Little Homeschool on the Prairie: Drive Thru History® "Acts to Revelation" Review

My family loves history but, most importantly we love it when we can incorporate the Bible into our homeschool with history. I was delighted to receive the newest set from Drive Thru History® "Acts to Revelation". My kids are absolutely crazy about Drive Thru History® and love it when we get to add it into our weekly homeschool schedule. I love the Christian Worldview taught throughout.

Dave Stotts makes history come alive visually as you hear about the events and see the places of the Bible during the time of the books of Acts through Revelation are happening.

The intended age is 6^th grade to adult however; younger kids will enjoy the production with Dave Stotts as he makes history come alive and not to mention his antics throughout the episodes. To fully utilize and get the most out of the Study Guide and the history, middle school and up are the best age group for this. Don’t get me wrong younger kids will glean and learn a lot of history by watching this.

The DVD comes in a slip sleeve cover and the main case holds the Study Guide.

I received a Special Edition of Drive Thru History® "Acts to Revelation". This included a nice case with 3 CDs and a full colored Study Guide which is attached into the CD case. You don’t have to worry about misplacing the Study Guide with everything in one neat package. The set includes 18 Episodes and 495 minutes of content, which if you’re wondering is approximately 9 hours!

There are 3 CDs in the case. 2 are located in the front cover of the case and the 3^rd one is located in the back of the case.

Here is a list of the Episodes:

Episode 1: The Gospel Shared at Pentecost

Episode 2: The Church Grows in Jerusalem

Episode 3: The Gospel Spreads to the Gentiles

Episode 4: Saul of Tarsus & the Road to Damacaus

Episode 5: Paul’s First Missionary Journey: The Island of Cyprus

Episode 6: The Journey Continues: Pamphylia, Galatia & Asia Minor

Episode 7: The Jerusalem Council & Paul’s Second Missionary Journey

Episode 8: The Second Journey Continues: Philippi and Thessalonica

Episode 9: A Road Trip to Athens

Episode 10: Ancient Corinth

Episode 11: Paul’s Third Missionary Journey: Ephesus

Episode 12: Paul’s Final Trip to Jerusalem & Caesarea

Episode 13: Adventures at Sea: the Island of Malta

Episode 14: A Final Journey to Rome

Episode 15: The Martyrdom of Paul & Peter

Episode 16: John and the Island of Patmos

Episode 17: The Seven Churches of Revelation

Episode 18: The Book Closes on the New Testament Period

The Episodes vary in length from 18 to under 30 minutes long.

The case looks like a book.

The Study Guide is a book that is attached inside the DVD Case

The case comes in a paper sleeve that you slide off. When you take the sleeve off it looks like a hardback book from the outside. Even the Spine has the name, “Acts to Revelation” on it.

The Study Guide has the binding attached in DVD case. The Study Guide is broken up in chapters by episodes. The pages are thick and durable.

There are 18 Chapters that corresponds with the 18 Episodes. All the chapters are laid out in the same format. Each page is a full colored page. Several of the pictures are those found in the episodes. There are also full spread photos that cover 2 pages in the Study Guide. The pictures are labeled so you know what the photo is about.

Scripture starts out each episode chapter. This is Acts 13:47 from Episode 6

Each Chapter starts out with a full page scripture verse that is relevant to that particular lesson. It has the scripture address below it with the scripture verse in the Bible.

Episode 12: Paul’s Final Trip to Jerusalem & Caesarea Summary Page

The next page is a Summary of the lesson. The summary is on 1 page in the Study Guide. This is just a brief synopsis of the episode.

Discussion Page for Episode 10

The next part is Discussion which involves 5 questions in each chapter to evaluate comprehension. Some of the questions are easier to answer. For example; “What is the “bema” at Corinth?” or “What is the second-to-last book in the New Testament? Who wrote it? Other questions are a bit harder; “Explain how Mount Olympus is both real and mythological?” or “How long was an ancient Roman mile? Is it longer or shorter than today’s American mile? Some of the questions are easier if you read your Bible or have done any study in the Bible. Other questions are more history related. Everything is talked about in the DVDs.

Don’t worry if you aren’t sure of the answers to the questions. They are all in the back of the Study Guide and are broken up by episode.

This is the Side Road on Episode 4

The last portion in the Study Guide is the Side Road. This covers everything from a bit more history to even some archeology about certain places. It may just have more detail about a place or an event. They are all very intriguing and my family has declared this is our favorite portion in the Study Guide.

How Did I Use Drive Thru History® "Acts to Revelation" in our Homeschool?

Both of my kids are enjoying watching the series

I watched this with my son age 13 and my daughter 16. I would look briefly over the “Discussion” questions prior to watching the intended episode so I could be a bit more prepared for when we went over the Study Guide. We watched 2 to 3 episodes a week depending on our schedule. Some days we would have to split an episode to fit into our schedule. We have managed to complete 10 episodes so far.

What does an Episode look like and how we used the Study Guide?

I want to give you a brief overview of Episode 4: We are introduced to Saul and his life. It starts out in modern day Jerusalem underneath the streets among the ruins that date back to the Roman era.

