My son enjoys doing Grapevine Studies so when we had a chance to review another series, we signed up for it in a flash. This time we reviewed New Testament Overview Part 1: Level 3 Birth of John to Jesus' Ministry. It did not let us down.
First off... what is Grapevine Studies?
A Bible Study method and curriculum that helps teachers and parents impart solid biblical information to their children using stick figures. They work their way through the bible, or bible story, or section of scripture, one small segment at a time, drawing stick figures to help with memory retention. They teach the student to read maps, work with a variety of biblical tools and improve memory work.
They break up the study into a four day a week schedule with Day 1 for doing the Timeline Review; Day 2 is Lesson Page 1, Day 3 is Lesson Page 2; Day 4 is the Student Drawing Pages (5-15 minutes). BUT it is SO easy to play around with it. You could do it all in one day like a Sunday School lesson, or break it up even more or not even do it four days in a row. Whatever works, works.
Supplies can be as simple as.. a device to display teacher's manual (or printed pages), a bible to share or each have their own, pencil (or pencil crayons if you like colour), and printed pages for each child. If you'd like to draw out the figure for younger children to copy you'll need something to do that with.. a dry erase board, an easel or a piece of paper. I used my laptop so if my lad needed creative inspiration he could see what they suggested. Sometimes he agreed and sometimes he did his own thing. :) We keep our completed pages in a three ring binder.
A Bible Study method and curriculum that helps teachers and parents impart solid biblical information to their children using stick figures. They work their way through the bible, or bible story, or section of scripture, one small segment at a time, drawing stick figures to help with memory retention. They teach the student to read maps, work with a variety of biblical tools and improve memory work.
They break up the study into a four day a week schedule with Day 1 for doing the Timeline Review; Day 2 is Lesson Page 1, Day 3 is Lesson Page 2; Day 4 is the Student Drawing Pages (5-15 minutes). BUT it is SO easy to play around with it. You could do it all in one day like a Sunday School lesson, or break it up even more or not even do it four days in a row. Whatever works, works.
Supplies can be as simple as.. a device to display teacher's manual (or printed pages), a bible to share or each have their own, pencil (or pencil crayons if you like colour), and printed pages for each child. If you'd like to draw out the figure for younger children to copy you'll need something to do that with.. a dry erase board, an easel or a piece of paper. I used my laptop so if my lad needed creative inspiration he could see what they suggested. Sometimes he agreed and sometimes he did his own thing. :) We keep our completed pages in a three ring binder.
My son is familiar enough with Grapevine Studies that he has fun with some of the drawings that he does. He vets now the pictures that I take as "mom, I don't want them to see some of my crazy fun drawings". I don't much care what his drawings look like as long as they help him to remember the stories.
And they do.
He doesn't always keep all the names straight, but he remembers the stories. Like Zechariah going mute because he argued with an angel.
And they do.
He doesn't always keep all the names straight, but he remembers the stories. Like Zechariah going mute because he argued with an angel.
We worked on Level Three, but one of the joys of working with Grapevine Studies is the ability to work with a more divergent group of children on the same study. As you can see from the poster below, the different levels are described, each level asking more of the student. At Level Three the students are encouraged to draw pictures of different aspects of the story as well as learn basic Bible Geography. My son enjoyed this part of things, looking to see where the story happened and how much people needed to walk in those days.
One of the things I particularly appreciated was that teachers' manual is for level 3 and 4 which means that even though the level three student manual doesn't have the dictionary and other bible study tool questions in it, the teacher's manual does. This gave me the opportunity to ask my son to do things like define words (which gave me the chance to see if he really understood some of the language used). I was so pleased that most of the words he could define quite handily. This makes it helpful as well if you have an older and slightly younger student.. only one teachers' manual to get. :)
Occasionally we would run into a storyline that my son would say "what should I draw for that mom?". For instance, Luke 1:80, John growing up. My lad didn't know what to draw. To the rescue came the Teacher's Manual.
When you download this digital bible study my recommendation is that you don't simply dive in (though you can) but take the time to read through the teacher's notes. Doing so will show you where to find the maps, design of the study and much more.
The lessons are set up in such a way that you could do one lesson a day or divide it up over the course of week. (We do the later, preferring to take our time through the lessons). Each lesson contains a bible verse to learn and write it out area, and a chance for children to say what part of the story they liked the most (or in my son's case, what part of the story caught his attention).
The lessons are set up in such a way that you could do one lesson a day or divide it up over the course of week. (We do the later, preferring to take our time through the lessons). Each lesson contains a bible verse to learn and write it out area, and a chance for children to say what part of the story they liked the most (or in my son's case, what part of the story caught his attention).
What did we think?
Well.. we like it. My son enjoys the creative outlet (most of the time). I like how they break the story down into bite sized pieces, enabling us to take our time with the story, and giving us time to learn a new bible verse. I like how they tell the bible story simply. Having us read the passage, and then as the student(s) draw their picture, giving words to explain it in simpler language if necessary, which ensures the important details aren't missed.
What did I struggle with?
Generally I don't find anything that makes me go "hmmm" but this time I did. The story of John the Baptist is with Zechariah and Elizabeth, but in the teacher's manual and student workbook, the name Zacharius was used. I have sent an inquiry in to ask about this as it just strikes me as odd. I honestly didn't even see it until I was doing up the review. And you know what.. it's simply due to different translations and how they well.. translate names. Here is the answer that I received.
Well.. we like it. My son enjoys the creative outlet (most of the time). I like how they break the story down into bite sized pieces, enabling us to take our time with the story, and giving us time to learn a new bible verse. I like how they tell the bible story simply. Having us read the passage, and then as the student(s) draw their picture, giving words to explain it in simpler language if necessary, which ensures the important details aren't missed.
What did I struggle with?
Generally I don't find anything that makes me go "hmmm" but this time I did. The story of John the Baptist is with Zechariah and Elizabeth, but in the teacher's manual and student workbook, the name Zacharius was used. I have sent an inquiry in to ask about this as it just strikes me as odd. I honestly didn't even see it until I was doing up the review. And you know what.. it's simply due to different translations and how they well.. translate names. Here is the answer that I received.
When we wrote the books we used the NKJV, so the names are consistent. The difference is one of spelling in different versions.
STRONGS NT 2197: Ζαχαρίας
Ζαχαρίας, Ζαχαριου, ὁ (זְכַרְיָה and זְכַריָהוּ i. e. whom Jehovah remembered), Zacharias or Zachariah or Zechariah;
Have I mentioned yet how much I love their customer service? :) I love how I can email and get an answer usually within the day. I love how, if my son has a question he can call and they talk nicely to him.
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Product Details:
Vendor: Grapevine Studies Received: Digital Product, ebook Title: New Testament Overview Part 1: Level 3 Birth of John to Jesus' Ministry Price: $3-37.50 There are a variety of options depending on what your needs are. Sales 20% off Resurrection Studies in March 20% off Moses and Exodus in April. |
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