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If you do Awana do you:

1. do both the weekly HOD verse and Awana verses?

or:

2. do the Awana verses only?

I am wondering what people have found to work better.

Thank you!

We did both for a while, and it got to be too much. For us, we chose to drop AWANA because the HOD Bible verses correlated with the other curriculum subjects, while the AWANA ones didn't. It sounded from your post, though, that dropping AWANA was not a desirable option?

Heidi in AK wrote:We did both for a while, and it got to be too much. For us, we chose to drop AWANA because the HOD Bible verses correlated with the other curriculum subjects, while the AWANA ones didn't. It sounded from your post, though, that dropping AWANA was not a desirable option?

My kids Love Awana, and it is at church with their friends from church and home schooling. So yes, we do plan to continue Awana. Your insight of it being too much is very helpful, so I don't ask them to do too much. I could at least read the verse everyday! They love the CDs in the car too.

Thank you for the help.

We do both, but not at the same time. We'll do Awana verses either before or after HOD. This is my older two... Sometimes they do more than this, just basically we spend about 10 minutes a day on it.

Day 1 (Thursday): hand them the book open to the page they are to learn. Have them read the verses to me so I know they know what they are saying. Then let them study it for 5 minutes. Then they say it to me and we work on it another 5 minutes until they can say it.

Day 2: hand them the book open to the page they were to learn on D1, let them study it for 2 minutes, let them say it to me, work on it if necessary. Read over another page a few times.

Day 3 (Saturday): Go over those two pages
Day 4 (sunday): Go over those two pages

Day 5: Go over those two pages and read over a third one and practice until they can say it

Day 6: Go over those three pages and maybe add in a fourth depending on if they need any prompting

Day 7: Go over those three or four pages

I was just thinking about this today and was going to ask

With my two younges boys who just started Beyond, I'm going to read and do verses from HOD but have them memorize AWANA verses.

With my two using Preparing, I'm not sure. Doing both seems like too much. In the past I always chose AWANA verses over our curriculum program but I like HOD's verses, so I'm not sure now

I'm thinking they can study AWANA verses at night and Preparing verses during 'school time'. I might print out HOD's verse and hang it up, this way I can read it through the day to the boys as well as have them study it during their independent school-time for Bible Study.

Maybe just focusing on the Bible parts would be suitable, and I like Lora Beth's methodology; it's worth a try.

To be honest, and the chagrin of our children's program leaders, we focus on the HOD verses much more than the AWANA/JOY CLUB verses. The HOD verses are tied to our studies, to our character studies, to very important things going on in the child's life. Unfortunately the AWANA/JOY CLUB verses often lack context and are just memorized for the "stamp of approval." The verses learned for the church programs are often memorized on the 20 min. drive to church. I have told the leaders that we are putting our priority in our "school" verses and home bible studies, and we'd do what we could for the church verses. Otherwise, I don't feel either group of verses will be adequately studied and hidden in their hearts.

Thank you for all of the insights ladies! We are still very new to HOD so I haven't fully realized yet how much the Bible memory verses are tied into character. I can see why many of you suggested doing both. The character part of HOD is one of my favorite parts so far, so I appreciate the many suggestions. Thank you.

I definitely say that if you feel it's too much, definitely drop AWANA verses.

But I still say that just spending 10-15 minutes / day with your kids on awana verses will get them learned We teach 3rd grade girls at our churches awana and NONE of the leaders focus on anything other than the verses/work... none of the "lesson" stuff. We have lesson time for the club as a whole where they do lessons each week. So all you need to focus on are the verses.

And one bonus is that I think all the verses in LHFHG and Beyond are in the sparks books It's really fun to see their eyes light up when they get to a verse in one or the other that they know from the other thing.

I'm going to chime in and agree with Lora Beth too! We work on our "school" verses during the day and awana at a different time. Usually evening. Sometimes not till the car ride to church. and I'm a director of Cubbiess!!! Oh well, I figure if they were in ps school that's how the awana verses would get done. Besides, at our awana if they can read it and parrot it back it "counts" so I'm glad we have something else to really study! Don't get me wrong, I really like awana and think it does a lot of good and is very helpful! We have more kids in our church on wed nights than we do Sunday mornings for Sunday school!!
I think learning 2 verses a week isn't a problem. I guess in the upper guides its longer passages? Just do what you can do!!

