How does one fit in VP Bible?

[stm4him]

I really want to use VP Bible but I am struggling with where it would fit in our schedule. I was planning to use it just once a week, Science once a week, History once a week, and Geography or Nature study once per week. The problem is that we're doing Apologia Science and we really need to do it twice a week. I think we also will really need to do VP History twice per week as well to get through it. We have CC once per week and so we only do regular schoolwork four days a week. We have family devotions and read aloud in the evening. I am not sure where it would fit.

 

Our afternoon study time is from 2:30-4:30 and History and Science are supposed to take 1 1/2 hours. But I feel like by the time they get a snack and whatever interruptions, bathroom breaks, etc. we barely finish by 4:30. Otherwise I'd like to use that extra half hour for Bible as I really want to study through the Bible with them. And everyday exposure is best of course.

 

I also thought about doing it during family devotions but we do other things which I think are important like singing hymns, reading Psalms and Proverbs, devotional books, developing character, talking about other countries, learning manners, and praying together. I don't want to exchange this for workbooks but I do think it is very important to study the Bible as VP does it (or something similar) so they move beyond Bible stories but into actual Bible reading, geography, and historical context, etc.

 

The only other time I can think of is the morning, but most days it is all I can do to make it to the schoolroom dressed, fed, and ready to teach by 8:30 with a nursing 6 month old.

 

Any suggestions? Ways to cut down interruptions would be helpful too!

 

Thanks!

 

stm4him

[3peasinapod]

:lurk5:

[ByGrace3]

We don't do VP bible, but BSGFAA, and it takes about 30 minutes a day. We do Bible first thing in the morning (for us at 9) ;) Bible is critical in our home, and Bible study and devotional time are different. We do BSGFAA 4 mornings a week, with Fri being a review day/scripture memory review day. We also have family worship/devotion in the evening.

 

How to fit it in? you just do. If Bible "study" is a priority to you, fit it in. We like to start our day with it because it then teaches my children that it is the most important thing we do. I wouldn't substitute devotional time for it, but if you really only want one day a week of Bible study, subbing one day of devotional time for Bible study time each week surely would be fine.

[MeghanL]

VP Bible & VP History can both be done in 30 minutes. Monday: Fill in the worksheets after using the card Tuesday: Review the card & read a story about the card Wednesday: Do a short craft about the card & review Thursday: Add the medalian to the map & Review the card Friday: Take a test on the card. It's the same for Bible but start Day 1 on Wednesday instead of Monday (so the kids don't have 2 tests on the same day).

 

We like it because it provides a lot of information in easily digestible cards. But it does not take any longer than 15 minutes to do.

 

ETA: Just so you know, we also are doing Sonlight preschool, VP Literature, Shurley English Grammar, Song School Latin, Phonetic Zoo spelling and our own brand of science using the WTM 4 days a week. There are lots of subjects I feel take time to fit in, the Bible/History portion just isn't part of that.

Edited December 13, 2011 by MeghanL

[Woodland_Mom]

My suggestion is to begin your day with VP Bible, so it gets done. Begin by playing the song. Maybe a schedule like this would be doable:

 

Monday: Listen to the song. Have someone read the back of the Bible card aloud, then have someone read the scripture passage aloud.

 

Tuesday: Listen to the song. Read the back of the card. Go through the questions orally.

 

Wednesday: Listen to the song. Do a craft/project from the TM. While the kids work, you could read the back of the card aloud.

 

Thursday: Listen to the song. Review past cards or continue with a project from yesterday.

 

Keep it casual. Your goal will be to get these important stories in the minds of your kids. The daily review will help. Don't feel like you have to do everything in the TM. You can do much of it orally, which should cut down on the amount of time you spend on it.

[stm4him]

Angela,

 

Will you use VP next year even though CC is changing its timeline? That is, assuming you are doing CC next year?

 

Also, do you agree that it only takes 30 minutes? I'm planning to do the Self-paced history and so I think that might take longer. But I'm glad to hear Bible would be quicker. I was thinking something like this:

 

Daily: read card or do review questions orally, do one worksheet, project or test, song if time

 

During read aloud time: resources on the card

 

We would do this four days a week so some cards would run into the next week, but that's ok. Hopefully we can squeeze that in in 30 minutes. We can also review the song in the car.....

