Foundations 2: Christ Our Messiah
$14.95 – $24.95
Foundations 2 studies the Gospels and Acts, as your children will see how the Messiah was the fulfillment of all the Old Testament. They will learn how the early church was founded and how God has continued to build His church.
"Finally, a Bible curriculum designed for real homeschooling families..."
That's why, several years ago, we developed a Bible curriculum specifically for homeschoolers. We invite you to take a look!
"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works" (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
- Study the Bible chronologically, beginning with the Old Testament. A firm foundation for biblical understanding will be laid.
- Teach your children how to study the Bible for themselves, using inductive and deductive methods.
- Through daily use, teach your children how to handle their Bibles, understand what it means, and apply it to their lives.
- Commit large sections of Scripture to memory, hiding it in your hearts so your family will not sin against God.
- Children who begin studying the Bible in first grade will have thoroughly discussed God's Word four times before they graduate from high school.
- A variety of activities for multiple ages means that families will read together, study together, and grow together... making life easier for Mom and simplifying your homeschooling day.
Why We Developed a Bible Curriculum
We believe that knowledge of the Bible, God's Word, is essential for our children (in fact, for all people). How can we know how to live in a way that is pleasing to God if we are not familiar with God's instruction manual? That's why, several years ago, we began searching for a Bible curriculum that our homeschooling family could use. While we do think it is possible to piece together a strong course of study from the hundreds of resources available, several factors began to frustrate us:
- Many homeschooling curricula seemed to follow a haphazard approach to learning the Bible, leaving possible gaping holes in our children's knowledge of God.
- We couldn't find a homeschooling company that followed a chronological approach to Bible study. Why was this important? If our children didn't come to a clear understanding of God's nature and character, their own sinfulness, helplessness and hopelessness, and Christ's all-sufficient saving work through His death, burial, and resurrection, then how could they understand God's plan of salvation and have certainty of their faith in Him?
- Many homeschooling curricula fail to teach the Bible consistently as one book, just as God has progressively revealed it to us. Instead, we saw hit-and-miss teachings, full of cute Bible stories and character-training devices. We were convinced that if our children came to know and understand God's plan for their lives as revealed in His Word, they would develop Godly character as a natural by-product.
- Since the majority of Christian teaching emphasizes individual doctrines of the Bible rather than presenting the Bible as one complete, interdependent revelation of God, the result is often heresy, as well as the misinterpretation and overemphasis of certain Scriptures. How many lifelong church members still do not know the Bible as one book? How many have even read through the Bible in its entirety just one time? We didn't want this for our children.
- Finally, when we found a homeschooling curriculum company that seemed to meet our goals, it was written for just one child to use, usually in a classroom setting. We were searching for a curriculum that we could use to teach all of our children, all at the same time.
That's why we developed our own homeschooling Bible curriculum.
Benefits of Our Bible Curriculum
Here are some benefits of our plan:
- We offer a 3-year plan to studying the Bible. Foundations 1 will study an overview of the Old Testament, preparing your children for the coming of Christ 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 Law and about God's plan to provide a Savior from sin. They will have a clear understanding of their place in God's plan. Foundation 2 will study the Gospels and Acts, as your children will see how Christ was the fulfillment of all the Old Testament. They will learn how the early church was founded and how God has continued to build His church. Foundations 3 will continue the study of the New Testament by surveying the Epistles and the book of Revelation. Your children will now have the necessary framework to study systematic theology as well as character traits that are taught in the Epistles.
- We will follow a chronological approach to the Bible. We strongly urge you to start with Foundations 1: Preparation for Christ (Old Testament), no matter the ages of your children, so that a firm foundation for Biblical understanding will be laid.
- 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 will have your children study through the Bible once every three years. If your children happen to start using our homeschooling curriculum in kindergarten or first grade, they will completely study the Bible four times before they finish high school. You don't have to worry about boring them, however. 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. In addition, each year's plan requires only a handful of additional resources, so you'll save money!
We think you're going to fall in love with our homeschooling Bible curriculum because...
- It's easy on Mom! She'll have very little preparation to do!
- It's family friendly! All of your kids will be learning, memorizing, studying, and applying Scripture together.
- It's cost efficient! We offer it to you as an inexpensive e-book download, or you may purchase it as a printed, wire-bound book to save the cost of printing it yourself.
- It's all inclusive! You can buy more resources if you'd like, but rest assured that our curriculum is a packed program all on its own.
Click to download a free sample:
What Families Are Saying
"This is the first time we've been consistent with our Bible study time since we started homeschooling. Thank you!" — a mother in Missouri
"I've been searching for a curriculum that started in Genesis and read straight through the Bible. That our whole family can do it together? Well, that's even better!" — a mother in Arizona
"I downloaded this curriculum, looking for a GOOD, comprehensive, SIMPLE, easy to follow, Bible centered Bible curriculum and I was NOT disappointed. First, the program is comprehensive. It covers, Bible reading, memorization, drills to help your child be able to find quickly references. It approaches memory verses in a variety of ways, auditory, visual, kinesthetic. It really covers a lot of ground in NOT a prohibitive amount of time. I just consider this to be an all around great product." — Rebecca
"To say that I am pleased with this curriculum could very well be the understatement of the year. The suggested reading list is spot on. The lessons are clear and easy to follow. It is very thorough and even teaches some concepts that I hadn't thought to teach my children before. I even learned some tips on bible study and memorization. I appreciated the mom's notes and check off list that go with the lessons. My favorite part (okay one of them) is that this is chronologically based. There is no better history than that of the bible and this curriculum give your kids a much greater understanding of how to appreciate and utilize the bible, our most important tool." — Heart of the Matter
"Foundations 3 is the best year yet! My husband and I learned so much as we dug into Scripture with our children. My Bible is much clearer to me now." — a mother in Iowa
How to Use Our Bible Curriculum
Our homeschooling curriculum can be used with any grade level, with any number of children, but just to help you understand, let's think about some possible scenarios:
- You are homeschooling only one child, and he is just starting first grade. In this case, you would use Foundations 1 for first grade, Foundations 2 for second grade, Foundations 3 for third grade. When your son starts fourth grade, you would go back to Foundations 1 and complete some of the more difficult assignments. You would continue to cycle through the curriculum, potentially studying the entire Bible four times before your son graduates! Wow!
