Monday, August 5, 2013

Bible Study for All Ages- TOS Review

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Bible Study Guide For All Ages is a family owned company that produces non-doctrinally based Bible Study for all Ages. We reviewed the Advanced Level, suitable for Grades 5-6. Flower is a rising 6th grader and this was a perfect study for her.


   

The "workbook" consists of 2 pages per study  (sample pages). The first side of the double paged lesson is the Scripture verse to read, a series of questions about the passage read, a Memory portion, a "guess what" that might be a matching game, a genealogy or some other critical thinking activity, a map, activity suggestions and an application section, plus great visuals of maps, time lines and genealogies.
 
Page 2 of this action packed study is a number of questions with a cartoon. The kids answer the questions in order to complete the cartoon, which are generally between 4-8 panels long.
Bible Book Summary Card Sample 
As if that wasn't enough, this program came with Bible Summer Memory Cards. Ohlala. You know I'm loving these! These are 8 1/2 x 11" cards printed in tri-color on card stock. Each card represents a book of the Bible and  contains visual mnemonics on the front side, with tons of information printed on the back side. It gives basic information about the book , along with a quote and discussion questions. I love these. And look, I have a Master's degree from a seminary, and honestly, I got a few areas of confusion cleared up for me by these cards (i.e. which kingdom was captured by what Empire and when). I'm solidly visual and I LOVE, love, love these cards! 
 
We've done and do a LOT of Bible Study in our home. We believe it's foundational to  quality education as well as to good spiritual, mental and physical health. I did this study with Flower (rising 6th grader) and Cub (rising 8th grader).  Cub got all of the answers to every question correct. Flower had to think about them a bit. The cards were great for both of them. While they have a general knowledge of the major books (i.e. Genesis is about "beginnings") this presented some familiar information in new ways- for instance, there are three sections of Genesis (1. Adam, Eve and Noah; 2. the 3 Patriarchs and 3 promises, 3. Joseph's journey). The study cemented information that they have over viewed and were familiar with and prompted them to take it to the next level- mastery! Love that!
 
 
 
 
The Cards gave them an even deeper understanding of the books of the Bible, which, let's be honest, aren't always that easy to figure out. The prophets, for example, are both compelling and a bit difficult to get behind. The cards break it all down so that it's accessible and easily remembered.
 
Do I love this program.
Yes! Yes, I do!
Every family should get it and use it.
 
Flower loved the cartoons and felt totally empowered to get the Bible out and look things up (for a 4th/5th grader, that's a big deal, in my opinion). She embellished the pictures (which are not just kitschy stick figure drawings), having a blast writing in the dialog (asking for help with spelling - a painless spelling lesson for another one of my spelling challenged kids). I really appreciated this truly doctrine-free Bible Study, the visuals, the compelling presentation. This is  a must have for every home. Educated people know the Bible, Christian and otherwise, and this is a beautifully crafted, painless way to learn it.
Perfect for homeschools, co-ops, and Sunday Schools and anyone who wants to ramp up their ability to know and understand the Bible.
 
 Each Student Pages pack come with 26 lessons and is available for $5.95. T
he Memory Cards are available for $26.95.
The Advanced set is perfect for ages 5 -6 and a great overview for any one older who needs a refresher or is just starting out in their quest for Biblical Literacy.

Don't despair if your kids aren't old enough for this one, they offer stuff for ALL AGES ; )!

This one's a must have!
Content -excellent
Presentation -excellent
Organization -excellent
 
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