We are two weeks in to grade 3 and 4, starting with a gentle easement in and now fully immersed with all of our beautiful books. It’s like the story of the frog who gets put in a cold kettle and doesn’t realize the temperature keeps rising. Only, in poor frogs case the heat slowly does him in, and I am quite confident the richness of our books will not be our undoing. Maybe that was poor imagery … but regardless, we started slowly and by the end of our second week had all of our books incorporated into our schedule.
Beautiful Feet Books has a prominent place in our schooling again this year and I am so excited about their program we have chosen to use called A History of Science. I feel a little inadequate to handle science with our boys given that my husbands major is in micro biology, but these books are a well rounded diet of information – and I point them in his direction when questions beyond my scope arise.
A History of Science is a beautiful merge of science, history and biography. In our case I am using it in addition to Ambleside Online year 3 and year 4, but it is certainly enough to stand on its own to cover both history and science. It was a huge debate for me whether I wanted to forgo AO’s science (and possibly history) in place of this, but in the end decided to do it all – and here is why;
1. My husband’s schedule has changed and he is able to help me with some of the reading (and answer questions!)
2. Both boys are independently reading and I am able to assign some reading for them to do on their own (not much, but enough that it helps me enormously.)
3. BFB guide and books are a rich feast I didn’t want my children missing out on, as is AO’s schedule of books
So, here I am. Bookshelf full of beautiful books for us to feast upon this year.
Beautiful Feet Book’s A History of Science guidebook is thoughtfully laid out and very user friendly. A suggestion is given for how many lessons to accomplish per week to finish in one year or two years. I am currently undecided about how long we will take – isn’t that one of the beauties of home educating our children? The materials work for us, we are not slaves to it.
I want to share a little bit from the introduction, which is written by Rebecca Manor and so beautifully expresses why I am so excited to be using this with my children.
“Louis Pasteur once said ‘A little science estranges man from God, but much science leads him back to Him.’ Throughout this course, it is my hope that what you learn provides a window for a richer and fuller understanding of our Creator…
In writing this course, I endeavored to provide factual biographical accounts of the scientists, especially in regards to their faith. I have also included origin theory presented from three perspectives, in order to help parents, teachers, and students discuss ideas of where we came from and why we are here. Outside of that, I believe the science speaks for itself and is a powerful illustration of the amazing world we inhabit. I believe that it is not my place as the author of a history curriculum to provide faith-based observations. Each family has a responsibility for the spiritual education of their children and with that in mind, I have written this study to allow parents to educate their children according to their own convictions and consciences.”
A resource crafted to enable discussions with the aim of deepening our faith and knowing our Creator more. I am excited for the coming year and the discussions and learning to come.
*I am working with BFB. In exchange for the curriculum I am sharing our journey through this A History of Science. First off, I want to express the caution I took in ensuring this was something I would have otherwise felt was worth paying for personally. It is. Secondly, all opinions expressed are an honest reflection of what I think.
