OUR SPIRITUAL HERITAGE

Our number four long-term goal included implementation of a new Bible class curriculum, and we have chosen "Our Spiritual Heritage."

This material is designed to teach children that:

1. God is wonderfully wise.

2. God has great plans for us.

3. The world around us shows God's wisdom and power.

4. The Bible demonstrates that God is the hero of history.  God is great and God is good.

5. We bring glory to God by learning about His plans for us and by living according to His plans.

6. We can learn to praise God in Bible class and at home as a family.

This curriculum presents Bible stories through the investigation method of when, who, what, why and where.

When:  A chronological outline of the Bible story is learned through Heading cards that divide the Bible into 9 historical time periods, including:

1. Before the world began, God made a great plan

2. First Fathers

3. Moses

4. Joshua and Judges

5. Kings

6. Homesick Heroes

7. Home Again Heroes

8. Christ: God's Great Plan

9. I build on God's plan

Every Bible story is learned in the context of time, the "big" picture, and how that person is part of God's plan for us.  God is always shown to be the hero of every story!

The When Wall provides a visual chronology of events.

Who:  The student learns to place Bible heroes in the proper time period through the study of many faith-building themed units such as God is Wise or stories of Light and Water.
 

The Who Wall provides a visual character reference.

What and Why:  From these unit studies the student also learns to match Bible story facts to the Bible heroes.

Where in the World and Where in the Bible:  Every lesson is taught emphasizing its geographic location.  The student learns to locate key locations on maps of Bible lands.  Seeing pictures of the Bible lands brings the stories to life and shows the students that we are talking about real people who lived in real places that can be visited today.  The children will also learn to correlate the books of the Bible to the historical time periods.
 

The Where Wall provides a visual geographic reference.

There are some things that are different about this curriculum than other methods.  For this curriculum to be effective, the teachers, students and parents must be partners.

1. The teachers will make extensive preparations so the class time will be profitable.  This study is very visual and hands on.  The teachers may need help with classroom set up, lesson duplication, bulletin boards and preparation of visuals.  Everyone can be involved in assisting the teachers.

2. The students need to attend class regularly, be punctual, bring their Bibles and materials to class each time, and study the lessons at home.

3. A key ingredient of this program is the parent/child activities that will come home in the student notebook each week.  Notice the sheets say Parent and Child Activity!  These sheets include the story, scripture worksheets, activities, and a prayer suggestion sheet.  These tools promote family Bible study and prayer throughout the week.  Parent involvement is essential to the growth of the student.

This method has proven itself to be very effective for long-term learning and true understanding of God's place in every Bible story and in our lives.  In just a couple of class periods, your child will be able to tell you the nine-step story of God's plan.  Your child will soon know where major Bible people fall into that timeline and how they are all part of God's big plan.  Your child will become familiar with the geography of the Bible stories.  But more importantly, your child will build faith in our awesome God.  How wonderful it is to present the Bible stories in the context of God's great plan for all of us!