How do you do plenty of Bible during your day w/out making it seem like "schoolwork"?

[HappyGrace]

We're at a point where we're wanting to soak in the Word. I have been lax with it :glare: and have a clear leading from the Lord that it should become a much bigger part of our existence.

 

I have ideas on what I want to do, and it's a nice variety of things dc will like so we can come at it from many angles, but I'm not sure how to make it not seem like part of "school". (Dc are 9 and almost 6).

 

Also trying to figure out how to get all our other school stuff done too-dd has a full course load already from her co-op inc. Latin, plus math (I have cut back on some-no English this yr, spelling across curriculum only, etc)! Both dc are advanced learners and ahead of grade level, so this would not interfere in that way. But they love to learn and so already have a pretty long "school day".

 

Here are some of my ideas:

1. for Scripture memory-I have ideas like throw a ball back and forth to each other for each word in the Scripture, etc.

 

2. Want to read from a story Bible (DK Illustrated Family Bible)

 

3. Keepers at Home Character study with dd9 (this is a nice mellow mix of stories and Scripture-very short in length to do each day)

 

4. Both kids LOVE Bible Study Guide for All Ages, and beg to do it, so I plan on that-it takes at least 1/2 hour.

 

5. Dd and I did a great BSF style study last yr, and though we can't attend the classes, we have access to the actual study-this year they're doing John. It is a lot of work and time-consuming, but I thought maybe we could do at least half of it orally, as discussion rather than written. I can't tell you how profitable it was for both of us! I could see this substituting for some things in schoolwork-for instance, you do hermeneutics (summarizing each verse into a handful of words), so that could substitute for narration, there are definitions (vocab), and also could be spelling, etc.

 

6. I want to do more with the original McGuffey's I have, which have nice character stuff in them.

 

There are a couple others I'm not remembering right now. These are all things my dc actually enjoy doing and ask to do, so it's not like they'll hate it and be groaning. So I'm not looking for responses like-"that's too much and they'll hate it." My main point is that I just don't really want it to become looked at as "schoolwork" but more of a "lifestyle of studying Scripture" and I'm trying to figure out how to do that. Maybe do these things OUT of the schoolroom? Maybe do some outside when the weather gets better? Schedule it so there's a chunk of schoolwork, then move to the other room for some Bible "refreshment" (with maybe an actual refreshment?!), then back to schoolwork in school room, etc.? Any thoughts?

[Lori D.]

My suggestion is to separate the two so Bible time isn't part of school time. Make a special devotional time in your day -- perhaps first thing in the morning (before breakfast, or before morning chores??), to help establish a wonderful lifetime habit of a daily quiet time. Or as a family devotional time during/after dinner. For example, with our teens, we just finished reading/discussing the Screwtape Letters as a family after dinner.

 

If you opt for morning or after lunch, then I suggest having some "free time" or something else scheduled right after that is NOT school -- free reading, playtime, etc. And, be sure to maintain your Bible/devotional time on weekends and during vacations so it is clearly *not* just part of a school routine but is a part of the fabric of your daily lives.

 

PS -- I was in BSF for 9 years, and have really missed it for the past 2; what a great program! :001_smile:

 

Just my 2 cents worth! Pray about it and He will give you clear direction as to what works for your family. Warmest regards, Lori D.

[inashoe]

Each of my dc have a list of things to be done before school starts, and reading bible on their own in their rooms is one of them.

 

In addition, I give them a book that they can alternate with bible reading.

ds6 is reading From Arapesh to Zuni

dd8 is reading The Awesome Book of bible facts

ds10 is reading Victors Walk Through the bible

 

As part of their readers I always give them missionary or similar bible stories to read. Most of the ideas I get are from Sonlight.

 

For bible memory, they each have a booklet of index cards, I write a new bible verse on this when they are ready for a new one. They go through this in their quiet bible time each morning.

 

I love Teach Them Diligently: How To Use The Scriptures In Child Training by Louis Paul Priolo.

This is directly related to which bible verses I choose for memory.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

[MerryAtHope]

What if you keep a family devotions time that you do regularly, and let the things that don't fit in that time continue to be things they beg to do? Let the extras come in seasons that follow their interests, while family devotions is something we do every day.

