Archives for 6 May,2016

Integrating the Bible into History and Science is easier than you think. Here at Logos, we integrate Bible, History, and Science; at the same time weaving in Reading and Math as much as possible. Our second grade curriculum opens with Ancient Egypt and Rocks; we study from Abraham, the father of many nations, to Moses and the Ten Commandments. While studying Ancient Greece and Astronomy, we delve into Genesis and the creation of the world. This leads us to what we are studying now, Ancient Rome and the four Gospels.

This week, as we discussed how bloodthirsty the Romans were and how they loved to watch the gladiators in the Coliseum, one of my students, Eliana, said, “It’s too bad the Romans didn’t know about Jesus; they needed Him.” That led to a great discussion and reflection of all the people God had sent to tell about the coming of Jesus. The students’ hands popped up as they began recalling the Bible stories from kindergarten and first grade. One student said, “Isaiah! He was a prophet!” Then another said, “There were a lot of prophets.” At that moment, I realized the students knew the Bible stories each as a separate one, but were just now making these connections. We talked more about prophets and I explained that they were not the only ones who told and warned the people; God sent ordinary people and made them extraordinary to do His work. These men and women were sent before Jesus was born AND after he died and rose again. One was the cousin of Jesus, John the Baptist, who introduced the baptizing of Jesus and explained why Christians should be baptized. I enjoyed pausing and watching my students make these connections deepen from their heads to their hearts.

Then, I went back to the original statement: Did the Romans know about Jesus? “Yes! They were even a part of his death.” This blew their little minds! Eliana again said, “But they needed him. Why did they help kill him? That doesn’t make sense.” I paused and explained, “Jesus knew that He would die not only for those Romans but for us as well. How many times have we done things that we knew were wrong but we did it anyway?” I stopped, astounded, that this entire Bible lesson originated during our “History time”.  The connections were smooth and seamless. There were no forced conversations or stop and start times. All students were fully engaged in the open discussion and eager to add their input. Before we ended the lesson with a prayer, I asked the students to think whether or not they would be ready to meet Jesus if he came today and reminded them that God is the God of History. I eagerly await to witness the awe and wonder that my students experience as we travel through the pages of the Bible and relate them to our lives and God’s eternal plan for us all.