Simple, organized, down-to-business, and thorough. There you have the nutshell version of my review of the Foundations Bible Series! The three volumes are titled as follows: Book 1, Preparation for Christ ; Book 2, Christ Our Messiah ; and Book 3, Christ Our Hope.

Anne Elliot has designed a daily program (Monday-Friday) that emphasizes chronological Bible study, Scripture memorization, and familiarity with the Bible in a program that is super-easy to implement. Upon completion of all three volumes, your children will have taken a thorough journey through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation in about 15-20 minutes per day. Not only that, but they will have 108 memory verses under their belts and should be able to locate any Scripture reference in mere moments.

All of this is accomplished in a weekly plan that is very organized and wonderfully predictable. Each day begins with a simple activity to work on a weekly memory verse. Throughout the week, your children will be asked to illustrate the verse, write it, put it to motion, have fun contests with it, and finally repeat it word for word by the end of the week.

Following the memory work is the daily Bible passage, usually about a chapter in length, which is read aloud. Two or three days per week, within the lesson plan, the author references a free set of online worksheets from Calvary Chapel. These puzzles and coloring pages go along with the particular reading of the day. On these days, she suggests you allow your children to complete the pages as you read aloud. Other days, she encourages your children to help in reading aloud.

A small activity (such as drawing a picture about the passage, narrating something, or taking a few moments for discussion) is often suggested after the Bible reading time. This is followed by Bible drills twice a week and journal writing once a week. The author even supplies you with the weekly Bible drill references! If you aren't familiar with Bible drills, this is a game time for your children to find Bible verses as quickly as possible.

And finally, there is an optional reference for extra Bible reading that you might assign to older children. I found no reference to recommended ages for the curriculum, but good reading skills are a requirement. I'm currently using the program with a 5 th grader and an 8 th grader with no problems.

The memory verses are the only Scriptures that are written out for you in the weekly lesson plans, and they are from the King James Version of the Bible. Otherwise, there is no additional work for you in changing the curriculum from the King James Version to another if you desire.

I can't stress enough how well organized and simple this program is for mom. Each of the three volumes is spiral bound and lays flat, with everything you need for the week right in front of you (except for the optional printables from Calvary Chapel's website.) In a simple little chart, you can easily see the plan for the week and check off the daily activities upon completion. The memory verse is supplied in full, the Bible drill references are noted, and discussion questions or simple daily activities are ready to assign.

In the back of the book, Ms. Elliot has provided a reproducible copywork sheet for the one day a week when your children are to write out the memory verse. As well, she gives you several fun ideas to keep memory work fresh and exciting. And, for those who have already memorized some of the verses selected weekly, she has even supplied you with an appendix full of additional memory suggestions.

This Bible study has won my heart!

Product review by Cindy West, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, December 2010