Save $25 on What's in the Bible? DVDs Old Testament Bundle

This week is your last chance to save $25 on your purchase of the What's in the Bible? Old Testament DVD Bundle. That means you can get the entire Old Testament (9 DVDs) for only $84.99 after using the coupon code OTSAVE25 and getting FREE shipping within the US. This coupon expires on Monday, October 1.

Our family loves the What's in the Bible? series. So much, in fact that we're using it in a Children's Bible Study and as part of our (practically free) homeschool curriculum.

We also make and use these free printable What's in the Bible? Review Flashcards to see just how much our kids are learning.

If you'd like to learn more about the series from its creator, Phil Vischer, you can listen to his interview from last month on Family Life Today.

Today's question: Have you watched any of the What's in the Bible? DVDs? We'd love to hear your thoughts.

Be sure to click the link in the first email to activate your subscription.

Start School Right, Free Online Workshop, Sept. 18th

Tomorrow, Tuesday, September 18th from 9-10 PM (Eastern), Kerry Beck from Raising Leaders, Not Followers will be hosting a free homeschooling online workshop.

This interactive Start School Right webinar is designed to help you mold your children into the leaders God created them to be. 

Kerry will be sharing Biblical examples of leaders and leaders-in-training that you can follow, tips to instill the character of a leader in your children at a young age, how to develop a love of learning in your kids, how to transition from a teacher-directed homeschool to more of a independent, student-directed homeschool, and much, much more.

I'm definitely going to be tuning in to learn all I can from this homeschool veteran.

To attend this free online workshop you need to register here. It's as simple as entering your email address. (The webinar sign-in details will be emailed to you so you can join in tomorrow night.)

Be sure to click the link in the first email to activate your subscription.

What's in the Bible? Review Flashcards for DVD 5

We've finished a set of review flashcards for What's in the Bible? DVD 5. Click on the link below to download for free. Also, check out all of our other free What's in the Bible? resources.

Simple Ways to Teach with the What's in the Bible? DVDs

Review Flashcards for DVD 1 can be found here.

Review Flashcards for DVD 2
Review Flashcards for DVD 3
Review Flashcards for DVD 4

and the newest set...Review Flashcards for DVD 5:
Vol. 5, Part 1: The People Want a King
Vol. 5, Part 2: Kings Make Mistakes, Too

So, if you’re wanting a little extra review to go along with the What’s in the Bible? DVDs, I hope you’ll find these flashcards helpful.

We’ll share the other sets of flashcards as I finish them. Sign up for free blog updates so you won’t miss out.

Today's Questions: How do you help your children learn about (and from) the Bible?

Be sure to click the link in the first email to activate your subscription.

What's in the Bible? Review Flashcards for DVD 4 {Finished Friday #47} come link your projects, too!

Link up your projects at the end of this post.

Yesterday I posted the simple, but effective ways we use the What's in the Bible? DVD series as part of a children's Bible study. In the same post I announced that the DVDs are on sale for only $10 for the next week!

I also told you that I'd be making Review Flashcards for the rest of the DVDs, so without further ado...

What's in the Bible? DVD 4 Review Flashcards
Part 1: Finally, the Promised Land
Part 2: Cycle of Misery

And here are the links for the other sets of flashcards:
Review Flashcards for DVD 1 
Review Flashcards for DVD 2
Review Flashcards for DVD 3

So, if you’re wanting a little extra review to go along with the What’s in the Bible? DVDs, I hope you’ll find these flashcards helpful.

And remember, the What's in the Bible? DVDs are on SALE for one week for only $10 each!

We’ll share the other sets of flashcards as I finish them. Sign up for free blog updates so you won’t miss out.

Today's Questions: Have you seen the What’s in the Bible? DVDs? Do you think you might like to use them with your children? Why or why not? 

I'm trying to hold myself accountable to finish some of the projects on my to do list by posting each Friday about a project I've completed.

Would you like to join in? Link up to your own projects below.

