Bible Unearthed

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

Drive Thru History® Adventures is one of our family's favorite video series, so we're always excited when we get to review something from them. This time, we've gotten early access to a brand new series called Bible Unearthed. 

Dave Stotts, the host of the award-winning Drive Thru History®, believes that "education should be culturally engaging, fact-filled, and super fun." He spends his time traveling the world to teach on location to give viewers a glimpse of historic sites and bring history to life. He calls it Adventure Learning, and not only is it educational, it's highly entertaining. Dave is able to take documentary-style dialogue and add in humor and silliness in a way that grabs the attention of even the littlest ones of the family. 

In Bible Unearthed, Dave teams up with a couple men to explore the importance and impact of archaeology: Randall, Drive Thru History® lead writer and longtime travel companion and Titus Kennedy, PhD, archaeology expert and friend. The three of them explain how discoveries help us better understand the ancient world through this 12-part series.

Archaeology, or "study of the ancient," is a "rediscovery of the past through systematic investigation and excavation." Though the topic is woven throughout the Drive Thru History® segments secondhandedly, they wanted to highlight it through episodes of its own.   

1. What Is Archaeology?
2. The Impact of Archaeology
3. Locating Archaeological Sites
4. The Life of an Archaeologist
5. What's Being Discovered Today?
6. Archaeological Mysteries
7. Top Discoveries in Bible Archaeology
8. Getting Involved in Archaeology
9. Trends in Archaeology
10. Weird Archaeology
11. Accidental Discoveries in Archaeology 
12. What's Left to Be Discovered?

The men sit in their "secret lair of archaeology" and discuss the topics for each segment. They incorporate replicas of artifacts, maps, tools, the Bible, timelines, pictures, and more and use a chalkboard to teach. There are also clips on location of real archaeology sites.   

Each episode is around the 15 minute mark, packed with enough information to whet your appetite without feeling overwhelming. Of course, in typical Drive Thru History® fashion, there is some subtle humor mixed in, such as Dave playing with replicas or dropping them, getting reprimanded, and other silliness. 

Bible Unearthed is more than just videos though. It is a full 12-week course with written exposition, worksheets and answer guides, Dig Deeper articles, and activities. There is also a sample weekly schedule for those who want to stay on track. 

The written expositions expound on the topics in greater detail and are filled with fascinating pictures. The worksheets have 5 discussion questions for each episode such as What suggests that the David and Goliath story was a historical event? and What kind of architectural evidence relating to the book of Esther did archaeologists find in Susa?. The Dig Deeper articles were written by Dr. Titus and cover topics like the importance of chronology, the Mesha Stele, the Gallio Inscription, and Solomonic Gates. The activities, like copying a portion of an ancient Biblical text, drawing and analyzing pottery, excavating coins hidden in the yard with a metal detector and mapping the location, and learning about weight price by pretend bartering with a friend, add a deeper, hands-on approach to learning about archaeology. 

Our family is thoroughly enjoying this study of Biblical archaeology.  My kids range in age from 5-14 years of age. Here is what  they said:

"I like everything!"

"I like that it's about archaeology. I like learning history." 

"I like how they talk about different things they've found at dig sites and about different tools they use. I find it cool how they found things proving that the Bible is true."

"I like that they actually go to the places instead of just showing pictures of them. And I learned that they use sandbox toys, haha."

"Dave is hilarious! Because of that it's easy to pay attention and want to learn more."

Bible Unearthed is engaging and full of content. It is different from the other Drive Thru History® Adventures, but it is equally appreciated in our home. Not only has it taught us much about the past and how it relates to the Bible, it has sparked an interest in archaeology in my kids. Who knows, maybe one of my little ones will find his own rare discovery one day!

You can connect with Drive Thru History® Adventures on the following social media sites:

Facebook

Instagram

YouTube

You can read more reviews of this series on the Homeschool Review Crew blog.

Drive Thru History® ~ Acts to Revelation

Two years ago, our family was introduced to Drive Thru History® and immediately fell in love with both the style and the content. We were thrilled when we recently received Drive Thru History® "Acts to Revelation" DVD set and study guide to review. These videos are a fantastic way to learn history and the Bible and are a favorite in our house. Besides, what kid doesn't want to "watch TV" for school, ha.