 

I was thinking that if we do the self-paced lessons back to back and read the books at night then we could do maybe two 30 minute lessons per day, twice a week and that would take an hour, plus 2 Bible lessons which would take an hour. That way we would fit in 2 Science lessons, 2-4 History lessons (depending on their length) and 4 Bible lessons per week.

 

stm4him

[Woodland_Mom]

Angela,

 

Will you use VP next year even though CC is changing its timeline? That is, assuming you are doing CC next year?

 

Also, do you agree that it only takes 30 minutes? I'm planning to do the Self-paced history and so I think that might take longer. But I'm glad to hear Bible would be quicker. I was thinking something like this:

 

Daily: read card or do review questions orally, do one worksheet, project or test, song if time

 

During read aloud time: resources on the card

 

We would do this four days a week so some cards would run into the next week, but that's ok. Hopefully we can squeeze that in in 30 minutes. We can also review the song in the car.....

 

I was thinking that if we do the self-paced lessons back to back and read the books at night then we could do maybe two 30 minute lessons per day, twice a week and that would take an hour, plus 2 Bible lessons which would take an hour. That way we would fit in 2 Science lessons, 2-4 History lessons (depending on their length) and 4 Bible lessons per week.

 

stm4him

 

Yes, I do plan to use VP history resources next year, although we'll just focus on the timeline because I have a somewhat altered history schedule than the typical WTM schedule you often see on these boards.

 

My history plan:

 

1st - 6th grade: 1 cycle of VP History (some years I added to it, but VP has been a staple.)

 

7th - 8th grade: A two year world history tour using Sonlight 6 and 7

 

9th - 12th grade: A third cycle of history

 

****************

I think 45 minutes is a more realistic timeframe for VP history. I've never done the online self-paced course, so maybe someone else can speak to that. You should be able to read the back of the card, do the online course portion, and maybe even fit in the encyclopedia reading within 45 minutes.

 

I usually have my kids narrate the card orally. We do the worksheet questions orally, too. One thing to note: you could EASILY just do VP History (and Bible for the matter) 4 days a week. You'll find that 4 days on one topic is plenty. A new card each 4-day week is a comfortable pace.

 

There is more than enough review work in CC. I don't recommend adding the Bible song as true memory work. I had my kids listen to the song (or a portion of it) most days. They became VERY familiar with it, but I never required that they memorize the whole thing. (It is a long song ;) My goal was to really build a foundation of Bible knowledge/stories in their minds and hearts. VP Bible does an excellent job of that.

 

I don't know how old your kids are, but if I were you, I wouldn't do two VP self paced lessons in one day. Why not just make shorter lessons and do a little history, science and Bible every day?

 

Don't feel like you need to do too much--or all of the things written in the VP TM! Figure out what you think is doable and then try to stick to that schedule. The VP Bible could be paired down into something simple and quick by making most of it oral. Pick a few projects to do for the year that would be "special" and skip things that seem too time consuming. Remember: you're doing other Bible things in the evening as a family!

[stm4him]

Hi, Angela.

 

Our cycle plan looks like this:

 

1-6: VP Bible and History 5 years, 1 year of SOTW and What We Believe for Bible (don't ask me how SOTW and WWB will fit in one year, but I'll figure it out when I get there)

 

7-12: Omnibus (probably secondary readings in Summer) w/ Student of the Word Bible portion or some other inductive Bible study method and Challenge

 

I'm thinking the S-P lessons won't be so bad b/c what I hear a lot is that parents have a hard time getting their kids to only do one or two lessons a day b/c they love it so much. I also hear that there is sooo much good factual info in the course that the reference readings are unnecessary. So, assuming that is true we would only do the read alouds together at night and call it a course. However, I'm a bookaholic so I am collecting all the resource books for that year and all the other living books from their catalog for that history that I can afford for extra optional reading.

 

Science really does take a concentrated amount of time b/c we do the readings, notebooking/lapbooking, and sometimes experiments so getting it out and putting it away can take a little time some days. I once tried doing a little of each each day but there was so much time wasted in transition that it didn't work out.

 

Now I'm thinking maybe I can put on the Bible song when we're about to start and that is how much time they have to get their snack. When the song is done it is time to do Bible. When we finish that up we can move into Science or History. We'll see how that goes.......

 

First I need to pray for some money so we can afford the SP class and the Teacher's manual for Bible.....

 

stm4him