Blog Cruise: Standardized Testing in the Homeschool

This week's cruise asks - Do you administer standardized testing in your homeschool?  Why or why not?

I ordered our standardized tests for the year in January.  It’s bitter-sweet.  I’m glad to be in compliance and will happily meet the requirements that give me the freedom to homeschool, but, personally, I’m against standardized testing.

First, as a homeschooling parent, my children will come away with a broad knowledge base that will meet and exceed the requirements of the state.  However, we may not do it in the same order as say Iowa where the test is made.  There are many options for tests, but Iowa works best for us.

Second, standardized testing is a farce.  A onetime test is hardly a reflection of knowledge.  My kids always score well, that’s not the issue.  In fact, the state doesn’t care how they score, just that they take the test.  My issue is that a number is assigned to a child that says this is how competent he/she is based on one test.  What if a child has test anxiety, what if he/she is sick, what if there are things going on in the family at that time – all these factors are ignored as a test labels that child.  It’s one of my biggest complaints about No Child Left Behind!  A one-time test determines if a child is being left behind – I think not.  Teaching to the test instead of for knowledge is one of the reasons I pulled my children from the public system.

Finally, standardized testing takes days out of our school schedule that we could really be learning something.  These are long, brutal tests that either have to be done in a mind-numbing marathon sitting, or spread out taking valuable learning time away from me and the kids.  Not to mention the $40+ dollars per test. 

Alas, there is a bright side.  As homeschoolers, colleges will evaluate my children based primarily on their SAT or ACT scores.  My kids have got to be able to sit down and go through the process of dealing with these types of tests.  I get to see their strengths and their weaknesses when it comes to test taking and work on those skills so that the colleges get an accurate picture of their abilities as reflected by a test. 

So, tests ordered.  We’ll take them in May when our co-op time is done.  Then that monkey will be off our back for another year.  Like I said, the freedom to homeschool is worth a little testing aggravation – I’ll just be glad when it’s done for this year.

Does your state require standardized testing?   If so, what test do you use?

Take a look and see how other members of the TOS Homeschool Crew handle standardized testing.

Review - Maestro Classics Swan Lake

Maestro Classics - Swan Lake

www.MaestroClassics.com

Cost:  $16.98 CD or $9.98 Download MP3

Ages:  1st to 5th Grade

I personally love the symphony, the ballet, the stage.  It’s always been important to me to expose my children to the arts.  They may not enjoy all of it – let’s just say opera makes them hide, but they have has exposure to it.  Then, as they get older and their tastes mature, they can choose for themselves what facets of the arts they enjoy.

Swan Lake is a beautiful ballet.  I haven’t had the chance to take the kids to this particular ballet yet, but they are familiar with Tchaikovsky’s music.  In fact, my youngest has the pleasure of attending a class on composers all last year through our local co-op.

When Maestro Classics, Swan Lake, arrived, youngest is the one I thought might enjoy it most. He enjoys classical music.  I know Swan Lake isn’t very masculine for a 12-year-old boy, but we gave it a try.

The verdict – he enjoyed listening to it with me!  The CD first offers the music of Swan Lake along with a reader who explains what is going on.  Youngest thought the story was funny.  When the prince won’t dance and then gets a crossbow and starts dancing, he had to laugh.  Just like a boy to dance after getting a weapon!

The nice feature of this program is that not only are the students exposed to the music and the story, but there are several other educational features on the CD.  For Swan Lake, these included:

1.  The life of Tchaikovsky

2.  Discussion about the music itself

3.  Speed Metal Swan – a fun rendition of Swan Lake set to rock music

4.  A little ditty about Swan Lake that Youngest thought was hilarious

You can get a taste of each section by clicking here.  I thought he wouldn’t be interested in the little song about Swan Lake, but he still goes around singing “Tchaikovsky wrote a gr-eat ballet – it’s name was Swa-ha-ha-ha-han Lake.”

The CD I received included an insert that has little puzzles that the student can complete along with information to coincide with the content on the CD.  Much of this is structured for younger kids – grades 1-5. 

I have to say, I’m really impressed with the homeschooling resources for each CD provided on the web site.  While we didn’t use them, if I wanted to make a unit study using Swan Lake, it could easily be done using their links.  What a great feature for those in younger grades!

I thought this was a fun supplement to our pre-holiday studies.  So did Youngest.  I will recommend these CD’s to other homeschoolers with younger children.  Hurray for studying the arts!

If you would like to see other reviews of Swan Lake by the TOS Homeschool Crew – click here.

