Friday, April 29, 2011

Review: Alone with God Bible Studies (Greek N Stuff)

Niv-j-r

When I found out the Crew would be reviewing products from Greek N Stuff, my mind automatically thought of their popular Greek and Latin programs.  However, I was unaware that they also have a series of Bible studies available.  I knew of the Greek, but not the “stuff”, I guess.

There are four studies in the series, titled Alone with God; I receive the I Can Study Jonah & Ruth study. They are available in either a NIV or King James version.

Primarily written for the middle to upper elementary age group, the Alone with God studies are simple enough for a student to complete during a personal devotion.  At almost 12, my son is on the upper range of the target group.


I Can Study Jonah & Ruth is a 13-week study covering two passages.  The first 5 weeks cover Jonah 1:1 – 4:11 and the next 8 weeks cover Ruth 1:1 – 4:22.

The weekly lessons are broken up into six segments, one for each day, Monday – Saturday.  The length of the passage covered each week varies, with as few a 3 verses to as much as 18 for this particular study. Each day starts with prayer and reading/reciting memory verse, followed with three questions relating to the week’s Scripture verse. The answers to the questions are directly from the Scripture for that week with the specific verse listed by each question.

Along with a memory verse, there is a Think and Pray About It section for each week. These vary in length and require a bit more thought than the daily questions.  For example, a question from the Ruth study is as follows:
Sometimes we think the good things we do go unnoticed.  That is absolutely not true.  God always notices.  And, eventually, people often notice, too.  But there is a very important question we should ask ourselves.  Why are we doing good?  Do we hope people will notice and praise us?  Or are we doing the good we do simply to serve God?
Also include in the sidebar of each week’s study are highlights of geographical, biographical, historical, and cultural aspects to enrich the understanding of the reading passage for that week. For example,

How far did Jonah have to travel to get to Nineveh? (answer: 500 miles)

Why could people go onto other people’s property and pick grain?

What was an ephah?

You can view a sample page of I Can Study Jonah & Ruth as well as sample pages of other titles by Greek N Stuff.

Even though my 11-year-old son is on the older end of the target age group, he seemed to enjoy this study. He doesn’t always do well independently, so the direct questions with the information on where to find the answer likely appealed to him as did the short daily work.  He didn’t feel the level of the study was inappropriate for his age. The appearance of the pages is very age-neutral, lacking any childish graphics.  While this is a simple study, right down to the physical appearance of black and white copies and comb binding, I would say that it is adaptable to many ages, keeping it simple if needed, or using it as a jumping off point. For older kids or those ready to jump in to an in-depth study, this might not be the best choice. For us, I liked that the simplicity made the study more approachable to my son.  It wasn’t intimidating, making it easier to build a daily habit of getting into God’s Word.

I Can Study Jonah and Ruth is available at the Greek N Stuff website for $8.95.  There you will also find information on the complete Alone with God Bible Studies as well as Latin and Greek language learning programs by Greek N Stuff.

Curious about what other TOS Crew members had to say about this product?  Visit the official TOS Crew blog to read more reviews.

Disclaimer: This review was provided as a result in my participation in The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Crew. I was provided the product free of charge in exchange for my honest review. I have received no other compensation. I strive to give a balanced overview of each product, detailing my opinion of both pros and cons and how the product worked for my family. What works for one family may not work for another. I encourage you to read reviews of other Crew members and research sufficiently to determine if any product will be a benefit to your homeschool.

1 comment:

Pebblekeeper ~ Angie said...

I enjoyed the simplicity of this study - and how easy it was for my son (13) to work on it each morning on his own. After all - how great can a Bible Study be if they always need help? If they can't do it? ;) We really enjoyed this one, Nate is almost done with Ruth, we've spread it out throughout the winter.