Is It Recess Yet? (Back to School with Jesus) Curriculum
Overview of Lessons:
LESSON ONE: MAKING THE GRADE (Becoming Friends with Jesus)
LESSON TWO: BETTER THAN BRAINS (Growing in Wisdom)
LESSON THREE: YOUR BEST FOR GOD (Growing in Stature)
LESSON FOUR: TWO THUMBS UP! (Growing in Favor with God and Man)
The purpose of this unit is to help get kids excited about school in the fall and to see it in a new light. Instead of just somewhere they have to go to learn, they will be challenged to see school as a place they can shine for Jesus by being more like Him. They will be encouraged to do their best understanding that God has a plan for each of us, and preparing for that plan is very important. They will also be reminded not to compare themselves to others, but to see that God made them special and unique and no one else can be or do what they are meant to accomplish in this life. The secret is to be like Jesus, who at a young age the Bible says, "grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man." (Luke 2:52, the theme verse for this unit.)
This unit includes a Bible lesson rich in scripture, games, small group ideas, object lessons, skits, puppet routines, and even a practical 'home play' assignment. (Since kids don't want more homework!)
Here is an overview of the lesson components you will find in Is It Recess Yet? (Back to School with Jesus!)
LESSON INTRO - Each lesson will begin with an overview to help the teacher grasp the "Big Idea" of the lesson and have a clear idea of what they are trying to accomplish through this lesson.
GET TO KNOW ME PACK - Pass out the GET TO KNOW ME PACK PDF. This is a tool to help you get to know your kids. Encourage them each week to take this home and color and decorate and fill it out and bring it back. Give a candy or prize for kids who bring these back. Consider covering a wall with them. What YOU should do is scan or copy them and put them in a 3-Ring binder and use them to pray for your kids throughout the year to pray for them and get to know them. Consider using them as a tool for visitation and ministry contact. (Contact info is not included, it is assumed you have this separately in a data base.)
WORSHIP TIME - Some songs from Go Fish's "Old Skool" CD will be recommended for each lesson. You can order Go Fish's Kickin' It Old School here!
PUPPET WELCOME - A fun puppet welcome and lesson introduction is provided an optional fun way to introduce each lesson.
RECESS TIME - An easy and fun game with a lesson application.
MEMORY VERSE - There is one verse for the entire unit to help make sure the children really learn it. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. Luke 2:52
LESSON TIME - This is the main lesson loaded with scripture and creative ideas.
SKIT TIME - A description of a drama you can do to help reinforce the lesson.
SMALL GROUP TIME - A fun deck of backpack cards is provided for a new game each week as well as some discussion questions for small group leaders to use. (A Printable Small Group Guide PDF is included for each week.)
HOME PLAY CHALLENGE - An easy and practical lesson application to challenge the kids to do during the week in order to apply what they have learned. It is called "Home Play" because the last we want to do is give more "home work!"
50+ IMAGE CLIP ART COLLECTION - Includes over 50 Back to School Clip Art Images to use in Power Point, bulletin board or promotional purposes. Also included is the original backpack art used in the small group game and the 'Get to Know You" poster so that you can modify the game or the get to know you tool if you would like.