Review of God's Great Covenant

Disclaimer: I received God's Great Covenant from Classical Academic Press free in exchange for my honest review.  Having said that, I LOVE Classical Academic Press.  Since reviewing Latin for Children last year, I have since bought on my own all of the levels of Latin for Children, Latin Alive, Greek for Children, and Spanish for Children.  I was blessed to receive CAP's Logic course for middle schoolers free in exchange for my review already this year, so when I had the opportunity to review God's Great Covenant, CAP's New Testament Bible study, I jumped at it!

We have been focusing on the Old Testament in our homeschool this year.  I have found that little kids just love all of the exciting stories in the OT: Creation! Noah's Ark! The Tower of Babel! Plagues! Exodus! There is something that captures their imagination. Plus, studying the Old Testament first allows me to point out all of the instances where Christ is prefigured.  Then, when we study the New Testament, I have given them reference points for all of Christ's references to fulfilling what scripture foretold.  Hence, God's Great Covenant came at a great time for us!

Like all of CAP's courses, the teacher's manual for this class is really a great asset.  In fact, for this course I would consider it essential.  The TM contains views of every single student page, but also has copious notes on every aspect of the course.  Regardless of whether you have a degree in Bible or have just come to Christianity recently, you will love this course and all of the information in it.

I have a minor in Theology and took several New Testament classes in college (including Parables and Sayings of Jesus), and I *loved* having this Teacher's Manual.

This course is divided into 36 chapters, and can thus be completed in a school year.  Of course, you can spend more than a week on any chapter! Each of the four primary units has its own theme (for example, the theme for Unit I is Jesus, the Son of Man, is like us in ever way, yet so very different. Each lesson also has its own theme.  Lesson 1's theme is: The Son of Man is the eternal God who becomes man.  In the introduction, the historical and political framework for Jesus' time is introduced. This framework is crucial for understanding everything about Jesus, his life, his teachings, and his crucifixion.  Understanding it so completely enhances one's appreciation for Jesus and his followers!

Each chapter follows the same format: the theme, scripture passages, memory passage, key facts, and prophecy fulfilled are set forth.  These are further explicated in the next few pages.  Finally, there is review worksheet.

The course is set up to be completely usable with several different children of different ages or abilities.  It is ideal for what we call in our homeschool "group subjects." However, if you have an older child who works well independently, the student book is written in such a way that a child can easily complete the work alone.  There is so much meat in the Teacher's Manual, though, that it would be a shame not to discuss the text!

God's Great Covenant: The Gospels is available from CAP for $26.95.  The Teacher's Manual is $29.95.  To see a sample of the course, navigate here.  We LOVE CAP and this course.  To see other opinions, visit the Crew blog.