Homeschool Review: Bible Study Guide For All Ages #HSReviews #BibleStudy #HomeschoolBibleLessons

If you know me at all, you know there are some things that just make me happy.  One of things that makes me happiest is finding a really good Bible study.   As a Preschool, Children's, and Middle School Minister, I really like finding Bible study resources that I can use to teach GOD's Word across a multitude of ages.  I want kids to fall in love with what the Bible says and I want them to really hide it deep in their hearts forever.  I was delighted when I was first introduced to Bible Study Guide For All Ages a few years ago because it offers a comprehensive Bible study plan that will allow you to bring children of ALL ages together to learn just how awesome our GOD is and I was excited to get my hands on the Advanced (5th & 6th grade) materials which include the Advanced Level Student Pages and its corresponding Advanced Teacher Key, the Large Bible Book Summary Cards, the Wall Map & Time Line Label Book, and the Unlabeled Wall Maps & Time Line itself.  (The maps and time line are a beautiful resource -- and they are BIG!  You'll see just how much I LOVE them at the end of this review, but I want you to understand early on that this is a BEAUTIFUL resource, perfect for a class room or family room.  The size of the time line is 76" x 25". The sizes of the three maps are 38" x 25", 19" x 25" and 19" x 25".)  This has been an excellent tool for me to use with our middle school ministry this year.  My leadership team and I have noticed a major decline in what kids actually know about the Bible and it is our heart's desire to make sure that students understand more than the basic Bible stories.

Written from a non-denominational standpoint so that any one can jump right in, Bible Study Guide for All Ages is the brainchild of Mary Baker -- a mom of four who was looking for a great Bible curriculum for her children and in order to fill that need, wrote her own.  And the best part?  She was willing to share it with us.  You can read the complete STORY of how it was developed and understand the core values behind her desire to see children read and understand the Bible for themselves.  I know you'll be as impressed as I am.

Bible Study Guide for All Ages offers curriculum for students ages 3 - Adult.   What I am most impressed with is that while using the resources offered, each and every family member can sit down TOGETHER to study and learn and explore.  The Bible truly does come to life when we study it and I want my children (and all of the children in my ministry areas) to develop a desire to be IN GOD's Word.  I want them to hunger and thirst for HIM and I desire for them to walk in a close relationship with HIM.  I KNOW that Bible study is the key to those things.

For purposes of review, I received the material for the first quarter of study.  Unit 1, Quarter 1 contains 26 lessons.  There are 416 lessons altogether for a total of 4 units.  Each unit consists of 104 lessons and is designed to be completed in a year.  That's FOUR years of quality Bible study already laid out for you.  Impressive, huh?  I absolutely LOVE that students have the opportunity to read through and study and fall in love with the ENTIRE Bible upon completion.  The Order of Study explains how students enjoy a complete and comprehensive study of the Bible using both Old and New Testament passages [together] in order to give a thorough overview of the BIG PICTURE.  This is absolutely perfect for us as we work to intensively teach through the Bible.

Each set of student pages comes in a packet of 26 lessons.  To get the most out of each lesson, every student needs their own lesson pags packet, their Bible, and a pen or pencil.  The lessons are on large double-sided sheets of paper (8 1/2 x 14) that are attached with a "gummy" strip at one end.  This makes it easy to tear off the pages for each lesson, if that is easier for your students, OR you can leave them attached, if you prefer.  There are Wall Maps and a Wall Time Line that offer visual representation of where and when Biblical events took place and the use of these make the lesson interactive as students place labels on maps and items on the timeline.   The Teacher Key is easy-to-use as it walks you through each aspect of every lesson.  It includes helpful information about the books of the Bible being taught, shares definitions, and generally prepares the teacher by anticipating the questions that their students may have.

The lessons begin and end with Scripture and allow students ample opportunity to remember what they are learning through the use of songs, activities, and application questions.  And my favorite part of all of this?  Students are challenged with memory verses so that they can truly hide the WORD in their hearts.






So, what makes the Bible Study Guide for All Ages unique from any other Bible curriculum resource available?   What I like is that all students (no matter their age) can study the exact same Bible passages at the exact same time -- and no one is left behind.  There are pages for Beginner (3-K),  Primary (1st & 2nd grades), and Intermediate (3rd & 4th grades),  and theAdvanced (5th & 6th grade).  The only difference is that each level is written to be easily understood for its target age.  That means while Beginners are coloring pictures that portray the Bible lesson, Advanced students are filling in blanks.  BOTH are reading (or listening to) the same exact scripture passages which makes makes it super easy to sit down at church as a class or to sit together as a family and spend time in GOD's Word together.  I also like that you can use whichever translation of the Bible you prefer.  While the lessons are written using the NIV translation, Bible Study Guide for All Ages does lend itself to your studying from several different translations together to really get a feel for what the Bible says.

Now you know that I am a big proponent of Bible Drill and my children have all gone through both children's and youth drill.  Because of that, I really do like using the Large Bible Book Summary Cards in a group setting.


The colored flash cards (8 1/2 x 11) are printed on a heavy cardstock for great durability.  They contain pictures that represent each book that helps give students visual cues to help them remember the books of the Bible on the front (1 Chronicles is pictured below):

On the back side of the Bible Book Summary Cards there is a description of the pictures chosen to represent the book AND there are questions to be used as review when learning the Bible books and committing them to memory.  (Lamentations is pictured below.)   I LOVE this idea.

And now for my VERY FAVORITE part of this entire curriculum.  I have absolutely, positively fallen in love with the Unlabeled Wall Maps & Time Line and the Wall Map & Time Line Label Book.  

For as long as I can remember, I've always struggled to join "history" and "Bible history" together. Surely I'm not the only one?   I KNOW that the things we learned in history class were correlated to things we learn in the Bible, but for some reason I always think of them as separate.  This Time Line helps us to see it all as ONE BIG PICTURE because the beginning of time to the end is included.  And this thing is HUGE.  Remember I told you this was a large resource?  I think the picture below helps you to see the enormous scale of the time line in relation to my desk.  It comes in two pieces that I have adhered together on my wall using double-sided sticky tabs. 

The Label Book is a 3-ring binder (half size) that has instructions for both the maps and time line and the labels to cut out and place on the time line.  The labels are not stickers, but are  printed on glossy cardstock for extra durability.  You'll remember that I said earlier that the Teacher Key tells you which labels and maps to use with each lesson.  This is so, so easy to use, y'all.  

I started by adding the Creation label at the start of the time line and the current year on the A.D. label.

And as we study, we add the correct labels.  Isn't this just the coolest?  It really does serve to make the lessons come alive and I'm using blue sticky putty to adhere the labels so that the children at church can "help" me label and re-label during each class.  

The full-color labels are visually appealing and help us to really "see" what we are studying.  I think I like it for ME just as much as I like it for the kids.  It makes for a GREAT addition to any Bible study.

Bible Study Guide for All Ages truly offers something for everyone.  From beginner timelines and Bible-based children's songs for the littlest learners (although we ALL like to sing) to student pages and summary cards for the older set, this is a NEAT way to spend time in the GREATEST  STORY EVER TOLD.   Make sure to check out the website and see just how your family can benefit.

You can find out more information about all of the offerings from Bible Study Guide For All Ages by visiting the following Social Media sites:

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I was given the opportunity to review Advanced (5th & 6th grade) materials from Bible Study Guide For All Ages as a member of the Homeschool Review Crew.   You can check out the Crew Review and see what other members of the Homeschool Review Crew thought of this Bible Study curriculum (or just click on the banner below.)

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