Biblical Philosophy and Goals in HOD

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jer2911mom
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Joined: Thu May 20, 2010 10:40 pm

Biblical Philosophy and Goals in HOD

Post by jer2911mom » Wed Feb 02, 2011 9:44 pm

Hi,

I think this may be my last "what is the philosophy" type question for awhile (I hope). : ) I'm wanting to know the overarching biblical philosophy for the entire curriculum and what the biblical goals are. I realize this is a broad question, but I'm wanting to know where we're headed, if that makes sense. I can gather some of it from the materials listed in the catalog. It seems in LHFHG the devotional has more of a doctrinal approach, based on the introduction to the book and my experience with it. I gather that the next two might be similar? I like the Family Time Bible and how it is used in LHFHG to lay the foundation of the bible as history. Not having used any other levels, I would just like to wrap my head around the flow of the biblical teaching and how it will help me disciple my children and introduce them to a hurting world.

Thanks!
Kathy

John'smom
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Re: Biblical Philosophy and Goals in HOD

Post by John'smom » Thu Feb 03, 2011 11:18 am

We are currently using Beyond and it's the only guide we've ever used, but I'd say the devotional is not doctrinal at all. It's more about our walk with our Saviour and staying close to Him. To me doctrine is the virgin birth, blood atonement, etc. Nothing like that in there.
Edwena
*Married to my best friend for 16 yrs
*Mom to ds (15), dd (13), dd #2(3)
*Combining my dc in WG (2017-2018)
*Completed and absolutely loved BLHFHG through MTMM

jer2911mom
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Joined: Thu May 20, 2010 10:40 pm

Re: Biblical Philosophy and Goals in HOD

Post by jer2911mom » Sat Feb 05, 2011 11:29 am

Thank you! I found a couple of samples on the Beyond and Bigger devotionals, but couldn't really tell. I appreciate your input!

Kathy

John'smom
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Re: Biblical Philosophy and Goals in HOD

Post by John'smom » Sat Feb 05, 2011 11:46 am

Kathy, you're welcome. Hopefully someone more experienced will chime in and give you their opinion. We really do love the devotional. I love it so much I thought about buying it for the women in my family even though it was written to children. We are all children of God and it's just so applicable and convicting in a good way. :D
Edwena
*Married to my best friend for 16 yrs
*Mom to ds (15), dd (13), dd #2(3)
*Combining my dc in WG (2017-2018)
*Completed and absolutely loved BLHFHG through MTMM

Carrie
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Re: Biblical Philosophy and Goals in HOD

Post by Carrie » Sun Feb 06, 2011 7:23 pm

jer2911mom,

Our overarching Biblical goal at HOD is to include God's Holy Word every day in as many areas as possible so that students do not see Bible as a separate subject but rather as a part of everything they do. :D We want children in the Word often and repeatedly throughout the day, so they understand that the Bible is to be open often and is meant to guide them in all things.

We also desire for children to seek answers and direction for living from God's Word and to learn to love His Word with all their hearts, souls, and minds. We want them to understand that the Bible is God's Words to us on how we are to live our lives to glorify Him. There is no greater goal on this earth than to strive to worship and glorify our Savior with our lives, and we write each HOD guide in the hope that it will help our children in this goal. :D

We believe the Bible is inerrant, God-breathed, and applicable every day in all we do. :D We believe it reveals our desperate need for a Savior and God's grace, which God poured out on us through His plan for our salvation by willingly sacrificing His only Son. Jesus' sacrifice of His own life on the cross paid for our sins and provided a way for sinners like me to enter heaven. Belief in Christ Jesus as God's son, fully man and fully God, is the only way to heaven. We believe in the virgin birth of our Savior and our need for Him to save us from sin that has been in the world since the fall of man. We believe that we are created in God's image and are created to glorify Him. This is the doctrine that is set forth in God's word and what we teach over and over as we point children to the Scripture as the source for all answers. Devotions are never done without turning to God's word and Scripture passages and verses are a part of every devotion time. God's Word is the ultimate focus of all things Biblical within HOD. :D

In order to show you how this philosophy is carried out in the day-to-day, I would dearly love to have time to list how the Bible is integrated throughout each individual HOD guide, however it is a daunting task for one person to do and I simply don't have the available time right now to do that. The Bible portion of HOD has also been discussed extensively on the board for almost every guide. :wink: So perhaps if some of the moms on the board would be willing to share about the ways the Bible is incorporated one of the HOD guides they have used, or what they have found about the Bible in HOD's guides, or if we could share links from other threads about the Bible within the guides, we'll hopefully be able to mention a bit about every guide in one of these ways. In this way, we could partner together to answer this very important question. :D

To help us get started in describing the Bible within HOD, I'll include our description of Bible Study from our "A Look at Each Subject Area" on our website:
And finally, we come to the most important area in our programs: Bible study. While homeschooling our first son, we found it too easy to place Bible into one time slot and study it as a separate "subject". This made the Bible seem to be of equal importance as all of the other academic subjects. We want our children to know that the Bible is special and that it’s more important than anything else. To do that, we realized the Bible needed to be integrated throughout our day as much as possible.

