The boys and I have been reading through various books of the Bible through the school year. It’s been an enjoyable process for us, but I like to keep the boys focused on what we are reading and be sure they understand, to some degree, what we’re learning/reading as well.
A few years ago I spotted the Picture Smart Bible on someone’s blog. I thought it was a lovely way to remember key verses, main points, and other things that one reads while working their way through books of the Bible. So I was absolutely tickled pink to be offered a copy of their CD-Rom version in exchange for a review.
How I Use It:
We tend to start our school day with Bible. It’s a lovely way to get things rolling. We tend to sing the songs we’re working on for the month, recite our Bible verses, and then read the chapter{s} we have scheduled for the day.
Sometimes we listen to an audio version of the chapter and when we do that we all color together while we are listening. If, however, we split up the chapter or I read it aloud to the boys then we wait until after the reading.
We discuss the portion of the page we are coloring for the day and how it’s drawn on the page. Then we each sit and color and draw our page as we want. Often times it doesn’t take too long to color only the small portion of the book we’ve read, but sometimes we fall behind and might spend a larger chunk of time chatting together as we recall what we’ve read and how it relates to the Picture Smart coloring page.
Two of us prefer the lightly dotted/lined version which you finish outlining, coloring, and add missing words or passages to the page. My 10-year-old has preferred to use the page that’s all ready completely filled in to use himself. He wasn’t keen on the way he outlined things. Thus I offered him the original page and it made him quite happy. It all works.
We don’t follow a specific schedule laid out by Picture Smart. We simply read the book of the Bible we are working through that week/day/month. Each time we read a chapter I check to see if there’s something on our paper to color. Most of the time there is, but sometimes there isn’t. Some of the smaller NT books, specifically the letters, are combined onto one color sheet, but that’s okay!
What I Love:
My boys adore coloring and drawing. It’s just a part of who they are. When I’m reading they are often sketching something. This was just a perfect way to help round our Bible readings. It helps them to remember more of what we’ve read in each book.
I love that you can purchase this item as an e-book or as a CD-Rom. This is wonderful, wonderful, wonderful for overseas users!
I love that you can most certainly try before you buy! We did exactly that. You can hop on over to the Picture Smart Bible website you can try out Daniel and John for free. These will give you a lovely idea of what you’re getting for the whole Bible.
I love the teacher’s guide that’s included in case I forget something or am not completely sure what the image on the paper is standing for. And sometimes, I don’t always notice the bigger images encircling the entire picture {notice the large slice of bread, path, and light on the John page to see what I’m referring to}, so it’s nice for that reminder.
I love that my children enjoy using these pages and if we go for a while without coloring one in they’ll ask about it!
I love that it’s something I can do with the children to serve as a reminder for myself as well!
What I don’t Like:
Honestly, I can’t think of one thing I don’t like.
Bottom Line:
My kids love this, I love this. The Picture Smart Bible helps us in our daily walk with God. We like to call that a win-win!
Where Can You find Find Picture Smart Bible?
- The Picture Smart Bible website
- Picture Smart Bible on Facebook
- Picture Smart Bible on Pinterest
- Picture Smart Bible on Twitter
You might also like Cindy’s review of Picture Smart Bible.
~by Kendra, Aussie Pumpkin Patch
Kendra lives in Tasmania Australia with her husband, the Man From Down Under, her two curious boys, a dog that thinks he's human, a guinea pig that won't stop squeaking, & a bird learning to talk back. She's a second generation home educator. She loves using methods from Unit Studies to Boxed Curriculum and everything in between to help feed the curious minds of her two, ever growing, boys. Creator, and avid user, of the Homeschooling Book of Days & The Nature Game. She can be found retelling tales from The Land Down Under over at the Aussie Pumpkin Patch.
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