Teaching the Bible

[ReidFamily]

I would love to hear any thoughts or ideas in teaching the Bible to a first grader? I did not grow up with a good scriptural foundation and so I don't have a lot of experience in teaching the scriptures. There are many times when I read it myself and am amazed at what I learn the scriptures actually mean when talking to others rather than what I am able to take away just from my own reading.

 

We have a few children's bible's around the house. Right now my daughter loves watching the Animated Stories from the Bible series. We watch those and then read the corresponding stories in our Children's Bibles and then move on to the actual scripture. We do some scripture memorization.

 

Are there any curriculum's, programs, websites or resources that you have found invaluable in creating a love and understanding for the scriptures? Free or cheap is preferred but I'd love to hear about any resources that you just can't do without. :)

 

Thanks so much for your tips.

 

Jessica

[HappyGrace]

Hi Jessica-at that age we did children's Bibles. The BEST one, and you will even learn from it, is the one by Catherine Vos. It is an older book, been around for years, you should be able to find it very inexpensively used. It is wonderful because she adds in some helpful commentary, etc. This was the best thing I could have done with my children at that age and they both have fond memories of it! Really fosters a love of Scripture.

 

I researched and didn't like any of the curricula out there for first graders-usually too workbook-y and I didn't want to kill their thirst for the Word with that. The only Bible curricula that I can HIGHLY recommend-and we started it in second grade and they enjoyed it-is Bible Study Guide for All Ages. You can read about it on their website. We used the worksheets but the OLD worksheets (the new ones are too cartoon-ish for me). They are not workbook type things though-the kids BEGGED to do this every day! They offer timelines and maps, etc., but you don't need those to do the program. If you want to save some money you don't need the worksheets but they really do love them. I read a lot about it beforehand and people said their kids knew so much of the Bible after this program. It is pretty reasonable AND you can use it over and over and over (there are four years of it-easy to just start over at the beginning after the first four years-there is so much meat in this program and it is based strictly on the Bible-no "what do you think about this" questions, etc.)

 

Scripture memorization is fundamental too-keep up the good work on that!

 

I pray the Lord will bless your efforts to raise your children up in the Word!

[ReidFamily]

Oh thank you so much for you suggestions! I will look into them right away. My daughter begs for the movies I mentioned that we've been borrowing from the library and I just want to expound upon that. :)

[StephanieZ]

http://www.amazon.com/Leading-Little-Ones-God-Teachings/dp/0802851207

 

SL 1 uses the above in the Bible curriculum. It is nice.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Early-Readers-Bible-Gilbert-Beers/dp/0310701392 This is by far my favorite bible for that age for a beginning reader. All my kids loved reading it. It has nice discussion questions. My kids would 'play church' reading aloud as a sermon to each other and then discussing the questions! Very, very cute.

 

The Vos bible is great for read aloud!!

Edited October 16, 2010 by StephanieZ

[ELaurie]

Hi Jessica-at that age we did children's Bibles. The BEST one, and you will even learn from it, is the one by Catherine Vos. It is an older book, been around for years, you should be able to find it very inexpensively used. It is wonderful because she adds in some helpful commentary, etc. This was the best thing I could have done with my children at that age and they both have fond memories of it! Really fosters a love of Scripture.

 

I pray the Lord will bless your efforts to raise your children up in the Word!

 

:iagree: completely with this. I read the Vos Story Bible to my dc twice, and we loved every minute of it. And they learned a lot too :001_smile:

 

ETA: I read LLtG with them too, and we liked that as well.

[abbeyej]

If I had a current first grader or below, I'd be planning to use this series:

 

http://olivebranchbooks.net/curriculum.html

 

Unfortunately, the first grade materials won't be out 'til the winter, and I have no one even close to that age group. I'll still buy the overview k-12 book for myself though.

 

Until then, I think what you're doing now (Bible story books, videos) is lovely. Perhaps add in some memory work as well?

