Positive Action for Christ

Recently N9 and I were given the chance to take a look at Bible curriculum published by Positive Action for Christ. We were checking out the third grade level called "Growing with God." Our materials included a teacher manual ($33.95) - that came already loaded in a 3-ring binder (loved that) plus a consumable student workbook ($12.95). The teacher manual could also be purchased on a CD-ROM for $19.95.

Positive Action for Christ first began back in the late 1960s as a ProTeen club. A program designed to help teenagers be God focused and grow in maturity. Writing of the materials for that venture led to a publishing company being established and the above curriculum (as well as curriculum for grades K-12) being created.

I spent quite a bit of time going over the teacher manual and since it was geared towards third grade, N9 was my guinea pig. The teacher manual, as I mentioned previously, came already 3-hole punched and in a binder. Did I mention how much I love that? The manual walked through every step of how to implement this program. While it is typically designed for a classroom setting, it can be adapted for a homeschool. In fact, included with the material were three pages sharing how to implement it for a homeschool setting. This was nice to see.

Included in the teacher manual was also suggested lesson plans for either a 5-day, 4-day, or 3-day a week plan. There were also numerous reproducibles included such as a chart to monitor scripture memorizations and end of lesson quiz's. However, one minor issue I had was that in the teacher manual it was mentioned that the scripture memorization report sheet was also included in the student manual. I simply could not find it in there anywhere. While this was only a minor issue, it was something that stood out to me.

The student workbook is colorful and full of various pages to reinforce the learning each week. Each included a page to record that week's vocabulary and a extra pages to work on. While N9 typically likes workbooks this program was a not a huge hit with him. However, I should mention we were using this during Christmas break and that possibly played a role in his "liking" vs. "not-liking." 

There is also a music portion that is included in the curriculum. Suggested additional resources are two additional books as well as a music CD. The books are Hymn Histories ($35) and Sing and Be Happy ($15.95). You can also purchase either a CD ($9.95) or a cassette tape ($2) of the songs. 

Overall I think this company knows what it is doing. I was happy to see that their doctrinal statement (scroll to the bottom of the page) lined up with our own beliefs. They have been producing this curriculum for a number of years and it seems very solid. I was very happy to see the focus on character traits. That is something all children should focus on (in my very humble opinion) in the younger years. My only wish would be to have more in-depth style pages in the student workbook. Some of it was simply busy work. 

You can see the scope & sequence of their elementary studies for free as well as their secondary students. You can also order a free catalog and see what other items they offer. 

Be sure to head over to the TOS Homeschool Crew to see what other Crew members had to say. A number of us reviewed the K-6 products. Upcoming will be reviews for the secondary level products.

Disclaimer: I was not paid for this review. All opinions shared are my own. TOS Crew Members are given the product free of charge in exchange for our unbiased opinion of the product.