Dave goes on to explain about Saul’s birth place and his Roman citizenship. That he was sent as a child to train under Rabbi Gamaliel in Jerusalem. Saul was trained as a Jewish child would be and he also was also educated in Greek philosophy and literature. It goes on to talk about his trade in tent making.

Much to my kids delight Dave is back in the Land Rover named Steve McQueen. We go from Jerusalem, Tarsus, Golan Heights, and finally end in Caesarea.

I love it when Dave says, “The Bible is not made up stories; A documentation of real stories from real places, and people who lived very real lives.” (Paraphrased greatly) It really stuck with me when talking with my kids.

We learn about Saul persecuting the followers of The Way. Then his transformation when he meets Jesus on the Damascus road. Dave isn’t able to show you Damascus due it being in Syria and it being very dangerous now. He talks about the modern day persecution of Believers there today and the destruction of those sites. Across the screen we learn that in the last 10 years over 900, 000 Christians have been killed.

He takes use on the Damascus road up on the border of Syria in the Golan Heights. We learn about the Six Day War in 1967 and the Yom Kippur War. As he ventures some 35 miles from Damascus he ends up taking use to Mount Bental in the Golan Heights. You get to see the old military bunkers from previous wars. I like that he shows you how critical it is for Israel to have control over the Golan Heights. He goes on to tell you that Damascus is one of the oldest inhabited places in the world and the history of it.

Dave continues to talk about Paul and his transformation and the impact he had on the Gentiles. We follow Paul back to Jerusalem and then Caesarea. We learn a little about Herod the Great, Caligulas, Agrippa, and Agrippa II. He goes on to talk about James and his death by the sword. The episode concludes with the story of Peter from Acts 12 walking out of prison.

After watching the DVD we read the scripture verse form Acts 9: 3-4 on the first page of the Study Guide. The next page is the Summary in which my son reads out loud. It gives you a brief overview of what we just watched. It says we went to Tarsus in modern day Turkey. We traveled the Damascus road up to the Golan Heights, and can see Syria in the distance. It mentions the transformation of Saul. It ends in Caesarea and explores the life of Herod Agrippa and the persecution of the early church.

The next section is the Discussion which I will paraphrase. There are 5 questions: What is Saul’s special job he learned in Tarsus? My kids knew that he was a tent maker and even go on to talk about the goat skin and color in the area talked about in the episode. What happened on the road to Damascus? Next question wants you to name the man who God used to restore Paul’s vision in Damascus? The next questions are: After Tiberius died who followed him as the next Roman Emperor? When Herod Agrippa started to attack Cristian s who was his first high profile victim?

The last portion is the Side Road: Is on Damasus and the city. We read about an account from Luke about a house on Straight Street. We learn that is also called Decumaus Maximus. It mentions that Straight Street still exist today. Stuff like that always amazes my kids to think it's still around!

That was our typical lesson we did with each episode. I did the majority of Study Guide with my 13 year old son. My daughter has special needs. However she surprised me as some of the questions she overheard my son and me talking about it and would excitedly tell you the answers, much to my son’s dismay. She has no filter and will interrupt while in a discussion. She would ask questions and add her own thoughts when I asked her. My daughter was able to glean a lot of information.

WE had a lot of discussions and sometimes we found ourselves wanting to know more about a particular place or event. One area we researched was the Temple Mount and why it isn’t under Israel control anymore?

The Discussion questions would be the area that took use a bit longer depending on the questions. Usually we spent no more than 20 minutes on them.

The Side Road section in the Study Guide ended up being our favorite part. This was an area that tended to take us down a few other rabbit holes at times.

Final Thoughts:

My son likes to look at the Study Guide while watching the episodes

My son’s thoughts:

These rock-all of them! I love all the scenery from Israel, especially Jerusalem. It made me want to go back there again. In episode 8. I thought Greece was interesting to see. In Macedonia he talks about Alexander the Great which I have been reading about and it was neat seeing the area. I like everything I've watched and I can't think of one episode so far I like the best.

Then he adds, "Dave is funny showing the public restroom that seats around 3 dozen people. Just funny him talking about the rats, methane gas, flies, and other issues with them while seating on the toilet." ( leave it to a boy to notice all the details there!)

My daughter:

Mom, “I like it all!” Seeing the ruins in Israel and especially Jerusalem was really neat.” “We have been reading the books of Acts in school for awhile and it was interesting that we got to watch the DVDs and see the places we have been studying.”

Mom’s Thoughts:

I love that the series covers a plethora of subjects that you are exposed to. We are learning about history, geography, archeology, architect, and at the same time you are being exposed to different types of art from famous painting.

Every time I turn on an episode I’m blown away by the quality of the productions. You see the historical places head on and even aerial views of the places. You always get a good view of the places as Dave walks around and the angles change so you can get a feel of the place he is talking about. It’s just not the places you see sometimes it maps of the location. The scriptures are put on the screen. Other times while he is talking you see renditions of art that are based on the topic he is discussing.

I really liked how the series goes in chronological order of the books of the Bible from Acts to Revelation. The kids absolutely love Dave Stotts antics and his sense of humor.

79 other homeschool families have been reviewing Drive Thru History®"Acts to Revelation" also. Stop by and see what they have to say.