Schoolhouse Review: Apologia -- Who Is My Neighbor?

A couple of months ago, when I decided to compile a list of my Top 10 Curriculum Companies, Apologia was at the top of the list. In part, the reason for my devotion to this company is due to an Apologetics/Bible Study series they have been publishing over the past year. Ben and I used the first book in the What We Believe series last fall -- Who Is God? And Can I Really Know Him? and I was instantly grateful. 

The series,  What We Believe , is designed to help you teach your children a worldview based on the truths of God's Word. It is no secret that daily our families are being bombarded with mixed messages about God and who He is. Television, music, books, movies, the evening news -- all extremely available and most not helpful in creating an environment where God's truths reign. There can be nothing more important in our homeschools than building a foundation for our families and homeschools based on truth. This series will help you do just that.

You might remember that we reviewed book 2,  Who Am I? And What Am I Doing Here? , a few months ago. You can read that review here, if you happened to have missed it. 

We recently received  the third installment in this series for review. Who Is My Neighbor? And Why Does He Need Me? is a study in servanthood. 

Two are better than one . . . if one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up. ~Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

We received the Textbook ($39), Notebooking Journal ($24) and Coloring Book ($8).

Written in 8 lessons, your students, ages 6-14 will spend time discovering what the Bible says about topics such as:

• Does anyone really need me?
• How can I make a difference?
• Who is my neighbor?
• Why did God make families?
• What can I do for my country?
• Why can't we all just get along?
• Who is God's family?
• Why does the church need me?

Each lesson is structured similarly:

• The Big Idea is the introduction to the topic at hand.
• Short Story shares a story involving children your kids can relate to, and gives little glimpses into differing worldviews.
• Think About It with thought-provoking questions to test comprehension.
• Words You Need to Know
• Hide It In Your Heart identifies Scripture for memory work.
• Integrated Learning provides age-appropriate articles to ingrate other subjects, such as art, math, history, science, and other topics.
• What Should I Do? discusses character traits for lesson application.
• Prayer 
• Enounters with Jesus is an adapted, Biblical account of a person who encountered Jesus while He was on earth, including some cultural background. While based on actual Scriptural accounts, some creative license is taken in this section to help bring the story to life. We very much enjoyed this section.

You'll find a very handy "Lesson Plan" in the front of the book, stepping you through how to complete one lesson every 3 weeks, using the curriculum twice a week. Ben and I have worked through the lessons a little quicker, usually completing parts of the lessons at least 3-4 days a week. I love this series so much, that it is our primary Bible study and apologetics curriculum. It comes first in our day, before anything else.

The text is written to the student directly in a very conversational style. Your older students can complete the study independently, but I don't honestly recommend that. Although Ben is perfectly capable of completing it alone, I really want to be there doing it with him because of the conversation that is sparked. Like all of our homeschooling, we often hop down a few rabbit trails with this curriculum. Something we read will spark a conversation about a recent family devotion or sermon at church. Ben is at an age where he is really starting put two and two together with a lot of issues. I really think much of that would be lost if he did this curriculum on his own.

We love the notebooking journal! The spiral-bound book contains 240 pages of blank pages to take notes, notebooking pages for recording answers and observations throughout the study, pages for writing definitions for the vocabulary words, puzzles, mini books to assemble, review pages, and more.

One more feature I really enjoyed in this Notebooking Journal was the "Find Out More" page, with lists of suggestions for additional activities, books, and songs.

  The Coloring Book is lovely as well and perfect to keep little hands busy while you are reading aloud or discussing things more in depth with your older children. Even Ben, not typically a coloring book kind of kid, enjoys this coloring book. In fact, I don't have pictures of it because he confiscated it and I couldn't find it when I needed it for this review!
You can see samples of each book here:  Textbook, Notebooking Journal and Coloring Book.
Overall, I cannot recommend this entire series highly enough. The quality is top-notch and the subject matter so important for families today. But don't just don't take my word for it . . . 

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