Expansion of Civilization

This powerful and inspiring seminar will transform the way you teach writing to children (and perhaps your own writing as well)! You’ll learn how to incrementally teach students to write with clear structure and compelling style. Begin with the basics—rewriting a paragraph—and continue all the way into advanced creative and essay writing. Learn how to nurture excellence in writing and thinking in students of any age.

Illuminations is a practical, comprehensive, customizable curriculum guide, covering Bible, language arts (grammar, writing, copywork, spelling, and vocabulary), literature, science, geography, history, and life skills built to wrap around The Mystery of History series or All American History series. (Math is not scheduled in Illuminations.) Each year of Illuminations contains lesson plans, guides, and reading schedules for grades 3–12. If you have younger children, they can join in with the older students thanks to the additional teaching ideas for grades K–2. In Illuminations we’ve chosen curriculum that you can pick up and use without a lot of advance preparation. Purchase the novels, textbooks, and resources on our book lists, and all of the planning for the entire year is done for you! Use our Illuminations Build-A-Bundle Tool to make purchasing even easier.

Classical music is uniquely part of our Western civilization. Research suggests that both listening to and playing classical music aids brain development. Even rudimentary exposure increases one’s level of enjoyment and understanding. This course provides a close-up look at famous composers, their music, and their times, with special attention to character traits and Christian testimony (or lack thereof). Even the musically challenged will enjoy this course! It’s perfect for grades 4-8 but is easily adaptable for younger and older students. Minimal teacher prep will return maximum enjoyment!

TruthQuest History puts God back at the center of the past.
Centered on “living books,” this creative approach to history integrates elements of both Charlotte Mason and Classical methods.
Short, very informal introductions are written directly to the student and open up each topic with a distinctly Christian perspective. Suggestions for activities or writing exercises are often included as well. The booklists follow, with selected annotations on what pages or sections to read and appropriate grade levels for each entry. Incredibly flexible in nature, families can proceed at the pace that’s best for their students as they select “spines,” biographies, in-print books, and out-of-print classics from the extensive lists.

Proceeding chronologically, entries include lists for Napoleon, War of 1812, Science and Industry, Industrial Revolution, Johnny Appleseed, Santa Fe Trail, Irish Potato Famine, Hudson Taylor, Musicians, Anna Carroll, and other relevant unit-study topics.

Grades 5-12; may be adapted for younger siblings. 243 pages, softcover, spiral-bound.

Full resource list is included at the back of the book.

Start a poetry love affair!

Exploring Poetry with Children contains 4 weeks of poetry lessons using popular poems for children. It’s now illustrated and includes a new section on reading poetry aloud!

This digital product does not contain exercises in futility, hunting for images so subtle, you go cross-eyed in the search. Rather, your kids will

• depict a poem’s meaning through acting,
• copy a poetic form,
• create a visual poem using collected images,
• and write limericks to amuse and amaze you!