Product Review: AWANA Homeschool

Have I mentioned that I love AWANA? Maybe you don’t even know what AWANA is?  AWANA stands for Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed and it is a Scripture Memory training curriculum designed to win children to Christ and ground them in the faith.   I am so excited for those of you who have been looking for an organized Scripture Memory curriculum but don’t have a local AWANA church you can support.  I know there are many reasons AWANA at church doesn’t always work for homeschool families, but now you can use AWANA Homeschool and complete all of the AWANA memory verses as part of your daily school work!

AWANA Homeschool uses the exact same books as the church version of AWANA, from Cubbies(prek) to Journey (high school) and costs between $25 and $40 depending on the level you need.  Students memorize many verses of Scripture as they progress through the various levels of AWANA, which starts at age 3 and ends with graduation from high school.  In fact, one of my very first questions for the folks running AWANA Homeschool was “Do the kids still qualify for the scholarship?”  And the answer was a resounding yes.  Let me explain.  Students who complete all of the levels of AWANA beginning with the first Truth and Training book in 3rd grade qualify for the AWANA scholarship!  This in particular is one of my eldest daughter’s goals now that she is starting high school.

AWANA Homeschool comes with a different teacher’s guide called Witness, which helps parents present both the verses and the extra material in the AWANA handbooks.  For instance, in the Truth and Training handbooks (3rd – 6th grade) students memorize 32 questions with answers related to the Christian faith as they memorize verses.  Each of the 8 sections in the book relate to a different tenet of the faith and include extra reading, puzzles to reinforce the material, and a “search site” where your student will look up and read Scripture to find the answers to questions.  It’s not just about Scripture Memory!  (Even though that is the main focus.)  At the end of each chapter of the Truth and Training Handbooks students can complete the Silver and Gold sections for even more memory work and bible study challenges.  These are sometimes fun (build a diorama and tell a Bible story from your handbook to your parent) and sometimes challenging (recite all 32 questions with answers AND back-up verses for each) but always rewarding.

My kids love AWANA.  One of the things I think makes AWANA work is the incremental work and reward system.  Students get each section signed as they complete the work. When they complete a section, they get a badge.  Once they have completed all of the badges, they are awarded the book award. After this they can complete any bonus material such as the review award, or the silver and gold sections mentioned above and get extra badges or pins.  In my family, we take everyone who completes their books out for ice cream at the end of the year.

My Bottom LIne:  While my family will continue to support our awesome local church AWANA program I am so excited to let all of my friends and neighbors know about Homeschool AWANA.  If you are one of those families who has wanted an AWANA program near you for a very long time — your time has come!  If you haven’t recognized the need for Scripture Memory in your home until this week, and your local AWANA meeting night is in conflict with your own local church — you can still do AWANA.  Whatever the reason, if AWANA at church doesn’t work for you, AWANA Homeschool is the answer.