Play Dress Up, Learn History

What little girl doesn't love to play dress up?

I loved dressing up when I was a child. My two favorite costumes were a blue Cinderella dress made from one of my mother's old prom dresses and my Laura Ingalls Wilder costume from a long ago Halloween (when it was more about the treats and dressing up than the tricks and being scary). I still have some of my old costume pieces (sadly, the princess dress is long gone), and they started what became our Amigos' beloved dress up box.

Of course, over time, I added to it with finds from yard sales and thrift stores...nursing smocks, vests, interesting hats, and even a few bona fide costumes from the "After Halloween 80% Off Sale" at the consignment store. The box morphed into a trunk, then kind of took over the closet.

That's when I decided enough was enough and it was time to downsize the dress up supplies (or at least pack some of the less often used stuff away). I found a Samsonite suitcase for a few dollars at the thrift store and told the kids that this would be our new "dress up suitcase," and we worked together to pick everyone's favorite, most often used dress up clothes: princess dresses and crowns, aprons and bonnets, and tutus for the girls. Coonskin caps, cowboy hats and holsters, King's cape and crown, and knight's armor for the boys. A few animal masks. Some scarves and funny hats. Costume jewelry. Shoes.

In the end, it all fit in the large suitcase and things were better. But still, I felt there had to be a way to get the variety of play scenarios (they are currently limited to ballet, castle, and pioneers) without sacrificing the ideal of not having too much.

 

I finally found the answer. Amy Puetz of Golden Prairie Press has written a fantastic book about girls' clothing in twelve different time periods of The United States of America's history. From the Pilgrims and Puritans to a Turn of the Century Tea Party, you will find an inspired array of costume ideas girls of all ages will love (and I mean Mom, too!).

What I love best about her idea is the simple idea that many costumes can be made using the same basic dress simply by changing the embellishments, like different headcoverings, aprons, and cuffs on the sleeves. Absolutely ingenious! In today's world, where stores like Toys R' Us (and even catalogues we love like the American Girl one) tell our daughters that they need a different (expensive) outfit for each time setting, this minimalist, yet precisely detailed concept is just what we need to teach our girls that oftentimes less is more...but that doesn't mean you have to give up your fun!



Here's an excerpt from the book Costumes With Character:

In this book I share the simple idea of taking one dress and transforming it into styles from different eras.

Costumes with Character utilizes the concept of one dress costuming. With the simple addition of cuffs, collars, belts, aprons, etc., one gown can easily be altered to reflect the fashion of different time periods.

 

 

 

A simple dress can be used for so many time periods that it is an essential for any girl or young lady who loves historical costumes. When the dress is completed, the costumes are half done! Then add the accessories for each costume.

 

There are different ways to get a dress that will work. It may be sewn using a pattern, or you may make over a dress you already have.

Do you see how clever that idea is? Take ONE basic dress, then add accessories, and voila! A whole new dress up experience. An entire wardrobe spanning centuries from just one dress. Imagine how much less real estate that sort of a costume system will take up in your house. Revolutionary! I am completely sold on the idea.

Isn't his dress up outfit adorable?

It's done with a simple smock dress (kind of like a loose nightgown),

with the added accessories of a bonnet and an apron.

The bare feet are authentic, as women often went without shoes...

at least until they were in company.

 

 

Of course, at first, I was intimidated by the idea of having to sew dresses for TWO girls. I am pretty good at fixing old quilts by hand, and I am pretty good at turning jeans into fun things, but following a pattern, well, not so much. Then I read the above statements more closely and I finally saw the part that said, "You can make over a dress you already have." Aha! That I can do!

And I would have done it, if not for Tex's accident and injuries, and our extended stay at the hospital in West Virginia. But I decided we could still have fun with this excellent resource. Not only can you read all of the fascinating background information about the time periods, the women, and the clothes they wore, and see pictures of actual women from each time period, but you also get to see photos of the "Costumes With Character" take on the look. That makes it very easy to imagine how you can put together a similar look with things you already have.

That's when I decided to raid our "Dress Up Suitcase" and see what I could put together without sewing a stitch, to inspire those of you who are not so quick to pick up a needle, but would still be interested in getting your girls excited about history by incorporating some "living" history in your curriculum in the form of immersing themselves in the era by dressing the part.

Here's what we pulled together in about an hour. I used things from the girls' regular closet, as well as items (like the sunbonnets) from the dress up suitcase. The look isn't "perfect," but it was enough to get the girls interested in the pioneer spirit.

