Tag Archives: Homeschool Bible curriculum

Drive Thru History Adventures Review

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Is your History curriculum boring?  Do you need to spice it up and get your kids excited about History?  Would your kids like to go on a fun adventure?  Would you like to see your kids (or the whole family) learn something new while they take a field trip through History right from their living room?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then I encourage you to check out Drive Thru History Adventures from Dave Stotts and his terrific History Curriculum.

Drive Thru History Adventures

Drive Thru History Adventures

Online Subscription (Yearly or Monthly)

3 History Courses

Ancient History, American History, Biblical History

Adventures TV

Easy Accessible

24 hours a day 7 days  a week.

Courses:

Drive Through History Adventures has 3 History courses to choose from that cover American History Adventures, Ancient History Adventures, and Bible History Adventures.  These courses are based on the Drive Through History TV series and are presented from a Christian Worldview.  Your subscription gives you unlimited access around the clock 24/7 to all three courses to use at your convenience.  You can choose to do one course, or do all three.

Ancient History Adventures (12 weeks)

Covers Empires of Greece, Rome and Asia Minor

American History Adventures (12 weeks)

Covers Early American History From Columbus to the Constitution

Bible History Adventures (18 weeks)

Covers the Life of Jesus

Visit 50+ locations in Israel

Here is a short video by Dave Stotts explaining his mission with Drive Thru History Adventures.

For the purpose of this review, I will focus on the Bible History Adventures.

Bible History Adventures

Lessons:

There are 18 lessons in the Bible History Adventures curriculum so far with plans to add more.  The lessons focus on the Life Of Jesus of Nazareth written in The Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) of the Bible and include:

Episode 1: The Historical Landscape

Episode 2: The Announcements

Episode 3: Jesus is Born

Episode 4: Jesus Grows Up

Episode 5: Jesus Starts His Ministry

Episode 6: Jesus Returns to Galilee

Episode 7: Jesus Begins His Miracles

Episode 8: Jesus Teaches with Authority

Episode 9: The Sermon on the Mount

Episode 10: Jesus Travels the Sea of Galilee

Episode 11: Jesus Travels North

Episode 12: A Final Trip to Jerusalem

Episode 13: Jesus Arrives in Jerusalem

Episode 14: The Last Supper

Episode 15: The Trial of Jesus

Episode 16: The Crucifixion of Jesus

Episode 17: The Resurrection of Jesus

Episode 18: Who is Jesus?

Each lesson is a combination of videos, readings, photographs of historical places, historical people, architecture, art, illustrations, famous quotes, discussion questions, optional downloadable worksheets, and a dig deeper section that helps expand the subject material for older or upper level students.

Dave Stotts takes you on location to learn the history of Jesus of Nazareth’s life, the events that took place, and a close look at why over 1/3 of the world’s population believes he is who he said he was, the Son of God and Savior of the world, and why they follow’s his teachings.  He proves why Jesus is the most important person in history for over 2000+ years.

Here is a shortened example of the kinds of videos and information you will find in this curriculum.

In addition to access to all three History curriculums for the entire year, the Drive Thru History Adventures subscription also gives us access to the Adventures TV program extras.

Adventures TV:

Dave is a TV star.  He has had his own TV series called Drive Thru History for many years.   His program appeals to both Christians and non-Christians, because of all the travel adventures, architecture, culture, and unique exploration of history in each episode.   For subscribers of the Drive Thru History Adventures curriculum, he has given free access to many of his other videos available on Adventures TV.  You can view Adventures TV from your computer and mobile devices.

Our Experience

For the purpose of this review, we are focusing on the Bible History Adventures curriculum.

We have both older kids and younger kids in our family.  We used the curriculum differently depending on their age.  The older kids used the full curriculum on the computer.  For our younger children, we connected the TV to the computer so they could view the videos together in the living room.  The younger children only used the videos and discussion questions of the curriculum.

The Bible History Adventures curriculum covers the life of Jesus written in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John of the New Testament in the Bible.  These are called The Gospels.  The kids go on an adventure to discover who Jesus is, what his life was like and what was going on in the world at that time and since, and why Jesus is so important in the history of the world even today after 2000 years since his birth.  The kids get to go on a virtual field trip and visit 50+ locations in Israel.