Maestro Classics can also be found on FaceBook here or on Twitter here.

*** I received this product free of charge as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew in exchange for my honest review.

Review - R.E.A.L. Homeschool Spanish

Website:  http://realhomeschoolspanish.com/

Age:  Geared for the whole family - elementary and up

Cost: $49.95 Download, $89.95 Hard Copy

R.E.A.L. Homeschool Spanish has been an excellent addition to my son’s study of Spanish this term.  He’s been using a conversation based curriculum.  Homeschool Spanish is a vocabulary based curriculum.  I think they complement each other quite well.

Homeschool Spanish comes with an instructional book, an activity book, audio files for both texts, an answer book and a curriculum guide.  The program is setup so that the entire family can learn together.  Numerous suggestions are provided for helping the student learn the words and phrases for the Unit.  This is not a curriculum a younger student would tackle independantly, but it is geared to have guidance and/or participation with the parent.  The format would be excellent in a co-op situation as well.

As a homeschooling parent, we don’t always approach a curriculum from a traditional perspective.  The curriculum guide and added instruction provided allows a parent to establish a pace that is appropriate for her student(s).  The guide provides for forty weeks of content, but alternative suggestions are incorporated.

The text book gives the student the basic vocabulary and basic conversation for each genre covered.  The organization for the course units is the following:

Unit 1 - Greetings
Unit 2 - Colors/Numbers
Unit 3 - Food
Unit 4 - Family
Unit 5 - Anatomy
Unit 6 - Clothing/Weather/Seasons/Months
Unit 7 - Places/Transportation/Days of the Week/Verbs & Minor Grammar
Unit 8 - Animals/Nature
Unit 9 - Sports/Minor Grammar
Unit 10 - Verbs/House
 
Each unit begins with the words that should be learned/memorized along with phrases.  You can see an example here.  I appreciate that the content includes audio files that the student can listen to to understand correct pronunciation.

Next, the student uses the activity book.  Puzzles and games and used to reinforce the vocabulary.  Additonaly, audio exercises are incorporated to help the student understand pronunication, practice proper idenfication of terms or phrases, and learn how to incorporate those into conversation.  You can see an example of the activities here.

It is challenging to learn a new language, but oh so important.  America is one of the few countries where most of its inhabitants are not bilingual.  Speaking another language not only broadens a student's sense of language, but of culture, critical thinking, memorization, and interpretation. 

I feel this program has been a strong addition to our homeschool year.

To see additional reviews by the TOS Homeschool Crew - click here.

*** I received this product free of charge in exchange for my honest review.

TOS Blog Hop - Not Back to School

Welcome to the TOS Crew Blog Hop! This is a chance for the Crew to discuss their approach to homeschooling and learn from one another and you!

Our first Hop discusses how we approach the "Not Back to School" time. This is when we start homeschooling our kids for the year instead of heading back to school.

How you celebrate not going back to school

I wouldn’t say we celebrate not going back to school, but I would say our attitude about kicking off the new year is totally different than when we were in public school.
In the public school years, my focus was more on who their teacher was going to be, where their classroom was, and who was in their class.  I had no control over what they would be learning, what curriculum was used, or how good their teacher was.

Now that we homeschool, our focus is on what we will be learning.  I spend hours combing through curriculum options, bouncing them off the boys, assessing them for learning styles and determining how they fit into flow of our co-op and regular days.  The boys have a say in what they learn and the mode in which they learn it. 

First day not back to school

The first day at public school was all nerves.  They worried about what they were going to wear, if they could find their classes and lockers, who was going to be there (both good and bad) and what bus number to jump on to get home.

Our first day of homeschool is much different.  Dad makes a big breakfast that we all enjoy.  Then they grab their “buckets” from the cabinets and begin setting out their new books for the year.  Prior to this day, I’ve sat down with each of them and discussed what order they want to tackle their subjects and put those in their planners.  After the first week, we reassess the flow and switch things up accordingly.  No nerves, no worrying about clothing, or cliques or bullies or busses.  I won’t say they are jumping for joy for school to start, but it’s definitely a more academically focused start to the year.