 

Merry :-)

[Strawberry Queen]

I have Bible memory as a thing that happens every day. It goes with our poetry memory work. As far as it not seeming like school, I would have it be at a different time. I would have your variety of resources handy and then let them chose what they want to do. You can have it in your routine, and then let them decide which one they want to work on that day.

 

I also struggle with having Bible not being 'school'. I don't want it to be a subject that's marked or corrected. I just want to instill in them a habit of spending time with God. I've come to a point where I allow them time but don't mandate how they spend it. Their relationship with God is their relationship. It's up to them to spend the time with God. My parents never pushed us to spend time with God each day. They recommended it and modeled it, but it wasn't forced. All of my siblings and myself have relationships with God, and are active in our faith, so I think a somewhat laid back approach worked for us.

I'm not saying that you force your kiddos. :001_smile:

They obviously have a strong urge to do these things. I would let that work for you and just be available to give input or to provide resources. I would also keep their schoolwork at a happy medium so that they're not overburdened and then don't want to do any extra work.

Take care

[LisaKinVA]

We do breakfast & Bible time. I use Veritas Press Bible Cards as a spine, and then we read from The Bible Story (that series of Blue books you used to see advertised in doctor's and dentist's offices in the 70's), everything that happens between the cards. We have our Scripture Memory Time, and then we clean up and get started with school.

 

We do bring the Bible into other studies as well -- and we have family devotions at night with Dad (using the Children's Story Bible, and some song time... right after dinner).

 

I started off doing "schooly" things with Bible, but like you, I wanted it to be more about being a part of our life, than part of school. This has worked better for us.

 

That said, I do plan on making it more of a formal study in the 7th - 12th grades (on an individual basis).

[Donna A.]

Well, we use My Father's World which takes what I'd call a "Bible immersion" approach. Everything about MFW is seeing the work of God active in all aspects of life, cultures, people, places, and times. The studies are set up to include the whole family, including Daddy as much as possible, and it becomes a part of your life... or at least it has ours. I'd almost call it a "discipleship" program as much as history or any other academic subject. Everything works together. (Which incidentally reminds me of Romans 8:28, Ha!)

 

If you read down their "About MFW" page, you can kind of get an idea of what I mean, but this is only a VERY brief overview of the big picture: http://www.mfwbooks.com/philos.htm

[HappyGrace]

for sure!

 

Dd already has a short devotional reading on her own every morning out of a day by day type Bible that has a little verse and application at the end-and then I follow Linda Fay's advice and have her write in her journal either a very short two-sentence summary of what she read, OR a verse that spoke to her OR copy the verse they give OR write her thoughts on it.

 

I looked extensively at MFW on several occasions-it is wonderful but our curriculum is tied in with our co-op.

 

Such good ideas so far-thank you!

[Caroline4kids]

My suggestion is to separate the two so Bible time isn't part of school time. .

 

:iagree:

We read Bible at mealtimes and before our read-alouds in the evening.

 

I had all word-based curriculums in the church schools I went to as a child and for years the Word just meant work and something I had to get done before I went to play. For the same reason I try to do most memory work, Bible anyway, in song. I use www.thywordcreations.com to do this.

 

It is easier to be a mean ol' hag when you are correcting generic lessons.:D

[HappyGrace]

what I'm trying to avoid! I want to make it meaningful and loving and enjoyable.

I think I can do that with the shorter things (do them at mealtimes), just not sure when to do the longer John study-maybe after dinner, but her school day is long enough and I don't want to sit her down for more learning. I will have to think about that one.

[Harriet Vane]

I would like to challenge the notion that the Bible must only be warm and cuddly, and not made to feel schoolish.

 

I went to a private Christian high school. We had chapel every day--four days a week it was more of a quick devotional, and one day a week was much longer, usually with an outside speaker. We also had Bible class requirements--things like Church History, inductive method, Doctrine, OT Survey, NT survey, etc.

 

I really enjoyed my Bible classes. I count myself as having been wonderfully lucky to have had really good teachers for each of the Bible classes I took at that school. As an adult, I have often wished that such classes could be more readily available in the church setting. They were challenging, interesting, often requiring some hard work, and well worth the time I put into them.