1. Link to your project post, not your blog's home page, so we can find it easily.
2. Let us know what project you are sharing in your title, for example: Spring Wreath
3. We'd love it if your post links back here so that your readers can come join the fun. Feel free to copy & paste our Finished Friday Button into your post. (Just copy the text in the box below the button, click on the "Edit HTML" tab for your post and paste it there.)

<center><a href="http://a-heart4home.blogspot.com/search/label/Finished%20Friday"target="_blank" ><img border="0" src=" http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq160/aHeart4home/FinishedFridaybutton125px.jpg"/></a></center>

Where the linky says "Your Name" please enter the name of your project or the title of your post!

Be sure to click the link in the first email to activate your subscription.

Teaching with What's in the Bible? plus all DVDs only $10 for 1 week

Our family loves the What's in the Bible? DVD series. The DVDs are an in depth study of the entire Bible, book by book. Yes, even books like Leviticus are made easy for kids to understand, without being completely watered down. 

The DVDs are fun and educational and are a great balance of silly kid humor and parts that are genuinely funny as well.

For the past few months, we've been using these DVDs as a base for a children's Bible study that I teach on Sunday nights.

The children in the group range from 11 all the way down to two babies under a year old (thankfully, one of the babies is mine and the mother of the other baby helps out with the kids as well). I think children of all ages can learn from these DVDs. In fact our two year old has repeated things she's learned and I usually learn a thing or two as well.

Even though we've made it part way through the series during our Sunday evening Bible study, our family is going to be using the What's in the Bible? DVDs as our Bible curriculum for this year of homeschool as well.

So, in case you'd like to use these DVDs with a children's Bible study, your own children as a homeschool Bible curriculum, or even as a part of your family Bible time I thought I'd share how we've been learning with What's in the Bible?

In our Bible study, we watch the same DVD episode twice, which means that each DVD takes us through 4 weeks worth of lessons. (Carisa @1+1+1=1 uses the DVDs with her own kids and chooses to have them watch each episode 3 times before moving on.)

Start out with Reading

I find that if I start the lesson with a read aloud it helps to get everyone focused and the kids seem to stay calmer throughout our entire lesson. Don't fall into the misconception that older children don't like being read to, from my experience, children enjoy listening to someone read a story long after they can read themselves. 

If you have older kids, you can get them involved as your story readers (you can help encourage then by giving them a copy of the story before hand so they can read through it first).

We read from a variety of Bible storybooks, mostly because some of the stories covered in the series are not the "major" Bible stories and not all kids' Bible storybooks have them all. It's also nice to be able to read the same story from two different Bible storybook since we watch the same DVD session twice. I also like to read an except of the story from the actual Bible as well.

Here are some of the Bible storybooks we frequently use:

The Jesus Storybook Bible (our personal favorite)
The Beginning Reader's Bible (read our review here) 
The Jesus Said Bible Storybook

The Early Reader's Bible

The Beginners Bible

The Young Reader's Bible



After we read the story I usually ask a few questions or make a connection between the story and our lives today. Some times volunteers act out parts of the story (the kids love this part).

Watch the DVD 

After our story time we watch the corresponding What's in the Bible? DVD episode. So far, there are 8 DVDs covering the books of Genesis through the Song of Solomon. The ninth DVD is scheduled for release in the middle of August.

For one week only you can get each DVD for just $10. What's in the Bible? also offers FREE shipping on all orders over $15. Check out all of the DVDs in the What's in the Bible? Store.

Review with the the Flashcard Questions

When the DVD is finished, I use the questions from the What's in the Bible? flashcards to review the information we've learned. Some of the questions may be a little too difficult for very young children, so don't feel like you need to use all of them, just make them work for you.

DVD 1 flashcards 

DVD 2 flashcards

DVD 3 flashcards

I'll be making flashcards for all the other DVDs, too. Go ahead and subscribe for free updates so you won't miss them.

You can laminate the flashcards keep each episode's cards on a different book ring or make the flashcards more interactive by having kids pick a card and read the question to the group. Non-readers can pick a card and hand it to you to read.



Color a Picture

Once we've answered and discussed the flashcard questions we usually color a picture about the Bible story or book of the Bible we learned about.