What you love about homeschooling

I could write an entire series here.  My top ten reasons I love homeschool:

1.      Choosing their academic curriculum so it fits them personally and best enables them to learn

2.      Working at their pace – faster or slower for real learning

3.      No cliques, bullies, drugs, alcohol, uninterested teachers, etc. etc.
4.      Being with them throughout the day

5.      Experiential field trips

6.      Our co-op where they learn from a teacher in a classroom with like minded peers

7.      Homeschool resources like PE, Honor Society, Gavel Club, Jets

8.      Keeping Christ in our curriculum

9.      Learning right along with them

10.  Discovering their special talents and interests and being able to foster those

What your kids love about homeschooling  ( I asked them)

1. On our own schedule
2. Limited homework – get it done during the day
3. Breaks can be as short or as long as we want
4. Enjoying classes
5. Ability to learn at home
6. Can read with the dog
7. Use devices like computers and IPads
8. Do work on the computer like math
9. No teacher workdays – longer real breaks
10. Activities that let us socialize and have friends
11. More time with family
12. Can snack during class
13. Make your own lunches
14. Can go on exciting trips as fieldtrips
15. Learning languages (German, Latin, Spanish)

Review - Civilize This! by Griddly Games

Civilize This! 

Creator:  Griddly Games

Web Site:  http://www.griddlygames.com/ 

Age:  8+

We really liked this game!  I'm always looking for fun games that we can play as a family.  Having a range in age between my youngest (12) and my oldest (20), sometimes it's hard to find a fun game that we can all enjoy and be competitive at.  Civilize This seemed like a fun choice for us because we all enjoy history. 

The travel game comes with four packs of cards (Ancient History, Medieval History, Modern History, Wise Alec) and a die all in a handy travel case.  There are two questions on each card - one worth three points and one worth seven points.  Obviously, the three point questions are a little easier.   I wondered just how difficult the questions would be and was pleasantly surprised when they were quite challenging.  On several occasions, there were 'ah-ha' moments when the answer was given.  "Oh, Yeah!  I remember that now!"  What a fun way to review history!  The instructions also offer alternative ways to play so that all can get involved and enjoy the game.

The purple or Wise Alec cards are a lot of fun!  Instead of being a question, they have a tongue twister, an action, or some other silly directive that has to be followed.  We found ourselves rain dancing, karate chopping and doing the macarena.  This option adds levity and a way earn a few points the "easy" way.  My youngest kept hoping he would role a purple!

The only issue I have with the game is the die.  It's not well made.  By the end of our first game, the orange and yellow both had a tint of green, all had scrapped off parts of paint, and the red had disappeared all together.  Replacing the die is easy, so I wasn't too disappointed in this.

As you can see - "kids" of all ages had fun playing this game.  There was all sorts of laughing and gentle taunting throughout.  Nobody felt like the game was over their head making it fun for everyone.  In the pic below, we had a middle schooler, two high schoolers, two college students and me playing.  My kind of game!

We have enjoyed playing it and will continue to until the cards are all too familiar.  Because this can also work as an expansion pack for other Griddley Games, I'm going to look into adding to our current collection and enjoying this for a long time. 

My other thought is - this is a great trivia game for history classes both at home or in a co-op setting.  I may offer it to the World History co-op teacher this year to use as a fun in-class game for her students.

To see other review by the TOS Homeschool Crew - Click Here.

*** I was provided this game free of charge as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew in exchange for my honest review.

My Homeschool Transcript - A Wonderful Transcript Generator!

My Homeschool Transcript

http://www.myhomeschooltranscripts.com/

Cost:  $29 for lifetime subscription

           Free basic one time transcript

While this is a review, it is unsolicited.  I was blessed to be part of the beta program for My Homeschool Transcripts and give input on what I thought would be needed for my children’s transcripts.  It was great to work with the developer as he took all suggestions seriously and really strove to implement those that appealed to the wider audience.

Having a strong transcript, as a homeschooler, is important for those students wanting to go on to college.  Unlike in a public or private school, the developer of the transcript, typically mom and dad, has to really elaborate on what was accomplished in order to catch the college’s admissions counselor’s eye.

When I first knew I was homeschooling high school, I invested in another popular program that I now believe is very limited in what it can accomplish on a transcript.  Now that I’ve had time with My Homeschool Transcript, I wish I could get my money back!  This program is so much more thorough and dynamic.

I love the flexibility of what I can add or change in the program.  Some examples of what you can do include the following:

·         Create classes/subjects and as many student files as you need

·         Provide details about the class/subject including a description and comments (this is where I keep a running account of what texts we use)

·         Determine what is expected for graduation and visually see what your student needs to accomplish

·         Designate courses as Honors or Dual Enrollment and have them calculated properly

·         Determine how to calculate your grades

·         Develop a by grade or by subject transcript printable as a PDF

·         Record extra-curricular activites and test scores

All of this is for a one-time fee of $29!  A lot cheaper than what I spent before.  To see a more extensive feature set list, click here.