[myfatherslily]

Hi Jessica-at that age we did children's Bibles. The BEST one, and you will even learn from it, is the one by Catherine Vos. It is an older book, been around for years, you should be able to find it very inexpensively used. It is wonderful because she adds in some helpful commentary, etc. This was the best thing I could have done with my children at that age and they both have fond memories of it! Really fosters a love of Scripture.

 

 

I agree here too! My DD and I used the Vos' Child's Story Bible to read the Old Testament last year and we both loved it. Now we are reading the New Testament and anticipate finishing in December. We were talking about what we'd use next and she suggested just starting it over! I highly recommend this book:)

 

I am not sure yet what we'll use next/later. As you (OP) mentioned, in the future I'd like something that gets deeper and helps us understand.

[ELaurie]

I researched and didn't like any of the curricula out there for first graders-usually too workbook-y and I didn't want to kill their thirst for the Word with that. The only Bible curricula that I can HIGHLY recommend-and we started it in second grade and they enjoyed it-is Bible Study Guide for All Ages. You can read about it on their website. We used the worksheets but the OLD worksheets (the new ones are too cartoon-ish for me). They are not workbook type things though-the kids BEGGED to do this every day! They offer timelines and maps, etc., but you don't need those to do the program. If you want to save some money you don't need the worksheets but they really do love them. I read a lot about it beforehand and people said their kids knew so much of the Bible after this program. It is pretty reasonable AND you can use it over and over and over (there are four years of it-easy to just start over at the beginning after the first four years-there is so much meat in this program and it is based strictly on the Bible-no "what do you think about this" questions, etc.)

 

Scripture memorization is fundamental too-keep up the good work on that!

 

 

 

Thanks for suggesting this - it looks like a nice addition to our Bible Studies this year!

[ReidFamily]

I am so happy to hear all of these positive reviews and how affordable it is. Can't wait to get a copy!

 

I'm looking over the website for the Bible Study for all Ages and it looks fantastic too. I think I will wait and hold off for this year since I think The Child's Story Bible will be enough to keep us busy.

 

For those of you that do scripture memorization do you just pick your own scriptures based on preference or are you following a particular method or suggested scriptures? So far I have just been picking them based on morals/values or important concepts I'd like my daughter to know. Obviously short ones are best right now too.

[ReidFamily]

http://www.amazon.com/Leading-Little-Ones-God-Teachings/dp/0802851207

 

SL 1 uses the above in the Bible curriculum. It is nice.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Early-Readers-Bible-Gilbert-Beers/dp/0310701392 This is by far my favorite bible for that age for a beginning reader. All my kids loved reading it. It has nice discussion questions. My kids would 'play church' reading aloud as a sermon to each other and then discussing the questions! Very, very cute.

 

The Vos bible is great for read aloud!!

 

Fun! I've added these to my amazon wishlist! I had never even thought about a beginner reading Bible. I didn't even know they made those. We are still in the early reading process. My daughter is working on Bob books. She is actually a 5 year old doing first grade work this year but she'll be ready for the beginning reader before too long and I know she'd be so excited to read Bible stories by herself.

 

I am always amazed and in awe at the natural love children have for the gospel. I remember the feelings of love I had for the savior I had as a child even before I was really taught about Him and it was so strong I was able to convince my spiritually passive parents to go to Church. I love watching my daughter's own enthusiasm.

[ReidFamily]

If I had a current first grader or below, I'd be planning to use this series:

 

http://olivebranchbooks.net/curriculum.html

 

Unfortunately, the first grade materials won't be out 'til the winter, and I have no one even close to that age group. I'll still buy the overview k-12 book for myself though.

 

Until then, I think what you're doing now (Bible story books, videos) is lovely. Perhaps add in some memory work as well?

 

Neat! This program looks like it holds a lot of promise. Can't wait to read more about it and others opinions on it once it comes out. We're really enjoying the other programs we have from PeaceHill Press so this should be good too.

