Last Year we attempted to do Year 1 ( I had 4 children at the time, now we have 5 - baby is 4 mo. old right now).

We were not successful. I felt like I was all over the place - trying to do everything perhaps and not getting much of anything done except for droning on and on in my Bible reading to the children.

DH is a preacher and not in favor of Bible "story books" - so I was trying to read all of the Bible assignments to the children. It was rough. We didn't get very far...maybe not even out of Unit 1 - I honestly don't remember.

I don't want to give up on Tapestry. My sister is using Tapestry and I've been talking to her about all of this. She said she couldn't have done it w/just using the Bible either - too much reading - especially to Lower Grammer.

The children are currently ages 8, 7, 5, 3 and 4 mos.

Help? Sigh.

For children that young, I would definitely use a children's Bible Storybook. Some weeks the reading is just so heavy that reading straight from a Bible young children are not going to absorb it all. Just try explaining to your husband that your children have their entire to be learning about the Bible. Right now, you would not want to be using long texts with a lot of words they might not understand because that could cause them to think "Oh, no. It's Bible time again." As they get older use more and more of the "real Bible". You would not expect a first grader to use high school math or science because it is too advanced, why is it not okay to use a Bible on their level?

Hope that is helpful to you.

Blessings,
Kelli

The first time we went through Year 1, I tried doing all the reading from an "adult" Bible -- and it got to be just too much.

So, we started listening to an audio Bible...we could listen over lunch, while folding laundry, etc.

Would your husband consider something like that??

Just so you know...

The reason we list Bible story books as reading assignments for littles in TOG Y1 is this very one. We know that busy moms can't possibly read it all aloud. Older students have the time to read large chunks of the Bible to themselves independently, but it's really hard to survey most of the Bible in 9 months aloud, especially to youngsters. While I appreciate your husband's stance on God's holy Word, the purpose for Bible story books is not to replace the Word, but to explain the plots of the Old Testament stories and events to young children in a way that they can understand it. I would make a distinction in your home between spiritual devotions and learning the story of the Bible--meaning, its plot. By all means, I'd recommend ongoing devotions from the full Bible with your young children, but for the survey presented in Tapestry, which seeks to show the unified story and message of the Bible--that mankind is sinful and that we all need a Savior; that the OT was preparation and the coming of Jesus its fulfillment--we feel that Bible story books have their place. Naturally, you and your husband are free to disagree. I'm offering this as a different take on the topic that you might present to him.

I was another person who wanted to use my Bible, but quickly came to see the wisdom of using a story Bible.

Here's yet another possible way to do it
Use an audio Bible- my little boys (8 and 10) loved listening to the Bible and we had several trips in the car this year so that made it possible to keep up on school work. My older daughter(14) preferred reading it herself but the little boys begged for more ..
We did use the story Bible too- (we do prefer the Bible too and are a little picky about the story Bibles we choose but have been surprised how well DK has given the facts)One we typically use at home though is the one by Catherine Vos...

Just posted and realized AMY (my friend!) had posted the same with less words -ha!! So now you have two votes for Audio

The DK Bible Story book actually uses text from the NIV. I liked this. It has more mature language in it, but still does a good job with the stories.

Also, if this did not work you could try to limit the Bible reading to just a few chapters of the most important parts. We did this a little. This does mean more work for Mom though.

Hope this helps
Kristen