A TOS Crew Review: Philippians in 28 Weeks

Anybody else remember the old Sword Drills?  Sword Drills are a competition in which two individuals race to see who can a) locate a particular verse in the Bible faster or b) who can recite a particular verse before his or her opponent.

For old time’s sake let’s do this thing! When I say, Philippians 1:6, quote the verse as quickly as you can. Or look it up if it isn’t one you’ve memorized. On your mark….Get set…Go!

Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6

I’m not sure, but I think I beat all of you! It's all done in love.

The memorization of Scripture is so important. Even more so, in my opinion, is the reflection and study of the Scripture. There is something about studying a particular passage of Scripture over and over and over again. It is able to seep into the tightest crevices of your soul. Home School Adventure Co. has created the book, Philippians in 28 Weeks, to encourage families to memorize the entire book of Philippians. Wowsers! I recently had a chance to review Philippians in 28 Weeks. 

What I Received

Philippians in 28 Weeks was written by Stacy Farrell. I received the 167 page (ESV) e-book which costs $14.95. You can purchase the print edition for $28.95 and a set of Philippians memory cards for $9.95. The print book uses either the ESV (English Standard Version) or the KJV (King James Version).   (Check out the special discount code at the bottom of this post)

The book is can be used as a read aloud and discussion with the family for ages 9 and up. High Schoolers can do this on their own. It is also encouraged for use with families. 

How It Works and How I Used It

Stacy uses 5 simple steps to help us with the task of memorizing the book of Philippians.

They are:

1.    Read

We read the book of Philippians every day. Or at least listened to it. We used an online audio version quite a bit. Josiah and I would follow along and just let the words absorb into our hearts and heads. Don’t worry. Philippians isn’t a super long book. 

Quite possibly Josiah's favorite verse to memorize. Who can blame him?

2.    Record

We were given journal pages to print out. On Day 1 we used the verses as Copywork. On Day 2 we were asked a series of Questions. This was so beneficial. The Questions inspired all manner of discussions. Josiah surprised me. He can be fairly reflective, but there is that “he’s 12” aspect of his reflections. For example, here is a question from early in the process.

“Imagine for a moment you have been imprisoned for your faith. Who would you yearn to see and why?”

This question, of course, comes from Paul’s desire to see his brothers and sisters in Christ. He has been imprisoned for his faith. Josiah’s answer was this.

“I would miss my Xbox. I would yearn to see the Lord. He would help me.”  

I have to admit I was kind of expecting to me on the list. But yearning to see the Lord is pretty great! Day 3 is for summary. Summarizing is already something we practice in our homeschool. I liked that there is plenty of time and space for that. 

A shot of one of the memory cards.

3.    Repeat

This step involves the memory cards (which are included to print). Each week we were assigned parts of chapters to memorize. We were to carry them with us and work on memorizing what was on that particular card whenever we could.

4.    Review & Recite

At the end of the week, we were to (from memory) recite all that we had learned.

5.    Retain

Retaining important information is what is hard for some folks. That is why I liked how Stacy broke the memorization down for us in increments. There are retention charts available to keep track of progress.

Overall, this is an effective way to learn and memorize Scripture. We haven’t had a chance to complete our Study, but I look forward to continuing our journey.

My Thoughts

One thing that Stacy wrote in her introduction really stuck out at me. She asks us to think about this. There are many places throughout the world where it is a crime to own a Bible. My husband is a pastor so not only do we have our “shelf” of Bibles, but we have Bibles in different translations and different studies of whole books of the Bible. We take for granted what a gift we have in that we can open God’s Word anytime we wish. I read a story once where a church had meet underground in a country where it was a crime to be a Christian. Their access to a Bible was extremely limited and dangerous. When the members would gather they would each share the passages of Scripture they had put to memory. I don’t want to be guilty of neglecting the memorization of His Word just because I have one lying on every shelf.

There is a grading rubric available for this book as well. We didn’t use it. We really don’t do grades. Except in Math. I wanted to focus to be on the heart of the matter.

Which brings me to my next point. I love the emersion method that this Study uses. When we read something over and over again it does something to us. We are able to see things we didn’t see before. I am all for the “Read your Bible in a year” programs. However, how much do we miss when we are just anxious to get through to the next assignment?

  I also loved the copywork aspect. I have started doing that with all my Bible reading. I have always done so with Josiah…I don’t know why I didn’t think to apply it to my own Bible study!

My most favorite thing about the study was the discussions that spilled out of the Questions supplied and just our reading in general. I enjoyed so much just taking our time and letting Paul’s words to the church at Philippi work on me. How can this apply to my life? How can I use what I’ve learned to edify the others? This is serious stuff!

