MamaWit Haven: Homeschool Choices for 2019-2020: Science & Bible

Happy Friday, all! We made it through another week! And now that Friday's here, it's time to share what homeschool curriculum we are using for the 2019-2020 school year. So far, we have shared our choices for History/Geography/Social Studies, Math, and Language Arts. Today, we will be sharing our curriculum choices for Science and Bible

I have the privilege of co-hosting this collaboration with 5 other wonderful ladies this week. They are YouTubers Ingrid at Mommy & Mia Homeschool Chronicles, Kim at The Homeschooling Grammy, Corrine of Mama’s Little Lambs, and Vani at Mrs. Mom's Homeschool; and fellow blogger, Stacy at DyerTyme. Please make sure and check out each of these ladies' channels or blogs. They each have excellent content for those of us on this homeschooling journey! I will also be adding a playlist and blog list at the end of this post. There you will find other homeschoolers participating in this collaboration. If you're still looking for ideas for next year, check those out!

Bible

First, I want to talk about what we'll be using for our Bible time. In the curriculum itself, it is done very simply and seems like it's not as much as we're used to. But, we're going to give it a go, and if I feel later that we need to add more, I will do that.

Scripture Memory

Daily, we will work on memorizing scripture using this system from Simply Charlotte Mason. I have never seen this system before looking in to this curriculum. And I love it! The only hiccup, is that my family prefers the NKJV version for reading and memorizing. So, I will be making my own cards from scratch. Print, cut, paste. And, since I can't purchase the tabs separately from a set of memory cards, I will be doing those on my own as well. At least I have the rest of the summer! Once I get the tabs done, it will be pretty easy to maintain. I will be using the memory verses suggested by SCM in their enrichment ideas.

Bible Study

Once per week, there will be an in-depth Bible study. This year, we will be studying the books of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, Hebrews, 1 & 2 Timothy, and Titus. So one day per week, we will read from a portion of scripture and do the study as laid out in the lesson plans.

In addition, my 13-year-old will be working through 2 books in conjunction with our family study. One book is called Discovering Doctrine, by Sonya Shafer. This book is laid out into 10 different doctrines of scripture. After we read our scripture for the day, my son will go over the verses and categorize them into the different doctrines, writing each verse on the appropriate page in his book.

The second book he will use is called Growth in the Word, by Sonya Shafer. I really love this book! Growth in the Word teaches how to study your Bible effectively. This book contains studies for each of the books of the Bible we will be studying this year. I think this will be a really good way for my son to hone in on God's Word.

Now that I have it all typed out, our Bible plans don't seem too light after all! Maybe so for my youngest, who will not start the above 2 books until his next year. However, we also read from The Daily Light on the Daily Path in the morning and evening. So either way, we're getting daily scripture reading in.

Science

This year for the first time, each of my kids will be doing their own separate science. This is one of the many ways I am transitioning them to be more independent with more of their subjects.

13-Year-Old

The main science spine for my 13-year-old will be Exploring Creation with General Science, from Apologia. I used Apologia in the older grades with my oldest, and I do love their curriculum. And their books fall right in line with the "conversational texts" for upper level science recommended by Charlotte Mason. I do remember General Science starting out somewhat "dry" in the first lesson or two, but it does get better from there. We have the companion notebook, so hopefully that will help with the flow. He will be taking the tests, but for the most part, they will be open book. Because that's just how I roll.

Another book I will be integrating with my 13-year-old for science is a living book. It's called A Piece of the Mountain: The Story of Blaise Pascal, by Joyce McPherson. This is a biography about an important scientist during the 1600's, who converted to Christianity as an adult and became a devoted apologist for the faith. My son will be reading this on his own and narrating to me. But, I plan on reading ahead of him, and I can't wait to share this story together.

10-Year-Old

My youngest son will be going through Apologia's Exploring Creation with Zoology series. I did get all 3 books in the series, although I'm not sure if we will finish all of them in one school year. I have not done these particular Apologia books before, and I'm really looking forward to learning more about God's creatures together with my son! With all of our Apologia science, I always choose to add the accompanying notebooks. I have flipped through them, and they look really fun! I will start out the year reading aloud to him out of the books. But eventually, I want to read ahead of him and have him read and complete the work on his own.

Extras

The Sciences, by Edward S. Holden. I purchased this as an extra reference book. This book was recommended in the Ambleside Online paraphrased version of Home Education. The Sciences provides conversational information about Astronomy, Physics, Chemistry, Meteorology, and Physiography. I believe this book was originally published in 1902.

Lives of the Scientists: Experiments, Explosions (and What the Neighbors Thought), by Kathleen Krull & Cathryn Hewitt. I purchased this in brand new condition from a used bookstore. We already have Lives of the Musicians by the same authors and have enjoyed it. So, when I saw the scientist version, I snatched it up. I thought it would be fun to have this book on hand with my 13-year-old learning about various scientists throughout history in General Science.

I haven't purchased anything else yet, but I will be keeping my eye open when I'm at Lakeshore Learning or Dollar Tree, as we go through our year. If I can, I like to purchase kits or activities that have to do with what we're learning in science.

And, as always, there will be trips to the library and lots of library books through the year to go with each subject in our science.

That's All, Folks!

I think I've covered everything! I hope this post was helpful to you if you're looking for your next Bible or Science curriculum. If you have any questions about what we'll be using, feel free to leave them in the comments below. Also, if you have used any of these things in the past, please comment and let me know what you thought.

Thank you for reading everyone! I hope you all have a great weekend!