Stop! Don’t Go Any Further!

Stop! Don’t go any further! Before you begin planning for your homeschool year, you MUST consider this! 

While other moms are designing their homeschool space and buying cute planners, the Biblically Minded family is different. The most important element that you must get right this school year is BIBLE. What is your plan for Bible time with your children? If your answer is unclear or if you just haven’t thought about it, this is your encouragement to stop planning the rest of your days until you have this cornerstone in place. The most important thing you can do this school year is to lead your children into a deeper relationship with Jesus and a greater knowledge of the Scripture.

There are almost too many choices when it comes to what to plan for spiritually investing in your children, so here are some of the best ones that we have used.   They will give you a great start in adding spiritual conversations and growth into your home. Why have we tried so many of these? We have been homeschooling for over 12 years. We have been through seasons of moving, with newborns, with several preschoolers, of vibrant weeks of ministry, etc. As our seasons changed, we did not delete our Bible Times. Rather, we switched out what we were doing to match our season and the needs of everyone in our homeschool. So…which one of these five will you choose?

1. Invest in an “Open and Go” Curriculum

Are you in a season that makes it hard to prepare lots of subjects ahead of time? Well, this curriculum could be just what you need to have a successful Bible Time! Abeka Book (Abeka.com) has a great Bible curriculum that does not take an additional preparation time. They have sets of books (according to grade levels) that follow a person from the Bible. It comes with beautifully illustrated sheets, and the narration to read each day follows the text from the Bible very closely. Instead of buying a set of books for each child at every grade level, we have purchased one set (from an older grade level) and used that in our morning Bible time for all the students together. We have also used the journals that correspond with the grade level.

2. Study a book of the Bible.   

While this can seem really daunting, it can be a fun and sweet time with your children. We have loved going verse by verse through one of the Gospels, Genesis, or Exodus. Noticing things in Jesus’ ministry in Matthew and comparing it to Luke’s account is an interesting and rich study. You can even use Biblical tools to help you understand the passages. It is rewarding to have each of your children reading their own Bibles together and using a Bible dictionary, concordance, or commentary to help them make the verses clearer. These are skills for a life of Bible study. You may feel too overwhelmed to attempt this method, thinking that you do not know enough to teach this way. But when a question comes up that you don’t understand, you can research it together. What a joy to learn how to learn together!

3.   Study Christian character.  

Do you desire for your children to be courageous, kind, loyal, or courteous? How do you instill those things into their little lives? Study Biblical Christian Character! These week-long studies will help your children define these traits, identify them in Biblical Heroes, and develop them in their own lives. This study is great for elementary students, but it really can be used with students of all ages. This curriculum is available HERE for a FREE DOWNLOAD and includes character posters, character cards, and Bible verses to memorize.

 

4. Read a chapter in Psalms or Proverbs each day.  

One of the sweetest memories I have in your Bible time has been the times that we have used this method. After reading the whole chapter aloud of them, I ask them to think about what verse or phrase stuck out to them. Giving them time to think and look back at the passage, they will read the verse or phrase silently and tell us why they chose that one. They truly have insightful things to say! They have the Holy Spirit like we do. He will teach them and work in their hearts like He does in ours. They will have great things to say to add to the discussion. We have also tried dividing the chapter in sections, each child taking a few verses to read silently, and choosing one from that section that they want to talk about to the group.

This is a non-threatening way for you and your children to talk about the Scriptures, It helps them to think about the verse and then teach the group from what they have read. We have had great discussions about theology, sin, Satan, and more through these Bible times.  You could also have them write their observations in a Bible Journal.

5.  Purchase a devotional book.  

If you search your local Christian bookstore of favorite online retailer, you will find hundreds of devotional books for your family. They can be written based on subjects, books of the Bible, or even characters from the Bible. Find one that seems relevant to your family and their interests and begin reading one of the selections each day. What a difference it will make when you daily open the Word of God together and mediate on what it says first thing in the morning before beginning any other subject! This one is a good place to start:

These are just some of the ways you can begin to center your homeschool around the Word of God. This is one of the greatest benefits that we have in homeschooling. It should be the central focus of our days and time as we start our day in the Word and try to incorporate it into every aspect of homeschooling.

We would love to know what you are doing for homeschool Bible Time this year. Would you share that in the comments below?

Also, check out another one of our articles, like one of these below!