jaynaheath Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 For those of you who would classify yourselves as Christian Homeschoolers, do you have any recommendations for a Bible/Devotional curriculum? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 For those of you who would classify yourselves as Christian Homeschoolers, do you have any recommendations for a Bible/Devotional curriculum? Thanks! For what age?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs. Lilac Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 We LOVE Positive Action....I love their emphasis on Scripture memory and character development. The workbooks are great, it's easy to teach, affordable....you can look at samples of the workbooks and teacher's guides on their website. Let me know if you have any questions. :001_smile: http://www.positiveaction.org/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OregonNative Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 We LOVE BSFAA (Rainbow Resource also sells it). It seems overwhelming when you first look at it, but it's very easy to use. We've done a couple of other ones this year and are so happy we made the change. It was absolutley worth the cost. Plus the kids can do it together:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milknhoney Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 Don't know what age you are looking for... but this is first grade for us, and we are doing ancient history, SOTW. I reordered the chapters so that certain cultures line up at the right time with our read through our bible story book. For example, this week we read about Esther for Bible and studied ancient Persia in history. I think just learning what the bible stories are at this age is enough. You will be amazed at what personal applications the Holy Spirit will bring into your own mind for your child as you go through. To make this method work, I do have gaps. We just finished the old testament and I'm not going to start the new testament until we hit ancient Rome. So during those gaps we read Leading Little Ones to God. I am very happy with this book so far. I highly recommend it. Next year I am planning to do Apologia. I don't have it yet so I can't recommend it, but I read a lot of good reviews and the preview looks like the type of thing I am looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 Here's a review I wrote: 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. Adding to that: Since writing this review I have also had a chance to review the materials from Positive Action for Christ. I think they are worthwhile as well. The questions and study process is definitely inductive in nature and requires good interaction from the student. The studies are topical (many verses or passages compiled into a study of one topic). I tend to prefer materials that bring a student through an entire book of the Bible at a time, but topical studies have value as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaynaheath Posted January 14, 2011 Author Share Posted January 14, 2011 Thanks for your ideas, so far! I'll be looking into them. My oldest two are six and four years old. We just shifted to homeschool a few weeks ago, and kicked off HS and Bible by going through Sammy and His Shepherd by Susan Hunt. I really liked the devotional nature of this book. It has been a sweet way to start off our school day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 Thanks for your ideas, so far! I'll be looking into them. My oldest two are six and four years old. We just shifted to homeschool a few weeks ago, and kicked off HS and Bible by going through Sammy and His Shepherd by Susan Hunt. I really liked the devotional nature of this book. It has been a sweet way to start off our school day. Oh there was a sweet one that I did with my dd when she was young from Sonlight that was perfect for devotions. It was called Leading Little Ones to God. It was great! :) http://www.christianbook.com/leading-little-ones-to-god/marian-schoolland/9780802851208/pd/5120?item_code=WW&netp_id=162507&event=EBRN&view=details Another one that we used, if your dc love animals, is called God's Amazing Creatures and Me. http://www.christianbook.com/gods-amazing-creatures-me/helen-haidle/9780890512944/pd/512949?item_code=WW&netp_id=236819&event=ESRCN&view=details Good luck in your search. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 I really like Karyn Henley's materials. I've used her bible curriculum here and also her devotionals. I've not used them yet for various reasons but Grapevine Studies look great too and I will use them I believe. The Karyn Henley stuff I use is more active type hands on and the Grapevine is stick figure bible for lack of a better term (really neat, do look--one of mine just hasn't been enough into drawing until recently to really try it). So it's hands on too but of a different sort. My kids learn best when they are doing something to cement the learning so those curriculum types fit us best. Even as an adult, though, I think Grapevine would be great. When I have a child of the right age/development for inductive studies I plan to look into Kay Arthur's materials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jodi-FL Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 to a BSF class at all near you, i highly recommend that for your whole family. it's free! but the explorers bible study linked above is the closest thing. kay arthur's precept studies are also great to do together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 (edited) For that age I like Karyn Henley. She has a lot of options but these were nice for that age. I discovered her late so we only had a few of them. You can preview and see what you think of any of her materials. editing this to add: I just looked at the new materials put out by SWB's company. They look really good to me and would fit your oldest for sure. The activities and a children's bible type story might fit the younger too I'd think. Worth looking at. I really like the Jesus Storybook bible by the way. Reading that and doing something you plan would be so wonderful for that age I think--there are lots of online resources for ideas for activities for various bible stories. If your kids don't need (or don't like) hands on you have many options. I suggest you preview your considerations if at all possible. We tried things that are frequently mentioned on these forums that just didn't at all engage/meet my kids. Edited January 15, 2011 by sbgrace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaMa2005 Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 We LOVE BSFAA (Rainbow Resource also sells it). It seems overwhelming when you first look at it, but it's very easy to use. We've done a couple of other ones this year and are so happy we made the change. It was absolutley worth the cost. Plus the kids can do it together:) :iagree: Love, love, love this curriculum!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taffnus Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 My number one pick would have to be the Explorer's Bible study, which is available at www.explorerbiblestudy.org. 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. I found this post on a search because I'm looking for Bible for a 3rd grader. I found your post very insightful. Thanks so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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