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Electives

We're not exactly sure who determines what are electives and what are "core" subjects, or why. Okay, maybe math is more useful than tracing your family tree because you can't balance your checkbook using scions and second cousins. But what about your family history, and the history of, say, Guam or Haiti? Is there something inherently better about reading "the classics" than learning Mandarin Chinese? Why are physics part of the main coursework for high school students, while robotics is optional?

Unfortunately, we aren't qualified to answer those questions, but we can defend electives on another level. Electives are essentially those subjects best suited to a student's personal interests, talents and abilities. In that sense, they're almost more important than core subjects, though we aren't going to make an argument that you should learn French before mastering English grammar (as long as you live in an English-speaking area, that is). We are arguing for advances beyond the necessary "standards," however, and for a broad curriculum that is child-specific.

Some electives are more important than others. Learning to manage one's money, how to interpret the Bible, and (these days) how to operate and understand computers are all more important than taking an acting class (though the acting class will be very important for some on a different level altogether). Technically, none of these are required courses, though for Christians particularly the first two are essential for a proper education. There are plenty of similarly important topics as well, though each family will need to prioritize.

There seems to be a move toward less specialized education. As our society becomes increasingly homogeneous, we spend less time focusing and more time absorbing "the big picture." We ignore either one at our own risk. We must have a larger framework in which to fit the smaller pieces, but take away the framework and you're left with relativity and chaos; the smaller pieces, and you have only an impersonal and meaningless ideology. Electives are a way to assert the need for both, and to have fun doing it.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur.Read more of his reviews here.
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20 Exciting Plays for Medieval History Classes
by Dean Bowman
from Walch Publishing
for 7th-9th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$25.00
20 Plays for U. S. History Classes
by Dean R. Bowman
Revised from Walch Publishing
for 7th-9th grade
in Theater, Drama & Film (Location: ELE-THEAT)
24 Exciting Plays for Ancient History Classes
by Dean R. Bowman
from Walch Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in Ancient History (Location: HISW-ANC)
All New Square Foot Gardening
by Mel Bartholomew
3rd edition from Cool Springs Press
for Adult
in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
$24.99
Art of Interpretation
by Nicholas R. Elledge
from Institute for Cultural Communicators
for 9th-12th grade
in Speech & Debate (Location: SPEECH)
Backyard Homestead
by Carleen Madigan
from Storey Publishing
for Adult
in Self-Sufficiency (Location: SS-Self)
$18.95
Best of Sewing Machine Fun for Kids
by Nancy Smith & Lynda Milligan
1st edition from Possibilities
for 4th-8th grade
in Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting (Location: SS-SEW)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Bible Type
by Jackie Newbrough
from Centruth
for 7th-12th grade
in Typing Curriculum (Location: HAN TYP)
Botanical Gardens - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Dot Barlowe
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Dover Coloring Books (Location: COL-DOV)
$4.99 $3.00 (1 in stock)
Child Star
by Lydia Weaver
from Viking Press
for 4th-7th grade
in Great Depression (1929-1939) (Location: HISA-20GD)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Children's Kitchen Garden
by Georgeanne and Ethel Brennan; illustrated by Ann Arnold
from Ten Speed Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Gardening for Kids (Location: SS-GAR)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Coding in Scratch: Games Workbook
by Jon Woodcock & Steve Setford
First American Edition from DK Children
for 1st-4th grade
in Computer Literacy (Location: ELE-COMP)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Coding Projects in Scratch 3.0
by Jon Woodcock
from DK Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Computer Literacy (Location: ELE-COMP)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Common Weeds - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Stefen Bernath
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Dover Coloring Books (Location: COL-DOV)
$4.99
Computer Coding
by Jon Woodcock
First American Edition from DK Children
for 1st-4th grade
in Computer Literacy (Location: ELE-COMP)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Design Animate and Create
by Max Wainewright
from QEB Publishing
for 2nd-7th grade
in Computer Literacy (Location: ELE-COMP)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Film
DK Eyewitness Series
by Richard Platt
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Theater, Drama & Film (Location: ELE-THEAT)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Don't Make Me Think
