Epi Kardia Literature-based Unit Study Home School Curriculum Using Charlotte Mason Methods
 
   

Volume I, Issue 2

Epi Kardia Insights

To Equip Parents to Disciple and Teach Their Children    

Epi Kardia Has a New Website!

Please visit our new website! We have done a major overhaul, have fixed broken links and added much more information about our curriculum as well as more resources: 
  • The actual Table of Contents for both the Lower and Upper Grades teaching manuals 
  • Bible Reading Plan for one year 
  • Recommended books for High School and Beyond (still under construction) 
  • Ability to purchase books specified in our curriculum directly from our site!  We currently have World History-World Literature and American Literature for High School books and will be adding more soon! 

Ready to Move Beyond the Textbook? 
1. Now you can! With our new e-book, Designing a High School Course Using Real Books, all of the direction you need is at your fingertips. Organized in easy to understand steps, this guide opens up a multitude of literature-based courses for you and your high school student to develop. Just decide which course you want to cover, grab your books and watch your high school student excel! Check www.epikardia.com  to view a sample.    
2. Check out Beth's article Beyond the Texbook just published in the spring edition of Seasons of Home magazine! If you are not familiar with this magazine, here is an excerpt from their website: 
 
Seasons is a full-color, print publication created to encourage families and better prepare themselves through the passing on of life skills needed in the home. Seasons is filled with articles and projects that revolve around homeschooling, sewing, cooking and baking, gardening, Titus 2 encouragement, themed teas, father/son projects, and daughters at home. Meant to be a keepsake, each issue is graced with delightful photography for visual learners. 
 
For subscription information go to www.joyoushome.com  .  
  

And here is an excerpt from the Introduction of our new high school curriculum, Essay Styles for High School: 

 

An Essential for Every High School Student...

 

Essay writing, recommended for every high school student, requires a clear understanding of the essay types, essay structure, the writing process and solid evaluation to be truly beneficial. At Epi Kardia, we don’t view writing as a subject, but rather an essential life skill. Students who can express themselves well through writing tend to achieve more in every subject area. Writing promotes more succinct communication, organization skills and higher level thinking. It develops confidence, creates an outlet for healthy expression and strengthens a student’s overall academic prowess.

 

With our new high school curriculum, Essay Styles for High School, your student will learn to write the five most common types of essays: narrative, descriptive, expository, persuasive and comparison/contrast. This course is designed with step by step detailed instructions for both the student and the teacher providing a clear picture of each essay style along with solid goals and objectives. Even parents who do not view themselves as strong writers can teach this course because the evaluation section describes exactly what you need to look for in your student’s writing and explains how to determine a fair grade, as well. Check our website for more information and to peruse a sample.


    
ALSO COMING IN TIME FOR FALL 2008 

 

American Literature for High School is new and will be ready for the fall of 2008. We will be posting a curriculum description and a sample on the website soon. Get a head start and order the books used in the curriculum at www.epikardia.com

  

  
   
Preparing Your Middle Schooler for High School - Part 1 
What are His Goals....Really? 
 
Understanding  Goals  
Goals influence behavior. That seems obvious.  But sometimes we don’t realize what our goal actually is--a subtle point, but one that can lead to dramatic differences in behavior. For example, I am on the last leg of my regular walk and have a choice to make:  Do I want to cut through some woods directly to my house, or walk the long way around the block?  It depends upon my goal.  If my goal is to finish my walk, I am likely to cut through.  But if my goal is to get exercise, I am going to walk the long way around.  

If you were to ask your middle-schooler to tell you his goal as he worked on his math lesson, he would probably say “finish the math lesson [that you assigned].”  So this is not so much his  goal, as it is your  goal for  him. And most kids, if they took the time to think about it, would agree that the best way to finish that lesson is the quickest way possible.  J

Middle-schoolers need to learn to own their own work and be increasingly proactive about learning to be ready for high school level classes. Over the middle school years, they need to engage with and master  the material rather than just completing their lessons. Unfortunately, this is not the way most kids look at schoolwork unless  they are taught differently.  

If your son looks at you quizzically as you attempt to explain this foreign concept, relate that it is the same principle as completing a chore well, such as cleaning one’s bedroom. He can whip through it in record time , stuffing clothes under the bed and tossing them onto the closet floor, OR, he can do a thorough job putting his clean clothes, neatly folded, back in the drawer and dirty ones in a hamper. At a quick glance, the results might look similar—but the next time he hurriedly looks for his favorite shirt, he will find that they are not.   

