UPDATE: It is with sadness that I discovered that Student of the Word no longer exists.
I know I have raved about our Bible Curriculum, Student of the Word or SOW before. But I really like it! 🙂 Although it is a complete K6-12 curriculum (excluding Maths) we have modified how we use it to just using the Bible portion.
Just the Bible Portion
Is it worth the money to just use the Bible portion? Yes! Every cent of it, in my opinion.
If you were hardworking and not easily distracted with the little ones and housework I suppose you could put together a similar Bible curriculum. But I am neither that hardworking nor do I have any inclination to do so. So investing in the SOW curriculum has been great for us!
How SOW Has Helped Us
I have written before on how we use it*. So I shall not repeat myself here. I just want to share how it has helped us.
1. I am actually reading the Bible!
Previously, I would lean heavily on the Answer Key of the Bible Curriculum we are using to go through the Bible lessons with the children. But with SOW, because it has no answer key, I was “forced” to read the Bible for myself. I would also have to do my own research, browsing through a few commentaries before I can teach the children. This has helped me in my own walk with God. A LOT.
2. Going through the Bible systematically
By going through the Bible systematically, chapter by chapter, we have read books of the Bible that most adults skim through or ignore. Books like Leviticus (so many rituals!) and Revelations (so confusing!). A lot of Christians tend to know verses here and there or “famous” Bible stories. They do not have the whole picture. But by reading the Bible systematically, we are able to see the whole story of the Bible better,
3. Spin-offs from the Bible
There are so many things I am able to share with the children just because we do our Bible studies/devotions using the SOW curriculum. Things we would seldom have a chance to talk about in the normal course of the day is brought up and discussed because of something we read about in the Bible. Yes, even awkward stuff like adultery and fornication!
Some Catch More Than Others
Of course, during the sessions some children benefit from and catch more of the discussions than others – isn’t that always so? It depends very much on their personality and spiritual maturity.
It was really rewarding when the 5-year-old asked to be included with her older siblings. The curriculum starts from age 6 and I usually hold back starting the children until they are 7. But she has managed to keep up with us. With the younger children, they aren’t required to write anything but are instead encouraged to draw their thoughts and takeaways. I love how she draws out the lessons she has learnt in her own SOW book that I printed and bound for her. She is also very keen to recite to me her memory verse on Fridays.
The picture above showed how much she had absorbed after just one year on the programme. But a disclaimer here: not every child will and can do this. My other children did not. I am just showing how it can work. Also, this is a Summary Page I created in Microsoft Word on my own initiative to get the children to do a simple 3-point summary of each book of the Bible we do. It is not part of SOW. SOW has the child do a Commentary of each section of the book being studied.
SOW is Non-denominational
If you are bored or not happy with your Bible curriculum, you may want to consider SOW. There is a steep learning curve learning how to implement it but once you get the hang of it, you will move very fast.
It is non-denominational so you can teach your church’s doctrinal stand or not at all. You can go as deep as you like or not. We are currently in the Book of James and I am already wondering how to handle Revelations when the time comes!
Related Posts
How We use Student of the Word Curriculum in our Homeschool
Doing Devotions with the Children