I am going out on a limb and going to try something different this fall with the kids. I am looking for ideas, help, partners, feedback? (Please, only positive feedback as I am aware that this is a crazy idea!)
My inspirations: 1) an amazing old pastor we met that has read his entire Bible every three months... For forty years! 2) people who do extreme things to follow their passions like, for example, the authors of The Hundred Mile Diet who were so passionate about healthful eating that they only ate food that was produced within a hundred miles of their home for a whole year, and
3) a sweet homeschooling family that attended a YWAM training week where (university aged) students read the whole Bible in a week. The older children in this family, aged seven and nine, participated in the full week and read the whole Bible with the other, much older students.
So... I have been praying about doing something special with our studies that would embrace our passions as well and have been impressed with this idea: we would like to start our school year by reading the whole Bible together in chronological order. I don't think we can do it in a week but maybe in two weeks or three. Our hope is to start on September 8th.
We will take turns reading corporately, will use some audio Bible and will also do some of the reading privately (for those old enough) and maybe with other friends for a bit, too. I think we will try to make a timeline or keep our books of centuries handy as well as maps of the holy land. I will likely have the girls do some narrative drawings or paintings while they listen daily. I want to keep it fairly simple though.
My understanding is that it takes about 70 hours to read the Bible in full. That means it would take about 6 hours per day if done in two weeks with lesser readings on the weekend or would take about 4 hours per day if done in three weeks with lesser readings on the weekends.
What I'm looking for: 1) Advice, ideas, encouragement? 2) Comrades? Would anyone like to join us for encouragement, company and accountability? If you live nearby, we could meet up at a park a few days a week and read together and then take a break and play.
I am fully aware that we may not be able to fully finish this or may end up drawing it out and that we will miss many of the nuances that a slow and thoughtful read would give. On the other hand, I have found a “bird’s eye-view” very refreshing and have learned a lot from more intensive reading on my own lately. I also realize that my younger kids will likely skip out on some reading and that's okay, too. I figure though that we can't really go wrong by setting aside a special time to read the Bible intensively and that our reading, writing and 'rithmetic studies can't be terribly thrown off by starting a few weeks later than usual. I think that this can be a great educational experience as well a spiritual one.
Thoughts? Thanks.
Peace,
Cori
Maple Tree Publications
www.mapletreepublications.ca
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