I feel that the process for creating transcripts is very straight forward.  I’ve started my son’s including the classes he will be taking this year, a bibliography for each course, and his extra-curricular activities.  This way I’m ahead of the game and can supplement or remove anything that changes as we go along.  He has already needed one transcript to join the National Honor Society.  I guess you just never know when you’ll need one.

Another aspect I have been very impressed with is customer service, I have sent the occasional email with a question and always get a fast and friendly response.  I don’t know about you, but I really value strong customer service.

I really felt compelled to post this as I just finished using it and wanted to be able to share a great program with my fellow homeschoolers.

There is an option to generate a free transcript if you want to check it out or are in need of a transcript, stat.  Obviously, I highly recommend this program for generating professional transcripts colleges will take notice of.

3 in 30 Challenge - Goals for August

This is my first time doing the 3 in 30 Challenge.  I’m a goal oriented person, however, so it’s right up my alley.  This idea is to come up with three goals you want to accomplish in thirty days (one month).    I love being held accountable – it drives me, so here goes…

Goal #1:  Lose Weight

I’m going to keep losing weight.  I don’t want to necessarily put a number of pounds in thirty days on this goal because I really haven’t been doing it long enough to be in a losing pattern to estimate yet.  My overall goal is twenty pounds.  So, sticking with it is my goal this month.  I’m doing a meme for losing weight that is helping tremendously with encouragement and not feeling alone on this journey.  Check it out:  Slim Down Sunday Meme.  I post on Sunday, but linkup is any time during the week.

Goal #2:  Learn my Poomses

Poomses are taekwondo combinations that we learn for each belt.  The boys and I are on our sixth belt now and we should have all six poomses memorized.  However, I seem to have poomse amnesia.  Every time I start learning a new one, I forget the old ones.  This is bad and frustrating.  I really don’t understand why I can’t keep them memorized.  I’m surmising OLD syndrome has something to do with is.

Goal #3:  Invest in our Homeschool

This goal is ongoing, but I wanted it stated clearly for this month.  Homeschooling the boys is my priority right now; however, it’s easy to let other things start getting in the way of giving it my all.  One of those things is my job.  I tend to get distracted by my commitments to my students at the university and become more lax in my focus on my two most important students.  That is not to say their academics suffers, but I want to be more accessible and even more invested.  I’m going to find balance here.  I’ve taken a term off from teaching online to see how much of an impact that has on our schooling. 

So, those are my three main goals.  Thank you for your encouragement and comments as they all help keep me on track.

What are your three main goals for August?

Last Day of the Alice Workshop

This is the last day of the Alice Workshop.  It’s been a lot of fun, and I’ve learned a lot.  So excited about what I’ll be bringing back to teach at the homeschool co-op.   Here are the two quick projects I developed for the class.  One is a tutorial on what binary is and one is a simple hidden object game.  They are interactive in Alice, but just videos here.  I can already see ways I could improve these.

This tutorial is in conjunction with worksheets you can download at CSUnplugged.

This is a hidden object game showing that you can use several different scenes and lighting techniques in Alice.

At the Alice Conference

This two weeks is very exciting for me!  I love technology and believe we need more of it in the homeschool community.  Sure, there are lots of online classes, but what I am referring to is computer science, not simply using the computer as a tool.

A friend of mine works in technology for the local school district and often sends me links to new tools the district gets access to.  I’m so happy she thinks of me and does that!  About six months ago, she sent me a link to a program called Alice.

Alice was developed by Carnegie Melon as a free tool to teach students 3D programming in a visual platform.  What is exciting about this is that Alice creates an environment where students can move code and see the results quickly and easily.  Much more inviting than the old text-based programming.

So, long story long, I got on an email list to learn more about Alice.  Instructors from around the world post to this list.  It so happens Duke University has a prof that not only teaches Alice to college students, but holds summer conferences for teachers at the middle and high school level.  She encouraged me to apply, and I was picked to go.  Thus, here I am!  So, what did we learn Day 1? 

Here’s the video of the outcome of our first program:

Here’s what the code looks like:

Very exciting!  Yes – you can teach your kids to do this too!

My plan is to bring this information back and teach homeschooled students Alice at our local co-op.  In addition, I’m going to post the lessons I develop to this blog so that all homeschooled parents have the opportunity to include Alice in their homeschool.