Our programs weave God’s word throughout our readings, our poetry, our history, our science, our writing, our music, our study of English, and our memory work. Using this method, our children are reminded to measure their thoughts, words, and deeds all throughout the day with God’s word. Our programs also have a daily Bible study time, which we pray will train our children in the habit of seeking God’s word daily.

In the hustle and bustle of the school day, it is easy to forget that our most important goal is to help our children glorify God with their lives each day. Our programs strive to be a daily reminder of that goal. Glorifying God is the only goal that matters for eternity.


Blessings,
Carrie

Carrie
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Re: Biblical Philosophy and Goals in HOD

Post by Carrie » Sun Feb 06, 2011 7:35 pm

Here's a link to a past thread on the Bible study in LHFGH, a bit on LHTH, and some on Preparing Hearts. Link: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=8096

I know there are multiple links, I just haven't had time to search for them.

Blessings,
Carrie

Carrie
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Re: Biblical Philosophy and Goals in HOD

Post by Carrie » Sun Feb 06, 2011 7:41 pm

Here are some more threads I found when I started hunting. There are honestly so many threads on Bible study on the board that I'll just list some. Since the Bible is woven into so many areas of every guide, it's hard to target the area of Bible study. So, I'll include a few links to some of the threads to get you started. :D

Here's a thread on Beyond's Bible Study: :D
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=7189

Here's another thread on Bible Study in general in HOD:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=6701

Here's a thread about DITHR and the Bible study and Godly character traits within it:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5039

Here's a discussion of the Bible within HOD wound in another thread:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3137

Here's a thread on seeing HOD carryover into real life, and so many of the posts mention the very topic you're asking about:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=7731

Here's a thread on life-changing books within HOD and many will pertain to what you're asking:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=7655

Scripture memory in LHFHG:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=7284

Bible description from several of the programs including CTC:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=6699

What Bible translation is used:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5778

Scripture Memory in Bigger Hearts:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4290

Two examples from moms of their kiddos using verses they've memorized to comfort them in tough times:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2757

An overview of Preparing Hearts and its Bible focus woven within it:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2448


Blessings,
Carrie

pjdobro
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Re: Biblical Philosophy and Goals in HOD

Post by pjdobro » Sun Feb 06, 2011 9:57 pm

We have enjoyed the Bible integration of all of the HOD guides that we have used so far. It's not just one subject that you will study and then move onto something else. You will find it woven through all of your subjects through out the day. In LHFHG, it is the spine for the history as world history is laid out. This year in Bigger, we are loving all aspects of the Bible woven throughout as usual but I've especially been loving the actual Bible time. We are studying a character trait each week. We discuss what the character trait means and have a verse or two from Proverbs that relates. Throughout the week we encounter people in our study of history that are either good examples or bad examples of this trait and discuss it. At the end of the unit, we have a specific chapter or two in the Bible typically about a character in the Bible that in some way exemplifies this trait. So all week we are discussing a Godly character trait, what it means, how was it shone in the Bible, in historical characters, how can we show it in our life. All of this is tied back to our memory verse (or two) for the week. The funny thing, brilliant really, is that each week we come to the conclusion that in order to display this character trait that we have have stay connected to the Word of God. So all of our study in the Word draws us back to the Word. It's been a wonderful study for me and my dc. I think we are learning so much about character growth and becoming better disciples of Christ. :D
Patty in NC

b/g twins '02 Rev2Rev 2014/15
previously enjoyed LHFHG, BLHFHG, Bigger, Preparing, CTC, RTR
******
Nisi Dominus Frusta (Without God, frustration)
Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Psalm 127:1

jer2911mom
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Re: Biblical Philosophy and Goals in HOD

Post by jer2911mom » Mon Feb 07, 2011 12:01 am

Whew, thank you Carrie for taking the time to post all those links. I just finished reading through all of them! :)

I am gathering that HOD is very strong in teaching children the Word, helping them discern Godly character traits, and helping them develop their quiet/prayer time with Lord. I was wondering, in the guides you are still writing, will the emphasis expand to include an external/missions/application focus (I did take note of the Hero Tales book in Preparing)? Someone made a good point in one of the threads that learning the Word and developing Godly character is foundational to learning about missions and taking the Word to others. It seems like the next step would be to help the children use what they are learning in the context of service to others. I was wondering what kind of guidance there will be in that aspect in future guides.

