Philosophy Adventure – a Review and Giveaway

Philosophy.  Just the word evokes images of deep thinkers and thoughtful conversations.  Like the painting “School of Athens” by Raphael, familiar from last year’s studies.  Philosophy is a subject for college-level students, or is it?

My husband studied philosophy, but it’s not something I ever had much interest in.  That is, until I was introduced to Philosophy Adventure written by Stacy Farrell.  The subject is no longer intimidating or out of reach.  I am seeing first hand alongside my daughter just how interesting philosophy is.  And we love how it is presented – the story of the philosopher with reflection through a Biblical worldview.

The three different parts that make up the set ($39.95 all download – $89.95 all print) are the reader, student workbook and teacher’s resources.  The lessons, eight pre-Socratic philosophers, along with writing checklists are presented in the reader.  Full color maps and images as well color-coding make for visually appealing pages.  The color-coding to each part indicates which area that part of the lesson falls under – Write, Think or Speak.  Following the philosopher’s story is a bit of geography.  The lesson wraps up with comparing and contrasting through a Biblical worldview.

The student workbook has the notebook pages, map work and free-writing pages grouped by lesson.  Following this is the Write Think Speak Journal.  This is where the learner completes the questions and challenges presented on those pages throughout the reader.  My daughters favorite part of this?  The type-it in possibility.  The student workbook works equally well as a traditionally printed book or completely digital.  With the various devices and apps there are many options to use this in the way that best suits your family and what you have available.

The way the curriculum is laid out makes it so easy for my daughter to work independently.  I can easily step in to help if she needs it.  She is at the young end of the age range (grades 6-12), so we are taking things slowly.  We plan about 4-6 weeks for each lesson.  So far this pace has been perfect for her.  We are using this to supplement the history we are using for our family studies.  For an older student, this could serve as an intense 8 week course or anywhere in between.  As we are beginning our journey into transcripts and credits, I fully appreciate the section where this is spelled out.  The assignment of credits will vary by your requirements, but this guide is a great place to start.

English Composition	1-4 hrs per week†	.25-.5 credit hrs.
World History / Geography	1-4 hrs per week†	.25-.5 credit hrs.
Speech / Communications	1-4 hrs per week†	.25-.5 credit hrs.
Logic / Critical Thinking	.5-2 hrs per week†	.25-.5 credit hrs.

The teacher resources are where you find quizzes, memory cards to print, answer keys to the maps and quizzes and timeline resources.  I’ve printed what my daughter will use throughout our time using this course but not the keys, etc.  As much as I like having books and paper in hand, I also like not having to print what I don’t need.  The way the whole curriculum is set up allows for maximum flexibility and ease of use.  When my next two daughters are ready to use this (four years or so from now) we may be using it completely differently.