Circle Time before Christmas

For the past year we have been sharing Bible stories with our children in our Family Circle Time. We started at Christmas 2007 with the beginning of the gospels, worked our way through the NT narrative, and then turned to the OT narrative. The plan was to work our way through quickly enough (not covering everything) to be at the end of the OT ready to begin with the nativity narrative again at Christmas 2008, which is fast approaching.

Next year we will be adding in a consistent Circle Time on Saturdays as well as the week days when there is not BSF class, I think. As the kids get older and are familiar with more stories we will probably go slower through the Bible. Or perhaps we will take our children through the Bible at a slower rate individually, reading chapter by chapter through with them one-to-one so they can be trained in the skills of individual Bible study. We'll see as they get older I guess.

You might have noticed, or perhaps not, that we've been so slack with Family Circle Time lately that I haven't even been including it in the last two so-called Weekly Reports that I've done, covering the past month. But... I talked to Jeff about how I do want to cover the major events of the second half of the OT, even if only very very briefly this year before Christmas. So this week and next we are giving the kids multiple Bible story colouring sheets in Circle Time (if they only do one, that's okay, but there are enough for them to go back to at other times of the day as well) and we're covering the following schedule - and believe me, it has become very much just a "highlights" tour:

Monday 8/12: finish Samuel
Tuesday 9/12: Saul
Wednesday 10/12: David (during Saul's reign)
Thursday 11/12: David (during his own reign)
Friday 12/12: Solomon
[Skip planned coverage of Elijah, Elisha and the northern kingdom]
Saturday 13/12: Some of the other kings of Judah (Jehoshaphat, Joash, Hezekiah & Josiah) and the prophet Isaiah
Monday 15/12: Daniel
Tuesday 16/12: Esther
Wednesday 17/12: Nehemiah & Ezra

Next year I hope we can be more consistent in our Circle Time at the end of the year and get through some of these stories in a whole lot more detail.

Then we'll head in to our pre-Christmas Circle Times. Last year we began with Isaiah's prophecy of the virgin who would give birth to a son, to be called "Immanuel", which means "God [is] with us". Our memory verse before Christmas was Isaiah 9:6. Then we read about Zechariah and Elizabeth's pregnancy and the birth of their son John, who was born while Mary was pregnant with Jesus. The focus was on the miraculous nature of these births, and that they were part of God's plan which He was bringing to fruition and openly proclaiming as the work of His own hands.

This year, our focus is again going to be on Jesus' birth as a fulfilment of prophecy. However, having studied through Matthew with BSF this year, I am excited to be focussing on Jesus as the promised King: of Israel... and the entire universe. Also on the idea that Jesus came to make a way for the people's faithful allegiance to be in the One True God, rather than in men or pagan idols.

So this is our Christmas 2008 Circle Time schedule:

Thursday 18/12: Genesis 49, especially vv 9-12 "The Sceptre will not depart from Judah..."
Friday 19/12: 2 Samuel 7 especially vv11b=16 "the LORD himself will establish a house for you... I will be his father, and he will be my son."
Saturday 20/12: Micah 5 especially vv2-5a "But you, Bethlehem... out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel... He will stand and shepherd his flock..."
Monday 22/12: Luke 1:26-38, 46-55 Birth of Jesus foretold to Mary (and Mary's Song)
Tuesday 23/12: Matt 1:18-25 Birth of Jesus foretold to Joseph
Wednesday 24/12: Luke 2:1-5 Mary and Joseph's journey to Bethlehem
Thursday 25/12: Luke 2:6-7 and Matt 1:25 The Birth of Jesus Christ!
Friday 26/12: Luke 2:8-20 Angels visit Shepherds, and Shepherds visit Jesus
Saturday 27/12: Luke 2:21-38 Infant Jesus presented at the Temple
Monday 29/12: Matt 2:1-12 The Wise Men visit Jesus as a young child in Bethlehem
Tuesday 30/12: Matt 2:13-18 Jesus' family escapes from Bethlehem to Egypt
Wednesday 31/12: Matt 2:19-23 and Luke 2:39-40 Jesus' family returns from Egypt to Nazareth

So there you have it! If I can get the last week's pages organised this afternoon, I will get the kids' Make-Your-Own Bible story books bound tomorrow or Friday. Their Circle Time folders are absolutely bursting! They can colour the last few pages after it's already bound and that's one less thing to organise before our move and Christmas.