Grapevine Bible Studies, Beginner Old Testament

Grapevine Bible Studies has a new website! It's very nice. Check it out: http://www.grapevinestudies.com/
I have a recent update immediately following this review. We still like stick-figuring through the Bible. :)







I had the honor and privilege these past few weeks to use Grapevine Studies Beginner Old Testament Bible study with my Kindergartener.

I really like it.

As a basic Bible study it covers the who, what, where, and when of Bible events. It leaves the why up to the parent's discretion. I like that.

I want the Bible study course I use with my kids to be a springboard for my own Bible study so that we're on the same section of the Bible together, but in my study time I'm going deeper. As we progress through the Bible together, we all grow. Grapevine Studies enables that.

First of all, according to the directions the teacher (me) is supposed to preread the section being studied in the lesson. And pray. And ask for guidance. There is ample space in the teacher's manual for recording what thoughts and observations you'd like to share during the lesson. Unfortunately, up to this point, I haven't gotten that personal study time in. That will change shortly.

At the start of our school time, I would sit down with my Kindergartener, a white board, and the Bible. First up is a review of the previous section. I used his own papers to review. Then I would read the indicated passage for the current lesson and talk about who, what, when, where, and why as appropriate. Next, I would draw the symbolic picture for the section. Sometimes, I had a hard time imagining a stick figure drawing for the passage. Thankfully, simplistically brilliant samples are also included in the teacher's manual.



Does that not perfectly show Adam blaming Eve and Eve blaming the serpent?



Using his student paper, my son would then dig in creating his own pictoral record.

Drawing a picture like this is an excellent way to cement the story into a child's mind. He remembers more because he is involved in the story himself, rather than simply watching someone tell it to him. My son is still talking about the chapters in Genesis that we covered already. Adam and Noah show up in playtime. And he's asked lots of questions about the flood.

A funny thing happened as we went through the drawings. I discovered that I had to teach my son about the stick figures who are turned to the side, looking at something. They're drawn with one eye and their mouth on the side. My son never said anything to me, but I noticed his drawings were quite distorted. Reflecting upon why his stick figure faces suddenly looked so odd, I realized that he didn't understand that what he was looking at when I drew a side-facing stick figure. One short explanation cleared that up.

After the drawing there are comprehension questions. Sometimes I had to help him with these, but that was great too, because it gave me an excellent idea of what he did and did not understand. Memory verses are provided, one for each lesson. Since I prefer to memorize small passages of Scripture rather than isolated verses, I used my own.

The study I used, The Beginner's Old Testament Overview contains fifty lessons divided into seven sections. The lessons were originally designed to be completed by a Sunday school class, so I found I had to modify them. In the end I decided to do one picture per day to allow my son to draw as much as he wanted. Doing the lessons this way, the study will take us the entire school year to complete. I imagine, though, that he will soon be proficient enough to complete two drawings per lesson. That will mean I can move twice as fast.

There are quite a few other studies available designed for Kindergartners up to Adults. Those in Level 1 or higher come with a suggested schedule for homeschooling families, as well as a few other features like character cards and timelines. Grapevine Studies is committed to producing even more books in the near future to help families and Sunday schools 'stick figure through the Bible'.

The studies are available in both printed and e-book format. I chose an e-book format for this review. I liked it just fine for the consumable student workbook, but next time I will use a printed teacher's manual. It will be easier for me to make notes and use.

The Beginner's Old Testament Overview e-book is $19.95 (2010 pricing is a little different.)
The teacher's e-book is $15.95. (2010 prices are different.)
The printed versions cost a little more.

Especially for you, my faithful blog readers, Grapevine studies is offering a limited time special on their studies. If you order by September 15th you get 30% off with this special code: crews.(This offer has expired)

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FEBRUARY 2010 UPDATE
We are still using and still loving Grapevine Beginner Old Testament (eBook). My son has improved in his drawing abilities (a side benefit of drawing every day) so now we complete two whole lessons in one week.

My son is really learning the characters and events of The Old Testament. Drawing a picture to go with the lesson works wonders for retention. I find it easy to work doctrine into the lesson, most especially during prayer time.

I intend to continue with Grapevine during first grade. I plan to buy the student eBook and a printed teacher's book. The teacher's edition is an exact copy of the student's paper, with helpful notes and suggested pictures to draw. There is space on each section of the lesson to write your own notes when you study the passage before teaching it. It's worth it to me to buy it with the student book.
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This review is one of my reviews as part of the TOS Homeschool Crew 09-10. I am not compensated for reviews, though I do receive the product free of charge to use and review.