Let's learn a bit more about this series, State History from a Christian Perspective.
 
TOS: Where did you get the idea for your product?
 
State History: We homeschooled our five children. As part of our A Beka curriculum, we received a pre-formatted scrapbook called My State Notebook into which my daughter was to insert pictures and information about Texas, which is where we lived at the time. This unit requires the student and teacher to do all the research and test/quiz preparation. I found it to be quite challenging to accomplish this in the midst of all the other responsibilities of homeschooling five children. 

Of course, after I prepared this course for one child, I saved the notes and information for use with my other children. My husband, who was an A Beka homeschool representative at the time, soon realized that many of his customers needed help with this unit, so I organized my Texas notes into a packet that could be shared with other homeschool families through homeschool support group newsletters.

By the Providence of God, we moved to Indiana several years later. Of course, that meant I had to prepare a new course on Indiana for my own children. Since my husband's new territory with A Beka included parts of seven other states, I gradually added courses on these seven states as well and began exhibiting at homeschool conventions in these states. It was at that point that we were impressed with the need for materials in all 50 states for teaching state history from a Christian perspective. However, it wasn't until our children all graduated-about 13 years after writing my first state history course-that I was able to finish all 50 states. 
 
My husband and I like to reflect on this as an example of how God's will for our lives is made known to us.  As Christians, we often expect God to show us a goal toward which we must strive. However, my husband and I had no idea that a state history family business was God's "goal" for us. All we knew was that there were daily tasks in front of us, small steps of obedience and service to Him as we cared for and provided for our own family needs, that were clearly God's will for each day. Looking back, we can see that each of these daily steps was leading us down the pathway toward God's intended goal, even though that goal was unknown to us.
 
TOS: Describe State History from a Christian Perspective for our readers. What does the study cover?
 
State History: State History from a Christian Perspective is a complete course for grades 3 through 12 and is available for every state. We offer a separate textbook for each state, called the Student Booklet, that provides state-specific information about history, geography, state symbols, cities, economy, government, and other topics. Included in the textbook are six quizzes, two tests, an answer key, color state symbol pictures, a study guide for the state constitution, and a ten-page appendix of information about all fifty states.

Our Master Lesson Plan Book gives simple instructions and several different options for transferring the information from the Student Booklet into a project notebook the student will make about his own state. The Master Lesson Plan Book is generic, so it can be used for any state or even for teaching more than one state simultaneously.  The Master Lesson Plan Book also correlates this course with our lower grade level course, My State History Funbook.
 
TOS: You have two products for two age ranges - Age 3 to 3rd grade and Grades 3-12 - what are the differences in them?
 
State History: The upper level course is a complete state history course that provides a chronological study of history. It includes quizzes, tests, and optional projects to develop research and composition skills. The lower level course, called My State History Funbook, provides an introduction to the student's state through color-cut-and-paste activities. The lower level course does not require reading or writing skills or time-concept comprehension and does not include tests, quizzes, or a chronological study of history.
 
TOS: Are these studies geared to last an entire school year?
 
State History: Both levels of our basic state history course include thirty lessons. Our Master Lesson Plan Book gives a variety of plans and suggestions that allow the parent to easily adjust the length and scope of the upper level course. If the thirty lessons are done on thirty consecutive class days, the course can be completed in six weeks. This makes our course perfect for a state history unit study that can be added to any school year or even accomplished as a light, fun summer project!

However, each of the thirty lessons includes a list of expansion suggestions which can be used by the parent to easily adjust the course length and/or difficulty level to fit individual preferences. For example, if a parent wants a one-year state history course, the student could do one lesson per week and the parent could assign projects and activities from the expansion suggestions for up to four additional class days each week.

We include a ninety-lesson "One Semester Independent Study Guide" for the benefit of secondary students needing a semester of credit as well as an "express" ten-lesson plan, especially for the benefit of support groups.

For those who want to cover both state history and American history in one year, we suggest that our state history course be combined with our course on all fifty states. My personal preference would be to begin the year with Fifty States Under God, studying the states in chronological order up to the student's own state, stop at that point and do the 30-lesson state history course, then go back and finish the remainder of the fifty states in order.
 
TOS: Explain more about the personalized state notebook that you recommend the student create as he goes through his studies.
 
State History: For both the upper and lower level courses, the personalized project notebook provides an enjoyable, hands-on learning tool. The student covers basic information by means of the pictures and text that we provide. The student inserts this material into his notebook and then adds other pictures and information that is of personal interest to him.