[Harriet Vane]

Below is an overview I wrote about curriculum. In addition, I highly recommend for the teacher (mom) a book called Follow Me As I Follow Christ. It's a wonderful, simple, practical how-to for teaching Bible. It's written more for a church setting, but the lessons are easily applicable to any individual study situation.

 

I am willing to answer any other questions you may have as well.

 

Here's the overview:

 

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.

 

Another curriculum that I recommend is Positive Action for Christ. The Bible study is topical (meaning studying verses from different parts of the Bible as they relate to one topic). The studies have good depth, do require the student to interact directly with Bible text, and have decent application questions as well.

 

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.

[ELaurie]

I'll still buy the overview k-12 book for myself though.

 

Thanks for the reminder about this abbeyej - I'm looking forward to this book as well.

[Julie in AZ]

We love A Child's Story Bible and Community Bible Study too. The Jesus Storybook Bible is a great Old and New Testament tie-in. I have all our favorite resources on my blog.

 

HTH! :)

[pamd]

I understand where you are coming from. I didn't start my young unfortunatley but would love to share some stuff that may bless you and yours. Here are some free things look through and see what works for you I am also gonna email you with a blessing for the future. I will keep praying for you all and ask God to give you what you need he will, I promise I am living proof. Hope these help.

 

http://www.cbhministries.org/kfk/home.php?ifpSectionID=14&ifpSubSectionID=19&biblePref=NIV&set=1&goYear=2009&goMonth=09&goDay=14

 

http://children.calvarychapel.com/site/curriculum.htm

 

http://biblestudyplanet.com/bible-teaching-for-kids/childrens-bible-studies/

 

http://www.ebibleteacher.com/children/

 

http://www.ebibleteacher.com/children/songs.htm#Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, (these are songs)

 

:grouphug:

[shanvan]

the Vos Story Bible. We have read this out loud at least 5 times through. No one here gets tired of it. It has helped to instill a love of God's word in my children. I've always read the story and then asked a few discussion questions like...

 

Why do you think God wanted us to know this story (and thus made sure it was included in the Bible)? What does he want us to learn from it?

 

What are the people in this story like? What is their relationship with God like?

 

Are there character traits we want to emulate in this story, or ones we should avoid?

 

What have we learned about God and his attributes in this story?

 

How can we use what we have learned from this story in our daily lives?

 

And there are more I have used, but I kind of see how the story will best lend itself to discussion. Sometimes, when we are dealing with a particular issue at home just the right story turns up in our Bible for that day. It's amazing how God has lead us through The Child's Story Bible.

 

In the early years I paired it with Leading little Ones to God, which helps with some basic doctrinal teaching.

 

Shannon

[HappyGrace]

How could I forget Leading Little Ones to God? We did this with both children too and it was fantastic. This and the Vos are in the pack of "worthy" books I am saving for the grandchildren someday!

 

Also, once my dc could read, they both cut their teeth on The Beginner's Bible. Someone gave it to us YEARS ago and I swore I would never use it because I didn't love the "cartoon-ish" illustrations, but dd, and then a few years later ds, BOTH picked it up and started reading it as their first "real" book. I couldn't argue with them reading God's Word on their level as their first reading!

Edited October 17, 2010 by HappyGrace

[shanvan]

How could I forget Leading Little Ones to God? We did this with both children too and it was fantastic. This and the Vos are in the pack of "worthy" books I am saving for the grandchildren someday!

 

Me too!

 

Also, once my dc could read, they both cut their teeth on The Beginner's Bible.

 

My DD did this too.

 

Someone gave it to us YEARS ago and I swore I would never use it because I didn't love the "cartoon-ish" illustrations

 

Me too, again!

 

 

In later years I realized I am actually thankful that the illustrations are so obviously unrealistic. My DC never assume they know what any of the people in the Bible look like. So there is a good side to those cartoons. Also want to point out that the Beginner's Bible is a pretty good re telling of the stories with no strange details added (which I have noticed in other beginning Bibles).