 

I have had a very hard time persuading other Christians of the value of such classes though. The repeated refrain is a concern that if studying the Bible is too challenging kids will be turned off to it and reject God. I see this reasoning as far too simplistic--accepting or rejecting God will be based on far more than Bible study.

 

To be fair, I do recognize the concern, because many of my high school peers were biblical know-it-alls. Their problem, however, was NOT in excessive study, but rather in a lack of balance. These kids often did NOT have real life experience with the poor and the needy to give them real-world perspective on their academic knowledge. (Many of my peers were quite wealthy and lived comfortable suburban lives.) Also, their RELATIONSHIP with God was tied too often to their academic study of God. In other words, their parents often felt their kids were doing well because of the weight of their studies--there wasn't a lot of conversation or accountability about the relationship with God apart from academic study.

 

An emphasis on skills/facts outside of the context of personal relationship with a loving Creator will bring spiritual weariness. On the other hand, an emphasis on relationship outside of the truth of what is learned through strong study makes for a weak foundation that is easily broken.

 

When my dd was younger, her devotions also served as her Bible class. Reading a Bible story (directly from Bible text as of 1st grade) and answering some questions was a warm, snuggly part of her day, and our goal was simply lots and lots of exposure to the facts of the Bible.

 

Now that dd is in the middle years her biblical studies have changed. She has a Bible CLASS with me wherein she is learning inductive method this year (6th grade). She and the other girls I teach LOVE doing this--frankly, they were sick and tired of reading text and answering questions. They outgrew that and were ready for more of a challenge. Because the challenge is well fitted to their ability level, they find it interesting, despite the fact that it is much more difficult than their previous Bible study. Prayer and worship and discussion about dd's personal relationship with God are entirely separate from her Bible CLASS, though sometimes what she is learning about God in that class does factor in to our discussions.

 

I have seen this in church settings as well. I have learned that when kids get to feeling like they have heard all the stories and know it all, that is the time to make them work harder. All too often the church responds to their church-kid jadedness with more entertainment, and kids are not allowed to grow. I have found over many years of directing church programs that junior high and high school kids THRIVE on more grown-up challenges, both intellectually and in terms of real world service. This was affirmed for us just this past weekend when a former Sunday School student of my dh's thanked him for teaching the junior high class inductive study skills--she said it was the best class she'd ever had at church.

 

I would urge you to separate out the academic skills from the relationship. The skills your children learn academically (Bible study skills or doctrine study, etc.) will affect their relationship, of course. However, the fact of having a relationship with God should NOT prevent us from learning those skills and digging DEEP into God's word.

 

As you evaluate your child's spiritual instruction, ask yourself what components are SKILLS versus what components are purely RELATIONAL. The skills can be taught academically, and the relational components can be handled in a more devotional, personal manner.

Edited January 2, 2009 by strider

[Merry]

what are your favorite materials for the junior high and high school levels? We are evangelical Protestants.

[Ellie]

If you were not homeschooling but "just" parenting, what would you want to do to bring your dc up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord? Would you read to your dc daily? pray with them? model godly behavior? teach them to memorize Scripture?

 

Do that.

[Donna A.]

I have had a very hard time persuading other Christians of the value of such classes though. The repeated refrain is a concern that if studying the Bible is too challenging kids will be turned off to it and reject God. I see this reasoning as far too simplistic--accepting or rejecting God will be based on far more than Bible study.

 

To be fair, I do recognize the concern, because many of my high school peers were biblical know-it-alls. Their problem, however, was NOT in excessive study, but rather in a lack of balance. These kids often did NOT have real life experience with the poor and the needy to give them real-world perspective on their academic knowledge. (Many of my peers were quite wealthy and lived comfortable suburban lives.) Also, their RELATIONSHIP with God was tied too often to their academic study of God. In other words, their parents often felt their kids were doing well because of the weight of their studies--there wasn't a lot of conversation or accountability about the relationship with God apart from academic study.

