This blog is my attempt to document our busy but BLESSED lives raising and educating our children for His glory. A child of God, wife to one, and mom to 6 fabulous kids. We are in our 16th year of homeschooling using a Classical ~ Literature based approach.

Come along for the good, the bad & the ugly.



Monday, January 3, 2011

TOS Review ~ Positive Action, 4th Grade

A few weeks ago we received a package in the mail from Positive Action for Christ. Just who is  Positive Action? They are a Christian publishing company that started way back in 1969, specializing in educational material for students from Kindergarten to High School. Upon opening the box I discovered the Grade 4 Bible curriculum with a teacher’s manual and student workbook and squealed with joy. Our current bible curriculum for Madison was just not quite working for us and I was praying about whether or not to stick it out or change things up, so this arrival was a welcome change.

senn410GROUPThe 4th grade curriculum ~ Building Life Castles, is an in-depth study of the New Testament. While working through this curriculum students focus on the life of Christ, the work of the Holy Spirit, and the life and writings of the Apostle Paul.  The scripture memory system is different than what we have been used to.  Students learn a passage of scripture over a couple of weeks instead of learning a new verse each week from different areas of the Bible. A  review week is built in so that mastery of the passage is gained before moving on to the next passage. Madison and I enjoyed this as it gave her a deeper understanding into passages of the Bible, rather than just a few verses here and there.  Six passages are memorized in the Building Life Castles curriculum:

  • 1 Corinthians 13:1-7
  • Ephesians 6:1-9
  • Psalms 1:1-6
  • Philemon 4:4-9
  • John 1:1-18
  • Psalms 23:1-6

The teacher's manual which sells for $33.95, is a complete resource that includes:

  • 35 lessons (one per week)
  • Target truths (objectives)
  • Teaching strategy section
  • Weekly character traits
  • Practical applications
  • Interesting stories
  • Ideas for puzzles, skits, artwork, buzz groups, and discussion
  • Plans for 3, 4, or 5 day Bible class schedules
  • Completed student's manual answer key pages
  • Reproducible weekly quizzes with answer key
  • Scripture memory program

Take a sneak peek at the introductory section of the Teacher’s Manual with several lessons HERE.

The student workbook which sells for $12.95, encourages students to hide God’s Word in there hearts. It includes:

  • Vocabulary sections
  • Words for songs in music curriculum
  • Puzzles, artwork, and maps
  • Life application sections
  • Attractive full-color format
  • Various levels & thinking skills
  • Material usable with any Bible translation
  • Scripture memorization sheet
  • 160 pages

Click HERE and have a look at 16 pages from the Student’s Manual.

Do you like digital editions? Positive Action also offers digital editions of the teachers manual on cd for $19.95. A Hymn and Chorus cd is also available for $9.95.

Madison and I will continue to use the 4th grade curriculum for the remainder of the school year and I have already placed the corresponding grade levels for my other girls on our wish list for the 2011-2012 school year. I would  hands down recommend Positive Action's For Christ  Bible curriculum to any family seeking an in-depth study of God’s Word for there children.

To read what other members of the TOS Crew had to say  go HERE (all elementary grades are being reviewed). Looking for a  Middle or High School level review, come back after January 14th to this LINK to see those TOS Crew members reviews.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   I am a member of The Old Schoolhouse 2010-2011 Crew and as such received a subscription to Positive Action for Christ in exchange for a thorough and honest review.  Though I am compensated with free products, I am not compensated in the form of cash for my reviews.  The opinions I have given are mine and may differ from others but are not influenced by the company or the free product provided .

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