Years ago my husband was going through the pastoral program of the Christian and Missionary Alliance. Our life has taken a different path, so he is not a pastor; but, all these years later, I still vividly remember one of the classes that was a part of the program. The material was contained in a spiral-bound book, and this particular class dealt with the book of Matthew. It asked some questions and then it asked them again. It repeated the questions again in different ways. The student was to search the Scripture for the answer and then fill in the blanks throughout the study. The idea was that repetition would help the student learn and remember what was in Scripture.
I have tried to find a program for my kids like this. My husband even called the C&MA to see if it was still available, but it wasn't. Along came Bible Study Guide For All Ages. It is the closest thing to what I was looking for, except it is better! We were given the first quarter of unit 1 of the Advanced Student Pages and the Bible Book Summary Cards to review. The first quarter student pages contain lessons 1-26 and cover the stories of Joseph and Daniel and the birth of Jesus through his youth. It sells for $5.95. Each lesson is printed on the front and back of legal-size paper bound together in a tablet form.
The picture above is a sample of the first page in lesson 33. Each lesson has the applicable Scripture written on the top and then a section of questions entitled, "Remember It?" This is an opportunity to draw on knowledge learned in previous lessons. I like that the answers themselves are not provided, but the student is referred back to Scripture to look it up. The more a passage is read, the more it will be remembered. The next section is a "Memory Workout." This is a chance to look at the Bible Book Summary Cards, which are wonderfully illustrated. There are 66 book cards in a package as there are 66 books in the Bible. They are printed in color on card stock and sell for $24.95.
The Memory Workout sometimes has the student sing a song. Bible Study Guide For All Ages has a CD for $19.95 with 90 songs to help with Scripture memorization. Sometimes there is a "Guess What..." section that helps to define terms or historical information so that the student will understand better. Some lessons have a map for the student to mark locations, and some lessons have a timeline so that they can see when events happened in relation to others.
Each lesson has an "Apply It!" section where the student reflects on a key verse and applies it to their lives. The "Get Active" section is difficult to do if one child is working on this Bible study alone. This works best when it is used in a larger setting.
My favorite part, the part most like the study I had done years ago, is the back side of the page. This is the "Discover the Bible" section and is very cleverly designed. The illustrations are wonderful, and the student is required to answer questions by filling in bubbles in the picture or crossing out words that weren't said in Scripture. They sometimes need to circle items or do matching or small crossword puzzles all related to the Scripture for the day. There are so many different activities in this section throughout the quarter unit that I found it quite engaging.
There are a total of 416 lessons in the Advanced Student Pages split among 16 separate booklets, each selling for $5.95. The teacher's key that goes along with these pages retails for $7.95 and contains the answers, as well as additional information to help teach the concepts found in the Scripture. Timelines and wall maps are sold, as well as labels to apply to the timeline and map.
Bible Study For All Ages has studies for all grade levels starting at 3 years old and going up to the teen years. All levels can learn the same Scripture at their respective learning levels. An order of study is available on their website. My daughter is 11 and had no trouble using the Advanced Student Pages. They are listed on the website for grades 5 and 6.
