April 20, 2024 - Saturday 2:30 MPR 4 Speaker

Speaker:Traci Sproule

Stepping into the Bible Lecture #1: If you can dream it... The Dream

• Congregation: Palm Beach Lakes church of Christ
• The congregation has a strong history of children’s Bible classes
• We desired and talked about writing our own curriculum for years
• Finally, the dream became more than just a dream

  • December 2009 - The Initial Meeting: An Idea Sparked

  • January 2010 - The Concept Presented: A Curriculum Adopted

  • Mid 2012 - The Elder Challenge: A Target Set

  • January 2013 - The Teaching Begins: A Work in Progress

  • August 2019 - The Curriculum Finished: A Dream Realized

• We wanted a curriculum that truly fit our needs
  • A program that would teach the Bible
  • A program that focused on Bible education over entertainment
  • A complete program that was not a collection from various sources
  • A consistent direction, format and appearance throughout
  • A reusable program that would not become outdated over time
  • An engaging program that got the parents involved at home each week

• We wanted an immersive experience
  • From the moment the kids entered their hallway
  • When they walked into their classrooms
  • We wanted just a few weeks in each classroom to keep them engaged

• We wanted a complete teaching resource
  • Something that would make it easier for our teachers to prepare
  • Something that would make it easier for our teachers to teach
  • Something that would make it easier for members to agree to teach
  • Something that would guarantee consistency of lessons from teacher to teacher

• We evaluated our Media Center
  • Loaded with teaching resourced created and developed for over 40 years
  • Space enough for designing and storing room decorations
• We evaluated our classroom arrangement
  • Classroom space would allow for five teaching rooms, plus one other room
  • Divided our children’s classes (Age 3 thru Grade 5) into five age groups
    • Age 3-4, K, Grade 1, Grades 2-3, Grades 4-5
• We evaluated key people
  • First, we developed a curriculum development committee
  • Then, we developed small auxiliary committees (2-3 people on each one)
    • Classroom Decoration Committee
    • Hallway Committee
    • Teaching Resources Committee

• The Curriculum Committee – Writing “Stepping into the Bible”
  • We sat down as a group, with open Bibles, and identified Bible lessons to teach
    • We ended up identifying 280 Bible lessons to be part of the curriculum
  • We decided to do away with the 13-week quarter system
    • We wanted the children to rotate classrooms (in Bible scenes) on a frequent basis
  • We decided that each age group would be taught in each classroom for four weeks
    • Each classroom represented a particular division of Biblical narrative
    • Four lessons were grouped together to be taught in each room
    • We called these 4-week teaching rounds, “Sessions”
  • We decided that we would rotate every four weeks through the five classrooms
    • Each age group would have an opportunity to be taught in each classroom
    • The total time for these rotations would be 20 weeks, which we called, “Semesters”
  • Finally, an internal “writing” committee began creating each lesson plan
    • Each lesson plan was intended for all age groups – tailored by the teacher to their specific class
  • Each lesson was written to contain specific and consistent elements:
    • Objective
    • Scripture Reference
    • Memory Verse
    • Lesson Facts
    • Review Questions
    • Narrative
    • Discussion Questions for Older Kids
• The Classroom Committee – Creating the Environment
  • Design and decorate FIVE classrooms for each semester, with each classroom representing an immersion into one of the 4-lesson sessions
  • Create some kind of picture-based timeline in the room
  • Realized a need for time between semesters to change each classroom
    • Created the 2-week mini-session
    • For two weeks, the children’s hallway was blocked off for the rooms to be changed out
    • All of the children (Age 3 thru Grade 5) met together in our multipurpose room
    • A special team was created to coordinate the 2-week mini-session for the kids
• The Hallway Committee – Immerse Upon Arrival
  • Transform the entire hallway where our children’s classes meet
  • Bible stories to come alive on the walls, covering every square inch
  • Tell the story of the Bible from one end of the hallway to the other
  • Include some 3-D elements coming out of the walls
• The Teaching Resources Committee – Reinforcing the Lessons
  • Each classroom to be stocked with visual aids to help enhance teaching the lesson
  • Ample selection of handwork for the children that corresponded to the Bible lesson
  • Songs that would fit and reinforce each lesson
  • Make Wednesday nights special, providing additional lesson reinforcement

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9beg5Z6iD0

Duration 40:40