Comparing Skills in Preparing Hearts and Creation to Christ

 From Our House to Yours

Comparing Skills in Preparing Hearts and Creation to Christ

Are you comparing Creation to Christ (CTC) and Preparing Hearts for His Glory (PHFHG)? Does your child seem to be sort of between the two guides? Well, PHFHG is a wonderful program, but I have to tell you CTC is too. When trying to choose between two guides, the guide that fits your child the best skill-wise will be the guide he/she probably gets the most out of and enjoys the most in the long run. Why? Well, HOD’s assignments in history, storytime, and even in science, incorporate language arts skills within the follow-ups. The follow-ups get more in-depth, more difficult, and use higher level thinking in each subsequent guide. This is why the placement chart can help so much! It is accurate and will usually show you which placement to choose. For example, comparing PHFHG to CTC, here are some skill-based areas that come to mind (the numbers coincide)…

Preparing Hearts for His Glory – Comparing Skills “1” to “4”:

1. Parents and students share the history reading. So, parents read part of the history with more difficult books, and students read the other part of history with much easier books.
2. Students begin the year by dictating a 1-3 sentence written narration for parents to write and for students to then copy. They then progress to writing a 5 sentence written narration and hi-lighting the main idea of it by the end of the year.
3. Students create a staircase timeline out of index cards. They then assemble their cards accordion-style or on a closet door.
4. History projects are simple, and they have fewer steps of directions.

Creation to Christ – Comparing Skills “1” to “4”:

1.  Students read all of the history, and it is more difficult reading in both reading level and maturity content than PHFHG’s readings.
2.  Students begin the year by writing a 5-8 sentence written narration. They also utilize the Written Narration Tips to edit their narrations and hi-light the main idea.
3.  Students begin using a History Notebook for their timelines. This special “Book of Time” will eventually span Creation to Present Day. So, by the time students finish Missions to Modern Marvels, they have a chronologically complete “Book of Time.”
4.  Students’ history projects are more involved and have multiple steps of directions.

Preparing Hearts for His Glory – Comparing Skill “5”:

5.  Preparing Hearts for His Glory’s Storytime read-aloud has the following responses:

• First Day: Share personal connections that relate to the story.
• Second Day: Identify differences between the characters’ lives and the students’ lives based upon the historical time period of the story.
• Third Day: Evaluate the main character’s faith or its impact on the character’s life and the story.
• Fourth Day: Practice oral narration by retelling the story.

Creation to Christ- Comparing Skill “5”:

5. Creation to Christ’s Storytime read-aloud has the following responses:

• First Day: Give a detailed oral narration.
• Second Day: Rotate through the following four narration activities: an outline sketch, a short skit, a question and answer session, and an advertisement speech for the book.
• Third Day: Give a summary narration.
• Fourth Day: Make connections between the story and Proverbs.

Preparing Hearts for His Glory – Comparing Skills “6” to “9”:

6. Students complete Geography quick-finds that are more basic. They use the globe and/or a world map one time each week for their quick-finds.

7. For Bible Study/Bible Quiet Time, two days a week students begin to learn to have their own Bible Quiet Time with parents overseeing it. The other two days students discuss their Bible with their parents, identify mood/purpose of Scripture selection, and copy verses in a Common Place Book. Students also memorize short passages from Psalms and sing with music throughout the year.

8 & 9. Students discuss Robert Louis Stevenson’s poems. Students make personal connections with each poem. They also share the poem with someone creatively and memorize a poem each 12 week term. Parents teach a creative lesson one time each week using the poetry as a model. This is the creative writing portion for PHFHG.

Creation to Christ – Comparing Skills “6” to “9”:

6. Geography uses a more in-depth study of the Holy Land using “A Child’s Geography Vol. II” two days each week.

7. Bible Quiet Time is done daily and has its own “box” in the plans. The DK Family Bible (or a Bible of your own choice) is used. The 4 Parts of Prayer are taught using the ACTS model. All of Philippians 2 is memorized and is sung along with music, as well as copied in the Common Place book.
Bible Study is done 2 days a week with a parent using “The Radical Book for Kids,” which provides  an in-depth Genesis study.

8. Poetry: Students read Robert Frost’s poems. They discuss each poem’s mood/meaning, memorize one poem each nine week term, learn about each poet’s life, and follow multiple step-by-step directions to learn to watercolor paint a painting each week to match the poem’s meaning.

9. Writing: the formal writing program “Write with the Best” is taught twice each week for writing instruction. It uses excerpts from classical literature, and the literature is quite difficult in content (i.e. Charles Dickens, Jules Verne, Wordsworth, etc.).

Comparing the Level of Difficulty of Assignments and Assessments

As you can see, when comparing the skills in these guides, the level of difficulty of assignments and assessments increases from PHFHG to CTC quite a bit. When students move through HOD’s guides in order, they incrementally move through skill sets in all subject areas. This is why placement is so much more than just the language arts and math labeled boxes. If you find yourself comparing PHFHG and CTC, I hope this helps you see which guide would fit your student better. However, you can also print out the first week of plans of each guide to see. All “I” boxes are for the student to do independently, “S” semi-independently, and “T” teacher-directed.

In Christ,
Julie