The word education comes from the Latin
word educo meaning to draw out. Faith
Inkubators Bible Song curricula is designed to draw out thoughts and an understanding
of scripture from children, youth, and adults through art, signing a verse from
the Bible with hands, and using voices to sing scripture verbatim to praise
God. This is a different way of thinking.
The Sunday school teacher way of thinking we are familiar with is to
make a craft ahead of time, have supplies ready, and help children do it while
reciting or reading the story to them. Normally one adult has more children in
the group than one can handle.
Bible Song small group time is called Art Attack. There is no premade craft. Art supplies are for telling
the scripture in one’s own creative way and those in the group take turns
retelling the story heard during large group opening. Adults in some cases
outnumber the children in a group.
The directions for Bible Song Art
Attack small group time are simple:
- Come
with your child.
- Share
Highs & Lows.
- Read
the scripture.
- Get
creative and use art or music to retell the story you heard together in
large group opening through art of your choice and music.
- Pray
for one another and bless one another.
Some anticipate small group time to
mean the time when an already prepared craft is brought out and everyone makes
the same craft to take home or display on the wall. As a Sunday school teacher
when I first volunteered, I felt I needed to know all the Bible verses and
prepare a lesson before I got to church. I felt ill-equipped but knew I wanted
to help somehow. Many times I was looking at the lesson and preparing it on the
way in the car!
If there is time and energy to find
volunteers who will spend the time to prepare a lesson and gather supplies for
a craft each week, that’s one thing. On staff in a congregation, I never found
it easy to do. If you’re seeking to bring more volunteers on board, get parents
involved and encourage them to learn with their children, that’s another.
My experience has taught me that two things could make a difference rather
quickly in any setting:
- Smaller
group size with more parental involvement providing an added benefit of
fewer discipline problems.
- Encouraging
parents and adults in small groups that it’s more about listening, caring,
asking questions, and appreciating responses than pouring a lesson into a
child, youth, or other adult.
If there is a program where the
expectation is not to prepare and have to do
something before coming each week, parents and other adults are more likely to
participate. They begin to understand and enjoy their role of facilitating and drawing
out, not leading all the time.
The most important ingredient is to
provide an atmosphere that says, “I like being here.”, “Someone cares and is
listening.”, and “I want to come back.”
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