Slipper Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 I'm trying to piece together some curriculum choices for my 6 yr old daughter (1st grade). It appears like she will begin homeschooling in January. I hate interrupting her mid-year, but it's necessary. I need a simple Bible study program for her. I'm ashamed to admit that we do not attend church very often (though I keep trying to begin). Along with regular curriculum, we need to include Bible studies. Any suggestions? Thank you :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morosophe Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 Following Sonlight Core B, we used Leading Little Ones to God in first grade. This is a very gentle but clear systematic theology, and I feel Schoolland has a light and deft touch with potentially divisive topics--I did not have any problems with her statements about baptism, and I'm Reformed; I feel that Baptists would find her statements about baptism equally acceptable. (Sonlight has you read a chapter of the book, and then often read the Bible passage it gives the next day in order to fit it more neatly into a year.) Also following Sonlight Core B, we read through parts of the Bible, particularly the books of Mark and Genesis, but I don't know that he actually got as much from that, sadly. He's got a longer attention span now than he did then, that's for sure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Embassy Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 I would start with a Bible story book and time listening to or singing Bible songs. Youtube has tons of great music videos of Bible songs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexi Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 We also plan to use Leading Little Ones to God. We are starting with that this spring. We enjoy the Explorer's Bible Studies but our favorite (which we starting using this year) is Bible Study Guide for All Ages. I blogged about it here. My oldest loves it and my two middle ones get so much from just listening to our lessons. They do coloring pages while we read the story. Next year I think my son will be ready to begin with his own worksheets. I'm really really happy with it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Five More Minutes Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 I just have to put in a good word for Telling God's Story. It has been a fun curriculum for my girls (K & Gr. 1), and the parent resources have been so helpful. I highly recommend it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 I really like the curricula from Positive Action for Christ. Here is a link to their 1st grade curriculum. It is written for schools, but I've had no problem using it at home. You can choose 3, 4, or 5 day a week lesson plans. It includes scripture memory, music and song memorization, vocabulary, character trait lessons each week, and more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atozmom Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 Some things we have used and enjoyed with ds: The Egermeier's Bible Story Book. I also let him color in the My Bible Coloring Book while reading and he loved it. Also liked the earlier years of CLE. We are now using and really enjoying bible/character studies from Train-Up a Child Publishing. You can buy those at CBD as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staceyobu Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 The Jesus Storybook Bible is my all time favorite children's Bible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kolamum Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 Grapevine Bible.. so simple, and so good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy Jo Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 I love Leading Little Ones to God, as well as the Family Bible (ESV) - we are reading LLOTG in the evening, when Daddy is home to do devotions with the children. Once a week for "school" we are doing Big Truths for Little Kids (just started) and memorizing the catechism to go with it. Next year we are starting the Grapevine Studies - I can't wait for that! I've also just received a copy of "The One Year Bible for Kids" - it has a short section from the Bible for each day of the year and would be easy to do with her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3peasinapod Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 Not new recommendations, but we have used Leading Little Ones to God, and we loved it. The girls learned so much and it touched on things I haven't thought to. The one thing that got to me in this book, though was easily remedied, was it talked a lot about being good. I think God wants us to act certain ways, but it is a heart thing and not an outward appearance. I often discussed with the girls this whenever it came up, which seemed to be often. We are using Telling God's Story this year, and we really love it. While I love the activity guide and it has so many great ideas and activities, I'm trying to simplify next year without as many activities. I may just get the text to read now and then, as I love the way Dr. Enns explains things for children. Since I'll be teaching 3 kids next year (K, 3, and 4) I need to lighten the load, and Bible activities had to go, replacing with Bible study and discussion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 Here is a review I wrote some time ago. I do try to check resources again each year at convention, so even though the review is old, I still consider these thoughts relevant: 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. Some further thoughts--Since writing this review a while back, I have also reviewed Positive Action for Christ and find it to be a good Bible study. The process is inductive and it's quite thorough. It differs from the others I like in that it is a topical study--in other words, it collects verses throughout the Bible that relate to one topic. With a topical study, it's best to always be careful to check that the verses are appropriately applied. PAC seems to do so, at least on the studies I worked through. The Memoria Press Bible studies are good quality, and nicely simple in format. However, I would recommend them only for younger children as I think the format does not grow with the child (stays too simple over the progression). I have not reviewed Olive Branch Books Bible curriculum, but would suggest that you at least take a look. The other things produced by SWB are of such high quality that I would venture to guess that her Olive Print branch is at least worth further investigation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland_Mom Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 :iagree: I agree with those who posted about "Leading Little Ones to God". It is a great book. Picking out a bible story book is also a terrific way to go. One of our favorites: DK Illustrated Bible Another fabulous resurces: Long Story Short. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3monkeys Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 I started this year with Positive Action Bible Curriculum. I have a K5 and 2nd grader, so I chose to do 1st grade to be able to teach them at same time. I have been most impressed with this program. It starts from the beginning of bible and continues with all the great stories. I read the story on day 1,which has been written for 1st graders to understand but I'm learning so much myself. Then on day 2, I read the real life application story and it teaches a character trait from the story. My kiddos like this best. Then on day 3, we do the workbook pages. There is also scripture memory and songs to learn. We don't always do this part because we have that from church. I really feel like they are learning so much and understanding the stories. I've had plenty of children's bibles and read all the stories to them, but this program really know how to make them stick. Highly recommend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeganW Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 We LOVE "Leading Little Ones to God". Also, if you are looking for DVDs, "What's In the Bible With Buck Denver" is great!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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