This article is in collaboration with The Good Book Company.
Choosing materials that tie in different subjects is challenging for parents who are teaching their students at home! This may be especially difficult with the most important subject: The Bible. Finding resources, such as Bible puzzles, that bring the Bible to life while engaging all of the senses and learning styles can be like finding a needle in a haystack…or the homeschool equivalent…. A sharpened pencil in a pile of broken crayons!
With Bible Investigators: Creation Puzzles and Activities for Independent Learning students can experience the Bible with a plethora of bible puzzles that bring things to life.
It is time for students to get their magnifying glass and dive in!
The Creators of Creation: Good Books and The Author
Danika Cooley, along with the international Christian publishers The Good Book Company has formulated an in-depth resource with Bible Investigators: Creation Puzzles and Activities for Independent Learning for grades 8-12. This large print book interweaves biblical information into many areas. If your child loves puzzles? Check out some of the chapters with some crosswords! Do they love to draw? This has it too! Do your children need to work on writing skills? There are plenty of opportunities to provide written responses as well!
The Nitty Gritty: More About the Bible Puzzles
So, in plain terms, here is what this curriculum encompasses. It is a mighty thick book (272 pages!) of many lessons. There are six sections with 30 chapters that have in-depth lessons on God’s creations.
In the beginning, the book encourages students to be their own version of Sherlock and explains exactly what an investigator should do and how they should think. This sets the foundations for students to think critically before they step foot mentally into each chapter.
Each chapter has a short lesson about God’s creation, that may or may not encourage some outside of the text investigation. During this process, the text many times will have such words as “observe” and “apply” to encourage students to go through the thinking process as they move through the text. Throughout the book there are opportunities for students to continuously analyze and interpret scripture.
How do they apply their knowledge of what they studied? Well, that’s where all the enticing activities and bible puzzles come into play. There is a wide variety of puzzles, opportunities to provide a written response, or sections where students can display their artistic talents and knowledge through drawing prompts. Many lessons have a few different ways that students can demonstrate their knowledge.
The end of the book? Well, that is where the convenient and well-organized answer key is located. This book requires very little prep with everything it encompasses and has everything a family needs to open and go.
What kind of Bible puzzles are there, specifically?
This is not an average puzzle book. It goes beyond just your everyday crosswords or word searches (though it does include those, too!). There are neat puzzles some families may not have ever heard of, providing rich new experiences as everyone learns about the Bible together.
The logic puzzles tie in critical thinking, while the word ladders help tie in vocabulary and word work. There are even sudoku, cryptograms, and matching games! The variety of bible puzzles and games really keeps things engaging in this book.
Biblically Speaking
Now, let’s get to the important topic. If a parent is looking into this curriculum, it is because they are a Christian who wants to enrich their children’s education with biblically sound materials. Discussing the author should put families at ease. Danika Cooley is an award-winning author that has actually created many biblical resources, books and curriculum to help families. Her repertoire includes well known resources such as Bible Road Trip and Help Your Kids Learn and Love the Bible. She also continuously reaches families through her website ThinkingKidsBlog.org.
The publishers, The Good Book Company, work internationally to provide reliable, biblically sound resources to families. They work closely with many Christian organizations and have partnerships with Christian authors who also share their love of Jesus and providing resources for families. To publish with them, you must have a firm foundation in truth and a solid understanding of the bible.
Let’s Get Practical. Big Family? No Problem!
Another perk of this curriculum is how friendly it is to families of multiple children and age groups. This book itself has a large span from 8-12, but there are many opportunities where the activities could easily be adapted to younger or older children, especially the drawing activities, prayer activities, and the extensions that happen outside of the books.
The biggest perk of purchasing this is also you get a link to additional copies of the puzzles that are neatly organized online. Families have permission to easily print out as many copies of each puzzle as they need. Once the book is purchased, families get the information so that they can provide resources to their entire family.
Bible Investigators: Creation puts students in the front seat to actively engage in learning about the bible. Students should get their magnifying glass, put on their detective jacket (maybe even a hat?) and get ready to enjoy a journey about God’s beautiful creation.
HomeschoolingFinds.com Author
Candice Parks is a mother of four and a wife of a wonderful husband. She has over ten years experience teaching children with disabilities. She currently teaches her 4 children, writes, and loves sharing and discussing the blessings and benefits of homeschooling. You can follow her family’s homeschool journey at parkshomeclassroom on Instagram.