What's in the Bible? coloring pages

My Bible Coloring Book (This 119 page coloring book was created by Shirley Dobson and has lots of coloring pages for some of the lesser known Bible stories.)

As you can see, the planning of the Bible study actually takes me very little time, but the kids really enjoy it and are learning a lot. 

I love that even as a busy mom who doesn't have time to make up my own Bible study curriculum, the What's in the Bible? DVDs allow me to teach and impact children beyond my immediate family for Christ!

Today's Question: Have you watched the What's in the Bible? DVDs? Do you have any more ideas for extending our learning?

Be sure to click the link in the first email to activate your subscription.

What's in the Bible? Review Flashcards DVD 3

Our family and the kids in our small group Bible study are so pleased with the What's in the Bible? DVD series. The kids are learning so much about the Bible and God's big rescue plan for his people. The adults are learning quite a bit, too.

We're very excited that so many people enjoyed our What's in the Bible? Review Flashcards for DVD 2.

I've finished the next set of flashcards for the What's in the Bible? DVD 3 (Wanderin' in the Desert).

Volume 3 finishes up the Pentateuch with the books of Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. You can watch a few video clips from DVD 3 here.

These flashcards are great for extra review to go along with the What’s in the Bible? DVDs. Since I make these flashcards to use with a wide range of ages, simply choose the questions that you think will work best for your kids. These sets even have a couple of blank cards, just in case you'd like to add your own questions.

We’ll share the other sets as I finish them so sign up for free blog updates so you won’t miss out.

Click the links below to download:

What’s in the Bible? DVD 3 Part 1

What’s in the Bible? DVD 3 Part 2

Today's Questions: Have you seen the What’s in the Bible? DVDs? Do you think you might like to use them with your children? Why or why not? 

Be sure to click the link in the first email to activate your subscription.

What's in the Bible? Memorial Day Sale

If you read our post about the What's in the Bible? DVDs last week, you know our family REALLY likes them! Right now we have DVDs 1 through 5.

But this weekend is the perfect time to complete our collection since all individual What's in the Bible? DVDs are on sale for only $10 each. As always, you also get free shipping on all orders over $15, no coupon code required.

These would be great to watch during hot summer afternoons or on long summer trips.

If you're just getting started on your collection, you can get all 7 available DVDs for only $70.

(By the way, I'll be putting the finishing touches on the free flashcards for DVD 3 this week, so keep an eye out for them soon.)

Now, go and check out this great sale before it ends on Tuesday, May 29th!

Be sure to click the link in the first email to activate your subscription.

What’s in the Bible? Review Flashcards {Finished Friday} come link up your finished projects, too!

Update: We've added the link to Volume 3's flashcards to the end of this post.

A few months ago we started looking for a DVD series for a children’s Bible study. Tim was starting an adult study and I was looking to provide more than just glorified babysitting to the children of the families that would attend.

That’s when we discovered the What’s in the Bible? DVD series.

Let me just say we LOVE these DVDs!

The kids in our Bible study range from 2 to 11 (not including the two infants) and everyone is learning about the Bible in a fun way.

I recently came across a set of flashcards for DVD 1 offered by the What’s in the Bible? team and thought they would be a great addition to our study as well as a wonderful review when we start using the What’s in the Bible? DVDs in the fall for homeschooling.

Unfortunately, there is only one set of cards for the first DVD, so I decided to use their great idea and develop some of my own.

I sent the first set I completed to the wonderful people at What’s in the Bible? and asked if it would be alright to share them with others. Here’s what they had to say:

“Thanks so much for sending this example, Allyson. These are GREAT! You have our permission to share them with others. Thanks so much for double checking first, we really appreciate it!”

So, if you’re wanting a little extra review to go along with the What’s in the Bible? DVDs, I hope you’ll find these flashcards helpful.

We’ll share the other sets as I finish them so sign up for free blog updates so you won’t miss out.


click the links below to download:

What’s in the Bible? DVD 2 Part 1

What’s in the Bible? DVD 2 Part 2


Check out this post for the flashcards for DVD 3.

Today's Questions: Have you seen the What’s in the Bible? DVDs? Do you think you might like to use them with your children? Why or why not? 

