Digital Worship Announces a New iPad App: BIBLE SHUFFLE!

Menu for BIBLE SHUFFLE

I am so excited to introduce you to BIBLE SHUFFLE, a Christian iPad app that my husband recently developed and is now available at the App Store!  This educational app provides basic Bible drill practice, helping students learn to order the books of the Bible in a fun way.

BIBLE SHUFFLE allows players to start slow, ordering individual divisions of the Bible, such as the gospels (4 books) or books of law (5 books), but graduates as quickly as desired to ordering the entire Old and New Testaments.  Beginners can use the "Study" section to see the books in correct order for each division before they tackle the timed round.  And there is a "Hint" button players can tap which reveals the next book in order, in case they get stuck.  Using the hint button takes time, so they will soon drop this habit in order to beat the clock.

Student Score Sheet

BIBLE SHUFFLE captures the speed students order each division, and uses the times to allow them to advance through 5 levels:  Beginner, Student, Scholar, Expert and Champion.  They can see exactly how fast they need to be in order to achieve the next level -- and, trust me, those final levels are really challenging!

Homeschool or classroom teachers can check student scores to see how many divisions each student has completed and how their times are progressing.  Up to 12 student names and scores may be stored at a time on one copy of BIBLE SHUFFLE.  

Example of One Division

The score times energize students' competitive natures as they try to get faster times than their friends, siblings or parents, "inadvertently" memorizing the books as they progress.

The graphics for this game are colorful, but simple.  They do not distract from the learning process.  This game could be played during class-time by students who have finished other work early, or as a Bible drill practice for an entire class (or family) at once.  Actually, anytime is a fun time to play this game!

BIBLE SHUFFLE rewards students with applause, encouraging words, and fireworks with the completion of each division.  They are awarded medals for each level achieved.  Bible verses adorn each page, reminding students of the glory and importance of God's Word.

Levels for BIBLE SHUFFLE

The BIBLE SHUFFLE app is only $1.99 at the App Store.  If you have contacts with a Christian school who would like to use BIBLE SHUFFLE in the classroom, let them know that the Educational Pricing Program is reduced even further to $ .99 per copy.

If you don't have an iPad, but know someone who does, please forward this information to them! We'd LOVE to see BIBLE SHUFFLE go viral!!!

Flinging Fun & History!

From Alexander the Great, to World War II, to current-day "Punkin Chunkin" contests, catapults have been favorite weapons of war and tools for fun for a loooong time!  Pitsco brings catapults and trebuchet siege machines into your home and classroom as a history lesson, a science lesson, and an all-round fun time!

When the Pitsco box arrived, my then-12-year-old son took over with glee.  He opened the package to find a booklet telling him all about the history, "science, technology, engineering, and math of medieval siege machines."  After an introduction into the history and safety in the use of the catapult, the 32-page booklet covers topics like tension and torsion, mass vs. distance, metric conversion, calculating averages, elasticity, experimenting with rubber bands, gravity and levers, prediction (math), force & motion, and more.  For several experiments, there are charts to fill in for scientific testing.

Okay, so being a boy, and mostly kinesthetic at that, the book was soon pushed aside a bit and my son began to build the thing!  He found the catapult to be easier than the trebuchet.  The instructions and pictures for the trebuchet were harder to understand.  But, with some help from Dad and a bit of perseverance, both weapons of mass destruction were together within hours (spread over a couple of days).  The siege machines really work and my son was soon pelting clay missiles at things and having a grand time.  Soon, we will be going back through the book and filling in the head knowledge more completely.

This kit would be a great accompaniment to your medieval (or other history) lessons.  You end up with sturdy, usable weapons/toys and a sense of accomplishment from self-building.  The lessons are based on the standards of the National Science Teachers Association, International Technology Education Association, and National Council of Teachers of Math.  This kit is aimed at grades 5 through 12.

You can see what the catapults and trebuchets look like here.  But, Pitsco offers many other curricula and products you might enjoy...If you want to encourage a budding engineer, architect, scientist or math whiz, be sure to check out their other offerings on their website store.

The catapult and trebuchet go for $10.95/each and the Siege Machines book is another $3.95.  You do want the book!  If you are hosting a co-op, you can get reduced prices for groups of 10 ($8.39) or 30 ($7.67).  Or you can get a package deal with the catapult, trebuchet and Siege Machines book for $21.95 which includes the weights for flinging!

If you really want to go indepth, Pitsco also carries a more expensive package that includes all of the above, as well as two in depth teachers/curriculum guides that provide another 20+ hours of teaching materials for each kit.

I was provided the Catapult and Trebuchet kits, plus the Siege Machines book free of charge in exchange for an honest review.  I honestly think your hands-on, science-types will love them!