What We Believe | Luv'N Lambert Life

If you follow our blog, then you know that I absolutely LOVE Apologia Educational Ministries. I was introduced to Apologia’s wonderful curriculum when we first began looking into homeschooling when Winston was four, nine years ago. It took me a while to invest in any of their curriculum but as soon as I did, we were immediately hooked. The kids LOVE Apologia just as much as I do and enjoy every curriculum purchase we have made from them. For this review, we used Apologia’s What We Believe: What On Earth Can I Do?, What On Earth Can I Do? Notebooking Journal, What On Earth Can I Do? Junior Notebooking Journal and the What On Earth Can I Do? Coloring Book.

We discovered Apologia’s What We Believe series for Biblical Studies the very year they came out. I was thrilled to find that Apologia had created a set of books just for educating children on how to study the Bible and build their relationship with God. It was such a blessing to me to find these materials through this one company which we loved so much and I knew that my children would enjoy these books as much as they have the Science curriculum we previously purchased from them. I wasn’t wrong.

We’ve been using Apologia’s What We Believe for quite a while now, each year diving deeper into the books. Sometimes going back to previous chapters to review the curriculum and put it to use for our lives in their current path. The books never fail to teach us something new from the first time to the review of different sections.

Apologia is one of our favorite review items from the Schoolhouse Review team. We look forward to seeing what they have available each year and to learning from the beautifully written books to the intriguingly designed curriculum. When the vendor form popped up for the What We Believe series’ fourth book, What On Earth Can I Do? I knew it was a product I definitely wanted. Not only does this fourth book complete on of our favorite Apologia curriculum collections, it is also a series my children and I love to enjoy and learn from together. I was estatic to be chosen to review this in the last of our series with my children.

The What We Believe series is a Biblical study designed to be used with students and children in grades 1 through 6. It is a Biblical Worldview series, teaching stewardship to those who use it. It is easy to follow and easy to understand, making it work well for family use.

I’ll be honest, I don’t know a lot about the intended plan of using this program any more simply because I have used it so long that it just flows for us. We use it together as a family, from oldest (Me aka Mom) to youngest (Jackson at 21 months listening along). We take turns reading through, though I am usually the one doing the reading to ensure my children grasp the knowledge behind the lessons and stories shared throughout the books.

We read the text straight through, section by section. Sometimes we do this daily throughout our school year and other times we do it several times a week. How you choose to complete your lessons is completely up to you as it is with any Apologia curriculum.

At the end of each section, there are almost always questions to help reflect on the things we have read. We discuss these together and talk about the answers as a family, helping each other build our knowledge and a stronger connection to God through our reading. We enjoy sharing with each other and learning in this manner.

We also enjoy reading about different people throughout the lessons and listening to the stories of others who have shared in God’s work over time. Some of the stories are serious and some are funny but they always have a message to convey. The differences in each makes the curriculum well-rounded and enjoyable all together. This is important to us since it keeps learning fun!

There are quotes from the Bible and quotes from important Christians shared throughout these lessons too. We often use these quotes as copywork or I will put them onto a printed image or a post it and place them around our house as reminders of the things we have learned from our study. I do the same with new words we learn through the Words You Need to Know section of the curriculum and also the Hide It In Your Heart section which is there to help instill the word of God in your heart and lives.

There are also prayers shared throughout the curriculum which help teach your children how to pray. This helps to show them the prayers of others to help them strengthen their ability to pray and their understanding of how others pray, as well as their own prayers. We also pray these sections together with one of us reading the prayer and then we add to it however we feel is needed. I like to take turns on these sections so that my children strengthen their voice when it comes to speaking prayers to others.

What We Believe: What On Earth Can I Do? was written by John Hay and David Webb. This textbook is hardback and is 294 pages long. The book contains 8 lessons with around 15-20 sections each. There are four books in the What We Believe series. What On Earth Can I Do? is the fourth and final book in the series.

This curriculum offers additions as well. There is a website with extras created specifically for the course. This can be found on the Apologia website and a special code is provided for log-in at the front of the book in the How to Use This Book section. This is a great bonus of material that we always enjoy from Apologia.

Additionally, there are Journals which can be purchased to go along with this series. We love these journals! There are two choices to use: the What On Earth Can I Do? Notebooking Journal is for older students while the What On Earth Can I Do? Junior Notebooking Journal is for younger students. There is also a coloring book available for the youngest of students.

I think the What On Earth Can I Do? Coloring Book is my favorite! I love the simple clean lines of the images and the words shared on each page. These pages are perfect for the littles and the older kids alike. The coloring book contains 64 pages to color.

The What On Earth Can I Do? Junior Notebooking Journal is another favorite of mine. It’s easy for my younger students to comprehend, around grades 1-4. The work inside isn’t too taxing or boring for them. Additionally, there are coloring pages found in this spiral bound, softcover journal. Lesson plans can be found in the front to help guide the use of the journal appropriately along with the curriculum. I used them for a while and found them very helpful.

The Junior Notebooking Journal contains lots of fun activities from crosswords, to word finds, and even books, songs and stories to help build upon the lessons learned in the textbook. We enjoy reading these extra books and sharing the songs and stories with each other during our lessons as we work through them.

There are also note pages that are included in this journal. We use those in many ways. Sometimes we will draw a picture depicting the topic. Sometimes we will write a story or just a few sentences. Sometimes we cut out pictures from magazines to paste showing what these topics mean to us. Each time we try to do something different from the last activity to keep our lessons from becoming rote and boring for the kids.

Lesson plans are also included in the front of the What On Earth Can I Do? Notebooking Journal. They are a great addition to each of these books and very helpful to help you get an idea of a plan that works for your family. As I mentioned above, we used them for a while until we adapted the lessons to better fit us.

The What On Earth Can I Do? Notebooking Journal is designed for older students to use. I’d say it’s perfect for grades 4-6. The work inside is a bit more challenging than the Junior Journal and the page designs are a little more serious than the other journal. There are question and answer pages that are more thought provoking. We generally do these together and write in our responses. There are also word finds and crossword puzzles but these are also lengthier and more challenging than the Junior Notebook.

Each journal contains work to be completed in accordance with each lesson in the textbook. These are also broken into sections so they are easily found and completed. There are mini-books which can be found in the back of the journals to use additionally with the lessons and help bring the book to life.

We love each and every piece of this curriculum and how each piece builds into the next helping us to grow closer in our relationship with God and to better understand our purpose here on Earth as his servants. I personally enjoy the Biblical Worldview provided in these books which allows my children to grow in Faith outside of our little piece of the world we live in. We all enjoy seeing how other people live in other countries with the same kind of faith that we live with, worshiping God just as we do. This has been a blessing for our family and broadened our lives, our faith and our tolerance as Christians.

You can purchase a copy of Apologia Educational Ministries What We Believe: What On Earth Can I Do? for $39 for the hardback textbook. The What On Earth Can I Do? Junior Notebooking Journal is available as a soft-cover spiral bound book for $24. The What On Earth Can I Do? Notebooking Journal is also available as a soft-cover spiral bound book for $24. The What On Earth Can I Do? Coloring Book is available in paperback for $8.

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To read more reviews of What We Believe: What On Earth Can I Do?, please click on the banner below!

I think everyone who knows me knows that I absolutely LOVE Apologia’s curriculum. When I began learning about homeschooling in 2004 when my son was only 4 years old, I attended a class on How to Homeschool. One of the top recommended curriculums at the time was Apologia. At the time, it was a relatively new curriculum but it quickly rose to the top of the list thanks to it’s Christian approach to learning.

Today, Apologia still meets the same standards for curriculum that it began with many years ago. Apologia strives for excellence in learning with a Christian approach provided throughout all of it’s curriculum choices. If you are looking for a secular curriculum, Apologia is definitely not it, but if you’re looking for a biblical based curriculum that provides a structured and fun approach to learning then Apologia is the curriculum for you!

The What We Believe series continues this style of learning, providing a structured base for Biblical Worldview study for ages 6 – 14. Biblical Worldview allows children to take a look at the world around them, presenting daily truths against God’s word so that children learn to discern the truth of the Word instead of the deception the world tends to present. Each of the What We Believe books represents a different aspect of the world and our children’s view of it.

Currently there are three available volumes of the What We Believe Series with the fourth and final volume expected to be released sometime this year. The volumes are as follows:

Volume 1: Who is God? (And Can I Really Know Him?)