Interested?  Stay tuned!  I’ve got nine more days of classes and am excited to see and share the results!

Blog Cruise - Life Skills in the Homeschool

This week, the Homeschool Blog Cruise asks us about how we incorporate life skills into the homeschool routine.

Life skills are a very important part of growing up. I know, as a child, I always enjoyed cooking and was already a clean freak. So, those types of skills I developed on my own. However, not all kids like those types of things. Boys especially.


For my two, I think it’s important that they know how to cook, clean, maintain a house, change a tire and oil, and balance a budget. I’m still working on how that all gets done before they graduate.

There are some good curriculums out there for the food and nutrition aspects of life skills. Each of my boys will take a semester course focused on nutrition and cooking. My oldest son took a foods class in public high school and loved it. He even created the winning taco pizza in his class. In addition to this type of class, I have them making their own foods for breakfast and lunch. If they want eggs or soup or a sandwich, it is important they can do that by themselves. We have days where they get to help cook, and I always pull them in to help with the holiday cooking.

Cleaning typically gets covered through the chores they are expected to do around the house. Whether it’s dusting, cleaning bathrooms, taking out the trash, doing the dishes - they are expected to pitch in. Laundry comes once they hit the mid-teen years. At that point, they are plenty capable of doing it themselves. With a family of six, there’s always a load in the washing machine.

Car and house maintenance are a different animal altogether. I’m hoping to read how others have handled this aspect. Being a DIY type of person, plumbing, minor electric, painting, and such are all things I’ve learned and hope to pass on to them. I’m just not sure how. My oldest son is working as a mechanic – I plan to have him do workshops with the boys so they know the basic maintenance on their car.

Finally, finances. We’re blessed to be part of a co-op that includes Financial Peace as one of the courses. Each of my boys will go through this course before they graduate. Nowadays, money management is a key to survival, not just success.

How do you do it in your homeschool? What tried and true methods have you come up with to make sure your children are prepared for life on their own?

To see additional interesting posts - hop on over to the Homeschool Blog Cruise...

Making Time for Me

Thanks to Crystal Light for sponsoring this post. To learn more about how Crystal Light can flavor your day with 30 refreshing flavors, visit http://www.facebook.com/crystallight.

How does one put family first without sacrificing herself in the process? I ponder this from time to time, and I’m not always good at doing it. However, over time, I have found a certain level of balance that allows me to feed my inner self along with taking care of the family.

Field Trips:
While this may not qualify as just "me" time, I love to see new things! While we always travel as a family, I think of going on field trips as a "me" thing as well. Learning about new places, cultures, time periods really excites me. While the boys might be downtrodden over our third lap through the museum, I'm eating it up!

Friendship: I think friendship is a key to keeping my perspective. Friends come and go. I once read about friendship being defined in stages. Some friends are for a moment (like when you talk to someone while your child is practicing a sport), some friends are for a season (those times in our lives when we have toddlers, teens, colleagues from work) and some friends are for a lifetime (those that just transcend life’s moments). I value all of them.

Having like-minded women around to talk to, mull things over with, and commiserate with feeds my soul. Of course, it’s the lifetime friends that mean the most, but a light conversation over tea while the kids are at play is always a great way to pass the time.

Work:
Yes, work! I love to teach. It’s what I was designed for, I think. Not that I’m amazing at it, it’s just that it is what suits me best. Whether it’s teaching online classes to college students or English classes at our local co-op, expressing my passion for education through teaching feels good. I know that’s why homeschooling has grabbed my heart, who better to share my passion with than my own children?

Writing:
This blog or Facebook or wherever I can write is for me. Putting thoughts down on the page is cathartic. I’m an English teacher, so it’s a good thing. I used to spend a lot of time grading and no time writing. That seemed very out of balance. A writing teacher that doesn’t write? Hmmm… I’ll never produce a novel – I’m neither creative nor patient enough for that, but a blog post can relieve stress in a heartbeat.

Reading:
It’s great to get lost in a good book. The mind gets to focus on the topic or story and get away from what’s for dinner, is the laundry done, what do the kids need to learn, where do we have to go to tomorrow? I’m not good at putting a book down, however. A weakness that can result in lost sleep.

Just a few ways to make time for me. Nothing revolutionary, but a way to keep my identity as I get the honor of helping my children develop theirs. I can honestly say I dread the day when the kids are grown and all I have time for is me. I’ll take these little snippets in amongst the joys of family and children any day!

What do you do to take care of yourself while raising a family?

