One of the things that we want for each of our kids is to have a strong foundation and understanding of the Christian faith. Several years ago we were introduced to Apologia’s What We Believe series, and it was a perfect fit for our girls then and has been a great fit for Zachary this year as well, prompting some great talks along the way. The curriculum has quickly become a favorite and earned a permanent spot on our homeschool shelves.

Biblical Worldview Curriculum

There are four volumes in this worldview series, each one covering a different topic. 

• Who is God (And Can I Really Know Him?) introduces the concept of worldview while laying the foundational truths upon which the evangelical Christian worldview is built.
• Who Am I (And What Am I Doing Here?) focuses on having a Biblical (and healthy!!) self-image and understanding how God sees them *Laurianna’s favorite
• Who is My Neighbor (And Why Does He Need Me?) encourages kids to be a blessing to those around them – at home, in their community – and understand how they have gifts that can be used to help others.
• What On Earth Can I Do helps children understand what it means to be stewards of all the blessings we have from God and how we can put him first in all that we do.

Each of the books in the series has a hardcover textbook, notebooking journal (or junior version), coloring book, and an audio CD available and can be purchased individually. The textbook is non-consumable, so you only need to purchase additional notebooking journals for the next child to use the book (samples of the books are available from the Apologia website).

The hardcover textbooks – they are STURDY. In the video below you can see ours, and it’s been through three of our kids and another family also borrowed it one year when we weren’t using it.

How We’ve Used the Series

The books in the What We Believe series are written in a style that our kids enjoy. Each includes fun stories, go-along activities, and notebooking pages to work on with each lesson. Because the books are written at a fifth to sixth grade level, we waited until our kids were in the fifth grade so they could work more independently on each level.

We have chosen to work through three lessons each week using the notebooking journal. When we have our weekly meeting, we review the lessons and talk about the topics covered over the past week. In addition to the main text, we also work through the go-along notebooking journal and complete the questions and activities. The journals are something that I am holding on to, because I love re-reading the kids thoughts and answers and seeing their hearts (just makes me smile).

The main textbook does have a lesson plan guide in it, so if you have a kiddo like ours that isn’t keen on writing, you may want to skip the journal. This past year we still used the journal as a guide for Zachary and he did “complete” the assignments, but typically it was verbally with me during his 1:1 time. 

Although the books are recommended for ages 6 to 14, we personally like the 5th to 7th grade range for starting the series (if working independently). For our girls that meant that they took more time to answer the questions (rather than coming up with simple answers) and really ‘dig in’ to the study – which is exactly what we want! As Zachary has gone through the series, he and I discuss thing without as much writing on his part (since he isn’t as keen on writing by hand). 

Here’s a little look into the first book in the series. 

There are junior journaling notebooks for younger children as well if you choose to work through the series as a family and have children younger than 5th grade. This would be a great family Bible study and one that you could revisit and ‘cycle’ through since there are four books in the series. 

What I Love About the Series

The books in this series are so much more than a quick read – they delve deep into topics and will grow with our kids. The topics are things that we WANT our kids to be learning about – things like serving others, and at times I honestly struggle with how to adequately teach our kids these topics. There are other times when the kids hear something I’ve been saying for a long time, but from another perspective, and it “clicks” with them. 

This series provides a biblical wordview – or perspective – and provides parents with a framework to teach their children in a conversational style. Whether you read the books outloud or get together a few times a week to discuss the topics, your kids will learn and explore topics in depth with you. 

The journals are full-color and a fabulous hands-on tool. I mentioned that some of our children loved them and for others we’ve used them as a guide. Either way they are a great resource as well. For families that use the notebooking approach, these will be a perfect fit!

Find Out More

Visit Apologia.com to learn more about the What We Believe series. Recommended ages for the series are 6 to 14 (younger ages may require more adult assistance).

Be sure to visit Apologia’s Serving Others Pinterest board as well for go-along ideas. 

This past summer at a homeschool convention I had the opportunity to meet the folks at Friends and Heroes, a company that produces an animated children’s adventure. There was plenty of time to watch their videos and also get a hands on look at their homeschool curriculum. Seeing it brought back memories of shows we watched as children, and I was so impressed with how they have taken an already engaging series and turned it into full unit studies!

