As parents, we have the incredible privilege and responsibility of instructing our children’s minds, engaging their hearts, and nurturing their faith. Using Truth78 materials at home can be an effective tool in teaching and applying the most important truths that our children need to know and embrace—the truths communicated in the Bible.
Although our materials are designed for use in the church, we believe there are many advantages of presenting this material in your home:
- Children have more time to listen, absorb, and interact with what they’ve been taught.
- Parents are best suited to make the most meaningful application of these biblical truths when, as a family, they “walk by the way” (Deuteronomy 6:7).
- The whole family can learn together, providing opportunities for children and parents to encourage and minister to one another.
- Fathers and mothers can work together in their God-given roles as they train up their children in the instruction of the Lord.
Curriculum Features
- The curriculum is “Bible-saturated.” Every lesson is designed so that your children come to know the Bible and the God of the Bible.
- Lessons include concrete illustrations that help children understand deep biblical truths.
- Children are directed to look up Bible passages and answer questions from the Bible, which develops Bible study skills and critical thinking.
- The lessons are teacher friendly and incorporate an interactive teaching approach.
- The question/answer format is very easy to navigate and to adapt to various ages.
- Student Workbooks (or Journals for youth) compliment the teaching by giving hands-on opportunities that reinforce the main ideas from the lesson.
- Journals challenge junior and senior high students to go deeper, providing study and devotional material beyond the formal teaching time.
- Visual teaching aides are provided in PDF format that can be printed or displayed on a computer.
- The Teacher’s Guides and Student Workbooks are available in print or PDF formats.
Adapting Illustrations and DemonstrationsThe Truth78 material is easily adaptable to a home school setting. Here are a few suggestions:
- Review the lesson to see where you can use real-situations for the illustrations given.
- Use suggested objects or talk through an illustration—making the same points without using the objects.
- If desired, omit an illustration. Some illustrations are especially suited for the classroom in order to keep the attention of a group of children. These can be omitted in the home.
- Make space adjustments. For example, in the Faithful to All His Promises curriculum, the promises are printed on a large card to post in a classroom. If you don’t have space for this, you can simply put the cards in a notebook.
- Make number adjustments. For example, in The ABCs of God, the curriculum asks for nine children to each take a letter card to spell the word “Incomprehensible.” Simply divide the cards among the number of children you have.
- Assign older children to present one of the illustrations. They will have fun executing this, and it will take a task off your teaching plate.
Adapting for Multi-Age Groups Most of the curriculum titles can be used with multi-age groups. However, you will have to take into account differing vocabulary levels and adjust when needed. Cater to the different age groups you are teaching by assigning tasks appropriate to their age. For example, ask older children to read the Bible texts, and have younger children take part in demonstrations. If the workbook is too difficult for the younger children, adapt the assignment by asking them to draw a picture of something in the lesson or decorate a visual, or adapt the workbook page to fit their age. Older children can help younger children and can present parts of the lesson, while younger children can perform role plays.
Different Ways Dad Can Be Involved
- Dad could be the Bible teacher for your home school.
- Dad and Mom could share the Bible teaching responsibility.
- Dad could teach a portion of the lesson before leaving for work, or follow up with review at suppertime.
- Dad could be responsible for any portion of the curriculum (lesson, application, workbook/notebook, or Growing in Faith Together/Parent Resource Page.
- Dad could be responsible for the memory verse teaching and review.
- Dad can make practical application of the lesson in real life.
Scheduling Recommendations A significant advantage of using the material in a home school setting is that the material can be presented in smaller increments for maximum comprehension and spiritual impact. Therefore, we suggest presenting the material over the course of several days. Below are a few plans to consider: Two-Day Option
- Day 1: Present the lesson and assign the memory verse.
- Day 2: Review the lesson, discuss the Application questions, and complete the student workbook/journal.
Three-Day Option
- Day 1: Present the lesson and assign the memory verse.
- Day 2:Review the lesson, discuss the Application questions, and complete the student workbook/journal.
- Day 3: Choose an additional activity from the Lesson, Parent (or Growing in Faith Together) Page, or Appendix section.
Five-Day Option
- Day 1: Present the lesson and assign the memory verse.
- Day 2: Review the lesson and discuss the Application questions.
- Day 3: Complete the student workbook/journal.
- Day 4: Choose an additional activity from the Lesson, Parent (or Growing in Faith Together) Page, or Appendix section.
- Day 5: Create a simple test or quiz, have a sharing and prayer time, or think of a way to apply the lesson by ministering to someone else.