Remember, visit http://www.facebook.com/crystallight  to learn more about how Crystal Light can flavor your day with 30 refreshing flavors. I was selected and paid for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

Virtual Nerd Review

Virtual Nerd

http://www.virtualnerd.com/

Ages:  Middle/High School

Price: $49 per month (3, 6, 12 month packages available at a discount)

Virtual Nerd is an online tutorial system for math and science. From the website, “Virtual Nerd gives students a new option to turn to when they need help. For a fraction of the cost of private tutoring, students gain access to hundreds of interactive step-by-step video tutorials that match up with the practice problems in their textbook.”

Currently, Virtual Nerd offers tutorials in Math (Pre-algebra, Algebra 1 & 2) and Science (Intro to Physics). They anticipate adding extended Physics, Chemistry, Pre-calculus and Calculus.

My son and I were both very impressed with the quality of the tutorial videos. The instructors and the visual layout make the learning experience excellent. Each instructor does a great job of connecting with the audience and clearly describing the principle being illustrated.

The videos are short allowing one concept to be clearly discussed. I chose to go through the Physics videos because it has been a long time since I have taken physics. I wish I had Virtual Nerd back when I was in high school. The way the concepts are delivered and the mapping to learn the next step or next concept is clear and easy to understand.

My son watched the Algebra videos. He liked how simple it was to select the topic he wanted to learn about. He also commented on how clearly the topic was discussed so that he could understand and then practice the concepts in his math text.

The one drawback to the program at this point is price - $49.00 per month. I thought this was high given there are no worksheets, assessments, or ways to seek additional assistance if the concept is still unclear.

*** However – the site notes that “Early in the 2010-2011 school year, we will be launching an innovative tool to allow students to work on practice problems, take quizzes and get feedback. Two-way connections between our tutorials and our practice problems will allow students to progressively test, reinforce and troubleshoot their learning process in ways never before possible.”

I would gladly reevaluate when this is implemented and feel that these additional tools would make the price worthwhile.

To see additional reviews by the Homeschool Crew click here.

****  I was given access to Virtual Nerd free of charge in exchange for my honest review.

Homeschool Apologetics for Teens

What is homeschool apologetics? No, it’s not apologizing for homeschooling our kids… :-) Apologetics is a theology aimed at defending the Christian faith. Therefore, homeschool apologetics is teaching our children how to defend their faith.

If you haven’t heard about apologetics before, don’t feel bad. I had to look it up the first time I heard about it. However, when I delved into it, I realized it was an important facet of educating my children.

Sure, our kids are Christian, but WHY are they Christian? As they grow into teens and finally young adults, it’s important not only for them to own the faith for themselves (not just because mom and dad said so), but also be able to defend their faith.

In college and in “real life”, they will encounter questions like – How can you believe in God when you see all the suffering in the world? If God is real, how come we can’t see Him or talk to Him? How can you believe all those miracles in the Bible? They will be challenged to defend a man being born of a virgin, walking on water, changing water to wine and resurrecting from the dead.

How would you answer those questions?

Clearly, we can’t know all the answers. God will reveal all in His own time. However, we can provide the answers we do have. That’s what homeschool apologetics is all about – giving our children the tools they need to respond to those questions.

For example, why is there starvation in the world if there is a good God? Easy. Humans. There is enough food on this planet to feed everyone; however, humans don’t always want to share. If we acted as a global community instead of hoarding our resources, no one would have to go hungry. Can we really blame that on God?

The tools, nevertheless, are just one facet of helping our youth become apologists. They must be able to use the tools in alignment with God’s teachings. In 1 Peter 3:15-16 we are instructed, “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.”

Not only must the tools be taught, but how to deliver the message – as 1 Peter tells us, it should be done with gentleness and respect. Two hard qualities to have when your ire is up. Teaching our children now that their actions truly do speak louder than words is invaluable.

If I’ve peaked your interest, I suggest you start the journey on your own first. Find texts that help you to arm yourself with the tools of apologetics, then share those with your children. Authors like Lee Strobel, Lynn Vogel, Ravi Zacharias, Norman Geisler, etc. all have created great texts to being your research.

I’ve found in my journey that my faith has more foundation than even I realized. Understanding the wonders of the universe, science, philosophy, archaeology, literature from a Biblical perspective all gave more depth to my already deep faith. This is the gift I want for my children. To stand upon the rock with confidence, gentleness, humility and respect. To win others to Christ with their conviction and demeanor. It’s a worthwhile journey I’m so glad we have decided to undertake.