I thought it might help to show our readers some examples from the Bible History Adventures lessons.  So below are screen shots from Lesson 1.

Examples from Lesson 1: The Historical Landscape

We started out with a 27+/- minute video to watch.

Dave Stotts is adventurous, serious at times, engaging and funny and he has a special way of making the process of learning History interesting.

It is wonderful to see all these amazing places he visits as he explains what took place.

After the video, there is a famous quote that relates to the learning. 

Next is a photo on location.

Next is a summary of the learning.

There is a bible scripture (s) study.  The lesson gives the Scripture Reading and what verses to focus on.  It offers an in-bedded bible or “bible box” for reading the verses within the program as you do the lesson. You can select what version of the bible you want to use and adjust the font size for ease of reading.  Having the verses listed right in the lesson is helpful.

There are examples of famous art and additional historical information.

Next is more historical information.

Next are discussion questions.  The questions can be answered individually or discussed as a group with the family.

The discussion questions as well as the lesson summary and other info is listed in PDF format for printing if desired.

Printing out the downlable PDF’s are a great way to keep a record of the learning adventure.  It is also a great way for older students to practice writing their thoughts out in paragraph or essay format.

Finally, each lesson has a Dig Deeper section for additional reading and research for older students.

We love using this curriculum.  For our needs we opted to use our bible and favorite online bible, rather than the provided scriptures within the “bible box” offered in the lessons.   Sometimes you just need the bible in your hands while you read, and at other times, the online bible works great too.  The online bible we use is free, and we can choose any version to read from in any language, and even compare scriptures in different versions to improve our understanding, and search related key words etc.

Another reason we like the online bible is that it puts the verses up on a whole page and we can adjust the font size and it is easier to read. Another advantage to the online bible we normally use, is that it has an option to “read the verses out loud”.  Over the years, the read aloud option has helped the children read along and get a better understanding.  Another free bible resource we use also looks various words or subjects up in Hebrew or Greek and defines the true meaning of those words and shows how they are used through out the entire bible so you get an incredible deep understanding of the message Father God wants you to know.  I love these extra features when using the online study bible.

After starting this review, my kids were sent some suveniers.  Dave Stotts sent them Drive Thru History Adventures patches and stickers and an autograph signed picture of Dave on location in front of his Jeep. The older boys took possession of the patches right away to put on their outdoor adventure back packs.  The younger kids put the stickers on their folders.   I just wanted to mention this to show that Dave goes the extra mile to reach out to people and encourage them.  My kids were encouraged by his outreach.

Dave makes himself available to families through the use of social media.  One way he does this is through a Facebook group for families using the curriculum.  He also reaches out in other ways and you can leave a question for him through his contact form on the website.  I am very grateful that Dave is so personable and interested in real relationships with people.  You can see that he has remained humble and approachable even through he is so popular.

Final thoughts about using this program:

We really love the work Dave Stotts has done in both the Drive Thru History TV series (which we have been a fan for several years) and the new Drive Thru History Adventures curiculum.   Dave has a way of presenting historical facts in a fun memorable way.

In Bible History Adventures, Dave drives from place to place to over 50+ locations and takes you along for the ride.  The amount of historical sites and information covered is incredible!  The lessons are as short or as long as you want them to be and they are flexible.   Whether you use the bible provided in the popup box in the lesson to study the scriptures, or use another bible study resource is up to you.  Whether you verbally answer the discussion questions or print out the worksheets and write the answers in essay form is up to you.  You can access the curriculum 24 hours a day, 7 days a week as it is convenient for you to do so.

Most of my kids are audio visual learners and this curriculum fits their learning style.  My younger kids are able to enjoy the videos about historical places, people, and events, while my oldest son who likes to read on, is able to dig deeper and do the additional research he enjoys.   And with the annual subscription, we get to enjoy all of this wonderful history curriculum (Ancient, America, and Bible) for a full year.

Dave Stotts and Drive Thru History Adventures is a great way to spice up the learning and a sure cure for boredom.  There is something for everyone with this curriculum.

Discount Specials

There are several discount specials going on right now.  There is a free 7 day trial offer, and for new annual subscriptions Dave Stotts is offering a free set of DVD’s from Drive Thru History Adventures called The Gospels.

There is also a 20% off discount offer available for readers of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine.

Check out both resources to see the current offers and find one that fits best for your family.