I'm trying to hold myself accountable to finish some of the projects on my to do list by posting each Friday about a project I've completed.

Would you like to join in? Link up to your own projects below.

1. Link to your project post, not your blog's home page, so we can find it easily.
2. Let us know what project you are sharing in your title, for example: Spring Wreath
3. We'd love it if your post links back here so that your readers can come join the fun. Feel free to copy & paste our Finished Friday Button into your post. (Just copy the text in the box below the button, click on the "Edit HTML" tab for your post and paste it there.)




<center><a href="http://a-heart4home.blogspot.com/search/label/Finished%20Friday"target="_blank" ><img border="0" src=" http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq160/aHeart4home/checkmarkgray2.jpg"/></a></center>

Be sure to click the link in the first email to activate your subscription.

Prayer Pail {Finished Friday} come link up your projects!

Be sure to link up your finished projects at the end of this post.

I pinned the idea of a family prayer pail last month. I knew this idea would be a great addition to our dinner prayer time and would encourage our children (as well ourselves) to pray for more than just the food in front of us.

At first I simply wrote names out on large craft sticks and placed them inside of an old peanut butter jar. Then this past week I took some time to pretty it up a bit.

I used all items we had around the house so our prayer pail centerpiece ended up being a “free” project.

We decided that we wanted to deviate from the original idea a little to include a jar for the sticks we’ve already prayed for, so we could pray for all the people/groups before recycling back through. However, you could easily use this same idea to make a one jar prayer pail.

Materials

• oval metal pail (our was from a yard sale last summer, but I’m guessing you could find them at a craft or gardening store, ours had a plastic planter liner)
• two jars that fit inside the pail side by side (empty peanut butter jars)
• dried beans, small stones, etc
• assorted artificial flowers
• large craft stick (tongue depressor size)
• permanent marker (various colors optional)
• stickers to spell “Prayer Pail” (optional)

1. Simply write the names of people, countries, groups and ministries you’d like to pray for on the craft sticks with the permanent markers.

2. Use the stickers to write Prayer Pail on the outside of the pail. This is easier to do now than when the pail is filled (ask how I know).

3. Place the two jars into the pail and pour the beans around the outside of the jars to hold them in place.

4. Arrange the artificial flowers in the beans.

5. Place the prayer sticks into the jar on the left. (Once you’ve picked a stick and prayed for the person named on the stick you’ll move that stick to the jar on the right.)

At dinnertime we each draw a “prayer stick” (right down to our two year old) and pray for who or what is written on the stick. Our four year old thinks of her own prayer, but our 3 year old and two year old repeat either Tim or me as we pray for who or what is written on their stick. Tim and I also draw our own sticks.

Our children love the prayer pail and have been excited about drawing sticks and praying for different people. Tim and I love that we’ve found another way to encourage our children to build a personal relationship with God and to help them to focus on gratitude and the needs of others.

Today's Questions: What do you think about the idea of a family prayer pail? Do you think your family would benefit from one? Do you have other ways that you make prayer a priority in your home?

I'm trying to hold myself accountable to finish some of the projects on my to do list by posting each Friday about a project I've completed.

Would you like to join in? Link up to your own projects below.

1. Link to your project post, not your blog's home page, so we can find it easily.
2. Let us know what project you are sharing in your title, for example: Spring Wreath
3. We'd love it if your post links back here so that your readers can come join the fun. Feel free to copy & paste our Finished Friday Button into your post. (Just copy the text in the box below the button, click on the "Edit HTML" tab for your post and paste it there.)


<center><a href="http://a-heart4home.blogspot.com/search/label/Finished%20Friday"target="_blank" ><img border="0" src=" http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq160/aHeart4home/checkmarkgray2.jpg"/></a></center>

Be sure to click the link in the first email to activate your subscription.

Bible Reading Plan {Simple & Effective SOAP}

I set a goal at the beginning of the year to read through the New Testament a chapter at a time. While I’d love to read through 7 chapters each week I knew that 5 or 6 chapters would be much more realistic.

However, the question still remained of how to make the reading meaningful and not simply breeze through each chapter in order to check it off of my to-do list.