- You have many children, ranging from high school age to preschool. You're a busy mom, so you'll love the flexibility of our curriculum. Each of your students will be studying from the same lessons. You should all start on Foundations 1, no matter what grade your children are in. Young children will listen as you read aloud from your Bible. They can complete the optional coloring pages and memorize the Bible verses. Older children can do the optional activities, enjoy weekly Bible drills, and memorize longer sections of Scripture. High school students can outline entire books of the Bible, read supplemental books, and learn how to study the Bible for themselves. Meanwhile, Mom still has very little preparation to do, and it didn't cost you any more money!
Frequently Asked Questions
I have several young children, all under the age of five. Are they too young for me to be able to use this curriculum?
We have seven children ourselves. My older and younger children definitely learn and remember differently as we read through the Bible daily, but they are all learning. Even my 3-year-old loved to say some of the memory verses and books of the Bible. We have been reading like this for several years now, and I would say that it is possibly never too young to start.
When my children were preschoolers, before we had written or used our own Bible curriculum, we used Kenneth Taylor’s The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes and Right Choices. One year we read through Egermeier’s Bible Story Book. For memory verses, we would learn one verse for each letter of the alphabet (while learning the letter sounds at the same time). The ones we used are listed here:
http://homeschoolingbible.com/hints-for-homeschooling-a-kindergartener, but I also like https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/abeliza.
We also offer a preschool curriculum through Homeschooling Torah.
If you combined one of the Bible story books listed above with the coloring pages from Calvary Chapel plus simpler Bible memory verses, you’d have a great Bible “curriculum” until your little ones were just a touch older. Maybe a year or two?
How many lessons are included?
Each level of our Bible curriculum includes an entire year’s worth of lesson plans. That means 36 weeks of lesson plans, for a total of 180 days.
How is the Bible studied chronologically? Is it arranged in the order that it happened in history?
We study the Bible chronologically, especially in the Old Testament, in the order that it happened in history. However, it’s done loosely. We went basically in order of the books of the Bible until the kings of Israel, when we jumped around in Kings and Chronicles. The prophecies of Christ the Messiah come before the books of Esther, Ezra, and Nehemiah. Oh, and Job was studied between Genesis and Exodus. So it’s a very loose arrangement.
In the New Testament, each Gospel is read one at a time, so that the gospel stories are presented four times over the year, with the year ending in Acts. The third year, we look at the Epistles one at a time, with many references back to Acts for context.
Will we read ALL of the Bible together over the three-year period?
When reading aloud, only the story sections of the Old Testament are read. Some chapters are skipped over, and only selected portions of the poetry and prophecy books are read aloud. Schedules are provided for older children to read individually straight through the entire Old Testament, in the order it is presented in the Bible. The entire New Testament is read aloud.
Do coloring pages and worksheets come with the curriculum?
No, we simply schedule coloring pages that are produced by a ministry based in California. Coloring pages mentioned in the curriculum are available online and must be printed yourself.
NOTE: The website for the coloring pages scheduled in the curriculum is currently being by Calvary Chapel. Please update your links to this new address: https://calvarycurriculum.com/childrens-curriculum-original/ (March 14, 2016).
Are activities and discussion questions scheduled for every day of the curriculum?
No. Toward the beginning of each year, you’ll find many more suggestions for discussion and activities than you will toward the end of each year. Why is this? We are wanting to teach you as a mother how to direct the conversation to fit the needs of your unique family. We feel that the Holy Spirit will be your teacher and bring things to mind that you should discuss or study further. We advise you to write ideas down in your book so that you’ll remember them in future years.
Do you have a doctrinal statement?
Many people have asked what denomination we represent or what our doctrinal beliefs are. Our family is Torah observant, and we attend a Messianic Jewish congregation that meets on the sabbath. Our goal is to be faithful to God’s Word as inspired Scripture and applicable to our lives.
>> Click here to read our doctrinal statement.
However, since our Bible curriculum is simply a chronological reading of the Old and New Testaments over three years, we encourage you to read and study through the Bible with your children no matter what your doctrinal views. We hope that, no matter our personal denominations, we are all faithful to the Bible and to the words we read there, even if they challenge our views. If an occasional study question differs with your family’s views, we encourage you to study the passage of Scripture being discussed and to use it as a teaching opportunity for your children.
What version of the Bible is used in this curriculum?
We have based the curriculum on the King James Version of the Bible, although you are free to use a different version if you prefer. Memory verses are all from the KJV. The Calvary Chapel worksheets use the NKJV.
Does the curriculum come with maps?
No. We use maps freely available online, and we often ask the students to make their own maps based on these online sources.
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