 

The only downside to the book is that it is for girls only. Poor Cowboy felt a little left out. I sure think it would be nice if Amy would make a boys' version of the book next! We'll have to pull out the coonskin cap and let Cowboy dress up like Daniel Boone or Davy Crockett in the meantime.

The Amigos all had a fun time putting together their new looks, and enjoyed hearing some stories while in costume, then left for a long session of "Pioneers and Fronteirsmen." We read aloud a great old book called My Favorite Place that night before bed and it had the best two chapter description of kids playing "Pioneers and Indians" in their yard and having the best time using their imaginations.

 

For those of you who ARE good seamstresses, Amy offers an additional set of printable patterns (some do require taping together to be complete), or you can size up the patterns in the original book on thin pattern paper to make her actul dress pattern, which seems fairly simple. I am hoping my mom, who is an excellent seamstress, might consider making each of the girls a dress (and a few of the accessories we don't have already) as their Christmas gift this year (hint, hint).

 

The information in the book is a great way to kick off a unit about Pioneer times, or any other of the twelve costumes/eras covered. You can see the table of contents and a sample of the book to see what else is covered. We added or plan to add more resources of our own as we progress through this period (we are doing American History this year), and Amy offers suggestions for enriching her lessons on clothing on her site, if you need some basic ideas of how to supplement the learning.

Here are some of the books we have been reading and will read more of in the weeks to come.

Other resources from our library to supplement our study...

Amy also offers other titles that cover historical topics, such as the "Heroines of the Past" Bible study series and "Ten Girls From History." You might want to check them out, too.

Do you think that some creative costumes and a touch of informed imagination would add a bit of character to your homeschool? Then check out Golden Prairie Press and Costumes With Character. You can purchase the ebook for $21.95 and the pattern set for $15.00. At the time of this posting, there was a 20% off sale going on, so don't delay to get the best price!

 

 

You can see what others on the Crew thought about this eBook and other products by Amy Puetz at the Schoolhouse Review Crew Blog.
   

Blessings,

 

 

 

 

 

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the eBook Costumes with Character and the additional pattern set in order to fully evaluate this product and complete this review. All opinions you read are my own and no other compensation was received.

Time 2 Study Grammar With Time 4 Writing

One day Tex walked in with a frustrated look on his face.

"Mom," he said, "Don't you just hate it when people mix up the words there, their, and they're? Or the words to, two, and too?"

I had to stifle a pleased smile (what homeschooling mom wouldn't LOVE to hear their kid say that?) and said very seriously that I had to agree. I said that it is very annoying and it makes you wonder whether anyone ever pays attention during English class these days. I asked him where he'd seen these heinous misuses of our native tongue and he replied, "Facebook." We decided that the problem (hopefully) might be that people knew better and just were letting auto-fill fill in their words on their iPhones, but that it could also be that people were just being lazy with their words.

Tex then proceeded to inform me that he likes editing things and that he thinks that being an editor might be a good job...fixing people's grammatical errors and getting to read loads of books before anyone else sounds pretty great to him. He then asked if he could take the Time4Writing course on Grammar and Mechanics for high schoolers, since he liked the one on paragraph writing for middle schoolers that he took last year. (You can read our initial review about Time4Writing, but make sure you read the follow up post, too. We had a huge turn around with our experience, and the writing sample and teacher comments will show you a personal look inside the way Time4Writing works.)

I said we'd see (because the courses cost $99 for one class and that is a large investment for us), and so we waited, and then God provided us this lovely opportunity to review the very same course Tex wanted to take. He sure is good, isn't He?

Tex took the High School Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics (G.U.M.) course.

From the Time4Writing website:
This eight-week course covers the technical areas of writing that high school students need to master before moving on to paragraphs and then essays, including:

• Correctly identifying the parts of a sentence
• Understanding complex sentences
• Learning subject-verb agreement
• Differentiating between plural and possessive nouns
• Using pronouns, adjectives and adverbs in sentences
• Identifying and spelling words that often confuse writers
• Correctly using commas, semicolons, and other punctuation
• Proofreading their writing for errors

What Tex Has to Say About 

High School Grammar Usage Mechanics 

from Time4Writing:

• I like the way that Time4Writing is an independent learning class (in other words, not taught by my mom). I prefer to work on my own, and I also really like doing my work on the computer.
• I appreciate how the teachers work with you to make sure that you understand the material, and let you fix problems once you understand it.
• I like how they let you choose what topics you would like to write about (when they ask you to write sentences to show that you understand a certain rule or technique).
• I was frustrated a few times when I turned things in on Thursday afternoon, and did not get a grade back (so I could not progress in the class) until Monday (because they do not grade on weekends and since they have 24 business hours to respond, a late Thursday submission did not always get tended to). Sometimes I think some of the delays were me not timing things right, but a few times, I feel like I did have to wait unnecessarily. This would not be a problem if I wasn't behind already due to my injury, but it is working out anyway. I like the teacher and she seems nice and helpful.
• I liked being able to move quickly through quizzes that covered material with which I was familiar. I could set my own schedule and move more quickly if I wanted to.
• I appreciated that they gave me a ten day extension since I was injured at camp and was in the hospital for two weeks. I think that I will be able to finish the class even with having to take three weeks off completely since they have the option for a four week schedule or an eight week schedule.
• There were a few times when I had to go to my mom or my grandparents and get more information on a particular topic because I didn't quite understand it. I felt that sometimes a few more examples would have helped me to "get it" a bit better. I didn't mind having to ask Mom, though, as she was an English teacher and was definitely able to clarify anything I didn't understand.
• My mom or my Nanny would sometimes read what I was submitting and give me pointers on what I might want to think about improving (but they did not tell me how to fix things, just that there were issues I should address), but mostly I did everything on my own, and I have done well on all my assignments so far. Sometimes, I think that the class is a bit simple for high school, but I have not gotten to the end of it yet (because of my injury) and figure it might get harder at the end.
• I wanted to take this class even before we were offered the chance to review it because I liked the Time4Writing "Powerful Paragraphs" class I did last year. I like this type of class and think it is a good experience for home schooled students so they can see what it is like to have a teacher other than their parent.
• I am enjoying this class a lot and I am planning on finishing it and getting an "A" to put on my high school transcript...I think it is great that I can do a semester's worth of work in eight weeks. *smile* (Mom says she has a grammar editing workbook I will have to do some work in, too, but that is fun anyway).
• 
  

This is what the home page looks like...

What Mom has to say about G.U.M. High School Mechanics:

• Tex wanted to do this course before we were even given the opportunity to review it. When the review opportunity came up, he was very excited.
• Grammar is important and typical workbook exercises covering grammar can be, well, let's be honest...BORING and tedious. This course, on the other hand, takes only about fifteen-twenty minutes a day (maybe two hours a week), and covers all of the important basics. If you have a reluctant learner, this course might just do the trick. Wouldn't it be nice to not have to nag your kids about doing their grammar exercises?
• Because we had the church camp injury, emergency surgery, and prolonged recovery happen right in the middle of the review period, the course did not go as smoothly as we'd have liked, and our experience is not typical of what you would expect if you were completing it during a regular school year. However, I found the customer service folks and the teacher to be very understanding and they offered to extend our class by ten days so that he'd be able to complete it, if he put on a little hustle. 
• I think the idea of having a second party teach a course for your student and hold them accountable for their work quality and submissions is a great idea. Tex is a pretty laid back student and this course gives him a little bit of a push, which he needs. Students need to know that they need to get things in on time, on schedule, and that their quality is important. I recommend this sort of course highly.
• I like the emails that come to my email account that notify me of what work Tex has completed each session. Once, the teacher even contacted me that his progress what not enough to allow him to complete the course on time. It was then that I thought to notify them of his special situation (his injury and subsequent extended hospital stay and inability to work for several weeks) and they offered him an extension without my even directly asking them for it. I greatly appreciated that flexibility. 
• You can print up progress reports for you homeschooling records to help with end-of-year evaluations or for your own peace of mind.
• The one negative of this course, in my mind, is that if you are a homeschooler who is used to being a "relaxed homeschooler," and you do not intend for this course to help your student learn to be accountable (and thus support their need to be regular in their completion of assignments), then this sort of course may cramp your style. Once you sign up and pay your money, you can adjust your course (or drop it) within the first 14 days (if a class is a poor fit--too hard, too easy), but you have only eight weeks to complete it (under normal circumstances) and then you get a grade. Of course, you can choose to not use the grade if it is a bad one, but who wants to pay $99 for a bad grade that you don't use?
• I think one of the Time4Writing classes would be an excellent way to "wake up" a child who has difficulty turning in things to Mom on time, though. Try taking the load off of mom and putting it on a Time4Writing teacher for a semester, and I'll bet things will straighten out quite nicely.
• Feel unsure about your ability to teach writing? Get authoritative feedback from certified instructors you can trust and watch your child bloom under the close tutelage of Time4Writing teachers.
• The $99 price tag is a bit steep for us, but knowing that this sort of class works well for Tex, we will set aside money next year to cover the cost for the essay writing course and will consider it worth the money. However, if you do not have a specific need for a class like this, you might think the price is a bit high (for homeschoolers with conservative budgets.)
• Overall, we loved the program. I am very likely to allow Tex to take the essay writing course next year (since this course counts for his freshman year), and the test essay writing course in his Junior year. I think it is worth the money, especially if it gets a semester's work out of the way for composition and/or grammar.