Social Media

Dave Stotts is very active on Social Media.  Be sure to check out Dave and Drive Thru History on their social media for all the latest special offers, products, and updates.

Facebook 
Pinterest
Instagram
YouTube

Homeschool Review Crew

Be sure to check out what others on the Homeschool Review Crew had to say about using products from Drive Thru History Adventures in their home.

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GrapeVine Studies Reivew

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Have you wanted to remember your bible study?  Do you easily forget what you have read? When I think about history, and how people remembered stories to tell the next generation, they often used a variety of stick figure pictures to convey their message.  Stick figures are universal and easy to make and understand for most people of all ages.  The artifacts we have left show that people either drew them with charcoal or painted them onto rocks or cave walls, drew or carved shells or beads, and some people carved them into walking sticks, bone or wooden boxes, and totem poles.  However the story was shared, simple stick figure drawings have been a form of communication and remembering stories since the beginning of time.

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We were recently sent a product called Birth of Jesus: Multi Level Bible Curriculum from GrapeVine Studies to learn how to stick figure our way through the bible and understand and remember what we have learned.

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Stick figuring through the bible is a revolutionary yet ancient idea for helping your kids understand and remember their bible verses.  You can bring the story to life and make the stories easy to share with pictures like ancient people’s did.  I have seen this phenomenon going around for the past few years, some folks use doodles and paints, and some bible studies use stick figures.  I came across a homeschool mom’s website a few years ago who had been stick figuring through the bible with her kids and I was fascinated with the idea and put it on my “someday” to do list to learn more.   Well my “someday” finally arrived a few months ago when we were sent GrapeVine Studies curriculum to review in our homeschool.

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Birth Of Jesus: Multi Level

GrapeVine Studies

For Elementary Age Students

e-book PDF Download (other formats available)

Price varies depending on format you choose, see website for purchase details.

This is a whole new way to do Bible Study with your family!

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What We Received:

Birth of Jesus: Multi-Level Student e-Book:

  • Ages 7+
  • lessons pages,
  • timelines,
  • map,
  • memory verses,
  • and reviews.
  • 48 pages.

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Traceable for Multi-Level e-Book:

  • Ages 3-6
  • lessons pages,
  • timelines,
  • map,
  • memory verses,
  • reviews
  • 48 pages.

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Birth of Jesus Teacher’s e-Book:

  • lesson notes,
  • stick figure drawings,
  • lesson goals & key points,
  • memory verses,
  • review questions & answers.
  • 64 pages

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How We Used GrapeVine Studies

The first thing I did when I received my e-books was print them out.  I hole punched them and placed them into a 3 ring binder, but many of my friends also take them to the local office store and have them spiral bound for ease of use.  You can also purchase GrapeVine Studies books already printed and bound and ready to use, they come in several format options to fit your needs.

Next you need to get your supplies ready and put them in a basket, milk crate or an easily accessible container for bible study time.

Supplies:

Supplies Needed To Complete GrapeVine Studies Include:

  • Lesson pages for each student
  • Teachers Book pages for lesson instructions
  • Bible
  • Bible Dictionary
  • Atlas of the Bible Lands
  • Dry erase board and/or a chalk board (for mom)
  • Dry erase markers and/or chalk (for mom)
  • Colored pencils

I gave each child their own binder, and we worked on the GrapeVine Studies with our bible study for 10 minutes to 20 minutes four days a week.   For my younger children I give them the traceable pages, and the older children I give the blank pages for them to draw out the story. This study is meant to last 5 weeks by doing 4 lessons each week or a total of 128 lessons.  Each product from GrapeVine Studies is different so be sure to check the length of other products if you are looking for a longer or shorter time frame.

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Schedule 10 to 20 Minutes Each Day

  • Monday: Timeline Review Page
  • Tuesday: Lesson page 1
  • Wednesday: Lesson page 2
  • Thursday: Student Drawing Page

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Extra Day 5 (Friday).  We added our own ideas to further the learning for Fridays.  We did a variety of things like have the kids retell the story, make a lego creation to retell the story, act out the story, etc.  Check out our Further the Learning Ideas posted below if you would like to do this study in 5 days a week instead of 4. This product is very flexible and you can adapt it to your needs.