by Steve Krug
2nd edition from New Riders
for 9th-Adult
in Career Planning (Location: HSR-CAR)
$27.00
Down & Dirty
by Ellen Zachos
1st edition from Storey Publishing
for 7th-Adult
in Gardening for Kids (Location: SS-GAR)
$19.95
Failure to Connect
by Jane M. Healy
1st edition from Simon and Schuster
for Adult
in Brain Development & Learning Styles (Location: HSR-BRAIN)
$17.00 $12.00 (1 in stock)
Family/Consumer Sciences
1st edition from A Beka Books
for 11th-12th grade
in Home Economics Curriculum (Location: SS-HOMEC)
$20.00 (5 in stock)
Family/Consumer Sciences - Lab Manual with Recipes
from A Beka Books
for 11th-12th grade
in Home Economics Curriculum (Location: SS-HOMEC)
$10.00 (4 in stock)
Family/Consumer Sciences - Quiz/Test Key
from A Beka Books
for 11th-12th
in Home Economics Curriculum (Location: SS-HOMEC)
$4.00 (3 in stock)
Family/Consumer Sciences - Quizzes/Tests
from A Beka Books
for 11th-12th grade
in Home Economics Curriculum (Location: SS-HOMEC)
$4.50 (6 in stock)
Favorite Roses - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Ilil Arbel
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Dover Coloring Books (Location: COL-DOV)
$4.99
Favorite Wildflowers - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Ilil Arbel
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Dover Coloring Books (Location: COL-DOV)
$4.99
Five in a Row Cookbook
by Becky Jane Lambert
from Five in a Row
for 2nd-6th grade
in Five in a Row (Location: LITCUR-FIAR)
Floral Bouquets - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Charlene Tarbox
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Dover Coloring Books (Location: COL-DOV)
$3.99
Flower Garden - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Ruth Soffer
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Dover Coloring Books (Location: COL-DOV)
$3.99
Front Porch History
by Tammy Cardwell
from Greenleaf Press
for 9th-Adult
in Clearance: General Interest (Location: ZCLE-GEN)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Garden Flowers - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Stefen Bernath
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Dover Coloring Books (Location: COL-DOV)
$4.99
Garden in the City
by Gerda Muller
from Dutton Children's Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Gardener
by Sarah Stewart & David Small
from Sunburst Book
Realistic fiction for Kindergarten-4th grade
1998 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Gardener, The
by Sarah Stewart
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Gardening With Children
from Brooklyn Botanic Garden
for 3rd-8th grade
in Gardening for Kids (Location: SS-GAR)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
God of the Garden
by Andrew Peterson
from B&H Books
for 10th-Adult
in Creating Culture (Location: XCU-CRE)
$17.99
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!
by Laura Amy Schlitz
from Candlewick Press
for 5th-9th grade
2008 Newbery Medal Winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.99 $7.00 (1 in stock)
Great Ancestor Hunt
by Lila Perl
from Clarion Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Genealogy (Location: XFA-GEN)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Great Ancestor Hunt
by Lila Perl Yerkow
from Sandpiper Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Green Thumbs
by Laurie Carlson
from Chicago Review Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Gardening for Kids (Location: SS-GAR)
$14.95 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Hamilton: The Revolution
by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter
from Grand Central Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Theater, Drama & Film (Location: ELE-THEAT)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Home Economics 1 - LightUnit 101-105 Answer Key
Sunrise Edition from Christian Light Education
for 9th-12th grade
in Home Economics Curriculum (Location: SS-HOMEC)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Home Economics 1 - LightUnit 103
from Christian Light Education
for 9th-12th grade
in Home Economics Curriculum (Location: SS-HOMEC)
Home Economics 1 - LightUnit 104
Sunrise Edition from Christian Light Education
for 9th-12th grade
in Home Economics Curriculum (Location: SS-HOMEC)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Home Economics 1 - LightUnit 105
from Christian Light Education
for 9th-12th grade
in Home Economics Curriculum (Location: SS-HOMEC)
Home Economics 1 - LightUnit 106
from Christian Light Education
for 9th-12th grade
in Home Economics Curriculum (Location: SS-HOMEC)
Home Economics 1 - LightUnit 106-110 Answer Key
from Christian Light Education
for 9th-12th grade
in Home Economics Curriculum (Location: SS-HOMEC)
Home Economics 1 - LightUnit 107
from Christian Light Education
for 9th-12th grade
in Home Economics Curriculum (Location: SS-HOMEC)
Home Economics 1 - LightUnit 108
from Christian Light Education
for 9th-12th grade
in Home Economics Curriculum (Location: SS-HOMEC)
Home Economics 1 - LightUnit 109
from Christian Light Education
for 9th-12th grade
in Home Economics Curriculum (Location: SS-HOMEC)
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