Have you found yourself in need of some Bible school material, but you want it to be GOOD. SOLID. Truly FOLLOWS the Word of God? Are you part of a missionary family who doesn’t consistently have the same resources you did in your home country? You want your kids to know Jesus, but you need help from a solid foundation?
Preparing your curriculum for an engaging Bible study with kids is EASY, I promise. And you will not be snagging something off the internet the morning before they have their Bible time. Hey, you know it happens! There are indeed necessary times for quick-snap-internet-lessons (and hopefully when it happens a real treasure is found!). However, I think you’ll agree that it is much more useful to be presented with something that is originally from YOU through JESUS.
{This post may contain my referral links. You can see my full Disclosure and Cookie Policies or my updated Privacy Policy for more details.}
There are many missionary and military families who could genuinely benefit from having this kind of reliable resource for Bible school, one that genuinely feeds their kids when they don’t feel there is a more significant resource available.
Also, through using this system, there will be a general feeling of, “OH YAY! I get to do the crafts today!” or, “Cool, no problem, I can go over the ten-minute lesson,” or, “It is going to be so fun to watch my kids do that related activity today!”
Each part of The Scripture Scout’s Sleuth for the Truth core lessons can take about 10-15 minutes long at minimum. And they are cushioned with motivating goals and reinforcement activities. It certainly takes out any stress some may have of thinking they, as one individual, have to somehow cover one lesson for an entire hour.
But let’s talk about how to build and manage an actual church-based or home-based curriculum. You, yes you (and your church/team/family/whatever), are going to put it together. If you are reading this by yourself, call someone to read through it with you! Print it out and chat with a few friends. But don’t forget to talk with GOD first! 🙂 Here we go …
1. First, set your goals!
- Don’t forget that “the main goal here is to present to kids how all the beautiful stories in the Bible have a purpose. But especially that there is a GOLDEN THREAD running through the Bible to tie them all together. Make sure that not a lesson is told without that golden thread, Jesus Christ, mentioned.
- It will support your goals if the outline is in chronological order.
- Stories, accounts, and narratives are progressive by nature. The longer you learn, read or listen, the more you will increasingly understand until you have a real grip of all of the information therein. This learning is accurate of God’s Word too. The Bible is a story, a testimony of how God deals with humanity and of His plan to redeem them. The Scripture Scout curriculum is designed to be read or presented in a specific order, even if they’ve already learned their Bible books in the order listed in their Bibles.
- God’s Plan for Man is the main emphasis!
2. Write up a quarter’s worth first (about 13 lessons).
- Have in mind what you want to accomplish by the end of the year, two years, and/or 6 years …
- Plan the first quarter, using:
- Text covered.
- Topics covered.
- A specific aim inspired (& how you want the students to apply it to their lives).
- Do this until you’ve almost completed the first quarter and can reevaluate it. This way, you can make the necessary changes before you plunge into the next quarter.
3. Your first team meetings
- If you are working with a homeschool co-op, let everyone have a copy of the curriculum in hand. Then, together, write the dates in the margin and who will be teaching on what days so that everyone will know.
4. Each corresponding lesson (one core lesson, then one activity lesson) will teach and/or reinforce the same Bible lesson or truth
- Previous weeks DBR’s will cover what will be taught in during the next meeting
- Another meeting will reinforce the same lesson in a fun, non-structured, active hearing, set-up.
- Helps a co-op team’s communication between each meeting.
- Gather all the “helps” you can find. You will grab any visuals that will help your main goal that will keep you on track for that particular lesson. Here are some ideas:
- Timelines (The Scripture Scout’s Sleuth for the Truth has a poster coming with the curriculum release this fall!)
- Children’s books to reinforce that lesson
- 30 Days to Understanding the Bible (this is only a sample but it’s amazing; you’re welcome!)
- Bible Arc (from Anders’ 30 Days) — you can also go HERE for that!
5. Bible Study Meet-up Packets
- Notebooks (if it helps, it is useful to have each class colour-coded)
- The expectations or challenges
- Prayer list
- DBR’s for next week and questions
- Sermon notes
- Memory Work for each quarter
- Record-keeping Chart
6. Time Management for Home-school bible studies
- If you are using the Sleuth for the Truth ideas in home-school, you can break it up into learning sections as this sample suggests:
- Read and start to memorize the focus verse: 10-15 minutes
- Go over the lesson topic: 10-15 minutes
- Activity to reinforce the lesson: 10-15 minutes
*You can find activities to download for Sleuth for the Truth at The Scripture Scout resource store or find freebies and cheap reinforcement lessons for pocket change at The Scripture Scout’s TeachersPayTeachers space.
7. And finally, rewards are essential!
- The intangible rewards are legion. But we have seen that every time a student knows a tangible reward is coming too, he or she is powered-up and motivated to learn. This aids to develop their self-confidence in their ability to grasp the Word of God.
Need ideas for this? A point system kept weekly is a huge boon to your students’ motivation. Everybody likes parties. And it is an incredible motivator to know that a class party is around the corner every time points achieved!
To conclude, let’s take a moment to look at the remarkable rewards here. What gives this plan credibility is the number of successes in so many church congregations, including the one where it was inspired, while on the mission field in a small congregation of believers in Papatoetoe, New Zealand and then coming to fruition stateside at a church and several homes in Littleton, Colorado and used in many other churches across the United States. There have been tremendous face-lifts in both teachers and students. The children’s outlook is improved 100%, and it has motivated the adults as well. Overall, this do-it-yourself-but-teach-me-how curriculum was created because when I was a little missionary’s toddler my mother saw that there weren’t great resources to TRULY engage in learning about Jesus.
Knowledge of scripture and commitment level becomes a top priority item as this knowledge is inspired and increased. So too is a thriving love for the Lord and an inspiration to serve others excitedly. Parents have become actively involved, and many students have won their friends to Christ after inviting them to a thriving environment. And man, the teachers’ attitude has improved tremendously!
No longer is it tough to get someone to help with the kids. It is fantastic and fun. These are just some intangible rewards of preparing your curriculum through The Scripture Scout method and how your children’s outlook will be exponentially improved. Joy Bryant, from Teach Me Joy, says, “I want my children to be independent in our home-school, they need me, and each other, as part of their learning process.” Truth, Joy. Absolute truth.
Again, maybe you are a missionary family who feels like you do have to scramble for resources. Or possibly you are a homeschooling parent who wants to teach your kids, but also helps them form a solid foundation. Or perhaps you are a Sunday school teacher/volunteer, or leader somewhere who wants to MAKE SURE you have found a method that GOOD. It is SOLID. It truly FOLLOWS the Word of God …
…these resources are for YOU. Can you dig it? Or better said, can YOU dig INTO it?
Written by Anne-Geri’ Fann
(ideas created by Anne Gray)
Anne-Geri’ is pronounced “an-juh-ree” but I also answer to “Angie” or “Anj.” My extremely cool husband David and I love laughing with friends so hard that beverage comes out of our noses. My experience extends from my birthplace of New Zealand to all over the world. I have enjoyed stuffy nights on an Italian train, accidentally body-surfed in Hawaii, torn off a piece of the Berlin Wall a few days after it fell and has many times fallen asleep to the sounds of rain on a tin roof in an adobe home on top of a Honduran mountain.
Borrowing from a song based on James 4:14, I believe that “my life is just a soul trapped in a little dust” so I do try to “squeeze the marrow” out of every moment. If you want to know more about me, you can go to my website for more fun information or find out how on earth my parents came up with … “Anne-Geri‘ …”
