I’m always on the lookout for educational materials that not only meet our state’s requirements but also engage and excite my son. Master Books’ Living Healthy: Nutrition, Exercise, and Making Wise Choices has become a strong contender for our upcoming homeschool year for our health curriculum, and for good reason. This year our state is requiring that my son fulfill his health requirement and I needed to find something that wasn’t boring but interactive.
Educational Style – Eclectic
The best way to describe the Master Books style of homeschooling is eclectic. By definition, eclectic is to derive ideas, styles, methods, philosophies from a variety of sources. Our curriculum development team has over 25+ years of homeschooling experience. They have worked with gifted to special needs students, implemented top selling homeschool solutions, and employed a number of cutting-edge teaching methods and philosophies of learning. Using that wealth of experience, we take the “best of” ideas to create an effective, individualized learning experience for students based on their strengths, readiness, and interests.
This curriculum covers a wide range of topics essential for understanding and maintaining good health. From nutrition and exercise to making wise lifestyle choices, each aspect is explored thoroughly, providing a solid foundation for a holistic approach to health education.
Engaging Presentation
What initially drew us to this curriculum was its visually appealing presentation. My middle school son, who has a keen interest in human anatomy and health, was immediately captivated by the colorful text and diagrams. The depth of information provided in an accessible format made it an obvious choice for us.
Integration with Physical Education
One of the unique features of this curriculum is its integration with physical education. It can easily be incorporated into our weekly PE regimen, providing a seamless transition between health education and physical activity. The PE inclusions make it easy for me to check off my PE boxes each week for my son. My son has been enjoying looking over the exercises and adding them to his boxing workout.
Flexible Approach to Religion
While it’s important to note that this curriculum is not secular and contains religious references throughout the book, I appreciate that these references can be omitted if needed. This flexibility allows families of diverse backgrounds to tailor the curriculum to their preferences while still completing the material.
Quarterly Structure
The text is divided into four quarters, each consisting of nine weeks. This organized structure not only helps us plan our homeschooling schedule but also ensures that we cover all the material thoroughly. Additionally, each quarter includes recipes, vocabulary exercises, games, puzzles, and more, enhancing the learning experience. Another great perk is that Master Books’ Living Healthy: Nutrition, Exercise, and Making Wise Choices is available as lesson plan in our digital planner. There is also a complete supply checklist included for all seventy two lessons. Students will learn topics that are covered within each quarter listed below.
Exercise
Nutrition
Personal Health
Environmental health and safety
Master Books’ Living Healthy: Nutrition, Exercise, and Making Wise Choices is Charlotte Mason inspired. Each lesson focuses on four areas vocabulary, scripture (easily omitted for secular homeschoolers), exercise, activity, test and additional extensions. I really appreciate the easy turn our sheets that are already three ring hole punched.
You may see parts of our style that follow a traditional approach, the living stories and shorter lessons similar to a Charlotte Mason approach, or a child-centered, hands-on approach like the Montessori method. Our focus is on developing solutions that are neurodevelopmentally appropriate and use recognized cognitive learning practices to get the best results in a real-world environment.
Standout Features
One aspect of this curriculum that truly stands out is its emphasis on real-world relevance. The text is filled with practical examples and scenarios that students can relate to, making the learning experience both meaningful and engaging. It caters to my son’s interests in human anatomy and health while providing a comprehensive education in all aspects of health and wellness.
How We Will Use and Final Thoughts
The plan for use is to fulfill state requirements. The laid out schedule is for on lesson a week per the text. We may average three lessons a week, but I have feeling my son will complete all four days a week. I am also leaning towards starting over the summer break so we can have a few buffer weeks already completed just in case we get a little off track.
Master Books’ Living Healthy: Nutrition, Exercise, and Making Wise Choices may be a resource in our homeschooling journey. It offers a comprehensive, engaging, and adaptable approach to health education that I highly recommend to other homeschooling families. Be sure to enter the Giveaway by clicking the Master Books banner below for a chance to win a Morning Basket of Master Books.
Channie’s Dry Erase Flashcard For Alphabet & Number cards are for ages 3+ . They are perfect size for early writers. The lay out of the cards is friendly and color coded to show proper placement of letters and formation. The block spacing encourages consistency of letter and number sizing. I really like the added feature of having pictures to coincide with each letter. On the front of each card alphabet card is the uppercase letter is on and on the back the lowercase. The number cards included I think moms will appreciate that the practice length is perfect for reluctant writers.
We used two different dry erase markers on the cards. We used a high quality marker and lower quality marker and I didn’t see much of difference when we erased them. I used slightly damp rag to wipe them down clearly and my son used his dry eraser to clean them off. The cards are high gloss, sturdy and will withstand the handling of younger student.
Students will cover:
Tracing
Writing
Practice
Channie’s Dry Erase Flashcard For Alphabet & Number worked well for my son because I was able to slide them into his work boxes or folders if I want him to work on certain letters during his writing time. He didn’t put up a fuss about practicing his letters that felt he needed more practice. For struggling writers and those students who are not enthusiastic about writing these are perfect and frustration free.
Little Learner and Mom 