Grapevine Bible Studies are one of our family’s absolute favorite bible resources. After all, who wouldn’t enjoy “stick-figuring through the bible?” That’s right, this year my children will draw the Resurrection with stick figures…and LOVE it!
When my oldest two children were younger, we were able to spend a couple of weeks each year studying Jesus’ last week and Resurrection (which I will refer to as “Holy Week” for the rest of this post…because it is much shorter than Jesus’ last week, death and resurrection. hehe) These past two years, each grade level has learned about Holy Week at different points in their curriculum but neither coincided with the actual dates. We also planned our school calendar to start later in August and finish earlier in May, so there was not a lot of space to rearrange or take a Spring Break.
This year is different though. I planned a full two weeks to focus on Holy Week so all children (ages 3-11) would be able to participate. My Kinders are making our Resurrection Lapbooks, but I wanted something else for the older children. TA-DA! Enter, the Resurrection Study by Grapevine.
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What is so special about Grapevine Studies?
- They make it very easy for parents. All the prep work is done, so parents just get to do the fun part which is read and draw. The teacher’s guide includes a sample for drawing for each page, teacher notes that provide background information, memory verses, and review questions for each lesson.
- They are super flexible. As the teacher, you choose which version of the bible you want to read from. The study itself is non-denominational, so you as the teacher can guide the discussion any way you feel led to.
- They are truly multi-level. Yes, this is one of my favorite words because it is so important to our family learning style. I can teach the same lesson to my 3 year old and my 11 year old at the same time! Everyone is engaged, and enjoying each other’s company while working on their own pages “together.”
What materials do I need?
Nothing complicated…for once!
For the teacher:
- a copy of the Teacher’s Guide (you can choose an eBook or Printed version. The eBooks are slightly cheaper and you can download them immediately vs. waiting for them to be shipped. If you go the eBook route, you can choose to print it out or put it on your phone/tablet to refer to during lessons.)
- dry erase board (or blank sheet of paper, as long as everyone can see it)
- 8 colors of dry erase markers (or any markers/crayons/colored pencils if you are using paper)
For the student:
- a copy of the student sheet (Again, you can choose eBook for immediate download, or pay a little more to be mailed a printed copy. There are two licenses available, family or classroom.)
- something to draw with (my children prefer to draw with a pencil, and trace over it with colored pencils)
We like to make these into special keep books. For the larger studies (like the Old Testament or New Testament Overview), a three ring binder with sheet protectors are perfect. However, for small studies like these we use our favorite binding machine to make these into spiral-bound books. If you would like a cover for this study, there is a free download at the end of this post.
How does a lesson work?
- Ideally, I read the bible references ahead of time. It is nice to be able to ponder the story myself, and also have time to find it in a bible storybook for my littles and non-English speakers. Do I sometimes skip this step? Yes, I have five children and some days we have to do everything on the fly. I do prefer to read ahead though.
- When we are ready to start the lesson, I gather everyone around the table. Since we do have three year olds and non-native English speakers, they need it simple and visual. I start by reading the story from our favorite bible for 3-5 year olds (read our review here). There are two illustrations per page, so I will only read the story from the top illustration.
- Since this is first study for most of them, I draw two rectangles and remind them how I always start with the top. (I currently have a dry erase board right next to our table, but in the past I have used this great portable whiteboard, or just use a piece of paper on a clipboard.) I glance at the teacher guide and draw my stick figures in the top box explaining what I’m drawing.
- NOW, I pass out their papers and colored pencils. My current group of littles LOVE to draw, and just jump right to copying my stick figures. This was NOT the case when my oldest children started when they were 4 and 5. For them, I had to break it down. “Take your green and draw a circle up high.” I wait for them to finish. “Draw an eye here in the middle, then a happy smile.” Wait. “Start at the middle of the head, and draw a long line straight down. This is the body.” Wait. You get the picture.
- Follow your children’s lead. Some like to copy the illustrations with the exact colors. Others like to get ideas from my drawings, then add a few more details. Others like to do their own thing completely. I encourage whatever they enjoy. While they are drawing, I have my older children read the story aloud from the “real” bible while I supervise the littles.
- When I see most are finished illustrating the top rectangle, I repeat the process with the bottom rectangle. Read from story bible, I illustrate on the board, let them start drawing while my older children read aloud from the bible.
The Resurrection study has 9 lessons:
- The Last Supper
- Gethsemane
- The Religious Trials
- The Civil Trials
- The Crucifixion
- The Death and Burial of Jesus
- The Resurrection
- The Witnesses
- Jesus Went to Heaven
If you would like a free cover for your Resurrection Study, just click on the image below.
The sample lessons shown above are using the Beginner Level. If you would like to try out the Multi-Level Study you can download the first lesson “Last Supper” for free, including Student Pages, Teacher Pages, and Traceable Pages where it says Resurrection.