Not familiar with the Friends and Heroes series? Here is a little information to help you out {because they say it so much better than I can!}.

Friends and Heroes is an animated children’s adventure based in ancient Egypt, Israel and Rome. The story follows two young friends, Macky and Portia, as they fight for justice against the Roman Empire.  Each episode consists of two Bible Stories in which children can learn about characters from the Old and New Testament. 

Each of the Friends and Heroes award-winning adventures and Bible stories on DVD have go-along homeschool unit studies. The materials are well laid out, full of information for families, and can easily be integrated into your homeschool day. Units can be purchased separately or as part of an entire package {DVDs and unit studies together}. Overall there are thirteen units available for homeschool use.

The homeschool unit studies include:

• Complete parent lesson plans that includes answer keys and certificates of completion along with internet links {printable and reusable}
• Student Workbook of activities to print off
• Full-length Friends and Heroes DVD episode
• CD-ROM printables that can be used with all of your children
• journal opportunities for kids to create their own book

A Look at Friends and Heroes Unit Study 1

{a peek at one of the student pages from Unit Study 1}

There are two to four weeks of learning materials in each Friends and Heroes homeschool unit.  Plans include science experiments, creative writing activities, Bible studies, history and geography lessons, discipleship, hands-on crafts, coloring pages, and all subject areas are taught from a Christian world view.

Unit Study 1 includes:

• Friends and Heroes DVD Episode 1- Long Journey – which serves as stimulus material for cross-curricular studies
• All teacher and student’s materials – included on CD-ROM – printable and reusable {I transferred ours to the iPad for easy reference}
• Learner-centered, self-guided Unit Study manuals
• Teacher’s Guide – with learning goals, background details, answer keys, internet links
• Certificates of Achievement and binder covers

Unit Study 1 covers:

• History/Geography: The Romans; Roman Trade; Roman money; Roman import and exports
• Creative writing: Journal writing; Written expression and narration; Copy writing
• Bible study: Daniel and the lions’ den and Jesus and the miraculous catch of fish; The Early Church
• Science: Silver; Sand and cement; Greek and Roman discoveries
• Crafts: Sculpture; Paper weaving; Pottery
• Discipleship: Trusting others; Pride; Worries

There are quite a few parts that we will be incorporating with our family over the next few months, in addition to what we’ve already worked on together. We’ll be breaking it up a little more instead of doing the focused study and tie it in to our current curriculum. There are several key components, especially the writing assignments and the science tie-ins, that our 11 and 9 year old will benefit from – and they won’t mind a little screen time to watch the videos either {grins}. 

The unit studies would be best for children ages 7 to 11, but they can be easily adjusted to accommodate younger or older children. Note: there are 13 different unit studies in the first level, and we were sent only Unit Study 1 to review.

What Families Will Enjoy

The homeschool units are VERY well laid out and easy to follow along. Here are a few things I appreciated:

Online activities for Friends and Heroes episodes

• The CD-rom with the lesson plans breaks up the unit by lessons and can be printed out or stored on your iPad for quick reference.
• Each lesson lists out what you will need to gather: for science, geography, etc. You don’t need to hunt through the plans to figure it out.
• There are online resources including puzzles, quizzes, and games to go along with each episode {see examples for episode one here}.
• The hands-on tie-ins for the lessons add depth to the lessons and definitely make history come alive.
• Many of the student lessons can be self-guided for the older age range, including writing assignments, some of the science activities, Bible study and more {love this feature!}.
• You do NOT have to do every single activity listed! No need to get overwhelmed at all the fun things there are to to. You can pick and choose and still have a fabulous unit study!

Special Discounts for Purchasing!

Friends and Heroes is offering a special limited time discount on the Friends and Heroes homeschool curriculum! From now until January 31, 2014 save:

• 20% off all Friends and Heroes Homeschool Resources – use code Homeschool20
• 10% off all other Friends and Heroes resources with curriculum – use code Promo10
• 10% off all Friends and Heroes Home and Family DVD Collections – use code Home10

Visit this link to find out more and purchase!