 

Shannon

[engu]

Hi Jessica-at that age we did children's Bibles. The BEST one, and you will even learn from it, is the one by Catherine Vos. It is an older book, been around for years, you should be able to find it very inexpensively used. It is wonderful because she adds in some helpful commentary, etc. This was the best thing I could have done with my children at that age and they both have fond memories of it! Really fosters a love of Scripture.

 

I researched and didn't like any of the curricula out there for first graders-usually too workbook-y and I didn't want to kill their thirst for the Word with that. The only Bible curricula that I can HIGHLY recommend-and we started it in second grade and they enjoyed it-is Bible Study Guide for All Ages. You can read about it on their website. We used the worksheets but the OLD worksheets (the new ones are too cartoon-ish for me). They are not workbook type things though-the kids BEGGED to do this every day! They offer timelines and maps, etc., but you don't need those to do the program. If you want to save some money you don't need the worksheets but they really do love them. I read a lot about it beforehand and people said their kids knew so much of the Bible after this program. It is pretty reasonable AND you can use it over and over and over (there are four years of it-easy to just start over at the beginning after the first four years-there is so much meat in this program and it is based strictly on the Bible-no "what do you think about this" questions, etc.)

 

Scripture memorization is fundamental too-keep up the good work on that!

 

I pray the Lord will bless your efforts to raise your children up in the Word!

 

Thanks for your suggestions happygrace! Definitely look into this one.

[Tylianna]

I understand where you are coming from. I didn't start my young unfortunatley but would love to share some stuff that may bless you and yours. Here are some free things look through and see what works for you I am also gonna email you with a blessing for the future. I will keep praying for you all and ask God to give you what you need he will, I promise I am living proof. Hope these help.

 

http://www.cbhministries.org/kfk/home.php?ifpSectionID=14&ifpSubSectionID=19&biblePref=NIV&set=1&goYear=2009&goMonth=09&goDay=14

 

http://children.calvarychapel.com/site/curriculum.htm'>http://children.calvarychapel.com/site/curriculum.htm'>http://children.calvarychapel.com/site/curriculum.htm'>http://children.calvarychapel.com/site/curriculum.htm

 

http://biblestudyplanet.com/bible-teaching-for-kids/childrens-bible-studies/

 

http://www.ebibleteacher.com/children/

 

http://www.ebibleteacher.com/children/songs.htm#Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, (these are songs)

 

:grouphug:

 

 

I was going to post what I will be using, but she beat me to it.

 

http://children.calvarychapel.com/site/curriculum.htm

 

It's FREE and you can adjust to the needs of the child(ren) different ages and stuff..

[ReidFamily]

Wow! Thank you guys soooo much for all of your recommendations. They are fantastic and I have bookmarked all of the websites and books to start looking into, more in-depth.

[MaMa2005]

I am so happy to hear all of these positive reviews and how affordable it is. Can't wait to get a copy!

 

I'm looking over the website for the Bible Study for all Ages and it looks fantastic too. I think I will wait and hold off for this year since I think The Child's Story Bible will be enough to keep us busy.

 

For those of you that do scripture memorization do you just pick your own scriptures based on preference or are you following a particular method or suggested scriptures? So far I have just been picking them based on morals/values or important concepts I'd like my daughter to know. Obviously short ones are best right now too.

 

We are using the Bible Study for all Ages this year and I am hooked. So is DS. He is very eager to do Bible each day. When someone asks what gem I have found this year, Bible Study for all Ages is my answer.

 

Thanks to another poster several weeks back who recommended the program.

[cyndi60]

We used this a long time ago and really enjoyed it.

Thanks for the info. on the Explorer Bible Study.

Cyndi

Wife of dh almost 30yrs.

Mother to 6 28 -11

Have homeschooled since 1984