Is there a complete Bible curriculum out there?

[CookieMonster]

We have complete K-12 math programs and grammar programs, but what about Bible? I've looked and not found, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything.

 

I want something that teaches the Bible - as inside and out as possible. But I also want something that teaches more than that - about the Christian faith, the history of the church, different denominations.

 

Has anyone found anything?

[deeinfl]

This sounds a lot like Rod and Staff bible. You can check it out at rodandstaffbooks.com

 

HTH,

 

Dee in Sunny FL!:001_smile:

[MichelleWI]

We have read excellent reviews for Balancing the Sword and have just ordered it from Rainbow Resource.

[emelsha]

I would definitely check out the curriculum from Summit Ministries. They are elementary through high school. It is a complete curriculum that has a wonderful way of teaching.

 

Elementary:

Building on the Rock is the first fully integrated worldview and Bible survey course for elementary school students. This unique curriculum is designed to help younger students begin to formulate and relate learned Bible facts with a genuine Christian worldview, while laying the groundwork for later comparative worldview studies.

 

Middle SchoolLightbearers is a one or two semester video-based curriculum for 8th grade designed to help students clearly understand the tenets of the Christian worldview, and how they compare to the tenets of the leading humanistic worldviews of our day. Students will learn how to apply their Christian faith to every area of life: theology, philosophy, ethics, biology, sociology, psychology, law, politics, economics, and history.

 

 

High School

Understanding the Times is a one or two semester video-based curriculum for 12th grade that brings a host of Christian worldview and apologetic experts into your classroom. This class will help students clearly understand the tenets of the Christian worldview and how it compares with the tenets of other leading worldviews of our day: Islam, Secular Humanism, Marxism, New Age, and Postmodernism.

 

 

http://www.summit.org/curriculum/

[Carol in Cal.]

It has everything--Bible study, invitations to prayer, memorization, applications. It does church history in depth in 7th grade. It is written for Lutheran schools, and it is quite conservative and scholarly.

[LadyAberlin]

Bob Jones has a bible curriculum from K-12.

[TracyR]

Christian Light and Christian Liberty have bible curriculum that is well put together too .

[Harriet Vane]

There are programs that CLAIM to offer all that, but I have found them a sad disappointment.

 

Personally, I have found it better to find books that suit my goals. If I cannot find such a resource, I write one.:D Start with a list of goals, and go from there.

[Carol in Cal.]

There are programs that CLAIM to offer all that, but I have found them a sad disappointment.

 

Personally, I have found it better to find books that suit my goals. If I cannot find such a resource, I write one.:D Start with a list of goals, and go from there.

 

Especially the 4th through 7th grade books seem really outstanding to me. The website is SO lousy, though. It really doesn't do them justice.

[siloam]

Lamp and Quill is the program I am going to move to.

 

Heather

[Pongo]

 

Herein is Love set and I am very happy with the book as well as the teachers guide and discussion questions.

[Ellie]

not different denominations, though; that's really a different subject. But both have everything else.

 

Christian Liberty Press also has Bible study/doctrine materials through high school.

[Harriet Vane]

Especially the 4th through 7th grade books seem really outstanding to me. The website is SO lousy, though. It really doesn't do them justice.

 

Link?

 

Is the company called Voyages?

[Carol in Cal.]

I don't have a link. Like I said, the website is horrible, though, so it probably won't help much. It is used a lot in the midwest, though, so I thought you might have run across it.

 

I buy the TE, the student workbook, and the memory book. The TE is sort of optional, but I like having it. The last time I checked, to get the TE you had to call their special homeschooling line. The website made you get the whole classroom kit which was quite expensive, but if you call their 800 number and talk with their homeschooling person they will sell you the TE separately from the classroom kit and give you a discount as well.

[CookieMonster]

Thank you for your suggestions.

 

I don't know why A Beka, BJU, and R&S never came to mind for Bible curriculum. *smack the forehead*

 

I will also check out all others mentioned.

 

I am very particular though. I want something that teaches a lot. I really want my children rooted and grouded in the basic truths of the Bible, the more advanced truths of the Bible, Biblical history, church history, famous Christians, and the differences between the different denominations, along with why we don't agree with them. I want my children to memorize passages of Scripture and know the people of the Bible very well. I want them to be able to dialogue and debate and hold their ground.

 

I want a lot.

 

I'm willing to augment something that is a good baseline to use. I'm also willing to totally create something from the dust of the Earth if I need to. (I don't want to, however, because I know I'm bad about follow through with this sort of thing.) Basically, what I've noticed is that there is a whole lot to choose from in the grammar years, things that are all a good idea. But, for higher than that, say logic stage, the options drop off dramatically. And what I have seen hasn't been what I want.

