The Birth of Jesus Bible Study

There are so many fun activities and studies to do at this time of the year that it can be a little overwhelming to choose. So for our Christmas studies this year, I've picked easy-to-implement activities that focus on Jesus. We learn a name of Jesus each day via our advent chain, we usually read at least 1 Christian Christmas book each day, and this week we did Grapevine's Birth of Jesus Bible Study together.

There are two versions of The Birth of Jesus Bible study:

Multi Level {ages 7 and up} Birth of Jesus..
Children and teens will travel back to the first century for a fresh look at the events surrounding the birth of Jesus! The timeline of the Nativity will come alive through the Bible study of the characters and events surrounding the birth of Jesus. On this journey students will map the travels of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus.

Beginner {ages 5-7} Birth of Jesus…
Preschool and kindergarten Bible students will saddle up their donkeys and take an unforgettable journey back in time to discover the amazing events that surrounded the Nativity.

I loaded the teacher's guide onto my iPad this time so that I didn't have to print it out. I love that! Everything you need to teach this study is in the teacher's guide. It is so easy to implement. We gathered up our dry erase crayons and table top dry-erase board and started our stick-figure study.

Each child has their own set of colored pencils and their own student pages (this is separate from the teacher's manual). They draw a stick-figure in a certain color to help them remember the key components of the Bible passage.

I give my littlest ones a piece of drawing paper so they can participate with us too. This was my 3yr. old's drawing of Mary.

We enjoy doing these stick-figure studies. Even my older kids enjoy them. It's hard to find things that work well for all the ages I have at home, so I've very grateful for these joint learning opportunities. This is our second Grapevine study (You can read what I thought of The Life of Jospeh Grapevine study) and I'm deciding what our next one will be.

Use the coupon code Advent11 to receive 20% off any non-sale item from now through December 31, 2011!

If you want to win a free study, head on over to:
1+1+1=1 's blog (ends 12/11)
Mama Jenn's blog (ends 12/10)

Learning About Joseph

I heard about Grapevine Bible studies a couple years ago when several families in my co-op began using them for Bible. I knew it was based on drawing stick figures, but beyond that, I wasn't sure what all the hype was about. This year I finally got my hands on one of the studies: Joseph. All my kids, ages 13 down to 3yrs. old went through this study together.

This is what the teacher’s manual looks like. I love that all I have to do is pick it up and teach straight from the book. There is no prep work involved besides prayer. If you order the e-book download, you could easily just read from your iPad and not even print a thing out. You can view more details on how to teach this program by reading the Getting Started PDF from Grapevine.

The unique component of this Bible curriculum is the drawing element. By having students draw what they are learning, more information is retained. Any age can do this because it is all stick-figure drawing.

I purchased a table-top magnetic dry-erase board and it worked perfectly for showing my kids what they needed to draw in their book. Instead of buying dry-erase markers, I purchased dry-erase crayons.  They were much cheaper than the dry-erase markers I found. You will need 8 colors to complete the drawings.

I love the inclusion of time-lines in the Bible study. At various points in the study, students draw the key points of the story. There are also review pages and Bible memory verses included.

I originally received the Joseph e-book. Being a little frugal and not sure if it was a little too childish for my 11yr. old and 13yr. old, I didn’t print out the student manual for them (I printed it out for my 9yr. old. In the future I will just purchase the student manuals because they are reasonably priced). I had my older kids draw everything in spiral notebooks. I was surprised that my older kids were motivated to do this study just because of the drawings! They helped me out too by drawing on the easel what needed to be taught that day.

Though this curriculum is listed for ages 5 and up, I had my 4yr. old and 3yr. old work too. They each received their own Bible journal and would draw along with us.

We love this study. It was a great study to start out our school year.  Now my kids know what to expect and are excited to see what study we will do next. I’m thinking about this in the near future:

The Birth of Jesus is a chronological study of the events surrounding the Nativity of Jesus Christ.
This new study is available in:
Beginner for Ages 5-7 Click Here
     Multi-Level for Ages 7 and up Click Here
This is a great way to prepare your students for Christmas!

There are so many options, that it is going to be hard to choose which one to do next. You can view samples of the studies on their website.

You can get 20% off all products (except sale items) using the code blog55 .

You have one day left to win this study over at Granola Mom 4 God (9/20)

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this study for review purposes only. Opinions are mine.