Would you like to find out more about Time4Writing?

• Try the Parts of Speech Game on their resource page and see how you measure up.
• Interested? Watch a video on how the Time4Writing courses work.
• Check out their available writing courses.
• Unsure which course to choose? Get some help on their placement page.
• See what others on the Schoolhouse Review Crew had to say about assorted Time4Writing courses.

Blessings,

Disclaimer: I received a subscription to an eight week course from Time4Writing for one student in order to be able to write this review. I received no other compensation and all opinions you read here reflect our personal experiences and opinions.

How's the View?

In our country, around age fourteen to fifteen, kids (especially boys) start thinking about cars...at least in my part of the planet. Instead of the latest video games, the focus moves to car makes and models, and driver's ed road rules. It's a rite of passage (though we make sure our kids know that driving is a privilege, not a right) in American culture for teens to get a learner's permit at age fifteen, then take driver's ed and get a license at age sixteen.

Those are the laws of our country. I ask you, have you considered what are the laws of your household?? What do you require of your students to earn the privilege of driving lessons and a license? I know some parents who insist on their students maintaining good grades. I agree with that, but then again, I insist on good grades, driving or not, so that's nothing new. I also know some parents who practically throw the keys at their teens, they are so glad to have someone to share the driving with and who can drive to the corner store for milk at the last minute.

I really do think this is an important consideration. I want my kids to see driving as something they are allowed to do when they show that they are responsible. One way they show responsibility is to maintain good grades. Another way is to model good behavior in the home and to keep up with chores. But there is more than that. A license bestows upon its holder a measure of freedom that was not present before, in many cases. A freedom of movement and choices that reflects a new level of responsibility and accountability.

That is why Hubby and I decided that in order to earn a driver's license in our family, each of our children would have to do two things (aside from the already mentioned good grades, good behavior, and the required passing of a driver's education class) to earn the privilege of being allowed to drive our cars.

The first thing we require is that they must show the ability to maintain a vehicle (cleanliness, basic fluid and tire air level checks) and perform basic repairs (such as oil and tire changes, replacing burned out headlights, changing filters and windshield wipers) by taking on responsibility for one of the family's vehicles for a period of six to twelve months. (You can see the benefits to mom in this one, eh?)

The second thing they have to do is to complete an apologetics course we approve of in the year preceding driver's education class. You are wondering what apologetics has to do with driving, I am sure. Well, here's our thinking: If you are going to be out there in the community, potentially responsible for yourself, my car, and maybe even some other folks (including siblings), then you had better know one hundred percent where you stand concerning various issues.

Since we are Christians, I think our opinions on various issues need to be based upon the Bible, and all of our choices should reflect our choice to identify with and follow Christ. If you don't know what you stand for (or who you stand for), you can often be talked into doing stupid things and making poor choices. I want my kids to make wise choices, and I believe that in order to do that, they need to be well-grounded. Solid Biblical teaching in Apologetics is one of the best ways to get grounded (other than daily Bible time and prayer) that I know.

Years ago we attended several Worldview Weekends over the course of a few years. If you've never attended one as a family, I highly recommend it. We purchased some of the worldview resources they offered, and have enjoyed listening to and reading them over the years. A few years after attending my first Worldview Weekend seminar, I heard about their online classes, and was thrilled. This would be an excellent way to round off the worldview education we desired for our oldest son. Unfortunately, the seminars aren't held near enough to our current home to make attending them a part of our yearly schedule, but Tex still plans to do the Worldview Academy three month class as part of his schoolwork next year. However, that leaves at least a half of a year of Bible study open...so what do you do?