Dave Stotts, the host of the award-winning television series Drive Thru History®, has been involved in professional video and media production for two decades. In 2004, he began driving "thru history"  to bring the past to life in a fun and unique way. Using storytelling as the driving force behind his work, he creates engaging videos that are full of content. Our family is learning while being entertained.

The company is not simply about entertainment though. We have learned so much about the lives of the first Christians and the events that took place as the disciples and missionaries helped spread the gospel across the land through the midst of persecution.

The videos are divided into 18 episodes on 3 discs and cover over 8 hours of material.

• 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 Damascus
• 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 & 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 & the Island of Patmos
• Episode 17: The Seven Churches of Revelation
• Episode 18: The Book Closes on the New Testament Period

Each episode showcases multiple ancient sites that are still preserved today. Temples, cities, the remains of a market, amphitheater, stadium, catacomb, and possibly one of the first and oldest churches. We learned about the oldest functioning harbor in the world and one of the oldest inhabited cities. Dave travels all over the region and visits cities including Cyprus, Tarsus, Jerusalem, Lystra, Philippi, Gaza, Antioch, Ephesus, Colossae, and many more. He drinks coffee 1,165 feet above sea level, devours a full Turkish meal (of course, my kids still laugh at Dave's obsession with cheese from prior episodes, ha), purchases handmade soap, and examines an ancient latrine. There is also a captivating demonstration of throat singing, which prompted our family into a further study of the art.

Because the series weaves in stories and facts from the time period that are not recorded in the Bible, other historical figures are mentioned, like Pompeii the Great, Marc Antony, Octavian, Cleopatra, Sergius Paulus, Josephus, and others. I loved when my 9-year-old blurted out, "Marc Antony and Octavian? I read a Shakespeare book about them!" It's always exciting when the pieces fall into place.

I love this view of an ancient road of Gaza flowing into a current road.
It's a perfect application of this series applying the past to the present. 

Dave recites Scripture (though not the version we personally use) and references ancient quotes throughout each episode. He explains the culture during this time and shows how the rule of the Romans influenced the people. Dozens of paintings and illustrations that depict the stories are shown throughout each episode. Dave makes it easy to visualize Saul's encounter with God on the road to Damascus or Paul and his companions as they were persecuted by the people or John as he wrote the book of Revelation on the island of Patmos. The stories come alive.

"The Bible is not just made up stories. 

It is a documentation of real people in real places 

who live very real lives." -- Dave Stotts

Included with the 3-DVD set is an accompany study guide. It is broken down by disc and episode. The format is consistent for each episode: a Bible quote, summary of the episode, a list of discussion questions, corresponding Bible passages, and an additional tidbit of information or "side road." The pages are covered with additional art and photographs. There is an answer at the very back of the booklet. My kids are enjoying looking at the various pictures and reviewing the topics of discussion. The study guide itself is attached to the middle of the DVD case. While I appreciate the fact that my little ones cannot misplace the booklet, it does make it somewhat difficult to use. I would rather have the guide printed as a separate book that could be placed in a sleeve in the case.

It is always fascinating to me to see how the Bible and other historical events line up. Though I know that the Bible is fact and the events truly happened, it can be difficult at times to see how everything comes together. Drive Thru History® has done a phenomenal job of portraying the chronological telling of biblical stories mixed in with information from other resources. There is so much information that we could watch this multiple times and still not remember it all.

While some documentaries can be dry and boring, Drive Thru History® is fun, exciting, and entertaining. It is appropriate for the whole family and is an excellent educational resource.

You can get a taste of Drive Thru History® "Acts to Revelation" by watching this trailer.

You can connect with Drive Thru History® on the following social media sites:

Facebook

Instagram

YouTube

To see how other homeschool families used these resources, please read the reviews on the Homeschool Review Crew blog.

Drive Thru History Adventures

Our family was thrilled to once again review for Drive Thru History Adventures! These homeschool videos are a fantastic way to learn history and a favorite in our house.

