4.0 The Gospels – Curriculum Package

The Veritas Approach to Bible

How important is it that your children are biblically literate?

The most important thing to teach a child, the Bible, is often the most neglected. We know this from more than 20 years of data. Parents think that children will learn the Bible at church or from hearing it read on occasion. Family devotions and prayer time are good things, but children need more. Children must learn the biblical narrative. They need to know what is where in the Bible. They should know when biblical events happened, too. It should be second nature to them.

How well do your children know the stories of Noah, Nehemiah, Esther, Jacob, Paul, and Peter? Do they know them better than Mickey Mouse or SpongeBob SquarePants? Can they name the Twelve Tribes of Israel? Veritas Bible students can. Imagine a 7-year-old rattling off the Twelve Tribes as easily as naming the four Gospels. When was the Exodus? When did Solomon live? The importance of knowing the biblical stories and when they happened can’t be overstated.

When we started our venture in classical education in 1992, we did it to raise the bar of K–12 education. We did it for our children and for yours. We now have another, more focused concern—biblical illiteracy in Christian families.

The development of our first project, the grammar school history program, was followed by our Bible curriculum. We didn’t want children to see the events of Scripture isolated from history. We wanted knowledge of history and knowledge of the Bible to be integrated. When reading the story of Joseph, students should know that he lived just prior to the Hyksos’ invasion of Egypt. When reading about Jesus’ early life, students should understand the Roman world into which He was born.

The Veritas Bible program integrates with the first two series of Veritas History: Old Testament and Ancient Egypt and New Testament, Greece, and Rome. Children can see how the various timelines fit together. Like Veritas History, Veritas Bible is a five-year program, 2nd–6th grades. Each year covers 32 events, 160 events in all.

In the grammar stage, we help children memorize all this information so they can access it throughout their lives. For each of the 160 events, they memorize a date and a Scripture reference so they can find it in the Bible. Memorization isn’t enough, though. We want to bring the word to life so that children embrace what they are learning. God uses stories to tell us about our history and the world He created. We do the same thing in our Bible program.

Before beginning Veritas Bible’s five-year program, children go through two biblical surveys: the Old Testament in Kindergarten and the New Testament in 1st grade. This abbreviated telling of the story of God’s word is perfect for their age and prepares them for the depth of study to follow.

Join us in rebuilding a biblically literate generation.