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Begin by praying for wisdom. God will lead you. Those whom He calls, He equips. He knows what your children will face in the future, and He will give you what you need to educate them in the way they need to be educated. Just trust in Him for what you need. When we rely on Him, we are on our way to creating in ourselves and in our children what Moses termed a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12).
We recommend you purchase The Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach and read it before making any purchases. Unless you have read enough and know this is the approach you want to use and if your budget allows, the HOW Year One Deluxe Package will get you started. You can purchase the units as you need them, or all at once, whatever fits your family. You'll save money by purchasing the packages. All resources are optional, but having them on hand makes homeschooling much easier. Free: The Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach excerpt.
Level 1 Knowledge (Grades K/1–3)
In a child's earliest years, he is extremely curious and seeks as much information as he can possibly gather. This trend continues in a child's formal education throughout the first few years. Children at this age inquire about everything around them-and it is amazing to see how much information they can actually retain. This stage is the first building block toward wisdom-introducing the "raw material" with which the child will later interact through understanding and practical application.
For children in kindergarten to grade three, days should consist of reading aloud, Bible memorization, copy work, oral narration, working on a Bible portfolio and timeline book, various art and crafts, phonics, math, and play. You will follow the four year plan by reading aloud daily from the Bible, history, science and story books.
The history and science unit studies are optional at this age. If you are teaching other children with unit studies, you can teach all the children together by watering down the material as needed. The focus of this stage should be the Bible and the three Rs (reading with a strong phonics base, writing, and math).
Click to view Sample of a Delight Directed Day with 5 and 7 Year-Old
For Grades K-3 You Will Need:
- A Bible (We recommend the Day by Day Kids Bible for this age).
- Bible story books.
- The Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach by Robin Sampson
- The Three R's by Dr. Ruth Beechick
- A phonics, sight words and math program on your child's grade level.
(See more on Languarge Arts)
- Living books for history and science following the Four Year Plan. Children should have access to a variety of highly illustrated information books (plants, animals, how things work, how people live in various time periods, etc.). Heart of Wisdom unit studies are optional for this age. They would need to be watered down.
- Access to a variety of read aloud books for K-3.
As you teach Bible, history, and science, keep the four steps in mind:
Step 1. Begin by discussing what you are going to learn and relating it to something the child already knows about.
Step 2. Read aloud the text, and stop frequently to ask questions.
Step 3. Reinforce with an activity (copy work, illustration or other hands-on activity)
Step 4. Have them tell back what they have learned (narration) with you or another.
Click to view Sample Day with 5 and 7 Year-Old
Level 2 Understanding (Grades 4/5–8)
After the child has gathered rote knowledge (the basic facts), he may proceed to the second phase of learning, understanding. The basic idea behind the biblical word understanding is "division" or "discernment."
During this phase, children begin to comprehend the meanings behind the things they learned in the knowledge phase. This can be done through definition (as Adam did when naming the animals), through comparison with other similar or dissimilar concepts, and through seeing the facts in the "big picture" or context of things. The learning of facts still plays a role, but these facts are seen as interconnected, in relationship to everything else that is learned.
In grades 5 through 8, the basic subjects that are studied remain the same, but the student begins to view them differently. It is not that the material becomes more complex, per se, but the student is able to approach that material in a different way, and knowledge and understanding begin to grow together toward the ultimate goal: wisdom.
For grades 5 through 8 you will need:
- Bible (We recommend a KJV for word studies and the Daily Bible or the Narrated Bible for copywork and dictation)
- Bible study tools
- The Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach by Robin Sampson
- You Can Teach Your Child Successfully Grades 4–8 by Ruth Beechick
- Heart of Wisdom unit studies or other unit studies.
- Access to a variety of highly illustrated information books following the Four Year Plan). See HOW Year 1 discount packages.
- Access to a variety of literature and biographies for grades 5-8.
- Life skills resources. Begin with the Wisdom Unit Study.
- A foreign language program.
- A math program on grade level.
- A grammar and/or writing program (optional). (See more on Languarge Arts)
See Heart of Wisdom Year 1 discount packages.
Level 3 Wisdom (Grades 9-12)
The final phase, which generally takes place in grades 9 through 12, focuses on wisdom and its lifelong pursuit. The fundamental biblical idea behind wisdom is application of truth. Wisdom must first arise from the student's relationship to God (The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom), but it is fed by the previous phases of knowledge and understanding through which the student has passed. Wisdom has been achieved, in the practical sense, when the student consistently makes choices that are pleasing to God and obediently follows God's Word in every area of life.
True wisdom involves a right perspective, a way of looking at things and making decisions about those things that is based on the knowledge of God and the understanding of His will. It is possible for a person to be knowledgeable, even to have great understanding, but not be wise. Wisdom is the principal thing—we must teach our children its importance and then guide them to attain it throughout their lives.
For G rades 9 through 12 You Will Need:
- Bible (We recommend a KJV for word studies and the Daily Bible or the Narrated Bible for copywork and dictation)
- Bible study tools .
- The Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach (Ebook or paperback) by Robin Sampson
- Heart of Wisdom unit studies or other unit studies.
- Access to a variety of highly illustrated information books following the Four Year Plan. See HOW Year 1 discount packages.
- Access to a variety of literature and biographies for grades 9-12.
- Life skills resources. Begin with the Wisdom Unit Study.
- The Great Conversation: A Biblical Analysis of the Great Books of Western Civilization by Dennis Woods to study the classics from a Biblical view.
- A foreign language program.
- A math program on grade level.
- A grammar and/or writing program (optional). (See more on Languarge Arts)
- Homeschooling High School by Cafi Cohen if you are planning for college admission.
See Heart of Wisdom Year 1 discount packages.
Focusing On True Wisdom
We encourage you to continually and prayerfully evaluate your homeschool efforts in order to stay on track. Pray for wisdom daily and reevaluate your schedule monthly. The way to learn to obey Christ and keep from conforming to the world is through the study of the Scriptures: Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.—2 Timothy 2:15
True wisdom comes from God: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding (Proverbs 9:10). Wisdom is for the person who sees its value and therefore diligently seeks it. The wise person learns from instruction (Proverbs 9:9) and from God’s discipline (Proverbs 3:11), accepts God’s commands (Proverbs 10:8), and treasures wisdom as more valuable than silver, gold, or precious jewels.
Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” —1 Corinthians 1:26–30
More on Language Arts
You and your student will need a writing handbook to use with the Heart of Wisdom unit studies. We recommend
Writers Inc: A Student Handbook for Writing and Learning; you or
your student will be referring to this book in almost every lesson.
You will correct spelling, capitalization, punctuation, grammar, sentence structure,
subject/verb agreement, consistent verb tense, and word usage in all writing by marking
each error with a number that corresponds with a rule from Writers INC. The student refers
to the rule in the book, corrects his paper, and turns it back in.
Thoughout the Heart of Wisdom lessons Interne-links take you to the needed information to complete the assignment (the writing process, how to write a summary, who to write a draft, how to write a paragraph, how to write a research paper, writing letters, wrtiting poetry, how to write an outline, etc). See Writing Links .
Read through “The Writing Process” in Writers INC with your student. It is important for
your student to understand the stages in the writing process: Prewriting, Drafting, Revising,
Editing, and Publishing. Explain to your student that you will accept his or her writing in different
stages. Requiring all work to be “published” can discourage writing. Throughout the
lessons your student will be asked to write summaries, paraphrases, letters, essays, etc.
Much of the time you can accept rough drafts, but occasionally (especially in adding work to
the Portfolio) your student needs to go through the entire process.
Through the writing assignments, students will learn:
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Writing Skills: Context, form, mechanics, editing, and revision.
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Spelling Skills: Create a personal Spelling Dictionary.
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Vocabulary Skills: Create a personal Vocabulary Notebook.
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Handwriting Skills: Practice writing Bible verses.
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Critical Thinking Skills: Manage and use information to solve problems, interrelate knowledge, and effectively communicate learning outcomes.
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Character Development through assignment completion: Attentiveness, commitment,confidence, decisiveness, efficiency, faithfulness, perseverance, promptness, responsibility, and self-control.
Online Writing Tutors
If you don’t feel qualified to teach or proofread your students' work you can use a professional online writing tutor available monthly or annually. If you purchase the program your student works with a mentor to improve upon various writing skills. If your child needs help with any writing assignment --research papers, book reviews, journal writing, grammar, poetry-- he or she will be assigned a mentor who can coach them. You can use a tutor until you feel comfortable teaching your student or use the tutor long term.
Frequently Asked Questions
About Heart of Wisdom Publishing
About the Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach
Also see R obin's Blog: An Unplanned Delight-Directed Homeschool Day
About HOW Unit Studies
About Ebooks
Have a question not answered here? Email Robin or read the blog.
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