I really appreciate the time you are spending answering my questions! It is very helpful!

Kathy

my3sons
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Re: Biblical Philosophy and Goals in HOD

Post by my3sons » Mon Feb 07, 2011 12:45 pm

Kathy - this is an important question, and one whose answer we also care deeply about in our home! :D I knew Carrie would carve time out of her busy writing schedule to stop and answer this question completely because it is the Austins' strongest desire to write curriculum first and foremost for the Lord's glory and honor, with Christ at the center. :D Where would we all be without the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ? Without our faith in Him, our life is devoid of meaning! If He is not a vital part of our dc's education, we're not providing an education for our precious children at all - for knowledge without Christ is no knowledge at all! This is an important question to ask all homeschool authors to answer personally.

For my part, I'll just say thank you Carrie for answering this question - I know of no other author who takes the time you do to personally answer questions in person, by email, and even so deeply on her message board! It is deeply appreciated, and it is obvious how much you care about the ladies on this board, and about our Lord Jesus Christ having His rightful place in the center of our homeschooling! My husband, my children, and I thank you for making a difference in our lives through the Biblical focus of HOD. :D

In Christ,
Julie
Enjoyed LHTH to USII
Currently using USI
Wife to Rich for 28 years
Mother to 3 sons, ages 23, 20, and 16
Sister to Carrie

Carrie
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Re: Biblical Philosophy and Goals in HOD

Post by Carrie » Mon Feb 07, 2011 3:33 pm

Kathy,

I am going to take the time today to personally answer your question fully, even though it does require a very time-consuming response! :wink: The reason I am willing to drop everything to answer this post is because there is no more important question than the Biblical goals of our guides and the Biblical philosophy of our company. Over the past several weeks, I have responded in great detail to several other broad philosophy type questions you've asked, and I have been glad to do it! :D However, as I answer this last particular question, I am also going to encourage you to dig deeply within the board as an excellent source for finding answers to broad questions. I personally have over 5,500 posts on the board by myself! :D So, it is not impossible to figure out what our philosophy is in many areas if you're willing to do some digging. :wink:

Philosophy type questions as a rule tend to be very broad, which is why I answered your first question in this thread in a broader sense. With your follow-up question now, it would appear you were actually originally looking for more specifics, mainly on missions and evangelizing, which I am now going to give you below. :D As you ponder whether HOD is right for your family, I'd encourage you to read widely from the breadth of information that is already available on our board, in our catalog, and on our website. There is so much there, and I think it will help you as you ponder what you're looking for for your own family. I can see that you are searching, and I will let you know that finding the answers will not happen in a matter of weeks or even months. :wink: My own educational philosophy has changed much over the last 20+ years of my teaching career. It is only in the last 5 years that I have truly felt very solid about my philosophy in all areas, and I continue to fine-tune even that as I age! :wink: I will say a prayer for the Lord to be near you as you search. He knows your heart and will help you find what you are seeking. :D

At HOD, we begin by grounding kiddos in the Word and forming a strong foundation for their faith, because it is so true that kiddos cannot give away what they do not have. With the alarming statistics today of the number of children from Christian homes who stray from the Church once they reach adulthood, it's more important than ever to saturate our children in God's Word and to help them develop a deep and lasting relationship with their Savior. We also need to guide our kiddos to apply the Bible to their lives in the day-to-day and to talk often about what that looks like. This is why we focus so much on how our children's character should reflect Jesus living in them, as having others see Jesus in you is one way of evangelizing to others. :D Another follow-up of having a close walk with Christ is a desire to share His Word with those you meet. So, this is a progression of how we see envangelizing and missions fitting in with our children's growing faith, and why we begin so strongly with God's Word and a personal faith in the early years. It is what we continue to build upon brick by brick in each subsequent guide. :D

