Keyboarding for the Christian School

A-S-D-F-J-K-L-semi.  If you had typing in a school setting like I did, you can probably still hear your teacher saying chanting that over and over again.  Typing is one of the skills that I learned in high school that I use on a daily basis.  Of course, back then, there was no reason to learn to type until you were in high school.  (Am I dating myself? :) )  Nowadays kids need to learn to type when they are young so they don't have to unlearn incorrect typing methods later on. Keyboarding for the Christian School is a great way for your children to learn to type.

Rather than type directly from the screen like most typing programs, students learn to type by looking at the printed pages.  I put ours in a 3-ring binder but you could print as you go or have them bound.  Print versions are also available.  You will need to e-mail the author for information about that.

Why choose a printable e-book versus a web-based program? Think about the things you type. Are they readily available to copy from the screen or are they something that you are looking at on a piece of paper? Usually you are typing something from a rough draft. If the lessons are only available on the computer monitor; your student will not get the needed skill of transferring information from paper to the computer. A printable e-book allows you the preference of binding the whole book or just giving your student one page at a time. A printable e-book is portable and economical. -from the website

The large font edition of Keyboarding for the Christian School uses 20-point Times New Roman font.  The default for most word processors is 12-point.  I really like the large print, as it makes it easy to see and keep your place especially in early lessons when students are typing groups of letters and not actual words.

The lessons are intentionally brief to allow for shorter class time, review or to complete more than on lesson at time.  This course is for a QWERTY keyboard.

My 6 year old learning to type

There are 12 guidelines for how to position yourself when touch typing that are provided in the book.  (such as sit up straight and lean in at the waist).  We have our computers on a table and it's impossible for our children to follow these guidelines since they just aren't tall enough.  We did the best we could without following these rules.

Keyboarding for the Christian School Elementary Version is a 90 page book divided into 32 lessons.

Lessons 1-20 cover Alphabetic Keys
Lessons 21-25 cover Numbers and Symbol Keys
Lessons 26-29 cover the Number Pad
Lesson 30 is on Centering
Lesson 31 covers Enumerated Lists
Lesson 32 has 10 pages of Timed Writings

A partial sample page-I like the cute lady bug ad the colorful keyboard.

One of the things I love about this program is that the typing exercises are scripture. As you can see in the lesson above it begins with a scripture as well.

If you don't want to print your book, you could do a side by side with the lesson or timed writing on the left
and  your word processor on the right. This works great.  You could also use a second computer or tablet.

Keyboarding for the Christian School Elementary Version won
Best Exclusive e-book
from Small Christian Publishers this year.

Also available from the publisher is Keyboarding for the Christian School revised edition which covers everything in the elementary version and much more. It is 106 pages long and has lessons on the tab key, reports, cover page, works cited, bibliography, letters, envelopes and proof readers marks. This version is excellent for your older students. This black and white book uses Times New Roman 12 point font.

Click here for sample lessons. I highly recommend Keyboarding for the Christian School to anyone who wishes to use a traditional approach to teaching typing. I plan to continue using this with my children. I think typing is a valuable (necessary!) skill and what better way to learn than by typing God's word. Thank you Leanne Beitel for creating this wonderful resource and for the opportunity to review it!

Keyboarding for the Christian School Elementary is available in two versions, regular font and large font.  I prefer the large font as mentioned above.

Keyboarding for the Christian School Elementary Version (For grades K-5) is available for $12.95 and Keyboarding for the Christian School (for grades 6 and up) is available for $15.95.  See the website for package deals and other products including lesson plans. I am excited to be able to offer an unpublished 20% discount to my readers. Use promo code SUMMER2012 when you check out. Coupon code will expire on August 29, 2012.

Visit the the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog to see what others are saying about Keyboarding for the Christian School.






disclaimer: I was given copies of Keyboarding for the Christian School in large font, regular and revised editions in exchange for an honest review.

Truth Quest History

Ever since I first heard about Truth Quest History I wanted to give it a try. I was so excited when I received this to review as a part of the TOS crew.

TruthQuest History is a deep and rich literature-based history study…but with a difference. You will not learn the story of mankind; you will learn the lovestory of mankind. You will not focus on the rise and fall of human civilizations; you will focus on the arrow-straight line of God's unchanging existence, power, love, truth, and plan for civilization. You will not simply 'meet the culture' or 'get the facts;' you will probe the truths of history so deeply that your students will be equipped to change their world!

