What better living book than the Bible to help give our children ideas to think about and real life examples to learn from as they grow into lovers of truth?
"We should be working as hard at understanding the teachings of Jesus as Plato's disciples did at comprehending his words of wisdom. Let's take up our notebooks and study the orderly and progressive sequence, the penetrating quality, the irresistible appeal, and the uniqueness of the Divine teaching. For this kind of study, it might be good to use a chronological arrangement of the Gospels. Let's not just read for our own benefit, although we will benefit. Let's read for the love of the knowledge that's better than silver or gold."We have always included a study of the Bible in our homeschool even when the children were very young. The true test of a living book, in my opinion, is its ability to influence our thinking in a positive way, to move us to action. The combination of Bible reading and then some sort of interaction with the ideas is a powerful tool in raising a Godly family.
Charlotte Mason, volume 6 page 338
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| This is when Mr. A was obsessed with making bubble letters like his big sister. |
The children would then narrate on a level that is appropriate for their abilities, either in drawings and/or short narrations. We gently started memorizing the order of the books in the Bible.
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| They would copy the scripture into the notebook and draw a picture to go with it. |
- What do these scriptures teach us about God's qualities?
- How does this relate to the overall theme of the Bible?
- How does this affect my life?
- How can I share this with others?
Logic Stage (approx. age 10-13): We continue with one chapter a day Bible reading (starting back at the beginning when we finished Revelation) and discussion outlined above but once a week we take time to choose a scripture to write about in our Bible notebooks. This is a short paragraph with our own thoughts and perhaps a plan for applying the counsel in our own lives.
We started the Simply Charlotte Mason Bible memorization system where we were learning multiple scriptures at a time. I can remember telling the boys that I wish I had learned a scripture a week when I was growing up so that I could draw those up to my memory now when I need them. I would remind them when they were discouraged that knowing Bible scripture is like having hidden treasure in your heart. (I think they are now at an age that they can appreciate the effort we have put into this project.)
Rhetoric Stage (approx. 14-18): The plan includes all the components from the Grammar and Logic stage but the Bible is used as a text for Ancient History study where we tie our history learning in with the Bible. This has been the best experience for me as a parent because I can actually see my children mature as we make connections and discuss all aspects of our history study in light of Bible scripture.
We also started memorizing longer and longer passages from the Bible. The boys now are memorizing whole chapters of scripture at a time. This is a process that seems impossible at first but it is so satisfactory when it is accomplished. I see great value in not only having a whole treasure chest filled with "silver and gold" scriptures but complete thoughts from Biblical writers like David, Paul, and Luke.
Each of us has our own Commonplace Book where we keep track of scriptures that we especially feel a need to remember. I keep mine by category....one category on a page with a list of scriptures written underneath. The boys just keep a journal type listing for scriptures that they feel apply to their lives.
Into Adulthood: My older two children are in their twenties and they have kept up their own personal Bible study in various ways. Meaningful study of the Bible can be a progressive training so that long into the adult years it is as natural as breathing. Treasures better than silver and gold...living thoughts that influence us for the life ahead.
Barb-Harmony Art Mom
14 comments:
I really enjoyed this post. Thank you. Liked the CM quote. We read from the NKJV, and in theory (but in practice it's infrequent) from the KJV at times to give them that exposure somewhat also. We have them narrate, too. I like the questions you have them answer. We do a notecard system for memory work very similar to the Simply Charlotte Mason one, I think. There may be minor differences - we got the idea from a book a friend loaned us. Before that we'd just read passages repeatedly and some we'd tape record and play back (still use the tape some, which works pretty well especially for little ones and longer passages).
Thanks for sharing your ideas....we studied the Names of Christ this year. I am planning our OT Bible lessons for the summer this week!
What an encouraging and informative post! What I always love about your writing is the wonderful, rich experiences you and your family share.
It is quite comforting to know someone just ahead of us on the high school homeschooling journey can say, "It works and it's worth it."
Thank you for sharing about a commonplace book! (I must have missed your original post.) I think that a commonplace book filled with personal notes, copywork and quotes will become a child's treasure, much like their nature journals. And I'd love to start a spiritual book too!
Thank you for posting this. I appreciate seeing the different stages laid out :)
Our narration has at times involved much hilarity, as teddy bears and their soft toy friends became various people from the Bible. I'm not sure how much the girls remembered ... but they thoroughly enjoyed our Bible 'studies'.
Definitely the truest of living books, the Bible! This post is rich with habits to build upon. Thank you for sharing with all of us.
I love your definition of a living book! Great post.
My footsteps came from CM blog carnival. I love the quote. And, I enjoyed seeing how your pulled the living book and the CM style together. Fabulous.
I love seeing the stages of learning reflected here! Thank you for sharing this post.
This is awesome. I love your blog. I'm definitely bookmarking it!
I really enjoyed reading your post, especially with the older ages (10-teens); I'm tucking away some ideas for our family as the children grow.
I also blogged about this topic, only for the younger ages, which is my experience at present: http://inchwormchronicles.blogspot.com/2011/04/scripture-study-in-home.html
I love how you said a study of the bible can move us toward action. I definitely agree!
We read through the Bible with the Narrated, Chronological Bible last year. It was a great overview for me. To read the Bible as a continuous story was a new experience for me. It was kind of hard to keep up with so much reading from it each day, but we made it. Very good suggestions for each stage of learning!
Barb,
This is a wonderfully practical post about a wonderfully ALIVE book! I really love how you broke each of these down into stages.
Thank you for sharing!
I really enjoyed reading this post and the information for the younger children with children's Bible, corresponding to the Bible and the narration.
Thanks for sharing.
I came over from the Charlotte Mason Carnival.
This is a great post about a great topic! We are reading the Bible from cover to cover now and memorizing Psalms. It is one of the most important parts of our homeschool!
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