Home School Adventure Co. has other quality products. You can connect with them on…

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You can also read more reviews by clicking the banner below. I have to say that when this review came around I waffled between requesting Philippians in 28 Weeks or The Wise Woman with Literary Analysis Journal Questions. I still have my eye on The Wise Woman study. Check them all out!

One last thing. Stacy is offering a 10% discount right now (until May 15) on all her downloadable products. Just use the code  CREW-10

Random Thoughts: While the cake is cooling....

Shew!

My week has flown by. Between a homeschool convention last weekend and sick boy for most of this week...Not to mention I'm at least a month behind schedule.

Enough complaining. I've got some Random Thoughts to share tonight. So while I'm waiting for a cake to cool so I can frost it (because I can't possibly be bothered with cleaning off that stack of odds and ends on my table), I'll do some rambling. Lucky you.

1. I love our local Homeschool Convention. Popular to contrary belief, I don't know everything.
Attending every year gives me a much needed boost of inspiration and is a healing balm for my weary mind. This parenting/homeschooling gig is tough stuff. Our Homeschool Convention is reasonably priced and just down the road a bit from me. Which makes it doable on many fronts. This year I was smart and wore comfy shoes. One of my best buddies also brought me a fanny cushion. I love her. My fanny was nicely cushioned all weekend. I think I need to start carrying one with me...for all those random fanny sitting moments.

2. This year the convention just so happened to coincide with the Color Run. 1000's of runners/walkers gathered in the grassy patch right next door the convention center. You could see the Tutus from a mile away. We did get a glimpse of the participants after they had been blasted. They kind of looked how I feel most of the time. A bit dazed and confused.

3. Wednesday morning Josiah woke up with snot. This wasn't ordinary snot. It was the never ending fountain of snot. He finally took to stuffing Kleenex up his nose. He also insisted that he was perfectly fine to go to swim team practice. He had a change of heart when I (graphically) explained the meeting of snot and pool water. His nose is still running. Though it is now more of a trickle and less like a gusher.

4. So I'm in charge of Easter desserts. I did volunteer. Mostly because I could make something I could eat. But here's the thing. I am not a baker. I have a few standbys I can manage without total disaster. However, Holidays are usually when I have the worst luck. I started my baking this afternoon. Along with supper. I had a coconut cake, chocolate cake with white chocolate cream cheese frosting, chocolate chip cookies, twice baked cauliflower salad, pan fried fish and roasted brussel sprouts....all going at the same time. The real food was for supper. I need to maybe work on time management. Ya think?

5. Today's disaster involved the coconut cake. My go-to recipe is extremely rich and definitely not sugar free. I attempted to recreate it using more healthy ingredients. I was envisioning a tall, beautiful and luscious coconut cake. It didn't happen. About 7pm I was on my way back to the store. This time I got ingredients to make one of those old-fashioned poke cakes. They are hard to mess up. The jury is still out. It's the cake cooling on the counter. At least my other desserts turned out. .

6. Josiah insisted that he go with me. He made the chocolate chip cookies and has been my sous chef all evening. He told me that he needed to inspect the ingredients. I have a feeling it had more to do with snagging a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup at the checkout. He was disappointed. Mama don't play.

7. On our way to the store I pulled up to an old car. The whole engine was exposed. The car was as rusted as could be and loud. Very, very loud. There was a beautiful girl sitting in the passenger seat who, when we stopped at the stop light, looked over at me apologetically. I smiled at her as we silently commiserated over the clunkty-clunk of the old car. The driver was a young man who was probably her boyfriend. He had this "aw shucks" persona and practically beamed with satisfaction. Josiah couldn't stop staring. I could see stars in his eyes. "That car is cool," he said. As they drove away the girl put her hands over her ears. We could see a variety of wires and pipes hanging from the bottom of the car. It looked like one of those "do-it-yourself" battery kits. Josiah's already making plans for his cool, rusty car. I'm thinking I need to invest in ear plugs.

8. The Studly Muffin took Josiah on a bike ride today. They road 10 miles. I thought for sure that Josiah would be ready for a nice, long nap this afternoon. No such luck. That boy has more energy than the energizer bunny himself. I don't get it. He wears me out just looking at him. He will come home from swim team practice after doing consecutive 200s in the pool. And bounce of the walls. Remind me to tell you of the call we got last week one night about midnight. It seems someone was bouncing around in his room. And possibly reenacting the Revolutionary War. Or at least a Jedi battle.

9. Easter plans? We are heading to the farm tomorrow (Easter desserts in hand). The Muffin has some fishing on his mind and Josiah is anxious to meet up with the cousins. I would like to paint my toenails. Is that too much to ask? I wore flip flops today to the grocery store. I'm sure the state of my pedicure was enough to frighten small children. I'm such a girl.

10. Well. My cake is cool and it is time for phase 2. Frost the thing. I want to leave you with one of my favorite songs. It is one I can listen to not just for Easter, but all year long.  It is absolutely fantastic.

