Our state requires that we teach Health every year, but I like a curriculum that will work with more ages than one so I can teach them all at the same time. That's why I was so happy to get my hands on Living Healthy Homeschool Curriculum by Master Books to do a review.
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. I was given a free product and compensated for my time writing this article. All opinions are my own.
A Peek Inside Master Books Living Healthy
The Living Healthy homeschool curriculum from Master Books is recommended for grades 4 through 6, but I am using it with Grade K, Grade 2, Grade 6 and Grade 8. Oh, yes and our little dog, Doby, enjoys learning about Health too!
The cover of Living Healthy has vibrant colors and photos and looks like it will be a fun book to learn from, and it really is fun! You don't believe Health can be fun? Well, are you in for a surprise. Check it out.
Lesson Page
On the first page of each lesson, it shows you “Words to Know”, a “Supply List”, some related photos (some may label parts of the photo) and this is where you start reading to the children.
Scripture Copywork
Looking at the second page of this lesson, there is a “Scripture Copywork” section with a Bible verse and how it relates to health. I love that all the Master Books I have tried include scripture.
Exercise – Core & More
In the lower part of the page, there is an “Exercise – Core & More” section. Now it starts to get really fun for the kids. It tells you a few exercises to do and reminds you to take a 20 minute walk.
Activity Section
You can see on the third page that this is the Activity part, which can be fun or educational, or both. In this example, they have Fill-in-the-Blank and Labeling.
Extension Section
In this section, they may suggest a hands on activity, researching a topic, walking around the house to look for something or other things.
Other Sections of the book
There are only four tests in the book and they are in place of the Activity and Extension for that lesson. In the back of the book are Worksheet Helpers, like a Track Your Exercise Chart, and additional sheets to add to your lesson. With those, it says what lesson number it goes with on top of the page. There is also Exercise Instructions, Game Rules and a Glossary.
Also found in the back of the book are suggested daily schedules for one school year and the test section, which is called “Written Celebrations of Knowledge”. After that, are the Answer Keys to the tests.
Using Living Healthy with Multiple Grade Levels
For this part of the review, you are going to hear how I use it. Now you already know from reading above that I am using it with grades K, 2, 6 and 8. This is just me and my family. You can do this how you want to. Don't feel like you have to do it my way. That's the beauty of homeschooling. We can be unique.
The Time of Day We Use It
In the back of the book, where they have the suggested schedule, I noticed that they suggest doing this Health teaching twice a week, but I honestly do it once a week for a longer time all at once in the morning.
This is what my kids morning of homeschool looks like before they start:
Bible (I read a portion) , Practice learning Bible verses (They each practice a verse with me that they are learning for children's or youth activities with our local church), Apologetics, Chapter Book (which I read out loud to them). All of those are done while my kids are eating breakfast, playing, doing puzzles, coloring, etc.
Some of that is part of our Master Books morning basket, which has a curriculum sheet I follow. I now finish up with whatever I didn't do yet on that schedule.
Next, I do that days topic:
- Monday – Geography
- Tuesday – History
- Wednesday – Science
- Thursday – Health
- Friday – Language Arts, Grammar, Spelling (but not learning to read, I do that in the afternoon)
Later in the day, we learn all of our other subjects at scheduled times. My older kids have math curriculums that require the use of the computer, so I schedule time for them to be on there, while I am working at the table with other children. I hope that makes sense.
Back to the point, we do health once a week on Thursdays.
How I Use It
I look at the supply list and what we will be doing that day before my kids even wake up. I gather materials and make copies on my printer if needed. Early morning is best for me to do this. You may do better with this after school for the next day, in the evening or right at the moment you need it.
When class starts, I read the lesson out loud to them and show them the photos. I have them repeat the “words to know” (which are bolded in the text of the lesson) out loud back to me.
I read the scripture section out loud, but I do not have them do the copy work because we already use a writing curriculum that has them write Bible verses.
For the Exercise: Core & More, we do the suggested exercises in the box. I really like that there is a helpful Exercise Instructions section at the back of the book for a description of how to do it, because some of them are new to me. After those, I let each child pick an exercise they want to do that was already taught and we all do those. Next, we do the Activity.
Paper Skeleton Activity
One activity we did was make a paper skeleton. I copied these on my printer and printed them onto cardstock – one for each child. I talked about each part of the skeleton, “this is the skull”, “this is the ribcage” etc.
My children cut them out and taped them together. Then they each had a paper skeleton. They all four enjoyed this activity.
When we make an activity that can be hung up, I like to hang them on the back of our front door. It's fun to show neighbors or relatives that come to visit what we have been learning about.
I noticed that Mitchell, grade 2, especially loved this activity and kept coming back to the door and pointed to the parts and would announce, “Mom, this is the spine, right?” or he would just come and touch them frequently while they were hanging up. I think he was proud of what he put together, or was maybe marveling that this is inside his body. When his adult brother came home from work, Mitchell proudly showed him what he made, as well.
What We Love
Miranda loves the hands on activities and walking.
Mason and Mitchell love the “Exercise – Core & More.” And Mitchell loves some of the hands on activities.
Megan loves the reading and pictures to look at.
I love the Scripture verses and how they relate to our health. This homeschool Mom is learning while she is teaching!
Conclusion
I noticed the Master Books approach or educational style is eclectic, which basically means that it is from a variety of sources. This is exactly how I love to homeschool and I love that these “variety of sources” that I have tried from Master Books are from a Christian and Creationist view. It's hard to know who to trust with curriculum nowadays and I like that I can trust Master Books. There is also a Master Books Academy if you prefer to do online learning with several classes, including Spanish.
If you are looking for a Christian Health homeschool curriculum that encourages healthy living, I highly recommend Living Healthy. It worked out perfectly for my family. I know it would work great for any Christian family teaching one or more children.
A Giveaway
You can enter for a chance to win a Free online Course from Master Books Academy. This giveaway closes 12/31/24.
How To Find Master Books
Website: https://masterbooks.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/masterbooks/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MasterBooks
Read Product Reviews from NeededInTheHome
Subscribe so you never miss a post.
If you find my tips useful, feel free to buy me a coffee. Thank you in advance!
Want to remember this? Pin it to your favorite Pinterest Board!
Leave a Reply