|
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
ABOUT THE CHILDREN'S BIBLE LESSONS
Where did you get the title for this curriculum?
Our weekly children's
curriculum is entitled Discovering God on Route 66 because children
can study at least one lesson from each of the 66 books in the Bible!
All of God's Word is powerful! Lesson selections are prayerfully
made by looking at the main focus from each of the books. The goal
is that children will "discover" through many methods of learning that God
has a plan for their lives - and they can find it in the Bible!
When can these lessons
be taught?
Lessons are great for any day of the week that your children are gathered
together for about 1 hour! That could be Sunday School, Children's
Church, a Wednesday night program, etc. Because this program started
out in children's church, that is how most churches use it.
Also, there is no specific time of the
year that you need to begin. The curriculum follows the books of the
Bible and thus is not limited to certain times of the year to be workable.
What age group does
this curriculum work best with?
This curriculum is geared
toward children in the first through the sixth grades. There is some
reading involved with each lesson because children read the Bible each
week and many times they read words from Bible verses for the games.
First graders tend to do great and I have seen them get excited about
learning to read well enough to volunteer to read a Bible verse.
My church and other churches have allowed
Kindergartners to attend if they are well behaved children. However,
if possible, I would recommend not allowing children younger than the
first grade! Give those little brothers and sisters something to
look forward to when they get older!!
What are FUNSHEETS?
FUNSHEETS are creative papers that are sent home with the children.
They may be a basic word search or maze or code - OR - a task to do at
home to show love or a chance to retell the story the teacher told in
class with some props or a game to reemphasize a Bible verse!
The goal is to assist
parents in talking with their children about what they are learning!
Typically, parents ask, "What did you learn today?" Children respond
with "Nothing" or "About Jesus". Parents can look at the FUNSHEET
and as they help their child to complete the paper, they can ask more
thought provoking questions. My prayer is that this could be an
encouraging time of spiritual growth and insight!
How often do you have
puppet shows, dramas, games, or crafts?
With each quarter's worth of lessons there are about 2 or 3 crafts, 1 or 2
puppet shows, and 1 or 2 dramas. Puppet shows can easily be
presented as dramas. Almost all the lesson that don't have a craft
or major demonstration have a game included. So that's about 9
out of the 13 lessons that will have games. But it all varies from
quarter to quarter.
Do we need to purchase
items separately?
Puppets and dramas are
included. Craft directions are included, you'll just need to
shop somewhere like Wal-Mart or Hobby Lobby to buy supplies. Song
suggestions are made, but you'll need to purchase CD's or tapes or have a
guest come in with a guitar!! (I don't sell any additional
materials or "kits". I try to make it so that you can go with what
you have.)
For each quarter of lessons, I will send
you a list of upcoming needs such as magnets or foam board or even a
special guest or song idea. The first quarter probably has the most
needs since there are items that are made that are used again in other
lessons later.
Why are there only 7
Quarters worth of lessons listed on this web site?
I've been teaching these
lessons for about 12 years. The first time I started writing the
lessons, many of them were simply scribbled on papers. Then, we
moved to a new state that's not part of the "Bible Belt". I met
children who had never seen a Bible and kids who thought Bible stories
were just made up like Cinderella. All that is to
say, that the reason all the lessons aren't listed yet is because I list
them (a quarter at a time) as I revise them, add additional
lessons, and teach them again. So, about every 13 weeks you'll see a
new quarter listed.
If the lessons last 5
years, what do I do with 6 years worth of children?
In this
case, you will need to add about 10 additional lessons each year.
You can teach special lessons for Mother’s Day, Christmas, Easter, end of
school, etc. Also, we often do review lessons each quarter. We play
favorite games and review verses and stories.
Another option is to use
a different plan for the summer months. Our church has bought VBS
material and divided the 5 lessons into 10 lessons for a great summer!
What happens after we
have used the lessons for 5 years?
You will be amazed at how
quickly time can go by before you're ready to teach the same lessons
again!! I save games, craft examples, etc. in plastic Ziploc bags
and label them with the lesson number. Extra papers and printouts
are placed in labeled folders. Then, I file all of year #1 for
example, in a plastic portable file box.
It's so encouraging to know that the fruit of
the hard work put in by the teachers can be beneficial years later.
I'm sure most companies would think that this process is not "business
smart" - but my goal is to teach kids the Bible and how to live it!
Could these lessons be
used with single grade groups rather than combination groups?
Of course! If you
like, each grade (say 1st - 5th) could start out with the same lessons.
Then, the next year, grade 1 would teach those same lessons again.
Meanwhile, grades 2 -5 would go through the second year. In the
third year, grades 1 and 2 could repeat years 1 and 2 while grades 3 - 5
are taught year 3. And keep going in this same manner. This
would greatly simplify lesson planning for the teachers!
Are lessons easy
enough for our small church?
Yes. My small church -
just over 100 attendees - meets in a high school! That means we have
to set up the room every week and make sure it is put back perfectly!
We keep basic craft supplies, Bibles, and candy in plastic crates on my
son's old red wagon!
We rotate 2 teachers each week for a month.
The lessons work out great!!
How many children do
you recommend to meet in one group?
This curriculum is well suited for a group from 6 children to 60 children.
If you have 30 or more children, I suggest that you divide the children
into 2 groups. It's very difficult to give a lot of individual
attention when the size reaches more than 30 children. Remember,
children will learn more by your showing them love by listening, knowing
their names, spending time with them, etc. than the actual lessons!
Can I preview a
lesson?
You can take a look at part of Lesson #5 at
http://www.stuff4church.org/Free%20Lesson.htm. If you would like
a free copy of this entire lesson, please email Nancy your name and church
name to
nancy@stuff4church.org. My hope and prayer is that you will
teach this lesson and lead children to become Christians!!
How do I order a
lesson?
Look over the descriptions for each lesson.
Register*. Next, email Nancy at
with a request for the lessons you are interested in purchasing.
Each individual lesson costs $7.
Or, save money and buy a consecutive
13-week group for only $75 by email or $95 + $10 shipping / handling by
mail. Read options for receiving lessons.
After your lessons have been emailed, your
invoice will be emailed to you. Payment should be made by check
within 15 days.
*Registration takes only a
few minutes. None of your information will ever be sold or
"loaned" to any other company of any type!!
|
