Before you choose the books for your students, do yourself a favor and begin with the Volume One Starter Pack. By reading through these simple resources you'll have a thorough understanding of how the Bible fits into a historical context to give you the confidence to begin passing along our great heritage to your family. Follow these three easy steps for a successful start to your school year!  

#1 Before you begin your school year, learn how to read the Bible with the mind of the Church:

The Bible Compass: A Catholic's Guide to Navigating the Sciptures, is the newest book by Edward Sri, and it's a perfect introduction to Volume One. It could be sub-titled, "everything you need to know before using CWH in one slim volume," it's short, easy to read and understand. There are 4 parts to the book:

Pt. 1 Divine Revelation – The Unveiling of God explains what the Bible is, and isn't, explaining the Church's teaching authority in defining Scripture and the roles of Scripture, Tradition and Magesterium.

Pt. 2 Five Keys for Interpreting Scripture Correctly - "five interpretive principles that come right from the Catechism" to help us read and understand Scripture correctly. Who has the correct interpretation of a Bible passage? Who has the authority to decide what the Bible does and doesn't mean? How do I understand what the Bible writers really meant? This chapter takes the reader through a quick course in correct Biblical interpretation through the teaching authority of the Church.

Pt. 3 Where Does the Bible Come From explains how the canon of scripture was discerned by the Church and why some books which were in circulation in early Christian times were left out, as well as why the "Catholic Bible" has more books than the "non-Catholic Bible."

Pt. 4 Biblical Background includes information on the archaeology, history and geography from Bible times, the Twelve Periods of Bible History (the same ones used in Jeff Cavins' program as well as in CWH). This section also contains help in choosing a Bible translation as well as Bible study materials (dictionary, concordance, etc.) that you might want to use.

#2 Before each unit, read about the salvation history time period you’re about to study:

  Walking with God: A Journey Through the Bible
Dr. Tim Gray and Jeff Cavins unpack the central story woven throughout Scripture and present it in an easy-to-read, concise manner. Gray and Cavins take you on a journey through the “narrative” books of the Bible—the ones that tell the story—and present a panoramic view of God’s glorious plan of salvation. Their expert commentary dives deep into the mysteries of Scripture, unlocking its riches and showing how these inspired words are meant for you today.

This book is divided into the same time periods as are the units of Connecting with History making a perfect companion to the program!

#3 Refer to the Bible Timeline Chart in order to follow the Big Picture of Salvation History as it unfolds:

The Bible Timeline Chart

• Each period of The Bible Timeline is assigned a unique color to help you remember the narrative; for example, in the Early World, during which the world is created, turquoise is used to represent the color of the earth seen from space.

• The growth of God’s family is traced through history from “One Holy Couple” (Adam and Eve) in Genesis through “One Holy Catholic Church.”

• 14 “narrative” books tell the story of salvation from beginning to end.

• The other 59 “supplemental” books are placed into their historical context.

Each item also sold separately