-from the website 

TruthQuest History is unlike most history curriculum.  It is written from an unashamed Christian viewpoint; the perspective that history is first about what God does and says, and secondly about what people believe and do in response.  Throughout the guide, commentaries are given as an introduction to each topic and thoroughly discuss the consequences of mankind's Big 2 Beliefs which are 1)Who is God? and 2) Who, then, is mankind?

For a book lover like me, TruthQuest History is a dream come true.  You will find extensive book lists for every topic you can imagine in chronological order.  We reviewed the Age of Revolution I: America/Europe 1600-1800.

In addition to the commentaries and book lists you will find ThinkWrite exercises (13 in this guide) to help students internalize and express the history lessons they are learning through literature.

One thing I really appreciate about TruthQuest History is you do not have to buy a certain set of books.  You can use what is listed or what you can find.  Read more here:

It is not intended that you purchase, find, or even read all the books cited in this guide! You can see how impossible that would be! TruthQuest History is completely different from curricula which depend on certain books, so users must think differently about it! Here, the goal is not to guide you through books, but through history...using books...whichever books are readily available! That’s why so many are listed here–to give you the utmost opportunity to harness your public or church librarywithout missing a gem!
When you (wisely!) decide to homeschool using real books, no matter what curriculum guide you choose, you’re only able to use what’s available. Therefore, this large booklist is not a burden, it’s a benefit! It vastly increases the chances of finding the best available books on every topic!

                                                                       -quote from TruthQuest history

So the layout of TruthQuest is that you first read a commentary by the author, followed by a list of reading from the "spines" of the curriculum, then there is an extensive list of books to choose from.  I did not have any trouble finding books in our library system.  Almost everything I searched for was available through our fabulous state ILL program.  Each book also lists a grade level (love that!). The Think/Write sections are placed throughout the guide.  Click here for a sample from Age of Revolution I and here to see the Table of Contents.

While I love TruthQuest for the book list, I am not at a point in my homeschool where I want a curriculum that isn't really laid out for me day to day.  There have been times when this would have been perfect for us and I suppose with a large family we could all study the same topic using this.

We ended up using this to study state history because we are studying ancient history this year but we're still required to study state history and we happen to live in one of the original 13 colonies so there was plenty to choose from in that section.  I am very impressed with the books that we found and even learned about a place in my state that I'd never heard of even though I've lived here for 44 years (all my life).

We reveiwed the pdf version of Age of Revolution I.  I would recommend spending the few extra dollars to order a book version. This guide is 378 pages long which is just too overwhelming as a pdf in my experience.  Also, the page numbers of the pdf do not match the pages in the book.  For instance, Maryland history is listed on page 64 in the Table of Contents but you will actually find it on page 81 of the pdf.  The Table of Contents is not linked though there are bookmarks that will get you where you want to go if you are using this on a computer.  I did load this on my Kindle (just a regular Kindle) and on my iPod touch but pdfs really aren't great on either of those anyway.  I read the commentaries to my kids on my Kindle but the font was very small and as I said pdf's just aren't that great on the regular Kindle.  I also used my laptop for reading and that was better but reading from the computer is not my favorite thing either.  I think I would have liked this a lot better if I had a hard copy.

You can see samples of each of the eleven guides, read How to Choose, read about long range planning using TruthQuest or listen to audio presentations.

Click to enlarge

Guides include:

Level 1 for Grades 1-5
American History for Young Students  I
American History for Young Students II
American History for Young Students III

Level  2 for Grades 5-12
Beginnings
Ancient Greece
Ancient Rome
Middle Ages
Renaissance/Reformation/Exploration
Age of Revolution I
Age of Revolution II
Age of Revolution III

You can see more detailed information about these here.

So as you can tell, I have mixed feelings about this curriculum.  Though it could be used a complete curriculum if this is your style, I prefer it as a rich resource for finding historical literature.  I do have to say that I enjoyed the perspective of the commentaries and view my state history a bit differently now than I did before.

You can purchase TruthQuest History guides for $24.95-$34.95 or ($19.95-29.95 for a pdf version) (Prices vary according to the guide you choose).  Visit the website to see other companion products available for purchase including A Journey Through Learning binder builders, notebooking pages and a map/timeline/report package.

See what others are saying about TruthQuest History on the TOS crew blog.

disclaimer: I received a free pdf version of Truth Quest Age of Revolution I in exchange for an honest review.