 

An emphasis on skills/facts outside of the context of personal relationship with a loving Creator will bring spiritual weariness. On the other hand, an emphasis on relationship outside of the truth of what is learned through strong study makes for a weak foundation that is easily broken.

 

 

I totally agree with this, and I can't resist adding that this is exactly how MFW builds discipleship into their year plans. ;) It begins with learning where we came from (Creation) and who God is in a fun, hands-on context, to getting to know Jesus the Son of God as our Saviour and sharing the Gospel with others, to learning the Bible in its historical and scientific context and then by the middle years, doing inductive Bible study and memorizing long passages and even whole books. By high school, that child should be able to give their own apologetic for their faith and have some ways built into their life for the *working out* of their faith.... along with even deeper study of the Word. It's a process.

 

But yes, churches definitely need to be doing more teaching and less entertaining.... and not treating high schoolers like they're just there for fellowship and fun. As Strider said, there are of course extremes to both sides. Our goal should be to make the Bible a part of our "whole life" including both academic study and the "warm & fuzzies", rather than just a separate subject to be studied academically and/or heard about on Sunday morning. This is the reason I also *greatly* dislike memorizing single verses out of context and calling it "the Gospel". The Gospel is the whole Word of God, and it should be manifested in our lives the same way.

[Caroline4kids]

I would like to challenge the notion that the Bible must only be warm and cuddly, and not made to feel schoolish.

 

I went to a private Christian high school. We had chapel every day--four days a week it was more of a quick devotional, and one day a week was much longer, usually with an outside speaker. We also had Bible class requirements--things like Church History, inductive method, Doctrine, OT Survey, NT survey, etc.

 

.

 

I did too and I think high school and college is a good time for bible study to become more academic. I just rebelled against it in grade school. I went to Lutheran school 1st grade through college and there was just SO much memorization in lower grades that anything edifying and comforting was sucked out of it. I think narrowing it down and really steeping kiddo's in one topic at a time instead of swallowing a whole catechism each year would have been better.

 

I now love Jesus, but back then I saw less of His mercy and more of hellfire and my own worminess. Practically gave me nightmares. Highschool is much better for hellfire lectures.;)

[HappyGrace]

Thank you, Strider, for your insight. I think what's going on with dd is that because she is academically advanced, she is desiring and needing more complex study than read and answer questions-the Bible stories are so familiar to her and she wants more meat. But her age is still tender. I've seen this in her regular schoolwork too-it's like she's entering logic stage early, wanting to know the why's behind everything. She's a serious student-at Awana, she's the kid WANTING to end game time and get to the studying! So I think that's partly what's messing me up here. And I think she needs what Strider is talking about-more meat, not just the Bible stories-which is why I started this thread; to find a way to get that into our day without overkill or making it schoolish. It is hard to find the balance! My other challenge is that not having been brought up in the church, I have no model for how to do this.

 

I like the idea of inductive studies-that might work well for her. In fact, just today I was showing her a method I use of drawing little pictures next to my inductive style notes (ie-Prov 2 had a little guy with wisdom pointing to his heart, the word "discretion" with eyes on it showing that discretion watches over him, the word "understanding" circling him (like a guard to show that understanding guards him), etc. She really liked that, so we're going to try it together in our John study.

 

So I guess it boils down to purposeful discipleship. Each morning I'm praying for the Lord's leading on this. I'm still not sure what it will look like, exactly. Another thing I just started is aggressively stepping up my own studies in the hopes that I can pass on some of what I'm learning in everyday discussion.

[Donna A.]

Another thing I just started is aggressively stepping up my own studies in the hopes that I can pass on some of what I'm learning in everyday discussion.

 

This will go a long way, HappyGrace. :thumbup:

[ElizabethB]

We do Bible memorization as part of school. We always start school off with the Bible. Last year we read from the Rhyme Bible, this year we're doing memorization.

 

We currently don't have a set quiet time, my children were playing semi-quietly in their rooms on their own enough of the day that I didn't need one, but they're starting to do that less, I plan on starting a quiet time when we start up school again next week.

