Please share your kindergarten favorite Bible/Character methods or curriculum..

[iteachmine]

I would just like to get insights on your favorite Bible/Character methods for a kindergartener. I am trying to get some ideas for my soon to be 5dd for the fall.

 

I would like to have weekly Bible memorization and possibly a weekly craft of some sort included. We have been using a BOZ activity workbook http://www.bozthebear.com/world/overview.asp, but I am looking for somthing a little deeper.

 

Any other tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.:)

 

Thanks

[hmschooling]

Hands down all time favorite is Heart of Dakota! You could use Little Hands to Heaven OR Little Hearts For His Glory for a K'er. If you look at their placement chart, which is very accurate for placement, you'll get a good feel what would fit you both the best. My children are thriving and learning so much about the Bible and God, memorizing scripture, learning and growing into Godly character traits plus learning to find them in characters in their readings. There's so much more wonderfulness to it in addition to all this, but you'll have to check it out for yourself! We LOVE it!

 

ETA: I forgot to mention it has just the right amount of hands on/crafts as well, which all tie in to the biblical theme in the lesson. Also, it uses the same math you are using already! (but you can use any math with it)

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

We will be using FIAR along with their Christian Character Bible Study supplement.

[dhudson]

Huge fan of MFW K. Used it with all of my children and the Bible/Character portion is terrific.

[Harriet Vane]

Here is 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.

[motherdear]

I don't know if money is an issue for you,but Betty Lukens felts are wonderful! You can use a children's Bible and present the story, then at playtime let them review it on their own!

[Tree House Academy]

We struggled to find something that really interested and engaged my young 1st grader (who is 5.5 yrs) and then we finally found CLE. CLE Bible is perfect. The stories are short (1 pg) and there is an activity of some sort after each one. I am just pleased as punch with the curriculum. :)

[1GirlTwinBoys]

Heart of Dakota. :001_smile:

[Lovedtodeath]

FIAR has a wonderful Christian Character supplement with several verses and discussion that apply to parts of the book for every day that you read it. (five, of course) I also recommend that you get an easy translation to read the verses from for better understanding. I have the Easy to Read Version from World Bible Translation Center. We usually read them from both versions of the Bible.

[Lovedtodeath]

I also have an out of print book called "Listening To the Great Teacher" that is specifically showing our children what Jesus taught. Chapters include: Jesus, the Great Teacher, The One who Made all Things, The Great Teacher Served Other People, The Blessing of Work, "Your Sins are Forgiven", The Man Who Forgot God, "Happy are the Peaceable", Jesus Gave His Life for Us, "You will be with me in Paradise". There are 46 chapters and all have scriptural references at the end that you can read through as well. I love how it is worded for younger children. DD can pay attention to this book much better than some other things that I have tried.

[ElizabethB]

We just read and memorize the Bible.

 

In K (and when she was 3 and 4), we read from "The Rhyme Bible." It's amazingly Biblically accurate given how well it rhymes.

 

This year (1st grade), I read to her from the NIV, she also reads some from the NIV on her own, and we memorized verses from the NIV.

 

We correlated it with our history and I read while she colored the matching figures for our timeline.

[nova mama]

I read a chapter or so to them while they're eating breakfast, though not every day. For a while we were also memorizing a Bible verse per week, in alphabetical order. (Week 1: As for me and my house ... Week 2: Be fruitful and multiply ...) We fell away somewhere around K.

 

We've had good success with the "Scripture Songs" CD by Twin Sisters Productions. My three-year-old knows the books of the Bible and the fruit of the Spirit thanks to these songs. I don't know how to post a link, but you can download them from iTunes.

 

And now for some encouragement from Deuteronomy 6:6-9:

6These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

[FriedClams]

We struggled to find something that really interested and engaged my young 1st grader (who is 5.5 yrs) and then we finally found CLE. CLE Bible is perfect. The stories are short (1 pg) and there is an activity of some sort after each one. I am just pleased as punch with the curriculum. :)

 

:iagree::iagree: