Bible - Focus in RTR Bible?

[cbollin]

I know in ECC, we read and memorized in Matt., in CTG we read and memorize portions from the OT, but what's the focus in RTR? I'm assuming we read the new testament, but what parts, and what is the memory focus?

Nancy,
RtR coveres NT overview, OT prophecies of Jesus, life of Jesus, early church, Paul, some parts of Revelation. Then once you're past the Roman Empire history section, the Bible study turns back to the book of Luke, then Philippians, and 1 John.

If you use Twice Freed, (as a read aloud) you will want to read Philemon, while using this read aloud. Twice Freed is a fiction story based on Philemon and his slave.

Other studies for Bible this year include the story of the Bible using How the Bible Came to us, church history using a book called Trial and Triumph, and the read alouds still have a spiritual focus.

Memory verses include: popular Romans verses, plus a longer section in Roman 12; 1 Cor 13; Phil 2.


crystal

[Nancy]

Thanks, Crystal. I was hoping they'd be memorizing I Cor. 13 especially! Yeh!

[Julie in MN]

Hi--I'm looking ahead in the manual and I see that we do a brief overview of the events of Christ, then move through Acts, then back to the life of Christ while studying Islam. Does this get disjointed? It's hard for me to tell from the manual. I have some fiction for my kids to read about life in the times of the apostles, and i'm not sure where to schedule it in...now or later after we do the life of Christ. Just wondering if someone can shed light on how it all flows together. Thanks!

I do admit that I loved going line-by-line in CTG and missed that in RTR.

That said, the organization of RTR makes sense in my brain.

During the study of Rome, you are correlating Bible with history, so --
Early Rome / prophecies of Jesus
Roman Empire / events of Jesus' life
Late Rome & fall of Rome / Paul through Revelation

Then when you move beyond Rome, you're going through one of the gospels (I forget which?!) and that's line-by-line, plus learning some key chunks of the New Testament. Trial and Triumph adds in some key early Christians (which continues through 1850MOD, I think). Your read-alouds also correlate, with one set at the time of Jesus, one at the time of Paul, and one or two in the time of the early church. Next year, you'll go line-by-line through James.

It makes sense in my mind. And I strongly feel MFW never has your children read portions of the Bible without first understanding exactly where they are in the Bible, rather than random verses as in so many other programs. But I must admit that at our house, we're REALLY loving going back to a straight line-by-line in AHL and WHL. Can't get enough of that over here
Julie

[cbollin]

Julie said it great. just saying, yeah, that's how my brain saw it fit in.

and there's a brief note in week 9, thursday plans that give the heads on the chronological theme, then study life of Jesus in depth.

-crystal

[Julie in MN]

This is a curiosity question that does not pertain to me for at least a few years.

I thought I read Julie once say that the Bible is the History spine for MFW History. I am assuming this means particularly to CTG & the early part of RTR. Am I remembering and understanding correctly? I know the Bible is integrated into History, but is it the main History book.. History spine as well?

Thank you!

Hi Carin!
Folks are probably scared to answer until I do

I say that a lot when folks are asking about why MFW doesn't use SOTW-1 in CTG, or they ask if they can add in MOH to CTG. I love to let people know that the Bible is treated as an authentic historical document and used as a main part of the history study in CTG.

The NT is also a main text in RTR, and it is used to study the time of Jesus rather than adding in the end of SOTW-1. There are additional spines used to study the time of Jesus (Augustus Caesar's World, How the Bible Came To Us), but there is no main "history text" such as SOTW until after BOTH the OT and the NT times have been covered.

Does that make any sense?
Julie

[gratitude]

Hi Carin!
Folks are probably scared to answer until I do

You made me laugh first!

Then you gave me a wonderful answer. Thank you! Yes, it does make sense, and it is exactly what I was hoping the answer would be. MFW Grade 1 was exactly the same. Bible was the History of the program from Creation to Revelation. I think perhaps I am finally understanding MFW!! Wonderful. I really would like my children to understand the Bible as an authentic historical document (as you stated).

You explained this very well. Now CTG & RTR and their choices in both programs make perfect sense. Thank you.

[klewfor3]

I don't have the blessing of MFW coming near me for a convention this year and I'd like to inquire more about the Bible portion of RTR before jumping in and buying our next year's curriculum. We are presently in CTG, and we do love it dearly, really love how Marie has taken us on a beautiful journey through the OT; however, I have found it to be light on Bible reading at the same time. I add to our Bible readings but this does take quite a bit of effort on my part so I'm curious how much of the gospels and Acts and Romans is read in RTR? How much is skipped? Can anyone weigh in on the depth of the Bible portion of RTR? My kids are 11 (will be almost 12 when we start RTR), 9, 7 (almost 8 ), and 6 (almost 7) in MFW 1st.

To briefly answer your question, I think the amount of bible in RTR is very similar to CTG. We are in RTR right now and love it!

As far as whether it is light or not...I didn't think that CTG was light. Each of my kids (11, 9, 7) would read through the assigned chapters and I would read anything extra. I really appreciated the amount of reading. It left room for some great discussion.