 

I plan to start the quiet time with a reading from the Bible (A regular Bible now that they're 3 and 6, we used to read from the Rhyme Bible. I do like the Rhyme Bible, though, it is amazingly Biblically accurate given how well it rhymes.)

 

Evening, morning, and before or after meals are common times for Bible reading and/or devotions.

[Harriet Vane]

what are your favorite materials for the junior high and high school levels? We are evangelical Protestants.

 

I am a little embarrassed to say I don't have any favorite materials for those ages, at this time. Let me explain.

 

In a church setting, I have always been bound by the need of the staff and parents to use an official curriculum for the kids. There has always been a supervisor over me insisting on a curriculum. I have done three things in response:

 

(1) Used the curriculum chosen by the Children's/Youth Pastor, but required teachers to attend training for how to use it well. In those training sessions I teach inductive method. Once the method is taught, I walk the teachers through writing a Bible study straight from Bible text, and then using their notes to modify the curriculum suggestions.

 

(2) Used the curriculum chosen by the Children's/Youth Pastor, but bought it one level HIGHER than what is recommended by the curriculum supplier. Therefore the junior high kids would work from high school materials, etc. I recommend that high school students use adult materials. With this option I have always also required the training I mentioned above.

 

(3) Written my own material. I have done this for adults, teens, as well as a group of my dd's peers over the years. I find it is much easier for me to just write my own stuff rather than sift through all the (poorly formulated!) Bible curriculum out there.

 

FWIW, for church settings I recommend Piper's Children Desiring God curriculum.

 

When I do evaluate curriculum, I look specifically for three things: (1) How much is the student expected to interact directly with the Bible text? If, for example, the Bible study has 15 questions, I would expect no less than 10 to pull the student to interact directly with the Bible text. (2) Is there an opportunity to summarize the main lesson of the passage? Sadly, I have never, ever found a Bible curriculum anywhere that offers this simple step. All of the ones I have evaluated have either skipped directly from factual observations to application, or require the teacher to spoon-feed the main lesson to the kids. (3) Good application to real life.

 

To answer your question, I find that junior high students work comfortably with high school materials or even adult materials, and high school students definitely work comfortably with adult materials. For just plain Bible study, I think the Explorer's curriculum is very well done. I also highly recommend both BSF and CBS programs for either adults or children. I also have had a good experience with InterVarsity Press and with Kay Arthur's materials.

 

My own dd (6th grade) is learning inductive method, but I cannot recommend a specific resource for that as I have been writing my own stuff. Dd and her friends are working with me on two book studies this year (Obadiah and Jude). This includes:

 

--Marking observations directly in the text with colored pencils

--Geography and map studies

--Historical background study and timeline

--Word study for key words/phrases

--Making notes on observations, interpretation (defining the main lesson), and application, and then using those notes to write Bible study questions and suggestions.

--Character studies for anyone named in the book

--Outline of text

--Commentary-style report on entire text

--Illustration/illumination of key verse

 

My dd is currently learning inductive method using the book study I outlined above. I am not yet sure what she will study next year. In high school, my intent is for her education to mirror mine. She will do personal devotions and personal Bible study, and she will also have academic classes such as Church History, Comparative World Religions, NT Survey, OT Survey, etc. I might work through those classes just her and I, or I might look into having the two of us take a class or two at Moody Bible Institute together (it's really close to where we live) or through a Trinity extension course.

 

Hope that helps.

[Lori D.]

And if BSF is not available locally for your family (i.e., a BSF children's program), you might want to look at the Explorer's Bible Study series (the levels below the jr/sr high "Quest" level tend to be more "fill in the blanks"), or some of the Kay Arthur studies (maybe even skip the kids' studies and do an adult one together with your 9yo if she's really into digging into Scripture!). Both Kay Arthur studies and Explorer's are similar to BSF studies.

 

Explorer's Bible Study series: http://www.explorerbiblestudy.org/

Kay Arthur Bible Study series: http://www.precept.org/site/PageServer

Edited January 4, 2009 by Lori D.
changed text

[alpidarkomama]

We're Jewish, so all of this isn't necessarily applicable, but here's what we're doing for Kindergarten:

 

Tefillah (prayers) every morning before breakfast (about 15 minutes); we add a new tefillah every month or two

 

oral Hebrew lesson/written Hebrew lesson (definitely "school-like")

 

a song where we are memorizing the names of all the readings for each book, i.e. Genesis is divided up into 12 sections and each has a name, so we've memorized the order; last section of Genesis is read this week!