Dave Stotts, the host of the award-winning television series Drive Thru History, has been involved in professional video and media production for two decades. In 2004, he began driving "thru history"  to bring the past to life in a fun and unique way. Using storytelling as the driving force behind his work, he creates engaging videos that are full of content. Our family is learning while being entertained.

The company is not simply about entertainment though. Through Drive Thru History Adventures, you can take that learning much deeper. There are full curriculum courses for Bible history, American history, and ancient history. We have access to all three, but we've been focusing on the American history content, which covers "Columbus to the Constitution." There are twelve episodes in the course:

1. The Discovery
2. Pilgrim Search for Freedom
3. Beginnings of Revolution
4. Whitefield & Boston's Freedom Trail
5. William Penn & Early Philadelphia
6. Founding Fathers of Philadelphia
7. Fighters of the Revolution
8. Early Colonial Virginia
9. Founding Fathers of Virginia
10. Revolution in New York
11. New York and the First President
12. New Jersey and Epilogue

Each video is right around a half an hour long. Dave teaches facts as he travels to the historical sites. You'll see graves of famous people, the oldest surviving public building in Boston, Independence Hall, America's "smallest national park," Fort Mifflin, Jamestown, Monmouth Battlefield, and much more. Dave weaves the stories with humor and wit. He wears various costumes and isn't afraid to make himself look comical. His humorous tactics do more than make us laugh though; they help to solidify the information to recall later. I think my kids will always remember now why the American flag is shown with five-pointed stars instead of six. And though it's not historically relevant, the kids often reference how much Dave likes cheese, ha.

Dave's commentary is complemented with reenactments, pictures, paintings, and documents. He incorporates famous quotes and excerpts from important writings. He teaches about many influential people including Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Betsy Ross, Paul Revere, Pocahontas, Peter Muhlenberg, and Molly Pitcher, to name a few. You'll learn how these stories come together to shape the course of our nation and pick up facts along the way, like the story of when the lightning rod was created, how the Liberty Bell was cracked, why Valley Forge was "a blessing in disguise," and the "most brutal bombardment in American history." 

Full curriculum plans accompany each lesson video. There are additional quotes and pictures, a summary, and suggested readings. There are "side road" sections that teach further about certain aspects that are briefly mentioned. Discussion questions, worksheets, and dig deeper readings are also included. You could easily spend much time studying the topics with the given information.

To say that our family loves Drive Thru History Adventures is an understatement. My kids love the videos and Dave's style of teaching. His energetic personality, storytelling approach, and silly antics make this series a joy to watch. I appreciate all the extras that are included in the curriculum, along with the articles, expert papers, and links. There is also a whole community of resources that you can access, including a private Facebook group that is filled with additional videos and interaction from Dave himself. From being a member of that group, I've learned just how great of a company it is, too, as I've seen them respond to questions and suggestions from members. They've created a coloring page to keep the littles busy, added captions to some of their content, and more. They truly have a heart for their viewers.

One final aspect that puts this membership over the top is the addition of Adventures TV. Instead of just watching the episodes on our computer, we can utilize the courses through apps when we're on the go, or, as we do every time we watch as a family, through Chromecast on our television. It is so convenient to pull up the videos on the large screen rather than trying to all watch on a computer.

Currently you can take advantage of one of a couple specials that are being offered. First, you can get a DVD of The Gospels for FREE when you purchase an annual subscription to Drive Thru History Adventures. Or second, you can receive 20% off an annual subscription with a code in The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine (just look for the full-page ad). You can hear Dave's description about the membership and passion behind it here:

There is so much to offer and enjoy with a membership to Drive Thru History Adventures. They also offer DVD sets. You can read my review of The Gospels for an example.) I highly recommend it, for not just homeschoolers, but anyone who would like to delve into history in a fun and exciting way.

You can connect with Drive Thru History Adventures on the following social media sites:
Facebook
Pinterest
Instagram


If you'd like to read more reviews of this course or of the Bible or Ancient History options, please visit the Homeschool Review Crew blog.