One source of pictures and information is free tourist literature obtained from the state tourist agency using a toll-free phone number provided in our Student Booklet. Of course, family travel is always an option that can transform the notebook into a personal memory book as well as a personalized textbook.
 
Our lower level course, My State History Funbook, includes both the spiral-bound, pre-formatted scrapbook and a state-specific packet of cutouts, called "Activity Pages," that the student will paste into the scrapbook. 
 
Our State History from a Christian Perspective course for grades 3-12 consists of the Master Lesson Plan Book and the Student Booklet on the chosen state. For the third component, the project notebook, students can either use My State Notebook (a pre-formatted scrapbook published by A Beka Book), or they can construct their own notebook in a three-ring binder.

The Master Lesson Plan Book gives side-by-side instructions for both project notebook options so a parent can choose either or teach both simultaneously. The project notebook provides a very simple means of adjusting the grade level, difficulty level, and depth of the course. 

For grades 3 - 8 we recommend the use of My State Notebook (by A Beka Book) as the project notebook, which we mentioned earlier.

The three-ring-binder notebook option is recommended for grades 9 - 12, but can be used for grades 3 - 8 if desired. This option teaches organizational skills and provides unlimited potential for adjusting the difficulty level, length, and depth of the course using the expansion suggestion provided in our Master Lesson Plan Book.
 
TOS: You also sell a study that covers all 50 states in one unit, Fifty States Under God. How does this product differ from the individual state studies?
 
State History: Fifty States Under God is a workbook study of all fifty states in the order of statehood. It gives an overview of each state without going into the detail that is covered in the individual state studies. It also includes highlights from each of the individual state books.

In the process of writing the 50 individual state books, I came across so much interesting information that most people would never be exposed to because they would not have the opportunity to study all 50 states in depth as I had done. Fifty States Under God is my way of making this interesting information available to everyone! I literally went through all 50 individual textbooks and pulled out all the information that was historically interesting and spiritually inspiring to me. 

For this reason, I like to call Fifty States Under God my "I-love-history" book! Our hope is that through the stories and information in this book, students will see how God Providentially intervened in our history and how often Godly men and women were instrumental in the growth of our country.

However, Fifty States Under God is more than a book of information about individual states. Because the states are presented in the order of statehood, with a time-line and a progressive map study built into the lesson schedule at the front of the book, Fifty States Under God is actually a chronological study of American history that focuses on events related to the addition of states and territories. Therefore, it provides a unique perspective on US history and geography that can be used by itself or in combination with any US History course. It is also a great resource for families traveling across the United States. It is completely self-contained (everything needed to do this course is provided within this one book, including all information and state symbol pictures needed by the student to fill in the work pages on each state).

We also offer a color-cut-and-paste version of this book, called Fifty States Under God for Young Learners (age 3 - grade 3). The Young Learners version includes basic state information as well as information about people associated with each state. Our goal is to put "good heroes" in front of young students so they will learn character, patriotism, and Godly values. The Young Learners version also includes all pictures and cutouts needed to fill out the book.
 
TOS: What other products do you sell?  Please tell us more about them.
 
State History: We have added a 2-piece church history course to our line of products, Sketches from Church History and Sketches from Church History Student Workbook. Although we did not write this course, we chose it because we found it to be an inspiring and thorough study of the development of Protestant Christianity from the early church through the end of the 19th century. We recommend this one-semester course for secondary level students.
 
We also publish a line of Scripture greeting cards called "The Word In Season Cards." Our goal in offering these cards is to help people meet the occasions of life with the Word of God. Each card contains a thought-provoking poem and related Scripture verses. The cards can be purchased at www.statehistory.net or at www.TheWordInSeason.net. Through our cards, we offer a very simple fundraiser for homeschool support groups, Christian schools, and church groups. 
 
TOS: Finally, we would like to invite you to share anything else that you'd like our readers to know about State History from a Christian Perspective or any of your other products.
 
State History: One other resource we include on our website free of charge and for the benefit of homeschoolers is our "Tips for Teaching Your Struggling Student." This document gives simple, practical suggestions for adjusting the way information is presented to students who are not grasping material or completing assignments. It reflects my own struggles as a homeschool mom and shares methods that worked in our family, methods that the Lord impressed on me after many days and weeks of prayers and tears. The link for this document can be found at the top of our state history website, www.statehistory.net.
 
TOS: Now, doesn't that sound simple, educational AND fun! Your child will have a beautiful keepsake book after he is finished with this study. Each state study costs only $25 for a two-book set - the state history Student Booklet and the Master Lesson Plan Book. What a true bargain for a product that will allow you to keep Christ in your homeschool!

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