My 8th grader is now at a public school and of course is falling into the trap of the typical teen. Not drugs or anything like that but the swearing and bossiness. I would really like to start doing bible with him at home. I use CLE Bible 3 with my little one and absolutely love it but I noticed that level 8 is not sunrise. Is it still good? Or is there something else you would suggest? Thanks so much!
It may not be 'school' so much as TV, video games, music, ect. If he doesn't have much access to that kind of thing, I agree a Bible Study might be good for him. You might check out the focus on the family website and see what kind of books and devotionals they have for teen boys, I know they have an AWESOME magazine for teen boys, I think it is called "Breakaway" I don't think it is too expensive. They also have "Brio" for girls. It has been several years, so the names may be a little different now, but that is what they used to have. They have devotional material in them and such. Another thing that may help is to involve him in helping others, volunteering, and seeing others troubles. That will cause him to focus on other people, and their needs, instead of selfish 'wants' that we all have sometimes. It is easy to become materialistic until we realize how many people live with so little. This kind of thinking can really change a person's attitude. Learning to be grateful and thankful, instead of me me me! Also being paired up with a mentor can really help kids this age. Does your church youth group do anything like that?
I've used Lifepacs Bible, which the CLE non-Sunrise courses are modeled after. They're not divided up into daily lessons, so you'll have to "guesstimate" how many pages to do a day. There are quizzes and a unit test. I've used CLASS Bible courses, which follow the Bible book by book. I've used Rod & Staff Bible 5th and 6th grades (5 and 6 get you through the OT, while 7 and 8 get you through the NT). If you choose to start from Genesis, I assure you the fifth grade book is challenging enough! These courses generally teach ABOUT the Bible, the "stories" and occurrences and the "what happened when" rather than the "what does it mean for my life" kind of lessons you may be looking for. You may want to look into Kay Arthur's studies for kids. I dunno because I haven't used these. OR you may prefer some sort of daily devotional that you could do together.
My kids like the Switched on Schoolhouse version which breaks it into daily lessons for you. But maybe a book about....crud - can't think of it right now...... Look at VISION FORUM stuff - they have some great biblical books and "becoming a man" For Catholics there is the "Prove it..... God, Church, etc" series.....
I love J.C. Ryle's books on the Gospels. Outstanding. http://www.christianbook.com/expository-thoughts-gospels-4-volumes/j-c-ryle/9780801077555/pd/77444
We don't use a curriculum, but for my 8th grade son (who just came back home after two years at public school while we built our house), I just talk with him about issues he is facing. We then search the scriptures for what God says about each topic. For my son, it has to be relevant for him. He will read scripture daily if I tell him to, but he thrives when it is something he is searching for in his own life.
Thanks for the responses. Brooke, I was kind of thinking of maybe just pulling things out of the Bible or a daily devotional book. He used to do that when he attended a Private Christian school. Wish he could still be in one but we just can't afford it. Thanks again!
