This summer, I’ve been privileged to read and write a review for one of the first “When I Grow Up, I Want to Be...” e-books that “The Old Schoolhouse” began to offer in June 2009. When I Grow Up, I Want to Be a Chef was an excellent study of many aspects of being a chef. I was surprised at all of the work that went into making this e-book a full unit study for families.
A husband and wife who met in medical school, married, and started their families before becoming physicians take the time to introduce us to a little about their lives and how they became doctors. They candidly discuss the joys and strains of being physicians; Dr. Celina Atwi describes how much she loved being a doctor and treating her patients until God showed her how much her own children needed her at home. She eventually put her medical career on hold and began homeschooling her children as well as some relatives’ children. Mr. Jibran Atwi describes many of his tasks during a typical day at his extremely busy practice, including overseeing eight other physicians who work for him.
Suggestions and tips for homeschooled students who are wanting to gain entry to medical school are discussed. How wonderful to see information like this written specifically to homeschooled graduates! It is rare to see that focus these days in career studies materials.
This e-book includes numerous pages and activities that are well-designed for a unit study in the home. Reading comprehension, graphing and following charts, creative writing and storytelling, and science activities and experiments that focus on the biology of the human eye enhance this unit. Math word problems revolving around the theme of doctors and eyesight are included, as well as vocabulary activities, puzzles, and numerous copywork pages in both print and cursive handwriting.
Two coloring pages are added to this unit, although I found the style of art to be more appropriate for the younger aged children. My 9- and 11-year old children prefer fine line drawings to color, similar to the Dover coloring books, instead of thick black line simple drawings.
A book and video list is included to extend your family’s studies of the human eye and eyesight.
ASL sign language is included for a few medical-themed words. Bible memory verses, and pages of activities and projects to have fun as a family are helpful. A “Teacher’s Guide” of answers are added in the back of the study to help parents as needed.
Finally, a list of resources and websites, as well as links to related occupations, concludes this fun unit study!
I appreciate the heart of this study as I read through it. Dr. Celina Atwi clearly states that while she knew she was led to becoming a physician as a woman, she also knows that for Christian women who want to go into medicine as a career, it is far better suited to those women who are called to singleness or are married and are unable to have children.
While many women will cry “foul” at this statement, it is practical and based on the considerations of attempting to raise a family while being on-call 24 hours a day. Raising children with a godly, biblical plan and passing our faith on to our children is a 24-hour-per-day ministry in itself, one that would be extremely difficult to accomplish through the Holy Spirit if we are working outside of the home many hours each week, away from our precious gifts.