It's also important to note that the story of the spread of the Gospel begins with Jesus and continues with the Apostles. So, the story of the spread of the early church is an answer to the Great Commission of going into all the world and spreading the Good News of the Gospel. This is something we also focus on in our guides to give students wonderful, and human, examples of how to share their faith with others. :D In LHFHG, we read many stories from the Bible that show the spread of the Gospel. We also read stories of missionaries and church leaders who evangelized like Boniface, Polycarp, Moody, and others. In Beyond and Bigger Hearts we focus strongly on how students can live for Jesus and what that means. We work on hiding God's Word in their hearts and applying it to their lives. We look at the lives of both historical and Biblical figures and measure their thoughts, words, and deeds according to God's Word. We also measure our own thoughts, words, and deeds through memorizing and applying Proverbs. Through the study, we see the need for a Savior, and how our life should look different from others if we believe in Him. :D

As we move into Preparing Hearts, we weave the Biblical Story of Redemption told through Grandpa's Box throughout the telling of world history. After reading about Christ's great sacrifice for us on the cross, we then move into Hero Tales and the need for modern missions. Each missionary story is scheduled to correspond with the history of the country and the people being evangelized. A study of the Psalms brings students into memorable contact with Psalms that apply to every part of life. The inductive study of Genesis 1 - 11 shows God's plan for our salvation in spite of our sinfulness.

Within CTC, we move fully into the spread of the Gospel through Christ's ministry and life on earth. We have students read all of Luke, John, and Acts and read firsthand how the Gospel was spread after Christ's resurrection. A Child's Geography: Explore the Holy Land also is firmly focused on understanding the culture and history of each country and modern missions there, with students praying for the spread of the Gospel in each country. Books like Traveling the Way,The Accidental Voyage, Twice Freed, and Ben Hur, along with Diana Waring's CD's also focus on how early Christians shared their faith with others and stood firm in their faith in times of trial and persecution. A final project in CTC has students making a version of a wordless book, used to share their faith with others through the colors and what they mean. :D

RTR includes the stories of the lives of those who spread the Gospel through the early church in the books Peril and Peace and Monks and Mystics. Famous Men of the Middle Ages and Mystery of History III also share the lives of other early missionaries and those who spread the Gospel. Books within RTR like Forbidden Gates, Morning Star of the Reformation, Mr. Pipes, A Piece of the Mountain, The Tinker's Daughter, From Bondage to Freedom, the Story of Albrecht Durer, The Hawk That Dare Not Hunt by Day, Voyage to Freedom, and Robert Boyle all deal with the spread of the Gospel by word of mouth and later through a translation of the Bible from Latin into a language the common man could read.These became the cornerstone for modern missions. As students study Paul's letter to the Philippians, they grow in understanding how to face suffering and persecution with faith, and why it should be no surprise when suffering comes. However, it also teaches that joy in the Lord transcends all suffering. Diana Waring's audios continue to illuminate the spread of the Gospel and God's hand in history. A final project in RTR, guides students in making a flapbook of the steps for sharing their faith with someone else. It has Scriptures listed in sequence to guide them through the key verses of why faith in Jesus is the only way to be saved. :D

Our new guide Revival to Revolution shares how the era of social reform led to new types of missions. Near the end of this time, the growth of modern missions begins. Stories of those who spread the Gospel during this time are included through Hands and Hearts and also through full-length biographies of Amy Charmichael and David Livingstone. Other missionaries are included through the readings of the history books found in the Reading About History box of the plans. Our study of the book of Hebrews and of the lives of those listed in the faith chapter guides students in developing a deeper faith and discovering why God chose the men and women in that chapter for us to learn from about faith. We also will work through Who Is God? in order to help students view the world through a Biblical lens. All of these pieces work together to allow students to better give away their faith! And Diana Waring's audios show the world's need for it, and God's work that is being done. As our guides continue to be released, we will continue to interweave the stories of evangelizing and missionaries within their corresponding historical context and time period. :D

Being a missionary in a foreign place is a special calling that only God can provide, and the Bible is full of examples of those whom He fully equipped to answer His call. Yet, others of us are called instead to share our faith where we are planted. Our lives may not be so extraordinary, but our salvation through Christ is! :D So, while our guides make sure to include the spread of the Gospel through modern missions, our guides are also full of people who answered the Great Commission through their music, or speaking, or painting, or writing, or teaching, or financial resources, or science, or making maps, or building roads, or writing poetry, or singing, or composing, or sketching, or printing, or inventing, and the list goes on. It is our goal to show students that God calls each of us to a different role, and yet all of us are to be a witness for Him through whatever means in which He chooses to equip us. :D

Blessings,
Carrie

mercymom
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Re: Biblical Philosophy and Goals in HOD

Post by mercymom » Mon Feb 07, 2011 4:12 pm

Thank you for that answer, particularly the last paragraph.
Christy

John'smom
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Re: Biblical Philosophy and Goals in HOD

