Lesson planning with Mr. Rose

Those of you who know me well know how dear Mr. Rose’s book is to me. It is invaluable in my BPA quest. I thought I’d share a way of planning lessons using his book. It’s not the only way, but one way it can be done, even for new families who want to create their own BPA lessons but don’t know where to begin. This is after you have gone through the section on p. 118, have a working knowledge of BPA and a personal philosophy of education written down (mine is in the clear pocket on the front of my teacher’s notebook).

(Re)read the section on ”Education for the American Christian Home” (beginning on p. 85).

Starting on p. 119,  you can see the subjects broken down into goals and objectives. Here is a list of page numbers you can write in under each subject:

• History (Elementary): objectives p.204
• History (Junior High): objectives p. 204
• Geography: goals–p. 259, overview p. 260
• Literature: see charts pp. 343-351
• Arithmetic: goals p. 241, rudiments p. 237, biblical origin and purpose p. 236, 234
• Algebra: objectives p. 445, vocabulary of algebra p. 427
• Science (A&P): rudiments p. 467, goals p. 468, overview p. 469, principles p. 457
• Economics: goals, overview p. 415, rudiments p. 402

Of course, you need to read the section for each subject, but this will give you a quick reference from the lists on p. 119-123.

As an example, take geography. I am planning for a 4th grader and a 1st grader. Here’s how I plan these lessons.

1. Prayer. I have to have the Holy Spirit to help me plan what my kids need to know this year.
2. Make a grid with the months on the side and the subjects across the top, so I can see what I am studying in each subject to create cohesive plans. 
3. See the geography topic on p. 120 for a quick glance at the subject.
4. Read the section on geography, written by Katherine Dang (259-273).
5. Note the goals on p. 259. (If I have 4 R’ed this, then I refer to my own goals.)
6. Note the overview on p. 260 (If I have 4 R’ed this, then I refer to my own overview.)
7. I make note of what I am studying in His Story and try to work geography alongside the subject. If it will not work there, then I will look to literature.
8. Using my overview and goals, I chart the months out. From there I am able to plan weekly lessons, using the biblical principles and leading ideas I deduce from 4-Ring and from The Encyclopedia of Bible Truths for School Subjects. I also add living books, mapwork, reference books and more to enliven the lessons.

I put the year’s master sheet into my teacher’s notebook so I can see my whole year on one page and how all the subjects are connected.

I love planning my own lessons this way because I can meet the objectives using the overviews and still create individualized lessons for my family. And Also I have a plan until I have 4-R’ed that subject and found my own objectives and so on. For more help on utilizing Mr. Rose’s book to the fullest, read my posts under the category Rose’s Guide.

Because we work with the seeds of principles, our lessons can look very different from yours and still we can both teach the same rudiments. With the overviews in Mr. Rose’s book I have a general direction to head in, but I can take my own path to get to the destination. I love that!