Review: Real Life Press

We love to study the Bible and really encourage our boys to read and study the Word of God too, so when we were chosen for this review, we were thrilled. For this review, we were given Firmly Planted, Gospels Part 1 from Real Life Press. The Family Planted Series comes with a Family Study Guide and a Student Book.

These guides were written by Jay and Heidi St. John, a homeschooling family of 7, who recognised a need for a study guide that the whole family could enjoy together.

The Firmly Planted series is broken up into a 10 week study and is perfect for home or small study group settings. The lessons included in The Gospels Part 1 are:

1. Gabriel Visits Mary (Luke 1:26-38)
2. The Birth of Jesus (Luke 2:1-20)
3. John the Baptist (Matthew 3:1-12)
4. Calling of the First Disciples (Luke 5:1-11)
5. Jesus Clears the Temple (John 2:12-22)
6. The Woman at the Well (John 4:1-30)
7. Jesus Casts Out Demons (Mark 5:1-20)
8. The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37)
9. Feeding of the 5,000 (Mark 6:30-44)
10. Jesus Walks on Water (Matthew 14:22-33)

The Family Study Guide and the Student Book both come as a pdf file which we easily downloaded and printed off, one lesson at a time. We would sit down 3-5 nights a week and read a lesson. The boys would then complete the appropriate activities while we talked about what we had read. We were really able to tailor this study guide to our needs, completing the lessons in our own time, spending as much time as was needed on each lesson. So when our boys had lots of questions and wanted to dig deeper, we were able to spend more time with them, encouraging and helping answer their questions.

The concept behind the Firmly Planted Series is to start at the seed or the key concept and progress to tasting the fruit or the real life application process. These steps have been easily marked, so you are able to clearly see what level of understanding you are working on. The 127 page study guide contains all the information you need to lead the study and was great at guiding family discussions, getting our boys thinking about what they are learning.

The Student Book contain a variety of activities that catered for many age levels. Our boys really enjoyed completing the word searches, self-directed journal pages, crosswords, mazes and mapping activities.

I loved how this series has catered to the different levels. Our 8 year old boy was able to complete the simpler versions while our 10 year old boy completed the more challenging ones. You can see the difference of the levels in the pictures below.

Overall, we have thoroughly enjoyed this Bible Study. We love the way it addresses all ages/levels of kids and the variety of activities. The Study Guide was easy to follow and the topics were enjoyed by all. I also loved how flexible this program was, as we were able to tailor it to suit our needs. We would highly recommend this as an awesome Family Bible Study, a great way to get the family together to learn and study the Bible.

Details At a Glance!!

Name: Real Life Press
Website: Real Life Press
Product: Firmly Planted, Gospels Part 1
Price: $31.95 for Family Study Guide and Student Book as a pack, or $9.95 for the Family Guide and $24.95 for the Student Book

Other members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew have reviewed other Real Life Press Products, so don’t forget to check them out too!