I really don’t like to think of Bible as business.  But when I’m making plans and spending money, the teaching of God’s Word in our homeschool does tend to take on a business nature.

    When we first started homeschooling, we just read straight through Hurlbut’s Story of the Bible. And that was Bible. It was simple, but interesting and profitable.
 
    For the past three years, we have been using Bob Jones Bible Truths.  I have been very pleased with it for the most part.  The curriculum has introduced deep topics like atonement and big words like omniscience and higher-level Bible skills such as cross-referencing at a remarkably early level.  But its organization is too haphazard for me.  I have no doubt that over time the course will cover all the major stories and themes in the Bible.  But it doesn’t do it in order.  And “order” is important to me.  Why have I insisted on going through history chronologically and just letting our Bible study jump from the New to the Old Testament and then to a missionary study and then back to the Old and then the New and on and on?  I was in desperate need of a plan... a chronological plan for studying the Bible.  You know...starting with Genesis.  And years down the road, ending up with Revelation.

    When I happened upon a Veritas Press catalog, my interest was piqued.  Was this what I was looking for? Of course, I had to ask lots of people about the cards. Responses varied from “it was way too dry for us” to “it has been perfect for us”.  So in the end, I took the plunge and ordered the Genesis through Joshua card set with the teacher’s manual on enhanced CD.  And I have spent a bit of time figuring out how I’m going to use it.  But I have a plan (of course).

    We will cover approximately one card a week.  We will do 1 or 2 of the activities provided in the VP teacher’s manual. And we will read aloud appropriate sections from the ESV Bible (just select passages-we are already reading through the Bible at night with Pa), Egermeier’s Bible Story Book, and The Victor Journey Through the Bible.  Most of this “out-loud” Bible time is for Ben’s benefit.  I think he will enjoy the varied sources, the pictures, and the projects.

    At the same time, Jake is going to start a 5-year “read through the Bible” plan that will coincide with our VP 5-year plan.  I will assign his daily Bible reading, and then once he completes his reading, he will answer the questions on that chapter in Volume 1 of Balancing the Sword.  I am very impressed with this book.  Take a look at the samples on the website.  The book is beautiful, and once Jake has completed his reading of the whole Bible, he will have a gorgeous keepsake of what he has gleaned from God’s Word over a five year period from 4th to 8th grade.  Then I hope he will want to do it again with Volume 2 during his high school years.  Both Volume 1 and Volume 2 are sold together, but I think it would be way too much for him to answer questions in both books at the same time.

We will see how well this goes.  I have branched out and become quite eclectic in other subjects.  It is time to branch out with our Bible “class”, too.