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Review & MEGA Giveaway: Philosophy Adventure

August 2, 2013 By: amyswanderingcomment

This post contains affiliate links. I received a free copy of Philosophy Adventure for the purpose of giving my honest review.

Philosophy Adventure™–Pre-Socrates is a brand new curriculum from Stacy Farrell. I introduced it to you a couple of months ago, and now we have had time to really dig in and see how it works. You are going to love it!

Before I share my thoughts on this curriculum, let me give you a little glimpse into what I look for when choosing courses for my kids. I don’t want to waste our time with busywork, so mindless worksheets and pointless assignments are out. If the text is so dull that my eyes want to roll back in my head, I am not going to make my kids plow through it. This sometimes proves to be a problem when searching for upper level courses.

That’s not a problem with Philosophy Adventure! The text is engaging, the book is visually stunning, and the assignments are meaty yet broken down into bite-sized sections so my girls don’t feel overwhelmed. Stacy Farrell challenges my kids to stretch their brains with deep thoughts, but she doesn’t just leave them there. She cheers them on to try hard and to always be ready to give an account of what they believe.

philosophy

Philosophy Adventure™–Pre-Socrates introduces us to Eight Famous Philosophers:

Thales
Pythagorus
Xenophanes
Heraclitus
Parmenides
Empedocles
Protagorus
Democritus

After reading about the life & times of each philosopher, we get to read one of his actual writings. That writing is compared and contrasted with a biblical worldview. Each lesson is divided into three assignments: Write, Think, and Speak

worldview

The thing I love most about this curriculum is the ease of use! Each assignment is broken down into very specific tasks, and they are color-coded to match the reading. The digital student book allows my girls to type & print their work. (Because handwriting the answers is soooooo torturous and out-dated, you know. ;))

A breakdown of the Philosophy Adventure™–Pre-Socrates set:

Reader – Philosopher stories, images, geography, biblical worldview, lessons and assignments
Student Workbook – Notebook pages, mapping, writing journal, and the most amazing writing checklists EVER!
Teacher Resources – Memory cards, timeline, maps & keys, quiz keys, instructions

Depending on how you choose to use it, Philosophy Adventure™–Pre-Socrates offers .25-.5 high school credit in these areas:

English Composition
World History/Geography
Speech/Communications
Logic/Critical Thinking

I want to leave you with one last observation. Stacy Farrell, the author, loves Jesus. I have had the privilege of interacting with her over the last few months and she believes what she writes. She has prayed over this study and for the ones who will read it. What a blessing!

Philosophy Adventure™–Pre-Socrates comes in four formats:

$89.95 Print Reader, Print Student Workbook, Digital Teacher’s Resources on CD
$69.95 Print Reader, Digital Student Workbook on CD, Digital Teacher’s Resources on CD
$49.95 Digital Reader on CD, Digital Student Workbook on CD, Digital Teacher’s Resources on CD
$39.95 Reader Digital Download, Student Workbook Digital Download, Teacher’s resources Digital Download

I recommend the $69.95 option. The readings and assignments are placed opposite each other in the Print Reader, but you will have to line them up yourself with the Digital Reader. View a SAMPLE of the first lesson.

** I have some fantastic coupons code for you if you order by August 7th! **
They are good for any of the Home School Adventure Co. products.

BACK-TO-SCHOOL-10 saves you 10% off any print edition

BACK-TO-SCHOOL-25 saves you 25% of any digital resource

~~Now check out this AMAZING MEGA Giveaway!~~

—>—>—>>CLICK HERE TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY<<—<—<—

Giveaway is open to US residents and ends August 31st

As part of the Philosophy Adventure Launch Team, I received a copy of Philosophy Adventure in exchange for my honest review and the opportunity to participate in related giveaways and social media promotions. All opinions are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC guidelines.

Our 2013-2014 Curriculum Plan

July 31, 2013 By: amyswandering8 Comments

2013_2014 curriculum

{This post contains a few affiliate links. Thank you for purchasing through my site!}

It is always a relief to get to this point every year, where the the courses are nailed down and the books are ordered! I will post a break-down of each subject and how I tackle each one in an upcoming post. I love to see how families work it all out!

We will add in our Theme of the Day Activities using this schedule:

Monday with the Masters
Creativity Tuesday
Around the World Wednesday
Poetry Tea Thursday
Nature Fun Friday

Our students: dd16 (11th), dd14 (9th), ds10 (5th), dd8 (3rd), dd4 (PreK)

Because I overlap curriculum for several ages, I am listing by subject instead of grade.