Biblical Worldview of God and Truth

Volume 2: Who Am I? (And What Am I doing Here?)

Biblical Worldview of Self-Image

Volume 3: Who Is My Neighbor? (And Why Does He Need Me?)

Biblical Worldview of Servanthood

Volume 4: What On Earth Can I Do?

Biblical Worldview of Stewardship

(Not yet released as of July 18, 2012 – the time of this review)

Each volume is created so that it can stand alone with a complete course of study, much like the science curriculum provided by Apologia but the courses are most effective if taught in order since each volume builds upon the last with a minimum of repeated material. The explanation provided by Apologia is this:

You must first know God to know yourself. You must understand who you are and how to be more like Jesus before you can serve others. You must understand a servants role and how this relates to you in order to learn how to work together to care for others and the Earth in order to bring the message of Salvation to the world and use the gifts God has given you to bring God Glory.

Each book will take anywhere from 4 – 9 months to work through depending on the schedule you choose to use and the age of your children. Lessons are created to follow a students pace so that it can be customized to your child. Some lessons will go quickly while others take more time for a child to work through and digest.

Lesson preparation is fairly simple. Older children can complete the series on their own, while younger children will need to follow along with an adults help. Some of the book’s activities do require the parent’s help but many can be completed with minimal input from the teacher/parent. As always, Apologia provides additional activities on their book extra’s site. In order to access these you will need to follow the instructions and enter the password provided in the textbooks introduction.

Book extra’s include Teacher Helps for the lessons, blank notebooking pages, and the printable House of Truth graphics for use with the course. Teacher Helps include lesson overviews, lesson objectives, lesson vocabulary, memory verses, activities for the lessons, child-directed discussion questions and a reading list for deeper study of the course themes, people and places discussed within the text.

Additional products that can be purchased for use with the series are a notebooking journal and a coloring book for younger kids to keep them involved while using the courses. An audio soundtrack is provided for volumes 1 and 2 of the series but is not yet available for volumes 3 and 4. These additional products are not necessary for completion of this course though and are simply fun extras provided for teaching the course.

I know I have spent a lot of time discussing the complete course for this series above but for this particular review, I was provide materials for Volume 3: Who Is My Neighbor? Needless to say, I was extremely excited to receive this product as my children and I have been using this series for a while now. We really love all of our Apologia curriculum and books. So we were all very excited when the Apologia box finally arrived!

Inside we found the Who Is My Neighbor? textbook, the Who Is My Neighbor? Notebooking Journal and the Who Is My Neighbor? coloring book. I am honestly thrilled that Apologia created the additional coloring book for this series since it allows me to include my 4 year old into our studies by providing her with a simple coloring sheet with the lessons biblical verse included right on the page to do while the older kids work on the coursework. The older kids enjoy the coloring pages too!

The textbook begins with the Table of Contents, followed by a textbook introduction of How to Use This Book describing notebooking, lesson structure, lesson plans and why you should teach Biblical Worldview in your studies. This section is thorough but short allowing you to jump right into the study with Lesson 1. Each lesson builds upon the last, providing The Big Idea (lesson summary), a biblical verse relating to the lesson, plenty of colorful stories and photos, questions to keep your children thinking, vocabulary for the lesson, and much more. A prayer is also provided at the end of each lesson to help encourage a stronger relationship of faith and with God.

The Notebooking Journal provides activities related to the book. An additional and more thorough lesson plan is presented to be used with the textbook and journal together. Colorful pages for questions, words to know, the Hide It In My Heart bible verses, stories, fun games and more are provided in the journal.

This series and it’s accessories are available on Apologia’s website. The Who is My Neighbor? textbook is available for $39. The Who is My Neighbor? Notebooking Journal is available for $24. The Who Is My Neighbor? Coloring book is available for $8. Audio cd’s for the first two volumes of the series is available for $19 but audio is NOT available for The Who Is My Neighbor book at this time.

For more reviews of this product from Apologia, please visit the Schoolhouse Review Crew Blog!

*Disclaimer – This product and it’s addition accessories was provided to me by Apologia Educational Ministries and by the Schoolhouse Review Crew for free in exchange for my honest opinion in a blog post on my website.

Apologia: What We Believe Series {Crew Review}

Apologia’s Who Is My Neighbor? {Crew Review}