There Will Be A $5.00 Charge For Whining: A TOS Review: Grapevine Studies

“Day is done…gone the sun…from the lake…from the hills…from the sky”

Anybody else remember singing TAPS in Girl Scouts? This is my last review of 2015 for the Old Schoolhouse Review Crew. We get to take a little bit of time off until the next batch of reviews come in 2016. In the meantime, I have one more review for you.

We have been blessed to be able to review a couple of terrific downloadable ebooks from Grapevine Studies. I received Old Testament 1: Level 3 Creation to Jacob and Old Testament 1: Level 4 Creation to Jacob. I also received the Teacher’s Guide.

I had heard of Grapevine Studies before this review and knew I wanted to try it out. It is a Bible Study that is really hands on. The students learn by using stick figure drawings and timelines. I decided that this would be a great product to use in our Bible Study at church with my teen group. I have ages 13-18 and wanted to provide not only a hands on experience, but something that really allowed us to study God’s word thoroughly.

This was a simple and fun study to implement. I had copies of the ebooks made for all my students. We have a copy place in town that has .5 copies and will punch holes in them for free! Level 3 requires just a Bible, dry erase board and markers, colored pencils or crayons. With Level 4 a topical Bible, concordance and Bible dictionary is also needed. My husband, the pastor, has a whole bookshelf filled with such books so that wasn’t a problem.

If you chose to go through this study daily with your student a schedule is provided for you. It looks really easy to implement. Because I used it as a study for our teen group we went through an entire unit in one session. This was easily done in our allotted time.

The Teacher’s Guide makes the whole thing easy to use. It is a scripted study and I found that my preparation time was minimal. I simply looked over the lesson the night before and made sure I had all of our supplies gathered.

This is a screen shot from the Teacher's Guide. You can see that not even the teacher needs exceptional artistic ability

Because I was dealing with older students, everyone took turns reading the Bible verses involved. We then would go through the lesson together. I would draw out the stick figures myself and the students would copy them. I had a few very creative artists! Grapevine Studies was unlike anything any of them had ever done before. It appealed to every style of learner.

This is a screen shot from the Teacher's Guide instructions for Level 4. Level 4 students have a Quest Page. I loved having this opportunity to show students how to use Bible reference resources. My Level 3 students weren't required to fill out the Quest Pages (they didn't have them), but they still received the benefit of hearing the lesson.

My son, who is dyslexic and dysgraphic, is also in the class. This was a curriculum that he definitely could handle. In fact, he really enjoyed himself.

The Timeline is so easy to complete and comprehend. You can see how it would appeal to so many different ages and kinds of kids!

This is not only a great product for a Sunday School or Bible Study group. Homeschoolers will find it to be a terrific resource for daily devotions.

Here are a few links you might be interested in. This chart helps parents and teachers choose where to start. You can find downloads of samples of the Grapevine Studies here.

I have just a short little story to share with you before I close this review. Just this past week, Josiah's personal devotions have been in Genesis. While we have read in Genesis before, he had the extra advantage of going through the Grapevine Studies. Because the study also places such an emphasis on God's plan for the salvation of man, he understood more of the consequences of Adam and Eve actions. The study not only teaches the kiddos chronological history, but really lays out God's love for us. He made provision for Adam and Eve. He has made provision for us.

I am anxious to continue our Grapevine Studies journey. Be sure to check it out!