~ Bible ~

A Young Historian’s Introduction to Worldview
Christian Theology and Ancient Polytheism
Foundations 2: Christ Our Messiah
(Note: We had been using Bible Road Trip alongside Foundations. I want to go through the New Testament this year, and Danika hasn’t created that yet, but I wanted to give it a shout out as a great & FREE curriculum.)
Calvary Curriculum (FREE)
Character Qualities (FREE)
BibleWise Printables (FREE)

~ History ~

~ Geography ~

Trail Guide to World Geography
Around the World in Eighty Days (FREE)
Around the World in Eighty Days Unit Study (FREE)
Around the World in Eighty Dishes (FREE)

~ Science ~

~ Math ~

~ High School Electives ~

Speech- Philosophy Adventure
French- Duolingo

~ Writing ~

~ Grammar ~

~ Spelling ~

~ Lit/Reading ~

~ Handwriting ~

~ Pre-K ~

Note: We don’t complete all of these free lessons. I pick & choose whatever goes with our studies. Didn’t want you to think we homeschool 24/7!

We are here! We are here! We are HERE!

July 2, 2013 By: amyswandering1 Comment

Pelicans!

Those of you whole follow me on Facebook know that we just made a HUGE transition by moving from the Dallas area to the Tampa Bay area.

The past year has been a long, hard road for our family. We went into business with a friend 3 years ago and discovered (too late) that we did not have the same vision for the company. Our partner wanted out at all costs and we sadly closed the doors at the first of the year.

We have had to deal with exhaustion due to 70+ hour work weeks, a broken friendship, and untruths being spread about why the company closed. We are choosing to hold our heads high and keep our mouths closed, because anyone who really knows my husband will hopefully not believe what is being said about him.

Since the beginning, we have been praying for God to reveal His will and leave us with only one open door. He has shown Himself time and time again throughout our journey. It has been so encouraging to us, and to the many who have been praying alongside us, to see His plan unfold.

5 minutes from our house!

A job, a move, a house, a new church home … all of these things were placed in front of us through no pursuit of our own. I never dreamed that I would be pulling up my Texas roots and replanting them in Florida. Or that my kiddos would joyfully agree! Such is the grace and mercy of the Father.

I feel like we are in a whole new country, not just a few states over. We have bananas growing in our front yard!

bananas! in my front yard!!

And a flock of whatever-these-are birds stops by for breakfast every morning.

what are these?

We are loving our new adventure, and I am excited to get to share it with you!

This post is linked up to View From My Porch

Philosophy Adventure Giveaway

May 31, 2013 By: amyswandering2 Comments

Funny Girl will soon be starting her third year of high school, and it will be Ms. Creativity’s first.

There are so many wonderful curriculum options available these days that we have had a fairly easy time fulfilling graduation requirements. I do have a few blanks to fill in though, one of which is that tricky speech credit.

When offered the opportunity to help launch Philosophy Adventure™–Pre-Socrates from Home School Adventure Co., I decided to first take a peek at the samples on the website. I then raced to fill out the review application!

Philosophy Adventure™–Pre-Socrates teaches 6th-12th graders how to write skillfully, think critically, and articulate clearly by studying the history of philosophy and the origins of ideas. They will learn how to cultivate and defend a biblical worldview.

**This is just an intro! I will be doing an in-depth review in August.**

Stacy Farrell, the author, has three goals for this curriculum. There is no question in my mind that she achieved them:

Engaging

This is one of the pretty textbooks I’ve seen. The colorful layout and images are like a mini museum.
Each lesson is divided into short sections that are packed with information – just enough to bite off & chew on before moving on to the next idea or assignment.
The writing is like sitting at the feet of a storyteller.

Easy to Use

Clear pronunciation is given for all of those strange ancient names.
Every philosopher has a sidebar listing things like famous works and contemporaries.
Assignments are very specific and broken down into baby steps (if needed).

Empowering

This one excites me the most! Stacy Farell has such a gentle way of encouraging excellence from her students, like reminding them to be prayerful about being ready to give an answer, or giving permission to write a “terrible” first draft. Her writing whispers, “You can do it!”.

{Sample Lesson}

There are several formats available:

Complete Set with Resources CD ($89.95)
Reader with Resources CD ($69.95)
Digital Edition of reader & Resources all on CD ($49.95)
Digital Download ($39.95)

To celebrate the launch of Philosophy Adventure™–Pre-Socrates, I get to give away a digital download of the Complete Set –>
Reader, Student Workbook, & Teacher Resource!!
{Giveaway is open to anyone and ends Thursday, June 6th}

Want more chances to win? Click the blue guy to visit the rest of the launch team!

“If philosophy is the love of wisdom, then Philosophy Adventure is a course to love for your teen children. This captivating overview of pre-Socratic philosophers not only will help instill a love for knowledge and wisdom in your child’s heart and mind, but even more it will fuel the growing flames of faith and Christian worldview at a critical point in your child’s life.

“What makes this course especially distinctive is its trust in the Christian student—encouraging your child to interact with all knowledge (the history and views of philosophers who have shaped thinking), and then helping them to ‘make a defense…for the hope that is in you’ from Scripture and reason. Thoughtfully-designed writing, thinking, and speaking exercises biblically equip your child to make their beliefs their own. Beautifully-designed interior pages make philosophy both more appealing and easier to learn.

“This is the kind of wholehearted learning that fueled our own family’s love of learning. I heartily recommend this adventure.”

—Clay Clarkson
Whole Heart Ministries
Author of Educating the WholeHearted Child