Fast forward to this year.  There are a few spelling mistakes that I have watched her make over and over again – even after talking about them.  So, I decided daily spelling instruction needed to be put back on the curriculum schedule.  I wanted to do something that really taught the rules this time.  Something that would help her to use the rule to spell any word – not just the 20 or 30 for a test.

I decided to use Spelling Works from Scholastic.  The lessons cover spelling rules using all kinds of words – there is no word list.  Each day, Mahayla completes a lesson where she has to use the rule in a variety of ways.  By Friday, test day, I give her 20 or 30 words that follow the rule.  She may or may not have seen the words through the week, but if she learned the rule she should still be able to make 100%.

I’m after an understanding of spelling rather than memorizing a set list.  I’ve already seen a big improvement in everyday spelling on the words that follow the rules we’ve covered so far.  That puts a big smile on my face and has given her more confidence in her writing!

From the time they were preschoolers and we started reading Storytime With the Millers and on through each of the other books, my children have intently listened to and learned from the stories.  I think they’re so good, in fact, that they were read during devotion time usually.

Even though the books come from a very conservative Amish-Mennonite perspective, I found them to be very useful in teaching topics like trusting God, manners, friendship, obedience, respect, forgiveness, self-sacrifice and much, much more!  Each story centers around a Bible verse and that verse is used at some point within the story.  Many of the stories are full of some excitement, too.  That helps to keep my son’s attention!

Choosing a favorite is hard, but I would probably choose Missionary Stories and the Millers as my personal favorite.  This book is just full of the true adventure stories of actual missionaries.  Some I had heard of, some I  hadn’t.  I have read other reviews that said the stories in this book were a little too much for their younger children, but mine had no problems it.  Be warned, though, that the real stories of missionaries aren’t always smily, joyful stories.  But in each, God’s faithfulness and care shine through!!

Timberdoodle sells these books at a very reasonable price.  I hope you enjoy (or have already enjoyed) them, too!

Warning:  Potential Spoilers!!  If you want to experience the museum yourself, read no further.

WOW!!  That word about sums up our experience.  I don’t know what more to say, but will try to put together some sort of description that might give it some justice.  Sorry if I overuse the exclamation points. 

First, it’s beautiful!  From the building to the outdoor walk around the lake to the displays – beautiful!

Next, it’s very well done!  Realistic displays, amazing fossil examples, great “story” as you walk through of the Seven C’s.  (Creation, Corruption, Catastrophe, Confusion, Christ, Crucifixion, Consumation)

Awesome Films!  A very moving film towards the end of the journey about Christ and his sacrifice, a very cool special effects theater (I won’t spill the beans on this one!) and a spectacular planetarium show!!

There’s lots to keep the attention of little ones all the way to adults.  It was me alone with my children this time around and we only tipped the iceberg of things to see and learn!!

A great bookstore!  Anything and everything your heart could desire to teach children, teens and adults about creation vs. evolution and Biblical truths.  I have a lot of their material already, so I only bought a cute car decal of a fish called “Truth” eating a little evolutionary fish called “Darwin”.  Too cute!

Great food if you want to eat at the museum.  We brought our lunch yesterday, but ate there last summer during a construction preview.

Very friendly staff!

Very visual police force with bomb dogs!!  Yep, you read right – bomb dogs.  Answers in Genesis and the Creation Museum have been under some pretty stiff criticism and even some threats.  It made me feel safe to know all precautions were being taken to protect our safety.

Very friendly crowd of guests!

And most of all, a great witnessing tool!!!!  If you have children or family or friends in doubt, this would be a great trip to take with them.

So to sum up, if you are within the driving distance of, say Australia or China, it’s worth the trip!!  )

One side note:  This was a preview week for members and several things weren’t completed yet.  Not a lot, but several things here and there.  Even a couple of bigger rooms/displays.  They’re hoping to be fully finished by the grand opening next week.  If you’re planning to go soon, you may want to hold off a couple of weeks or call ahead to be sure everything is done before you go.  I just want you to get your money’s worth, especially if you’re driving quite some distance.

Second side note:  I ran across a great entry at Pattycake’s site that helps you defend your faith and the Bible’s authenticity.  I just thought it fit in really well with the theme of this post!

Visit the official Creation Museum site here.  Visit Answers in Genesis here.

My camera doesn’t take the best pictures, but here’s a very brief veiwing.

My Answer:

Hmmm…I think I would have liked MoH more IF I hadn’t been using The Child’s Story Bible, too, this year.  It’s a very thorough, chronological Bible (wonderful, by the way!)  Anyway, MoH includes much of the same information, along with a spattering of world history.  The only differences were the extra activities and timeline options I had with MoH.

Now, if I hadn’t been going through the Bible chronologically, I probably would have really enjoyed MoH.  It does give a great perspective on what was going on in the world at the same time certain Bible events happened.  At the same time, though, I felt like MoH lacked in “good” maps and premade activites.  Simple maps and some good activity ideas were there, but I still had to do a lot of work planning on my own.  With Eli, I don’t have that kind of time anymore! 

We stopped using it about mid-way through the year.  I’m opting for more of a unit study approach to world and American history right now.  Lapbooks, History Pockets, Unit studies.

To be honest, I’m just getting tired of dragging out subjects that I think can be pretty well covered in a much shorter time period.  When I did Story of the World for 4 years, we did history 2-3 times a week all year.  With these unit studies, I’m able to cover much of the same material in a 2-3 week unit.  MoH was 2-3 times a week, too, sometimes more.  The lessons didn’t take very long, but we weren’t engaged and excited like I had hoped.

One other thing, I believe there are 2 MoH volumes out right now.  She plans 3 more, but won’t have them finished in time for me to go through her program completely.  I think she plans to put out one every 2-3 years or something like that.

One thing I do plan to do to enhance our unit studies – I’m probably going to buy the Story of the World stories on cds so the kids can listen through them again, especially Caleb.  I may even add in a fun activity here and there, but WON’T do the whole huge lesson thing again.  Even though I loved that program, I ended up spending tons of time planning and preparing it, too.

I haven’t seen TruthQuest enough to compare it to MoH.  I like the concept of it, but it, too, seems like more planning that I care to do right now.  I’ve been pretty much sold on the Hands of a Child and Knowledge Box Central lapbooking units lately.  Most of the info and copies I need are there for me.  I just have to beef it up a bit with a few library books.  The finished products are beautiful, too!   For Ancient History, I plan to use the Ancient Civilization History Pockets from Evan Moor.

Truth be told, I’m probably just getting tired of waiting so long for closure.  Ha Ha. I want to tackle something and get it over with.  Mahayla’s a lot like me.  If something drags on too long, her interest fades big time.  By the end of a year-long program, we’re both ready for it to just be over with!

If you have an opinion that might be helpful for my friend, feel free to comment.