Our task is to teach two things: first, that he is doing this work for himself, not just you; and, secondly, the subtle difference between “finishing the math lesson” (i.e., getting this lesson over with as quickly as possible) and “understanding the math lesson” (i.e., working until mastery occurs).  It is easier for him to choose to do a good job if he can reframe the job according to his goal, not yours.  For example:  if he can think of the benefits to him of keeping his room clean (he is able to dress more quickly, find things, has more room to play, is allowed to have friends over, etc.), it takes less effort for him to own the goal and be more responsible.

 

How do I encourage more responsible  thinking?  
Teach and model positive choices and responsible life skills—because they yield positive benefits and are right (as opposed to ‘because I said so’).  For example, get up and go to bed at a decent time , so you are alert enough to get your work done. Make healthy food choices and exercise, so you have energy and your body can do what you want and need it to do. Treat others with respect, because we are told to in God’s Word. Work to earn part of the money for your retreat, because you are the one going.  
Teach him to manage his own schedule.  
Buy an alarm clock so he can wake himself up in the morning. Encourage him to make a chore list and check whether  something needs to be done rather than you reminding him to do it. Show him how to keep track of youth group, soccer practice and other activities on his own calendar (or the family calendar).  Set some deadlines and give consequences when they aren’t met. 
As he becomes older, give him a vision for the future .  
Let him know that God has plans for him, and you share in his excitement in seeing them unfold.  Talk with him about school as his first ‘job’. Give him the purpose for middle school, which is to prepare him for high school (the years that really  count.) Assure him that you will work together with him so that he will be ready by the time he gets there  
 
How does this look when applied to school?  
As your middle schooler begins to own his work, encourage him to seek knowledge and understanding by being proactive. If his goal is to learn , not just finish, work toward the following:   
  • In math, willingness to do extra  problems   until a concept is fully mastered  
  • In science, researching another source outside one’s assigned lesson for a more understandable explanation of a difficult topic  
  •   In foreign language, making vocabulary flash  cards or doing extra work that is not part of  the assigned lesson, just to build a better u  nderstanding of the language 
  •   Across all subjects, listing and defining u  nfamiliar vocabulary words, just to  increase one’s vocabulary 
  •    In history, taking reading notes instead of just reading 

     If these suggestions sound way beyond your middle school student, take heart--this is a process, not an event. (And middle schoolers mature at different rates, which has to be factored in as well.) This is a concept that will need to be taught and reminded through middle school and into high school, but with consistency, patience and good modeling, you can teach your student to set his own goals to learn proactively, rather than just to finish his work.

      by Dana Wilson 

Dana Wilson is a co-author of Epi Kardia literature-based unit study curriculum used by homeschoolers and private and cottage schools. She has one homeschool graduate currently attending college and one homeschooled high schooler at home. Contact Dana at  dana@epikardia.com .

   To read the next post in the series Preparing Your Middle Schooler for High School, discussing developmental changes and ways to encourage higher level thinking, please subscribe to our blog at www.epikardia.com .  

"I'm still using Epi Kardia and LOVING it! I added one more student this year to the mix, A.! She and I do a more traditional Epi Kardia approach, whereas J. and G. know the drill and are on something like auto pilot with the program. Thank you for your dedication to writing such a fine curriculum.  My family have enjoyed it and been blessed by it time after time.  I still share it with everyone who will listen!"

-Jennifer, mom of 5, CT

"E. is in 4th grade right now and C. is in 1st grade.  I love being able to use Epi Kardia with both of them!  (And we'll be adding L. in kindergarten next year.)  What a blessing this curriculum has been and continues to be for us!  Thanks Dana and Beth!"

--Julie, mom of 5, SC

"I have 4 children and we are using all 4 levels of the program. Just another reason why I love this program! It is flexible enought for me to do just what want with it! :-) "

 --Pam, mom of 4, SC

"The kids and I just finished playing a '20th Century Trivia' board game that A. made after I saw it in the [Preparatory Complete Program] Epi Kardia curriculum. What a great idea! He had to come up with the idea, use history & geography to come up with the categories and then the questions, make the board, paint the board and then make up the rules. It was a great 2-week project!" 

--Vicki, mom of 2, SC