Then I read about the SOAP method of Bible Study. SOAP stands for Scripture, Observation, Application, and Prayer.

I use a composition book to take notes during by Bible reading. I simply write the date and what chapter I’m reading that day. Then I write an “S” for scripture.  
Before I read, I ask God to show my what he wants me to see in that particular chapter. Then I read the chapter straight through. After I’ve read, I go back through and look for one verse that stands out to me. I write out this verse next to the “S” in my notebook.

Underneath that I write an “O” for observation and write down what I observe about that verse.

Next I write an “A” for application and write how that verse and my observations are applicable to my life right now.

Finally, I write a “P” for prayer and write out a prayer thanking God for what he has shown me and asking him to help my take a step toward applying what I’ve learned.  
So far this Bible reading method has worked wonderfully for me. In the past I’ve always fallen behind in reading plans and then become discouraged. However, since I’ve set the goal for 5 days a week I don’t feel stressed out about reading my Bible. Also, as a person who grew up reading the Bible, this method is helping me to see familiar passages in a new light, which in turn motivates me to keep coming back to the Word.

Today’s Question: What about you? Do you struggle to find time and excitement in reading God’s word? How do you best focus and really make the Bible apply to your everyday life?

Be sure to click the link in the first email to activate your subscription.

Heroes & Villains of the Bible Book Review

We recently read through Tommy Nelson’s children’s Bible storybook, Heroes and Villains of the Bible.

Heroes and Villains of the Bible is a collection of true-life adventures of real people form the Bible. Some of these people were warriors for God while others fought against God, his ways, and his people.

This children’s Bible storybook contains 50 stories with actual Bible text from the International Children’s Bible version.

Each story also contains an introduction that establishes important events surrounding each section of scripture. The end of each story has thoughts and suggestions to help readers relate the stories to life today and to ultimately point children to God—the greatest hero of all!

We really enjoyed the Bible overview as the storybook told of people such as Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Ruth, Haman, Herod, Peter, Stephen and many others. I also liked that the heroes were visually represented in the table of contents and throughout their chapter with the head of a lion while the villains were represented by a snake.

I thought the introduction and summary that accompanied each chapter was well thought out and helpful in making the stories easier to apply to everyday life.

I am not a huge fan of the International Children’s Bible translation, but I can see how it would make the stories easier to understand if a child were to read them on their own. Personally, I’d rather read from the same version we use and then answer any questions that our children have.

I did not like the digital illustration, but the kids liked them and I think they definitely make the storybook more appealing to older children, which is good since the illustrations of so many Bible storybooks are considered too babyish by many older children. The illustrations are also a little sparse with only one picture for most of the stories. The stories range from 2-6 pages. Some of the shorter stories have no picture at all.

Overall, we enjoyed this book and we will be keeping it in our library to refer to as we study various people from the Bible.

I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Welcome to A Heart for Home! You can easily get

free updates through e-mail or our RSS feed.

Thanks for visiting and we hope you'll be back often!

What's In the Bible? DVD 1 shipped for Only $5 (Coupon code still working)

Our kids love What's in the Bible? So I was excited when I saw that the What's in the Bible? Vol. 1 Valentine coupon code is still working. Use code Love 2 to get $10 off the first volume of What's in the Bible? DVD. That makes it only $5 shipped!

These DVDs are wonderful! In fact, Tim and I just purchased the DVD bundle to use with the children of a small group Bible study that we are beginning.

This post contains affiliate links. When you make a purchase through our link you are helping our family, at no cost to you...thanks!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Welcome to A Heart for Home! We'd love for you to subscribe

to receive free updates through e-mail or our RSS feed.

Thanks for visiting and we hope you'll be back often! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Beginning Reader's Bible Review

From the Publisher: 


This exceptionally illustrated Bible storybook allows children to read the story, pray to God, and grow closer to Him.

Using actual Bible text from the International Children's Bible® as well as prayers, memory verses, and fun activities, children will love this large format and be engrossed in the intricate detail of the illustrations. Bible stories from the Old and New Testaments are included and stories are accompanied by a prayer for the child to pray, a verse to memorize, and a fun activity to help them grow.