 

I had checked out one of the curriculums mentioned a while back, the Summit Ministries one, and it seemed pretty good, but was absolutely Catholic in it's presentation. I'm not Catholic. So, unfortunately, I can't use something that has Catholic theology threaded through all the presentations.

 

So, I'll check these things out and come back here if I need more help, information, or ideas.

[mom2abcd]

I don't have a link. Like I said, the website is horrible, though, so it probably won't help much. It is used a lot in the midwest, though, so I thought you might have run across it.

 

I buy the TE, the student workbook, and the memory book. The TE is sort of optional, but I like having it. The last time I checked, to get the TE you had to call their special homeschooling line. The website made you get the whole classroom kit which was quite expensive, but if you call their 800 number and talk with their homeschooling person they will sell you the TE separately from the classroom kit and give you a discount as well.

 

The website is http://www.cph.org. Try this:

Voyages

http://tinyurl.com/2cbakh

 

 

If you call your order in and tell them you're homeschooling, they may give you 10% off. 1-800-325-3040.

[Harriet Vane]

When I evaluate a Bible curriculum, I look for what percentage of questions require the student to answer from the Bible text itself (I shoot for 2/3--most studies unfortunately only hit 50% or less), how factual versus opinion-based any notes are and to what degree there is denominational bias.

 

I also look for how much a good inductive process is reflected in the study--there should be factual observations, an opportunity to summarize the main point of the passage in one concise statement, and finally, application to real life.

 

I also think that younger children do well with circling the right answer, puzzles, and drawing in response to the text. However, as your child reaches fourth and fifth grades, their Bible study should include more short answer and independent work. (SWB's SOTW reflects this same progression--SOTW 1 has a lot of coloring and multiple choice on tests, whereas SOTW 4 has more short answer and not so many coloring pages.)

 

I have not found one single Bible curriculum or study anywhere, ever, that asks for a one-sentence summary of the main point of the passage. I highly advocate adding this feature in to whatever Bible study you use or teach, in any setting. A good way to do this with kids is to ask a question like, "What did you learn about God in this passage?" or "What do you think is the very most important lesson in this passage?" Keep it to one short sentence--there may be many subpoints that are good to know, but it is very valuable to be able to distinguish the main, most important point.

 

My number one pick would have to be the Explorer's Bible study, which is available at http://www.explorerbiblestudy.org. Many thanks to Jessica at Trivium Academy for recommending it. I was impressed. It has a good amount of factual observation questions, is very Bible-text focused but still includes some cultural/geographical/historical notes here and there, and has a small proportion of application questions in each unit. Information is presented from an evangelical perspective but seems more factual than opinionated. For those who may be familiar with Bible Study Fellowship or Community Bible Study, this curriculum follows the same pattern. Each unit is also laid out into five days of homework--a decently challenging but not overwhelming amount. Another key feature of this curriculum is the fact that there are corresponding adult studies as well. For a logic stage student either their older elementary OR high school study would be appropriate depending upon reading fluency and maturity.

 

I also, by the way, recommend both BSF and CBS children's programs. I evaluated both. I think the CBS program has slightly more challenging homework, but also really like the way older children and teens are led to do homiletics at the BSF meetings. (Homiletics is a process of generating an outline of the passage with a final, summary statement.) I recommend either program without reservation in addition to the Explorer's curriculum.

 

I also have used and liked Kay Arthur's Bible study series for children. My own dd has used several books in this series successfully this year. However, I would steer away from *How to Study the Bible* as it is unnecessarily wordy and proved to be quite challenging for the 4th-5th grade girls I taught. The material is not hard--the presentation of it in this book was terribly convoluted, though. If you choose to do that book, take two weeks per unit and plan on really holding your child's hand through it. The other books in the series are much easier and quite doable, though--we have been satisfied with several others in the series. These books have five or seven days of homework per unit, include both factual questions and marking things directly in biblical text, and some application.

 

After that, I consider Rod and Staff to be a decent alternative. There is a solid amount of factual questions and some good information on history/geography/culture. However, there is virtually no application, and no summary statement opportunity (none of those I reviewed include this). And, even at the older grades there is virtually no short answer--format is still multiple choice and simpler responses. There is more denominational bias in the notes but can be overcome by careful Bible study. This curriculum would be acceptable even if it's not my favorite.

 

Christian Light was a lot like Rod and Staff but not quite as challenging. I also thought Christian Liberty was middle-range--not the greatest, but not terrible either.

 

I was really NOT impressed in the least with either Abeka or AlphaOmega and would not recommend those at all. They were simplistic, passive, lacked depth and do not require much from the student at any age.

 

One final thought--for high school I would gravitate towards the Explorer's adult series or towards NavPress study guides. I also think teens should be generating their own inductive notes (observation-interpretation statement--application) rather than passively responding to a Bible study guide.