 

mitzvah of the week - a mitzvah is a commandment G-d gives in the torah; this past week we just reviewed and summarized the laws of Channukah (this mostly takes place in conversation as opposed to sitting down in a more scholarly way :) )

 

middah (character of the week) - this week we discussed busha (embarassment) as in what you feel when you know you're doing the wrong thing, esp. if you get caught, but that feeling helps us do the right thing most of the time! I usually include a story to illustrate this, and we talk about it as it comes up during our week.

 

melacha of the week - the things that we refrain from doing on shabbat (sabbath); this includes all the things that were done to build the mishkan in the desert so we get lots of fun agricultural pictures and talk about them; we also have a card game that helps us

 

Torah Theater - every week we pick out our favorite part of the torah portion that week and act it out; Genesis is so ripe with action that it's pretty easy to pick something; ALL the kids do this, even if they're just a sheep or a tree; it's a blast

 

memorization - right now most of our memorization is done through singing verses of torah, pretty much only in Hebrew

 

geography - we also follow the torah stories on the map, i.e. seeing where Yaakov/Jacob traveled when he went from Canaan to Egypt, where Goshen was, etc.; we're also going to begin to learn the basic geography of Israel, our spiritual home

 

art - I often try to tie our torah study into an art project; pretty easy to do

 

handwriting - sometimes for English practice I'll take English translations of what we're studying in torah for her to write (very short, since the oldest is in K)

 

That's about it, I think...

[alpidarkomama]

I forgot to add that we also always read the portion of the week out loud (it's usually 4-5 chapters or so) plus some of the relevant stories from the oral torah (that fleshes out the written torah). This is storytime, and they all clamor for this and are really disappointed when we've finished the week's portion! :)

[Lovedtodeath]

My suggestion is to separate the two so Bible time isn't part of school time. Make a special devotional time in your day -- perhaps first thing in the morning (before breakfast, or before morning chores??), to help establish a wonderful lifetime habit of a daily quiet time. Or as a family devotional time during/after dinner.

 

If you opt for morning or after lunch, then I suggest having some "free time" or something else scheduled right after that is NOT school -- free reading, playtime, etc. And, be sure to maintain your Bible/devotional time on weekends and during vacations so it is clearly *not* just part of a school routine but is a part of the fabric of your daily lives.

 

:iagree:We are doing this with our own materials, and we are adding FIAR character study into school.

 

Wow! Really great thoughts in here from everyone.

Edited January 4, 2009 by Lovedtodeath

[HappyGrace]

thanks! Question: When you mention you do a "..... of the week" for different things, do you plan this out ahead of time? Can you mention how you do your planning? I think that's partly where I need to work on this for success-do enough planning ahead so it gets done, but not so much I feel overscheduled or overwhelmed.

 

BTW, the more I am immersing myself in the Word, I AM finding it easier to casually bring things up in conversation or share what I learned that day. Also my modeling of being more in the Word is already rubbing off-I sat in bed with my lap desk and study Bibles this afternoon and dd came up and joined me with her Bible and notebook. I could see her imitating specific things that I've been modeling the past few days (I had showed her how I make pictures or write a simple outline to help me remember and I saw her using these techniques on her own now.)

 

Another idea-I'm also having dd quiz me on MY 3 memory verses per week, so she's getting some exposure to my verses on top of her own!

 

I still do think it will be hard once school starts up again tomorrow and we don't have as much time for this because of our academics :glare: Not sure how to work that out yet!

[alpidarkomama]

My "of the weeks" are planned ahead of time, usually based on what the torah reading of the week is. So the middah/character trait is usually exemplified by one of the biblical figures. The mitzvah/commandment is either one right from the text (but Genesis is pretty sparse on commandments) or is related to something in the text or to an upcoming holiday. The melachos (works prohibited on shabbat) are taught in a traditional order.

[HappyGrace]

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