Wouldn't you know, God always offers a solution if we are listening closely enough...When we were asked to review I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist by Norman Geisler and Frank Turek, my radar went wild because Norman Geisler is one of the speakers on our set of Worldview Weekend resource tapes. I remember him to be one of the more technical speakers (as opposed to informal and chatty), but I also remembered him to be very detailed and convincing.

We decided to review the book and workbook, and had initially planned to use it as our summer Bible study, to count for a semester of worldview study towards our year long requirement for Tex to be eligible to take driver's education training when he's fifteen. However, sometimes things happen, and Tex had his accident at church camp (and subsequent hospital stay), so not as much of the study was gotten through as planned. However, I studied the book myself while sitting by Tex's bedside for two weeks, and found it to be excellent and am enthusiastic about working through it in the fall with him for his first semester credit, then doing the online worldview course together for the second semester. Then by next summer, oh my goodness, he will be eligible for that permit and all I can say is that I am so not ready for this!

Back to the book. Can I tell you my favorite part so far? The title. I know, that sounds cheeky...like I haven't read any more than that (I have), but it is true. I love the title. I like it because it is one of my favorite fall back lines when folks who are non-believers start arguing against a loving Creator.

I mean, if you want to believe that some random particles in vast amounts of space (and where did that come from?) randomly managed to randomly come together at just the right time and in the right amounts to make the first organized group of particles which somehow ran into other particles of a similar sort (or managed to figure out how to replicate)...and all this in vast amounts of space over billions of years...and then they all got together and created a big BANG which made lots of space, the final frontier, and then these bits got together and somehow made stars and planets...and then on these planets somehow these random bits made land (primordial sludge) and from this same stuff randomly came one celled organisms which somehow found similar random organisms (or learned to replicate) and from there somehow managed to become multi-cellular organisms, which developed (over millions of years) the ability to reproduce and somehow developed the ability to breathe air and also developed legs and at least two of these random things happened in the same place at the same time and they figured out how to get together to reproduce and all of their offspring survived and from all of their offspring developed all other things (or else all of what you see today on our planet came from a series of parallel random events occurring simultaneously and similarly...but randomly...LOL). Well then, I've got some land on Mars that's really pretty and we are starting a colony and it's a very exciting place to visit. Would you like to buy a share? 

I dunno. It just sounds so improbable and I don't have that much faith that I could believe all that random stuff happened in an orderly enough random-chancey way that we have all of this...

and this...

and this...

And this...

And this...

 And this...

and this...

and this...

Also, if you've ever seen the pillar at the Smithsonian where they show the timeline of creation...you know the one that shows billions and billions of years they think it took to go from nothing to us being ape-like creatures. Then the tens of thousands of years it took us going from ape-like creatures to primitive man. Then suddenly it was like BOOM!!! In just a few thousand years (instead of billions), we go from drawing on cave walls to designing atom bombs and the Internet. Do you really believe that timeline? Does it even make sense?

Maybe you are thinking, "Well, yeah. That's what I was taught. That's how things happened, isn't it?" Or maybe you are telling yourself that sure, you believe that God created mankind, but maybe He used evolution to do it. Or perhaps you are on board with a creationist view, but if asked to defend your stance, well, you'd simply say, "Well, I have faith," or you'd mumble "I haven't really thought about it," and walk away hurriedly with your head down and hands in your pockets.

Having faith is great, but honestly, you need to be able to defend your views. Most folks are not going to say, "Oh, well if you believe it, then so do I." Most folks these days are going to question you, ask for some sort of evidence. With some people, that evidence can be our (or their) experience of a miracle or other life-altering event. With others, they are going to want facts, more information, evidence.

The Bible tells us to always be ready to defend what we believe in. That is not a call to be able to say why you are a die-hard Redskins fan, folks. That's a call to be able to say why you believe God is real, why you believe that He created life, the universe, and everything, and why you believe that a God that powerful sent his son to die a horrible, undeserved death on a cross to pay a penalty for our sins. That's serious stuff. 

Can you defend why you believe? Can you even clearly state what you do believe? Because if you don't know what you believe, then you don't know what to base your decisions upon. Without God, what is your standard? 

I think an ability to defend your faith is a necessity in life. With that in mind, in my mind, if you can defend your views on all of those things, and you can learn to use those views to make your decisions, THEN I will trust you with not only the keys to my car, but I will also trust that you are well on your way to being able to navigate through this very challenging thing we call adulthood. I'd much rather feel I am lending my vehicle, a potential weapon of mass destruction (in the wrong hands) to an adult, wouldn't you? You're potentially going to be in a car on the same roads as my kids, so this involves you, too.