Our Review:

When this Bible storybook arrived the first thing that caught our attention were the beautiful illustrations. Each page is very detailed and just wonderful. The colors are rich and the illustrations, while animated are not overly cartoony.

The book contains 26 stories from the Old and New Testament and additional resources, such as prayers from the Bible, books of the Bible and the ten commandments. Most of the stories are the "big" ones such as Noah, David and Goliath and the Prodigal Son. However, a few lesser recognized stories are also included.

Each story includes three extra features entitled, "Remember God's Word," "Pray God's Word" and "Do God's Word." These sections are a memory verse, related prayer and application discussion.

The stories are comprised of versus taken from the International Children's Bible. We liked that they were not simply retellings on a children's level, but we may prefer a different translation.

I do think the title is a bit misleading as this is not actually a full translation of the Bible, but simply isolated stories. Also, although the stories are condensed and the scriptures are take from the ICB this would not be something that a beginning reader could read successfully on their own.

However, if you are looking for a Bible storybook that does not add to the scriptures (such as Zacchaeus needing a ladder to get up into the tree) than this may be perfect for your family. 

Our children have been thoroughly enjoying a nightly story with Daddy.

This book was provided for review by Tyndale House Publishers. No other compensation was given.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Welcome to A Heart for Home! We'd love for you to subscribe

to receive free updates through e-mail or our RSS feed.

Thanks for visiting and we hope you'll be back often! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Songs for Saplings CDs for Christmas ~ 20% Off, Order Now!

We just wanted to remind you that if you are planning on ordering Songs for Saplings CDs for Christmas make sure you place your order no later than this weekend if you're choosing first class shipping, and Tuesday if you're opting for priority mail.

Remember you can get 20% OFF by using the coupon code heartforhome (this code will work on the 12-pack bundles as well as the singles and smaller bundles.) These CDs make wonderful gifts for young children and families.

Through tomorrow (12/16) you can also enter to win Songs for Saplings Questions with Answers 3 CD Set.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Welcome to A Heart for Home! We'd love for you to subscribe

to receive free updates through e-mail or our RSS feed.

Thanks for visiting and we hope you'll be back often! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Preparing Our Hearts for Christmas: A Place for Child's Play

"Jonathan, get a baby wipe to cover Baby Jesus. He looks so cold!" Emahry's little voice drifts in from the living room to where I stand washing dishes.

Little feet race down the hall to retrieve a flannel wipe. "I hope he gets a clean one," I think to myself.

The feet fly even faster back into the living room. "Thank you," says Emahry, "now we can wrap him nice and warm like Daddy and Mama do with us."

They continue to play with the nativity scene that is purposefully placed at their eye level on an empty corner TV stand. Interacting with Mary, Baby Jesus, the manger and three sheep--our growing collection of Fontanini figurines.

I'm taken back to my own childhood. To another nativity scene.  Large Fontanini figures, not high up on an unreachable shelf, but placed on an end table where we were allowed to touch and take for our own imaginative play.

I'm so thankful that my parents have helped us carry on that tradition by purchasing a new piece for our nativity each Christmas. Fontanini nativity pieces are made of a specially formulated polymer that captures fine detail but will not chip or break. 

It's such a wonderful thing to have our children be able to reinact the Christmas story with these beautifully durable figures. Although, as Emahry says, "We really need a Joseph." hint...hint

One of my favorite parts...Baby Jesus is not connected to the manger. Growing up, Baby Jesus never occupied the manger in the days leading to Christmas. Early on I can remember waking to Jesus' miraculous appearance in the manger. As we grew older the tradition evolved to all of us children, filled with anticipation and excitement searching the house to find Baby Jesus and place him in his hayfilled manger.

To find Jesus. Isn't that still the purpose of celebrating Christmas? Praying you'll find him this Christmas season.

How can you help your children personally interact with the Christmas story this year?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Welcome to A Heart for Home! We'd love for you to subscribe

to receive free updates through e-mail or our RSS feed.

Thanks for visiting and we hope you'll be back often! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~