RTR has been such a great year. We are in week 19 and I am getting sad knowing it is going to end soon. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Kathy

[Julie in MN]

I agree with Kathy that Bible in CTG and RTR felt very similar at our house. It felt like a little more history was added when SOTW came on board as well, but the Bible continued in a similar MFW fashion -- a do-able amount, with plenty of time for discussion. Here is a summary of the RTR Bible that I wrote back in the day:

During the study of Rome, you are correlating Bible with history, so --
Early Rome / prophecies of Jesus
Roman Empire / events of Jesus' life
Late Rome & fall of Rome / Paul through Revelation

Then when you move beyond Rome, you're going through one of the gospels (I forget which?!) and that's line-by-line, plus learning some key chunks of the New Testament. Trial and Triumph adds in some key early Christians (which continues through 1850MOD, I think). Your read-alouds also correlate, with one set at the time of Jesus, one at the time of Paul, and one or two in the time of the early church. Next year, you'll go line-by-line through James.

Of course, many families do more Bible. When my mother-in-law was teaching RTR to my youngest for a month or two, she would tell me, "The book said to stop here, but I thought why not keep going, is that okay?" Of course it was okay with me!

Many folks have extra Bible studies as a family, as well, maybe studying a certain book alongside their church congregation, etc. I know when my son was in 7th or 8th, I added back in the Proverbs study (from MFW-1st, actually) because I thought it was a good age to revisit that. He listened to Uncle Rick read Proverbs every night at bedtime that year

I don't have the blessing of MFW coming near me for a convention this year

I always like to suggest the opportunity for a Vision Weekend with your husband. I know it was a blessing for us.

HTH,
Julie

[4Truth]

One thing to keep in mind with MFW is that in the elementary years, they purposely don't schedule some of the more "graphic" passages, or long, potentially boring (for little kids) passages such as geneologies because of the fact that we're reading and discussing with younger children. But when you get to high school, both the Old and New Testaments are read cover to cover, with more detailed study and writing assignments to go with it. If you as a family choose to read and discuss the more "boring" or graphic passages in the Old Testament while they're still young, MFW has left room for that in the schedule. They firmly believe that, as some of these decisions are going to vary widely from family to family, this is a personal decision. Marie reiterates throughout the curriculum that certain things ought to be discussed with the parents and/or pastor, as they do not feel it's their job to "take over" that role. And yet, Marie has given us the tools -- or the "spine", if you will -- to do much more with it as desired for our own families. This is one of the things I love about MFW!

In high school it's a little different because you're preparing them to go out into the world and face all sorts of challenges as young adults, both in college and in the work place. So there's a heavy emphasis on Apologetics at that level... including a line-by-line reading of the entire Bible.

So we do get a good "overview" of the whole of Scripture in the elementary years, led by the parents, but then teens who are preparing to go out into the world come at it from a different perspective.

As to the Bible in RTR specifically, in addition to what was mentioned above, you spend a good deal of time on the book of Acts, as well as memorizing I Corinthians 13. You do read several of the NT epistles. And if I recall correctly, I think you'll see when you get to Revelation that the *assigned* reading stops at chapter 6 or 7? I think?, and then maybe another section later in Revelation, but the parent is exhorted to read and discuss the entire book with their children. (Revelation can get into major doctrinal differences from one denomination to another, and MFW just doesn't go there. Which is a good thing!)

[MelissaB]

We add to the Bible lessons, too.

If I remember correctly, in both CTG and RTR, we read the MFW Bible assignment at the beginning of our History class each day because they went so well together. (Although, i think i recall that the Bible and History in RTR are not quite as closely intertwined as they are in CTG.)

Enjoy RTR!

[4Truth]

(Although, i think i recall that the Bible and History in RTR are not quite as closely intertwined as they are in CTG.)

They're actually *very* intertwined in RTR. There's a whole lot more history in the New Testament than a lot of people realize, and the geography of the NT is significant, too.

Expl-1850 is where it begins to "seem" less intertwined but that's because you've already got a good, solid, whole Bible overview (at a very "light" level in K-2nd grade, and then again a little deeper in CTG & RTR), so beginning with Expl-1850, it becomes more like "discipleship" and what to DO with all that Bible base. The Gospel will have been given repeatedly, in many different ways, by that point, but then it's given again in other ways in EX1850 and 1850MOD. (I loved studying the book of James with EX1850 because the book of James is part of my personal testimony and the Lord leading me to Himself!) Then of course you do a thorough, cover-to-cover study of the whole Bible in 9th & 10th grades, and then add in personal study with commentaries in 11th & 12th. So there's a development stage or process to it, and you can even see the academic learning principles of Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric stages in these different "cycles" of Bible study in MFW: K-2nd grade, 3rd-8th grade, and then high school.

Here's a link to a post I wrote one time on the Bible (and ongoing Biblical Worldview) in MFW, and how that works with Charlotte Mason principles: http://board.mfwbooks.com/viewtopic.php ... 004#p66798

HTH!