 

There may well be other wonderful resources out there. This is just what I have reviewed. I'd be happy to answer any further questions.

Reply With Quote

[Sandy in Indy]

I had checked out one of the curriculums mentioned a while back, the Summit Ministries one, and it seemed pretty good, but was absolutely Catholic in it's presentation. I'm not Catholic. So, unfortunately, I can't use something that has Catholic theology threaded through all the presentations.

 

 

 

I am very surprised by this statement. Summit Ministries is associated with evangelical Christianity rather than Catholicism. My dd attended a Summit summer camp and there was NOTHING Catholic about it. She also studied the book Understanding the Times her senior year of hs, and I see no Catholic theology in it.

 

This is Summit's doctrinal statement:

Summit is an evangelical, non-denominational Christian ministry. Although Summit contains a wide variety of Christian beliefs among its staff and faculty, the ministry does not hold positions on many of the doctrinal or theological debates that take place within the church. While we do believe that these issues are significant, our primary concerns are with the effects that false ideologies are having on the world and the body of believers.

 

I am not knocking Catholicism...I'm just saying that I don't think this material is Catholic in nature.

 

For what it's worth, dd says that Summit's materials taught the things she needed to hold onto her faith when she entered university. She was immediately assaulted with all kinds of humanistic materials and thoughts and was able to defend her faith intelligently when challenged.

[buddhabelly]

I have looked at a lot of programs, and Bible for Children is wonderful. But it sounds like you are looking for a program that follows the child through the grade levels. This is just one book (more are coming -- this is only Genesis through Ruth) perfect for approximately second grade to fourth grade. Better for 3/4 than 2nd, unless you've got a language arts wiz on your hands.

 

Treading delicately here: when you say you want a program that teaches "truths" and even "advanced truths," doesn't that mean that you want a program that agrees with YOUR interpretation of the Bible? That would require a careful examination of each program. "Balancing the Sword" avoid the whole interpretation issue by just sticking to the facts. We have both volumes, and my son likes it.

 

As for Bible for Children, we did not purchase the teacher book. The student book stands on its own nicely.

 

Good luck in your search.

[partyof5]

After researching SO many options, I was coming to the conclusion that Explorers might be it for us. I also read a lot of the discussions here by Jessica at Trivium Academy and this very post by strider as well. I am grateful for their input.

 

Now that we are using Explorers this year, I have to say we love it. My 9yo dd enjoys it and asks great questions as we go along. She can do it all by herself but we do touch base on it to talk about it and I HIGHLY recommend what strider suggests no matter what curriculum you choose: have your chld create a summary statement of the passage of study for that day. This is a critical part of breaking down the learning into more memorable bits of information, and it requires more advanced thinking about the text, rather than just factual answers without analysis.

 

I didn't buy my books directly from the Explorers site, but rather through christianbook.com for a little less $.

 

Blessings to you on your search for the right curriculum,

[LadyAberlin]

Summit is not Catholic. I spent 2 weeks there when I was 18 for their summer camp and my friend went there every summer in Highschool because her grandparents worked there. They are all protestant.

[siloam]

I am very particular though. I want something that teaches a lot. I really want my children rooted and grouded in the basic truths of the Bible, the more advanced truths of the Bible, Biblical history, church history, famous Christians, and the differences between the different denominations, along with why we don't agree with them. I want my children to memorize passages of Scripture and know the people of the Bible very well. I want them to be able to dialogue and debate and hold their ground.

 

I want a lot.

 

Me too!

 

In my mind you want two things. A Bible program and a Christian/Bible History program...or at lest that is how I approached it. I am using TOG because it has the second piece well covered for me (one part checked off).

 

The strength of a inductive Bible approach is that they try to remain doctrinally neutral. The actually approach is neutral, how it is interpreted is another thing. ;) Given the producers of curriculum provide a "right" answer to their questions they don't always succeed, but a teacher can ignore their "right" answers and the child will never know the difference. :D

 

From what I have seen there are three inductive programs that have the teacher read from a real Bible, have discussion questions in the teacher text, and then have workbooks and various levels. Those would be The Explorer Bible Study, Bible Study for All Ages and Lamp and Quill.

 

Though I admit I haven't even looked at any program that wasn't inductive in nature.

 

Heather

 

[CookieMonster]

I am very surprised by this statement. Summit Ministries is associated with evangelical Christianity rather than Catholicism. My dd attended a Summit summer camp and there was NOTHING Catholic about it. She also studied the book Understanding the Times her senior year of hs, and I see no Catholic theology in it.

 

 

 

I must be very confused. Thank you for setting me straight. I certainly don't want to put out misleading information to others.

[CookieMonster]

You have given lots to look at and hope that I can find what I'm looking for.

