Our Suday School program uses the HeartShaper series by Standard Publishing for the Preschool through the Middler classes. It introduces children to God, His Son, His Word, and His Church through active participation in Bible stories and Bible study, multisensory learning, Bible skill-building activities, and focused life application. Class descriptions copied from Standard Publishing's Web site.
HeartShaper curriculum builds on the concepts taught to younger children, adding more Bible stories, integrating pre-reading skills, continuing to include multisensory experiences, incorporating simple group games, offering activities that stimulate imaginations, and guiding the teacher to take time to answer lots of questions.
HeartShaper for Early Elementary was developed with the beginning reader and writer in mind. Helpful tips are given to guide teachers to adapt activities to meet the needs of the students in her class while reviewing favorite Bible stories, introducing Bible skills, and keeping their focus on what God asks them to do.
At Middle Elementary, integrating Bible skills and Bible chronology into the curriculum doesn’t mean kids are now expected to sit down and listen, but attention spans do lengthen and middle elementary kids are eager to learn about God and how they fit in His plan. They are also at the calmest period of their lives in terms of physical growth, which means they can learn large amounts of Scripture, put the Bible stories into perspective, and attach meaning to what they have heard and read.
"Meeting God Face-to-Face"
ENCOUNTER™, by Standard Publishing, curriculum provides a complete, four-step lesson plan. Each step of this lesson plan contains two options, allowing the teacher to choose from activities best suited to his or her teens. Options include "hands-on" activities such as drama, art, and games as well as intellectually engaging research, reporting, and discussion. Student pages from the student books and video, audio, and posters from the resource packet equip teachers to easily lead activities while allowing students to participate fully.
The Adult Class is presently reading and discussing Rick Warren's book God's Answers to Life's Difficult Questions.