Bible Study Guide for All Ages

Sound familiar to you?  If you have been around Family, Faith and Fridays for a while now, you may remember that we reviewed Bible Study Guide For All Ages years ago, when our youngest was just 6.  At that time we were using the beginner level, but this review time we have been using the Advanced level, intended for 5th and 6th graders.  Spoiler alert- loved it then, love it now.

So what is it?  
The Bible Study Guide For All Ages is a Bible curriculum for groups or individuals that comes in four levels- Beginner (3-K), Primary (1st-2nd), Intermediate (3rd-4th), and Advanced (5th-6th).  If completed you will cover the Old and New Testaments in 416 lessons.  If you are teaching separate ages, the different levels run the same allowing you to cater to each child at their individual level.

There are two main parts to the program- the Teacher's Guide and the Student Pages.  You will complete the front and back for one lesson.  The student pages are consumable so you need a set for each student, and the Teacher's guide pages are identical to those pages, except they have the answers as well as any extra information that might be helpful in teaching, such as what parts of the time line need to be added if you are using that resource and what places need to be added to the wall map if you are using that.  Additional scriptures are listed for your reference as well as a place for you to add any additional notes you may want to use while teaching.

You can also buy a pack of Bible Book Summary cards, as well as a CD with original songs on it to help with memory work.



If you have the room, there is also a wall map and time line set that is to die for!  Seriously, makes me long for a dedicated school room to put it all up on the wall.





How have we used it?
Because our oldest son has grown out of the age range for this program, Colby, age 11, got to use it alone this time around. He is perfectly capable of doing the lesson by himself, but for the most part we did the lessons together, 2-3 a week depending on our schedule.

Each lesson begins with a Remember It? section, reviewing what you learned in the previous lesson.  There are spaces on the student pages for your student to write down the answers.

Following that there is the Memory Workout section.  Here your child reviews 2 things they have learned, whether a song, divisions of the New Testament, or something similar.  Every few days those are changed up a bit to keep it interesting.

The Guess What... section gives additional historical information such as why a firstborn child was considered special (when the father died he was given twice as much as other children) or what a cupbearer's responsibility was (to taste the king's food and wine to make sure it wasn't poisoned.)

The Time Line Activities or Map follow and have your child filling in details of the time line that is on their page, or labeling the map with places talked about in the lesson.

Get Active is intended to further explain the lesson, usually with group activities.  These are usually active lessons, requiring your child's participation. Since we are using this with just one child, I read ahead and see if there is an activity he can do alone or just with me.  It is hit or miss, but I will say that if you are teaching in a group setting the activities are great for getting kids up and active.  It would be a good way to either start the lesson or give kids a creative break in the middle.You know how squirmy Sunday School kids can get!

The last section on this front page is Apply It!  Here your child looks up a scripture and answers a few questions.  It always ends asking the child how this applies to their life or what is God saying to them.

On the back side of the page is where your child can really work independently- Discover the Bible.  It begins with the Bible chapter being studied, and I take that time to read to Colby.  He then works through the numbered questions one at a time and asks me if he needs help or is confused by anything.  Often the questions require just a one or two word answer, but your child will also be asked to draw pictures and look up scriptures.

I love that, while the content of the study is thorough and makes Colby think not only about what he is learning but also encourages him to think how to apply it to his own life, it is also lighthearted and fun enough to keep him from being overwhelmed with busy work.  The pictures often make him laugh and he is still young enough to enjoy drawing quick pictures.

My only complaint with this curriculum is the page size.  Silly I know, but you know how particular we homeschool moms can be! ;)  The pages are approximately 8.5x14 and therefore awkward to store on a shelf with our other books and notebooks.  I can see how this size would benefit a larger group setting, but I would love to see a version made that uses the typical 8x11 page that could be hole punched and added to a three ring notebook.  Not a show stopper, but it would be a perk.

Regardless of the page size, we are enjoying Bible Study Guide For All Ages and look forward to continuing to work through the additional lessons!