staceyobu Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 I will have a 3rd, 5th, 7th grader next year. We used Long Story Short over the last two years, and I am considering moving on to the New Testament book by the same author. I wanted to reevaluate my options before starting something new, though. Ideally, I'd like to do Bible together, but i may need to break off the 7th grader. I'm trying to avoid everyone having to do a lot of writing because I don't really want to turn Bible into drudgery. Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nixpix5 Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 (edited) God's Great Covenant would technically span those grades but the NT 1 and 2 are slightly more challenging than OT 1 and 2 so if you planned to start at NT then your 3rd grader my be challenged. Easy to adapt. I like the curriculum alot and there is a Homeschooler who did a youtube review on it that I found helpful. Who is God? (What We Believe Series) would absolutely span those grades. You can also get the notebooks which my kids find fun. The curriculum has a Reformed/Calvinist leaning. It isn't super obvious in the first book but I just wanted to mention that. Not a problem for us and we love this curriculum. It has lead to some really thought provoking conversations in our family. For both we use the curriculum as we see fit. We don't do all of the writing activities. We love the reading and discussion. I tend to like the "What We Believe" series ever so slightly more as it is easy to do read alouds. Edited August 9, 2017 by nixpix5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mschickie Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 We used God's Great Covenant through 4th -7th. A 3rd grader should be able to handle OT1. I loved the program and so did dd. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 So far we have done GGC OT1, OT2, and next week we start NT1. My kids just started 5th and 6th so we started when they were 3rd and 4th. We have not had problems using it for those ages you mentioned. Some weeks I slowed down because there was lengthy reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 I wouldn't use Apologia on the grounds that they believe Mormons aren't Christian by using a lot of false sources to come to that conclusion, therefore I wouldn't trust them to interpret the bible well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAtoVA Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 I started using GGC OT 2 toward the end of last year with my then 3rd grader DD and I plan to finish it this year with her in 4th. I broke up lessons over several days and usually read the actual scripture rather than relying on just the summary in the book (so that could take longer as well). She typically enjoyed doing the puzzles and filling in the blanks type of questions. Sometimes the questions could be somewhat difficult for her because some pertained to specific people and the names were often confusing and, let's face it, "weird" to our American ears/eyes in the 21st century. This is to be expected, though, when doing anything with OT scripture (sometimes even with NT scripture!) Overall, I have really liked the quality and thoroughness of the GGC OT 2 curriculum. I can't comment on the Apologia program because I haven't used it, but it is definitely on my radar for 5th or 6th grade for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 My opinion ; GGC would not Apologia Who is God would, if you really took the time to have the discussions as deep as the 7th grader wanted to :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCal_Bear Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 I have the Apologia books on hand and while it can be used with younger kids, it is more suitable with the 5th and 7th because of the type of discussions I would want to have. I'm planning to start GGC series once we finish the self-paced VP Bible course this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventuresinHomeschooling Posted August 12, 2017 Share Posted August 12, 2017 I think both would span those grades, but the NT one is a bit more advanced as previously mentioned. The Who is God series even has a junior notebook to go with younger grades and a coloring book. My kindergartener will listen along this year and color. There is an 8th grade Bible curriculum by Summit Ministries (who is the author of the Who is God series co-published by Apologia) that your oldest son could branch off into in a year or two. They also have a high school program for 12th grade called Understanding the Times. I have used the first two books of Who is God? and would not say they have a Reformed/Calvinist leaning. I have not seen a Reformed perspective there. However the CAP series is written from a Reformed/Calvinist perspective. However, I have spoked with the author directly (who is Reformed/Calvinist), and the emphasis is very light. It is mostly in the terminology of God being sovereign and covenants of the Bible, but it doesn't go into predestination. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staceyobu Posted August 12, 2017 Author Share Posted August 12, 2017 I think both would span those grades, but the NT one is a bit more advanced as previously mentioned. The Who is God series even has a junior notebook to go with younger grades and a coloring book. My kindergartener will listen along this year and color. There is an 8th grade Bible curriculum by Summit Ministries (who is the author of the Who is God series co-published by Apologia) that your oldest son could branch off into in a year or two. They also have a high school program for 12th grade called Understanding the Times. I have used the first two books of Who is God? and would not say they have a Reformed/Calvinist leaning. I have not seen a Reformed perspective there. However the CAP series is written from a Reformed/Calvinist perspective. However, I have spoked with the author directly (who is Reformed/Calvinist), and the emphasis is very light. It is mostly in the terminology of God being sovereign and covenants of the Bible, but it doesn't go into predestination. We are reformed, so I am okay with reformed curriculum. I was surprised others mentioned apologia having a reformed slant. I never thought they were reformed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nixpix5 Posted August 12, 2017 Share Posted August 12, 2017 (edited) We are reformed, so I am okay with reformed curriculum. I was surprised others mentioned apologia having a reformed slant. I never thought they were reformed.Like I said, we only have used "Who is God" and it wasn't emphasized there. I haven't used the others yet but my understanding (and I could be wrong) but this is one of the reasons Dr. Wile split from Apologia because he felt they should not take a stance but maintain a bit more neutral as a Christian. I remember reading a bunch about this. I will see if I can find the original article. Although it sounds like the later books don't take a Calvinist slant so maybe it doesn't matter. ETA: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/204721-dr-jay-wile-left-apologia/ Some discussion about it here... Edited August 12, 2017 by nixpix5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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