Post by John'smom » Mon Feb 07, 2011 4:59 pm

Carrie wrote:Being a missionary in a foreign place is a special calling that only God can provide, and the Bible is full of examples of those whom He fully equipped to answer His call. Yet, others of us are called instead to share our faith where we are planted. Our lives may not be so extraordinary, but our salvation through Christ is! :D So, while our guides make sure to include the spread of the Gospel through modern missions, our guides are also full of people who answered the Great Commission through their music, or speaking, or painting, or writing, or teaching, or financial resources, or science, or making maps, or building roads, or writing poetry, or singing, or composing, or sketching, or printing, or inventing, and the list goes on. It is our goal to show students that God calls each of us to a different role, and yet all of us are to be a witness for Him through whatever means in which He chooses to equip us. :D

Blessings,
Carrie
I love this!!! We try and teach our dc this and I love to hear that HOD has the same heart. It was my desire as a teenager to go as a missionary, but it was not the Lord's will. My best friend desired to be a mother, but the Lord called her to be a single missionary to Mexico. I did however marry a man who was responsible financially and we have the privlege to support many missionaries on a monthly basis. Our children just automatically do this themselves as they like and do what we do. :wink: We pray for missionaries every night, cook meals for them when they are in our church, etc. I guess I'm trying to say that we all can't be foreign missionaries, there has to be those who are willing to give. There are souls here who need a witness too. There are those at my dh's work who have never heard. He is an auditor. We tell our dc that God needs plumbers, doctors, lawyers, librarians, trash collectors etc. From things I've seen in the Beyond devotion, it really strives to have the child's heart tender and willing to be obedient to God. IF a heart is that, then a heart will be for missions, as souls are what is God's heart. :D
Edwena
*Married to my best friend for 16 yrs
*Mom to ds (15), dd (13), dd #2(3)
*Combining my dc in WG (2017-2018)
*Completed and absolutely loved BLHFHG through MTMM

jer2911mom
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Re: Biblical Philosophy and Goals in HOD

Post by jer2911mom » Mon Feb 07, 2011 5:44 pm

Hi Carrie,

I wanted to thank you for taking the time to write such a detailed response today. I know you said you are swamped, so I appreciate your carving out this time to reply. I promise I have been digging into the boards with all the time I have and while I have gleaned a lot of information there, having one detailed, comprehensive answer is extremely helpful and I'm sure will be a benefit to others down the road.

I agree completely with what you and others have said about missions not necessarily meaning a call to another country. A lot of us are called to serve right where we are and God provides a lot of missions opportunities right within our own communities and occupations. I am very glad you are writing the guides to guide the children into serving wherever they are called.

I apologize for the probing questions lately. I know they have required time-consuming answers. If I can be perfectly honest, I was absolutely loving LHFHG and telling everyone I knew about it, and then as you know from my "heads up" post got derailed with the one devotional before Christmas. It kind of shook my trust (and my husband's) because I (we) felt like we were seeing things pretty differently philosophically as far as what was appropriate for our children. But I have been pondering this ever since and I feel like I know your heart and that we really do have the same goals in mind for our children. I think I just need to agree to disagree on things like that and adjust things as necessary to compensate on my end. I have found other parts of the devotional perfectly fine, so I am just prescreening now for our own comfort level. I really do want to continue with HOD, but wanted to confirm we really are sharing the same philosophy overall so I can share that with my husband as well. I love your curricula choices more than any other provider, and you pick so many of the things I wanted to try myself (Who Is God?, R&S English, MOH, Diana Waring CDs, Apologia Astronomy and Zoology, etc.). I just needed to be reassured that we really aren't that far off after all. I hope that wasn't too personal for this forum. If so, please remove this post. And Julie is right, no where else do you get this much interaction directly with the author. It is truly a blessing. Thanks again for all your time and energy in my direction lately!

Kathy

Bramble
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Re: Biblical Philosophy and Goals in HOD

Post by Bramble » Mon Feb 07, 2011 7:32 pm

I think this is very helpful, and it would be great if we could possibly copy and paste all of Carrie's responses to Kathy's philosophy and goal posts and make them one sticky at the top, or just make a post with links to these. I personally find this board incredibly difficult to search. It's always telling me the words I am searching for are too popular. I have had a bit more luck when I go to advanced search, but not always. Anyway, I hope that Carrie will know that her responses to Kathy will and have helped others, so the time is well-spent. I appreciate you giving that time, Carrie.

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