Rhonda in TX Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 I am going to be joining a night-time BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) in the fall, after having been out since we started homeschooling 2 years ago. This group offers a children's course and DD is probably going to do it with me. I thought it could count as her Bible for the year. If you've had experience with this, could you tell me what you think of it? How did the they group the kids? Did they separate the boys from the girls? Did they group by similar ages? Do they join the adults for the speaker at the end? Do they do fellowship activities? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snickelfritz Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 but my kids go to the day program. They are grouped only by age, but that might change as they get older. What I have seen of the program is excellent. Like all things BSF, it is very organized and structured. It has taught me that my dd's (almost 5 and 2 1/2) are capable of understanding more about the Bible than I gave them credit for. I do know that when I went to the night program, the kids did NOT come into the lecture. Hope someone else has more info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in Central TX Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 I am going to be joining a night-time BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) in the fall, after having been out since we started homeschooling 2 years ago. This group offers a children's course and DD is probably going to do it with me. I thought it could count as her Bible for the year. If you've had experience with this, could you tell me what you think of it? How did the they group the kids? Did they separate the boys from the girls? Did they group by similar ages? Do they join the adults for the speaker at the end? Do they do fellowship activities? Thanks! It was a great experience, and I liked using it as our Bible study. However, we didn't get home until 9:30pm on Monday nights, and that made Tuesday mornings very difficult. It may work better now that they are older. In our local group, they separated the children by grade level only, and the children did not join us at any time during the night, nor were they included in fellowship activities. Therefore, I couldn't go to any of our small group fellowships because we lived too far away for me to run home and get the boys before class started. Even though the homework was good, it was time consuming for all of us. I found it difficult to get my work done each day along with homeschooling and needed housework. Again, this may work better now that my boys are more independent in their school work, and they could probably do more of their BSF homework independently too. I would love to go back on day, but my boys like Wednesday night activities (choir & AWANA) at church too. We can't do both nights each week, so my DH and I chose to do Wednesday night church since the whole family can participate together. I know there's a men's BSF group, but he's not interested. Also, all of the rules that apply to adults, apply to children too. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda in TX Posted May 2, 2008 Author Share Posted May 2, 2008 I think it might work for us. I go to the informational meeting Monday night. I'll have to ask if I can see an example of the children's homework. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Copswife Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 Now, I've only been going a few weeks, but we love it. My two girls, 6 and 8 are together in level 1. One of my boys is in 8th and the other a jr. in high school. The two boys do their work on their own and we just discuss it. The girls I help. The 8 year old writes all of her answers. We alternate in reading the scriptures. Some of the answers at that level are "circle the correct answers" or "put this sequence of events in order from 1 to 5". There are fill in answers, but the parent can fill it in "in the child's words". So, my *just turned* 6 y/o needs help. She will fill in one or two word answers, but I will write longer answers for her. I hope this helps. Two things I did notice about the program, which I like, but just a heads up. There are no snacks served. Also, it is a Bible study and my friends that have gone to AWANA say its not the same. It's not fun and games play time. My kids ALWAYS say they have fun, but it seems to have a serious tone and ALL of the kids I've seen are very, very well behaved. There is no yelling or horsing around when I pick the kids up after my class. If someone is looking for a playtime with snack, this isn't it. lol I think its great for parents of children with allergy issues. They are super cautious. OH, and two adults go to the bathroom with each child. (even the older ones, which my boys protest to me... but the rules and the rules and I can see why they have them in place) Tracie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
readwithem Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 Are you in the greater Houston area? (you can PM me). A dear friend of mine is the teaching assistant in The Woodlands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momofkhm Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 I've both done BSF with my kids and I've been a children's leader in the school age program. (I was a leader for preschool as well, but that won't help you.) First, it will be plenty for your dd to count as Bible. It is leveled to their age groups. Approximately 2 years per group. Level 1 is 1st-2nd grade. Level 2 is 3rd-4th grades. Level 3 is 5th-6th grades. Level 4 is 7th-8th grades. Senior level is high school. No matter which level she is, you will recognize some of her questions as being similar to yours. In the senior level, some are exactly the same! Boys and girls are in the same classes. Their basic schedule: meet in their classrooms, then assembly time. (hymns, announcements) Back to class to go over questions. Then all but the youngest class may do homeletics. Level 2 only about once a month, level 3 maybe twice a month, level 4 and senior do it every week. Level 1 will do some sort of activity related to the scripture that week (Level 2-3 also when not doing homeltics). Then they will have their "lecture" time, again graded to their level and attention span. Senior level will be 25 minutes. I think level 1 is only 10-15 minutes. Then level 1-3 will learn their memory verse. Level 4 will learn a "basic truth". Senior level will learn an attribute of God. It seems like I am forgetting something but I can't remember what. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda in TX Posted May 2, 2008 Author Share Posted May 2, 2008 And excuse my ignorance, but what is "homeletics"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda in TX Posted May 2, 2008 Author Share Posted May 2, 2008 I don't want a "snacks and play" group. DD is my thinker, so I believe she would enjoy the in-depth study. Plus, she would enjoy spending the time with other kids her age. Thanks for the info! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momofkhm Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 And excuse my ignorance, but what is "homeletics"? It's a way of studying the Bible specifically to give a lecture from what you study. First you read the passage. Then you break the passage up into 20 "pieces", at these ages it's usually that number of verses. You take out the "fluff". Jn 3:16 may be broken down "God loved world, gave only Son that who believes in Him have everlasting life" Then find common themes in verses, break those into 2-4 chunks. Write a sentence for each chunk. Write a sentence of 20 words or less that incorporates whole passage. Write a question for each chunk that is not yes or no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 The homework is excellent, in-depth, and correlated carefully to the Bible class. The class-time is also excellent--both the discussion and the process of homiletics. You will find that homiletics hones your child's ability to evaluate non-biblical literature and write outlines as well. The class time is a structured, academic class. It is ALSO a discussion. Kids do enjoy this time, AND they learn. There are social opportunities offered as well. It's really a nice mix of learning and enjoyment, with the emphasis being on learning. It is NOT AWANA--which, IMHO, is a good thing. I grew up in AWANA and have fond, happy memories of that time, but as an adult I find that the program really, really lacks depth. Yes, you can count BSF as a Bible course for your children. It definitely has the depth for that, and it will be very good for them. The first meeting of the fall is hard--they use that time primarily to go over the rules and set up expectations for the year. This can be overwhelming to kids, especially younger ones. It might help if you warn your kids that the first meeting is totally different than the rest. I think you will find their enthusiasm climbs over the course of the next few meetings AFTER that first one. HTH--best wishes as you join in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda in TX Posted May 2, 2008 Author Share Posted May 2, 2008 I am very impressed by this. It sounds great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda in TX Posted May 2, 2008 Author Share Posted May 2, 2008 Thanks for the heads-up on the first meeting. It sounds like it will be a good fit for my DD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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