This curriculum was first written for Foundations Press in 2006, as a way to introduce our children to the Scriptures. This is the first in a series of 3, but only this first book is available at HomeschoolingTorah. (Foundations 2 and Foundations 3 are available at our Foundations Press website.)

Foundations 1 will study an overview of the Old Testament, preparing your children for the coming of Messiah by presenting them with a clear picture of God’s nature and character, as well as the nature and character of sinful mankind.  They will learn about the necessity of the Torah and about God’s plan to provide a Savior from sin.  They will have a clear understanding of their place in God’s plan.

Lesson Plans are 36 weeks long (180 school days).

Features:

• We offer a chronological approach to studying the Old Testament. Please note that the entire Old Testament will not be read. For that reason, we recommend this curriculum to elementary students or to families who are new to studying the Bible.
• We will teach your children how to study the Bible for themselves, using inductive and deductive methods.  Your children will learn, through daily use of the Scriptures, how to find Scripture passages, understand God’s Word for themselves, and apply it to their daily lives.  Your children will also commit large portions of Scripture to memory, hiding God’s Word in their hearts so that they will not sin against God.
• We offer learning activities suited to many different ability levels, so that all of your children will be challenged.
• We think you’ll love our curriculum, especially if you’re teaching several children at once.  You will all be memorizing together, studying together, and applying God’s Word together.  We’ve included easy lesson plans so that Mom doesn’t have to spend much time in preparation.

We’d like to show you what a typical day of Bible study looks like in our home.

1. First, if we haven’t already done so, we start our day with prayer.
2. Now we work on learning the week’s memory verse.  You can read some of our methods below.
3. Dad, Mom, or an older student, then reads the day’s Bible reading aloud.  You may use the Bible translation of your choice.
4. Often we will suggest discussion questions and activities for you to do.  Please feel free to add to or subtract from our suggestions, depending on the needs and interests of your family, always listening to the leading of the Spirit.
5. Twice each week, we like to have a “Bible Drill.”  This is a game in which children race each other to find passages of Scripture in their own Bibles.  We urge you to play this game often so your children will gain the essential skill of finding passages in God’s Word quickly!  You might want to wait until your children are old enough to read fairly well on their own (typically 2^nd or 3^rd grade).  At this age, we purchase a good-quality Bible for our children, one which lies flat when opened.

To Have a Bible Drill:

• Have each child raise his Bible in the air, totally extending his arm. (It’s only fair.)  Have him hold his Bible by the back binding, with no fingers poking into the pages to keep his place for him.
• Mom announces the reference to be found (for instance, “Genesis 1:1”).
• The children then repeat the reference orally, so that Mom is sure everyone knows where to go and is listening.
• Mom shouts, “Go!”
• At this point, each child pulls his Bible down and begins searching for the Scripture reference as quickly as possible.
• The first child to find the reference stands.  He then reads it out loud.

If one child always wins, simply because he is older, take heart!  The less-experienced children will quickly improve with frequent practice and a good dose of healthy competition.  However, you can add Dad to the game in the evenings for extra spice!

6. At the end of each week, our notes suggest that your children write in their journals.  Our children each have a spiral or 3-ring notebook that is their Bible Journal.  Once a week, they review what they’ve learned that week by telling about it in their journal.  Young ones might draw a picture and have Mom write about it below.  They might copy their memory verse.  Older ones might tell what they’ve learned in their private Bible reading or copywork time.  This journal will not only provide a record of their education; it will also become a priceless treasure that helps to cement God’s truth in their hearts.
7. Please be open to the Holy Spirit as you work through His Torah portions.  Always be ready to discuss important concepts with your children and answer their questions.  We have added notes and teaching ideas for some of the lessons but not all. (Note:  these are all optional and will vary in difficulty).  If you come up with additional learning ideas, record them so that you’ll remember them next time you cover this material.  Ask YHWH to make His Torah meaningful to each of your children.

About Foundations Bible

Foundations 1: Preparation for Messiah is copyright 2013 by Anne Elliott.

All rights reserved. No part of this curriculum may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. You do have permission to photocopy the curriculum for your own personal use. You may select individual pages to copy, or you may copy the entire curriculum! It is up to you how much of the information you want to copy and for how many children in your family you want to use it. You can copy this curriculum for use in your immediate family only; redistributing the book to other families is strictly prohibited.

“Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12).

Published by Foundations Press

The Golden Rule of Interpretation

“When the plain sense of Scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense; therefore, take every word at its primary, ordinary, usual, literal meaning unless the facts of the immediate context, studied in the light of related passages and axiomatic and fundamental truths, indicate otherwise.” — D.L. Cooper