Drive Thru History

My kids like when we get curriculum to review--new stuff is always exciting--but it's a real treat when the product isn't typical "school" type of work. They especially love whenever I tell them we're watching TV for school. This time, we were able to study the subjects of both Bible and history in a fun way with Drive Thru History®. I had never heard of this world-wide, award-winning television series that debuted in 2004, but a quick look at some of their video clips had me intrigued, and I knew I needed to see more.   

Drive Thru History® – “The Gospels” is the latest title of the collection. The 18 episodes focus on the birth, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus as accounted in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

The host, Dave Stotts, takes you on an an exciting journey to over 50 ancient sites as he drives all across Israel and "thru history." His energetic personality and conversational style along with bits of humor tossed in make this series a joy to watch. The amount of information and facts that he spouts off throughout each episode is astounding. The story of Jesus' life is woven as you learn about the people, places, and events showing evidence from history, archaeology, and geography.


Here is what you can expect to learn from "The Gospels":

• Episode 1: The Historical Landscape
• Episode 2: The Announcements
• Episode 3: Jesus is Born
• Episode 4: Jesus Grows Up
• Episode 5: Jesus Starts His Ministry
• Episode 6: Jesus Returns to Galilee
• Episode 7: Jesus Begins His Miracles
• Episode 8: Jesus Teaches with Authority
• Episode 9: The Sermon on the Mount
• Episode 10: Jesus Travels the Sea of Galilee
• Episode 11: Jesus Travels North
• Episode 12: A Final Trip to Jerusalem
• Episode 13: Jesus Arrives in Jerusalem
• Episode 14: The Last Supper
• Episode 15: The Trial of Jesus
• Episode 16: The Crucifixion of Jesus
• Episode 17: The Resurrection of Jesus
• Episode 18: Who is Jesus?

Each episode showcases multiple ancient sites that are still preserved today. Synagogues, cities, the remains of a fish market, Herodium, and even possibly Peter's house. Dave travels all over Israel and visits cities including Nazareth, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Capernaum, Chorazin, Magdala, Hippos, Cana, and Samaria and places such as the Jordan River, the Sea of Galilee, the Mount of Beatitudes, the Garden of Gethsemane, and the Dead Sea. He recites Scripture (though not the version we personally use) and references ancient quotes. He explains the culture during Jesus' life and shows how the rule of the Romans influenced the people. Dozens of paintings and illustrations that depict the stories are shown throughout each episode. Dave makes it easy to visualize the shepherds as the angel announced the birth of Christ or John as he baptized Jesus in the Jordan River or Jesus Himself as He healed blind Bartimaeus. The stories come alive.

Included with the 3-DVD set is an accompany study guide. It is broken down by disc and episode. The format is consistent for each episode: a famous quote, summary of the episode, a list of discussion questions, corresponding Bible passages, and an additional tidbit of information or "side road." The pages are covered with additional art and photographs. The guide contains no answer key as it is meant to spark discussion for families, small groups, or Sunday School classes and not designed for testing purposes. My kids are enjoying looking at the various pictures and reviewing the topics of discussion. The study guide itself is attached to the middle of the DVD case. While I appreciate the fact that my little ones cannot misplace the booklet, it does make it somewhat difficult to use. I would rather have the guide printed as a separate book that could be placed in a sleeve in the case.

Our entire family has loved watching "The Gospels." I like when the kids shout, "Hey! I know this story," or "I learned about this at church." It is always fascinating to me to see how the Bible and other historical events line up. Though I know that the Bible is fact and the events truly happened, it can be difficult at times to see how everything comes together. Drive Thru History® has done a phenomenal job of portraying the chronological telling of biblical stories mixed in with information from other resources. There is so much information that we could watch this multiple times and still not remember it all. While some documentaries can be dry and boring, Drive Thru History® is fun, exciting, and entertaining. It is appropriate for the whole family and is an excellent educational resource.
  

Take a peek at the trailer and experience a little of Drive Thru History® – “The Gospels”.

You can connect with Drive Thru History® on the following social media sites:

Facebook

YouTube

Instagram

If you'd like to see how other homeschool families used this resource, please read the reviews on the Homeschool Review Crew blog.