Further the Learning:

These are our “extra” ideas for making the GrapeVine Studies into a 5 day curriculum.  We love Unit Studies, and I felt this curriculum was easy to expand into a fun bible unit study for my kids to enjoy.  This is a great curriculum to accompany what you are already doing or to stand on its own.  You can include it for circle time with younger children, individual study for older children, or family bible study too.  We made it into the bible portion of our unit study learning about the Birth Of Jesus.   This is such a flexible curriculum and easy to adapt to any situation.

Field Trip:

  • Take a field trip to a local museum and look at artifacts that contain stick figures.  Have the children compare these with their stick figures of bible stories.
  • Take a virtual field trip online and learn about stick figures on ancient artifacts and on cave walls.

Screenshot (281)Ancient “Jonah” stick figure. (Image source)

Recent discoveries of ancient Jewish artifacts reveals a rich history of stick figures and even their written language reveals stick figures.  Here is a picture of the story of Jonah discovered on a tomb in 2012.    You can find many examples like this to look at with your children in museums and online.

Study Language:

Ancient Greek and Hebrew, Chinese, Japanese, as well as many other languages look like stick figures. Find examples of these languages online and have the kids guess what story they are telling, or what the different characters stand for.  See if they can identify stick figures and a story in ancient writings.  Check out wikipedia for an explanation of the history of stick figures in history.

Gift Idea:

  • Have the kids make a stick figure bible verse card for someone’s birthday, holiday, or anniversary.
  • Using cinamon sticks or tree branch sticks and hot glue, have the kids recreate a scene from their GrapeVine Studies and give this as a gift.
  • GrapeVine Studies stick figure scene painted or drawn onto rocks to give away as paperweights or give a whole story on rocks that can be displayed to retell the story.

Snack Ideas:

  • Have the kids make pretzel stick figures with pretzels, raisins, mini marshmallows, olives.
  • They could also use cheese sticks and olives with the help of a toothpick inbetween to hold them together.
  • Another fun idea would be to bake a stick figure scene from the GrapeVine studies with a bread stick dough.  Have the kids shape their stick figure scene on a cookie sheet and bake it to look just like their page.  This could be their centerpiece on the table at supper as they share the bible story with daddy or company who might come to visit, especially if using the Birth Of Jesus or the Resurection of Jesus GrapeVine Study near the holidays.

Arts and Craft Ideas:

  • Decorate a binder with stick figure animations to personalize it and hold their GrapeVine Studies bible study pages.  You can also create a lapbook, or create lapbook flaps they can keep in their binder to store maps, or mini booklets, etc that you might want to include if doing this as a unit study.
  • Go outside and find some sticks and and make puppets re-create one of the bible story’s they studied in their GrapeVine Studies.    Use the GrapeVine Studies pages as a script to re-tell the story with their stick figure puppets.
  • Use chalk and draw their GrapeVines Studies onto the side walk at a park or public area to share the gospel with others.
  • Paint rocks with the bible story using stick figure story ideas from GrapeVines Studies.  Retell the story to family and friends.   Could make a special bag or box and give this as a gift to a loved one that they could then display in their home.   This would be great to stick figure paint the nativity on rocks for Christmas too.

Lego Skit Ideas:

Legos look kind of “stick figure like” and every kid I know loves to play with Legos.  Using the pages from GrapeVine Studies as their written skit, have the kids re-tell the story using Legos. This is one of my kids favorite “extra” learning activities.

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Final Thoughts

I was really excited to review this product.  When I was younger,  I used to doodle in my bible and made notes in the margins.  It was my attempt to understand what I was reading and remember it.  Nowadays, I mostly use a spiral bound notebook to keep my bible study notes.

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Handwriting out long notes during bible study doesn’t really work for most of my children, especially my younger children, because they are not yet strong readers or writers.   Thanks to GrapeVine Studies we now know the kids can keep their bible study notes drawn in stick figure form, and they will remember what they have learned and be able to retell the story themselves.

Social Media

Be sure to check out GrapeVine Studies on their social media links for all the latest news and product updates.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GrapevineStudies
Twitter: https://twitter.com/grapevinestudy
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/grapevinestudy/
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+Grapevinestudies/posts
Periscope: @Grapevine Studies

Grapevine Studies Review

Be sure to check out what other families on the TOS Review Crew had to say about using GrapeVine Studies in their homes.

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