Have a blessed Easter weekend...

A TOS Crew Review: Curiosity Quest

We love documentaries at our house. We are kind of nerdy that way. Even better are the documentaries and videos that I can incorporate into our homeschool day. You see. I have this curious boy.

We just finished reviewing some great educational DVDs from (appropriately titled) Curiosity Quest. We received the DVD Combo Pack – Swimmers of the Sea (Sea Turtle Rescue, Penguins, Salmon) and the DVD Combo Pack – Produce (Mushrooms, Cranberries, Orange Packing).

What I Received 

So just a little about Curiosity Quest.

Curiosity Quest is a fun educational program that explores all kinds of topics based on viewer’s questions. Joel Green, the host, takes us (the viewer) on ultimate field trips all over the country. 

Curiosity Quest is all shown on PBS on stations throughout the country, as well. Each episode is 30 minutes long. I don't believe my local PBS station shows them so it was nice to be able to become introduced.

The DVD Combo Packs each come with 3 episodes on one disc and cost $24.95. They are intended for ages 7-14, but I have to say I enjoyed them as well. There is a Homeschool Annual Membership so you might check that out as well. 

How We Used Them

 I really enjoyed having these videos on hand. We watched them during breaks, for science, with friends, when Mama needed a nap….Josiah’s 12 so it’s not like he’s going to get into huge trouble if I decide to take a break, but still. He is 12 and I prefer him to spend his time in front of the television watching something that will educate.

Each video features live interviews with kiddos. Josiah wanted to know when they were coming to our city. I think he has some ideas of his own. Fair warning!

I thought I would give you a brief description of each video and give you Josiah’s thoughts. I told you he has some ideas. 

In DVD Combo Pack - Swimmers of the Sea, We explored sea turtles, penguins and salmon. ($24.95)

Turtle Rescue - We got to visit a Sea Turtle Hospital in Florida. First of all, Josiah wasn’t aware that there are hospitals just for turtles. He was impressed. He also got to watch this one with some friends. They were equally impressed with the turtle named Bubble Butt (true story). There were giggles for daayys over that one. Thank you, Joel.

Penguins – We took a fun trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Josiah said that this one was his favorite. Mainly because the penguins are so entertaining to watch. He would like one for a pet. No thank you. Though it might be an improvement on the Zebra he wanted when he was 7. Did you know that Penguins molt? It’s rather vicious. 

Salmon Hatchery – We went all the way to Alaska on this trip. Josiah learned that the salmon return to where they born to lay their eggs. He said it sounded like a lot of work! So is taking out the trash.  We have been to a fish hatchery, but the salmon are especially energetic. It was neat to see. 

In DVD Combo Pack – Produce, we got to explore mushrooms, cranberries and oranges. ($24.95)

Mushrooms – We headed to the Monterey Mushrooms facility and got to see how mushrooms are grown and shipped all over the world. Josiah spent most of the episode with a scrunched up face. Fascinating, but he’s not touching one. He’s such a “fungi!” I personally love mushrooms. They apparently grow big and fast. Anybody want to go into mushroom farming with me? 

Cranberries – This time we went to a cranberry bog in Wisconsin. It’s cold there! Josiah thought maybe we could flood Papa’s field to grow cranberries. I had to explain that I didn’t think it would work out. Plus, the fields are flooded so that cranberries are easier to harvest.They really don't grow underwater.

Oranges Packing – This one was a fun one, too. We got to visit an orange grove. That was also a good lesson for us. We live in Missouri…not quite a good climate for growing oranges. We found out that an orange tree can produce a massive amount of oranges! Orange juice for life. There were so many steps the oranges had to go through before actually shipped to us. There is a black light that checks for mold after they are sprayed with chlorine. Maybe I need to use one of those here at the house. 

Here are a few more thoughts from Josiah: Straight from his mouth.

“When I heard the phrase “Combo Pack” I thought it would be like a regular combo pack. You know. The kind that has the Blu Ray, DVD and Digital Copy. I was surprised to see there was only one disk.” 

My response: Maybe you worry about that kind of stuff too much. Ya think? He is my future filmmaker (or weatherman…he hasn’t made up his mind yet). 

Speaking of weather. More from Josiah.

“It would be really cool if they made a Curiosity Quest video about Tornadoes. It would be hard to make. I would be up for that.”

“The guy talks to us like real people.” 

He is right. Joel Green is engaging, energetic and doesn’t talk down to the audience. He asks all the right questions. 

I personally enjoyed them and wish we had more in our library. They are worth having. They would be especially good for those of you who use Unit Studies. There is so much information in each one of these videos!

You can read more reviews by clicking the banner below. Curiosity Quest can also be found...

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CuriosityQuest
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