We have gone through this too. Here's where I landed.

LHFHG I did not do the verses in LHFHG as memory verses. I wish I would've.

Beyond - I am having her do both. It's a lot easier now that she can read and practice them on her own, but what I do is I do the HOD verse during our school day, and I try to drill/discuss the AWANA verses at lunch time. This has helped guide my lunch time conversation which has had other benefits I really like. I also have a preschooler in Cubbies who I am not doing any other guide with so memorizing the tiny verse-lets in her Cubbies book is good for her.

I agree with the others that the verses in Beyond are great and really tie into what they are learning in the rest of the boxes. They are longer, I like the ones selected, they focus on character traits and issues that really reach these kids. I think since we want our schooling to be centered on Biblical principles, we have to study and memorize the Bible as part of it!

Yes, it will reduce the amount my DD will be able to accomplish for AWANA. I was doing AWANA review as part of my school day (along with the HOD Bible box) and that made it drag and take way too long, so I just had to pull back on it.

There are a lot of the verses that do overlap, but on those you have to watch out for the version. We memorize NIV at home and I think the AWANA books are NKJV. I end up reinforcing whichever she learned first.... if the AWANA one came first we do that as the version for school too. If it's the other way I have her do NKJV but whenever we review I do it in the NIV we learned at home. Just another thing to think about.

MelInKansas wrote: LHFHG I did not do the verses in LHFHG as memory verses. I wish I would've.

Beyond - I am having her do both.

I think from what you just said here Melissa, and from all of the other Great comments that I am going to go ahead and try and do both. I still have verses come back to me that I memorized in Awana (well from somewhere, but it wasn't from school. ), so I do think there is value to it. I liked the points though of How Important it is to memorize the HOD verses too, and how much learning is really going on with them since they are tied into the curriculum and gone into with more depth. The discussion and understanding part of the HOD verses will add a lot to each memory verse, and I hadn't thought of it that way.

Fortunately they memorize easily. I think I like the ideas though of having an Awana time outside of school time. I have been trying to do it with the memory verse at the same time, and it seems a bit much to do it all at once.

Thank you!

AWANA is really important to us. We love our AWANA group (mainly all homeschoolers) so it's hard for me to have our children drop it. My husband attended AWANA when he was young, so we're kinda attached .

With my 3rd and 4th child, they accepted Christ from us discussing their AWANA verses, so again an attached feeling

As they progress through the books there is more required than only memorizing verses. I have 1 in Sparks, 4 in T&T and 1 in Trek. I guess for now my children will try to do both. Some weeks it's hard because it's almost like having two Bible programs going.

With Annette (who is not using HOD) I dropped her 'school' Bible and am only having her do AWANA.

Josh my oldest continues to do both his BJ DVD Bible course and AWANA. He's taking AWANA slowly. He could be further but since he has his BJ Bible it means less AWANA verses.

With Caleb and Brent who are using HOD, they'll have to slow AWANA down and maybe not finish a book every year.

My last two Lance and Ethan, like I mentioned in my prvious post, for now, AWANA will be their main memorizing of verses but I will read and do HOD Bible verses (they just won't have to memorize them).

Blessings,
Linda<><

Good thoughts here already - just thought I'd share that the "Hide 'Em in Your Heart" CD's made it super easy to memorize the Bible verses in both LHFHG and Beyond! Doing it now with my little guy, my older 2 still sing along with the verses and know them that way by heart. Maybe let them sing the HOD verses for you, and say the Awana verses if you are doing those too? The other HOD activities for the verses are super short and fun too - easy to do - and a great way to keep Christ front and center on the homefront. One can never know too many Bible verses - HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

We do Awana and HOD verses. I think my kids are much better at Awana because of HOD. It really helps them to memorize verses easily. I am definitely of the more the better when it comes to scripture. our time is short. I want as many verses in their heart as possible before they go out into the world. If it was too much for you I bet you could talk to your Awana instructor about going at a slower pace due to having scripture to memorize in school as well. But you might be surprised at what your kids can do.