 

Strider, your advice was particularly helpful. Thank you.

[CookieMonster]

I double checked the site. And sure enough it is the curriculum I had checked out before. A wonderful curriculum, but definitely slanted Catholic.

 

I checked out their statement of belief and it says the following (emphasis mine):

 

[We] believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic [universal] church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. AMEN.

 

Pretty clear to me. Perhaps many of their offerings are not of a Catholic bent, but even in their product pitch video of the curriculum they mention that they teach about their belief of the church.

[TN Mama]

I double checked the site. And sure enough it is the curriculum I had checked out before. A wonderful curriculum, but definitely slanted Catholic.

 

I checked out their statement of belief and it says the following (emphasis mine):

 

[We] believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic [universal] church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. AMEN.

 

Pretty clear to me. Perhaps many of their offerings are not of a Catholic bent, but even in their product pitch video of the curriculum they mention that they teach about their belief of the church.

 

That is part of the Nicene Creed, which many Protestant denomonations profess, including but not limited to Methodists, Lutherans, & Anglicans. This does not mean they are Catholic or teach Catholic doctrines. HTH

 

ETA: Hopefully there is someone out there who can explain this better. IIRC "catholic church" in this statement refers to the church historically and not the Catholic faith.

[Sandy in Indy]

I double checked the site. And sure enough it is the curriculum I had checked out before. A wonderful curriculum, but definitely slanted Catholic.

 

I checked out their statement of belief and it says the following (emphasis mine):

 

[We] believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic [universal] church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. AMEN.

 

Pretty clear to me. Perhaps many of their offerings are not of a Catholic bent, but even in their product pitch video of the curriculum they mention that they teach about their belief of the church.

 

In that context, catholic (small "c") means universal, as noted in their statement. Catholic (capital) refers to the church. I grew up in the United Methodist Church; we often recited the Nicene creed.

 

Summit has made an effort not to be an particular denomination, but to be Biblical. I think they do that very well. I just don't want folks who are looking for material that is or is not Catholic to be misled...this really is not a Catholic curriculum.

[CookieMonster]

I had absolutely no idea - none - about that whole universal church thing. No clue.

 

I read catholic and thought Catholic. Given that I didn't know any different, it makes sense.

 

It's amazing what you can learn in one day.

 

Thank you ladies for being so gentle in addressing my ignorance. I appreciate the explanations.

 

I agree that it certainly seemed to me that Summit Ministries tries very hard to be non-denominatinal. But, I obviously was thrown off by the above statement. It appears they are very non-denominational then.

[mamato3 all-boy boys]

When I evaluate a Bible curriculum, I look for what percentage of questions require the student to answer from the Bible text itself .....

 

There may well be other wonderful resources out there. This is just what I have reviewed. I'd be happy to answer any further questions.

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Wow, Strider, thank you for that thoughtful review. We're currently going through CBS , and while I love it, I'm not sure we'll go back next year -- it is a bit of a drive and I'm not sure how we'll do with our gas budget next year.

 

Thank you for taking the time to repost this.

[TN Mama]

I remember being young and reciting the Nicene Creed and thinking, "WHY are we talking about the Catholic Church when we are clearly Methodist?" I had to ask about that one. :)

 

And really, if we all knew everything, it would be awfully hard to learn from each other. I come here daily and learn something new every time it seems.

 

Good luck on your search for Bible Curriculum!

 

I had absolutely no idea - none - about that whole universal church thing. No clue.

 

I read catholic and thought Catholic. Given that I didn't know any different, it makes sense.

 

It's amazing what you can learn in one day.

 

Thank you ladies for being so gentle in addressing my ignorance. I appreciate the explanations.

 

I agree that it certainly seemed to me that Summit Ministries tries very hard to be non-denominatinal. But, I obviously was thrown off by the above statement. It appears they are very non-denominational then.

[Twinmom]

Have you looked at the Christian Studies program by Memoria Press? We're thinking about using this in the future...we're working through a personal program of DH's right now.

 

http://www.memoriapress.com/descriptions/ChristianStudies.html

 

Good luck!

[scrappyhappymama]

This may not be what the OP is looking for, since it sounds like she is looking for something for older kids, but we use the Our Spiritual Heritage bible curriculum for our grammar age kids and really enjoy its approach to biblical study. Each unit is taught topically, helping kids to see the "point" of the stories and not just learning the stories without much context (like I did in Sunday school growing up, lol). The first unit is God is Wise: He Makes Great Plans and each lesson is a bible story that reinforces this idea.

 

Here's a link: http://www.ourspiritualheritage.com/BibleStudy.htm

 

Aimee

[MommyInTraining]

I have wanted to look at this closer:

 

http://www.judahbible.com/jbc/whatisit.htm