God’s GREAT Covenant

 

• God’s GREAT Covenant – Old Testament 1 Genesis to Ruth
• Written by Claire A. Larsen
• Elementary level appropriate for grades 2-6
• Published by Classical Academic Press
• Student Book:  $22.95
• Teachers Edition: $24.95
• Mp3 Download Audio files: $9.95
• Bundle package:Includes  Student book, Teacher book, Mp3 audio files, Timeline and Map Set: $79.95

About the Product

God’s GREAT Covenant – Old Testament 1 Genesis to Ruth is a Bible course designed for elementary age students. This is a complete full year Bible course. It contains 32 chapters divided into 5 units.

Unit I covers In the Beginning—God’s Power  (Genesis 1-11)

Unit II covers By the Patriarchs…God’s Promises (Genesis 12-50)

Unit III covers Out of Egypt…God’s Redemption (Exodus 1-34)

Unit IV covers Through the Wilderness… God’s Provision (Exodus-Deuteronomy)

Unit V covers In the Promised Land…God’s Faithfulness (Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Job)

Each chapter in the student book is divided into four parts. The first part is the Memory Page. This page tells the Lesson Scope, Theme, Memory Verse, Key Facts, Things to Remember and Who is God?. The second part is Story Time. This tells the Biblical account in story form. Mp3 downloads are available which narrates the Story Time. The third section of each chapter is a Worksheet. The Worksheet is two pages  and includes a variety of activities to review the lesson. The last part of the chapter is a Chapter Quiz. This is a one page quiz over the chapter contents.

The teacher book is very detailed. It includes the entire student text, answer keys, and copious facts to help the teacher explain and expand on the concepts presented in the lesson.

ClarkClan Experiences

I used this Bible Course with Ben (11) and Rebekah(9). We start each morning with worship time. We continued this tradition, adding God’s Great Covenant to the end of our worship time.

I found a suggested schedule on the Classical Academic Press website that I followed. The Five –day lesson plan was designed to take about 20 minutes each day. This was right on target for my kids.

On day 1, usually Monday, we would read through the Memory Page together. With this we discussed all the elements of the lesson including the theme, memory verse, Key facts and the Things to Remember. Then we would read the Story time pages.

For the Story time I would have Ben and Rebekah take turns reading while I followed along with the teachers book. Points in the Story time were marked, so I could stop the reading and add information and explanations to further their understanding.  I liked this part. We could read, talk,and  interact with each other.

One note about the Mp3 audio files. These audio files are word for word readings of the Story time pages. They are very well done. Christopher Perrin does the reading and it is a pleasant listening experience. That being said, we did not use the audio files while doing our lessons. We tried it and I found that I preferred having the kids read to me and then I could easily bring up the discussion points. This was not easy to accomplish while listening to the audio. I have put the audio files on the kids I pods so they can listen to them at later times for review.

Day 2 consisted of reading the actual Scripture passage out loud. I would generally read this so the kids could listen and absorb God’s Word without worrying about mispronounced words. Then we discussed the reading, and reviewed the memory verse.

On Day 3 I would have Ben and Rebekah complete the review worksheets on their own. I encouraged them to look the answers up in the chapter if they needed help. We would also review the memory verse again.

On Day 4 we would go over the worksheets and have some discussion. We would also review the memory verse and Key Facts. Some weeks, we only had four school days instead of five. When that happened, Day 4 is what I would cut out to keep on schedule.

Day 5 was taking the Quiz. On the quiz I did not let them look up the answers in the book. They had to know the information on their own. Then we would check the quiz together.

I will say we are thoroughly enjoying this Bible course. I have had some trouble with non-denominational Bible courses that teach theology contrary to what Lutherans believe. I have not come across anything of that nature while reviewing this course. I like that they include Catechism questions at the beginning of each chapter. These are taken from the Westminster Shorter Catechism..

Another feature of this study that I love is the little side notes in each chapter titled Jesus in the OT (Old Testament). This is something I strive to teach to kids when I am teaching Bible lessons. This feature points out how Jesus is portrayed throughout the Old Testament.

Ben and Rebekah have both greatly enjoyed this course. They eagerly work on the book work with no complaints. My kids have studied the book of Genesis and read the Creation account, Noah’s Ark, and The Tower of Babel many times. This course has helped open their minds to thinking about these accounts in new ways. While we were studying the sin of Adam and Eve, Rebekah asked questions about when the sin occurred. Her questions stumped me. When we went to church on Wednesday night and Rebekah was able to ask her question to Pastor who gently guided her.

There was one item that bothered me while reviewing this Bible course. The pictures included in each chapter had cartoon looking Bible characters. This is a pet peeve of mine. I would prefer that the pictures contain “real” looking people. Kids know cartoons are fake. I worry that by, drawing cartoon looking Bible characters, kids may associate true teaching as being no different than a story such as The Cat in the Hat..

Recommendation

I would highly recommend this Bible Course for children. It is in depth, yet easy to understand. I am looking forward to finishing this course with Ben and Rebekah.

As part of the Schoolhouse Review Crew, I was able to review this Bible Study course along with many of my Crew Mates. Other products reviewed include God’s GREAT Covenant Book 2 and  Song School Spanish. Visit the Crew Blog to read what my Crew Mates thought about their products.