\

In any case, I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist is a 447 page, fifteen chapter comprehensive treatment of apologetics...how to defend your faith. It is engaging, with many stories and personal encounters shared by the authors. It is not as easy to read as some apologetics books I have read, but it is not too difficult for a high schooler or adult to understand or to enjoy. As a young earth creationist, I disagree with the author's unwillingness to take a stance on that position, however, their essential treatment of why a belief in Intelligent Design requires less faith than a belief in evolution is thorough and well-laid out.

Other chapter topics include: Christianity vs. other world views, Can Truth Be Known? Can All Religions Be True?, Divine Design, Micro vs. Macro Evolution, How Do We Know Moral Law Exists?, Absolute Morals vs. Situational Ethics, Miracles: Signs of God or Gullibility?, Reliability of Scripture, Eyewitness Testimony (about Jesus), divergent details in Scripture, Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead?, Jesus: God vs. Great Moral Teacher, the historic and scientific accuracy of the Bible, and If God, Why Evil?.

Each chapter is 15-20 pages long and is preceded by an outline to lay out the plan of the chapter. The chapters range from pointed discussions of pertinent, detailed factual information to chatty renditions of conversations with people on a variety of related topics. They all wind up with a summary to help you wrap up each concept. The end of the book has a listing of extensive notes for further research. We liked Appendix One and Appendix Two, two hypothetical conversations with atheists about why there is evil in the world, and why Christianity is the right choice.

The folks at Apologia have also developed a 279 page workbook to accompany the book. This is what I think makes it an excellent choice as an apologetics curriculum. As with all their workbooks, they are interesting and illuminating. Each chapter begins with a hook to remind you what previous material you may have covered and to get you thinking. Vocabulary terms are covered, as well as anectdotes, questions, and biographies of famous thinkers. I found these biographies to be one of my favorite parts of the workbook. C.S. Lewis, Augustine, Nietzsche, and  Kant are covered in the first few chapters.

The next section takes you deeper into investigating the book and testing your comprehension of the material. It contains an overview, a biography, and more questions. Section three asks you to look at the information yourself by offering additional assignments and activities to enrich your learning experience. Completion of some of these activities can take a simple study from a week per chapter and turn it into an extensive research opportunity of two weeks or more. By doing the enrichment questions, the course becomes a full credit, year long study. If you omit these (or only choose a few), you might make it a half-credit, one semester course (this is the option we will take). 

Lastly, the final section summarizes the material and challenges you to think about what you took away from the chapter. It asks you to think about what you learned, then offers suggestions on how to apply the information as you witness in your everyday life. For example, here is a question from the introduction.

Humans have a tendency to adjust the truth to fit their desires rather than adjusting their desires to fit the truth. In Romans 1:18-32, Paul says we "suppress the truth" so we can practice unrighteousness. Give at least three real-life examples of people changing truth rather than changing their desires.

If you want to make sure your kids have a worldview that will carry them safely through adulthood, then think about trying an apologetics course like I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist. You might try tying completion of the course to Driver's Ed, like we are, so you will be sure that when your kids have your keys, their hearts and heads will be full of the Word of God, and be overflowingly ready to share it, instead of the world suddenly opening up in front of them like an enormous vault ready to pour its empty values into a huge empty space. Pray about it and ask the Lord to search your children's hearts (and your own) and tell you what the "view" is from the inside...

If you'd like more information about I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist:

• You can read the introduction of the book at the Apologia website, so you can see whether you think that this book is a good choice for your teens (or yourself).
• You can view a sample chapter of the workbook to see how it is laid out.
• I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist is available for $16.00 from the Apologia website. It is currently out of stock, but will be available again in September. I guess it was popular at the conventions this summer, huh?
• You may purchase the workbook for $33.00. This may sound like a lot of money for a workbook, but it definitely makes the book into a full course...and it adds a lot of student-friendly content that all of us enjoyed. As with all Apologia workbooks I have seen so far, it is worth the investment.
• You can read what others on the TOS Homeschool Review Crew have to say about this course on the Schoolhouse Reveiw Crew blog.

Blessings,

Disclaimer: I received copies of both the book and the workbook in order to complete this review. All opinions you read are my own. No other compensation was received.