphasis at the elementary level:
a. To capture the majesty and greatness of God's creation
b. To begin to develop an idea of how science fits on the Chain of Christianity
c. To see America's heritage of Christian Character through the men studied
d. To learn the basic principles which apply to that being studied
e. To understand how the body works to accomplish the specific function being studied
f. Learn how to be a wise steward of that specific function from both a medical and spiritual perspective

I hope you'll prayerfully consider creating your own science lessons. It is rewarding (like everything PA) and fascinating. There is no end to the wonderful things you will learn about God and the creation He placed here for us to explore and enjoy.

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Statement of an American Philosophy of Natural Science

1. God is the Creator who brought into existence all things from nothing. (Heb. 11:3; Gen. 1:1; Col. 1:16-18; Neh9:6; Jn. 1:3)

2. All scientific laws and principles must be in submission to the Word of God, the source and origin of all truth. (Jn. 17:17; 1 Tim. 6:20-21; Job 12:7-10; Col. 1:17)

3. Man, created in God's image, is given the responsibility of subduing and having dominion over all the creation. (Gen. 1:28; Ps. 8:6; Heb. 2:8; Gen. 9:2)

4. God's providential hand can be seen in the preparation of the individuals to discover the scientific advancements needed for the movement of the Gospel westward. (Dan. 2:20-22; Amos 3:7; Deut. 29:29)

5. America is unique in the hostpry of science. Its form of government assured the individual the liberty to pursue and enjoy the benefits of his own productivity.

**Also see the post entitled American Christian Course Development in the Natural Sciences.

from David Holmes (Christian Heritage Academy) and Garnett Ingold (Arvada Christian School)

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